R E G I O N A L   B R I E F S

REGIONAL POTPOURRI

• Serai unused 15 months after opening
• Karmapa may go back to Tibet
• Guide for surgeons in laparoscopy

PUNJAB

AMRITSAR
BAN ORDERS: District Magistrate S.S. Puri has banned the assembly of five or more persons following several demonstrations and rallies. He said in a press note that the protests were posing law and order problems. The orders came into effect from Wednesday.

PROTEST BY WORKERS: Members of the Textile Mazdoor Union took out a procession at Chheharta in protest against the “anti-labour” policies of the state and Central governments.

CHEMIST ARRESTED: A chemist shop was sealed and its owner Mukesh Saini arrested for selling unprescribed medicines. The Gurdaspur police sent a decoy to purchase some medicines and caught the owner. He has been booked under Section 188, IPC.

RESEARCH PROJECT: The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, has sanctioned a Rs 14-lakh research project to Dr R.K. Bedi, Professor of physics, and Dr Sobodh Kumar, Professor of chemistry, at Guru Nanak Dev University.

BARNALA
CONDEMNED: Prof S.S. Hundal and Dr V.K. Tewari, president and general secretary of the PCCTU, respectively, have condemned the decision of the state Cabinet Sub-Committee on ‘Foscal Management to ban recruitment to posts lying vacant or likely to fall vacant due to retirement or any other reason.

BATALA
EVE-TEASING: Eve-teasing is at peak here. Some parents who met here on Tuesday said they did not want to lodge a complaint with the police for fear of harassment. They said police personnel in plainclothes should be deployed to check this problem.

DERA BASSI
ELECTED: The following have been elected office-bearers of THE Sri Ramlila Committee, Dera Bassi: chairman — Mr Janak Raj Gupta; directors — Mr Sanjeev Bhardwaj and Mr Rajinder Verma; president — Mr Ravinder Vaishnav; general secretary; — Mr Krishan Lal and treasurer — Mr Krishan Lal.

JAGRAON
OBEISANCE PAID: The 59th anniversary of Baba Nand Singh Ji was observed with devotion in Gurdwara Nanaksar (Kler), where lakhs of devotees from all over the world came to pay obeisance. The ‘akhand path’ began on Saturday and ended on Monday, immediately after which another ‘akhand path’ began; it ended on Wednesday. Various ‘ragi jathas’ presented ‘shabad kirtan’ and hundreds of devotees participated in it. During the ceremony ‘Dhadhi Jathas’ were honoured and ‘langar’ was served.

KAPURTHALA
EDUCATION FOR ALL: The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Rakesh K.Verma, on Wednesday addressed a training workshop for chairman and secretaries of the Urban/ Village Education Development Committees formed under the Sarv Sikhia Abhiyan. Mr Verma said Rs 2.5 crore had been received for various purposes, including construction of toilets in primary schools, and repair and maintenance of schools. Village committees would also approach panchayats, PTA and other donors for funds, he added.

CONTEST: The local Sainik School organised an extempore speech contest in English for schools affiliated to the CBSE at Jagjiwan Ram Auditorium on Tuesday. Saink School, Kapurthala, came first; APJ Public School Jalandhar, second: and Dayanand Model School, Jalandhar, third. Individual winners were: Kumar Gaurav (Sainik School) first; Amrik Kaur (Guru Amar Dass Public School) Jalandhar, second; and Ankit Mahajan (APJ Public School) Jalandhar, third.

KHARAR
INSPECTION: Mr Justice J.S. Kher of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today inspected the courts of Kharar. He was received at the local Civil Rest House, among others, by Mr Maghar Khan, District and Sessions Judge, and three judges of Kharar, Mrs Preeti Sahni, Mr Roshan Lal Chouhan and Mrs Harinder Sidhu, and members of the Bar Association, Kharar. He inspected the working of the courts and addressed the members of the Bar Association.

LUDHIANA
EYE DONATION: The eyes of Ajayab Kaur, 85, a woman of Bhanot village near here, were donated to the Eye Bank of Mansuran. Mr Kuldip Singh, her son, said such had been his mother’s wish. Dr Ramesh, Director Eye Bank of Mansuran, said the eyes had been grafted on two needy patients free of cost.

NSS CAMP: The NSS unit of the Guru Nanak Khalsa College for Women organised a one-day Vanamahotsava camp; it was attended by 70 volunteers. The volunteers planted a tree on the college campus and a rally was taken out to generate public awareness regarding environment protection. A discussion on water conservation was also held.

MALERKOTLA
DEMONSTRATION: A demonstration was held against the management of the SBOP by employees in front of its main branch here on Tuesday. According to a press note issued by Mr Sanjeev Verma, central committee member of the SBOP Employees Union, the main demand of the employees is adequate recruitment of clerical staff.

ELECTED: The following have been elected office-bearers of Mashaal Club: chairman — Mr Zahoor Ahmed Zahoor; president — Mr Abdul Sattar Musafir; general secretary — Mohammad Nasir; press secretary — Mohammedd Jamil and treasurer — Mohammed Aijar.

MOGA
BODY FOUND: The body of Harmesh Singh (26) has been fished out of a well at Kishanpura village. Harmesh had gone missing a week ago, according to police reports.

VEGETABLE PRICES: Vegetable prices in the district have increased by 25 per cent. Cauliflower is being sold at Rs 30 a kg, tomato Rs 15 a kg, potato and lady finger for Rs 10 and Rs 20 a kg, respectively.

