HEALTH

Conference to assess anti-AIDS drive
Tribune News Service

PANCHKULAFeb 15 — Addressing civil surgeons and district health officers from all over Haryana, the Director-General of Health Services-cum-Project Director, Dr P.L. Jindal, said that there was an urgent need to check the spread of AIDS before it entered the epidemic level. He was speaking at the quarterly conference on AIDS held here today to access the progress and boost the World Bank-aided project for checking its spread.

He said that the service delivery and availability of facilities as regards provision of safe blood and STD control clinics needed to be geared up and all 19 districts needed to be covered by one STD clinic and one blood testing centre. He added that the high risk groups which included commercial sex workers, truckers, migrant labourers and street children were the main targets under the long-term interventions programmes which were being funded under the project.

Close monitoring of these would be taken up at all levels and impact assessment of these interventions would be done by other agencies within and outside the programme, Dr Jindal stated.

He also stressed the need to involve non-government organisations extensively in the school AIDS education programme which would cover all government and private schools of the state. The primary objective of this exercise would be to educate students of classes IX to XI on sexually transmitted diseases and it was scheduled to be completed by the year 2004 while 20 per cent schools were likely to be covered each year.

Dr H.C. Nagpal, Civil Surgeon, Panchkula, pointed out at the conference that a sustained and systematic approach needed to be followed in executing the programme in schools. ''At the moment we are conveying a very wrong message. There is need to tackle the problem in totality and base our reasoning on ethics and morality, besides enlightening the students on the disease. An in-depth study by the programme officers and disseminating the information through a gradual process to the students was an essential part of the exercise,'' Dr Nagpal stated. He further added that the project and its officers had not yet reached the interiors of the state where it was a burning issue.

Speaking on surveillance which was an important monitoring tool for the programme, Dr G.P. Saluja, Additional Project Director, said that it should be taken up very seriously because targets for the STD and anti-natal clinics' sites had to be achieved. He informed that two new sentinel sites were being opened up at Bhiwani for STD cases and at Hisar for anti-natal cases.

Steps had been initiated to open three new government blood banks at Dabwali, Jhajjar and Fatehabad. This was stated by Dr Aditya Chaudhari, Deputy Director (Blood Safety), at the conference where he further informed that more funds and staff were being provided to blood banks in the state to promote safe blood initiative.

The NGO Adviser, Dr Rajni Lamba, said that phone-in radio talks and extensive coverage of festivals for spreading the message would be taken up to ensure that it reaches every nook and corner. She also spoke on the strategy being adopted by the organisations to improve awareness among the rural and urban masses.

The Finance Controller of the Haryana AIDS Control Society, Mr M.L. Virmani, cautioned officers on the correct procedure for utilisation of funds. The Coordinator for the Reproductive Child Health Programme, Dr B.K. Prinja, gave details of components of the programme.

Earlier, the Financial Commissioner, Mr G. Madhevan, in his inaugural speech, said that the AIDS programme efforts during the first phase had met with partial success and activities under the programme should be carried out so as to involve the community and make considerable impact.

A project for needy, disabled
From Our Correspondent

PANCHKULA, Feb 15 — Reaching out to others and keeping hopes alive— the theme of the Nav Jeevan Project, introduced by the Inner Wheel District 308, was remembered by its members at a press conference, organised by the group in Sector 6 here today.

Highlighting the salient features of the project, the District Chairman of the International Inner Wheel (IIW), Ms Pushpa Khanna, said the objective of the project was to help the disabled towards self-reliance for a better life. The project, which was launched about a year ago, has today many successful achievements to its credit, she said.

The drive undertaken by the group provides not only artificial limbs but also physio-therapy and surgery facilities to the handicapped,free of cost, said Ms Veena Monga, Project Chairman of the Nav Jeevan.

The help in artificial limbs, calibers, wheel chairs etc is jointly done by the group and the Saket Council, Haryana. Ms Veena Monga said the group has followed a scientific approach from identification assessment procedures to trial surgery camps and fitting- distribution camps.

The first camp at Ponta which examined 90 patients, out of which 48 patients, assessed as beneficiaries for artificial appliances, are today leading a normal life. In another camp held recently, 33 patients benefited with artificial aids and equipment at the camp.

