The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Chandigarh Stories

Healthy baby show held
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Aug 27 — A healthy baby show was held at the Air Force Station here today which was organised by the Air Force Wives Welfare Association (AFWWA). As many as 50 babies of the Air Force personnel from No. 12 Wing and No. 3 Base Repair Depot participated in the event.

The show was held in three categories between 3 months to 1 year, between 1 year to 3 years and between 3 years to 5 years. Organised under the supervision of Senior Medical Officer, 3 BRD, Wg Cdr A K Anand, the programme was conducted by the honorary joint secretary, AFWWA, Flt Lt Nivedita Daulay. The prizes were distributed by the president AFWWA (Local), Ms Madhu Agrawal.

The first three winners in various categories were — Up to 1 year: Abhijit Swain, Diksha Sharma and Siddharth Bisht; 1 year - 3 years: Mansi Trivedi, Avatansh Awasthi and Oeindrilla Sarkar; 3 years - 5 years: Kuheli Bandhopadhyay, Dilip Sharma and Ankit Kumar.

376 examined at medical camp
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Aug 27 — As many as 376 patients were examined during a free health check-up camp organised by the Mani Majra branch of the Bharat Vikas Parishad at the Community centre today.

Patients were provided facilities for ECG and examination of blood sugar, blood and urine. Specialists examined men and women for various heart ailments, dental and eye problems. Free medicines were also distributed.

Mr Des Raj Gupta, former chairman of the Market Committee, was the chief guest at the function, while Mr Prem Goyal, President of the parishad, presided over the programme. The team of doctors comprised Dr Bhupender Gupta, Dr Pinkesh Verma, Dr Varun Gupta, Dr Gita Verma, Dr S.K. Dhir, Dr Poonam Bindal and Dr Bansi Lal.

Ayurveda medical council demanded
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Aug 27 — Dr Anwar Ali, president of the Chandigarh Ayurvedic Doctors Association, has demanded that a medical council for the ayurveda system of medicine should be set up here.

In a memorandum submitted to the Union Health Minister, Mr Ali has stressed the need for such a council, as a large number of ayurveda medical practitioners are working in labour colonies and villages and helping the medical department in meeting the requirements of medicines of the poor and needy.

It has been further demanded that till this council is set up and this system is not properly recongised/regularised by the Administration, the “harassment” of the medical practitioners of this system should be stopped.

‘Aggressive chemotherapy can control lymphoma’
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Aug 27 — Various treatment modalities, their side effects and complications were discussed on the concluding day of the Continuing Medical Education Programme on Recent Trends in the Management of Lymphomas’ today. Experts highlighted that the choice of therapy depends on the stage, histologic subtype, patient’s age and performance status.

It was pointed out that non-hodgkin’s lymphomas are controlled effectively with combination therapy in majority of the cases. Addition of radiation as an adjuvant further adds to the control rate. Currently aggressive chemotherapy is possible by the advent of hematopoietic growth factors, autologus bone marrow transplantation (ABMT) and peripheral blood stem cell transplant (PBSCT). Radiotherapy is often combined with chemotherapy to treat the residual nodal disease, extranodal sites and tumour burden causing distressing symptoms.

However, the treatment by the combination therapy is not without complications. Dr P. Bambery from the Department of Internal Medicine, PGI dwelt on various metabolic complications following therapy and warned that if they are not corrected in time they can prove fatal. Infections is one of the major complications as patients of lymphoma are immunocompromised. This is further enhanced by treatment.

Dr S.C. Verma, Head, Department of Internal medicine, PGI, explained that detection of infections, both bacterial and fungal, and institution of treatment for the same at an early stage will avoid fatality. Dr D.C. Doval, Chief of Medical Oncology at Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute, New Delhi, emphasised on the use of growth factors and biological response modifiers along with chemotherapy, as they reduce blood related complications. Generally, patients suffer from Neutropenia in which the count of white cells go down following chemotherapy, but growth factors shorten the duration of Neutropenia. Doctors prescribe Erythropoitin for Erythrocytes (Red Blood Cells) and Myeloid growth factors for Neutrophils (White Blood Cells). These reduce the dryness of the mouth, drop in haemoglobin and blood counts. Certain other cyto protectives also protect the normal cells against the ill effects of radiotherapy.

