& V I C I N I T Y
Monday, January 25, 1999
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C H A N D I G A R H & V I C I N I T Y |
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Monday, January 25, 1999 |
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spotlight today's calendar |
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Jaspal Bhatti among 7 to be
honoured ‘No
breast cancer risk’ from HRT |
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 College fete draws big crowd CHANDIGARH, Jan 24 — The concluding day of the two-day annual fete of the Dev Samaj College for Women, Sector 45, saw a huge crowd thronging the venue here today. |
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Educate
people on innovations, scientists urged
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Jaspal
Bhatti among 7 to be honoured CHANDIGARH, Jan 24 — Poker-faced cine star Jaspal Bhatti, who is also producer of cinemascope comedy film "Mahaul Theek Hai", is among seven persons to be honoured by the Chandigarh Administration on Republic Day. Others on the list include Ms Kiran Joshi and Bhim Malhotra of College of Architecture and architect Jaspreet Takhar besides Dr Vijay Rattan of Panjab University. The Administration has also decided to honour a mechanic of Chandigarh Transport Undertaking and a grader in the Engineering Department in recognition of their dedication to duty. Jaspal Bhatti, a product of Punjab Engineering College and the brain behind "Nonsense Club", has been organising from time to time "shows" at different places to highlight corruption in public offices and various social evils. Besides, he made a mark for himself on the small screen with his popular serials, including "Rang vich Bhang", "Ulta Pulta" before taking to the big screen a couple of years ago. "Mahaul Theek Hai" is his first feature film. Ms Kiran Joshi of College of Architecture has done a complete book on architecture and planning of Chandigarh which was released by the President, Mr K.R. Narayanan, on the opening day of the three-day international conference on Chandigarh. Bhim Malhotra, a student of College of Architecture, is an artist. It was he who designed the First Day Cover on Chandigarh that was also released along with other publications by the President. Bhim has been voluntarily designing a number of things for the Administration. Jaspreet Takhar, an architect, has been chosen in recognition of her work in urban development and planning. She was associated closely with the conduct of the conference on Chandigarh. Dr Vijay Rattan of the
Department of Correspondence Courses of Panjab University
will also be honoured on Tuesday in recognition of his
work in the field of education. "Women and Child
Development and Sustainable Human Development" and
"Integrated Child Development Services Programme
Administration" are his theses that got him the
distinction of being the first ever researcher for a
doctorate on ICDS programme in India. |
‘No
breast cancer risk’ from HRT CHANDIGARH, Jan 24 — Problems related to pregnancy, menopause and sexual maturity in the adolescents were the highlights of one-day north zone obstetrics and gynaecology conference organised at Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, here today. Dr Kala Vashisht, Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the PGI, told The Tribune the analysis of several studies had shown that the harmone replacement therapy (HRT) even when taken over a period of time in physiological doses, did not increase the risk of breast cancer. Stressing the need for self-examination of the breast and mammography even in women on HRT, Dr Vashisht said women above the age of 50 must go in for a check-up every three months. As most women come for treatment in the later stages of the disease, their disease was not curable, she added. Dr Urvashi Jha from Apollo
Hospital, New Delhi, highlighted the role of newer
gonadominetic agent (Tibolone) for post-menopausal
symptoms. The drug, which has to be taken daily, was
quite expensive, costing over Rs 900. She said a study in Delhi had revealed that 50 per cent of the students had permissive attitude towards premarital sex. These adolescents faced all risks with too little factual information and guidance about sexual responsibilities. While Prof Sarla Gopalan of the PGI highlighted the gynaecological problems faced by the teenagers, Dr Tara Gupta from Indira Gandhi College, Shimla, dwelt on the problems of young girls during pregnancy. Dr Bhushan Kumar from the PGI said because of poverty, lack of education and exploitation, poor children were at a greater risk of getting the STDs through sexual abuse. Dr Amarjit Kaur Gill
