Thursday, November 25, 1999
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N E W S Thursday, November 25, 1999 |
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weather spotlighttoday's calendar |
Centre yet
to decide on new PGI Director NEW DELHI, Nov 24 — A decision on the appointment of the next Director of the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, (PGI), Chandigarh, is awaited even as the term of the present Director, Dr B.K.Sharma, expires on November 27. Health Ministry sources said here today that they had not received any names so far for the successor of Dr Sharma. Official sources said that a final decision on the next Director of the PGI, Chandigarh, will be taken only after a meeting of the general body of the institute is called. The meeting will be chaired by the Union Health Minister, Mr N.T. Shanmugam. The Minister’s office said the meeting will be called in due course. They said the general body is empowered to form a search or selection committee after inviting nominations to the Director’s post from all medical institutions. They said a formal notification appointing the Health Minister as the head of the institute has already been sent. According to the procedure, the President of India appoints the Health Minister as the President of the Institute. The Minister in turn, depending on his convenience, is empowered to call a meeting of the general body to take decisions concerning the PGI. The sources said they were unable to confirm whether Dr Sharma would be given an extension as it was the general body meeting which could take such a decision. CHANDIGARH: The meetings of the governing body and the Institute body of the PGI are scheduled to be held in the second week of December, it is learnt. The Director of the Institute, Dr B.K. Sharma, who returned from Delhi today evening said that he had urged the Union Health Minister, Mr N.T. Shanmugham, who is also the president of the Institute, and his Secretary to convene the two meetings at the earliest possible so that appointments to the faculty could be issued by December 15 in accordance with the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The Health Minister had agreed to his request and would try and fix these meetings for December 11 or 12. The governing body is required to approve the selections made to the various posts before appointments are made. The PGI had on November 20 finished the process of interviews for filling 140 vacant posts of professor and Assistant Professor in various departments. Dr Sharma said he had
also asked them to constitute a new committee or convene
a meeting of the old committee to initiate the process
for the appointment of a new Director. |
Seized
property rotting in police stations CHANDIGARH, Nov 24 — An apparent apathy on part of officials and cumbersome procedures have ensured that property worth lakhs seized or recovered by the police has been rotting in various police stations of the city. The property include cars, motorcycles, scooters, trucks, household goods and in certain cases, even jewellery. Most of the household goods are locked up in storerooms, while the vehicles are parked in the open to face the brunt of weather. According to senior officers, it has been more than five to seven years since an auction was held at all stations. While the respective station house officers (SHOs) forward their requests to the Estate Office, the permission to carry out such an exercise is authorised by the District Magistrate, nothing happens after that. Due to the space constraints in various stations, the vehicles and other items have to be stored in the open. For example, a vehicle can be seized in three cases — under Section 25 of the Police Act if it was found abandoned or has been unclaimed, when it is suspected to be a stolen one and is impounded under Section 102 of the CrPC or seized on the suspicion that it has been used in a crime. The procedure to trace the owner is very cumbersome. Even in cases where the police has made sincere efforts, the success rate has been hardly satisfactory. As a result, the vehicles and goods are left to rot and rust for years altogether. The previous auctions were held in te year 1989-90 and after a lot of efforts, some of the goods in certain stations were auctioned in April-May in 1995. The sale proceeds in the last auction exceeded Rs 3 lakh and these were deposited in the state treasury. Officers say that it is mandatory that all such items be auctioned at fixed intervals of three to six months, but this is rarely observed. They said it was sad that these items which could fetch revenue for the administration if auctioned in a good condition, were being allowed to decay in this manner. The items are virtually reduced to junk and fetch rates according to their condition. On the other hand,
owners who have come forward to claim their vehicles
after going through the lengthy process, have alleged
that almost all original parts and accessories have
either been replaced or pilfered. One can imagine the
condition of a car left in the open for the past five
years. The tyres have rotted, window panes have cracked,
