Breast Cancer Control: A ride to support a cause

Ladies of the Inner Wheel Club, Batala, planned a scooter rally to create awareness on breast cancer. October is also known globally as the ‘Breast Cancer Control Month.’ Hence, it was in the fitness of things for them to have organised such a venture. When Dr Satinder Kaur Nijjar, district vice-chairperson of the Inner Wheel Club (Midtown) 307, learnt that her senior and district chairperson Guninder Kaur would be visiting the city, she thought it prudent to take out a scooter rally with a powerful social message. In that way, she thought, she would not only be welcoming her superior but would also be educating locals on how to nip in the bud breast cancer in its earlier stages. The rally was taken out in the main streets of the city. There were no stoppages midway. Obviously, Dr Nijjar was not oblivious to the fact that If you want to get somewhere before sundown, you cannot stop at every tavern. As simple as that! “Breast cancer is all about focusing on the fight, not on the fright. This is the first thing I tell women who come to me for treatment. The very thought of having breast cancer is frightening to every woman and devastating for some. Ignoring the possibility that you may get this type of cancer, or avoiding the things you should do to detect the disease, can be even more dangerous. I always tell patients to face the disease with courage. Courage does not always roar. Sometimes it is the little voice at the back of your head that says, “I will try again.” The most important thing in an illness is never to lose heart,” she said.

Seminar invokes Kamla Bhasin — an activist

Barring Union Christian College, Batala, organised a series of lectures on the topic ‘Discourse on Feminist Epistemologies.’ For the uninitiated Epistemology is the branch of philosophy dealing with knowledge. Epistemologists study the nature, origin and scope of knowledge. It is considered to be a major subfield of philosophy. The lecture was organized jointly by the Department of Sociology and Research Committee on Gender Studies, Indian Sociological Society, New Delhi. Dr Rajni Bala, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology, acted as the coordinator cum convener of the lecture series. She informed the audience that the series was dedicated to female activist and social scientist Kamla Bhasin. The lectures were well appreciated by experts working in the field on gender studies. Because the lectures generated a good response the organisers have decided to hold more such ventures. The Principal of the College Prof Edward Masih was also present.

Tale of a trapped leopard

The other day, residents of Pathankot and its adjoining towns were in the grip of a fear psychosis. Reason: An eight-feet long fully grown leopard was spotted by villagers in Dorang Koti village located in the sub-mountainous Dhar block. Officials of two forest divisions-Pathankot and Phillaur- had to be called in. After a 10-hour long operation, they managed to capture the cat before reviving and subsequently releasing the animal in its natural habitat. The leopard had got trapped in that very wire meshing which had been put up by farmers of Dorang Koti village of Dhar block to keep animals away. Officials say the threat of the sturdy cat moving towards heavily inhabited areas, including Pathankot, which is 22 km away, was indeed real. Pathankot Divisional Wildlife Officer (DFO) Rajesh Mahajan led the operation. He had to requisition a special team from the DFO, Phillaur, which came with cages, a tranquilizing gun, darts, laser rangefinder, nets, cameras and searchlights. Two veterinary doctors, too, were a part of the team. The laser range finder, which uses a light beam to determine the exact distance to an object, was used extensively to trace the exact whereabouts. “It was after several hours trying that we got the better of the animal. Four tranquiliser darts were fired out of which three hit the target. We then brought it to a shed of the Badhani civil hospital where we revived it using injections. Later at night, after taking permission from Dr R.K Mishra, Chief Wildlife Warden, Punjab, the wildcat was released in a dense forest area. — Ravi Dhaliwal