HEALTH

PGI bodies to take up pending issues
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, March 10 — Various important pending issues will be taken up when the Governing Body and Institute Body of the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research meet under the chairmanship of the Union Health Minister, Mr N.T. Shanmugham, in New Delhi on March 15.

According to reliable sources, there are more than 70 items on the agenda of the Governing Body and 32 on the agenda of the Institute Body. Among the main issues to be discussed are an assured career progressive scheme for employees which promises automatic promotions after 12 or 24 years to those who haven't been promoted due to the non-availability of a vacant posts at next levels. The pending promotion cases of faculty members for the posts of Associate and Additional Professors will also be considered, it is learnt.

The Standing Finance Committee of the PGI, in its past two meetings, had decided to create 20 new posts in different departments. Of these, seven posts of Assistant Professor and 12 of Senior Resident were created in the Departments of Urology, Nuclear Medicine, Microbiology, Experimental Medicine and Pathology. Hence, the issue of the creation of a good number of posts will be taken up.

A proposal for introducing an MD course in transfusion medicine and a Master's degree course in hospital administration will also be considered. Another significant proposal on the agenda pertains to filling the middle-level posts of Additional and Associate Professors by direct recruitment through open competition on all-India basis. This will ensure the entry of specialists in various fields at senior levels.

The issue of in-situ promotions for Group-A Gazetted Non-Medical Scientific and Technical Posts which provides for time-bound promotion to the next scales, also features on the agenda. Besides this, some of the retired Professors are likely to be conferred with the status of Professor Emeritus.

The recommendations of the selection committee for the posts of Professor of Anaesthesia, Paediatrics, besides Associate Professor of Endocrinology will also come up for a review in these meetings.

Meanwhile, decisions taken in the Standing Finance Committee and the Academic Committee in February will also be ratified in these two meetings. The sanction of Rs 1 crore each for computerisation of the new OPD and renovation of toilets in the hospital will also be ratified in these meetings.

Sources further said the Governing Body had not met effectively for the past two-three times and most items on the agenda were pending since then.

PU nod for GMCH on PG courses
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, March 10 — The Panjab University Syndicate at its meeting held last month granted permission to Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, for starting post-graduate courses in general surgery, anaesthesiology, ophthalmology and pathology.

The proposal for starting an M.Sc course in anatomy for the non-medical candidates is slated to be taken up at the next Syndicate meeting scheduled for March 18.

Dr V. K. Kak, Director Principal of the Medical College, Sector 32, said that prior to the approval, the university had conducted an inspection on December 21 to assess about the staff and general facilities available in these departments. The Inspection Committee constituted under the chairmanship of former PGI Director B. K Sharma had in various groups inspected each department and examined the facilities regarding the number and qualifications of teachers, laboratory facilities, beds available etc.

The committee in its recommendations had pointed out that keeping in view the facilities, including the provision of three qualified postgraduate teachers in the above mentioned departments, they may be admitted to admit three post graduate students per year.

Dr Kak further revealed that they has sought approval for starting post graduate courses in as many as 16 subjects. The approval for the remaining 10 subjects is likely to come following another inspection, he added.

Following the Syndicate's approval, the GMCH authorities are now processing applications to the Union Health Ministry asking them to grant the necessary permission after the inspection by the Medical Council of India. The Panjab University, to which this college is affiliated, is following rules and regulations of the Medical Council of India and does not have any separate rules and regulations for this.

170 donate blood
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, March 10 — As many as 170 staff members and students of the Sector 26 Central Polytechnic donated blood at a camp organised by the Lions Club Chandigarh Shivalik in collaboration with the polytechnic on the college campus. It was inaugurated by Mr S. L. Sapra, Principal.

The club President, Mr J. S. Bhatia, gave away mementos to the donors. They were also given T-shirts and badges.

A team of the Blood Bank Society, PGI, had come for collecting the units of blood.