paint has flaked off and the engine has rusted. |
Average
response to cops' recruitment drive CHANDIGARH, Nov 24 — The response to the recruitment of constables in the local police, held amid tight security, was average on the first day. Out of the 3,700 candidates expected to appear for the physical test at the Sector 26 police lines here this morning, more than 40 per cent did not turn up. About 150 to 200 candidates were sent back from the venue as they did not reach in time. Persons who were sent back said they had to come from faraway places and hence could not make it on time, These protesters, who sat outside the police lines, said they had been divested of an opportunity to appear before examiners. They demanded that some relaxation should have been given to them. A delegation later presented their side of the story before Mr Ajay Kashyap, SSP, HQ, Chairman of the recruitment committee. He informed members that they had waited for more than one hour for candidates to turn up. Moreover, it was an examination and had to be carried out in a specified timeframe as was the case with all examinations. According to police sources, the physical examination — height and chest measurement — started at 8. 45 am, more than 1.15 hours behind schedule, and was over by 12.30 pm. While height and chest measurements were carried out by 10 teams, each headed by a DSP, the testimonials were checked by teams headed by senior assistants and assistants. The entire process was videotaped and the venue was totally out of bounds for all personnel and the public. As many as 500
candidates made the mark and would take their written
test in the coming days. |
Rail link
project hits another snag CHANDIGARH, Nov 24 — The much awaited Chandigarh-Ludhiana rail link has hit another hurdle. This time it’s a problem of land acquisition in Punjab that is proving to be a stumbling block for the project. The first phase of the project — the laying of a rail line between Chandigarh and Morinda — has been sent for approval to the Railway Board in June, 1999. In Chandigarh the land for the rail line has already been earmarked. This is a 200 feet wide corridor running all through the 7.96 kilometre length of the track in Chandigarh. A sanction to acquire 114 acres of land falling within Chandigarh has been given by the Railway Board on November 8. This land is being offered for Rs 1 lakh per acre whereas the market price could be incalculable if prices of commercial property in Chandigarh are taken into account. It is the stretch of land that falls in Punjab between Chandigarh and Morinda that will create problems. A total of 334 acres are to acquired in Punjab and these will have 37. 76 kilometres of track. Farmers are demanding compensation at market rates that could be anywhere between Rs 10 lakh to Rs 12 lakh per acre depending upon the location of the land. Sources said that Railway authorities have told the Punjab Government that this would be a very high price which in a way will offset the Budget by a few crores. The opinion of the Railways is that such a high price for land acquisition was beyond its means. So far very little land has been acquired for the project that was inaugurated in June this year by the then Railway Minister, Mr Nitish Kumar. Now in turn the railways have asked the cash-starved Punjab Government to acquire the land. This has set into motion a question as to who will pay for the land. The Railways have asked the Punjab Government to expedite the process of land acquisition. A source while pointing out towards a solution said the Railways may even ask the Punjab Government to partially pitch in while disbursing the compensation. Meanwhile, the final location survey from Chandigarh to Morinda has been completed and the final alignment has been arrived at and even pegged to the ground. The rail link will have 12 road underbridges and one road overbridge and will cross irrigation pipes at approximately 100 places en route. The tender papers for
the road underbridges are under preparation. The site for
the S.A.S. Nagar railway station has been finalised in
consultation with the Secretary, Transport, Punjab, who
has been appointed as the nodal officer to deal with the
modalities of the project. |
Expedition marks 25th year of
regiment CHANDIGARH, Nov 24 — A multi-dimensional and multi-purpose expedition is being organised by the 65 Engineer Bridge Regiment to mark its silver jubilee celebrations. The expedition, including 700 km of cycling, 25 km of white water rafting and 40 km of trekking, will continue from November 26 to December 31. It will be flagged off formally from Kharga Stadium, Ambala, by Lieut-Gen G.S. Sihota, 2 Corps Commander, on November 26 at 10 a.m. for Pauri Garhwal en-route Saharanpur, Roorki, Rishikesh, Devparyag and Pauri and will return via Lancedon, Kotudwar, Hardwar, Dehra Dun and Paonta Sahib to Ambala Cantt. The white water rafting will be from Shivpuri to Rishikesh, and trekking from Devparyag to Pauri. The purpose of the expedition is to encourage the youth to join the armed forces and interact with ex-servicemen and war widows to understand their