HEALTH

Rare surgery brings her arm to life
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 25
For this 22-year-old girl from Ladakh, life has undergone a pleasant change. Sarmalo can now lead a normal life thanks to a rare surgery performed by Dr Vikas Mehra, an orthopaedic and spinal surgeon from the Chandigarh Medical Center.

According to Dr Mehra, the young girl from Thiksay village in Leh District had suffered a brachial plexus injury at birth due to certain complications. “Problems at delivery resulted in an injury to her left arm. Although she could move her fingers, but the limb was not functional and kept hanging on the side. Sarmalo could not use it to lift, eat or do anything.”

For the family it was a torture to see their marriageable daughter living with the stigma of disability. “Frequency of such injuries is five in every 1,000 live births, what Sarmalo was suffering was its more severe form which many doctors mistook as a polio defect. Moreover, when it was presented to us, it was a 21-year-old case making it all the more rare,” says Dr Mehra.

Sarmalo’s family took her to many hospitals including the Kashmir Medical College where after several examinations, doctors concluded that it was a case of polio. Finally her brother decided to take her to Chandigarh.

Dr Mehra recognising signs of hopeful recovery decided to perform arthrodesis of the shoulder joint and tendon transplant in which muscles were created and joined. The arm was first put in a plaster and later in a brace. However, when the brace was removed yesterday after seven months, all were in for a pleasant surprise. “It was completely normal and Sarmalo used it as if she had been doing so for all her life. When we conducted the surgery we had hoped for a 50-50 chance because for over 20 years the limb had been lying limp on the side and muscles had been atrophied. There is 70 per cent improvement and it is a functional now. By next year, with physiotherapy, it would be completely normal,” says Dr Mehra.

For Dr Mehra, it was the first experience of its kind. “It is so heartening to see life of a young girl change for the better. And I think it is a rare case in itself as it is not so often that a doctor gets to treat such a case,” he says.

And Sarmalo, all she wants to do now is sit for a higher examination. “I have already cleared my Class XII examination,” says the beaming girl from Ladakh.

SPORTS

Trials for CFA trainees
Our Sports Reporter

Chandigarh, July 25
Trials for selection of six more boys for the Chandigarh Football Academy (CFA), were conducted at Sports Complex, Sector 7, this morning and at Sports Complex, Sector 42, this evening. The participants, who had come from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh, were put to various physical tests.

The academy, a dream venture of the UT Administrator, Lieut-Gen (retd) J.F.R. Jacob, was started last year. After rigorous selection trials held at different places in Punjab and Haryana, 24 boys were selected in the age group of 9 to 10 years. Only last week, six boys were rejected by an experts’ committee, which had caused resentment among the trainees as well as the parents. Though the initial agreement had mentioned the weeding out process, it was alleged that the boys had been kicked out to adjust some of the favourites. Another charge was that the time to weed out was not right since admissions were over in all the other schools of the region.

Sport festival

As many as 400 students from different schools of the Panchkula district took part in the two-day Sports Festival organised by the District Sports and Youth Welfare Department, Panchkula, at Government Senior Secondary School, Sector 7, and CL DAV Public school, Sector 11, Panchkula. Satluj Public School won overall trophy in boys’ section in athletics and defeated GSSS-7 4-2 in football. CL DAVSSS-11 won girls trophy in athletics, while volleyball title went to DAVSSS-8, Panchkula.

Exam at DAV-10

The Amateur Athletics Association, Chandigarh, will hold the North Zone examinations for federation technical officials on August 11 and 12 at DAV College, Sector 10, Chandigarh. According to Mr Ravinder Chaudhary, secretary of the association, the states and units covering this zone include Punjab, Delhi, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Uttranchal, FCI, SCB, AIU, All India Police SCB, Railways SCB, Services SCB and steel plant units. The AAAC conducted the STO examinations and Gurmeet Singh, Inderjit Singh and Harjinder Singh qualified for the same.

ADMINISTRATION

Modernisation of PCR on cards
Tribune News Service

SAS Nagar, July 25
Modernisation of the Police Control Room (PCR) in the town is on the cards. The DIG, Ludhiana Range, Mr Suresh Arora, said effort was being made to start patrolling in the town on the pattern of the Chandigarh police. An incharge of the PCR would be directly supervising the PCR patrols.

Equipping the PCR with better communication sets and vehicles was being actively considered. Mr Arora said recording facility at the control room was being set up to trace blank calls. Two telephone operators would be on duty in each of the three shifts in the control room.

To improve policing, a three-fold beat system was being introduced. An effective beat system of the connecting the patrolling vehicles with the PCR was being evolved. The town had been divided into seven beats. Patrolling on the outer ring would be done by PCR Gypsy. The sub-beats would be covered by motorcyclists and in the inner parts of the sectors patrolling on foot would be done. The duties would be divided into three shifts of eight hours each.

He said roughly 21 NGOs, 72 head constables and 198 constables were required to improve policing in the town. As an earlier effort to bring force from border range did not work, he was taking the matter of additional force with the Director-General of Police. He said he was taking up with the Home Department the matter of notifying an additional police station in the town.

Asked about the policemen posted outside the district, but staying in staff quarters in Phase 1 and Phase 8 police stations, he advised the Senior Superintendent of Police, Mr GPS Bhullar to charge penal rent from the erring policemen. He also was in favour of initiating proceedings under the relevant provisions of the Police Act.