The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Chandigarh Stories

HEALTH

Dr Anand invited to contribute chapter
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, July 18 — Dr Akshay Anand, senior demonstrator, Department of Immunopathology, PGI, has been invited to contribute chapters on gene expression, risk assessment of gene therapy and gene delivery in a forthcoming book, Manufacturing of gene therapeutics: Methods, processing, clinical trials, regulation and validation'', by Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.

Dr Anand has done his Ph.D thesis on differential gene expression in muscular dystrophy highlighting the existence of extra dystrophin gene transcript in the pathogenesis of this disease. This preliminary work holds promise for discriminating the severe form of muscular dystrophy i.e. duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) from Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD), the milder form of the disease, at the DNA level. He was recently invited to Engelberg Forum-2000, Switzerland, as a young scientist from India to present his work.

SPORT

New physio centre at PU to open on July 21
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, July 18 — A new physiotherapy centre for sportspersons of Panjab University, including its affiliated colleges and campus, will be formally opened by Prof M. M. Puri, Vice-Chancellor of the university, on July 21. Disclosing this, Dr Ajmer Singh of the Department of Sport, PU, told that since the university came up, it was for the first time that such a specialised centre for sportspersons would come up.

The new centre, installed at a cost of more than 2.5 lakh, would have the latest machines, used for treatment of basic injuries and other physical exercises for the players, said Mr Surinder Mahajan, Sports Officer at PU. The indigenous machines installed include shortwave medical diathermy, ultrasound therapy, moist heat therapy, shoulder wheel, ankle exerciser, rotary wrist machine, heel exerciser and vibratory belt massager. The other machines are transoutaneous nervous stimulator, wax bath unit, infra red lamp, ultraviolet lamp, ice cube machine, heel stretcher and steam bath unit.

Dr Singh said it was the personal initiative taken by Professor Puri that the centre materialised in two months’ time. He said the centre, located in the gymnasium hall, would also have air-conditioned facilities in the near future. The experts’ committee, which were associated with this centre comprised Dr Ajmer Singh, Dr Kewal Singh, Mr Surinder Mahajan, Mr Gurmeet Singh (all PU), Dr Ashok Ahuja, Senior Scientific Officer at NIS, Patiala, and Dr Arun Dixit, Physiotherapist, PGI, Chandigarh. Mr Mahajan told that the centre would be of immense benefit to players and national campers attending camps at various places in the city could also avail themselves of the same.

Cyclist wins case, gets admission
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, July 18 — A Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court comprising Mr Justice N.K. Sodhi and Mr Justice R.C. Kathuria directed the Joint Director Sports of the UT Administration to issue a B4-gradation certificate to Rohit Sharma, a student, instead of the C3-gradation certificate issued to him on May 3. The Bench also directed the local Punjab Engineering College to admit the petitioner on the basis of the new certificate. It also asked the Joint Director Sports to the pay the petitioner Rs 2,000 as the cost of the lawsuit.

Rohit, a former student of the Sector 10 DAV College, had applied for admission in the sportspersons' quota in the college on the basis of the gradation granted by the UT Sports Department. Rohit, had taken part in juniors' event of the 120 km Massed Start and 36 km Criterium in the international cycling competition, Perlis Open-99, in Malaysia from November 12 to 16. He was a part of the team comprising six boys, six men and four women selected on the basis of trials conducted by the Cycling Federation of India at Patiala. The team was sponsored by the Government of India.

Rohit had submitted his application to the Sports Gradation Committee on May 1 as required according to an advertisement published on April 16 by the UT Sports Department. On the basis of an interview conducted on May 3, he was issued a C3-gradation certificate. The petitioner contested this as the guidelines of the department said a B4 gradation would be awarded to anyone who had participated in any recognised international championship in the juniors' section. He gave a representation to the department on June 28 regarding this, but it was rejected by the Joint Director Sports.

Rohit filed a writ petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court and on July 13, the Division Bench asked the Joint Director Sports to file a reply by July 15, which was done accordingly. The Bench gave a decision in the favour of Rohit.

Badminton tourney from July 28
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, July 18 — The District Badminton Association of Panchkula will hold the District Championship from July 28 to 30 in the Sector 7 Community Centre of the town. The events will include men's, women's, boys' and girls' singles and doubles in the under-19, under-16 and under-13 age groups, besides the boys' and girls' singles in the under-10 age group.

