HEALTH

Artistes to fight female foeticide
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 28
Creative personalities in all disciplines of art and culture are being involved to change the mindset of masses, which is deeply prejudiced against birth of daughters.

This was said by Mr Ramesh Chander Dogra, Health and Family Welfare Minister, Punjab, while inaugurating the play “Treemat” (woman) at Tagore Theatre here today.

Earlier, Mrs Rupan Deol Bajaj, Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department, Punjab, said: “State government’s strategy is purely non-publicist creative input in view of the fact that female foeticide involves deepest human emotions, embedded right in the unconscious mind of the people”. Artists could create immortal items of art and literature on various aspects of female foeticide, she added.

Dr DPS Sandhu, Director, Health and Family Welfare, Punjab said: “Services of top Punjabi poets had already been requisitioned to educate the masses on the theme of protection of the girl-child”. Now, law and literature will go hand-in-hand to uphold the cause of the girl-child in Punjab”, he said. Written by Swarajbir and directed by Neeta Mohindra, the 75-minute play tended to shatter the myth of importance of son-preference in the family. 

Can this drink beat the heat?
Monica Sharma

Chandigarh, March 28
It was in summer of 2002. A ban was imposed on the sale of local ice-creams, milk-shakes and bottles sealed with marbles. The reason behind the issuance of prohibitory orders was not hard to see. The products were being prepared under unhygienic conditions leading to the outbreak of Cholera and other water borne diseases.

Three months later the ban was lifted following a change in the season, but nothing was done to ensure hygienic preparation of the stuff. Today, the vendors are openly selling the same product, prepared under the same conditions, resulting in diarrhoea and other health related problems.

Even though the authorities admit that the milk shakes and ice creams, being sold by at least some of the vendors are sub-standard and can lead to health problems with the onset of summers, nothing has so far been done to check their sales.

Quoting the instructions issued by the Central Government, they say that the Food inspectors should be deployed at places where there is large scale adulteration, but admit that the directions are not being followed.

The result is there for all to see. Go to any market or roundabout in the city and you will see the vendors offering the products. In Sector 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 30 and 38, also outside Kumhar colony and other slums, you can see them pouring the flavoured milk in grimy glasses or forcing adulterated ice cream in the cups.

The authorities have their own justifications to offer. ‘’We are facing an acute shortage of staff,” says a senior health department official. “Throughout the day, we are busy carrying out raids at different locations to ensure that the food stuff is not prepared in unhygienic conditions. All this is in addition to our daily work.”

He adds: “Taking advantage of limited resources, these vendors come out of the slums and colonies where they are residing and offer the adulterated products to hapless residents”. Suggesting a solution, the officer says, “the Estate Office authorities, as well as the Municipal Corporation staff, should be directed to take action against the unlicensed food vendors”.

The next time you stop your vehicle to savour thick shake being sold by a local ice-cream vendor standing along with meandering road cutting through the market, just remember that the product can even cause skin and other contagious diseases.

Deputy Medical Superintendent Government General Hospital, Sector 16, Dr G. Dewan, asserts that adulterated products can lead to gastroenteritis and water borne diseases, besides other epidemics.

He adds that under the Epidemic Diseases Act vast powers are given by the Administration to all executive officers, including HCS and PCS officers putting up in Chandigarh. This is not all. Allopathic doctors, besides sanitary and food inspectors, can destroy any food article exposed to dust and flies. Parents, teachers, NGOs and police should also be involved in the process.

SJOBA rally from today
Our Sports Reporter

Chandigarh, March 28
The two-day 16th SJOBA Thunderbolt Sub- Himalayan Rally-2003 will be flagged off from St John’s High School, Sector 26, at 7 am tomorrow. This year, new stretches of riverbeds, mud-tracks and the Siswan Dam have been incorporated.

Medical teams and fast-intervention vehicles will move all along the route. The total prize money is Rs 1.5 lakh.

Selection trials: The Chandigarh Football Academy (for boys) will conduct selection trials to fill some vacant seats in the academy on April 3 and 4. The final trials will be conducted on April 5 at Sports Complex, Hockey Stadium, Sector-42.

