& V I C I N I T Y
Monday, December 28, 1998
|
C H A N D I G A R H & V I C I N I T Y |
|
Monday, December 28, 1998 |
| weather n
spotlight today's calendar |
 |
|
|
Get servant screened for
TB, says doctor Pinky
crowned Miss Unique North Film
on Chandigarh a big draw Ghulam
Ali delights audience |
|
Venod
to choose candidates for panchayat poll |
||||||||||
|
Get servant
screened for TB, says doctor CHANDIGARH, Dec 27 — Did you get your maid servant or domestic help screened for TB before employing her ? If not, get her examined before it is late, says Dr Savinder Singh Gandhok, a consultant physician of Industrial Area, Phase II, here. Almost one of three maid servants and domestic helps coming from Colony No 5, Ram Darbar, and Sectors 45,46, 47 and nearby villages are infected with tuberculosis. The disease, in the absence of any preventive and social medicine, is assuming alarming proportions in the union territory. "Since December last year, there has been a 100 per cent increase in frank and clinical tuberculosis cases in these Phase II sectors and areas. Even rarest of tuberculosis of spine cases have been detected in this belt. Compared to 304 cases examined at our hospital in Ram Darbar until December in 1997, the number has already crossed 680 this year," says Dr Gandhok. Ms A, a resident of Ram Darbar and employed as a maid servant in Sector 46, where she looks after an infant for the past two years, is suffering from chest TB. Her X-ray and other tests confirm her infection. Mr B, a cook in a southern sector house, has been suffering from TB. Ms Gayatri Devi, a maid servant in Sector 45-A, is also a positive case of TB. Mr Hakam Singh, an employee in a Sector 17 office, is also in advanced stage of TB. Dr Gandhok says a large number of maid servants, ayahs and domestic helps screened by him in the past some months, nearly 30 per cent of them have been found to be inflicted with this disease. Their employers were either ignorant of their infection or treated the symptoms of the disease — coughing, loss of appetite and pain in the chest, lightly. The disease is spreading fast in the city because of them. In one case, a young boy of an affluent family in Sector 27, has been diagnosed to be suffering from TB. The domestic help, a Gorkha boy, too, is found to be a TB case. Dr Gandhok says before employing a domestic help, the employer must get the servant screened for TB. This condition must be rigorously followed in case the maid servant or domestic help is to look after toddlers or infants. To prevent the disease from assuming an epidemic form, the Administration must step in and provide for free Xray of chest and sputum test for those seeking employment in households, suggests Dr Gandhok. Dr Gandhok produced X-ray reports of a large number of patients who turned up at his hospital to say that in some of the extreme cases, domestic helps and maid servants have been continuing to work even when they start spitting blood. "It is amazing that
this disturbing trend is continuing unnoticed,"
laments Dr Gandhok. |
Pinky
crowned Miss Unique North CHANDIGARH, Dec 27 — A student of computer engineering, Pinky, was crowned Miss Unique North '98 at Tagore Theatre, here today. While Svetlana Sood doing her graduation in fine arts, was declared the first runners up, the charming Mohita was the second runners up. The evening began with an introduction of the 28 short listed candidates to familiarise the judges with contestants and provide an insight into their personalities. This was also the first elimination round after which only 20 of them returned to the stage. Western wear was the theme of the second round. The irresistible numbers had the contestants shaking a leg. The casual wear round had the compere, Mr Pallav Ghosh, putting interesting questions to the participants. The 17 snazzy dressers proved they were smart and confident, each deserving the crown more than the other. Though, initially, only 15 were to make it to this round, a tie among three contestants for the 15th position led the number to 17 in the round. The smiling countenances of the 10 women in breath-taking lehngas and their prompt answers to the judges' queries, in a round steeped in tradition with music to match, sums up the fourth round from which the top five were chosen. The five were asked what would be the one thing they would like to do if given a chance to be the Prime Minister of India. The answers ranged from the enforcement of laws, changing the wasteful process of voting, wiping out corruption to abolishing the policy of reservation what clinched the crown, in Pinky's favour was her idea to inculcate in the people Indian values, beginning with the politicians. A vivacious 16-year-old, the youngest contestant, Ekta Bhatnagar of plus one made quite an impact on judges and audience alike. She managed to reach the third round. While the results were compiled, Jatin Bawa and his group entertained the crowd. Beginning with a dance on "Bichhura", they danced to the tune of "Jalwa". The anchor of the show, Mr Pallav Ghosh, was also the choreographer. With him around, there were no dull moments. The judges were from all walks of life. While Mr Abhijit Chatterjee and Mr Charanjit Ahuja are journalists of repute, Dr (Mrs) Pushpinder Syal is the chairperson of the English department, Panjab University. Other judges were Mrs Veena Gupta, a television script writer, Mrs Indra Varsha, DEO Ropar, Mr Elvin Gomes, a hotelier, Ms Navneet Sandhu and Mrs Preeti Jain. The results of the eight