Entries close with Ravinder Kapoor, badminton coach, at the venue on July 25.

ADMINISTRATION

Motor cycle expedition
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, July 18 — A motor cycle rally, organised by 8 Madras, was flagged off by Brig R.D. Singh, Chief Engineer, Chandigarh Zone, for the next leg to Delhi from the N. Area here this morning. Present on the occasion were Col Shakti Parshad, Commander , N. Area, and other officers.

The flag-off ceremony had to be postponed by more than two hours in view of the downpour. Being held to mark the golden jubilee celebrations by the battalion, the rallyists were flagged off from the Siachen base camp by Lieut- Gen Arjun Ray, GOC, 14 Corps, on July 10.

During the course of the expedition, they will cover more than 6,000 km and pass through Delhi, Agra, Bhopal, Nagpur, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Wellington, Trivandrum.

The team, led by Lieut C.Y. Rajith, comprises another officer and eight other ranks. The five motor cycles have been sponsored by Royal Enfield.

Raised on August 20, 1948, at Wellington in the Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, the battalion was the first unit of the Madras Regiment to be raised after Independence. It consists of troops drawn from Tamil Nadu, Karala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The battalion earned the nickname of Gallant Guerrillas for capturing Mao Angami and his gang of guerrillas in Nagaland.

Rally against government policies
Tribune News Service

SAS NAGAR, July 18 — Members of the Trade Union Council (AITUC) and employees of Punjab Wireless Communications Limited held a protest rally against the anti-people policies of the Punjab Government at the main bus-stand in Phase 8 here today.

The participants demanded that a move to privatise different public sector undertakings by the state government be immediately scrapped.

Addressing the rally, leaders said the government should make earnest efforts to restart Power Pack, Punwire and the ESPL, and clear the pending dues of the employees.

The employees of Punwire demanded that the company officials who indulged in malpractices be brought to book. The effigies of the Chairman of Punwire, Mr R.I. Singh, and the Managing Director of the PSIDC, Mr S.S. Brar, were burnt on the occasion.

Meanwhile, the relay fast by the Punwire Employees Coordination Committee entered its 30th day today. Eleven employees under the leadership of Mr Inderjit Singh today sat on dharna. Later the leaders of the committee addressed a rally on the occasion.

Computerised single-window system inaugurated
From Our Correspondent

SAS NAGAR, July 18 — A computerised single-window service system was inaugurated by Dr Upinderjit Kaur, Minister for Housing and Urban Development of Punjab, at PUDA’s Estate Office here today.

The new system will expedite the process of redressing grievances and the other problems related to the allotment of plots and houses.

The minister also inaugurated a community centre constructed by PUDA in Phase II and launched a Green Mohali drive by planting a sapling.

Talking about the single-window system, Dr Upinderjit Kaur said members of the public would not have to follow their cases from desk to desk now. Instead, applications would be submitted only at the single-window counter where these would be scrutinised. The particulars would then be fed into the computer and the applicant would be given a computer-generated receipt indicating the date by which the work would be completed.

A regular monitoring of applications submitted under this scheme would be carried out on a weekly basis by the Additional Chief Administrator, on a fortnightly basis by the Chief Administrator and on a monthly basis by the Vice-Chairman of PUDA.

After inaugurating the community centre, Dr Upinderjit Kaur said the government was considering a programme under which such buildings would be handed over to voluntary organisations for maintenance.

Earlier, while talking about encroachments in the town, the minister told mediapersons that no new encroachment would be allowed and the government would formulate a policy within this month to tackle the problem.

About the Green Mohali drive, the minister said PUDA had prepared a Rs 8 crore plan for planting trees in all urban estates of Punjab. Major proposed projects included development of the 12-acre city park in Sector 68, development of green belts to separate industrial and residential areas, horticulture work around housing society in Sector 66, and setting up of a musical fountain in Leisure Valley, Sector 62.

Mr Ranjit Singh Balian, Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development of Punjab, said PUDA had been given the task of developing and disposing of vacant pieces of government land under the optimum utilisation of vacant government lands scheme throughout the state.

Among those who spoke on the occasion were Mr A.K. Dubey, Principal Secretary for Housing and Urban Development and Vice-Chairman of PUDA, and Mr K.B.S. Sidhu, Chief Administrator of PUDA.