The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Chandigarh Stories

‘Need to improve healthcare system’
Our Correspondent

SAS Nagar, February 15
The primary and total healthcare system is available only to the rich in the country. Although the nation has made significant progress in the field of food and milk production, it is still lagging behind in establishing good healthcare system for the masses.

These views were expressed by Dr N. K. Ganguly, Director-General, ICMR, while delivering a lecture on ‘the health system reforms reaching the unreached’ at the foundation day function organised by the National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) here today.

He said the health research should be made flexible, dynamic and generic. He explained the importance of new technologies such as information technology in mapping of diseases such as malaria.

Dr C. L. Kaul, Director, NIPER, said the institute had made significant progress in acute toxicological studies and novel drug-delivery systems. He said from the next academic session admissions for two new departments, pharmaceutical management and pharmacy practice, would also be made.

Dr Kaul highlighted the accomplishment in research programmes and said new leads had been identified in the areas of leishmaniasis, malaria and tuberculosis. Research groups were actively working on the novel molecular targets such as tubulin and cystein proteinase to develop new chemical entities for parasitic diseases. A novel in-vitro model involving the skeletal muscle cell culture for screening compounds for insulin resistance had been developed for the first time.

SPORTS

Shooting championship from Feb 25
Our Sports Reporter

Chandigarh, February 15
The 26th Northern India Shooting Championship will be organised by the Zonal Rifle Shooting Academy, Chandigarh, at the Patiali Ki Rao shooting ranges, Sector 25, from February 25 to March 1. According to Mr Rajinder Singla, organising secretary, the five-day meet will be held under the aegis of the National Rifle Association of India. He said the meet was open mainly to all the shooters of the northern region. However, the shooters from states other than from this region can also take part. The matches will be held in rifle and pistol events in the ISSF and NR categories.

Shooters from Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, HP, Punjab, the ITBP, the CISF, the CRPF, the BSF, Indian Airlines, the Punjab Police, the Indian Army, Maharashtra. Goa, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal will participate. Entries close on February 23 at phone 743532.

Selection trials

The Chandigarh Weightlifting Association will hold trials for the selection of Chandigarh men and women teams for participation in the 54th men and 17th women senior National Weightlifting Championships going to be held in Bhilai, Chhatisgarh, from March 17 to 20. The trials will now be held at sports complex, Weightlifting Coaching Centre, Sector 42.

Cricket match

The UT Administrator, Lieut-Gen J.F.R. Jacob (retd), will inaugurate the Annual Samuel Banerjee trophy cricket match between the Chandigarh Press Club XI and the UT Administration XI at 8.45 am at the Cricket Stadium. Sector 16. The match will be of 25 overs a side.

ADMINISTRATION

Law ministry clarifies on instruments Act
Kiran Deep

Chandigarh, February 15
With a view to clearing confusion among advocates and the general public regarding the amendments in the Negotiable Instruments Act, the Union Law Ministry has clarified that Sections 138-142 of the Negotiable Instruments Act and many other laws which have been amended continue to be in force.

The Law Ministry has informed the (Bar Council of India) BCI through a letter in this regard.

Many people are under the impression that Sections 138-142 of the Negotiable Instruments Act have been repealed. This has also been brought to the notice of the government by a cheque bounced victims’ grievances forum that the courts have stopped accepting new complaints on account of repeal of the banking, public financial institutions and Negotiable Instruments Laws (Amendments ) Act, 1988, by the repealing and Amendments Act 2001.

Sources revealed that the Law Ministry has stated in a letter that “ it has made only certain amendments to the Negotiable Instruments Act and added Sections 138-142.

And once the amendments Act passed and Sections 138-142 were incorporated in the Negotiable Instruments Act of 1881, the amending Act achieved its purpose and became a dead letter”.

The ministry said that the government wishes to clarify that the insertion of Chapter XVII on” Of penalties in case of certain cheques for certain cheques for insufficiency of funds in the accounts” by the Act of 1988 stands incorporated in the Negotiable Instruments Act, the 1881 Section 6A of the general clauses Act, 1897, makes the position amply clear.

The ministry said that Parliament had passed the repealing and amendment Act 2001 recently which along with other Acts has also repealed the Banking Public Finance Institutions and Negotiable Instruments Laws (Amendment) Act, 1988. The parent Act of 1881, the Negotiable Instruments Act, providing for punishment of one-year imprisonment for bouncing of cheques, continues to be in the statute book.

The letter also states that repealing and amendments Acts are enacted by the legislature from time to time in order to repeal enactments which have ceased to be in force or have become obsolete or the retention whereof as separate Acts is no longer necessary. Such acts intended only to remove dead matter from the statue book and to reduce its volume.

The general secretary of the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana, Mr C. M Munjal, said the council was also intimated by the BCI regarding the amendment in the Negotiable Instruments Act. The council was sending letters to all district bar associations of Punjab and Haryana in this regard.