HEALTH

Paediatrics conference from Feb 25
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Feb 23 — There is a need to improve the paediatrics intensive-care facilities for providing proper systematic treatment to critically ill patients in our country. With a view to achieving this, the Department of Paediatrics of the PGI will organise the second National Conference of Paediatrics Intensive Care under the aegis of the Indian Academy of Paediatrics Intensive Care Chapter from February 25 to 27 at the Advanced Paediatrics Centre.

The Organising Secretary of the conference, Dr Sunit Singhi, who is also the Chairperson of this chapter, said facilities for managing critically ill children in most parts of the country were still in infancy, except in metros and Chandigarh. Talking about the objective of the conference Dr Singhi said, “we need to put together our national resources and create an opportunity for those who want a start in Paediatrics critical care and even those who want to consolidate what they are doing. The scientific programme, with a good balance between beginners and advanced learners, will cover a variety of topics of practical relevance.”

Nearly 300 delegates from all over the country, including a few delegates from the USA, Italy, France and Switzerland will participate in the deliberations during the threeday conference.

Dr Singhi said a basic intensive care workshop to be held tomorrow, was aimed at training the paediatricians who were getting initiated in the paediatric critical care. More than 50 participants would be given hands-on training on how to approach critically ill children when their respiration or circulation was failing or when a child was unconscious. They would also be told how to give ventilation in such cases and monitor these patients. Besides theoretical background of intensive care, the focus would also be on demonstrating correcting heart beats and putting catheters in the big veins for giving life-saving medicines, fluids and blood. The approach to such patients was important.

Another highlight of the pre-conference CME workshop will be a session on recognition, stabilisation and triage of critically ill. Dr N. Janakiraman of the USA, in his talk on the management of shock, will tell doctors about the early recognition of shock and immediate stabilisation of such patients. The consequences of shock on body will also be discussed in order to prevent organ failures which normally follow shock.

Beginners will also be told about the blood gas analysis and its interpretation on the first day of the conference. During the conference, three major sessions will be devoted to recent advances in the field. Various speakers from abroad will give these lectures. Dr Ramesh Sachdeva, Chief of the Paediatrics Intensive Care of Milwaukee in the USA, in his lecture on Perspectives in Paediatrics Intensive Care will provide the delegates an overview of this speciality, its services and future.

Prof Giuseppe A. Marraro of Milano in Italy, will talk about surfactant treatment in new-borns, infants and children. Surfactant is a substance which helps in keeping the alveoli open for the exchange of gases. Prof Jean Christophe Mercier of France will talk about Inhaled Nitrous Oxide Therapy in Severe Neonatal Acute Respiratory Failures. Dr Benedict Wagner of Switzerland will deliver a plenary lecture on Cerebral Auto Regulation in Critically Ill Patients based on his research and experience.

Dr Singhi said since the past decade-and-a-half, many children were dying because of paediatric acute respiratory syndrome (ARDS) which causes damage to the lungs, Dr Shekhar T. Venkataraman of Pittsburgh in the USA will talk on Paediatric ARDS-diagnosis and Ventilation Strategies.

There will be a symposium on Neuro Critical Care in which the focus will be on cerebral malaria in paediatrics intensive care unit, refractory status epilepticus etc. Dr Vineet Bhandari, an alumni of the PGI, working in the USA, will talk about high-frequency ventilations and how successful and useful they are

In another symposium, the thrust will be on ventilation strategies in common neonatal childhood illnesses with special emphasis on how to wean away a child from a ventilator. The treatment of infections will also be discussed.

Lecture on stapes surgery
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Feb 23 — Prof S.C. Kacker, a former Director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, delivered a guest lecture on Stapes Surgery, organised by the Department of ENT, Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, here today.

Stapes surgery is the surgery done for deaf ear due to otosclerosis. In his lecture, he elaborated on the symptoms, signs, benefits and technique of surgical cure of deafness due to otosclerosis. Professor Kacker, who had performed more than 6,000 surgeries, was of the opinion that otosclerosis as a cause of deafness was curable in 90 per cent of the cases by surgery in expert hands.

The surgery involves inserting a small piston in the ear under the microscope. The hearing aid is beneficial in limited cases where surgery is not possible or the patient refuses to undergo operation. The scientific session was chaired by Prof Y.N. Mehra.

According to Prof Arjun Dass, Head of the ENT Department, GMCH-32, in otosclerosis, the sound conducting bone inside the ear becomes fixed and no longer vibrates to give perception of sound, causing deafness. More than 80 ENT specialists from Chandigarh Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh attended the lecture.

Dr Dass further informed that this was the first guest oration organised by the department as part of its CME programmes. Such functions would be organised regularly in the future, where community-related diseases and new developments or techniques would be highlighted for the benefit of ENT practitioners in the region, he added.

PEC students donate blood
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Feb 23 — In all, 239 persons, including staff and students of Punjab Engineering College (PEC) donated blood at a camp organised by the Lions Club Chandigarh Shivalik in collaboration with the State Bank of India and the college here today. About 120 students pledged to donate eyes at the venue.