reported about a study done under Dr Malhotra about the
new technique of Caesarian operation — non-closure
Caesarian technique. |
All is not
well in Panchkula PANCHKULA, Jan 24 — Are the local health authorities equipped fully to move a road accident victim to a hospital? Is the police quick to respond to a distress call ? Are the local fire services full geared to meet any eventually? The answer to all the three questions may not be yes. Though a 30-bed hospital is being run by the state health authorities here. There is only one ambulance at the hospital to evacuate victims of road accident. The same vehicle is in attendance of a VIP visiting the town. Mr Kapil Sharma, a resident of Sector 8, says apart from the government-run hospital the private doctors should be asked by the administration to attend an emergency case. Incidentally the local branch of doctors organisation had advised its members to provide basic treatment to emergency cases. Residents complain that doctors at General Hospital here often refer serious cases to the PGI in Chandigarh rather than treating them. Figures of the emergency cases received in the past 50 days show that atleast seven cases — broken limbs (3), chest crushed in a road accident (1), heart trouble (2), and poisoning (1) — had been referred to the PGI. The number of emergency cases, which include atleast 50 per cent cases of pregnancies, treated during the period were 940. The SMO of the hospital, Ms Kamla Singh, says every effort is made to treat the emergency cases. Only those cases which require specialised medical system — not available at the hospital — are referred, she claims. Besides, the funeral van services meant to be provided by the authorities are not available. A private social organisation, Aggarwal Sabha started a funeral van service last year. The next is the issue of response time of a police control room vehicle to a distress call. After residents complained about late arrival of the PCR vehicle at the scene of an accident, the SP, Mr Alok Mittal, initiated a number of steps like positioning of the vehicles. But of want of adequate staff is affecting the efficiency of the local police. "Normally the maximum time taken by a PCR vehicle to reach a place of mishap should be less than 15 minutes", he says. The police control room no.100, which is supposed to receive the distress calls, is out of order at present. A resident of Sector 7 today had the taste of it when he tried to complain about illegal felling of a tree owned by HUDA by certain men. After being informed, a police party reached the scene after one hour of being informed. The state of fire services is somewhat satisfactory as there are two fire engines with the local fire station. These are equipped to control fire caused by chemicals or electricity. Mr Sant Lal, who is in charge of the fire station, says there is a proposal to procure a fire engine with a hydraulic platform to reach multi-storey buildings coming up in the township. Meanwhile, the building of
the fire station is being upgraded to house the firemen. |
Ambulance
service non-existent S.A.S. NAGAR, Jan 24 — The residents of the city are at the receiving end as emergency services are virtually non-existent in this satellite town with a population of over one lakh. The biggest problem being faced by the residents is that there is no ambulance service for shifting patients or victims of road accidents to hospitals. In case of such an exigency, the residents have to seek an ambulance from the PGI, the headquarters of the Punjab Red Cross and from other hospitals in Chandigarh. As an ambulance usually takes more than half an hour to reach the city from Chandigarh, the delay on this account often prove fatal, particularly for road accident victims. Mr Darshan Singh, a resident of Phase II, said he had to wait for the ambulance for more than one and a half hours to take his injured school going son to the PGI a month ago. Mrs Shakuntala Devi, another resident, said after the local hospital authorities refused to send their ambulance she had to hire a taxi for shifting her ailing mother-in-law to the Sector 32 hospital. Enquiries revealed that there was only one ambulance vehicle in the Civil Hospital, but that was being used for accompanying the VVIP cavalcades passing through the district or for ferrying patients admitted to the hospital. A few years ago, a Red Cross van had been stationed in the Civil Hospital, but that was withdrawn for it was not hired by residents due to higher charges, sources said. According