problems and welfare measures. The members of the expedition will create environmental awareness and also study flora and fauna en route. Colonel K. Shankar Rao, Commanding Officer of the regiment, is also participating in the expedition along with other members of the team, which includes 15 officers (two women officers), 15 JCOs and 12 ORs. The regiment has a long history of excellence in adventure and sports activities. Its team scaled Nanda Devi peak, sailed around the world in yacht "Trishna" and participated in the Antarctica expedition. Located somewhere in the Western sector, the regiment will be celebrating its silver jubilee on December 24. It is a well decorated regiment of the Indian Army and has earned one Kirti Chakra, one Shaurya Chakra, five Sena Medals, three Vishist Seva medals, 14 Chief of Army Staff/Air Staff/Naval Staff Commendation Cards and number of other awards. The regiment has taken
part in various internal security duties, including
Punjab, and in peace-keeping mission abroad, besides
taking part in the counter-insurgency operations in Jammu
and Kashmir. Personnel of the unit averted a major
disaster by defusing a huge RDX placed on rail track near
Ambala. |
Case
registered against PUNWIRE SAS NAGAR, Nov 24 — The local police has registered a case against the management of the Punjab Wireless Systems (PUNWIRE) for not depositing the provident fund of the employees with the Provident Fund Commissioner from October, 1998, till date. According to information available, the case has been registered on the basis of a complaint lodged by the Punjab Wireless Systems Employees Union. The employees had complained that the provident fund of the employees, which amounted to over Rs 3 crore, had not been deposited with the Provident Fund Commissioner. Earlier, the Regional
Provident Fund Commissioner had initiated proceedings
under Section 7A of the EPF and MP Act, 1952, against the
management for not depositing the provident fund amount
from October, 1998, to July, 1999.
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"FIR
registered by hiding facts" CHANDIGARH, Nov 24 — Reacting to the registration of an first information report (FIR), Brig G.S Gosal (retd) said that investments were accepted in companies under his directorship and Mr R.K Gupta, the complainant in the FIR, was one of the investors. Because of the recession of 1997-99 and delay in the development of the project, the company could not earn sufficient revenue. Hence, it could not repay its investors as per schedule. The company had apprised all investors of the problem from time to time through letters and meetings. The last meeting was held on November 21 to discuss the repayment proposal on a long-term basis like the ones being put forward by other companies through the Company Law Board and various High Courts. Over the period various investors have been receiving payments. Brig Gosal said Mr R.K Gupta had been paid in small instalments. "We have the vouchers signed by him. He has accepted fresh cheques for the principal amount and the interest due," said a statement issued by the Brigadier. The FIR had been registered by hiding facts and giving false statements, he further alleged. No fraud or cheating had been committed by the company or its Directors, the statement claimed. Just to gain their confidence "I handed over my passport to the investors", he said. The company had sufficient fixed assets to repay it’s investors but did not have liquidity at present, he said. "I stand committed to repay all investors but seek their cooperation. The problem also needs time. I have to see the long-term goals of all investors and creditors, and not just a few," the Brigadier said. "I assure the investors that their money will be repayed over a period of time. But if a few investors put undue pressure things will go from bad to worse, and will be detrimental for everybody," he added . Brig Gosal assured that
the money was 100 per cent safe and would be repaid. |
Clouds
bring down temperature CHANDIGARH, Nov 24 — Daytime temperature today was the lowest for this winter so far. Following a cloud cover, daytime temperature dropped to 23.4°C. This was four degrees less than yesterday’s 27.8°C and also forced city residents to wear pullovers and wind cheaters. Even the minimum temperature, 8.4°C was the least for this season. A similar temperature had been recorded on the morning of November 21 also. Explaining the cloud cover, Director of the local Meteorological Department, Mr S.C. Bhan, said there was a disturbance over Jammu and Kashmir and adjoining Himachal Pradesh. Another disturbance was prominent over Afghanistan and Pakistan. However, no rain was likely to occur due to these systems, he said. Before today, the lowest daytime temperature for the season was 25.8°C recorded on November 19. For three consecutive days after that, the temperature had been 26°C. This rose to 27.8°C yesterday. This was followed by the plunge today. Today’s temperature was in sharp contrast to that in the first week of this month. The daytime temperatures were above 30°C on all the first six days. The highest was 32.4°C on the first day of this month. Data of the local
