There is generally a huge rush of patients at the Advanced Trauma Centre of the PGI. A file photo

Following her death, an internal probe committee was constituted, which gave a clean chit to the doctors and paramedical staff involved in the case. Following this, an external probe committee was constituted on August 2. The external probe committee included Prof SS Gill, Vice-Chancellor, Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot, as chairman, and Prof MC Misra, chief, JPN Apex Trauma Centre, AIIMS, New Delhi, Dr Rajiv Vadera, Medical Superintendant, GMSH, Sector 16, Prof YK Batra, Department of Anaesthesia, and Dr Vipin Koushal, Department of Hospital Administration, PGI, as members. Anupama’s parents had moved the UT Consumer Forum against the PGI and the CTU a month after her death.

Conclusion of committee

The committee has mentioned that doctors who deposed before it accepted that there was a delay, but it failed to fix responsibility for this ‘delay’.

“The injury of this patient should have raised a high index of suspicion that the patient had sustained a serious injury of the thigh and was likely to develop serious complications. However, the team (which attended on Anupama) decided to stick to its previous waiting list and hence this patient could not be taken for surgery till July 19. This was an error in judgement,” reads the report submitted by the committee to the PGI Director.

“The committee feels that priority should have been rearranged for this patient (Anupama).” It has come up with only 25 recommendations for the PGI.

Doctors' statements vague

While recording their statements before the committee, none of the 11 doctors questioned made it clear as to what was Anupama’s condition between the time when her intital bandaging was done on July 17 and when she was wheeled in for the surgery on July 19.

“The case was handed over to the night team (on July 17) and the implants for the operation theatre (OT) were given and her name was put on the OT list of patients pending for surgery. On July 18 and 19, she was waiting for the surgery and was continued on IV fluids and her name was put on the waiting list,” Dr Kishan R Bhagvat, Department of Orthopaedics, PGI, told the committee.

“On July 18 and 19, the patient was kept on IV fluids while waiting for the surgery. She was taken to the table on July 19 night where she went into hypotension and could not be operated,” Dr RK Kanojia, Department of Orthopaedics, PGI, told the committee.

“She (Anupama) was in a state of shock, which was managed in emergency trauma. Plastic surgery consultation was given and the patient was planned for fracture fixation and debridement under orthopaedics. The patient was reviewed on July 19 and advised for urgent debridement. No further call was given by the orthopaedics department,” Dr Anirudh, Department of Plastic Surgery, deposed before the committee.

Patients with less critical ailments given preference

The schedule of the operation theatre at the PGI revealed that the surgery of the patient with fracture and dislocation of hip was performed on July 19 at 9.15 am and completed at 10 am. The surgery of another patient with vascular injury was performed on July 18 at 11.40 pm.

Anupama’s case for urgent hip disarticulation surgery, which required the amputation of her entire leg from the hip, to stop the spread of gas gangrene was scheduled for July 19 at 12.35 am, two days after she was admitted.

These two patients had relatively lesser urgency and were admitted after Anupama. Yet, they were given preference for surgery over Anupama. While Anupama was admitted on July 17, the other two patients, one admitted on July 18 and the other on July 19, were operated upon on the day they were admitted.

The other two patients were operated upon on the day they were admitted (July 18 and 19). The issue was earlier highlighted in these columns and orthopaedic experts had confirmed that both fracture and dislocation of hip and vascular surgery were not as critical as the spread of gas gangrene, which deserved the highest priority.

No proper communication of staff with family

Anupama kept fasting on doctors' instructions for two days, but was not taken in for surgery. Deposing before the committee, Anupama’s father said, “My daughter kept fasting from the day she was admitted till the day she was operated upon. On July 17, doctors said she would be operated upon. We brought the OT material before 6 am on July 18. All arrangements for the operation were made, but when the doctor came at 10 am on a round, he said Anupama’s surgery would not be performed in the morning and it would be done at night.”

