Chandigarh, November 17
Even as more than 10 per cent of the population of the country is prone to heart ailments, the disease is actually preventable in most of the cases.

This was stated by Dr Naresh Trehan of Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, here today.

While intelligent living and intelligent eating can reduce the burden of disease by 70 per cent as the heart ailment not only kills it also cripples people socially and financially, said Dr Trehan.

The world-famous cardiologist, while interacting with medial persons at Prime CME 2007, organised by Prime Academic Society, said the people with controlled diets and proper physical exercise had three times less risk of cardiac diseases than those who do not.

Highlighting the increasing number of patients among younger generation Dr Trehan said the stress and dietary habits, along with smoking, was also taking a heavy toll on the young hearts.

Regular medical check-ups after the age of 35 further can prove to be an effective prevention and early detection of disease helps in avoiding costly treatment, added Dr Trehan.

The people suffering from diabetes or with family history of heart problem have to be extra cautious as they are four to five times more at risk than the normal people, said Dr Trehan.

Though in majority of cases the symptoms of the disease, including abnormal chest pain, sweating and pressure on chest, are visible.

But in 20 per cent of cases the patients do not feel any problem before they get a heart attack, said the cardiologist.

Chandigarh, November 17
The National Epilepsy Day was celebrated by the department of paediatrics at the PGI here today.

The aim was to generate awareness among masses regarding this common but often misconstrued illness.

Around 50 children suffering from epilepsy along with their parents participated in the programme.

An interactive session was conducted by five panelists headed by Prof Pratibha Singhi, chief paediatric neurology, PGI.

Questions dealing with the day-to-day management of children with this disease were addressed.

Over 50 million people in the world suffer from epilepsy and in more than 60 cases the disease starts in childhood, said Professor Singhi.

Fits in children can often be missed by parents. The fits range from a momentary disruption of senses, to jerks, to loss of consciousness or violent movements that can last for minutes and rarely hours.

These are generally thought of as “normal behaviour” or that the child is afraid. If at any time the parents see that their child is having unusual repetitive movements they should get him examined by an expert, said Professor Singhi.

There is no single cause for epilepsy. It can be a result of infections of the brain, including parasites, illness, head injury, abnormal brain development or genetic, said Professor Singhi.

Dr Prabhjot Malhi, while emphasising that behaviour problems and learning difficulties could be associated with medication, said most of the time overprotection and permissiveness of parents led to behavioural problems and poor school performance.

Dr Bhavneet Bharti spoke about the need to be honest about epilepsy in case of marriage.

Chandigarh, November 17
Local favourites Dinesh Mongia and Reetinder Sodhi are all set to win the hearts of the home crowd during the forthcoming Indian Cricket League (ICL) tourney, starting from November 30 at Tau Devi Lal Cricket Stadium, Panchkula.

“During the matches, both of us would put up brilliant performance to showcase our ability to the fans and we are ready for the challenge”, said former international cricketer Reetinder Sodhi.

Reetinder claimed that the inaugural ICL would be a great success.

“There is great craze for the shortest version of the game among people following the India’s World Cup win in South Africa. Definitely, the fans will turn up to see the action packed cricket in large number at the venue. No cricket fan can avoid seeing the top international players like Brian Lara, Chris Cairns, Imran Farhat, Andrew Hall and Inzamam ul Haq in action, said Sodhi, who would be key member of ICL’s Chandigarh Lions.

Besides him, Mongia and all the Punjab Ranji rebels make the team.

“All the players are taking the tournament seriously as all of us had toiled hard in the two camps, held at Chennai and Mumbai. So the cricket buffs would have gala time during the 17-day tourney”, said Sodhi.

Meanwhile, to attract more and more crowd during the matches, all players of Chandigarh Lions participated in road shows. 

Chandigarh, November 17
Shivani won top position trailing Nistha at second spot in the welter weight of sub-junior category during the Chandigarh State Tae kwon do Championship at Skating Rink, Sector-10, here today.

In boys section, Neel Kamal finished first while Sathak came second in the Fin weight category of sub-juniors.

