The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Chandigarh Stories

HEALTH

WHO WORKSHOP IN GMCH-32
Legislation advocated to check noise pollution
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Jan 30 — Experts in different disciplines of medicines discussed various topics related to disability management on the second day of the WHO workshop “Orientation training of trainers in disability prevention and rehabilitation”, organised by the Orthopaedics Department of the GMCH here today.

Prof S.B.S. Mann, Director-Principal, GMCH, talked on the causes of hearing loss and the measures needed for its prevention. He said that the occupational hazards are major causes for hearing loss, resulting from noise pollution.

Stressing on the need for safety measures which should be taken by industrial workers, Prof Mann advocated a legislation by the government to prevent noise pollution in public.

Prof Arjun Das, Head, ENT Department, GMCH, discussed the role of screening of normal population for early diagnosis of hearing loss and stressed that severity of deafness could be decreased by treating it at an early stage.

Speaking about the effect of hearing loss on development of speech and language in children and adults, Dr Ravi Kapoor, an audiologist and speech therapist from the GMCH, discussed the psycho-social problems associated with it.

Prof B.S. Chavan, stressed the role of community-based approach for the management of the mental disabilities.

Giving an overview of the visual impairment and its causes, Dr M.R.Dogra, Associate Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, PGI, discussed the measures to be taken for the prevention of blindness. He also spoke about the role of NGOs and measures for the prevention of blindness in premature babies.

Dr Sunandan Sood, Head, Ophthalmology, GMCH, talked about the importance of early identification of visual impairment and steps needed for its prevention and management. Elaborating on the magnitude of the problem in India, he said that out of the 18 crore blind people in the world, as many as 80 per cent are from the developing countries. India forms a large chunk of this, he said.

The headmaster of the Institute for the Blind, Mr Jyara, talked about the rehabilitation modalities required by the visually-impaired patients. Discussing the role of modern aids and appliances, he said that efficiency of the blind people can become almost normal with the help of modern modalities.

Dr J.S. Goraya, Paediatric Department, GMCH, said that approximately 3 per cent of the normal population has an Intellegence Ouotient (IQ) of less that 68, which is a mental disability. To diagnose it at an early stage, observation of the parents should never be disregarded and appropriate measures taken to diagnose disability at an early stage.

The three-day workshop was inaugurated by Mr R.S. Gujral, Home Secretary-cum-Secretary, Medical Education and Research. He urged the medical community to make a conscious effort to educate the community in disability prevention.

According to Prof Raj Bahadur, Head, Orthopaedics Department, GMCH, cum nodal officer for the workshop, 31 specialists from the fields of orthopaedics, ophthalmology, ENT, psychiatry and community medicine will be sensitised during this workshop towards care and management of the problems faced by the disabled people.

Prof Raj Bahadur said that there are more than 50 million disabled persons in the country, a majority of whom are suffering from locomotor disabilities. Under the directions from the WHO, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has constituted a core group of experts of various specialities selected from all over the country for devising curriculum for a chain of workshops. This includes training of master trainers, trainers and peripheral health care workers. He enumerated the causes and preventive aspects of locomotor disabilities.

In today’s session, Dr H.C. Goyal from Safdarjang Hospital, New Delhi, introduced the delegates to the concept of evolution of disability and rehabilitation. He stressed on the coordinated use of medical, social, educational and vocational measures for training or retaining the disabled to achieve the highest possible level of functional ability.

Dr V.K. Gupta, a senior specialist from the Lady Harding Medical College, New Delhi, outlined the history of rehabilitation efforts in India. He said that the enactment of “People with Disability Act, 1995” is a major milestone towards empowering the disabled people to demand equal opportunities for the states.

Highlighting the need for community-based rehabilitation, Dr J.S. Thakur from the Department of Community Medicine highlighted the need for community-based rehabilitation. He said coordinated efforts of various government agencies and NGOs were needed to achieve the goal of community-based rehabilitation.

Dr Ravi Gupta, Department of Orthopaedics, GMCH, elaborated the role of various aids and appliances in the rehabilitation of locomotor disabilities. Dr Gauri Joshi, Consultant Neurosurgeon, told the participants about the disabilities associated with head injuries, their medical treatment and eventual rehabilitation of these people.