to Dr Tirath Goyal, Subdivisional Medical Officer, due to pressure of patients in the hospital and that of VIP duties, the ambulance van of the hospital is not used for providing ambulance service to the residents. "We only use our van in case of some bigger accidents," said Dr Goyal, claiming that the van was in an excellent condition. The fire service in the city too, is not an exception. Though there are two fire engines, one water bouzer and one fire jeep and 17 personnel, but the number of vehicles and the staff is not adequate to meet nearly 200 incidents reported in a year from different parts of the city, which has a large concentration of industry in and around it. Moreover, due to the proximity of the city to Chandigarh another peculiar problem is being faced by the staff-starved fire brigade, i.e. pressure of VIP duties on it. " The situation is such that only one of the fire engines practically remains on duty as the other has to be deployed on VIP duty," said one of the officials. Interestingly, in the absence of a fire brigade in the Ropar district, the local fire brigade has to cater to the needs of the whole district. "The condition worsens when one of our vehicles is deployed on the VIP duty and the other is sent to some other part of the district. In that case, we are almost crippled," said another official. What has affected severly the functioning of the fire brigade is staff shortage. Against a sanctioned strength of 52, there are only 17 firemen. " Due to inadequate staff, sometimes, the staff members have to do their duty for more than 12 hours which has an adverse affect on their working," said Mr Balwinder Singh Sidhu, Assistant Divisional Fire Officer. He added that the fire services are affected as the telephone of the fire brigade remains out of order frequently. "We have taken up the case for fitting our vehicles with the latest communication equipment like wireless system with the higher authorities," he claimed. Mr Sidhu said for providing an efficient fire service to the residents at least, a multipurpose fire engine, a rescue van and a small fire engine were required urgently. The absence of an ambulance in the city, the rescue van could double as an ambulance van for evacuating the victims of road accidents. Similarly, the multipurpose fire engine would enable the staff to control all types of fire including chemical fire, and the blaze due to short circuiting, a routine feature in industrial units, he added. The residents could get the funeral van by making a call at phone no 670902 and 101 to the fire brigade office. "The arrangement had been made as there is no one in the municipal corporation office after office hours," said Mr Sidhu, who said that there were two such vans which were sufficient for the needs of residents. At present the functioning of the Police Control Room remains paralysed as it, is facing shortage of vehicles. Against the required strength of four vehicles, there are only two police control room vehicles for the whole city. "Two of our vehicles have been sent for repairs, moreover, we will get more vehicles soon," said Mr B.S.Randhawa, Superintendent of Police. Interestingly, the control
room receives a large number of false phone calls.
"Of the 25 to 30 calls we receive at phone number
100 daily, as many as 10 turn out to false ones,"
said one of the officials. |
College fete
draws big crowd CHANDIGARH, Jan 24 — The concluding day of the two-day annual fete of the Dev Samaj College for Women, Sector 45, saw a huge crowd thronging the venue here today. The crowd danced to "Dil lagayee kuddi Punjab di" by Jasbir Jassi into the evening even as contests continued side by side. The fancy dress competition, in which 40 persons participated, saw "Mahatma Gandhi" with his message of "see no evil, hear no evil, do no evil" walk away with the first prize. The "milk man" came second and the dancing "Daler Mehndi", dressed in red, and complete with a pearl necklace, came third in the 3 to 5 age group. "Vivekananda" with excerpts from his fiery speech at Chicago was first, a "one rupee coin "proclaiming "Nobody can live without money" and "Barbie girl" were second and third, respectively, in the 5 to 8 years’ category. Dr R.P. Bambah, former Vice-Chancellor of Panjab University, and Mrs S. Bambah, were the chief guests. The "healthy baby" was judged on the basis of height, weight, response and facial expressions from among 72 entries. The kite flying contest began at noon on the college premises with 16 persons participating. The garment designing and "Spring Princess" contests were held in the afternoon. The