“After that the doctor did not come to see her throughout the day. No clear instructions were given to the patient regarding her treatment. On the morning of July 19, a doctor dressed the wound over the previous dressing without removing the previous bandage. When we intervened, the doctor shouted at us. On July 20, a senior resident doctor opened the bandage and he was shocked to see the wound and immediately asked to change the dressing.”

The external committee, in its 25 recommendations, has mentioned that proper recording of events shall be maintained during the treatment.

Chandigarh, January 24
For 175 students of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 38 (West), rehearsing for the Republic Day function at the Sector 17 Parade Ground today meant dancing barefoot on a damaged concrete floor, littered with pebbles and glass pieces enough to give them injuries.

Their performance, scheduled for Saturday on the occasion of Republic Day, will be held at the same damaged ground.

Even as the students's enthusiasm was keeping them afloat as they were leaving no stone unturned to give an impressive presentation, many students said they stepped on pebbles accidentally while dancing on the floor but chose to ignore it.

A student said on condition of anonymity that the entire cemented floor had developed cracks. Gaps in between joints even had pieces of glass and pebbles. "These could have injured us badly. We keep picking up stones and glass pieces to clear the ground when we come in the morning," said a student.

"Since several dance formations in bhangra and gidda do not allow us to dance with shoes on, we have no option but to dance barefoot," said another student.

An official at the Parade Ground said the condition of the cemented floor was like this for quite some time now. The authorities concerned must ensure smooth track for students and other participants performing here on Republic Day.

Chief Engineer, UT, SK Chaddha said the repair work of Sector 17 did not come under their preview and it was the duty of the muncipal corporation to maintain it.

Chief Engineer of MC SS Bidda was not available for comments.

Chandigarh, January 24
A number of UT police carriers were deployed for shifting furniture, files and other court material to the new District Courts building in Sector 43 from the courts in Sector 17 today. With the new court complex all set to be inaugurated in Sector 43 tomorrow, UT policemen were busy shifting files in police vehicles, otherwise meant for law and order work.

The police vans, meant to be stationed at their respective police stations for law and order work, impounding vehicles and attending crime spots, were seen loading court material all through the day. The task adversely affected working of police stations as the force was busy shifting court records to the new building.

A court official said as per norms, carriers to shift material were provided by the High Court and police vehicles were not meant for this work. However, Swaraj Mazda vehicles from police stations of Sector 17, Mani Majra, Sector 36 and some other police posts were engaged for court shifting work today.

The new District Courts will be inaugurated by the UT Administrator tomorrow in Sector 43 and will be fully operational from January 28. The old building in Sector 17 will be utilised as an administrative block of the High Court.

While there were three tempos sent by the High court, it were UT policemen who were seen engaged in a major part of court shifting, loading almirahs to tables to stands and even chairs.

The new District Courts complex in Sector 43 will house 31 courtrooms with 20 of these operational at present. A court official said there was a proposal to have 55 courtrooms in the building to reduce the pendency of cases. The new building would have the video-conferencing facility, a mediation centre, a separate court for permanent lok adalats. There are separate rooms for public prosecutors of Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana.

The proposal for setting up 55 courts was mooted in 1999 and with the new building operational, the project would soon be a reality, court sources said. At least four Additional District and Sessions Judges and six Judicial Magistrates would join the District Courts, taking the number of operational courts to 30 from the present 20.

With adequate space in the new complex, the new courts would have a separate malkhana to store case properties. Till now, all case properties were stored in malkhanas in 11 police stations of the city. The court would also have a separate room for hearing cases of crimes against children.

Draw of lots
A draw of lots for chambers for advocates will be held on January 28. There are 440 chambers for advocates in the new building while the old building in Sector 17 had 108 chambers. There is adequate parking space in the new building.

Chandigarh, January 24
Thirteen brave persons were honoured during the 21st Godfrey Phillips Bravery Award held here today. Apart from the people who had shown physical bravery, the list also included NGOs and individuals who have been working for social cause.

Showcasing a perfect example of bravery, a 13-year-old boy from a small village in Mansa district of Punjab saved the local bank from being robbed in 2010. The boy, a National Bravery Award winner, displayed exemplary courage to thwart a bank robbery and that too single handedly.