sub-contests held at various locations in the city in the
past four days are as follows: Miss Unique Hair —
Sonia Sharma; Miss Talented — Payal Chadha; Miss
Unique Eyes — Mohita; Miss Congenial — Pinky;
Miss Catwalk — Ayesha Verma; Miss Photogenic —
Shivani Talwar; Miss Unique Smile — Samiksha; and
Miss Perfect Ten — Ragini. |
Film on
Chandigarh a big draw CHANDIGARH, Dec 27 — The 50th and final show of the documentary film on the city, "Chandigarh— the City Beautiful —" was a big draw at Sukhna Lake here this evening. Braving a rather chilly weather, hundreds watched the much-acclaimed film and participated in the an open contest — "Know your city-—". The 45-minute film takes the spectators into the past, reliving the moments when the idea of making the city was first conceived and later developed into a modern city. Produced and directed by Mr Sunil Babbar, the film presents the basic concept of the biological metaphor of the city in first person and explains the city plan based on human anatomy in a simple manner. Full description about the basic concept, planning, history, culture, architecture, development and tourism of the city is provided in the documentary. Talking to TNS, Mr Babbar said though the major challenge was the public exhibition which was a novel idea, yet unfortunately it turned out to be a risky affair, landing me in financial crunch. "For lack of sponsors I had to manage the first 30 shows of the film on my own", rued Mr Babbar. He claimed that over one lakh persons from the city and surrounding areas and tourists have seen the film and over 12,000 persons participated in the contest. "At times, it was difficult to pull on, but public response kept me going. It was quite encouraging to see the public responding so positively to the film, even during the monsoon and the chilly weather," added Mr Babbar. He said that he wanted to make the film in English to cater to the elite as Chandigarh is the "Mecca of architecture", but due to financial constraints, he could not do it. He urged the government to come forward to project at so that the film got national and international exposure. The Mayor, Mr Kewal Krishan Adiwal, and the creator-director of the Rock Garden, were among key personalities who attended the open show today. As many as five prizes to
the winners of the open contest were given. |
Urdu poet
Kauser dead CHANDIGARH, Dec 27--Mr Mehar Chand Kausar, noted Urdu poet, died at the PGI here today after brief illness. He was 80. Author of famous books like "Aiana", "Ab Tak Yaad Hai", Maujain Sabha" and Kaikasha", the poet is survived by a son and three daughters. Renowned ghazal singers
--Mehndi Hassan and Jagjit Singh-have used his lyrics for
their albums. |
'Balle Balle
'99' on Jan 3 CHANDIGARH, Dec 27--A day-long cultural programme--Balle Balle '99-- will be organised by the Youth Welfare and Cultural Club and Art and Culture Journalists Association at Simbal Majra village, near Kharar, on January 3. According to the president of the association, Mr Jarnail Singh Basota, popular Punjabi singers including Hans Raj Hans, Sardul Sikandar, Mohammad Saddique, Harbhajan Mann, Satwinder Bugga and Jagtar Jagga, enthrall the audience at the programme. Mr Gobind Singh Kanjla,
Youth Services Minister, and Ms Jagir Kaur, Cultural
Affairs Minister, of the Punjab Government would be
guests of honour at the programme. |
1,700 girls
take NET test CHANDIGARH, Dec 27 — Women seem to prefer teaching and research as a career as was evident from the attendance of female candidates at the National Entrance Test (NET) of the University Grants Commission, which was held on the Panjab University campus here today. According to Prof. V.K.Bansal, the coordinator of the test, of a total 2,765 registered candidates, 2201 appeared for the test. Of these 1,700 were girls, which works to 76.8 per cent of the candidates who appeared for the examination. Only 501 candidates were boys. Among those who appeared
in the qualifying test for eligibility for the post of
lecturer and junior research fellowship, as many as six
candidates were blind. |
Trains
fog-bound still CHANDIGARH, Dec 27 — Intense fog continues to the delay the trains coming into the city by several hours. According to railway sources, the New-Delhi-Chandigarh Shatabdi was late by 1½ hours today. The train arrived here at 11.55 a.m. as against the scheduled time of 10.30 a.m. It left at 12.45 p.m. — 25 minutes late. The Himalayan Queen arrived one hour and 20 minutes behind schedule at 11.40 a.m. It, however, left in time — at 5.40 p.m. The Jodhpur Mail from
Bikaner to Kalka arrived here at 9.05 a.m. as against its
scheduled time of 5.30 a.m. |
Ghulam Ali