The incidence of non-hodgkin’s lymphoma is on the rise in recent times due to increase in HIV infections and AIDS. Lymphoma in these cases is generally aggressive and therefore one should keep a watch on the development of this disease in such patients. The patient is likely to have associated symptoms of AIDS and coexisting infection. Early detection can lead to better treatment and control.

Dr P.K. Julka, Professor of Radiotherapy at AIIMS, New Delhi, dwelt in detail regarding innovative approaches in the management of lymphomas such as monoclonal bodies, antisense and use of vaccines against lymphomas. Dr Ayyagari from SG PGI, Lucknow, discussed about special problems and their management.

In his concluding remarks, Dr S.C. Sharma, chairman of the Organising Committee of CME programme, said aggressive chemotherapy with or without radiation can lead to control of majority of patients with lymphoma. He pointed out that innovative approaches in the form of molecular and genetic therapies are treatment of the futures. Development in these areas in the 21st century may lead to replacement of present conventional therapy. However, at the moment most of these innovative modalities of treatment are in experimental stages.

7 needles removed without surgery
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Aug 27 — A city doctor has successfully removed seven sewing needles from the stomach of an 18-year-old student without performing surgery. The girl had ingested the needles in an emotionally upset state on August 24.

Dr Neeraj Nagpal of Hope gastro-intestinal diagnostic clinic was successful in removing the needles endoscopically. The patient was administered general anaesthesia and UGI endoscope and an overtube were inserted into her foodpipe. The overtube was left in the foodpipe. Using the endoscope and various accessories, the needles were located and removed one by one. The overtube was kept in the foodpipe to avoid the damage during removal.

The girl, who belongs to Ropar, was staying as a paying guest in the city as she was preparing for her PMT. She was upset and swallowed the needles. Realising what she had done, she rushed to the clinic. Dr Nagpal informed the girl's parents and she was treated in the clinic.

"The procedure took around three hours as the patient had taken some food and the needles had to be found amidst the food residue. She was kept in the hospital overnight," says Dr Nagpal.

SPORT

18 selected for World Yoga Meet
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Aug 27 — Ten boys and eight girls have been selected after two-day preliminary trials for the ninth World Yoga Cup Championship scheduled to be held in New Delhi on December 1 and 2.

Releasing the list of those selected, Mr Dharamvir, president of the Indian Yoga Federation, said here today that the second and the final round of trials would be held at the same venue, Yoga Divya Mandir, Sector 30, from October 13.

Besides those selected today, the players securing first positions in the junior nationals slated to be held at Hyderabad on November 11 and 12 and the senior nationals scheduled on September 29 and 30 in New Delhi were eligible to participate in the trials for the team selection.

Training at the preparatory camp for the team scheduled to be held in the last week of November in New Delhi would be imparted by Bal Mukand, Yoga Research Officer at Morarji Desai National Institute for Yoga, New Delhi. He would be assisted by Shalini Malhotra of Haryana.

Nearly 85 participants from Andhra, Tripura, West Bengal, Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir participated in the trials. Those selected today will attend a three-day training camp commencing from tomorrow, Mr Dharam Vir added.

Those selected are:

Junior girls: Sudeepta Bhattacharji (West Bengal), Tanushree Mazumdar (Tripura), Sanchita Chatterji (West Bengal), and S Urjaswothi (Andhra Pradesh).

Senior girls: Suman (Haryana), Darshana Rathore (Gujarat), Deepti Kushal (Delhi); and Ritu (Punjab).

Junior boys: Deepak Bhardwaj (Haryana), Ramesh Kumar (Delhi), Sunil Kumar (Delhi), T Sateesh (Andhra Pradesh); and Mangukiya (Gujarat).

Senior boys: Narender (Haryana), Krishna (Tripura), Gopal C Das (West Bengal), Surender (Haryana), and Somveer (J & K).

Hansraj Public School win
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, Aug 27 — Hansraj Public School, Sector 6, Panchkula clinched both under-14 and under-16 cricket titles in the Panchkula Inter-school Cricket Tournament. In the under-14 section, HPS boys prevailed upon Little Flower School, Sector 14, team by 66 runs.

Brief scores: HPS-142 for five in 20 overs (Gaurav Chopra 25, Vishal 25, Nelson 29, Ridam 2 for 29); LFS-14:76 runs for nine (Sukreet 12, Ridam Chopra 8, Gaurav Chopra 4 for 15, Prince Kansal 2 for 17).

