HEALTH

Docs urge govt to revive Punjab Medical Council
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, August 19
Members of the state unit of Indian Medical Association (IMA) unanimously resolved to oppose any new Act imposed on doctors and urged the state government to revive the Punjab Medical Council for better healthcare. The meeting was held here yesterday under the chairmanship of Dr R.C. Garg, president of the state unit of the IMA. More than 50 office-bearers participated during the four-hour meeting.

Management of bio-medical waste was discussed in detail and doctors were advised to dispose it scientifically through designated companies at a cost of Rs 2 per day per bed.

Ridiculing new amendments by the Medical Council of India (MCI), the members said the stand acquired by the state unit of the association would be in accordance with the national-level unit of the IMA.

The state unit ridiculed the MCI saying that even after a ban, all types of advertisements by doctors and medical institutions continued to appear on TV channels.

The Punjab IMA decided to hand over the North Zone Conference of the IMA College of General Physicians to the IMA, Patiala. Five states of North India had bid for this conference. The IMA, Mansa, was awarded the annual IMA conference of Punjab.

Regarding the use of a “red cross” by doctors, the IMA said a misnomer had been created in the minds of public as well as doctors regarding the symbol and the IMA had come up with its own logo.

Dr Gursharan Singh, president of local IMA, briefed the members about the developments regarding the IMA house. Dr Gursharan Singh was nominated the Chairman of the Punjab IMA Academy of Echocardiography. Dr R.P. Singh was nominated the course director of this academy. The members also decided to file a petition in the high court against those responsible for assaulting some doctors in an earlier incident and said that an FIR should not be registered against the doctors without an inquiry by the expert team.

Civil Surgeon promises transparency
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, August 19
“I will try to bring total transparency and honesty in the department. To restore trust among the people, I will do every possible effort,” these views were expressed by Dr S.N. Tiwari, the new Civil Surgeon, Ludhiana, who took charge of the office here today.

In an interview with Ludhiana Tribune, Dr Tiwari said he had asked the department officials and employees to do every effort to restore people’s confidence in the functioning of medical institutions. He said for achieving this goal, the department required cooperation from the public. “The patients should be properly attended by medical professionals. Persons seeking any help from Civil Surgeon’s office, will be properly guided. We cannot achieve it till we get public cooperation,” added Dr Tiwari. In his 31 years of service, Dr Tiwari has served in many districts. He was working as the Civil Surgeon, Sangrur, earlier.

Dr Tiwari said he had told his officials to bring transparency in the functioning. Regarding corruption charges against department officials, he said since he knew nothing about the department (Ludhiana), he could not comment on it. But he said, “I have instructed my officials that no complaint against them should come to his office. Strict action will be taken in case allegations are proved against any person.”

He said implementation of the PNDT Act would be his priority. The department would make every effort to restore male-female ratio. “We will first adopt method of persuasion and in case that does not bring desired results, we will strictly follow the Supreme Court guidelines,” he added.

He, however, said that for that he needed support from NGOs, ultrasound clinics, private nursing homes and all medical and paramedical staff.

Public health lecture
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, August 19
Dewan Hospital organised its 22nd public health education lecture here yesterday. The lecture was attended by over 60 doctors.

According to a press release, Dr Narottam Dewan of Dewan Hospital gave the lecture on “Advancement in the treatment of gall bladder and kidney calcular disease.”

In this lecture Dr Dewan said that advancement in fibreoptics and endovision had ushered in a revolution of making treatment of complex diseases, simple and effective. He stressed the need for timely surgical intervention to avoid deadly complications.

Slides showing serious complications of gall stones like emphyma (filling of pus in the gall bladder), perforation of gall bladder, pancreatitis and obstructive jaundice due to stone slipping and impacting in the bile-ducts were presented.