Meteorological Department indicates that the minimum and
maximum temperatures had been above normal not only in
Chandigarh but in the entire north western region in the
first week of November. |
Dowry
victim alleges police laxity PANCHKULA, Nov 24 — A dowry victim, Baby alias Kiran of Sector 9, alleged here today that the police was showing laxity in arresting the persons named in the FIR which was registered at the Sector 5 police station on November 13 and that they were not entertaining pictures of the items that had to be recovered from her in-laws. Seven persons have been named in the FIR and two of them, her husband and brother-in-law, have been arrested and remanded in judicial custody after being produced in court. Police officials added that investigations in the case were on and that efforts to arrest the two main accused, her in-laws, Sumer Pal and Sumitra Devi, were on. "We have raided their house in Kurukshetra and the two are on the run. However, police parties will carry out raids at other places and arrest them soon," the official said. The recovery of items can be done if the accused are remanded in police custody. Out of the two arrested, her husband, Kuldip Singla, can return whatever belongs to her since her in-laws are evading arrest. The police said the recovery would be made as quickly as possible. The main grouse that Sanjeev, Kiran's brother, has is that the police has been unable to make arrests of the two local persons named in the FIR. "The boy's maternal uncle, Kudda Ram, and his wife, Bimla Devi, are residents of Sector 7 of the town. Though the police has managed to nab the boy, it has shown complete disinterest in taking these two in custody, though they are available at their house," he says. The police justified this, saying incidents of crime in the town had kept them busy. "We are working out strategies to solve incidents of crime which have taken place recently. All personnel are on their toes all day to solve these. Residents of Panchkula are relatives and they are low on priority. The immediate need is to arrest the in-laws and search parties are on the job. Once that is done, we will set our eyes on them," the official said. In her complaint, Baby stated that she got married to Kuldip Singla in 1996 and trouble started brewing within a fortnight of the marriage. She said her in-laws and husband, along with her brother-in law Subhash and his wife Vani Devi, residing in the neighbourhood, started abusing and beating her. She alleged that her
in-laws forced members of her family to part with over Rs
1 lakh for the construction of a shop. Relating the
sequence of events on the last day, she said on October
26, her in-laws prevented her relatives from meeting her
and they were beaten up. She stated that when she tried
to intervene, she was beaten up and locked in the
bathroom. She added that a case for the same had also
been registered with the Kurukshetra police and they had
helped in getting the children from her in-laws. |
Husband,
in-law in custody CHANDIGARH, Nov 24 — The husband and mother-in-law of a 23-year-old compounder, who allegedly committed suicide by hanging herself yesterday, were remanded in judicial custody till December 4 by UT Judicial Magistrate (First Class), Mr Jasbir Singh, after the prosecution asked for the same. The Magistrate also dismissed the applications for releasing accused Ravinder Goel and Pawna Devi on bail. Pronouncing the orders in open court, the Judicial Magistrate observed that in view of the gravity of offences alleged to have been committed by the accused, it was not necessary to release them on bail. The Magistrate, however, directed the Superintendent of Model Jail in Burail village to get Pawna Devi medically examined at the Sector 32 Government Medical College and Hospital here. The two were earlier booked by the Chandigarh police for dowry death and for subjecting a married woman to cruelty under Sections 304-B and 498-A of the Indian Penal Code after Ravinder Goel's wife, Shilpa, hanged herself in her room. Earlier, seeking their
release on bail, defence counsel had stated that the two
were being implicated in the case. Claiming it to be a
case of suicide, counsel had added that the police had
wrongly registered a case of dowry death. |
Inter-sector
meet opens RAMGARH, Nov 24 — The 100-bed hospital catering to personnel of central police organisations of this region will soon be functional near Behlana village near Chandigarh airport and the sanction in this context has been accorded by the Home Ministry. A 30-bed hospital, which is the nucleus of the hospital to come up shortly, is presently functional at the 9 Battalion of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police. This was stated by Mr M.S. Bhurji, Commandant, 9 Battalion, while interacting with mediapersons after the inauguration of the 23rd Inter-Sector First Aid and Ambulance Drill and Wireless and Cryptography Competition here today. The battalion is hosting the meet. He said the hospital would cater to personnel belonging to Border Security Force, Central Industrial Security