Results:

Girls (sub-juniors) ;Weight (Fin) 1 Raksha, 2 Shagun; (Fly) 1 Aman Chauhan, 2 Samridhi; (Bantam) 1 Ridham, 2 Ashini; (Feather) 1 Lakshyata, 2 Garima; (Welter) 1 Shavani, 2 Nishtha; (Middle Weight) 1 Jasmine, 2 Manshi; (Light Weight) 1 Kirti, 2 Harshita; (Light Middle) 1 Jasveen Kaur, 2 Daizy; (Heavy) 1 Himani, 2 Simran.

Boys (sub-juniors): (Fin) 1 Neel Kamal, 2 Sarthak; (Fly) 1 Mukul, 2 Gurav; (Feather) 1 Akash Kaul, 2 Bhaibav; (Light Weight) 1Vishnu, 2 Subham.

Chandigarh, November 17
Kalyani of Manav Mangal School, sector 21, lifted trophy in junior girls singles defeating Naina Suri of DAV Public School, sector 8, 15-13, 11-7, 11-6, 11-6 in the final of the 20th Chandigarh State Table Tennis Tournament at Table Tennis Hall, Sector 23, here today.

In junior boys singles, Dev Saini emerged champion trailing Puneet Kumar of Delhi Public School, sector 40 11-9, 11-6, 11-5, 11-5 in the final.

Results:

Junior boys singles (semifinals): Dev Saini bt Karamjot (AKSIPS) 5-11, 11-6, 11-5, 11-5, 11-2, Puneet Kumar (DPS-40) bt Aditya Pandey (MM-21) 11-9, 11-3, 11-3, 11-9. (final): Dev Saini bt Puneet Kumar (DPS) 11-9, 11-6, 11-5, 11-5. Junior girls singles (Semi-finals): Kalyani (MM-21) bt Meghna (SH-26) 11-8, 12-10, 8-11, 11-4, 5-11, 11-5), Naina Suri (DAVPS-8) bt Sadhika Kaushal (GM-16) 11-7, 11-7, 12-14, 11-12, 11-6, 11-9. (final): Kalyani (MM-21) bt Naina Suri (DAVPS-8) 15-13, 11-7, 11-6, 11-6.

Chandigarh, November 17
Haryana Postal Circle team bagged the overall championship of Free Style wrestling after garnering 64 points while Maharashtra and Rajasthan postal department wrestlers bagged second and third places, respectively, during the 22 nd All India Postal Wrestling Tournament. The meet held at Sector 3 Tau Devi Lal Sports Complex, here today.

Suresh of Haryana Postal Circle was awarded the “ Dak Kesri” title for his splendid performance. S.B Patil of Orissa Postal Circle won gold medal in 55 kg category, Suresh Kumar of Haryana bagged gold in 60 kg category. In 74 kg, Kaludas of Haryana , in 84 kg, Mastana of Haryana, in 120 kg, H.S Patil of Maharashtra circle, in 96 kg, G.B Patil of Maharashtra circle, clinched the gold medals each.

The silver medals went to R.K Sankpal (Maharashtra) in 55 kg; Onkar (Rajasthan) in 60 kg: Jai Singh (Haryana) in 66 kg; Rohtash (Rajasthan) in 74 kg; M.A Jadeja ( Gujarat) in 84 kg; Kamal Singh (Rajasthan) 96 kg and Rajesh (Haryana) in 120 kg categories.

The bronze medal winners were: Pardeep (Haryana) and Ashok (Rajathan) in 55 kg; K C S Shehnde (Maharashtra) in 60 kg; Gopal Yadav (UP) and KMB Magdum (66 kg), Vikas Patil (Maharashra) in 74 kg; Bijender (Delhi) and V.K Kandarkar (Maharashtra) in 84 kg; Sanjay Khapra (Haryana) and Preetam (Delhi) in 96 kg; and Prabhu Singh (Rajasthan) in 120 kg. 

