HEALTH

PGI posts: permission sought for interviews
Vibha Sharma
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 6
The Director of the PGI Prof S.K. Sharma, has sought the permission of the Union Health Ministry to conduct interviews for 20 posts of professor, which have been lying vacant in the institute for some time now.

It may be recalled that about a year back, the PGI administration had advertised the posts along with those of assistant professors and had invited number of candidates from all over the country to appear before an interview panel for selection in April this year.

Despite being issued interview letters, to the utter surprise of the candidates, the interviews were called off just a couple of days before schedule on the directions of the Union Health Ministry and since then the PGI administration has remained silent over the issue.

Whereas, no official reason was communicated to the candidates, it is learnt interviews were “postponed” after intense lobbying on the part of senior additional professors who wanted the Cabinet decision which allowed promotion for 50 per cent of eligible additional professors to the professor rank to be implemented. “The problem lies in the inherent promotion policy of the institute where seniority changes at every level,” they add.

Meanwhile, resentment is brewing among senior PGI faculty members owing to the delay in filling up of vacancies for professor’s posts in several departments, including pharmacology, paediatrics, cardiology, ENT, virology, nuclear medicine, paediatric gastroenterology besides a couple of others.

Certain faculty members say this unnecessary delay is just because of internal politics at the senior level. “This has not only marred our chances to become professors in time but has also made our future uncertain,” they added.

The delay in filling these vacancies , they add, already could have resulted in mainfold implications. In many departments one of the two additional professors of some seniority has been given the makeshift charge of the Head of the department.

This, many say, leads to ego problems, breeds unhealthy rivalry and causes unnecessary heartburn and eventually it is the quality of work which suffers. “In case of persons with the same seniority, one not holding the post of administrative head can enforce his right of selecting his reporting officer to write his ACR who can be the person superior to his administrative head. But there is no check if an ad hoc head misuses the power temporarily invested in him,” says a senior faculty member.

It may be mentioned that during the tenure of Professor Sharma as the PGI Director, on the basis of a PIL, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had directed the PGI to fill as many as 140 vacant posts of faculty and others in the better interests of the institution and patient care.

However, Professor Sharma said permission had indeed been sought from the ministry to ensure whether the jobs of professors, which were advertised more than a year back were sustainable or had to be advertised afresh.

PGI doctor awarded
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 6
A US-based PGI, Chandigarh, postgraduate, Dr Rajvir Dahiya, has been elected president of the American Association of Indian Scientists in Cancer Research and awarded for his work on prostate cancer.

Dr Dahiya is Director of Urology Research Centre, University of California, San Francisco, and Veteran Affairs Centre Medical Centre, USA, reports reaching here today said.

Dr Dahiya has been awarded 1.3 million $ (US) (Rs 6.5 crore) from the US Congress for his work on the prostate cancer research.

He is the only doctor to get this award from among 176 hospitals of the USA.

Dr Dahiya graduated in 1983 from the PGI and four years later completed his residency at the University of Chicago.

The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, has congratulated Mr Dahiya for the honour he received and his election.

SPORTS

Sukhman, Ankit steal show
Our Sports Reporter

Chandigarh, September 6
Sukhman Ghuman among girls and Ankit Kalia among boys stole the show in the below-14 age group 100 metre freestyle event on the opening day of the swimming competitions organised by the UT Sports Department at the Sector 23 Government Yoga Centre swimming pool here today. Other winners in various section included 100 m backstroke under-12 — Isha Kalia; 100 m breaststroke below-14 girls — Sukhman Ghuman; 100 m breaststroke boys under-12 — Pankaj Chauhan; 200 m individual medley open boys — Puneet Rana; 100 m breaststroke boys below-12 — Yadvinder Rawat; 100 m breaststroke girls below-12 — Shruti Sharma; 100 m breaststroke boys below-14 — Pankaj Chauhan.

The other winners were 25 m backstroke boys below-8 — Tanya; 50 m freestyle boys below-8 — Parminder Singh; girls — Kanika Sharma; 50 m backstroke boys below-10 — Angad Singh; girls — Himanshi Bakshi; 100 m backstroke boys below-12 — Yadvinder Rawat; 50 m freestyle girls below-8 — Tanya; 50 m freestyle boys below-8 — Parminder Singh; 100 m freestyle boys below-14 — Ankit Kalia; 100 m freestyle girls below-12 — Isha Kalia; 50 m breaststroke boys below-10 — Karan Bhai; 25 m breaststroke boys below-8 — Gurjyot Singh; 100 m freestyle girls below-14 — Sukhman Ghuman; 50 m breaststroke girls below-10 — Niknat Pannu; 100 m freestyle boys below-12 — Eshaan Bakshi; 200 individual medley boys below-10 — Angad Singh; below-12 — Yadwinder Rawat; below-14 — Pankaj Chauhan; 100 m freestyle boys below-10 — Vivek Yadav; 50 m freestyle girls below-10 — Himanshi Bakshi.

Hockey probables

A total of 26 hockey probables were selected for the Panjab University women hockey team which would attend the camp beginning September 10. GGS College for Girls, Sector 26, was represented by a maximum of 10 probables. The probables were Sangeeta, Neha, Prem Lata, Savita, Mandeep, Nishi Chauhan, Poonam, Asha, Sadhna Singh, Earam (all GGS-26), Anu, Sangeeta Kadian, Jyoti Bali, Dimple (all MCM-36), Karamjit Kaur, Nidhi Singh, Sunila (GCG-11), Bharti, Amit Kaur (PUC-Chandigarh), Amit Kaur, Manpreet Kaur Jyoti, Vijeyata Bedi (GCW-Ludhiana), Vandana Harchand, Monika and Neelam (Government Arts and Science College, Talwara). The players from mofussil colleges would be accommodated in GCG-11. This was stated in a press note of the Department of Sports, PU.

Panchkula team

Rahul Kamboj would lead the Panchkula district under-14 cricket team in the Haryana state inter-district cricket tournament beginning September 7. In the opening match, Panchkula would meet Chandigarh at Satluj Public School, Sector 4, Panchkula. The team would comprise Rahul Kamboj, Saurab Chopra, Varinder, Maninder, Nitish Bhardwaj, Amit Prashar, Aditya Kaul, Harjeet Bedi, Karan Sharma, Deepak Bishnoi, Harinder, Tanjit Singh, Ashutosh Walia. The standbyes were Rishi Mohan, Chirag Kamboj and Nitin Jain.

ADMINISTRATION

Shopkeepers told to remove encroachments
Tribune News Service

SAS Nagar, September 6
Shopkeepers of Lambian village were today asked by the Estate Office of PUDA to remove structures by Saturday, failing which these would be demolished. The shopkeepers were asked to purchase sites in an auction of sites in bulk material market scheduled for tomorrow.

Mr Manmohan Singh Langh, a shopkeeper, said the government had earlier promised to rehabilitate them on the pattern of inhabitants of the village. A senior official of PUDA said the unauthorised structures would be demolished as planning of Sector 69 could not be implemented due to the encroachments.