Mohali, November 30
With tattoos and body-piercing becoming a popular trend, especially among the youth these days, Fortis Hospital issued an advisory on the eve of World AIDS Day outlining the precautions one should take to avoid getting HIV/AIDS while getting a tattoo or a body-piercing done.

According to Dr K.M. Kapoor, Senior Consultant & Head, Cosmetic Surgery, the body piercing procedure involved the insertion of jewellery into an opening made in the ear, eyebrow, nose, tongue, navel or other area of the body. Similarly, needles were used to make tattoos on the skin.

Talking about the risks of piercing, Dr Kapoor stated that body piercing was traditionally done without anesthesia. The practitioner pushed a hollow needle through a body part and inserted a piece of jewellery into the hole. Piercing guns were also used but they were difficult to sterilize. Whenever the skin was punctured, there was a possible risk of infection. If the equipment used to do the piercing was not disposable and contaminated with the blood of an infected person, a person could contract a number of serious blood-borne diseases. These include HIV, the virus that causes AIDS- Hepatitis B and C, tetanus and tuberculosis.” 

Dr Dhaliwal suspended

Chandigarh, November 30
The Head of the Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, PGIMER, Prof R.S. Dhaliwal, who was allegedly involved in the purchase of substandard heart valves for patients going in for heart surgeries at the institute since 1994 till 2001 has been suspended.

He was placed under suspension after a high level committee took the decision after the approval of Union Health Ministry. The issue was also taken up at the Institute Body meeting held at New Delhi last month.

The CBI had registered a case under Section 120-B, 420, 467, 468, 471 of the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1998, against Dr Dhaliwal and two of his accomplice in this regard in 2003. He was allegedly involved in hatching conspiracy with two private chemists for purchasing substandard heart valves at much lower rates and them selling them to patients at higher rates. The trio were allegedly sharing the profit.

Dr Amod Gupta, Head of the Ophthalmology Department, has been given the additional charge of the department. TNS

Chandigarh, November 30
Hosts AG Punjab reserved their berth in the final defeating Delhi Audit 2-1 in the All India Inter-Zonal League cum Knockout Indian Audit and Accounts Department (IA&AD) Hockey Tournament at Hockey Stadium, Sector 42, here today.

The other finalist was AG Bihar, which beat AG, Andhra Pradesh, by 1-0.

In the first semifinal, Delhi Audit took the lead in the fifth minute when Jagminder Singh converted a penalty corner into a goal.

The equalizer came through forward Vikram Saini in the 23rd minute. Displaying good stick-work, Vikram dodged the rival's defence line single-handedly to put the ball into the goal post.

At interval, both the teams were at 1-1. After drinks break, both the teams tried their best to take the lead but it was Punjab's Inderjit Singh, who sounded the board in the 49th minute, and helped his team win the match by 2-1.

In the second semi final, AG Bihar beat AG, Andhra Pradesh, by a solitary goal. Bihar's Yakub squandered a beautiful chance in the third minute.

AP too earned as many as seven penalty corners in the first half of the game but missed all the chances.

The sole goal for Bihar was netted in the 41st minute through Xavier Gidh.

AG Punjab will take on AG Bihar in the final match tomorrow at 2.30 pm.

Mohali, November 30
Defeat would have been the last thing on their mind when Punjab players took the field in the first Super League (Elite Group) Group B Ranji Trophy match against Bengal. It was their home turf and the team had the pace attack to rattle the opposition on a seaming and bouncy track.

But, inspired by skipper Sourav Ganguly, rookie medium pacer Ashok Dinda proved to be a revelation and did the demolition job, which his more accomplished rival bowling attack was expected to do to Bengal. Bowling an inspired spell, Dinda claimed five wickets in the second innings, sending the hosts hurtling to an embarrassing defeat with a day to spare.

Punjab would be too keen to prove that the unexpected defeat was not more than an aberration and go all out for a better result as they take the field in their second match against Gujarat at the PCA Stadium tomorrow.

