HEALTH

IMA demands probe into patient’s death
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 29
The Indian Medical Association has demanded a thorough probe into the death of Mohinder Kaur who died in the PGI due to the alleged negligence of doctors on March 7.

In a letter to the PGI Director, Prof S.K. Sharma, the IMA President, Dr O.P. Singh Kande, said this was a case of lack of responsibility and criminal professional negligence on part of the highly placed medical teachers.

In this regard, the police inquiry ordered by the UT Administrator, Lieut-Gen JFR Jacob (retd) should continue and should not be obstructed, he said.

Brushing aside the view of senior PGI faculty members that PGI is an autonomous body and there should be no interference by the police, Dr Kande said he did not agree with the version.

Even if the PGI is an autonomous body it is not above the law of the land and people working there are very much accountable for their actions, he added.

SPORT

Karate champ in city
Our Sports Reporter

Chandigarh, March 29
She achieved glory at a tender age as she won a gold medal in kata at the World Cup of Martial Arts held in Sydney in October, 2000. This 11-year-old karate champion was here in the city to meet her grandparents who now live in Panchkula.

Karuna began karate in 1995 at Budo-Ryu Karate-Do International Institute at Kolkata. A student of St Xavier’s School, Panihatti, Kolkata, Karuna won the Sydney meet in Budo Ryu Karate Do International’ in below-12 year category where 75 participants from different countries took part.

Karuna, who had come to city after having appeared in class V examinations, said she love Chandigarh very much and has also gone around some of the karate institutes here. But she felt that there was still more scope to grow in this sport as very few take to karate as a fulltime sport.

She had also won the All-India Open Budo Ryu Karate Do Championship at Patna in January this year in kata. She told that in Kolkata, various schools have already introduced karate into the curriculum. Karuna said she was being trained by Mr Bappaditya Nandi for the past three years and was now preparing herself for the World Karate Championship to be held in April 2001 at Greece. But she said her aim was also to take part in the 2004 Olympics. At present she was having purple belt and her next aim is to get the brown belt. She practice daily for four hours at the Salt Lake Club, Kolkata, and her parents were happy with her being sincerely involved into this sport.

Karuna said in West Bengal there were many karate schools and the sport was very popular there. But there were hardly any sponsors, she added.

Taskeen, Vijayant win tennis tourney
Our Sports Reporter

Chandigarh, March 29
Taskeen Bains and Vijayant Malik clinched the singles title in the under-12 section of the Chandigarh Lawn Tennis Association monthly tennis meet which concluded here this morning at the CLTA stadium, Sector 10.

Sanam K. Singh was able to capture boys under-14 title, while girls under-16 title went to Neha Singh. The boys under-16 title went in the pocket of Jitin Bishnoi.

The under-10 boys final will be played on March 30 at 7.30 a.m.

Results: all finals: boys — under-12: Vijayant Malik b Shiva Sangwan 6-1, 6-0; under-14: Sanam K. Singh b Dilpreet Singh 7-6 (5), 6-0; under-16: Jitin Bishnoi b Harneet Singh 6-4, 6-2. Girls — under-12: Taskeen Bains b Mehak Singh 6-0, 6-0; under-16: Neha Singh b Satvika Saboo 6-3, 2-6, 6-1.

ADMINISTRATION

F&CC meeting today
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 29
The issue regarding the privatisation of streetlights in the city will be taken up by the Finance and Contract Committee ( F and CC) in its meeting tomorrow. The item has figured in the agenda of the F and CC nearly three times before, but has never been discussed. The other long-pending issues pertaining to use of open spaces adjoining hotels, review of cable network policy and modernisation of slaughter houses would also come up for discussion.

Sources reveal that members will discuss the strategy to handover the operation and maintenance of street lights to private parties. A decision is also likely to be taken as regards permission for using the open spaces adjoining the hotels and the annual charges for using the same may also be fixed. The hoteliers, who had sought that the land adjoining the hotels may be offered on annual lease to them , maintain that this would not only check the misuse of open spaces, but also ensure a fixed income for MC.

The other items on the agenda include, disposal of institutional sites in pocket No: 1, Mani Majra, purchase of sanitation items for day-to-day use by the field staff, publication of quarterly newsletter of the MCC, estimate for purchase of one gypsy in lieu of the condemned gypsy under the charge of X-En, Public health division no. 1 and auctioning of the condemned vehicles/machinery of road wing of MC. The members will also discuss the allotment of land for Group Housing Society in pockets no. 2 and 3, Mani Majra and recarpeting of the road opposite Raen Basera in Mani Majra at an estimated cost of Rs 11.16 lakh.

The supplementary agenda items include, approval of estimates worth Rs 67.80 lakh for augmenting the pumping machinery at water works, Sector 32. The item pertains to replacement of old pumping machinery, since the water works cater to a population of approximately 2.5 lakh. The procurement of spare parts of pumps and motors for augmenting the water supply scheme of phase 3 at Kajauli water works and tenders for supply of ordinary cement (43 grade) for MC would also be considered.

Mayor clarifies stand to Jacob
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 29
The Mayor, Mr Raj Kumar Goyal, who met the Punjab Governor and UT Administrator, Lt Gen (retd) JFR Jacob today, clarified his position with regard to the baseless allegations being levelled by the BJP -SAD councillors and the uproarious scenes in the House yesterday.

The Mayor pointed out that the allegations with regard to corruption charges and assault on Hari Dass near the entry gate of Divya Yog Mandir, Mani Majra are being ‘forcibly levelled only to defame him and tarnish his image in the public.’ He further said that BJP Mayors during the past four years had not accomplished much because of internal politics and now they were simply trying to hamper work which he, with the co-operation of officials, planned to do in his tenure. He alleged that BJP-SAD councillors did not let the House conduct the first business meeting yesterday and did not seem to be interested in the development of the city, although they were the elected representatives of the people. They wasted the time of the House by taking up issues which had no relevance to the agenda items and were simply trying to hamper work by virtue of their majority.

The Governor, Lt Gen Jacob, is reported to have told the Mayor that he in his capacity as the leader of the House, should try and resolve the differences at the earliest so that the functioning of MC did not suffer and councillors of both the ruling and opposition groups worked together for the betterment of the city. The Mayor was accompanied by five-six supporters during his visit.

Meanwhile, the Mayor visited colony no. 5 yesterday and directed the officials concerned to clear the piles of garbage lying here and there in the next one or two days as they posed a serious danger to the health of the residents. He also asked them to make proper arrangements for the drainage of the sewerage water in the colony. Reacting to the complaints of the residents regarding low water pressure, he asked the XEn. Public Health to prepare a proposal to provide a permanent solution to the problem. Besides this, he also directed that tiles be put on the roads in the colony.