HEALTH

Rs 3-lakh grant for hospital
Our Correspondent

Mandi Gobindgarh, August 2
“Though it is a prime duty of the government to provide health facilities to the people, it is a pity that many of those belonging to the lower class are dying for want of proper treatment, which is very costly in our country. This was stated by Mr Lajpat Rai, MP, who was the chief guest at the annual function of Parbhat Puri Charitable Hospital held here.

Mr Rai lauded efforts of the hospital in providing quality treatment to the poor people on a no-profit-no-loss basis, and saving their lives. He also announced a grant of Rs 3 lakh for a 63-KV generator set as the existing 15 KV generator was not able to meet the hospital requirements. He suggested that the hospital should focus on acquiring specialisation in some selected fields instead of providing services in all branches of medicare.

Mr M. K. Bansal, secretary of the trust, spoke about the activities of the hospital. Mr Parbhat Puri, chief patron of the trust, said the aim of the hospital was to provide medical services to the middle and poor class people of the area as they were unable to afford costly treatment.

Mr Parkash Chand Garg, president of the trust, said that the hospital had undergone a loss of Rs 2 lakh during 2000-2001, and Rs 1.5 crore had been spent on the building and the equipment in the past two years. He appealed to Mr Balram Ji Dass Tandon, Minister of Labour and Local Bodies, to fulfil his promise that the trust would be provided an annual grant of Rs 5 lakh by the Municipal Council of Mandi Gobindgarh.

Mr Ram Gopal Bansal, who was the guest of honour at the function, announced Rs 1.5 lakh for equipment of the hospital.

“Awareness key to combat addiction menace”
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, August 2
Drug addiction is becoming a serious problem in this industrial town. Several youngsters, especially students have become victims of this fast growing menace. There is a need to increase the awareness about the problem and education is the only effective way against the onslaught of this fast spreading social problem.

These views were expressed by Dr Rajeev Gupta, consultant psychiatrist and deaddiction specialist at Manas — a Psychology and Deaddiction centre. The centre is celebrating the month of August as the de-addiction month.

The centre authorities distributed the material about various aspects of drug addiction, giving complete details of the common drugs, their side effects, common complications and their treatment free of cost to more than 10,000 students of KVM School, Sacred Heart Convent School, BVM School, New Senior Secondary School, Guru Nanak Public School, Sant Ishar Singh International School and GRD Academy.

Dr Gupta said since more and more students were falling into the trap of various addictive substances, it was important to create awareness among them at an early stage. Dr Gupta said a series of talks on drug abuse would be organised in the schools during this month.

SPORTS

Sargodha school team wins
Our Sports Reporter

Ludhiana, August 2
Sargodha National Public High School, Ludhiana, scored a thumping 8-wicket victory over Guru Nanak International High School, Ludhiana, to secure their berth in the semi-final of the Inter-High School Cricket Tournament here today.

Guru Nanak International High School captain won the toss and elected to bat first. They scored 96 for 9 in 16 overs with main Sukhpreet scoring 28 runs and Raman 11. Kulbir scored 10 runs. For Sargodha National Public School, Vishavpreet and Yogesh chipped in with three wicket each conceding 10 and 24 runs, respectively. Sushyant Kohli grabbed two wickets for 27 runs and Charandeep took one for 15.

Sargodha National Public School made the required runs in 13 overs after losing just two wickets. Harpreet contributed 23, Charandeep and Amarpal remained unbeaten on 19 and 24 runs respectively. Dushyant Kohli scored 10 runs. Guru Nanak International High School’s Simran and Gaganpreet claimed one wicket each for 12 and 21 runs, respectively.

Bridge tourney from Sept 8
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, August 2
The National Bridge Championship is scheduled to be held from September 8 to 10 at the Satluj Club, Ludhiana. The tourney will be inaugurated by Mr R.N. Gupta, chief patron, Punjab Bridge Association, while Mr K.R. Lakahanpal would preside over the opening ceremony. The Chief Secretary, Punjab, Mr N.K. Arora, will preside over the closing ceremony and distribute prizes to the winners.

According to a press note issued here today by Er Krishan Goyal, general secretary, Punjab Bridge Association, about 60 teams would participate in the championship.

The prize money for teams of the duplicates section would be Rs 20,000 for winners, Rs 10,000 for runners-up and Rs 4,000 for each position-holder up to the eighth position. In the pair section, the prize money would Rs 4,000 for winners, Rs 2,000 for runners-up and Rs 1,000 for each position-holder up to the eighth position. The entry fee would be Rs 150 for team of 'Four Duplicate' per head and Rs 200 per pair for open pair category.