The Department of Sports, UT Administration, in a press note here, today, said the boys born between January 1, 1991 and December 31, 1991 and having a minimum height of 150 cm and weight 35 kg were eligible for the trials. 

ADMINISTRATION

PUDA notices to 63 schools
Tribune News Service

SAS Nagar, March 28
The Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA) has issued resumption notices to 63 schools running from residential and industrial plots in the township. Answering a question by an MLA in the Vidhan Sabha, the Housing and Urban Development Minister, Mr Raghunath Sahai Puri, said land from 21 schools had already been resumed by PUDA for violating the allotment terms and conditions. ‘‘Many of the 21 cases, where land has already been resumed, were pending with the appellant authorities concerned for consideration of appeal and revision petitions and action against the rest of the schools was underway, ’’the minister said.

He said, according to a recent survey held by PUDA in the township, 44 schools were running from residential plots, seven from industrial plots and another 12 were running from land allotted for ‘social houses’. The resumption notices had been issued to all erring institutions, the minister said.

The minister also informed that on a civil writ petition of 1994 filed by the SAS Nagar’s School Association of 21 other schools the Punjab and Haryana High court in its judgement of December 3, 2001, had asked the authorities in UT, Haryana and Punjab to examine the viability and justification of allowing the running of educational institutions, which were duly recognised and which fulfilled the norms laid down by the Education Department. Meanwhile, a period of one year was allowed to such institutions to shift.

While dismissing the special leave petitions of the association, the Supreme Court had, however, observed that the order shall not come in the way of the petitioners seeking time to vacate the premises. The association had requested PUDA to further afford them a period of three years and its request was being considered for appropriate decision in the matter, the minister said.

Lookout for new DSPs starts
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 28
The Chandigarh Administration has sought the names of five senior-most inspectors in the Chandigarh police who will be eligible for promotion as DSP once Mr Asa Nand, DSP,Crime and PCR, retires on March 31.

Initially the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Rajesh Kumar, had forwarded the names of three senior- most inspectors for promotion. The IG's list had the name of Mr Mohan Lal Verma, Mr P.K. Dhawan and Mr Daya Nand.

The Administration has said names of five senior-most inspectors were needed to complete the necessary quorum required to conduct a Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) meeting. The fresh list will now include names of five senior-most inspectors and this will also include Mr Inderjit Singh and Mr Arjun Jaggi.

Interestingly, four other posts of DSPs will fall vacant this year. Mr Baldev Singh, SP(City), retires on July 31, Mr Jagat Mohan on August 31, Mr Umaid Chand on October 31 and Mr Surjit Singh on December 31.

Unaccounted stocks in cloth shop 
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 28
The Income Tax Department here today detected Rs 80 lakh worth of “unaccounted stocks” from the Bansal Textiles in Sector 17 during a survey stretching for more than 12 hours.

The proprietor of the firm has given a written “surrender of Rs 80 lakh to the Income Tax authorities, Income Tax Commissioner, I, Ms Sudha Sharma, told the Tribune here tonight.

A team of six officers led by a Joint Commissioner and assisted by number of subordinates descended on the shop at around 1130 am and continued to investigate records till late in the evening.

The proprietor of the firm finally signed the “surrender letter” for the amount. During the “survey,” the Income Tax officials found alleged discrepancies in the records. The alleged “unaccounted” business volume worth the amount was detected after matching stock and accounts of the firm, Ms Sharma said.

She, however, refused to give details of which products did not match the accounts.

The “survey”, a less stringent way than a raid, was the 16th during the recent period.

Ms Sharma said “surveys” had been continuing for the entire month to pressurise those who might avoid the deposit of the advance tax. In another “survey” during the week, the Income Tax authorities had been able to get a firm “surrender” Rs 1 crore amount.

20 structures demolished
Tribune News Service

SAS Nagar, March 28
Twenty structures were demolished by the anti-encroachment team of the Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA) under the directions of Mr Ranjit Kumar, SDO (Buildings), here today.

While most of the these were jhuggis located in Sector 57 and were vacated by the team before they were razed to the ground, some jhuggis had been emptied before the PUDA team reached the spot. Another five illegally built shops were demolished in the Industrial Area, Phase III, by the team later in the day.