The group, which is funded by charitable donations from individuals and trusts, will organise a similar camp on February 19 at Panjab University, Chandigarh. It will not only spread awareness among the youth towards the cause but also carry out fitting and distribution of various aids and equipment for the needy.

IISc developing rabies vaccine
Tribune News Service

SAS NAGAR, Feb 15 — A cost-effective DNA vaccine for rabies and Japanese Encephalitis Virus is being developed by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore. The first phase of clinical trials of the vaccine for rabies is being done.

Prof G.Padmanaban, an emeritus scientist at the IISc, Bangalore, stated this in an interview with the TNS at the second foundation day function of the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) here today. He said the vaccine, apart from being cost-effective would also be stable to temperature.

The vaccine after passing through different trials was expected to take at least two years before it could be put to use, said Prof Padmanaban. Explaining the technique, he said it basically involved developing drug delivery system to reach the defective gene. It not only provided a missing gene product but also prevented the expression of undesirable genes. He said the field of molecular medicine was destined to revolutionise the drug therapy.

The technique was also being tested to cure liver-related disorders by targeting the DNA to the liver growth hormone genes. He said the technique was a therapy through the body’s own macro-molecules or their building blocks. Research on using the molecular medicine for two major diseases, cancer and cardiac myopathies, was also being done. The expected biological responses in clinical trials had been reported.

Later delivering a lecture on “ molecular medicine for the 21st century,” he said at least 10 big killer diseases had been identified which could be prevented. There were two type of therapies known— germ line gene therapy and the somatic line gene therapy. While the germ line gene therapy was not an acceptable option, the second therapy was being explored.

Prof M.M. Puri, Vice-Chancellor of Panjab University, Chandigarh, said in the 21st century, the concept of microbial universe would come under focus.

Since 1994 at least 30 new types of viruses had been found. In future, the concept of mega cities with burgeoning population did not face threat from nuclear annihilations but from biological inflictions — irrespective of the man made boundaries. He said health of the body was going to be of paramount importance.

Earlier the Director of the NIPER, Dr C.L.Kaul, spoke on the activities and the infrastructure at the institute.

Heart repair charges cut
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Feb 15 — The BRS Heart Institute and Research Centre at Kot Billa has decided to charge only Rs 1 lakh instead of Rs 1.3 lakh for open-heart surgery in March, in the memory of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev.

The Secretary of the institute, Mr Baldev Krishan, said this was being done to show gratitude to the the martyrs who made the supreme sacrifice on March 23. The concession can be availed by all those who get themselves registered at the centre in March and will remain valid till they are operated upon.

The 100-bed hospital was established at Kot Bill, Panchkula, three years ago in the memory of these great sons of India. With the help of the state-of-the-art equipment, the hospital performs open-heart surgery, angioplasty and angiography. It is duly approved by the Army Group Insurance, the Air Force Group Insurance and various other Central and state Corporations.

The Union Power Minister, Mr P.R. Kumaramanglam will preside over the martyrdom day function on March 23 and formally inaugurate the campus. A blood donation camp will also be organised by the staff and students of BRS Dental College and Hospital

SPORT

Sub-jr boxing meet concludes
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, Feb 15 — Sharda Sarvhitkari School, Sector 40, became the overall champion in the 14th Chandigarh Sub-Junior State Boxing Championship which concluded past evening at the Sector 23 Boxing Coaching Centre.

The gold-medal winners include Ravinder, Sandeep and Naresh. The two-day meet was organised by the Chandigarh Amateur Boxing Association.

Results: Ajay b Jaskaran; Dharamvir b Mukesh; S. Anand b Ravi Kumar; Sandeep b Paramjeet; Naresh b Paramjit Singh; Sanjeev b Vikas; Bhuvan b Varinder; Ravinder b Jaspal; Paramjit b Ashwani; Shalinder b Lavish.

Trekking expedition: The Amateur Adventure Association of Chandigarh organised a fortnight-long second Snow Trekking Expedition at Shimla and Kufri which concluded today. The expedition was flagged off by Mr B.R. Banga, IAS and President of the association, on February 12 from Shimla in which 63 girl students of various city schools of the UT took part.

The second group was flagged off by Mr Mohinder Singh Dosanjh, Vice-President of the association, from Kufri to reach Fagu.

Encouraged by the massive response, the association now plans to send more such groups of students to Churdhar peak in HP. In these expeditions, students of various city colleges will also be asked to take part.