Force and Central Reserve Police Force, besides the ITBP, posted in the northern region. Commenting on the need for having more separate family accommodation, he said while houses were adequate, stress was being laid on constructing more in places where wards of personnel could have the best of educational and other allied facilities. This was in view of nature of duties which required men and officers to be posted frequently to isolated places. He added that the Industrial Training Centre, being constructed at a cost of Rs 3 crore for the benefit of personnel and their wards, was nearing completion and the session would commence from August 2000. Earlier, Dr S. Prabhakar, Head, Department of Neurology, declared the meet open and exhorted the personnel to follow the glorious traditions of the force. He appreciated their tough working conditions and the sacrifices that the force had made for the motherland while defending the borders. Personnel from seven
sectors — Garhwal, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu I, Jammu
II, Jammu III, Logistics and Communication, Kumaon and
Training Sector — are taking part in the
competition. The winning teams in various categories will
represent the force during the All-India Police Duty Meet
to be held later this year. While 35 personnel will show
their profiency in the first aid and ambulance contests,
84 will vie for top honours in wireless telecommunication
and cryptology competitions. |
Inter-school
competition CHANDIGARH, Nov 24 — On the first day of the 30th All-India inter-state inter school cultural competitions, being organised by the cultural society of DAV Senior Secondary School, Sector 8, at the school premises today morning, the Maharishi Dayanand Memorial Sanskrit Shalokas Recitation Contest was held. The chief guest of the day was Dr Ved Parkash Upadhyaya, Professor, Department of Sanskrit, Panjab University. The chief guest pointed out that Sanskrit was the substratum of all languages, and emphasised that Sanskrit was not only a subject but also a language which consisted of many other subjects like astrology, social sciences, ayurveda, metaphysics, law and other life sciences. The results of the contest are as follows — Isha Sharma, GMSSS, Sector 10 (1); Shruti Kalia, GMSSS, Sector 10 and Mansi, Arvindu Public School, Sector 27 (2); Apli, Major R.N. Kapoor DAV Public school Ambala Cantt (3). Consolation prizes:
Vaibhab, St John High School, Sector 26 (1); Jarnail
Singh, DAV Senior Secondary School, Sector 8 (2). Campfire held LALRU, Nov 24 — As many as 100 students of Bharat Scouts and Guides wing of Kendriya Vidyalaya, Dapper, and Samta Public School, Lalru, jointly held a campfire at Dapper yesterday night. Mr C.L. Bhola, Principal of Kendriya Vidyalaya, Dapper, inaugurated the event by lighting the campfire. In his address, he laid stress on discipline. "Children are the future of the nation and they should be well built," he said. Besides a welcome song, dances, group songs, gidha, bhangra, skits and other cultural items were presented by the students. The skit 'Andher Nagari Chaupat Raja' staged by students of Kendriya Vidyalaya was appreciated by the audience. Teachers, parents of
students and other residents of the surrounding villages
were also present. Mr V.K. Yadav, Incharge of Bharat
Scouts and Guide Wing of the Army Depot, thanked Ms
Neelam Bakshi, Principal of Samta Public School, and the
gathering for joining the students in the campfire on the
occasion of Gurpurb. |
Dharna by
HUDA employees PANCHKULA, Nov 24 —The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the employees of six unions of the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) staged a dharna outside the HUDA office in Sector 6 here today. The office-bearers of the JAC said that they would be forced to intensify their stir if the officers concerned failed to look into their demands and arrive at a decision to implement these in toto. ``We are willing to sit on an indefinite fast, pen-down strike, organise gate rallies and disrupt office work if our demands are not met by December 27. We will take whatever steps are necessary to make ourselves heard by the officers who have till date not responded to any requests and pleas,'' Mr R.K. Nagar, state Chairman of the JAC said. The protesters are demanding change of designation and promotion and have even approached the state Minister, Mr Dheer Pal, for the same but received no response.