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October 16, 2002, Chandigarh, India
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140 villages brought under IRDP Ludhiana, October 15 More than Rs 1 crore would be spent on developing this infrastructure, said Ms Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, Punjab Minister for Rural Development, Panchayats and Agriculture. She was attending a Dasehra function, after laying the foundation stone of a 1.5 km road connecting three religious places of Mansooran village near here yesterday. Ms Bhattal told officials of the Mandi Board to complete the road within a-month-and-a-half. The minister said the villages would be modernised and the programme would be extended to more villages. At least one village would be selected from each Vidhan Sabha constituency of Punjab in the first phase of the programme. Mansooran village in Dakha constituency would come under the project. Regarding demands put forward by Mr Malkiat Singh Dakha, MLA, Ms Bhattal said the village road to the grain market would be repaired and Rs 1.4 crore would be given for constructing a bridge over the canal. She also released funds for the repair of the Mullanpur-Ladowal road (via Hambran). The work will cost Rs 2.1 crore. Mr Malkiat Singh said Mansooran deserved to be included in the IRDP, as the constituency roads were in a bad condition. He said he would try to get more funds for the development of each village of the constituency. Earlier, the minister paid obeisance at the historic gurdwara in the village and learnt about the eye-donation project of the local Civil Hospital. She praised Dr Romesh and his team for working on this project to restore sight to a large number of the poor. She said the previous state government had mismanaged finances, shattering the state’s economy. Mr Badal had not funded any development in the state, she said. She said strong measures had been taken to revive the economy. To farmers of the state, she said, this Kharif season, farmers had suffered at the hands of nature and the Union Government. There had been high expenditure on the irrigation of paddy because of the draught, a situation made worse by no increase in the minimum support price. Now, a hailstorm had increased the damage. She said the state government was committed to ensuring a smooth procurement of paddy. The state government had decided to encourage crop diversification on experimental basis. Agriculture on a substantial area would be diverted from wheat and paddy cultivation to cultivating cash crops. The government would purchase these crops at minimum fixed prices. Under the scheme, this year, 1,000 acres would be brought under barley cultivation and the crop would be bought at a minimum price of Rs 500 per quintal. Winter maize would be sown over 10,000 acres and beget a minimum price of Rs 500 per quintal. The scheme would cover 20,000 acres under hybrid ‘sarson’ (hyola) cultivation and the crop’s MSP would be Rs 1,400 per quintal. Besides, the cultivation of vegetables and fruits would also be promoted and the crops would be marketed abroad at attractive prices. Ms Bhattal said the government was aware of the debt burden on farmers and it would take steps to rid them of the wheat–paddy rut. She sought the cooperation of farmers in introducing diversification of agriculture in the state. She also congratulated the people on
Dasehra. |
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‘Burning of paddy straw killing soil’ Ludhiana, October 15 Speaking on the occasion, Dr D. Singh, District Agriculture Information Officer, warned that the level of carbon dioxide was rising in the atmosphere as a result of which the temperature of the Earth was also increasing. Since 1850, he said, the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere had increased by 25 per cent. Burning of crop residue adds to the increase in the level, he said. Dr D. Singh said that putting the stubble back in the soil not only increases its essential organic nutrients but also increases its inorganic nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, potash and other soluble nutrients, besides retarding the growth of harmful bacteria and fungi. He said burning of paddy and wheat straw had resulted in the level of organic nutrients in our soil going down to one tenth of those present in the soil of China. Dr Kanwar Barjinder Singh, Agriculture Development Officer, said the crop residue, earlier considered to be a waste, was a natural resource and its proper management was essential. By burning wheat and paddy straw, over one lakh ton of nitrogen in Punjab was lost, which was equivalent to a loss of Rs 90 crore cost-wise. Besides the loss of the micronutrients, this also caused damage to useful organic material in the soil, he said. Speaking about health hazards caused due to smoke emitted by the burning of crop residue, Dr Arun Mitra, ENT surgeon and general secretary of the BJGVJ, said that the practice was causing an increase in the number of patients seeking hospitalisation due to serious effects on their respiratory system. Those suffering from various lung diseases, particularly asthma, become worse due to a high carbon content in the atmosphere, he said. There was also an increase in diseases of nose, throat and irritation of eyes. If the problem was not tackled a situation similar to London smog or the Bhopal gas tragedy could happen and thousands of people could lose their lives, he said. An agricultural technocrat, Dr Rajinder Pal Singh Aulakh, pointed out that mechanisation in harvesting had lead to an increase in the trend of burning crop