PFC win: A superb all-round performance by Inderjit who scored 68 runs and took three wickets for 23 runs helped Punjab Financial Corporation XI beat United Insurance Company Limited XI by six wickets in the VIth Inter-Financial Institutions Cricket Tournament being played here at Gursagar Stadium near Sukhna Lake.

In another match, HSIDC beat Oriental Insurance Company Limited by three wickets.

Brief scores: UII — 145 runs for eight wickets (Ajay 79, Inderjit 3 for 23); PFC — 146 runs for four wickets (Inderjit 68 n.o., Deepak 46 runs).

OIC — 102 runs for eight (Hemant Puri 30 n.o., N.K. Raina 3 for six); HSIDC — 103 runs for seven wickets (Narinder Sharma 39, Hemant Puri 2 for 13).

In another match, the Reserve Bank of India beat Canara Bank XI by 10 wickets. Brief scores: Canara Bank — 61 all out (R. Nain 3 for 10); RBI — 61 runs for no loss (R. Nain 18 n.o., Harwinder Kaku 38 n.o.).

TT trials: Selection trials for the UT Civil Services table tennis team of the Regional Sports Board will be held on February 19 at 10 am in the Sector 23 table tennis hall, according to Col C.S. Bewli, Secretary of the Central Civil Services Regional Board of Culture and Sports, Chandigarh. Only those employees who are working in the Central-government offices at Chandigarh will be eligible to take part in these trials. The All-India Civil Services Table Tennis Tournament is scheduled to be held at Patna from March 5 to10.

Cricket tourney: In the Inter-Hotel Cricket Tournament being played at Government High School, Sector 43, Hotel Maya Palace beat Mehfil restaurant by 32 runs. Batting first, Maya Palace XI scored 187 runs in the stipulated 25 overs. In reply, Mehfil restaurant XI were bundled out for 155 runs.

Pankaj, Bharti win gold
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, Feb 15 — Pankaj Sharma won the gold medal in below 63 kg section for men on the penultimate day of the Senior National Judo Championship, being held at Sector 42 Indoor Badminton Hall.

The second day saw the dominance of judokas from the police forces. Two Central Industrial Security Force players — Vinod Gill in below 73 kg section for men and Aarti Kohli in below 57 kg section for women — emerged winners. Bharti Dogra from Central Reserve Police Force won the gold medal in below 52 kg section for women.

The judokas from national coaching camps are being trained by Narinder Kumar. Results: all finals: men: below 60 kg — Pankaj Sharma (NCC) gold; Sanjay Tarai (West Bengal) silver; Bhupinder Singh (Punjab) bronze; Virender Yadav (ITBP) bronze; below 73 kg — Vinod Gill (CISF) gold; Jai Pal (Punjab) silver; Karamvir Singh (Haryana) bronze; Rakesh Kumar (PCB) bronze; women: below 52 kg — Bharti Dogra (CRPF) gold; Chanu Anita (Manipur) silver; Anuradha (CISF) bronze; Anjali Deokar (Maharashtra ‘B’) bronze; below 57 kg — Aarti Kohli (CISF) gold; Sangeeta Sharma (MP) silver; Gera Jyoti (Haryana) bronze; Kannojiya Geeta (CRPF) bronze.

Bhatia is tennis panel chief
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Feb 15 — Mr D.V. Bhatia, a former President of the Chandigarh Olympic Association, has been nominated Chairman of the Ranking Committee of the All-India Tennis Association.

Mr Bhatia, a keen tennis player, has been associated with the Chandigarh Lawn Tennis Association for a long time in various capacities, including Treasurer. He is a retired IAS officer of the Haryana cadre. Mr Bhatia is also a key functionary of the Chandigarh Gymnastics Association and the Gymnastic Federation of India.

According to a communication received by Mr Bhatia, the members of the Ranking Committee are Mr Asit Tripathi (Bhubaneshwar), Col G.A. Siddiqui (New Delhi), Mr Chandrakant C. Patel (Ahmedabad), Mr B. Ramalingam (Pondicherry), Mr Hirmony Chatterjee (Calcutta) and Mr B.S. Chabra (Indore).

ADMINISTRATION

Files damaged in passport office fire
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Feb 15 — A fire was reported in the Regional Passport Office (RPO) in Sector 34 here this morning.