beauty contest had three rounds. Preeti of Dev Samaj College for Women, won the title. A screen artiste, Mrs Savita Bhatti, was the chief guest for this contest. The raffle draw, with its attractive prizes, had no claimants. The winners can collect their prizes from the college within a week’s time on production of the other half of the ticket. The winning numbers are 13795, 5750, 1723, 17408, 2573, 15807 and 12459. The Prizes of all competitions were given away by Home Secretary Anuradha Gupta. The results of the competitions are as follows: Fancy dress show: (3 to 5 years): Sarthak Narula 1, Subeg 2 and Ishtpreet 3; (5 to 8 years): Utkarsh 1, Ashutosh 2 and Sharda Singh 3. Healthy baby: (Upto 1 year): Himanshu and Sahib Qurashi 1 and Mannat 2; (1 to 3 years): Deepankar Raj 1, and Garvita 2. Spring Princess: Preeti 1, Neelu 2 and Harleen 3, all students of Dev Samaj College for Women, Sector 45. Kite Flying: Amit Batra and Manu Devgan (DAV College) 1, and Aman (Christ High School) 2. Garment designing: Lalita
(Government Senior Secondary School-8) 1, Sonia (Dev
Samaj Polytechnic) 2 and Daljit (International
Polytechnic for Women) 3. |
UT residents
alerted CHANDIGARH, Jan 24 — The police today alerted the residents against any untoward incident on the eve of Republic Day and sought their cooperation. The police in a press note requested the public to identify suspects in their areas and those who have recently bought houses or taken them on rent. It urged the people to ring 100 or inform the nearest policeman or get in touch with the control room in case they noticed any suspicious object. All passengers are advised
to check their seats whether any abandoned object has
been left under their seats while travelling in a bus or
a train. |
Prem Chawla
dead CHANDIGARH, Jan 24 — Mrs Prem Chawla, wife of late S.S. Chawla, seniormost Special Correspondent of The Tribune, passed away this afternoon. She was around 65. Her only son, Sanjay, had died a couple of years ago. She is survived by her daughter, daughter-in-law and a grandson. The cremation took place in the evening at the Sector 25 crematorium. A large number of admirers of S.S. Chawla and those who knew her were present. Besides being a senior
citizen, she was a wellknown social activist. |
Educate
people on innovations, scientists urged CHANDIGARH, Jan 24 — Dr Manju Sharma, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, today urged the scientists to provide correct information on the innovations and educate the public about their impact. Delivering the IMTECH foundation day lecture at the IMTECH auditorium in Sector 39 here, Dr Sharma said in the wake of baby boom, emergence of a large number of diseases and pollution, the scientists must concentrate on the "remedy regime". A major proactive conservation and healthy partnership among the research institutions, government agencies, public and the industry was really called for so that the industrial useful enzymes and other products could be generated through the microbial biodiversity. Saying that India had rich microbial diversity, richness of the species and the ecosystems in which the microbes survived, she urged the scientists to make use of these diversities and convert this genetic wealth into economic wealth for the country's welfare. Stressing the need for identification of microbial diversity for the biodegradation processes and other uses, she said they would do miracles in terms of an array of new environmentally safe technologies. Earlier, the Director of the PGI, Dr BK Sharma, in his introductory remarks, appreciated various projects undertaken by IMTECH. Dr Amit Ghosh, while presenting the annual report, said that a patent depository had been created in IMTECH. Of the two promising patents filed, one copyright had been received. Later, Dr VC Vora,
founder-director of IMTECH, gave away prizes to the
employees and their children for excelling in sports
events. |
Extra certificate for students
opting for job courses CHANDIGARH, Jan 24 — Students opting for vocational subjects at undergraduate courses in Panjab University will be given an additional certificate apart from the detailed marksheets. The certificate will be issued under the signatures of the Controller of Examination. A decision in this regard had already been taken by the PU Syndicate. Following persistent demand that students of vocational education should be given separate degrees, the Vice-Chancellor had constituted a committee in this respect. There were divergent
opinions on the issue with the Controller and the
Registrar, saying no separate degrees should be issued.