delights audience CHANDIGARH, Dec 27 — It was in relaxed style and in a silky smooth timbre that a select audience today relished the ghazal concert of Ghulam Ali Khan. The concert, at CSIO Auditorium, Sector 30, was organised by the Square Circle Entertainment, in collaboration with the Star Fan Club. It was with one of his newer ghazals, "sham-e-gham" that Ghulam Ali commenced the evening, in raga puriya kalyan. The melody in the resonant voice of Ghulam Ali was a delightful experience and the passion and pathos of some of the choicest Urdu poetry was savoured by the audience. The modern ghazal, which emerged in the mid-70s, with the rise of the two Pakistani singers Mehdi Hasan and subsequently Ghulam Ali Khan, has been given a distinct form by our very own ghazal king — Jagjit Singh. A ghazal today is not identified by its diction or rhyme but by its smooth tone. And so it was with Ghulam Ali, who created the ambience of a courtesan salon! Of course, the customary "wah, wahs" were missing, but instead came the ever-ready claps and cheers. His rendition of the ever-popular Mirza Ghalib's "Harek baat pe kahte ho ke tu kya hai" was greatly appreciated. The 'saki' ghazal — "Meri subhan maiquade mein, meri shaam maiquade mein", considered the quintessential ghazal by most ghazal-lovers was pleasingly delicate. The audience could be heard humming with him when he sang his popular "nazm", "Yeh baatein joothi hain" and went on to loudly sing with him his "Yeh dil yeh pagal dil mera", from his highly celebrated ghazal, "awaargi". But it was "Chupke-chupke", which had become the anthem for most 'dejected' lovers of Hindi film 'Nikaah', Ghulam Ali's "Hungama" also produced a 'hungama' of sorts in the auditorium. Without the screeching and
rowdy bands of the 'next-generation' music, today's
concert was like honey to the ears. Amjad Choudhary on
the tabla, Matlood Hussain on the sitar and A. Khan on
the dilruba, embellished the cold evening. |
Venod to choose candidates for
panchayat poll CHANDIGARH, Dec 27— The Chandigarh Territorial Congress Committee(CTCC) has decided to contest the UT panchayat elections scheduled to be held on January 16 on the party ticket. This decision was taken at a meeting of the newly elected executive of the CTCC here today. The executive authorised the party President, Mr Venod Sharma, to choose the candidates for the posts of sarpanches, party spokesman, Mr Sunil Parti said. The meeting also decided to stage a dharna at the railway station on December 29 in protest against the late arrival of trains, including the Shatabdi. Mr Sharma will lead the dharna to be organised between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. The meeting asked the District Congress Committee(Rural) to launch a mass contact programme in the villages from tomorrow. Two additional
spokespersons — Mr Gurbachan Singh and Mr Subhash
Chawla — were appointed at the meeting. |
Malaviya
remembered CHANDIGARH, Dec 27 — The birth anniversary of Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya was celebrated by the local Shree Seva Samiti in Sector 37-D, here today. Addressing the gathering, Mr Pawan Bansal, a former MP, who was the chief guest, remembered the services of Pandit Malaviya to the country. A kirtan and langar were
organised on the occasion. |
| calling |
IN the wake of the internal wranglings in the local unit of the BJP, the achievements of the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh (MCC) seem to have been politicised. This was more than evident at the last press conference of the former Mayor, Mr Gian Chand Gupta, on December 21. A seven-page handout listing the achievements of the MCC, a majority of which had been highlighted in the Press many a time, during the tenure of Mr Gupta contained almost every achievement of the civic body in 1998 except a major one--grant of deputation status to the staff transferred by the Chandigarh Administration to the corporation by the Union Government. Corporation officials and Mr Gupta would have us believe that this was an oversight but grapevine has it that this major achievement was not given the publicity it deserved because the bete noire of Mr Gupta and the local MP, Mr Satya Pal Jain, had claimed credit for this achievement. Well, that is no way to block information that affects thousands of employees and general public. Two-in-one Although the Haryana Government has constituted a committee to suggest measures for effecting economy in government spending, the Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam (HVPN), one of the wings of the erstwhile Haryana State Electricity Board (HSEB); appears to working in the opposite direction. The officials of the HVPN got printed two separate coloured brochures — one for the inauguration of the first phase of a housing complex and second for the foundation stone laying ceremony of the second phase of the housing colony for the employees by the Chief Minister at Panchkula on Tuesday at the same venue. Best dog trainer Mr Shiv Kaushal, a dog trainer, has brought glory to the city by being adjudged as best dog trainer six times in different dog shows at regional and national level. Mr Kaushal, a resident of Manimajra Housing Complex, created a record of sorts when he cornered as many as 25 prizes, including that of best trainer and handler in the Twin National Open Obedience and Breed Championship Dog Show organised by the Bharat Kennel Club at Delhi last month. He had also been adjudged best trainer in another dog show organised at Delhi last month by the Federation of Kennel Club of India and