According to information available, important files spread over at least five tables on the second and third floors were gutted in the fire and were reduced to ashes. However, the fire was controlled before the fire engines could make it to the spot.

Sources said the police was informed around 9.30 a.m.. Following this, a police party, led by Mr Baldev Singh, SP (Headquarters), reached the spot and cordoned off the area.

In fact, the police was informed by the chowkidar, who was supposed to be on night duty, but only reached the office in the morning.

Since a lot of construction activity was going on around the building of the office, the possibility of a conspiracy in the episode could not be denied, the sources added.

Corps Day celebrated
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Feb 15 — The Corps of Signals celebrated its 89th Corps Day at Chandi Mandir near here, today. A wreath was laid on behalf of all ranks of the corps by Brig K.S. Grewal at Veer Smriti War Memorial and homage was paid to the gallant soldiers who sacrificed their lives in the line of duty.

In his message, Maj-Gen V.K. Singh, Chief Signal Officer, Western Command, greeted all ranks and civilian employees of the corps and their families.

The corps provides state-of-the-art information technology support in the field of communications and computers to the army in all types of terrain across length and breadth of the country to enhance its combat effectiveness. Continuous efforts are being made for induction of the latest communication technology in the army by the corps.

The corps did well in the recent Kargil conflict and in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir and the North Eastern region. It also provides STD facility to troops deployed in inaccessible areas so that they can remain in touch with their near and dear ones.

Raised on February 15, 1911, it provides vital communication support to the Army during peace and war. Control of battle is exercised with the help of communication. Evolution of military communications from aural and visual methods of ancient times to the present day sophisticated systems has been truly remarkable. The army communicators have always kept pace with developments in this high-tech area around the world.

Technological advancement in the communication requirements of the army has seen exponential growth over the year. With the advent of information networks, signalers are graduating from being mere electronics and communications engineers to information technology experts, preparing the Indian Army to contend with the high-tech battlefield of the future. In future wars, victory will be greatly influenced by the way information spectrum is dominated and Corps of Signals is well poised to provide a decisive edge in this regard to field forces of the 21st century.

Indian signalers won laurels during the First World War in a number of expeditionary forces in France, the Persian Gulf and East Africa. During World War II, they saw action in the Middle East, Europe and Burma, where they again proved their mettle.

Action in Kashmir in 1948 saw brave signalmen keeping communications, often at risk to their lives. Communication links withstood the onslaught of the Chinese in 1962. Provision of robust and fall safe communications with meagre resources during the 1971 war confirmed the ingenuity, resourcefulness and professionalism of the corps personnel.

During peace-keeping operations in Congo, Maldives, Sr Lanka, Somalia, Rwanda and Angola, Indian signalers worked shoulder to shoulder with their counterparts from advanced countries, winning accolades from member countries.

Besides operational communications, signalers have always come forward to assist civil administration, especially during natural calamities and civil strikes.

During Operation Sahayata in Orissa, following the super cyclone, the corps provided high-frequency communication support to Army columns by establishing 18 detachments.

Admn’s no to patient care allowance
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Feb 15 — The Chandigarh Administration today clarified to the agitating members of Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the Sector 16 General Hospital that they would not be paid any patient care allowance.

The Joint Secretary Finance, Mr K.A.P. Sinha, at a meeting with the representatives of the JAC, told them that since they were being paid salaries on the Punjab pattern and there was no provision for such an allowance under that, they could not be given the same.

Meanwhile, the employees have decided to continue their agitation till their demand for the grant of this allowance is met, keeping in view the risk they face from patients of tuberculosis, AIDS, cancer, etc. The relay dharna, which was started by the employees of the hospital, continued for the fifth day today. The employees of the general hospital and government dispensaries have been agitating under the banner of the Joint Action Committee. They were getting this allowance till 1992, but later when they started drawing salaries on the Punjab pattern the same was discontinued. However, employees of the Central Government and the PGI are getting this allowance.

PUDA to allot LIG houses to govt employees
Tribune News Service

SAS NAGAR, Feb 15 — The Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA) will sell at least 80 LIG houses in Phase 9 here to Punjab Government employees.

The tentative cost of the houses would be around Rs 4 lakh each. Disclosing this an official of PUDA said that 434 EWS houses in the Industrial Area, Phase 6, here, which had been lying unallotted would also be allotted soon.