residue. He said there was an urgent need to do research on atmospheric nitrogen fixation by the crop residue besides producing machinery which was cost effective and does not cause delay in sowing of next crop. Taking effective measures in the direction and motivating farmers was the only answer, he added. The president of the BJGVJ, Maj Sher Singh Aulakh, said ignorance coupled with wrong beliefs was the basis of practices which were detrimental to health, soil and nature. Large number of farmers from various villages and others also expressed their views and narrated problems associated with the practice. Dr Balwant Singh said if the practice of burning crop residue was not stopped, fertility of land would further reduce. Mr Bharpur Singh, a progressive farmer, lauded the efforts of the BJGVJ in this regard and hoped that administration would realise its responsibility. He said the jatha should set up village level committees to spread awareness on the subject. Others who addressed the meeting included Dr Gurpreet
Singh, Dr Kuldeep Singh, Mr Bhagwant Singh Sarpanch, Mr Nachhattar Singh, Mr Jeewan Singh Nambardar and Mr Yadvinder Singh. A field demonstration of tractor- mounted straw chopper was also given to the farmers to show how they could manage the paddy straw by chopping and
ploughing. |
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PAU faces an acute shortage of funds Ludhiana, October 15 According to enquiries made from the Comptroller Officer for the university, the board of management of the university had sought Rs 104 crore from the state government for the budget for the year 2002-2003 but the actual contribution was sanctioned at Rs 81 crore initially. It was raised to Rs 90 crore after the university represented to the state government. Even Rs 90 crore is proving insufficient as it meets the salary component of the employees and teaching staff only. The university authorities get a cheque of Rs 7.74 crore every month from the state government to make the salary payment to the staff. Every month an official of the university has to go to Chandigarh to get the salary cheque. Besides, this contribution of Rs 90 crore, the university is not getting any funds for conducting research and other activities. The total budget estimated of the university for the year 2002-03 were passed Rs. 144 crore. Out of these a sum of Rs 23.82 crore has been contributed by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) with which the research activities are being continued. There are as many as 97 projects under the NATP (National Agriculture Technology Projects) under ICAR schemes which are being run by the university with ICAR funds. According to an official of the Comptroller Department, this month the intervention of the Chief Minister had to be sought to get the cheque for the September month. The chief Minister took prompt action when informed about the delay and the department concerned issued the cheque and the salary was disbursed on October 4. The university authorities have been raising Rs 6 crore through the internal resources every year, with the sale of seeds and by taking austerity measures. It was revealed that a sum of Rs 55 lakh was saved as a result of the cut in the electricity bill in one year when airconditioners were withdrawn and excess load was got reduced. The university authorities have also resorted to downsizing the non-teaching and teaching and 21 per cent cut has been effected in both the counts. No new posts are being filled and only need-based posts are being filled. The authorities have also merged nearly half a dozen departments in order to cut the expenditure and reduce the staff. The Zoology and Fisheries departments have been merged while the Chemistry and Biochemistry and Physics Departments with maths and stats and biotechnology with genetics and agro-metereology with agronomy have also been merged. Even some of the zonal research stations have been merged and independent functioning of the KVKs (Krishi Vigyan Kendras) have now been made part of the zonal research stations. These changes have been effected at Bathinda, Gurdaspur, Faridkot, Ropar, Kapurthala and Ballowal Sankri...respectively. This has resulted in the reduction in the staff and increase in the efficiency. This has also resulted in the saving of fuel as vehicles have been pooled and in some cases withdrawn. Despite all these measures, the university continues to face the fund crunch as the university has not received Rs 5 crore in lieu of sugarcane farm at Jalandhar and development of the sugarcane farm at Ladowal. This is overdue now for the last more than three years. Similarly, Rs 21.70 crore arrears of the salary enhancement have not been paid by the state government so far. The World Bank has also sanctioned some projects for research at Punjab Agricultural University and the World Bank team which visited the PAU two months ago expressed its satisfaction over the progress of the research projects. Meanwhile the Punjab government has agreed to raise a corpus fund of Rs 100 crore for the Punjab Agricultural University to undertake research to meet with the global needs during the next five years. The state government has conveyed the sanction of Rs 20 crore for the current year but the actual amount has not yet been received. Mr Manohar Singh Gill, former Chief Election Commissioner, while expressing his concern over the plight of the Punjab farmers also showed his concern over the starvation of the university in not getting sufficient funds to undertake research activities. |
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Demons die under tight
