ESIC helps heart patient
By Pradeep Sharma
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Oct 13 — It is virtually a second birth for Mr Om Parkash Verma, a heart patient and an employee of a private firm at Parwanoo. Thanks to the monetary help amounting to Rs 1.45 lakh, extended by the regional office of the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) here, he is back to work after a major heart surgery at a Delhi hospital recently.

The monetary help to Mr Verma, a heart patient since 1994, was provided under a special scheme of the ESIC launched with a view to avoid delay in the super-speciality treatment of the workers covered under the ESIC scheme where the expenditure was in lakhs of rupees.

Talking to TNS here, Mr Verma informed that his treatment at the PGI started in 1994 when he experienced acute pain in his chest in August. Since then, he had been undergoing treatment at the PGI regularly and had spent an amount of over Rs 93,000 on the tests and medicines.

He somehow managed the cost of his treatment since he did not have to spend this amount in one go and his employers were prompt in paying the medical reimbursement bills. But the mere thought of huge expenditure on the treatment gave him many a sleepless night when the PGI, apparently alarmed at his deteriorating condition, referred him to the heart centre of Batra Hospital in New Delhi in June this year.

As if this was not enough, the 48-year-old Mr Verma was in for the shock of his life when he was handed down an estimate of Rs 1.45 lakh for his treatment by the Batra Hospital authorities. He had almost given up hope though his friends and relatives promised him help .

It was a this moment that he was informed of the special scheme of the ESIC by a fellow worker at Parwanoo following which he applied to the Director of Health Services (DHS), Himachal Pradesh, to avail of the benefits of the scheme. The DHS, in turn, forwarded his case to the regional office of the ESIC here which deposited the necessary amount in a fortnight's time.

It took a team of doctors led by Dr Rajiv Bajaj three hours to perform the surgery on July 5. Mr Verma joined his duty on July 21.

A visibly moved Mr Verma said the ESIC had proved a second god for him. But for the help from the ESIC it would have been impossible to bear the huge expenditure on the treatment, he added.

The Regional Director of the ESIC, Mr BC Bhardwaj, informed that apart from Rs 1.45 lakh the ESIC paid half of the actual wages to Mr Verma during the time he was admitted to the hospital so that his family did not have to suffer.

He said he had taken up the matter with the state governments of Punjab and Himachal to give their consent to the ESIC to deposit the amount straight with the hospital concerned. When the consent is obtained, the ESIC will process the applications in two days, he added.

Village cries for basic amenities
From Our Correspondent

DHARALI (SAS Nagar), Oct 13 — Poor roads and lack of other basic amenities mark the problems of the villagers on the periphery of Chandigarh.

A visit to this village, 7 km from SAS Nagar, reveals its poor condition. Villagers complain that the link road has not been repaired for the past three years. Mr Nirmal Singh, a local resident, said that numerous complaints to the authorities had no effect.

Neglect has caused potholes in the entire stretch of the link road which has become accident-prone. Accidents on the narrow roads had become a routine affair, says another villager.

The problems of the villagers are compounded because of the absence of a state bus service. Mr Piara Singh (72), who was waiting for a bus, said that one had to wait for about two hours to catch a bus. The area is served by a few private buses which often miss their trips.

Residents demand that the authorities should run state transport buses for the convenience of the residents. Also the village is not suitably connected with SAS Nagar or Chandigarh.

In an emergency, patients are often taken to hospital in tractor-trailers as no other means of transportation is available to them, residents say. Poor telecom facilities are also a handicap in tackling any emergencies. Residents complain that telephones in the village generally remain out of order.

Poor electricity supply and drainage are other problems of the villagers. The authorities remain silent on the villagers' woes despite complaints, according to a panch.

School near cremation ground
From Our Correspondent

SANGALA (Kharar), Oct 13 — The presence of a cremation ground close to Government Primary School in Sangala village has added to the problems of the students and teachers.

They have been for several years watching cremations at this cremation ground that lies about 100 m from the school.

A teacher of the school, while narrating their woes, lamented, "Smoke rising from the pyres creates an atmosphere of gloom. Ash flies from there into the class rooms and makes it difficult for us to continue school work".

The open space near the cremation ground is used as a dumping ground for the remains of dead animals. Students have often found animals bones in the school's verandah. The stink of rotten animal flesh makes it difficult for them to sit there.

The teachers demand the school to be shifted from the present site. A panch of the village said that shortage funds was the main reason for the poor maintenance of the school building.

Housed in two rooms, the school has 51 students on its rolls. The teaching work is mainly carried out in the verandah since the building has no electricity and the rooms also need urgent repairs. They leak profusely during the rainy season. Students have to sit on bare and dusty floor where two teachers take care of five classes.

The teachers have demanded construction of a boundary wall for the school. Students often rush to the adjoining road while playing and this can result in a serious accident. Another problem arising from the absence of wall around the school is that its backyard is used by the villagers for defecating.