``We tried to seek time to present our demands and also contribute Rs 2.5 lakh towards the Kargil fund which was collected by the members of the organisation but were turned back and this will certainly not be tolerated,'' he said. The JAC is demanding regularisation of daily wagers, ad hoc and part-timers working with HUDA for the past two years and pension on the government pattern to all employees which is till date being given to Class IV employees only. Also, the committee and employees are resentful of the fact that new service rules have been framed for the employees without consultation with them. ``We have been given a copy of the same and just over a day to give our suggestions. This is not enough time to weigh all the pros and cons of the rules which will come into effect very soon. We should be given more time to consider these or our protest will continue,'' Mr Nagar said. The organisations are also pressing for allotment of flats to employees at Panchkula, Faridabad and Gurgaon which were allotted to them in 1990. Further, the allege that the prices of the flats have been increased three times while the site of allotment had also been changed in certain cases. Also, the protesters have put forth the demand of regularising the employees working full-time on daily wages at the Gymkhana Club in Sector 6 for over six years. The organisations participating in the dharna include HUDA Mechanical Workers Union, HUDA Public Health Employees Union, HUDA Safai Karamchari Union, HUDA Electrical Karamchari Union, HUDA Karamchari Sangathan and HUDA Karamchari Mahasangh. Meanwhile, the agitation
of the Van Vibhag Mazdoor Union entered the third day in
front of the office of the Principal Chief Conservator of
Forests, Sector 6. They are demanding reinstatement of
500 workers of the department whose services had been
terminated after 15 years of service. |
Pattern
of education "needs change" CHANDIGARH, Nov 24 —There is an emergent need to project and study entrepreneurship as an independent subject at various levels of education, particularly in the professional education stream, said Mrs Susheel Gupta, Secretary, Technical Education and Industrial Training, Punjab, in the inaugural address of the seminar on "Entrepreneurship in Education: Challenges and Strategies" at the Technical Teachers Training Institute here today. Mrs Gupta said that the education pattern followed even today was largely on the British pattern. No care was taken about entrepreneurship aspect which was crucial during the changed times. Since jobs in the government and the private sector had gone done with automation, there was a need to re-orient the courses. The past 50 years had seen about three-fourth increase in the population which only left avenues of self-employment as sound alternatives.The process of re-orientation had to start at home. Parents here largely wanted their children to settle in government or private jobs. They should encourage their children to go in for private entrepreneurship, she added. Prof B.S.Rathore in the welcome address said that a separate discipline on entrepreneurship was the need of the hour. There was approximately 4 per cent increase in world trade annually where Indians had big opportunity. Advancement of the country in the fields of information technology, chemistry and agriculture held promises for the young. Prof Rathore said that the whole academic framework and contents needed restructuring. At least 25 industries had been chosen where students could have practical lessons. The institute would serve as the classrooms and the laboratories. Dr S.Krishnamurthy, Principal of the institute, said that exposure to entrepreneurship should be available to students right at the school level. The whole scenario needed attention as education was heading towards 'self-support'. Dr J.S.Saini, coordinator of the seminar, introduced the subjects to be discussed during the seminar. His paper says that two out of five persons in the world live either in China or India. Educational campaigns and subsidised birth control in developing countries had started showing results. The birth rate in poor countries had declined from 42 per 1000 in 1965 to 30 per 1000 in 1990. This still was higher than 13 per 1000 in developed and high income countries. The main issues for the
two-day seminar include 'entrepreneurship and economic
development', 'entrepreneurship and university
education', 'entrepreneurship and technical education'
and 'women and rural entrepreneurship'. |
'Landmines
kill 26,000 every year' CHANDIGARH, Nov 24 — Describing landmines as 'weapon of destruction in slow motion', speakers at a technical workshop on 'Landmines and their ill-effects on human population' said about 26,000 persons were killed every year due to the indiscriminate use of landmines. Claiming the occurrence of a casualty after every 22 minutes, speakers elaborated that though mines received less attention than conventional or nuclear weapons, there were at least 250,000 landmine-disabled people in the world. The victims were not only soldiers, but also civilians, claimed speakers, including Lt-Gen Gurbir Man Singh and Ms Savita Varde Naqvi of the International Committee of Red Cross. The workshop, divided into seven sessions, was organised by the Society for All Round Development (SARD) in collaboration with the Indian Institute for Peace, Disarmament and Environmental Protection. Quoting estimates released by the United Nations, speakers added that 80 to 110 million mines were waiting for a victim and another 100 million were stockpiled and ready for use. They said 5 to 10 million new mines were being produced each year. Elaborating upon the socio-economic impact, Ms Naqvi stated that often the victim was the only bread winner of the family. In cases of injury, the required surgical attention was