Dr Dewan stressed that if a person was found to have gall stones without any symptoms, he should not be operated upon but as soon as there were slightest symptoms like indigestion, excessive flatulence, belching, distention abdomen, pain or vomiting, etc, he should immediately consult a surgeon. The gall stones or the gall bladder should be removed then (according to the requirement).

SPORTS

Navpreet dreams to win gold for India
Lovleen Bains

Doraha , August 19
Not only his native village Doraha but also the entire country is proud of Navpreet, the winner of a silver medal in shot put in the Asian Athletics Championship held in Colombo.

While Navpreet is busy with practice sessions in Patiala , his family members are eagerly waiting for him to return home.

His grandfather Phoola Singh, father Jagbir singh, mother Sukhjit Kaur and brothers Harinder Singh, Ramandeep Singh and Agaya Pal Singh were jubilant over his success , which they attribute to his devotion and belief in the saying “ practice makes a man perfect”.

But Navpreet is not satisfied with this success. In a conversation over the telephone, he said, “ My dream is to get a gold medal for India. ”

Navpreet has been a winner right from the school, where he actively participated in gymnastics, kabaddi, discus throw, shot put and sprints . He won many medals in tournaments organised by the Punjab Education Department and other district-level tournaments.

As a student of Guru Nanak National College, Doraha, he always stood first in hammer throw, javelin throw, discus throw and shot put. For his commendable achievements at the college and university level, Navpreet was included in the ‘Roll of Honour’ in 1996-97 and 1997-98 by the college authorities.

In the inter-college tournaments organised at Punjab University, Navpreet was first in athletics in 1997-98 and 1998-99, second in shot put in 1996-97 and third in javelin throw in 1996-97.

He established a new meet record of 17.33 m in shot-put at the 74th Punjab State Sports organised by the Punjab Amateur Athletic Association in 1997-98. He represented Ludhiana district in 17th Punjab State Senior Athletic Championship and secured second position in shot put.

Navpreet secured a silver medal for India in the Asian Junior Track and Field Events in Bangkok in 1997. He also participated in the XIII Junior National Athletic Championship and the XXXX National School Games Championship.

In 2000, Navpreet Singh broke the university record in shot put. He also surpassed the previous inter-varsity record of 17.13 m.

He participated in the Asian Grand Prix Athletic Meet at Hyderabad and secured medals at the National Domestic Circuit Athletic Meet and was chosen for the 50th Athletic Senior National Championship, the Sydney Olympics and the 2002 Asian Games.

He also established a meet record of 15.69 m at the North Zone Junior Athletic Sports Championship held at Lucknow , secured a silver medal at the 77th Punjab State Senior Athletic Meet held at PAU, Ludhiana, and was selected for the N.I.S. Training camp along with eight other athletes in 2001.

He represented India in the Junior IAAF World cup organised at France in 1998 and won a bronze medal in the XXXI National Games Punjab He also participated in the All-India Police Sports, 2001.

Three titles for BVM players
Our Sports Reporter

Ludhiana, August 19
Bharatiya Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary School, Udham Singh Nagar, Ludhiana, won table tennis (under-14), badminton (under-17) and volleyball (under-17) titles in the Ludhiana Zonal School Games (PAU-I) held last week.

In the table tennis final (girls), BVM School defeated Green Land Senior Secondary Public School, 2-0. Kirti of BVM School beat Avneet of Green Land School, 11-7, 11-4. In another match, Nirdosh of BVM School scored an easy win, 11-3, 1-0, over Amanpreet of Green Land School.

In badminton (girls) final, BVM School’s Sonam faced no challenge from Tagore Public School’s Heena whom she beat 11-2, 11-0. In the second match, Kavita of BVM School survived some anxious moments against Tagore Public School’s Amrinder Kaur before winning 7-11, 11-7 and 11-3.

In volleyball (under-17), Bharatiya Vidya Mandir School defeated Government Senior Secondary School, Gobind Nagar, Ludhiana, 2-0, to bag the title.