Amritsar, November 14
The district health department is reportedly buying medicines at a higher price than these are available to the common man at medicine shops in the city. The Civil Surgeon's office recently bought injections for Hepatitis B at the price of Rs 6,770 per injection.

However, an inquiry in the local market by Amritsar Tribune found that these injections were available to the common man for Rs 4,200-4,500 per injection.

Further, injections for Anti-D, a problem among pregnant women due to different blood groups of the mother and the foetus, was purchased at the price of Rs 3,200.

Chemists in the city were ready to sell the same to a customer for Rs 2,200-2,300.

The office has also recently purchased 127 kits for inserting Copper T (intrauterine device) at Rs 4,990 per kit. However, these kits are readily available in the market for Rs 1,700-1,800.

The department has also purchased "mucus suckers" used on newly born children at a price of Rs 26.60 even when high-end varieties of these are available in the local market at Rs 9 per piece. The government rate contract for "mucus sucker" is merely Rs 6.30.

Highly placed sources in the department said, “The purchase committee for local medicines and equipment is head by the Civil Surgeon himself. It is very unlikely that he is unaware of the gross anomalies.”

The medicines by the Civil Surgeon office are purchased for government hospitals and dispensaries in the district. Sources in the department said sometimes these costly medicines were purchased in smaller qualities of three to four injections so as not to present hefty bills.

The phenomenon of purchasing medicines at more than the market price is not new, as in a recent instance, Government Medical College here had purchased dialysis kits at three times the market price.

While Civil Surgeon Dr Yash Mitra did not reply to the repeated phone calls, Chief Parliamentary Secretary Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu said, “As per the new instructions, the local purchase of medicines has been stopped.”

She said that she would call for records of the purchase made by the department to ascertain the allegations. “If the allegations are found to be true, serious action would be taken,” said Dr Sidhu.

Amritsar, November 14
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, in a judgment, has fined Fortis Escort Hospital and a doctor employed with it Rs 10 lakh.

The hospital had allegedly started the treatment of a patient, Kirandeep Singh, 36, for tuberculosis, on June 23, 2008. However, the CT scan conducted at a private diagnostic centre a day prior had mentioned "ill-defined hypodense lesion adjacent to the ascending aorta and the right atrium, which needs further evaluation".

The family alleged that the doctor Rominder did not make the observation of "ill-defined hypodense lesion" and did not go for CT/MR angiography despite the clear advice given by the radiologist.

The hospital and the doctor went for the Echo and T Test on September 13, 2008, reports of which showed a mass near the patient's heart. Following this, a CECT of the chest was done.

Rupinderjit Kaur, widow of Kirandeep, said, "The evaluation as suggested by the radiologist on June 22, 2008, was finally got done after a lapse of three months on September 13." She alleged that the delay in getting the tests done had proved dear to her husband, as the tumour had grown by the time.

The patient was later shifted to a private hospital in Ludhiana, where he was treated for cancer. The patient later died on December 12, 2010.

In her reply to the forum, Dr Rominder Kaur, stated that there was neither any sign nor any symptom indicative of malignant lesion. She said he had started the treatment for the TB on the basis of the CT Scan and echo shown to him on June 22.

However, the forum on the basis of the records of the hospital said that no such Echo report was mentioned in the treatment history of the patient.

The forum observed, "The opposite party No 2, ie Dr Rominder Kaur, did not act like a prudent medical expert because the cancer could not come to light early and it gave a lot of time to cancer to grow, ultimately resulting in the patient's death."

The forum also did not saw weight in the reports of an expert committee constituted at the district level and of the doctor of the PGI, which stated that the doctor had started treatment on scientific lines.

Legal counsel for the complaint, advocate Sanjay Aggarwal, said the forum said that these two reports were based on the doctor's statement regarding the presence of the echo report. Aggarwal said she could not produce such report or establish that such test was conducted. The forum stated that such a plea was taken by the doctor to save her skin.

The forum has held Rominder Kaur guilty of medical negligence by not going getting further tests done on the patient to know the exact cause of his disease. 