expensive. Cultivable land became barren, she added. Going into the background, it was stated that over 400 million land mines had been deployed since the beginning of World War II and '6.5 million of these were laid in 15 years since the formulation of the 1980 convention on conventional weapons'. It was also added that though land mines could be purchased for as cheap as $ 3, the cost of removing these was as high as $ 1,000. This robbed the nations of precious resources which otherwise could be invested in sustainable development programmes, speakers asserted. Referring to a report by the UN Secretary General, they stated that $ 33 billion, and nearly 1,100 years, were required to remove all the land mines in the world if the efforts continued at the current rate. Problems faced while
rehabilitating mine victims, the role of the media and
efforts to ban landmines internationally were also
discussed during the seminar. |
Cancer
patients ‘need better care’ CHANDIGARH, Nov 24 — The need to establish palliative care facilities for terminally ill cancer patients and setting up centres for training manpower to provide the same was highlighted by Major Gen R.S. Pannu (retd), President of Global Cancer Concern India, while inaugurating a seven-day palliative care course-cum-workshop here today. Gen Pannu pointed out that nearly 85 per cent of cancer patients in advanced stages experience lot of pain and attendants do not know how to handle the same. Pallliative care was the care which a cancer patient required when curative treatment was not possible. He further disclosed that one centre would be established in each of the four zones of the country. The PGIMER, which has a palliative care centre would shortly be provided with a unit comprising one doctor and one nurse to deal with critical patients during the last stage of the disease. The team will examine these patients in the OPD for four days a week and then follow up the treatment with them at their homes at least twice a week. Hence, all efforts will be directed to give these patients quality of life, when quantity of life cannot be extended any more, he added. He further said that Global Cancer Concern, a voluntary international organisation was, willing to provide partial financial help for creating such facilities in various other institutions which were willing to do so. In his capacity as the President of the Indian unit of GCG, he emphasised that centres should be set up with full honesty and dedication as one had to be answerable to the donors. Talking about his experiences in wars, he said that these patients towards the end were very scared of death, hence their treatment involves three steps — physical through medicines, spiritual and psychological by explaning them the realities of life. While presiding over the function, Dr R.J. Dash, Acting Director of PGI said that the Department of Radiotherapy was one of the best equipped departments providing precision radiation therapy. It was also providing comprehensive cancer care by starting palliative care clinic and training the manpower for patient management. Dr S.C. Sharma, Chairman of the Organising committee of this workshop and Head of the Department of Radiotherapy elaborated that cancer was going to be a major problem in the early part of the next century. “There will be a huge burden of cancer patients both new as well as old and 80 per cent of them will be in the advanced stages’’, he said. While some of them are offered curative therapy, the majority of them need symptom control. He stressed on development of palliative care facilities because it not only controled pain and other associated symptoms, but it also provides psycho-social support to the patients and the family so that the patient could die with dignity and the family had the strength to bear the loss. Dr Sharma pointed out that palliative care facilities were presently at a primitive stage in our country. He focussed on the need to create training centres to train a large number of personnel, including oncologists, oncological nurses and social workers, who would provide this care. He expressed hope that persons trained at these workshops would be geared up to establish comprehensive palliative care facilities for these patients at their own institutions. He also called upon other charitable organisations and NGOs to involve themselves in palliative care because the government or a single agency like GCG could not provide full time assistance. In her introductory address, Dr F.D. Patel mentioned as to how the palliative care differed from anti cancer treatment and the need for it. She informed that as many as 21 doctors and nurses who are actively involved in dealing with cancer patients are being imparted hands-down practical training in all aspects of palliative care during the workshop. The exhaustive training programme will also arrange the interaction of the delegates with the Physiotheraphy Department, so that they learn to massage in the lymphoedema clinic. An interaction of sahayta volunteers has also been organised with some of the resource persons, who are here to train the delegates. Dr Rajagopal, President
