HEALTH

DMCH-union stalemate continues
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, June 25
The ongoing stalemate between the employees’ union and the management of the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital continues as both the parties stood their ground and levelled allegations against each other.

The president of the union, Mr Chander Mohan Kalia, the general secretary, Ms Navraj Kaur, the joint secretary, Ms Rajwant Kaur, and the special adviser, Mr Irfan Ahmed, in a joint statement today alleged that management was creating hurdles in the union’s peaceful agitation by locking the gates of the hospital and wards.

Mr Kalia said: “The management is doing every possible effort to provoke the union leaders. But the union is adamant not to resort to any violence.”

The leaders said that today also they had met Dr S.C.Ahuja, Principal, and Dr Rajoo Singh Chhinna, Medical Superintendent (P), to resolve the issue, but to no avail.

Meanwhile, the management also cleared its stand by strongly refuting the allegations made by the union leaders that the management forcibly kept away some union members from joining the protest by locking them inside the hospital.

Dr Chhinna said that such a step was taken to tensure the smooth flow of the hospital traffic. Due to the continuing problem in the hospital, the patients were facing a lot of problem, he said.

“For the past few days, the union is feeling frustrated as despite their dharna and protest, the management was able to run the hospital smoothly. To overcome this feeling of failure, they are trying to disrupt the functioning of major departments. As a result the patients and the staff were facing a lot of problems. The step to control the hospital traffic was taken in the public interest”, said Dr Chhinna.

Soccer trials
Our Sports Reporter

Ludhiana, June 25
Trials to select the Ludhiana district football team (under-16) will be held here at the Guru Nanak Stadium on June 27 at 10 a.m. According to a press note issued here today by Mr Shivtar Singh Bajwa, president of the Ludhiana District Football Association, the interested players should report at the venue to the coaches Mr Amritpal Singh Mavi and Mr Jaspal Singh.

Those selected would represent Ludhiana in the Zonal Soccer Meet to be held at Phagwara from July 5 to 7 and in the three-day Punjab State Sub-Junior Football Championship scheduled to be conducted at Chabewal, Hoshiarpur, from July 14 to 16, the note said.

Police asked not to put up challans
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, June 25
The Punjab Human Rights Commission (PHRC) has directed the Jagraon police not to put up challans in a court of law in the infamous Nangal Khurd elopement case. The orders have come as a shot in the arm for the family of the boy booked as an accused in the case, as they were moving from pillar to post in this case to get some relief for the boy, who is in the custody of Jagraon police for allegedly kidnapping an adult girl.

The commission made these orders on a petition filed by the complainant Dharam Singh through his counsel. The case has witnessed many twists and turns in the past two months. The couple, both adults, had allegedly eloped from the village. However, the girl’s family had claimed that she was kidnapped. The couple was traced in Mumbai. On return, the boy was booked for kidnapping the ‘adult girl’. The girl also stated before the police and in a Jagraon court that she had been kidnapped.

The underlining factor in the case was that as the boy and the girl belonged to the same village so according to an age-old custom, they could not marry each other.

Due to the change of statement the boy and one of his friends booked as a co-accused in the case. The boy’s family had, however, maintained that the girl had gone with the boy on her own and both were having an affair for the past several years.

The boy’s family had even produced photographs of a claimed marriage between the two at a gurdwara in Chandigarh. However, on the basis of the girl’s statement everything was going against the boy and the police was all set to put up challans in the court.

As a last resort, the boy Dharam Singh and his family approached the PHRC claiming that the girl had changed her statement under duress. Praying for orders to the effect that the girl was produced before the commission and the SSP Jagraon, was directed not to put up challans till further orders.

The PHRC orders, a copy of which was received here today, upheld the request of stopping the filing of a challan in the case. It also directed the SSP, Jagraon, to file a report in the case. It, however, did not agree to the demand of producing the girl to the commission saying the commission would like to go through the SSP’s report first.