In the under-16, HPS boys downed Manav Mangal School, Sector 11, Panchkula, by 59 runs with match played at Satluj Public School, Sector 4.

Brief scores: HPS- 139 runs all out in 25 overs (Vidit Kataria 42, Apar Shakti 32, Varun 3 for 35); MMS-80 runs all out (Nitin Gandhi 4 for 17, Kamalpreet 2 for 12, Ankush 2 for 11).

Four-wicket win for Godrej Club
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, Aug 27 — Godrej Cricket Club scored a four-wicket win over LIC XI to enter the final of the first Jaswanti Devi Memorial Cricket Tournament at the PGI grounds here today.

In another match, ICC XI beat Bedi Cricket Club by five runs.

Brief scores: LIC XI — 139 all out in 22.5 overs (Rakesh Jolly 32, Mohd Shaheed 29, Sanjay Mahajan 19, Vivek Mahajan 18, Sanjay Kumar 18, Sanjay Dhull 5 for 18, Amit 2 for 10, Madan Lal 2 for 14); Godrej CC — 145 for six in 22.3 overs (Rakesh 28, Amit Bhardwaj 27, Anoop 26, Amit Kakria 26 n.o., Bhupinder Singh (Sr) 2 for 21, Amit Uniyal 2 for 23, S.P. Singh 2 for 27).

ICC XI — 145 for eight in 25 overs (Ravinder Nain 32, Yadwinder 30, Harpreet 3 for 29, Pawan 2 for 27); Bedi CC — 140 runs all out (Ajay Disodia 56, Harvinder 31, Ravinder Nain 4 for 21, Satnam Singh 2 for 27, Amandeep 3 for 31).

Khurana wins handicap snooker event

CHANDIGARH, Aug 27 — B. Khurana stood first in the handicap snooker event by defeating AS Banipal in the YMCA Open Billiards and Snooker Tournament being played here at YMCA Hall, Sector 11. Khurana won at 36-62, 62-38, 64-17.

In open snooker league matches, Deepak maintained his winning streak by beating Manav Dhawan in straight frames at 62-36, 51-39, 63-31, 61-10.

Anil Sharma won his match. Sameer Bhalla caused an upset by beating Deepak Goel in the semi-finals of the open billiards event, 370-277. The final will be played tomorrow.

ADMINISTRATION

To review or not to review Constitution
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Aug 27 — “Though the persons who framed the Indian Constitution were not democratically elected, they were learned men of great eminence,” said Justice Rajender Sachhar, a former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court. He was speaking at a seminar on Indian Constitution: A Review.

The two-day seminar began at the Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development (CRRID) here today. It was attended by a large number of experts on the Constitution, advocates, judges, political scientists and students of the Indian Constitution. They participated in discussions on the setting-up of a commission for the review of the Constitution.

Justice Sachhar said, before setting up any commission for the review of the Constitution, the matter should have been discussed in detail in the Parliament. “Perhaps the review of the Constitution is a compulsion for the Bharatiya Janata Party which is in search of some issue for its propaganda,” he said. Talking about the Article 356, Justice Sachhar said it had been misused by all every political party. “We do not need this Article and we should get rid of it soon,” he said.

Professor R.N. Pal of the Department of Political Science in Punjabi University and an expert on the Constitution, said constitution and countries were both legal entities now. “Country represents its people and the Constitution is the basic law to be applied on them. Therefore, when the Constitution becomes unstable, so does the country,” he said. However, he also said the Constitution should not be static or too dynamic. “It has to change with society and time. That is why there are always in-built provisions for amendment in every Constitution and India is not an exception.”

Professor Pal said although the Constitution did not have any provision for recasting, there were provisions for amendments. “Even Dr B.R. Ambedkar, architect of the Indian Constitution, had specified that it should not be considered the last word.”

Professor Pal said 50 years were enough to warrant a comprehensive review of the Constitution. “We have already overhauled the Constitution by making more than 83 amendments and are about to make a few more. However, we have failed to evolve healthy parliamentary institutions like two-party system, non-party speakership and responsible opposition. Criminals have entered politics and leadership has become a game of power brokers,” he said.

Professor Pal said the review committee of the Constitution did not include any political scientist, so, it was a minority commission. He suggested a large number of proposals to be included in the Constitutional review.