The instance is of February 2010 when Gurjeevan (13) noticed three armed assailants overpowering bank guard Jang Singh and entering Satluj Grameen Bank.

Gurjeevan started pelting stones on them to indulge them while the villagers came to his rescue. The villagers overpowered all the three robbers and got them arrested.

Where there's a will there's a way, the phrase stands true for 37-year-old security guard who was honoured for rescuing a drowning girl, even though he didn't know swimming. Sat Pal, a resident of Jammu, saved a girl from drowning in a canal while hundreds of others were mere mute spectators.

Mukesh Aggarwal, a resident of Karnal, took pains to save a man from being robbed by a group of assailants last year. Mukesh suffered three bullet injuries during his successful attempt to save that man from being robbed.

Rakesh Ranjan was awarded for courageously overpowering a thief and Norbu Panse for rescuing stranded passengers in snow in Lahaul Spiti.

Among awardees under the category 'Mind of Steel' was Dorje Bodh of Himachal Pradesh who along with his wife was awarded for their life's mission to help people in distress. The couple runs a dhaba and for the past 40 years, the couple has been providing shelter and food to tourists and locals trapped in snowfall.

Another recipient of the award under this category was Amit Saroha (27) from Haryana who lost his legs in an accident but not his will to excel in sports and academics. His act of bravery has made it to the books of Olympic Qualifier events with a gold medal he won in Kuala Lumpur.

Harman Sidhu, founder of Chandigarh-based NGO, Arrive Safe, which creates awareness on traffic rules and self regulations among the youth, was also honoured.

Awards under the category for Social Bravery were awarded to Nisha Yadav of Gurgaon, Harbans Singh from Punjab, Dr Rajneesh Pathania of Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC), Shimla, and Doda Welfare Society, an NGO working in Jammu and Kashmir. The Amodini award was won by the Sanskriti Evam Jan Kaliyan Parishad.

Mohali, January 24
Even as the zoning committee today held a meeting in the office of the Municipal Corporation to debate on the property tax issue, Mohali residents staged a protest against the proposed move.

The protest, outside the office of the civic body, was organised by a central body, Citizens Welfare and Development Forum, comprising of 34 welfare organisations of the town. The protesters demanded that the decision of the government to levy property tax in Mohali should be rolled back.

The protestors said levying of tax in the town was totally unjustified. They had already paid development charges and till date all the facilities had not been provided to them.

President of the forum Satvir Singh Dhanoa said taxes were levied to generate revenue but in Mohali it can be generated in many other ways. Large revenue was generated by the authorities by auctioning residential and commercial plots. Moreover, taxes cannot be levied without listening to the residents of the area.

The protesters said they would not allow the government to do injustice and appealled to the other residents to join them in the agitation.

They said the power to levy the property tax had been delegated to the director, local government, and the elected representatives had been sidelined.

A memorandum addressed to the Punjab Chief Minister was alsohanded over to the officials of the civic body by the protesters.

MP Ravneet Singh Bittu and MLA Balbir Singh Sidhu, who had come to attend the meeting of the zoning committee, also took part in the protest.

Sidhu said instead of putting a financial burden on the residents of the town, which was under development, the government should collect revenue generated by the GMADA, which it had earned by purchasing land at low prices and selling it to buyers at exorbitant rates.

At the zoning committee meeting Sidhu had submitted a dissenting note opposing the levying of property tax.

Mohali, January 24
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has directed the Regional Passport Office, Chandigarh, to pay compensation of Rs 10,000 to a resident of Kharar for harassment.

The forum, comprising BS Mehandiratta, president, and HK Ghuman, member, ordered the Regional Passport Seva Kendra, Chandigarh, and the Regional Passport Officer, Chandigarh, to pay the complainant , Ashok Kapoor, Rs 10,000 as compensation for harassment along with the costs of litigation to the tune of Rs 1,000 within one month from the date of receipt of a copy of the order.

The complainant, a resident of Sunny Enclave, Kharar, told the forum that he had applied for a passport under the Tatkal Scheme (file dated March 2, 2012) and deposited Rs 2,500 in this regard.