Young in grip of AIDS
From Our Correspondent

CHANDIGARH, Jan 30 — More than half of the fresh cases of HIV-infection are detected in young people in developing countries. They acquire the virus through unprotective sex. Everyday, more than 7,000 youngsters get infected with the HIV and at least one in every 20 adolescents is treated for some sexually transmitted disease.

Those in the age group of 20 to 24 are the most vulnerable, followed by those in the age group of 15 to 19. Dr Clement Chela of London, cited these findings from his work on AIDS and health problems at a workshop on Youth Ambassadors of Positive Living in Commonwealth Youth Programme Asia Centre here. Dr Chela is Chief Programme Officer of the Commonwealth Secretariat Health Department of London.

According to him, more than half of the youngsters all over the world have sex before the age of 16. As a result, they get affected by a range of sexual and reproductive health problems. Mr Chela said youngsters would adopt safe behaviors if they were provided with the means to do so. “They need knowledge and support in order to protect themselves from AIDS and the other sexually transmitted diseases. This will also save them from unwanted pregnancy, sexual abuse and exploitation,” he said.

Mr Chela said lifestyles changed as countries developed, resulting in breakdown of family structures. A support mechanism helped in preserving traditional culture and values, besides taboo on pre-marital sex. Another reason for the spread of the disease was a lack of access to information, counselling and services. Youngsters did not learn about sex and reproductive health in school or family. Many of them relied on friends or the media for such information. Consequently, they develop many misconception on these issues.

He said young people wanted to talk about these issues, but it was not possible without the help of adults.

School athletics meet
By Our Sports Reporter

CHANDIGARH, Jan 30 — Mohinderjeet Kaur of Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Sector 18, secured first place in the 3000 metres event of the under-19 section of the UT Schools Athletics Meet held here today at Sports Complex, Sector 7. The other winners included Kiran of Government High school, Sector 40, in under-17 and Kushpreet of SGHPS-40 in girls in under-14 section.

In boys section, the winners are, for under-19; Latif Mohd of Government Senior Secondary School, Karsan, in 5000 metres, Harmeet Singh of GSSS-27 in discus throw; Sachin of DAVSSS-8 in high jump, Gurpreet Singh of DAVSSS-8 in under-17 and Harinder of PML SD Public School, Sector 32, in discus throw in under-17 section.

Cricket tourney
A superb knock of unbeaten 120 runs by Manoj Kumar enabled Punjab Financial Corporation in defeating Canara Bank by 73 runs in the final of the 7th Inter-Financial Institutions Cricket Tournament organised by the Punjab Financial Corporation Employees Welfare Association here at Gursagar grounds today.

Brief scores: PFC: 208 for three in 30 overs (Manoj 120 n.o., Inderjit 27). Canara Bank: 135 all out (Rampal 34, Sanjeev 17, Pandey 17, Pankaj 3 for 31, Manoj 2 for 16, Sushil 2 for 27).

The Deputy General Manager of the Canara Bank gave away the prizes. The man of the match award went to Manoj Kumar.

ADMINISTRATION

Admn looking for partner in hotel project
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Jan 30 — The Chandigarh Administration is considering the possibility of entering into a partnership with a private party to launch a five-star-hotel project in the city. This is part of the strategy to promote tourism in Chandigarh.

“A site near the Sector 17 Inter-State Bus Terminus has been earmarked for Janata Hotel,” said the UT Administrator, Lieut-Gen J.F.R. Jacob (retd). He said even the name of Yatri Nivas would be changed to Park View.

Regarding the five-star hotel project, the General said the cost of land was enormous, which was a deterrent for investors. A private party would be given land to build a five-star hotel here. The Administration would get a share of the revenue from the gross profits and not the deducted profits.

The Administration had invited bids for the hotel site, but had not received a good response. The plan was shelved, though visitors to the city continued to demand quality hotel accommodation. As the city is becoming an important convention centre, the absence of a five-star hotel is being felt all the more.

The General had visited Yatri Nivas some days ago and expressed dissatisfaction at the condition of the kitchen and the quality of the service.