security Ludhiana, October 15 Unprecedented security, in the backdrop of the terrorist attack on Akshardham temple in Gujarat, marked the festivities in the city which posed problems to revelers but no one seemed to complain in a true festival spirit and deference to the changing security scenario. People dressed in their best could be seen thronging the gaily decorated bazaars, both big establishments and humble vendors, shopping and enjoying delicacies on sale while cops had a tough time controlling the crowds. Religious places played non-stop music preceding the event. The main function was held at the historic Daresi grounds and the effigies going up in flames being witnessed by thousands of people, including Mr Anurag Aggarwal, DC, Lala Lajpat Rai, MP, and others. Mandir committees and mohalla level units too celebrated the event at their own level and by late evening there was a dense smog as the smell of acrid explosives permeated the air near the venues. Students at Helianthus Day Boarding School too burnt the effigies, prepared by them, at a function organised today. |
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Depicting Ramlila, with realism Ludhiana, October 15 At 9 p.m. the Ramlila pandal, in BRS Nagar is filled to capacity with audience eager to witness yet another episode of Ramayana. Organisers have to increase the seating capacity everyday as the popularity of the show is spreading. Here the story of Lord Rama is being enacted by the students of the Department of Theatre and Television, Punjabi University, Patiala, who have made a group called the Navkiran Art Group. Members of the group say they are working for the lost glory of Ramlila through the theatre form of art. The students have taken the story from the thesis of a Punjabi University Professor, Dr Yogesh Gambhir, who has researched on
Ramlila. ‘‘When we decided to enact Ramlila we decided to read thesis and defferent varsions of
Ramayans. We found that Ramlila enacted during Dashera was quite different from the researched one,’’ said the director, Ashish
Kaura, who passed out of the department last year. “We decided to restore the lost glory of
Ramlila, frequented mostly by the lower strata of society as art and theatre lovers had distanced themselves from it. Organisers had inserted an advertisement in a newspaper inviting a Ramlila group to enact it in Ludhiana and we decided to present our version,” he added. The students have now decided to present it at different stages to promote the oldest form of theatre in India. “Ramlila was losing its sheen over the years. The artistes, in most cases were enacting jokes and at times even dancing girls were hired to attract the audience” said the assistant director, Sonia Sodhi The director, who is playing the role of Ravana, said ‘‘Others show him as a larger than life character, but in our Ramlila he is an ordinary man, well read, learned and a loving brother of
Shurpnakha. People expect Ravana to be humongous.” What makes it different from other Ramlilas is that classical music is played in the background instead of Bollywood numbers. Sets are simple and props come alive with appropriate sound effects. Lighting effects are used to describe water and make some characters fly. Lord Rama is being played by Sandy, Sita by Charu and Lakshmana by Vikram. |
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Punjab transport industry in dire straits Ludhiana, October 15 According to Mr Fateh Singh Libra, member of the Punjab Private Bus Transporters Union, if the situation continued it would not be long when the private bus operators would have to stop their services. He said the special road tax at the rate of Rs 2.69 per km was proving to be too heavy and even the Pepsu Road Transport Corporation and the Punjab Roadways were also facing huge losses despite relatively low input costs. Mr Libra listed several other reasons which were contributing towards the woes of the transporters. He said trucks, tempos and small vehicles were also ferrying passengers at a lesser fare, leading to losses to the bus operators. Moreover, the buses of other state government, including the Haryana Roadways and the Chandigarh Transport Undertaking (CTU), were plying many more buses than permitted, he added. He said while the CTU was holding a permit for only seven buses for the Chandigarh-Ludhiana route, it was operating more than 50 buses on this route everyday. Similarly, the Haryana Roadways was also operating about 50 per cent extra buses than allowed in the agreement with Punjab. He said the illegal operation of these buses was without any benefit in the form of a tax being paid to Punjab. Even plying autorickshaws outside the municipal limits, including
Mullapur, Kohara and Sahnewal, was contributing towards losses, he said. |
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PSEB men accused of wrong
action Ahmedgarh, October 15 Mr Vijay Goyal, owner of Goyal Products, said the Subdivisional Officer of the town had come to his generator-manufacturing unit and told him to deposit Rs 8,000 billed on two defaulting accounts that did not relate to him. When he refused, the official told a junior engineer to disconnect the power supply to his unit. Though the connection was restored the next day, after the intervention of some local business leaders, local industrialists said they were hurt because Mr Goyal had been summoned by the local police station head, who had told the complainant that the board officials had accused him of misbehaving. Mr Manjit Singh, SDO, denied the charges against him and said the industrialists had misbehaved with his staff. He had reported the matter to his superiors, who had brought it to the notice of the police. The police said it had indeed received a complaint against the industrialist, that had been withdrawn, later. |