He said he had to leave for Hong Kong after 15 days. He along with the passport application had attached advance police verification and other necessary documents. The passport authorities had assured him that he will get the passport within 8 to 10 days. However, he received the passport on March 29, 2012, after a period of 27 days.

Owing to the late receipt of the passport, he could not go abroad and suffered heavy financial loss. He had sought compensation of Rs 1 lakh for harassment. The opposite parties in the case also pleaded that the Passport Act, 1967, does not lay down any fixed time limit for the issuance of a passport. The forum found that the delay in the issuance of the passport amounted to deficiency in service on the part of the Passport Seva Kendra and the Regional Passport Officer, for which they must compensate the complainant for harassment.

Chandigarh, January 24
The police had to resort to a mild lathi charge and use water cannon to disperse agitating workers of the BJP, who, while protesting against the statement made by the Union Home Minister, tried to march towards the Congress Bhavan in Sector 35 here today.

A large number of BJP workers, who were led by the state president, Sanjay Tandon, were rounded up for violating a ban on the assembly of more than five persons imposed by the District Magistrate.

Earlier, the party workers gathered at the party head office in Sector 33 and raised slogans against the UPA government. An effigy of the Union Home Minister, Sushil Kumar Shinde, was also burnt.

Sanjay Tandon, along with councillor Satinder Singh, Gurpreet Dhillon, Amit Mishra, Munish Bhasin, Mukesh Sharma, Baldev Sahai and Amit Rana, was rounded up and taken to the Sector 34 police station.

Reacting to the imposition of section 144 around the Congress Bhavan, the leaders of the party said when the Congress had tried to gherao the BJP office, the police or the administration took no action.

Chandigarh, January 24
Applicants are once again at the receiving end as the printer, which is used to print driver's licences at the office of the Registration and Licensing Authority (RLA) in Sector 17, has not been functioning normally.

Officials at the RLA blame the Society for the Promotion of Information and Technology (SPIC), which manages the printers at RLA, for recurring faults in the printer. The printer has to be stopped after every few prints. The fault has not been rectified for the past few days.

The faulty printer has resulted in a huge backlog of documents. Applicants, who applied for registration of vehicles in September, have been given six months time to get their documents.

Ankit, a resident of Sector 37, who applied for a registration certificate (RC) in November, has been given five months time to collect his document. For the past few months, the RLA has been earning the wrath of applicants as SPIC has not been able to rectify the fault in the printer in time.

Sources said in the wake of the cancellation of the auction of the numbers in the CH01 AR series, the pendency of RC would further increase, as other numbers in the series could not be allotted till the auction was held.

Chandigarh, January 24
High drama was witnessed in Sector 19 when a scuffle took place between an ASI and a shopkeeper.

The incident occurred when a constable, Dilbagh Singh, posted at the police station as a driver, went to the market to wash hands. A servant at a nearby shop, who was mopping the floor, objected to the constable washing hands. Soon a scuffle ensued. The ASI, Balram, from the Sector 19 police station, and the shopkeeper, Ashok Goyal, intervened.

The shopkeeper alleged ASI Balram beat him up when he confronted him. The police is investigating the matter.

Panchkula, January 24
First suspected swine flu case was reported today at Panchkula when a resident of Kalka, Nitesh Rattan (32), complained of breathlessness.

The tests for swine flu were conducted at general hospital, Sector 6, Panchkula. Later, the samples were sent to PGI, Chandigarh. Rattan works at the Balaji Temple in Kalka. .—TNS

Mohali, January 24
The police has rounded up a youth of the Nehru Colony, who used to harass a girl on her way to school.

According to the police, parents of the girl complained that a neighbour used to harass their daughter and allegedly pressurised her to strike up friendship with him or else she would face dire consequences. —OC

Chandigarh, January 24
Students, who wish to study in 188 colleges affiliated to Panjab University in Punjab and Chandigarh, will have to furnish Aadhaar card as the Identity Proof at the time of admissions. The document will also be made compulsory for scholarships.

The notification sent by the Punjab government will be tabled before the syndicate in its meeting to be held on January 27 for consideration.

