|
|
|
|
Eye checkup camp opens a Pandora’s Box in ‘addicted’ Narli
Pharmacist transferred
Now, contractual vets join the protest chorus
|
|
|
Zila parishad ads infuriate ETT teachers further
Lack of furniture: Students give exams sitting on dirty mats
Power Theft
Judicial remand for Youth Cong activists
Gang planning to kill NRI busted
|
|
Eye checkup camp opens a Pandora’s Box in ‘addicted’ Narli
Amritsar, September 18 Hospital director and eye specialist Dr Rohit claimed that the startling fact was brought forward during the mandatory Hepatitis-C and HIV tests conducted upon the patients suffering from cataract before conducting the surgery. Civil Surgeon Dr Chandanjit Singh Kondal said he would direct the medical officer of the block to investigate into the claims of the hospital and report it to the health authorities immediately. “This is a serious issue. But we have to verify facts before we start any campaign in the area concerned,” said Dr Kondal. The hospital team, led by its director, organised a follow-up camp at Government Senior Secondary School in this village. The age group of affected patients found with Hepatitis-C ranged from 35 to 70 years which included women. A woman aged 70 years too was found to be affected by the disease. It is pertinent to mention here that the village is infamous for rampant drug addiction due to its proximity with the porous Indo-Pak border. Approximately 30 to 35 per cent of village population and around, especially males, had taken to drugs and 20 per cent of these were using injections, said the village residents. Dr Rohit said they informed the village residents about the alarming situation and its repercussions as it could cause severe liver damage and proved fatal in cases, if left untreated. He urged the state authorities to take urgent notice of the fast spreading virus in this village and around to prevent it from taking epidemic proportions.
|
|
|
Pharmacist transferred Ravi Dhaliwal Tribune News Service
Gurdaspur, September 18 The scandal surfaced when a professor of the local Beant Singh College of engineering blew the whistle when he noticed that Gurvinder Singh - the pharmacist on duty collecting user charges - was not keeping a carbon paper between the receipts he was issuing to patients. His modus operandi was that he used to fill the full amount in the original receipt while a lesser amount used to be filled in the receipt meant as the official record. The pharmacist used to be helped by two pharmacy students, who have now been taken Sources reveal that an amount between Rs 2 lakh and 4 lakh was collected on monthly basis by the hospital as user charges. These charges are levied on patients who pay for indoor fees, X-rays, OPD fees, blood tests and laboratory tests. A hospital employee revealed that nobody knows since when the pharmacist was swindling the user charges. “This may have been going on for months. The authorities should have been more vigilant.” More than 300 people come to the hospital for treatment and pay thousands of rupees as user charges daily. Civil Surgeon Dalip Singh disclosed, “Once the enquiry is completed, we will take strict action against erring employees. Nobody will be spared.” Employees at the hospital are seething with anger as user charges are the main revenue for the hospital. An employee disclosed, “The authorities must take action and get a police case registered against the guilty. We should not be made to suffer for the fault of others.”
|
|
|
Now, contractual vets join the protest chorus
Amritsar, September 18 Disgruntled over the apathetic attitude of the state government, the Punjab State Veterinary Doctors Association (PSVDA), headed by Dr Navdeep Singh Khinda, president of the association, said “It’s been over three years that the SAD has come to power, yet, it has failed to fulfill its promise to regularise them.” “During the Congress regime, when we were on a fast unto death agitation, senior Akali leaders, including the Badal family had visited the site and promised to regularise our jobs as soon as they came to power. But even after three years of the SAD-BJP combine in power, they (Akali leaders) have turned a blind eye towards our genuine demands. Instead, they are busy publishing false statements in the media that veterinary doctors are satisfied with their jobs,” said Dr Khinda. At present, there are as many as 682 veterinary hospitals under the panchayat raj department, while there are only 425 rural veterinary officers working on a contract basis in these hospitals. Dr Gagandeep Singh Dhillon, press secretary of the association, pointed out that the state government appointed approximately 300 doctors about four years ago and the number reached to 425 in the following years. According to a survey conducted by the department in 2009, the number of milch animals is decreasing by 10 percent every year, which is likely to have an adverse impact on milk production in the coming years, said Dr Dhillon. The association president, while detailing, said overall, RVOs were paid Rs 26,000 as salary out of which Rs 5,000 is given to the pharmacist and Rs 2,500 to class four employees as salary. Thus, the doctor receives only have Rs 16,000 to Rs 17,000 as salary per month. “What is more disappointing is that we are not entitled to any increment, CPF, TA/DA or promotions during our service,” said Dr Khinda. The association threatened to gherao the Chief Mininster, Deputy Chief Minister and other ministers of the state cabinet in Chandigarh, if the government fails to call them for talks on the issue within a week. |
|
|
Zila parishad ads infuriate ETT teachers further
Jalandhar, September 18 Talking to The Tribune, Jaswinder Singh Sidhu, president of the union, said all tall claims made by the government and zila parishads through such advertisements are hollow and far from the truth. Big-size display advertisements are being released by zila parishads in the media everyday, terming the agitation of ETT teachers ‘unconstitutional’, who have long been agitating over the issue of transfer of schools to the education department from under the control of the panchayati raj department. “Contrary to the claims made in advertisements, there is no provision of transfers and promotion for teachers employed in schools run by the department of rural development and panchayati raj. There is no provision for the pension fund,” said Sidhu. He said if seen practically, the working conditions of teachers working in schools run by panchayats were entirely different than those of the ones employed in the education department. “Our service rules are silent regarding all these provisions. On the basis of these very rules, we will file civil suits against the Chief Minister, minister of rural development and zila parishads in the respective civil courts in all the districts,” he claimed. He said the motive behind such advertisements was nothing but to vilify the just demands of over 5,500 agitating teachers in the state.