TARN TARAN
ACCIDENT: Mr Avtar Singh, Junior Engineer of the PSEB, posted at Kairon died in an accident near Jandoke Sarhali on Tuesdaywhen his moped was hit by a Tata Sumo, killing him on the spot.

HARYANA

KARNAL
ASI BOOKED: The police has arrested ASI Surjit Singh for checking vehicles with a fake challan receipt book and defying the orders of his superiors. The ASI has been booked under Sections 420, 467, 468 and 471, IPC on the complaint of thana in charge Balbir Singh.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

DALHOUSIE
SCHOOL LOCKED: Irked by alleged anomalies in the appointment of water carriers in schools, residents have locked Government Primary School, Dungroo, in Bhattiyat subdivision of Chamba district. The residents alleged that candidates having political connections had been appointed as water carriers in six schools.

DHARAMSALA
MURDERED: The police on Tuesday found the body of Ram Krishan, alias Bahadur (30), from Manjhi Khad, near here. According to police sources, there were wounds on the body which indicated that he was probably murdered. A case has been registered.

NAHAN
CONG THREAT: Mr Rupender Thakur, general secretary of the district Congress, has said if the FIR registered against former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and eight other Congressmen was not cancelled, Congress workers would launch an agitation and gherao the Chief Minister.

SUNDERNAGAR
CEMENT PLANT: Mr Sohan Lal Thakur, member of the Pradesh Congress Committee, has opposed the move of the government to set up a cement plan here. Talking to mediapersons, he said the previous Congress government had sanctioned this plant at a place far away from the town. He said if the site was not shifted, it would be hazardous to residents.

REGIONAL POTPOURRI

Serai unused 15 months after opening

The serai constructed on the premises of the Sub Divisional Civil Hospital in Nurpur has become a non-starter even 15 months after its inauguration. The serai was built with the objective of providing lodging to the attendants of indoor patients of the 100-bed Civil Hospital but it has not been thrown open yet.

Mr Shanta Kumar, Union Minister for Rural Development, released Rs 10 lakh from his discretionary fund and laid its foundation stone September 13, 1998. The minister inaugurated the serai on May 16, 2001.

Intriguingly, the serai, built of best quality material under the guidance of a supervising committee, is now starting to deteriorate.

Usually, attendants accompanying patients here normally stay with patients. In view of this there seems to be no need for such a massive serai.

There is a demand that the serai should be converted into doctors’ lodge. In case Nurpur is granted district status, the office complex of the Chief Medical Officer can be housed in the seari.

Karmapa may go back to Tibet

Residing at the Gyuto Tantrik monastery, Dharamsala, since his arrival here on January 5, 2000, from Tibet, the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, identified by two of the four monks as a reincarnation of the 16th Karmapa and who was subsequently recognised by the Dalai Lama and the Chinese Government, might contemplate going back to his monastery in Tibet or have an independent monastery in India itself, especially in the event of losing the legal battle which is going on in a Sikkim court.

According to the “Prime Minister” of the Tibetan Government-in-exile, Mr Samdong Rinpoche, Ogyen Trinley Dorje would request the Indian Government to provide him a separate place in a monastery in Sikkim or elsewhere if the Karmapa’s claim to the attachment of wealth worth of 1 billion kept inside the Rumtek Monastery and also his claim to be the monastery’s heir, are set aside by the court.

Samdong, however, did not hesitate to disclose that if political environment were conducive and favourable in Tibet, the Karmapa might go back to the Tsurphu monastery, his original seat in Tibet.

The 257-year-old Rumtek Monastery in Sikkim has been without its legal and incarnate head since the death of the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa on November 6, 1981, causing disappointment to millions of his followers all over the world.

Guide for surgeons in laparoscopy

The Indian Association of Gastrointestinal Endo-Surgeons has published a book entitled, “Guidelines and Recommendations for Minimal Access Surgery”, which was released by outgoing President K.R. Narayanan on July 15. These guidelines and recommendations have been prepared by a committee in association with the MCI’s National Board of Examinations, Ministry of Health, the Indian Council of Medical Research and the Indian Medical Association.

According to Dr Kuldip Singh, Secretary of the association, minimal access surgery brought about a sweeping revolution in surgical practice ever since its introduction more than a decade ago. With the advantages of laparoscopic surgery to patients, this type of surgery was adopted by every surgeon, irrespective of the guidelines and training. In order to minimise complications relating to the procedure and to make such surgery safe, it was felt there was need to follow guidelines to standardise the methodology and rationale for all laparoscopic operations with the sole aim of improving the quality of patient care. The guidelines and recommendations were made on the subject of preceptors (teachers in laparoscopic surgery), training centres, equipment and anaesthesia.

Dr Kuldip Singh claims that this book is the first of its kind to guide laparoscopic surgeons rather than allowing them to carry out surgery by old methods that could lead to complications.

He said the association would help hospitals and polyclnics in selecting preceptors, if requested. At the end of the training, the preceptor would certify that the student-surgeon has undergone training in basic laparoscopic surgery. There should be a minimum of 50 hours’ training to be assistant to an experienced surgeon.

The association secretary said four levels of training had been recommended. The first level includes diagnostic laparoscopic procedure as an observer/assistant or surgeon. The second level pertains to laparoscopic gall bladder surgery. The third level pertains to laparoscopic gall bladder and appendix surgery. The final level involves hernia and other advanced laparoscopic operations. As far as guidelines on the consent of patient undergoing surgery, it has been recommended that consent should preferably be taken in the patient’s own handwriting.

Contributed by Rajiv Mahajan, B.K. Prashar and K.S. Chawla