Amritsar, November 14
Residents of 10, Rani ka Bagh, are up in arms against a driver, who is reportedly attached with an SDM-level official, for allegedly demolishing a wall in a private lane in order to replace it with a gate to give an additional entrance to his house in an illegal manner in the posh Rani ka Bagh area here.

The irked residents claimed that the lane was a private one and the move initiated by the accused amounted to criminal trespass. They lodged a complaint with the Civil Lines police who is yet to take any action in this regard.

Ashok Dhawan, an affected person, said that the lane was carved out of the personal property of seven houses located in street number 10. The residents had erected a wall at the end of the street.

Recently, the accused purchased a property adjoining the wall having its main entrance on the other side.

Neeraj Kakkar, another resident, said that without the permission of the residents of the street, he got the wall demolished. The matter went to the local area councillor and the Civil Lines police station. The councillor assured them all help and told the inhabitants of rebuild the wall. However, he alleged that the accused put up an iron gate illegally and threatened to remove the wall for additional entrance to his property.

The residents alleged that last night, the accused along with several musclemen, demolished that wall again and used foul language against residents there. They alleged that the residents called the police, which reached only in the morning, while the accused continued to threaten the people. They alleged that the accused had strong political links.

The families along with the women today visited the Civil Lines police station.

Balwant Singh, additional SHO of the Civil Lines police station while confirming that they had received a complaint against the accused, said the matter was under investigation. He said appropriate action would be taken after the completion of the inquiry. He said both groups had been called to the police station in this connection.

Amritsar, November 14
Navreet Kaur Sekhon, a physically challenged girl from the Rayya area of the district, has secured the 23rd rank in the Punjab Civil Services (PCS) examination in the general category.

She was once refused admission in a primary school due to her disability. However, her academic brilliance and focused study forced heads of various institutes to give her admission in their institutes.

She was only two when she was afflicted with polio. As a result, her left leg got weakened in comparison to her other leg.

Navreet had her early education at Jyoti Model School at her hometown Rayya, about 45 km from here.

The school today felicitated its meritorious student for her remarkable feat. Throughout her schooling, she remained a topper.

Her high score in the matric exam prompted the CBSE-affiliated Shaheed Darshan Singh Pheruman Public School’s principal Dr Iqbal Singh to personally come to her father Piara Singh Sekhon for his daughter's admission. The fond memories are still fresh in her father's memory, who runs a shop, in the same town, which falls on the Amritsar-Jalandhar road.

The school did not charge any admission or other fee from the brilliant student during her two years stay and she passed out her senior secondary in the non-medical category with flying colours. Her photograph adorns the wall of the school among meritorious students.

Later, she did her BTech in electronics and communications from Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Engineering College Fatehgarh Sahib and was offered a teaching job by the administration of the same college. She soon realised that teaching was not a profession of her liking. After a fortnight, she left the job and got admitted in MA (sociology) in Punjabi University, Patiala, and started preparing for the civil services examination simultaneously.

She effortlessly moved into the humanities study and got a gold medal in her postgraduation and also cleared the UGC with JRF, which ensured her a monthly stipend of Rs 18,000.

Her objective is to crack the civil services examination to become an IAS officer and serve the residents of Amritsar.

Her father Piara Singh and mother Balwinder Kaur still remember that they used to carry their daughter to drop and pick her from school. He graduated from Government College, Sathiala, while her mother Balwinder did MA in English from DAV College, Jalandhar. 

Amritsar, November 14
With only a day left for the police department to submit a status report before the Punjab and Haryana High Court in the sensational murder of 10-year-old Gurkirat Singh of Verka, it is yet to make a significant breakthrough in the case.

The police department is likely to seek more time from the High Court to further investigate the case.

Police officials have been going through the tip-offs which it had received in the past investigations carried out by Harjit Singh Brar, ADCP (Crime) and his juniors at that time.

Police Commissioner Jatinder Singh Aulakh had handed over the investigations to ACP (East) Gaurav Garg earlier this month.