The onus will be on new coach Daljit Singh to ensure that the players come up with a better display. Already depleted due to the absence of regular skipper Dinesh Mongia and Harbhajan Singh, the hosts will also be deprived of the services of key pace bowler VRV Singh. The lanky seamer has been selected for the Indian squad for the Test series in South Africa.

Daljit, however, was not unduly concerned about the absence of VRV Singh. He said though the lanky seamer would be missed, Punjab had enough firepower in the pace bowling department. The team had the seamers to fill in the slot left vacant by VRV. Daljit said the team would rely on the seam attack to unsettle the opposition.

Pace spearhead Gagandeep Singh has been among the most successful seamers on the domestic circuit. He will only be too eager to regain the rhythm and effectiveness which fetched him wickets by the bucketful last year. The fast and bouncy Mohali track will spur him to get him on to settle into the groove early for the benefit of the team. Though Punjab lost the opening match, Gagandeep had a satisfying outing and finished the match with a six-wicket haul. He was supported well by seamer Luv Ablish, who also did well and had a five-wicket match haul.

Punjab were let down by batting, which came a cropper in the previous match. Any further lacklustre performance by batsmen will spell trouble for the team. As he has been doing it for years, Pankaj Dharmani will again have to shoulder the batting responsibility along with Ravneet Ricky, Manish Sharma and Reetinder Sodhi.

Gujarat, who also suffered a setback in their opening match against Rajasthan at Ahmedabad, suffered a jolt as Sidharth Trivedi, their pace spearhead, was ruled out for the match on account of injury. Coach Vijay Patel said in Trivedi’s absence, Akash, Nilesh or Azhar Bilakia could take the new ball.

Batting will be a major concern for the visitors also on the seam-friendly track as the team had the scores of 128 and 142 in the two innings in the first match. Good batting by former India wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel was the lone bright spot for Gujarat in Ahmedabad.

Panchkula, November 30
Flies in Raipur Rani will no longer have their way in buzzing around on poultry feed, with the district administration all set to crack the whip and shut the doors on them. Poultry farm owners in the belt have been asked to "contain the damage" from their farms, failing which the local administration would be compelled to register FIRs against them.

With the fly menace not showing any signs of abating, the district administration has now issued its last and final warning. "We have asked the poultry farm owners to pull up their socks and get cracking. Since they have created the problem, the solution, too, has to come from them. It's not that the fly menace can't be minimised. It has been controlled in the past. It's only a matter of getting our act together," Deputy Commissioner Brijendra Singh said.

While similar warnings have been issued to them in the past, the administration means serious business this time. "We have been lenient in the past and have let them off by issuing directions to keep the flies at bay. However, this time round, we are backing our inspections with punitive action. We have told them to get their house in order before next week when our inspections begin," the Deputy Commissioner said.

At a meeting with the poultry farm owners held in the presence of the Superintendent of Police, they have been issued a 14-point instruction charter to pass the test which begins on December 6 through December 8. This lists out everything from mixing the right amount of medicine in the feed to general hygiene of the farm, its waste disposal plan among others.

The district administration has also constituted six teams headed by its officers which include members of the local panchayats where the poultry farms are located as also members of the Zila Parishad. "The idea is to involve the locals so that they realise we are alive to their problems and are doing our bit to deal with them. All 120 farms of the area will be inspected by the teams during the three-day exercise. Action will be initiated against those blatantly violating the guidelines laid down for fly-free Raipur Rani or showing absolute disregard for instructions in the matter," Mr Brijendra Singh remarked.

However, that's not all to the fly problem. The villagers, too, are in some way responsible for contributing to the multiplication of flies. They have been known to take manure from the farms to spread in the fields. So, while it has enriched the soil, it has also provided the flies a new spreadout breeding ground. They, too, will be subsequently dealt with and asked to resist the temptation to use "fly food" in the fields and contribute their bit to the growing menace.