Mr Rashpal Malhotra, Director of the CRRID, said an idea, matter or model became more relevant when it was interpreted and not reinterpreted according to the changing times. He said the same logic applied to the Constitution of India.

Dr Ranbir Sharma, a former Head of the Department of Political Science in Himachal Pradesh University, said there was a need to reassess the Constitution. “No matter how good a Constitution, a document or a system is, with time, it needs reinterpretation,” he said.

Anti-encroachment drive
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Aug 27 — A special anti-encroachment drive was launched by the police in the Central Division to clear corridors and verandahs in the markets and rehri markets on Friday and Saturday.

According to Dr Sagar Preet Hooda, ASP (Central), the drive was launched following complaints by the general public that shopkeepers had encroached upon the areas in front of their shops, putting them to a lot of inconvenience. The obstructions are offences under Section 34-5-61 of the Police Act and Section 283 of the IPC.

Among the markets and rehri markets covered were in sectors 15,16,11,10,8 and 14. The drive will be continued and strict action taken against the violators, he added.

Byelaws issue irks residents
From Our Correspondent

ZIRAKPUR, Aug 27 — The decision of the Zirakpur Nagar Panchayat to implement the byelaws on the pattern followed by the Jalandhar Municipal Council has created confusion and resentment among the residents and the members of the civic body’s advisory committee.

The panchayat authorities have advertised in a newspaper that the byelaws followed by the Jalandhar Municipal Council will be followed by the civic body. In this context the authorities have also sought objections from the public within 30 days from the publication of the advertisement.

Residents of the area complain that without knowing the byelaws of the Jalandhar MC, how one can comment on them and file objections. The authorities have not informed even the members of the 16-member advisory committee and provided copies of the byelaws so that the people could have gone through it before filing objections.

The committee members alleged that the panchayat authorities never took them into confidence, while taking major decisions. Before deciding about the implementation of the byelaws in the Zirakpur Nagar Panchayat area, the panchayat officials should have discussed the matter with members of the committee, they opine.

Though Capt Kanwaljit Singh, Finance and Planning Minister of Punjab, had confirmed at a meeting that the panchayat authorities would discuss every development project with members of advisory committee before taking any firm decision, disclosed Mr Narinder Sharma, sarpanch of Lohgarh village and member of the advisory committee.

Moreover, the authorities often invite tenders for different development works but never discuss the issues with committee members. They are informed only about the minor issues, Mr Sharma said.

Mr Jagdev Sharma, another committee member, expressed his ignorance about the nagar panchayat’s decisions on byelaws. ‘‘While the government is claiming to turn Zirakpur into a mini Chandigarh, on the other side, it is following the byelaws of Jalandhar instead of the ones followed by the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation, Dera Bassi, Rajpura and Patiala municipal councils”, he said.

Mr Amrit Lal Bansal, Executive Officer, said that the byelaws were being opted on the government orders. Keeping in view the nature of public objections, the byelaws can be amended, he added.

Power line to be commissioned today
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Aug 27 — The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, will commission the Rs 20-crore 220 KV Shahbad-Panchkula transmission line at Madanpur village in Panchkula district on Monday.

An official spokesman said the 67 km-long transmission line would not only check the problem of low voltage, but also improve the availability of power in Panchkula and Naraingarh towns and adjoining villages. In all, more than 1 lakh consumers in Panchkula, Morni, Naraingarh, Barwala, Raipur Rani, Sadhaura and Brara blocks will benefit.

The spokesman added that now it would be possible to supply power from the Power Grid Corporation’s 400 KV substation at Abdulhapur and Panipat Thermal Power Plant. Till recently, Panchkula district was supplied power from only the Ropar-Pinjore line. In case of shortage of power, the area was provided power from Himachal Pradesh under an agreement.

Water supply may be hit on Aug 29
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Aug 27 — In the wake of the strike call by the coordination committee of the government and municipal corporation employees and workers of the UT, the water supply in the city is likely to be affected from August 29 morning to August 30 morning.

According to Mr Manmohanjit Singh, Superintending Engineer, efforts are being made to maintain the water supply. However, the residents are requested to maintain adequate arrangements for water in advance tomorrow.

In case of any emergency, the public is requested to contact at telephone nos 781156, 691882, 603205 and 713727, he added.