HEALTH

Massive polio immunisation drive
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Dec 10 —Around one lakh children below the age of five were administered polio drops at 461 centres, including 15 mobile booths, spread across the city as part of the first phase of the nationwide polio immunisation drive today.

Ms Vineeta Rai, Adviser to the Chandigarh Administrator, Mr Rakesh Singh, Health Secretary, and Dr Satbir Singh, District RCH Officer, visited various centres to supervise the pulse polio immunisation campaign. Teachers and students of many government and government-aided schools participated in campaign.

According to Dr M.P. Minocha, Director, Family Welfare, care has been taken to ensure that the maximum number of children below five years are given the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV). He appealed to all the parents, whose children, due to some reason or the other, had missed taking the dose today, to contact the nearest primary health care centre or a civil dispensary, tomorrow.

The UT was divided into three zones, each of which was headed by senior officials from the PGI, GMCH, and GH-16. A total of 1800 persons were part of this campaign. A number of non government organisations were part of this campaign to eradicate polio.

The Department of Community Medicine, GMCH, Sector 32, also organised mass distribution of the Vitamin A solution in collaboration with the Health Department and UNICEF in all the slums of the city. Prof S.B.S. Mann launched the distribution by administering Vitamin A drops in Colony Number 5. He exhorted the staff to undertake the campaign vigorously to ensure complete eradication of polio.

Five Rotary Clubs joined hands with the Chandigarh Administration to administer polio drops to 35,553 children in the city at 129 booths managed by them. According to the zonal polio coordinator of the Rotary District 3080, Mr Baldev Aggarwal, the club members also immunised 1,053 children at the Dhillon Barrier in collaboration with the Chandigarh police.

The International Association of Lions Club had set up 22 centres, where 7,830 children were given the OPV drops. These included Mauli Jagran, Colony number 5, Karsan, Sector 45 and Ram Darbar II.

Members of Lions Club Rose also administered polio drops to 800 children at the two centres set up at the Tribune Chowk and Labour Colony, Sector 31. Members of Lions Club Chandigarh Plaza also distributed sweets and biscuits to children at Sectors 18 and 21 booths. Lions Club Chandigarh Central, Nightingale, Host, Classic, Daffodils, Moonstar, Manimajra, City, Grace and Lotus, motivated parents to get their children immunised against polio.

The NSS unit of GMSSS, Sector 32, also participated in the campaign. They went door to door to make people aware about the campaign. At the pulse polio kendra 162, on the school premises, 58 children were administerd polio drops.

The Health Department had allotted nine centres in Sector 45, including Burail village, to the Lions Club Chandigarh Supreme. According to the secretary of the club, Mr K.K. Bansal, 3,500 children were given polio drops by the members.

Various branches of the State Bank of India, together with Lions Club Mani Majra and Mid Town organised pulse polio camps at 15 centres. These included Attawa village, Colony number 5, Sector 41, 42 and 43, Khajheri and Furniture Chowk. More than 1,000 children were given OPV and Vitamin A. Migrant labourers were covered under the campaign.

Citizens Awareness Group, in collaboration with the Family Welfare Bureau, immunised 3,700 children in Sectors 38, 39 and 40, Lal Bahadur Shastri Colony, Palsora village and Mohali Barrier. Members of the group also encouraged the public to bring their children to immunisation centers.

The NSS unit of the Punjab Engineering College organised a pulse polio camp in Sectors 27, 28, 29 and 30, Mauli Jagran and Kishangarh. A total of 34 booths were set up and more than 10,573 children were immunised against polio. NSS unit of Government College of Education, Sector 20, also organised a pulse polio camp at Kajheri village.

DERA BASSI
Over 26,000 children below the age of five years were vaccinated against polio in the subdivision. The SDM, Mr Sher Singh Sidhu, inaugurated the drive here by administering polio drops to an infant.

KHARAR
The pulse polio programme got a good response here. According to Dr S.S. Dhanoa, SMO, Civil Hospital, Kharar, and Mr Kirpal Singh Saini, project chairman, Rotary Club, Kharar, 3,837 children were given polio drops against the target of 3197 children. One mobile team was stationed at the local bus stand. According to Mr Ashok Sharma, 154 children were given polio drops in Bajheri village.

PANCHKULA
Polio drops were administered to over 50,000 children at a total of 305 booths — 59 urban, 232 rural and 14 mobile — set up in the district. The children who failed to come to the booths would be covered at the two-day door-to-door exercise to administer drops begining tomorrow.

Nearly 15,000 children were covered in the urban belt of Panchkula and Kalka, while 5,660 children visited the camps in rural Pinjore, 7,032 in old Panchkula and 3,639 children in Raipur Rani. In Hangola and Kot, 3,059 and 4,366 children, respectively, were given polio drops. At Barwala, 3,814 children reported at the camps in the block.

The response in urban pockets was less than that in the rural areas. Extra effort was made to cover high-risk pockets of areas which included brick-kilns, poultry farms and colonies. Ten out of the 14 mobile camps were on duty in these areas.

The poor response in the urban areas was attributed to the house-to-house exercise undertaken in the district. The cold weather conditions prevalent during the day proved to be a deterrent.