Mr Kuldeep Singh (retd), a former Justice of the Supreme Court of India who inaugurated the camp, lauded the efforts of the organisations for the benefit of mankind. Mr R.S. Sachdeva, who was the guest of honour, also praised the college Principal, Dr Rajnish Prakash, and the club President, Mr J.S. Bhatia, for taking initiative to hold such camps.

Each donor was presented with a T-shirt by the club and a certificate by the college. The State Bank of India also joined the camp. Mr K.B.S. Aulakh of the bank was the star donor as he donated blood for the 41st time.

SPORT

Low turnout at SAI trials for STC
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, Feb 23 — In all, 85 girls drawn from different parts of the country took part in the two-day trials conducted by the Sports Authority of India for admissions to the Sector 18 Sports Training Centre in athletics, basketball, volleyball and hockey. Volleyball attracted maximum number of entries with 28 girls reporting for the trials, followed by hockey (24), athletics (19) and basketball (14). The age group identified for these trials was 14 to 19.

Ritu Pathik, Assistant Director of the Sector 18 STC, was, however, not satisfied with the turnout. She said at the beginning of next session, more girls would be picked up for the centre which had produced players of repute.

The ongoing National School Games at Anandpur Sahib could also be one of the reasons for the low turnout. Volleyball and hockey matches are being conducetd there, too.

Ashok Pathik, Assistant Director of the Sector 42 Northern Centre of the SAI, who was also present of the occasion, said with these facilities, even the employed sportspersons falling under a particular age group and having good records in one of these sport could become part of the STC. He said, however, they would be entitled to only 50 per cent of the concessions which were given to other players normally.

He also said those who appeared for these trials, had gone through various physical fitness tests such as 30-metre flying start, standing broad jumps with medicine ball, shuttle run, forward bend and reach, standing vertical jump and 800-metres run. He said specific-skill and motor-ability tests were also conducted, keeping in view the requirement of a particular game. He also said previous participation at a state of national meet or any other distinction was a prerequisite for the trials and final recommendations of coaches and experts were also needed.

In this centre, a student can study at any of the desired schools. Training, lodging, boarding, sport kit and other incentives along with allowances will be provided by the SAI. Coaches of the UT Sports Department and the SAI were involved in these trials.

Wrestling team: An eight-member UT wrestling team along with two officials will take part in the Federation Cup Wrestling to be held at Latur (Maharashtra) from February 26 to 29. The wrestlers were selected on the basis of their performances at the recently concluded National Wrestling Meet where they got the fourth place. Only first eight teams of India are eligible to take part in this major tournament.

The team is as follows: Below 54 kg — Dharampal; below 58 kg — Jagbir; below 63 kg — Nirmal; below 69 kg — Raj Singh; below 76 kg — Jaipal; below 85 kg — Jasbir; below 97 kg — Baljit Singh; above 97 kg — Parminder Singh.

Mr Darshan Lal Sharma and Mr N.S. Nagi will accompany the team as coach and manager, respectively. The team will leave tomorrow for Latur.

Judo trials: The Amateur Judo Association of Chandigarh will hold trials to select the UT junior girls' team for the Federation Cup-2000 to be held at Jaipur from February 25.

The trials will be held at the Sector 42 Sports Complex on February 24. This was stated in a press note issued here by Mr N.S. Thakur, Secretary of association.

Campus sportspersons honoured
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, Feb 23 — Panjab University campus sportspersons who did well in their respective disciplines in the year 1999-2000 were honoured with college colours and sport kits in a function held this evening on the PU campus.

This year, the campus fielded 38 teams in various inter-college meets which included 15 teams in the women's section. In the men's section, the campus teams won yoga and squash championships. Campus team were also runners-ups in softball, handball, waterpolo, table tennis and lawn tennis. The campus won third positions in cricket, and Best Physique meets. The campus women's teams were runners-ups in table tennis, cycling and softball. The campus women also got third positions in badminton, kho-kho, cricket and yoga. Also, 25 boys and 14 girls were selected to represent the PU at various inter-university tournaments.

The campus colours and track suits were awarded to 46 sportspersons and 96 were given only track suits. Puneet Juneja of the Department of Chemical Engineering and Technology, who was instrumental in the PU getting first place at the inter-college yoga meet, was also honoured. He had earlier won silver medal at the World Yoga Meet held in 1998 in Argentina.

The prominent campus sportspersons who did well in various sport included Sonia Kanwar, who won a gold medal at the All-India Inter-University Competition and Sonika Sharma who won the second place at the All-India Inter-University Meet. The PU softball team comprising Rupinderjit Kaur, Shammi Dhillon, Mandeep Kaur and Garima Thakur won second place at an inter-university meet. The men's team comprising Ajay Thakur, Vijay Chauhan, Ajendra Puri, Anil Sharma and Mohinder Singh won bronze medal at the Inter-University Softball Meet. Pardeep and Vikas were members of the PU basketball team which won bronze medal at the Inter-University Meet. The PU men's handball team which won a bronze medal at the Inter-University Meet included Ramandeep Singh, Vikas Janarthan and Kanwarjit Singh of the campus.