However, it was decided that students must be given
separate certificates, the language for which would be
approved jointly by the Registrar and the Controller. |
CHANDIGARH, Jan 24 — Two accident victims were admitted to the PGI here today. In the first case, Mr Ram Kewal of Khudda Lahora was knocked down by unknown vehicle. In the second incident, an unidentified person was injured in collision between a motor cycle and a scooter near the Sector 16 Cricket stadium. Theft: Mr P.S. Jaswal of the Department of Laws, Panjab University, in a complaint to the police alleged that a computer, a printer and some stationery had been stolen. A case has been registered. Cheating case: The police has registered a cheating case against three persons — Ashok Kumar, D.D. Mehta and N.D. Sharma — following a complaint by Mr H.S. Mamik. PANCHKULA Assault charge: A jhuggi dweller of Sector 12-A here has alleged that she along with her minor daughters and other family members were illegally detained and beaten up at the Sector 19 police station on last Friday. The victim, Ms Sushila, alleged that she along with her family members and relatives were detained without any complaint against them. She maintained that on approaching the Chief Judicial Magistrate she was released but one of her daughters, was threatened for her mother approaching the court. The victim claims to have sent a telegram to the Superintendent of Police. The police, however, gives a different version of the story. The SP, Mr Alok Mittal,
said the jhuggi dweller had only been called for
questioning to the police station after the owner of a
house near the jhuggi of the woman, told police that he
suspected the involvement of the jhuggi dwellers in a
theft, which took place in his house. |
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Encroachment by anti-encroachment wing THE Directorate of Town and Country Planning, Haryana, which is saddled with the responsibility of curbing encroachments in all urban estates in the State, has itself indulged in encroachment in its own office situated in Chandigarh's Sector 18. The office of the Town and Country Planning Department had a beautiful lawn within the compound of its own building (see photo on top of the page). A few ornamental trees had also grown there. A few weeks ago the trees were felled without seeking the permission of the Chandigarh Administration. And later a massive building was raised on the lawn itself, obviously without the permission of the Administration. Even otherwise, the Administration cannot give permission for raising any building on any lawn or green space under the building byelaws. The new building has sprung up a few yards away from the office of the Director of Town and Country Planning. Has he not taken note of this encroachment? Who has sanctioned the funds for this building? The Enforcement Staff of the Chandigarh Administration swings into action as and when it notices any encroachment, irrespective of the fact whether the building is commercial, residential or religious. Why the Enforcement staff has not taken any action against this encroachment is baffling. Smash hits At a seminar organised by the army authorities at the local Government College for Girls, Sector 11, the most ecstatic persons were young officers for whom it was a dream come true. The fact that they were literally mobbed by the girls didn't seem to bother them, but they made the most of the moment. It would be the only occasion when they didn't tire themselves handing out their telephone numbers whenever a comely lass as much as enquired. What made it doubly sweet was that it was all in the line of duty! As if this was not enough, some of the girls even pleaded with the obliging young officers for autographs, possibly the only occasion they attained near-stardom and the fact that they were in a girls collage was not lost on them. When a scribe asked them about the unabashed attention they were receiving, some of them only smiled. Well, anything for the cause. Although not many girls are opting for a career in the army, yet the amount of knowledge about the forces that the girls possessed greatly impressed the army officers. When a photo journalist underestimated this fact and , seeing the rush and the enthusiasm with which the girls were going through the brochures, ribbed a group of girls with "seems like everybody wants to be a Captain". The girls shot back with "we will start off as Lieutenants", effectively sealing further comments from others present. Left out Residents of Panchkula have voiced their protest for not being involved in "Celebrating Chandigarh: 50 years of the idea". They say that Panchkula and Mohali should not have been ignored as they had been conceived as satellite towns of Chandigarh. Raising the issue, Mr S.K.Nayar of Citizens Welfare Association of Panchkula, says the Member of Parliament from Chandigarh, Mr Satya Pal Jain, invited residents welfare associations of Chandigarh for the celebrations but the invitation was not extended to the residents of Panchkula and Mohali. He has written to Mr Jain and the UT Home Secretary, Ms Anuradha Gupta in this regard. Now chickenpox vaccine! Scientists working in Belgium have found a way of preventing the occurrence of chickenpox, a troublesome disease. Chickenpox is highly infectious and is caused by the varicella zoster virus. It can go beyond causing chickenpox. When the virus affects an individual for the first time, the result is this disease. However, it may remain latent in the body of the infected individual for many years and then cause an extremely painful ailment known as herpes zoster (shingles). Scientists have named the new vaccine Varilrix (varicella). Its single dose is sufficient for children in the age group of one to 12 years. Above the age of 13, two doses are required. The vaccine can be stored at a temperature of plus two degrees celsius to eight degrees celsius for two years. Dr (Mrs) A. B. Desai, a former President of the Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP), says that as in Japan and other developed countries, it should be used in India on a large scale—like the Engerix-B vaccine, which has shown its preventive potential against Hepatitis-B. The medicine has been brought for the first time in the country by Smith Kline Beecham Biologicals. It is easily available at the manufacturers' outlets on a prescription at the approximate rate of Rs 1,400 per dose. Chandigarh and the neighbouring states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir have a constant and good supply of the vaccine. The success rate is about 98 per cent. Mobile vans Mobile exhibition vans developed by the Punjab Energy Development Agency have become popular countrywide. Five such vehicles have already been fabricated and sent to Rajasthan, Assam, Meghalya, Bihar and Arunachal Pradesh. Impressed by its performance in this field, the Union Ministry of Non- conventional Energy Sources has identified PEDA as the nodal agency for fabrication of mobile exhibition vans. Mr Jagjit Puri,Chief Executive, PEDA says that even queries have been received even from Uganda for fabrication of such vans. Various systems and devices such as Solar Photo Volatic (SPV) street lights , SPV water pumps, SPV operated TV, Biomass Gasifier System, SPV battery Charger, Solar water heating system etc are displayed on vans for creating awareness about new and renewable sources of energy. Two such vans have been flagged of for Andaman and Nicobar and Karnataka for creating awareness by PEDA with the active support of the Union Government. Three such vans are being fabricated by PEDA for Tripura , Goa and Nagaland. Double numbers Mr Imran Mirza, a Superintendent of Police in Punjab, in a letter to Sentinel, says that the problem of two separate vehicles carrying the same registration number is nothing new to Chandigarh. "It has happened to me twice. Registration number CH-01M 1001 was allotted to my white Maruti car. The same number was allotted to another vehicle simultaneously. I lodged a complaint in this regard with the Chandigarh Police as well as the Registering Authority of Chandigarh. But none responded to my complaint. These facts were brought to the notice of the Inspector-General of Police, Chandigarh. Even then no action was taken. Similarly, in the second case, registration number CH 01R 7860 was allotted to my car in 1997. Before I could be issued my registration certificate, the number had been allotted to another car, wrote Mr Imran Mirza. Save energy The Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA), merely believes in preaching, if an exhibition by it during the inaugural ceremony of the Oil Conservation Fortnight at S.A.S Nagar last week was any indication. A display board put up by the agency depicting the message, "Save Energy" in English and "Bijli di bachhat karo" in Punjabi in itself belied the essence of the message. Reason, as many as 16 bulbs and the same number of tubes, which were studded on the board remained illuminated for a period of three hours, during which the function was on. Does wasting a good amount of energy in such a manner convey the message to the consumers? Poor cousins The poor financial condition of the Punjab Government gets reflected in the manner in which certain corporations are conducting their affairs. According to employees of the Punjab Backward Class Land Development and Financial Corporation (BACKFINCO) they have so far been denied the matching contribution (allowed in the case of corporations) for the provident fund arrears paid to them on account of revision of pay scales as per recommendation of the Fifth Pay Commission which were accepted by the Punjab Government. Also, instead of paying the statutorily provided 12 per cent interest on the provident fund, the corporation has chosen to invest the employees' PF contributions in savings accounts/fixed deposits on a yearly basis. It could invest the same in public sector bonds fetching interest rates higher than 12 per cent, fixed for PF contributions, to safeguard the interests of employees but it chose not to. The corporation also did not realise that it is essential that employees contributions are placed at the disposal of the Provident Fund Commissioner at the earliest together with its own share equivalent to the employees' contribution. Awareness scheme The Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, have approved proposals from 50 army units under the Western Command, Chandimandir for participation in the National Environmental Awareness Campaign (NEAC). The theme for the NEAC 1998-99 is "Keep our water resources clean" and the year 1999 is celebrated by the Army as the year of the jawan. Thus, these units will
carry our awareness-cum-action-programmes among the
jawans and their families by holding exhibitions,
seminars, workshops, film shows, on surface and sub
surface water pollution, common diseases transmitted to
man through contaminated water, and plantation of fruit
and medicinal plants around the family quarters etc.
These activities will be supported and coordinated by the
Environment Society of India and Officer incharge of the
Eco cell of Western Command, Chandimandir. |
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