— TNS |
|
Lack of furniture: Students give exams sitting on dirty mats
Hoshiarpur, September 18 In a press release here today, president of the Social Democratic Party of India Jai Gopal Dhiman said he was shocked to see students of 8th, 10th and 10+2 classes of various government high and senior secondary schools sitting on dirty jute mats on the floor while appearing for the semester exams of the PSEB. The parents of these students said they had already paid school fees and other funds of their wards. But due to the lack of furniture in these schools, their children had been forced to sit on dirty jute mats for the exam. It had caused great inconvenience to students and had adversely hit their performance in the examinations. As a result, resentment prevailed among students and their parents. He said instead of making false claims, the SAD-BJP government should first do some concrete work. The District Education Officer (secondary) Kuldip Kaur told The Tribune that there were 415 senior and high schools in the district, in which more than 34,500 students were studying. She claimed almost all the schools had sufficient quantity of furniture. However, more than two dozen schools had shortage of furniture etc., due to which students of these schools were sitting on the floor in the semester examinations. A case had already been sent to the DPI Schools, Punjab, for providing required funds for the purchase of furniture. As soon as funds were available, the required furniture would be purchased. |
|
Powercom team comes under villagers’ ire
Jalandhar, September 18 The team had been to the mohalla following complaints of power thefts by the residents for the past a couple of days. The residents, who had disconnected electricity pillar-meters installed by the Powercom almost a week ago, had allegedly been drawing power by putting kundi connection to the main overhead electricity cable. Eyewitnesses revealed that a group of the villagers, led by Kashmir Singh, allegedly pelted stones at the team. Senior Executive Engineer of the Powercom B.L. Ahir said the team, with police assistance, again visited the site and removed the kundis. A complaint was also lodged against Kashmir Singh and his associates for attacking the government officials while performing their duties. On the complaint of Sukhpal Singh, a case under sections 307, 379, 353, 186, 148 and 149 of the IPC has been registered against Kashmir Singh and nine others at Kartarpur police station. — TNS
|
|
|
Judicial remand for Youth Cong activists
Amritsar, September 18 Earlier, the YC members courted arrest after holding a protest against the SAD-BJP coalition. Holding placards and raising slogans, they assembled at the busy Bhandari Bridge, which hampered traffic flow. Phagwara: On a call given by Punjab Youth Congress president Ravneet Singh Bittu, hundreds of Youth Congress activists, led by District Youth Congress president Jagjit Bittu, held a demonstration and marched towards City Police Station to offer court arrests today. Though the police refused to arrest them, the YC activists submitted a memorandum to Tehsildar Phagwara in the police station. It may be recalled that PYC president had made a call to all YC activists in Punjab to launch an agitation and court arrests in protest against alleged harsh policies of the Badal government, including police lathicharge on peaceful YC activists in Ludhiana on Friday.
|
|
Gang planning to kill NRI busted
Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, September 18 Acting on a tip-off, a police party conducted a raid at a brick kiln and managed to nab five members of the gang. Four members, however, managed to give the police a slip. Talking to The Tribune, DSP, Jalandhar Cantonment, PS Bhandal revealed that the police has also recovered three pistols, ammunition and two cars from them. The suspects have been identified as Swaran, alias Kalu; Sandeep Kumar; Butta Singh, alias Happy; Ajit Singh, alias Sonu and Hardesh Lal. Each of them was involved in almost over five to six criminal cases, the DSP claimed. The gang was also involved in a shooting incident that occurred on the GT Road near Cheharu village on September 1. The police expects certain major disclosures from them.
|
|
14-yr jail term for smuggler
Phagwara: The District and Sessions Court sentenced international narcotics smuggler Harpal Singh to 14-year rigorous imprisonment here today. The Phagwara police nabbed him with 50 kg of heroin, worth Rs 250 crore in the international market, on December 25, 2008. Additional District Session Judge Karnail Singh also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on Harpal Singh. Phagwara City Police SHO Amrik Singh Chahal said Surinder Paul, gang kingpin and accomplice of Harpal, is absconding. He has been declared a proclaimed offender. Harpal belonged to Bajpur in Uttaranchal Surinder Paul was a resident of Rohini, Delhi.
— OC |
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