Though Garg did not divulge any development in the case, he said they are accepting vital clues in the further course of investigation. “For now, there is no substantial clue in the murder case. But we are hoping to get some important clues during further probe,” said Garg, adding that they would seek more time.

Gurkirat Singh went missing on November 7 last year under mysterious circumstances. He was playing in an open space located just close to his residence. The police filed a missing report and registered a case of kidnapping on November 10 after the family members and area residents held a demonstration and blocked the Amritsar-Batala highway. On November 16, Gurkirat’s body was found dumped in a secluded building located just a few metres away from his residence.

The police remained on their toes while trying to crack the sensational murder. But even after a year, they have failed to make any significant breakthrough.

Major Singh, a relative of the deceased, said, “Police teams visited the crime spot and the victim’s residence a couple of times and the investigations were handed over to a new police official. Thereafter, the police did not bother to inform the family about any development in the case.”

The Punjab Human Rights Organisation (PHRO) had filed a writ petition in the High Court demanding a CBI inquiry into the case. However, the court asked the city police to submit its status report by November 15.

Amritsar, November 14
The Action Committee of some factions of Balmiki community today brought the matter to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal of the land in Ram Tirath area where foundation stone for raising the Bhagwan Valmiki Temple was laid recently.

The land, which they claim, belonged to the Balmiki Mandir Gian Ashram. The delegation handed over the memorandum to the Chief Minister who paid obeisance at the Golden Temple.

The communiqué said the foundation stone was laid on about 11 acres of land which belonged to the Kaler village panchayat. The panchayat has given the land on contract to the Gian Ashram Dera which has reportedly been tilling it for the past 27 years, the said.

The CM along with his Cabinet ministers had laid the foundation stone for raising a Valmiki Temple at Rs 115 crore to mark the Pargat Utsav (birth anniversary) of Bhagwan Valmiki during a state-level function here on October 18.

The district administration, on the other hand, says the panchayat had already passed a resolution to hand over the land to the state government for raising a library and a centre for research on Bhagwan Valmiki, the Ramayana and other religious scriptures. The famous annual Ram Tirath Mela will start with an elaborate puja, especially of the holy pool.

Devotees take holy dip in the sarovar and mingle with each other. Hundreds of kiosks would be set up around the place to sell sweets, toys and other commodities to the visitors.

The Ram Tirath area is believed to be the ancient hermitage of Bhagwan Valmiki where he composed the epic Ramayana and gave shelter to Sita after she was banished from Ayodhya. She gave birth to Luv and Kush here.

Amritsar, November 14
With conducting of physical verification of teachers, buildings and other infrastructure of aided schools, the Government Aided-School Teachers Union's demand for merger with the Education Department has apparently gained credence with the state government.

Three-day verification of 40 aided schools in the district ended today. The final report will be submitted to the Deputy Director Aided Schools tomorrow.

As per the Right to Information (RTI) Act and orders of the apex court, all state governments were to fill the vacant posts by September 2013.

The union leaders argue that about 60 per cent vacancies in the aided schools, which translate into over 5,000 posts, are lying vacant. To fill the same, all these would cost more than Rs 300 crore which would be a huge economic burden on the government. By merging the employees of the government-aided schools, the state government will get 4,300 experienced employees. In case, the government fills posts then they would have to give them at least basic salary of about Rs 10,300.

The state government provides 95 per cent grant in aid while the rest of the 5 per cent is shared by the managing committees of the respective schools. Teachers of these schools have been complaining of being overburdened.

They maintain that the service rules for the employees of aided schools are same as compared to their counterparts in the government schools. They say when it comes to salary, the government-aided school teachers are not being paid on a par with their counterparts.

Hardeep Singh Dhindsa, an aided school teacher, said it was in 1967 that the then Chief Minister Lachchman Singh Gill brought all the private schools under the grant-in-aid system on the Delhi pattern. He said 9,468 posts were sanctioned to 508 schools in the state. He claimed that so far 24 schools have either been closed while others are on the verge of closure.

The district education office specifically checked whether any aided schools were operating public schools from their premises or grant-in-aid teachers are being used for other purposes and how many posts of teachers are lying vacant.