The university has recently received a notification from the government stating that the state has taken the decision to officially recognise Aadhaar cards as the identity proof for the residents of Punjab.Once approved the notification will be sent to the principals of all the PU affiliated colleges who will then consider Aadhaar cards as the compulsory document for availing any benefit.

RS Jhanji, a syndicate member, and principal AS College, Khanna, Ludhiana said “As soon the decision is taken the students will have to furnish Aadhaar cards for admissions and even for availing scholarships.”

“I feel the students after making their Aadhaar cards can utilise it for many other purposes as well,” he said.

Aadhaar is a 12 digit individual identification number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India on behalf of the Government of India. This number will serve as a proof of identity and address anywhere in India.

PU officials said the students would be given time to get their Aadhaar cards made before implementation of the decision. There are different scholarships offered by the university under which each student gets Rs 10,000 annually.

An official said the colleges would be asked to send copies of Aadhaar cards to the university for availing the scholarships. 

Chandigarh, January 24
Panjab University’s plan to introduce Aaadhaar cards as the compulsory document for resident proof will help in checking the students who avail for hostel facility on fake addresses.

On the directions of the Punjab government, the university is planning to make Aadhaar card a compulsory document to avail various benefits. The decision regarding this will be taken in the forthcoming syndicate meeting.

Students from nearby places who are not eligible for the hostel give wrong addresses to avail the hostel facility; however, with the introduction of Aadhaar cards the students will not succeed in conning the authorities.

Dean Student Welfare (DSW) AS Ahluwalia said students willing to have the benefit would be asked to furnish the Aadhaar cards as the identity proof. This will help in nailing the lie of students who sometimes give wrong address to avail the hostel facility.

PU has 16 boys’ and girls’ hostels. However, the available number of seats in hostels fall sort in front of the large number of students every year. The university few years back had decided to deny hostel facility to the students from the tricity and nearby areas following which the students used to furnish wrong addresses to avail the hostel facility. —TNS

Chandigarh, January 24
Major Onkar Singh Phoolka, one of the students from the first batch of Yadavindra Public School, Patiala, had his eyes moist as he recounted his memories of the early years of the school at the re-union meet today.

Major Phoolka said the school came up on Indian soil soon after partition in 1948, it took its allegiance to the famous Aitchison College, Lahore, on whose pattern the school was founded by the old Aitcheson himself and the then ruler of Patiala, Maharaja Yadavindra Singh.

Since Aitchison, Lahore was left in Pakistan after Partition, his vision was to create one such institute here in Punjab and he did rightly so with YPS.

He recalled that although there were just 17 students in the first batch, the school began with over 50 employees. The staff members of the Aitchison College, who came to India after the partition, were hired by the school.

“Maharaja Yadavindra Singh gave more than Rs 1 lakh every month to the school for three years to sustain their finances. Britishers took 50 years to set up the Aitchison College where as YPS’s building, hostel and sports complex were ready within a time span of three years,” said Phoolka.

The re-union meet, organised by the Chandigarh chapter of Aitchison Yadavindrian Old Students Association (AYOSA) on the occasion of birth centenary of Maharaja Yadavindra Singh, celebrated the common legacy of both these institutes. Mohinder Singh, a student from the 1946 batch of the Aitchison, Lahore, said: “the institution focused on building the character of the students. Even with the changing time, these institutes continue to inspire every one of us.

Dr JS Virdi, a student from the1969 batch of YPS, Patiala, said the tradition of discipline, time management and integrity were the major blessing to us. He said, “As students, we sometimes used to hate such regimented life but in later years, we realised how important these things were both for personal and professional success.”

However, many think that traditional values have eroded with time. Former state minister and ex-YPS student, Brij Bhupinder Singh, said: “The problem these days is that the social norms and values have changed. Besides, there is a lot of interference by the parents which was not there during our time. Technology too has made both positive as well as negative changes.”

Senior office bearers of the association, Capt MS Mander and Barinder Singh, said the old students’ association would continue to remind the next generation of the values that the institutions drilled in them.