Panchkula, November 17
S.S Brar won the ‘best senior player’ title in the Centurion Bank of Punjab Golf Tournament held at Panchkula Golf Club, Sector-3, here today.

As many as 112 golfers participated in 18th hole tournament, inaugurated by D.S Dhesi, commissioner town and country planning and Shailendra Bhandari, MD, CBoP.

Winners:

Category 1:1 Raman Kumar, 2 Brig G J Singh; Category 2: 1 M S Punni, 2 Anmol Sharma;

Category 3: 1 R Kathuria, 2 G J Singh;

Category 4: 1 Binny Bath, 2 G J Singh; Longest drive: Ajai Johal; Closest-to-pin: Jugnu Brar.

Chandigarh, November 17
A fine bowling by Sanjay enabled Infosys team to beat Strategic Market Private Limited (SMPL) team by five wicket during the 8th CRY Cadence Corporate Cricket Challenge Tournament. The meet held at DAV grounds in Sector 8, here today.

Batting first, SMPL team scored 130 runs in 20 overs. Vikas Ahuja top scored with 62 runs. Sanjay of Infosys claimed three wickets conceding just 18 runs. On the other hand, Infosys achieved the target in 13 overs. Sanjay and Varun scored 34 and 24 runs, respectively. Nimesh, SMPL, took two wickets in 15 runs only.

Sanjay, Infosys, was declared the man of the match for his excellent performance.

Brief Scores :

SMPL 130 in 20 overs. Vikas Ahuja 62, Sanjay 5-0-18-3.

INFOSYS: 134 for 4 in 13 overs. Sanjay 34, Varun 24, Nimesh 2-0-15-2.

The CRY (Child Right and You) Cadence Corporate Cricket Challenge series, known as “cricket for a cause series” is played with the motive of helping poor and downtrodden children. In this series various corporate houses participate to support the charitable cause.

Chandigarh, November 17
Handpicking IAS officials on deputation from Punjab and Haryana or seeking extensions in deputation for preferred officials has become a headache for the Chandigarh administration.

The guidelines issued by the department of personnel and training do not allow the inter-cadre deputation period in the entire career of an officer beyond five years. The inter-cadre deputation at a time cannot normally exceed, the policy says.

If one goes by book, a number of officials either serving or seeking deputation for the second time are ineligible.

Punjab-cadre officer M.P. Singh, who is reportedly in the race for the post of finance secretary, may be the first to face the rule as he has already spent around five years in the city as municipal corporation commissioner.

Also, the “cooling off” period between his previous deputation period and the one now is not enough.

While Sanjay Kumar, another contender for the post, has remained joint secretary (finance) and in other capacities for a period of three years, the other official has worked as MC commissioner for a period of five years.

Another Punjab-cadre official S.P. Singh, who is among the candidates short-listed for the post of commissioner, has remained CITCO managing director for five years and his “cooling off” period is not sufficient.

Aware of the guidelines, the administration has short-listed the candidates and has forwarded their names to the ministry of home affairs. There is likelihood of rejection of names of the officials who do not fulfil the guidelines.

Another case is that of Krishna Mohan, a Haryana-cadre IAS officer, whose deputation period as home secretary ends in December. The 1977-batch officer, already promoted in the rank of financial commissioner, completes his three-year tenure as home secretary with the administration in December.

If one goes by the guidelines issued by the department of personnel and training in November 2004, the total allowed period of inter-cadre deputation of Krishna Mohan, including that of five years as deputy commissioner, Chandigarh, comes to eight years.

It is another issue that the Haryana officer remained deputy commissioner from 1986 to 1991.

Though no official communication has been issued, there is strong possibility of the bureaucrat being allowed for another short period till the new incumbent joins.

Sources in the ministry of home affairs, while not ruling out exceptional favour at the top level in the UPA government, confirmed that the ministry had hardened its stance on giving repeated extensions to the Haryana and Punjab cadre IAS and IPS officers who joined on deputation in the centrally-controlled union territory.

The recent case of ministry taking a serious note of extension given to IPS officer Gaurav Yadav is already there.