SPORT

PU lifters return gold-rich
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, March 10 — Panjab University’s weightlifting, powerlifting (men and women) and bestphysique contest (men) teams returned with a rich haul of medals won at the recently concluded All-India Inter-University Championships organised by Punjabi University, Patiala, at Anandpur Sahib from March 4 to 8.

In weightlifting (men), the PU was runners-up position with 10 points. Pardeep Sharma created a new record and won a gold medal in the 69-kg category with a total lift of 280 kg (130 snatch plus 150 jerk). He was declared the best weightlifter of the meet. Another weightlifter, Kuldeep Singh, won a gold medal in the 85-kg category with total lift of 315 kg (140 snatch plus 175 jerk) which was also a new record.

Baljit Singh and Kamaljit Singh won silver and bronze medals in the 60 kg and the 125 kg categories, respectively, in the powerlifting section for men.

Hardeep Singh who won a gold medal in the 80-kg category, won the best-physique title. Adityaman Singh got a bronze medal in the above-90-kg class.

PU women weightlifters also did well as Madhulika won a silver medal in the 63-kg class and Harpreet Kaur won a silver medal in the above-75-kg class. Madhulika added another feather to her cap by winning a gold medal in the 67.5-kg class.

Judo trials: The Amateur Judo Association of Chandigarh will hold selection trials for the UT sub-junior team on March 13 at Judo Training Centre of the Sector 42 Sports Complex at 3 p.m. The selected team will take part in the National Sub-Junior Judo Championship for boys and girls to be held at Puri (Orissa) later this month. Judokas born between March 28, 1986, and March 27, 1990, and weighing at least 20 kg will only be considered for the trials.

Saplings planted: The Chandigarh Sports Department of the UT Administration began the drive to beautify stadiums by planting saplings at Sports Complexes in Sectors 7 and 46. Mr J.P.S. Sidhu, Joint Director Sports, said after taking the cue from the Sydney Olympics stadiums where already such drives had begun, these steps were taken to create healthy atmosphere in the city.

Under the present plan, it planted 170 saplings on March 1 at the Sector 7 Sports Complex, while 100 saplings were planted on March 8 at the Sector 46 Sports Complex. Coaches, managers, supervisors and Class IV employees of the department also took part in the drive.

Kavita, Vikram win 200-m races
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, March 10 — Kavita Sabharwal and Vikram won the 200-m events in the girls’ and boys’ sections respectively, on the second day of the Annual Athletics Meet of Punjab Engineering College, Sector 12, at the college grounds today.

The other results are as follows: Triple jump — Sumeet Pal Gill 1, Vivek Naithani 2, Manbinder Singh 3; 1600 m (cycling) — Sumeet Pal Gill 1, Nitin Sharma 2, Janesh Kalsi 3; 200 m (girls) — Kavita Sabharwal 1, Puja Pushap 2, Ansh Seedhar 3; boys — Vikram 1, Maninder Singh 2, Kartikey Misra 3; javelin throw — Kapil Kumar 1, Vivek Lohcheb 2, Rohit Dang 3.

Broad jump (girls) — Amandeep Kaur 1, Ansh Seedhar 2, Puja Pushap 3; 800 m (girls) — Puja Pushap 1, Kavita Sabharwal 2, Ansh Seedhar 3; javelin throw — Amandeep Kaur 1, Sukhbansjit Kaur 2, Kavita Sabharwal 3; 4 x 100 m relay inter-class — Sumeet, Vivek, Rishi and Vikram 1, Maninder, Vaibhav, Vivek and Ritesh 2, Kartikey, Kapil, Manbinder and Mudit Singhal 3; 100 m (girls) — Kavita 1, Puja 2, Promila 3.

Hammer throw — Pardeep Bamal 1, Harpreet 2, Kapil Kumar 3; 400 m (girls) — Puja 1, Kavita 2, Amandeep Kumar 3; boys — Vikram 1, Maninder Singh 2, Sandeep 3; 1,500 m — Moj Nath 1, Sumeet Pal Gill 2, Sandeep Kumar 3; 50 m (girls) — Kavita 1, Promila 2, Puja Pushap 3.