SAS NAGAR
As many as 1,27,205 children up to five year of age were immunised at 890 centres in Ropar district. Of the total immunisation posts, 737 were in rural areas and remaining in urban areas. In the town covered by 38 posts of the local Civil Hospital, 9,120 children were immunised.

An official of the health department said 7,577 children were given polio drops at permanent posts and 1,543 children were immunised at mobile posts. The social workers and anganwadi workers helped the health department at the immunisation posts.

The Ranbaxy Community Healthcare Society immunised 601 children at two posts here. In the door-to-door survey beginning tomorrow, at least 1,430 houses would be surveyed by members of the society. 

SPORT

Overall trophy for St Joseph’s School
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, Dec 10 — St Joseph’s School, Sector 44, bagged the overall trophy in the Chandigarh Taekwondo Championship which concluded here today at the Skating Rink, Sector 10. Gurpreet Singh, Jabbad Singh and K. Romi were declared best fighters in the boys’ section while Chinki, Sanpret and Rita in the girls’ section.

Sahil Sharma of Sacred Dales School bagged the first place in below the 21 kg Section while Rita of Shaheen Public school secured first place in below 18 kg section. The other winners in various events in boys section were, Rishav, Gurpreet Singh, Gaurav Rana, Jasbir Singh, Ankit Mehta, Jabbar Singh, Paramvir Thapa, Amarinder, Gaurav Saini, Ravi, Sameer Jain, Vir Devender, Amardeep, Yuvraj, K Romi, S Zimik, Somadrajit and Rakesh Kumar.

In the girls’ section the winners included, Rita, Minki, Shefali, Chinki, Sarita, Manpreet Kaur, Tejinder Kaur, Sanpreet Kaur and Kanchan.

Basketball trials
The Chandigarh Basketball Association will hold selection trials for men and women at the Sports Complex, Sector 7 on December 12 at 3 pm. The players thus selected will attend a 15-day coaching camp for boys at Sports Complex, Sector 46 and for girls at Sport-Complex, Sector 7. The Camp will commence from December 18. The final teams selected after the camp will represent UT in the 51st Senior National Basketball Championship for men and women to be held at Kanteerva Stadium, Bangalore, from January 5 to 12. The participants for the trials should report to Mr KS Bharti secretary of the association.

Cricket tournament
The High Court Cricket Club outplayed Cable Network Systems XI by seven wickets in the inaugural Videocon cash prize cricket tournament played here. In other matches of the day, the Democratic Youth Federation of India defeated Jupiter Aqua Line by eight wickets. In yet another match of the day, Videocon XI outplayed AS Xi by 14 runs. In the last match of the day, Kalsi Cricket Club beat Stadium Junior XI by eight wickets. 

Sandhu panel wins Golf Club poll
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Dec 10 — Eight members of the Gurinderjit Singh Sandhu panel were elected executive members to the managing committee of the local Golf Club here today. The other three in the 11-member managing committee are independents.

The results of the polling held yesterday were declared today evening. Of the total 1,776 voters, 888 members had cast their votes. Right from the beginning of the counting, the trend was in favour of the president’s panel. Earlier, Mr Gurinderjit Singh Sandhu was elected unopposed president of the club for 2001.

Mr Sandeep Singh Sandhu, Bobby, who topped the list all through, polled as 535 votes. Others include Col H.S Baidwan (513), Mr SMS Sandhu (448), Mr Alamgir Singh Grewal (447), Col. J.S Panag (440), Mr Surinder Pal Singh Ghai Nippy 403, Mr Gurinder Singh Attariwala Dimpy (374) and Dr J.S Chadha (365) .

Three others who have been elected are Dr Ravinder Chadha (428), Mr Sukhjotpreet Singh Matharoo Jyoti (384) and Col J.S Kang (332). Though Mr K.S Sibia Biru was among the winners and had polled 405 votes, his candidature was not considered in accordance with reference rule 43 (H) of Memorandum of Association of Rules and Regulations of Chandigarh Golf Club,1996.

The Returning Officer, Col J.S. Gill, in his note, observed that Mr K.S Sibia was not eligible to serve on the managing committee, having turned professional in 1998. He would otherwise have been elected but for this rule, which prohibits a professional golfer to be on the managing committee. Col Gill said Mr Sibia had not mentioned his turning a pro in his nomination form and the discrepancy in his candidature was detected yesterday. 

UT rowing academy to have national status
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, Dec 10 —The proposed rowing academy at Chandigarh will have a budget of a few crore rupees with inputs from the Sports Authority of India, according to Col CP Singh Deo, secretary-general of the Rowing Federation of India.

It may be recalled that a few months back, Mr KP Singh Deo, president of the RFI, had visited the city and had asked the SAI to set up an academy. He had said that the proposal would be routed through the SAI corporate office.

Yesterday, Col Singh informed that they required at least 2.5 acres near the lake for the academy which would have a national status. He said considering all the facts, the RFI, SAI and the UT Administration would coordinate their activities for the same. He said the basic idea was to have long-term development plan for juniors with an eye on the 2006 Asiad. Col Singh said once the academy was established, the awareness about the sport would go up.

Col Singh said since Chandigarh possessed the finest course in India, the best talent should the tapped. He said it was rowing which has always given a medal to India at the international level.