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June 12, 2001, Chandigarh, India
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Dental care at your doorsteps Ludhiana, June 11 A first effort of its kind in the city was done by the CMC as a part of the Christian Dental College Community Outreach Programme. The van service, to reach the schools and village, in remote areas, was started in August 1984 by Dr Joy Joshi. Way back in eighties, the then Union Health Minister had donated two imported medical vans, and Dr Joshi got one van converted into a dental van with two dental units, two dental chairs and fully equipped with latest equipment like ultrasonic scalers and high speed drills. All the dental treatment is given free of cost and the expenses are borne by the College. The objective of the van was to reach out to the patients who found it difficult to come to the dentists. Moreover, the students of Christian Dental College have community dentistry as a subject. The various visits gives them the needed exposure and insight into the common dental ailments though they are not allowed to work on the patients. The van can be directly connected with the main electricity point though it has an inbuilt generator that supplies the necessary power in the absence of electricity pole. A dental team comprising of a dental surgeon, dental assistant, interns and a few students travel in an accompanying van to different schools, factories and villages. The college has marked 72 centres for providing dental services. Dr Joshi said, “On an average we reach out to 10,000 to 20,000 patients every year. The type of treatment given consists of examination, scaling (cleaning of teeth), filling of cavities, extractions and temporary fillings to provide relief from pain. Along with the treatment, the doctors and students create general awareness of oral hygiene in the minds of the community by talks, through posters and models. In the schools, the dental surgeon takes up classes for both the teacher and the students and educates them on oral dental hygiene.” Ms Kiran Bedi on her visit to Ludhiana on May 7 launched a Dental Health Education and Awareness Drive at the CDC. She also inaugurated a mobile dental hospital which the students had gifted to the Christian Dental College by collecting funds through a week-long fund raising activities like organising fetes, plays, fashion shows etc. The mobile dental hospital is pressed into service of the community and is solving a lot of dental problems of villagers living on the periphery of the city. Dr Joshi said their future plan is to provide partial as well as full dentures to the people from economically weaker sections of society. Even now the villagers who require dentures come to the CDC. Though a denture costs Rs 3,000, the poor patients are charged only Rs 500. Dr Joshi said the people never had any respect for free dentures as they often throw it away. The van keeps on visiting the selected centres continuously for back-up treatment. Now they have started collecting the data to see the relationship between dental caries — oral hygiene, financial status and eating habits. The greatest reward for the team is the warm hospitality they receive in the villages. The van is out touring to its destination four days a week. Dr Joshi said that for healthy teeth, carbohydrate diet should be preferred and sugar, chocolates, soft drinks, etc., should be avoided. Raw vegetables, protein diet, milk and milk products are healthy for the teeth. Another point that he stressed was that frequency of utilisation of sugar is more important than quantity of sugar. |
A.S. Club, KVM clinch top
honours Ludhiana, June 11 In the sub-senior section, the team championships were bagged by A. S. Swimming Club Khanna (boys) and Guru Nanak Public School, Ludhiana (girls) with 62 and 73 points respectively. Sacred Heart Senior Secondary School, BRS Nagar, Ludhiana (30 points) and Sacred Heart Convent School, Ludhiana (15 points) were adjudged runners-up. Results: |
IT Dept to start on-line refunding service Ludhiana, June 11 Mr Sudhakar Verma, who has joined as the Chief Income Tax Commissioner, in an interview to the Ludhiana Tribune, said the IT Department was finalising a new scheme of refund claims on-line. Under the scheme, initially, the assesses would be given an option to open their accounts in specific banks. After completing the process of assessment, their refunds would be automatically transferred to their accounts. The time gap would be drastically reduced with the introduction of this scheme. Later, the scheme would be extended to all the banks that can provide the service. It may be mentioned that the department’s awareness campaign had led to the filing of about 30,000 returns by the new assesses last year. The income tax collection from the Ludhiana range is expected to cross Rs 300 crore this year. The Ludhiana range comprises of Ludhiana and Moga districts and Malerkotla and Dhuri towns. The department officials maintain that about 25-30 per cent of potential assesses were not filing returns. Mr Verma, who had served as Commissioner Centre (Appeals) here earlier in 1997, is not new to the city. He admitted that like any other city or state the people here also wanted to avoid taxes as far as possible. However, under the policy of the government, almost 97 per cent of the returns are accepted as such they are filed by the assesses. Denying the allegations of industrialists and traders of harassment by the department officials, Mr Verma said, “Though the chances of harassment cannot be denied as such, but our purpose is just to get the required information and taxes. The department conducts surveys in rare cases and the raids are conducted only if we get specific information about tax evasion. We have also to explain our position in the courts.” When asked about the massive income tax evasion by the coaching institutes and medical centres in the city and nearby towns, he said, “No doubt, they may be disclosing their income till now, but with the restructuring of the department, we expect better monitoring of their cases as well as other segments who are indulging in tax evasion.” Mr Verma emphasised the need for the payment of exact taxes on time so that the assesses could have their peace of mind. Appealing to the public in a philosophical manner, he said, “The purpose of earning in life is to get satisfaction and peace of mind. What is the purpose of evading taxes if we have fears in our mind of raids by the IT Department.” |
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Promotions for 26 retired inspectors Samrala, June 11 |
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