of the All-India Palliative Care Association, talked
about pain and pathophysiology about pain. He will
continue with his talk tomorrow. The afternoon session
was marked by a talk by Dr Santosh Chaturvedi from
NIMHANS (National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro
Sciences), Bangalore, of what a patient suffering from
cancer goes through psychology. He also discussed the
steps required for adapting towards the diagnosis of
cancer. |
Allow
voting only by I-card: SAD SAS NAGAR, Nov 24 — In the wake of the elections to the local municipal council due in January next year, the local unit of the Shiromani Akali Dal has urged the Chief Election Commissioner to allow voting strictly on the basis of voters identity cards. The President of the
local Akali jatha circle, Mr Inderjit Singh Waraich, in a
representation to the Election Commission, said the use
of voters identity cards would ensure that no bogus
polling took place. He cited instances of bogus voting
during the last municipal elections which, he said, had
been brought to the notice of the state Election
Commission. |
Trouble
brewing in CTCC CHANDIGARH, Nov 24 — Trouble is brewing in the Chandigarh Territorial Congress Committee over the appointment of Mr Surinder Bhatia as Chairman of the State Election Authority. Mr Sunil Parti, a General Secretary of the CTCC, in a statement said under Article XX of the Constitution of the CTCC, only the Central Election Authority was empowered to constitute the State Election Authority. The Central Election Authority has already appointed Mr Harikesh Bahadur, an ex-MP, Chairman of the State Election Commission for Chandigarh and Mr S.R. Sharma, a freedom fighter, its member. Mr Parti said that the
CTCC office-bearers had faxed a copy of the memorandum to
the All-India Congress Committee Chief, Ms Sonia Gandhi,
to overrule the order issued by the acting President of
the CTCC, Mr Kulbhushan Gupta, appointing Mr Surinder
Bhatia, the Chairman of the State Election Authority. The
CTCC members want that Mr Kulbhushan Gupta be restrained
from constituting subcommittees and issuing such orders.
Mr P.C. Puri and Dr Prabhu Dyal, Presidents of the
District Congress Committees, have also sent similar
memoranda to Ms Sonia Gandhi. |
SNIPPETS ‘Nari Chetna Camp’
inaugurated CHANDIGARH, Nov 24 — The local unit of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Istri Wing) inaugurated the “Nari Chetna Camp” at Sector 44 here today. Mrs Harjinder Kaur, a former Deputy Mayor and Councillor, inaugurated the camp where the centre point of discussion both at morning and afternoon sessions was socio-political awareness among women. Other issue discussed at the camp was eradication of social evils by strictly following Sikh tenets. Various speakers at the camp wanted women to be aware of their legitimate rights. It was also resolved to write to the Prime Minister to remind him of his promise of amending the Motor Vehicles Act so as to exempt Sikh women from wearing helmets while driving or pillion riding two wheelers all over the country. The wing also complemented Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee for giving representation to a Sikh in the Union Cabinet. Those who spoke at the camp were Mrs Harjinder Kaur, Mrs Iqbal Kaur Brar, Mrs Mohinder Kaur, Mrs Gurdeep Kaur, Mrs Raminder Kaur, Mrs Inderpaul Kaur, Mrs Avinash Kaur, Ms Kanwaljit Kaur and Ms Rashmi Sharma. NRI’s gesture CHANDIGARH, Nov 24 — A non-resident Indian (NRI), Mr Gurnam Singh Heer, has made a special donation for setting up a hostel for war widows’ wards at Jalandhar, a press note said today. Mr Gurnam Singh Heer made the donation to Lieut-Gen Surjit Singh Sangra, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Central Command, and Colonel of the Dogra Regiment. It may be recalled that Dogra Regiment has set up this hostel at Jalandhar which has been named after General Kalwant Singh, the first Colonel of the Dogra Regiment. PUDA approach criticised SAS NAGAR, Nov 24 — The Anti-Encroachment and Environment Protection Committee has come down heavily on the Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA) for adopting a lackadaisical approach in dealing with the issue of removal of hedges and fences put up by residents in front of their houses in the town. The issue was raised at a general house meeting of the committee held here yesterday. Mr N.S.Minhas, President of the committee, said the officials were themselves responsible for encouraging the encroachments. The committee announced to support the officer who took the initiative to remove the encroachments. Thief remanded CHANDIGARH, Nov 24 — A LBS Colony resident, accused of running away with a purse from a scooter's basket, was today remanded to judicial custody till December 2 by Judicial Magistrate (First Class), Mr Jasbir Singh. The accused, Ravinder,
was earlier booked by the Chandigarh police for theft
under Section 379 of the Indian Penal Code after city
resident Sunita Gabha expressed suspicion regarding her
purse being lifted from the scooter's basket by the
accused. |
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