HEALTH

IDPD conference on April 7
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, April 4
The National Conference of Indian Doctors for Peace and Development will be held on April 7. This was stated by Dr Arun Mitra, General Secretary, IDPD, at a press conference here yesterday.

Dr Mitra said the IDPD had been working for peace, disarmament and sustainable development as a part of worldwide movement under the banner of International Physicians for Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) for the past many years.

Dr S.B.Khurana, chairman, IDPD, said the conference was being held for the first time in Punjab and the purpose of the conference was to make the world aware of the dangers of war, including nuclear of war. He said politicians were aware about the threat, but were playing with the lives of millions. “We want to make people understand that peace is the only alternative left”, he said.

The conference will be inaugurated by Admiral Ramdas, former chief of the Naval Staff.

Dr L.S.Chawla, president said Dr Herman Spanjaard from Netherlands and Dr Neil Arya from Canada, would speak on ‘Weapons of mass destruction current situation’ and ‘Are the nuclear weapons in India’s interest?’. “Dr N.N. Wig, Professor Emeritus, PGI, will speak on ‘Violence and mental health’. Mr Achan Vanaik, journalist, will deliver lecture on ‘For a lasting peace in South Asia’. Dr Imrana Qadeer from Jawahar Lal Nehru University will address the conference on ‘Environment health and medical fraternity’. Each presentation will be followed by a panel discussion and participation from the floor,” he said.

Dr L.S.Chawla, would preside over the function. Dr K.S.Aulakh, Vice-Chancellor, PAU, would be the guest of honour. Fraternal delegates, Ms Perin Chandra, former general secretary, All India Peace and Solidarity Organisation, and Ms Amarjit Kaur, General Secretary of National Federation of Indian Women, would greet the delegates. Dr S.B.Khurana, Dr H.S.Sidhu, Dr Arun Mitra, Dr M.K.Mahajan, Dr Surinder Singla and Dr Bharti Uppal would also address the conference, he said.

Synthetic clothes harmful for skin
Shivani Bhakoo

Ludhiana, April 4
Following the latest trends may not always be the best option. More and more people are being afflicted with skin rashes and other related diseases following the rampant use of synthetic garments instead of cotton garments.

Garment manufacturers in the city, who are trying to match the latest in the fashion world and balance the price factor at the same time, have chosen to opt for yarns that can be the biggest enemy for human skin.

According to many city dermatologists, never in the past have they witnessed such alarming number of persons suffering from skin diseases as they see today at the onset of the summer season.

Dr Monisha Gupta, a dermatologist at the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital while talking to Ludhiana Tribune said, "Synthetic clothes, not only increase the sweat but increase the incidence of fungal and bacterial infections. A lot of chemicals are used in the processing of polyester-based cloth, whereas the cotton fabric is not only cool but skin-friendly also. The synthetic material if worn now in this part of the region can cause many skin allergies".

Mr Vikas Jain, Director, Oswal Fabrics, admitted that 75 per cent of the manufacturers in the city were manufacturing synthetic (polyester-based) fabrics, the reason being its increased popularity in the domestic market. "There is no shrinkage in the polyester fabric, besides being cheaper and trendy, the polyester fabric has long lasting colours. We do manufacture cotton fabric, but for the export market. The cotton fabric is costly as compared to synthetic material and it is not viable to manufacture cotton fabric for domestic market because of its less demand", he added.

Mr John, a manufacturer of readymade garments, said synthetic cloth was much in demand because it was comparatively cheaper and light in weight. He said 80 to 90 per cent of the local manufacturers were making polyester fabric. We run our units according to the trends and demand. In this era of competition and price war, everyone wants cheap items. In the manufacturing of cotton fabric, one has to maintain a good quality standard. We are catering cotton fabric to western countries because they are ready to pay good price.

However, leading showroom owners in the city said they had the cotton stuff (knitted) items from Delhi, Mumbai and Tirpur. "Only elite class preferred the pure cotton stuff, otherwise the masses preferred the synthetic-based material for their kids and themselves.

City Sport
Cricket trials for PCA scheme
Our Sports Reporter

Ludhiana, April 4
The Ludhiana District Cricket Association (LDCA) will conduct trials to select probables (u-16 years and u-19 years ) for the Punjab Cricket Association coaching scheme on April 6 and 7, respectively, according to Mr Vinod Chitkara, honorary general secretary, LDCA.

Boys (u-16 ) born on or after September 1, 1986, have been asked to report at the Arya College for Boys ground on April 6 at 3.30 pm. Interested players (u-19), born on or after September 1, 1983, are advised to be present at the same venue on April 7 at 8 am.

40 complaints redressed
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, April 4
As many as 40 complaints were redressed out of the total 58 received at the fortnightly meeting of District Grievances Redressal Forum organised at Bachat Bhavan here today. The rest of the complaints were sent to the departments concerned for further action.

The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Anurag Aggarwal, directed all Sub-Divisional Magistrates of the district to present only serious grievances at the meeting and redress the other at their own only.

He instructed the heads of all the departments of the district to attach the letter released by the administration with the complaint after its redressal. He said the practice would ensure satisfaction among the complainants. The complaints should be sent to the offices concerned only and the office of the district administration should be duly informed, he added.

The DC also directed the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (West) to send a notice to a clerk of the office of the SDM to produce a file regarding the case of a resident of Lalton Kalan village, Mr Shiv Lal, who had alleged that a clerk had demanded bribe for issuing him a copy of revenue records. The DC said if the clerk failed to produce the file, a case would be registered against him. The clerk has already been suspended.

On the complaint of Mr Maghar Singh Nambardar of Jassowal Soodan village that his house was facing danger as the direction of the flow of water in his village was changed, the DC directed the Panchayat Officer of Pakhowal to redress his grievances.

Others who were present at the meeting were Ms Rakhi Gupta Bhandari, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mr A.K. Sinha, Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development), Mr Harjinder Singh, Joint Commissioner of Municipal Corporation, Ms Anita Darshi, Assistant Commissioner, various police officials and SDMs.