still another dog show here, which was organised by the Chandigarh Kennel Club in February this year. According to Mr Kaushal, what had led him to take to canine training was the unflinching loyalty displayed by dogs towards mankind. The quality is rarely found in man as far as his fellow beings are concerned, he added. Mr Kaushal said irrespective of breed, every dog, even 'desi', ones could be trained for performing different obedience feats. Long search for barbs When hedges were grown on Madhya Marg in front of the vegetable market, these were well protected with barbed wire. The wire has now come off and is lying scattered on the road. Nobody knows how many flat tyres it has caused. Since the traffic is heavy on this stretch, many drivers are caught unawares and have to pay for this mistake. Perhaps the Administration is awaiting the report of some committee to find out who is responsible for picking up the wire. Traffic trauma Several months have passed since the system of allowing the through traffic and the right-turning traffic simultaneously was introduced in the city. And yet, it is yet to be made applicable everywhere. As a result, you find one system in force at one traffic light and another at the next. The result is utter confusion for the drivers, at least those who are new to the city. Traffic cops add to the woes of the commuters. They challan not only those who happen to cross the traffic junction after the light has gone red but even those who continue to move after the light had turned amber. The entreaties that there was no way that the driver could have stopped when the light went from green to amber fall on deaf ears. And the offence mentioned in the challan book is "crossed at red light". As a victim said in a letter to The Tribune, when he pleaded that it should be clearly mentioned that he happened to cross the junction on amber light, the traffic policeman admonished him saying that such things could be mentioned in "sarkari" documents. Will senior police officers clarify the position. For kitchen garden It is good news for kitchen gardeners. National Fertilizer Limited (NFL), the largest producer of nitrogenous fertilisers in this region , has started a training centre and mobile kitchen gardening services in the city. At a function on the occasion, minikits of seeds, seedlings and fertilisers to women kitchen gardeners were distributed free of cost. A mobile van has also been pressed into service for catering to local kitchen gardeners. The centre will also provide technical knowhow to kitchen garden growers in the areas of hybrid varieties of vegetables fruits and ornamental flowers. Unique Mr Ramesh Capoor, an Audit Officer in the Punjab Accountant-General (Audit) office here, has a unique distinction. His car, moped, scooter, motor cycle, bank account, LPG consumer, driving licence and Club membership has one thing in common, the number. And the number he has successfully managed for an entry in Limca Book of Records is 3334. Even the last four of his telephone number are 3334. Incidentally, he lives in H. No. 3334, Sector 23-D here. Mr Capoor hopes to get into the Guinness Book of World Records one day. Anthology "Dahan", an anthology of Hindi poems by Prof Mohinder Partap, has been chosen for the best literary award by the Haryana Sahitya Akademi for 1997-98. This is his third anthology of poems. His earlier works were "Sphuling" and "Dhwant". Professor Pratap, a teacher by profession, is an intellectual and visionary. Irony and satire are the basic traits of his poetry. His poems have the amalgam of feeling, intellect and soul besides a distinct style and diction. Greeting cards Come December and it is time for the new year greeting cards. Most of the stationers, card shops, grocers and even pavement sellers display these colourful cards as buntings for sale. The corporate, however, prefer to go in for the cards brought out by Unicef, CRY, WWF and other voluntary organisations supporting one cause or another. This year, Haryana State Industrial Dev Corporation has come out with an innovative card to promote their prestigious industrial model township at Manesar (Gurgaon) and greet their clients as well. A multicoloured card printed aesthetically on imported art paper has a colourful layout of the sprawling township on the cover along with a message "A New Year gift from HSIDC to industry". Instead of the usual 'Season's Greetings', the inside page carries a nicely worded quartet in verse. The cards are being mailed to the captains of industry in the country and also to important foreign diplomatic missions in India to attract investment in IMT which is billed as an industrial town with truly international standard infrastructure — the first of its kind in India. A novel way of marketing indeed. On the other hand, the
Children's Alliance for Protection of the Environment
(CAPE) has come up with aesthetically designed cards
featuring the unique and enigmatic wood's cycad and a
painting showing two children on the swing.
|
 |
 |
| Nation
| Punjab | Haryana | Himachal Pradesh | Jammu & Kashmir | | Editorial | | Business | Sport | | Mailbag | Spotlight | World | 50 years of Independence | Weather | | Search | Subscribe | Archive | Suggestion | Home | E-mail | |