The sportspersons who were awarded campus colours and track suits included Sonia Kanwar, Ajay Thakur, Vijay Chauhan, Anil Sharma, Ajendra Puri, Pardeep Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Vikas Janarthan, Vipin Kumar, Birbal Wadehra, Deepak Sharma, Mukesh Rajoria, Neeru Bhambri, Rajdavinder Kaur, Sunita Sharma, Kanwalpreet Kaur, Joginder Singh, Ravneet Ahuja, Gaurav Mohan, Mandeep Singh, Sanjeev Sharma, Puneet Juneja, Kamal Grover, Ranjeet Singh, Vaneet Soni, Manoj Rajan, Amit Kaur, Gurpeet Kaur, Harpal Kaur, Shveta, Gauvardhan Jayal, Prabhjinder Singh, Ajay Grover, Kanwaljeet Singh, Mohinder Singh, Vikas, Jasminder Singh, Rupinderjit Kaur, Shammi Dhillon, Mandeep Kaur, Garima Thakur, Gurminder Kaur, Neetu and Sonika.

Those who were given tracksuits only included Aarti Mehta, Chhavi, Upjeet Kaur, Aarushi, Anamika, Parvinder, Anita Sharma, Paramjit, Anshul and Amit Kauthial, Gagandeep Vasu, Himendra Pal Singh, Robin Aggarwal, Sandeep Singh Rana, Bhupinder Singh, Inderjeet Singh, Jasmeet Singh, Sumit Mahajan, Abhishek Sikri, Bhupinder Singh, Rashpal Singh, Mandeep Singh, Amardeep Singh, Dinesh Chahal, Rakesh, Tejbir Singh, Jasbir Singh, Aman Arora, Munish Sharma, Rajeev Jamwal, Rakesh Kumar, Sudhir Kumar, Rajinder Singh Mann, Ashok Kumar, Vikramjeet Singh, Kapil Dev, Dinkar Mahajan, Rajinder Kumar, Kamaljeet Singh, Bhupinder Singh, Sushant Desta, Sanjogdeep Singh, Tashjeet Duggal, Shashi Pal, Manish Kumar, Munit Sachdeva and Arun Kumar.

In addition to that, 13 groundsmen were also given gift packets. The chief guest was Mr Vijay Bansal, Dean Students Welfare of the PU campus.

ADMINISTRATION

Chief Commissioner for UT demanded
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Feb 23 — A demand for revival of the post of Chief Commissioner in Chandigarh was made at a meeting of leaders of local units of various political parties held at the UT Guest House here today.

According to a press note issued by Mr Surinder Bhardwaj, President of the local unit of the Janata Dal (U), the participants were critical of the “unilateral decisions of the Chandigarh Administration” and condemned the formation of the Administrator’s Advisory Council. It was decided to hold a demonstration with black flags outside the venue of the first meeting of the newly constituted Advisory Council.

The press note further said a decision was also taken to set up a Coordination Council with the representatives of all political parties and other organisations, to be chaired by the MP of Chandigarh, and hold regular meetings.

It was also decided to launch a joint agitation against the Administration to force an early implementation of long-pending demands and issues. It was also demanded that notices issued for violation of building byelaws be withdrawn immediately and no action be taken on these till the amended building byelaws were implemented.

Those who attended the meeting were Mr Devinder Babla, Mr Rampal Sharma, Mr Chandermukhi Sharma, Mr Sunil Parti, Dr O.P. Verma, Mr Sandeep Singh, Mr Raj Kumar Goel, Mr Surinder Bhardwaj, Dr Harjit Singh Babbar, Mr Shiv Kumar Nishad, Mr N.K. Mattu, Mr Chaturbhuj Singla, Ms Shrestha Mehta, Mr N.S. Minhas, Mr Ajay Jagga, Mr Vishaveer Sharma, Mr R.S. Dhaliwal, Mr Subhash Kataria and Mr L.C. Arora.

Traffic curbs on rose fest days
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Feb 23 — The traffic police has made arrangements for the convenience of the general public in view of the three-day Festival of Gardens beginning on February 25.

According to a statement by the police, the road stretch on Madhya Marg from the museum roundabout to the DAV College turning, on Jan Marg from the museum roundabout to the Sector 17 and 16 point to the small roundabout till the Sector16 Government Senior Secondary School shall remain closed for general public on all three days from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

The visitors to the Rose Garden, depending from the side they are coming from, can park their vehicles at the open spaces in front of the Parade Ground, near the Sector 16 General Hospital, near the Sector 23 BD Hospital, parking lots inside and outside the Arts College and Gallery, near the Skating Rink and the turning near Sectors 9 and 10.

Local buses passing through Sector 16 will be diverted from Yatri Nivas to the Sector 10-11-15-16 roundabout.