HEALTH

DHS planning surprise checks on chemists
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 21
To put a check on indiscriminate sale of cough syrup containing codeine — an intoxicating element — by city chemists, the local Director of Health Services, Dr Rameshwar Chander, is planning to conduct surprise checks on chemists.

According to Dr Chander, most of the drugs, including cough syrup, cannot be sold without the prescription of a qualified physician. The codeine-containing cough syrups are mostly sold by the chemists in the periphery and villages to addicts,mostly young school boys and girls.

Codeine-containing cough syrups are listed under schedule H of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, which states that these medicines cannot be sold over the counter without the prescription of a doctor or a registered medical practioner. It is learnt that a large number of chemists in the city were openly selling (without prescription) these cough syrups in the black market.

The DHS further adds that this will also put a check on the chemists who buy these drugs from adjoining states of Punjab and Delhi with a view to avoiding sales tax. During the raids, stocks of cough syrup in the shop will be tallied with sales tax receipts and cash memos of sales.

Training workshop for ESI officials
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 21
A two-day training programme on prevention and control of AIDS and HIV in India was organised by the Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) for its nodal officers in the region here.

Inaugurating the programme, the Director, Health Services, Dr Rameshwar Chandra, emphasised the need for treatment of STD cases, maintaining safety measures during blood transfusion, universal precautions and the importance of training health workers.

As many as 32 delegates from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Chandigarh attended the programme. The training focused on epidemiological disorders, blood safety, STD control counselling and control of HIV and AIDS cases.

The ESIC, with its network of 139 hospitals, 1,443 dispensaries and 3,000 clinics, is engaged in providing medical services to 3.5 crore beneficiaries throughout the country. It plans to set up 85 STD centres, 22 new blood banks and 35 voluntary testing centres.

Nurses’ body flays transfer
Our Correspondent

SAS Nagar, June 21
The Punjab Nurses Association has criticised the action of the authorities concerned in transferring a staff nurse from the local Civil Hospital to a rural hospital in the Morinda area.

Ms Jiwan Preet Kaur, association president, said that a clerk at the local hospital had allegedly not behaved properly with the nurse and an inquiry had been ordered into the matter by the Minister of State for Health, Ms Mohinder Kaur Josh. Even before the probe could begin, the authorities transferred the nurse. She objected to this action of the Principal Secretary, Health, and the Managing Director, Punjab Health Systems Corporation.

The association president said such a step not only went against the interests of the affected nurse but also of women in general. She sought the reversal of the transfer order and action against the clerk. If this was not done, she said, the association would launch an agitation in support of its demands.

ADMINISTRATION

Admn shows bias in issuing notices
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 21
The Chandigarh Administration which stands to recover a whopping Rs 37 crore from certain members of the public is also playing favourites when it comes to issuing notices to people. At least actions of the staff dealing with various files are questionable.

A startling case is of an Estate Office employee who has built his house in Sector 37 while being in arrears. Till date, no notice has been served him, even reminding that he has to pay, what to talk of resumption. A similar case is of two shop-cum-offices (SCOs) in Sector 20 which stand in the name of a Haryana IAS officer. The amount of arrears is unknown as is the fate of the file. An SCO in Sector 8 is owned by a Punjab-cadre IAS officer. His file also never surfaces, said sources, adding that the officer has to pay about Rs 40 lakh. During the past two months, since the Chandigarh Administration started preparing lists of defaulters, these cases have not surfaced.

A Congress leader who owns a hotel has not paid any lease money during the past 15 years and no one has dared to even issue a notice.

Interestingly, after today’s report in Chandigarh Tribune mentioning that the Administration has to recover Rs 37 crore from the people who first bid for property and then did not pay, there has been no reaction from the Administration. The Deputy Commissioner-cum-Estate Officer, Mrs Varsha Joshi, is holding a temporary charge while the DC, Mr M. Ramsekhar, is away on training. The Assistant Estate Officer, who could have replied about it, is on leave.

Senior officers like the Adviser to the UT Administration and the Home Secretary are also away to Delhi.

Those who have not paid

* All figures in lakhs.

* Out of 196 major defaulters people who owe more than Rs 10 lakh have been listed

Streetlight privatisation is on
Our Correspondent

SAS Nagar, June 21
The Municipal Council here has been given the go-ahead for the privatisation of streetlights service in the town.

The Regional Deputy Director of the Local Government, Dr K. S. Sra, had met the officials concerned of the MC yesterday to discuss the matter of privatisation. Reportedly, the data presented to him convinced him that it would be beneficial for the council to go ahead with the plan.

Earlier, the higher authorities of the Punjab Local Government Department had adopted a cautious approach and wanted the council officials to carry out a study to determine whether the privatisation venture would be profitable. This was done because the local MC was the first body in the state where the scheme was to be implemented. Privatisation of the streetlights service had been introduced only in some of the Municipal Corporations like Ludhiana and Patiala earlier.

The council’s average expenses on maintaining streetlights was Rs 52 per point. The contractor, under the new scheme, would do the work for Rs 47 per point. The contractor is required to maintain only independent streetlight points and not what are technically called “composite” points. There are 4,200 independent streetlight points in the town.

In Ludhiana, the charges vary according to the wattage of streetlights. The average charges per pole are between Rs 66 and Rs 75. In Patiala, the maintenance charges of the private contractor are Rs 50 per streetlight point.

The council officials say that the civic body has almost completed all formalities under the rules laid down by the Punjab State Electricity Board for the plan to materialise. The streetlight power connection that stood in the name of PUDA has not been transferred to the council so far.

Under the privatisation plan, the council employees will regularly check whether the streetlights in the town are in working order or not. The contractor will be required to repair the non-functional ones within 24 hours or face a penalty of Rs 50 per point.

Deadline extended
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 21
The Chandigarh Administration has extended the deadline to allow direct marketing sales person to get identity cards made by the Deputy Commissioner. All manufacturers and dealers shall have to submit the particulars of all sales persons engaged by them to the DC office by July 5. The involvement of unregistered sales persons had been noticed in criminal activities.

20 rehris impounded
Tribune News Service

Panchkula, June 21
To tackle the growing nuisance of fruit vendors on the dividing road of Sector 7 and 8, the Estate Office impounded their rehris here today.

The Estate Officers, Mr D.P. Singh, said that the enforcement staff had taken 20 rehris in their custody, though the fruit had been handed over the vendors. He added that the rehris would be handed over once the vendors paid the fine.

Mr Singh said that the staff would undertake such operations of removal of rehris and encroachments on a regular basis since the vendors had refused to clear the area.

The president of the Citizen Welfare Association, Mr S.K Nayar, recently took up the issue of these encroachments at the roundabout and said that the rehris had become a traffic hazard and could lead to serious accidents.