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LUDHIANA CALLING THE annual ritual of burning Ravana was solemnised at several places in and around the city on Tuesday evening with which Dasehra celebrations came to an end. Millions of rupees went up in smoke as huge, cracker-packed effigies of Lankapati were consigned to the flames to the delight of children and adults alike. But sadly, amid all this merriment, the message of Dasehra, victory of good over evil, goes abegging every time. Jain Muni Vinay Kumar ji Alok, in his discourse in Bagh Wali Gali on Tuesday, said that burning of Ravana’s effigy was an external celebration of the festival. The real, internal celebration would be the burning of Ravana that lives inside all of us and the awakening of Rama which also lives in the human body. That was the only way by which one could give meaning to one’s life, the Muni opined. Pickpockets Pickpockets of the city are a busy lot these days They are keen on exploiting the opportunity the festive season offers to them. Recently, shopkeepers of old city markets falling under the division number four police station urged the SHO concerned to rid the markets of the menace of pickpockets, particularly during the festival season. The SHO assured the shopkeepers that efforts would be made to ensure a hassle-free time for both customers and the shopkeepers. However, it remains to be seen how effectively the assurance is carried out. Traffic blues Come festivals! The entire lot of people with their two-wheelers, three-wheelers, four-wheelers seem to be out on the road to shop for the festive season. Moreover, so many new shops are being inaugurated, so many exhibitions are on, the Ludhianivis, curious ever, are exploring are out to see them. The traffic is so unruly and the tempers frayed that many dents on the vehicles cause skirmishes and exchange of hot words.The traffic near Damoria bridge , near Fountain Chowk, Ghumar Mandi is seen to be believed.The traffic police ought to do something to avoid causing more stress to the already stressful life of the residents of the city Satluj club Satluj Club, claimed to be one of the elite clubs in the region, with affiliations across the country and even abroad with prestigious clubs, has of late been in the news and certainly not for the good reasons. The club boosts of the 2500-strong membership representing a cross-section of society, mostly the elite and the affluent. However, over a period the club has seen a sharp decline in the standards. Be it the merciless beating up of a waiter by an office bearer, or the manhandling of a member by the security personnel of a local legislator preceded by the brawl between the club secretary with another senior member, everything seems to be going worse in the club. Things have come to such a stage that most of the members prefer to avoid visiting the club. And not to speak of various functions, which ultimately end up in a free for all. One senior member remarked that for some of a office-bearers the club has been reduced to only a forum to remain in the good books of the Deputy Commissioner, who is the ex officio president of the club. The member pointed out, it was best (read worst) witnessed during a gazal
programme organised by the club recently. Much to the shock and surprise of the members, the club secretary would carry the chit mentioning the DC’s favourite songs to the singers so that they could sing them for the DC. What otherwise should have been the job of the waiters, was performed by the secretary himself. But only for the club president. Humility or sycophancy sublimated. Sugar turns sour With growing health and figure consciousness among people there has been a sharp decline in the consumption of sugar and various delicacies prepared from it. The sweet-sellers have been claiming that their average sales have registered a decline during the past few years. Moreover, people no longer purchase sweets for auspicious occasions in the same quantity they used to earlier. Most people purchase sweets, in limited quantity as a good omen. Otherwise, they prefer dry fruits which have more shelf value. This all is being attributed to the growing campaign against the consumption of sugar as it is said to add to the weight. Whether it really does contribute to increase in the weight, but it has certainly affected the business of the sweet sellers and more so during the festival seasons. Of late the sweet sellers have launched a counter campaign, highlighting the benefits of sugar and trying to dispel the notion that sugar consumption adds to body weight. Soaped radish Ever thought that how radish sold in the market is so white? There are a lot of efforts involved in it. According to vegetable sellers, radish, for that matter, all vegetables are full of earth and dust when this arrive from the vegetable farms as farmers hardly bother to wash them. These vegetables have to be washed before they could be put for sale. And some vegetable sellers struck the idea of using the detergent powder also. One of them said, ordinary washing would not make radish look so white and when they used the detergent, radish were almost shinning. What initially remained confined among a few shopkeepers, soon caught the attention of other vegetable sellers, who also started washing vegetables with detergents. They have one consolation as doctors have been maintaining that it does not make vegetables harmful in anyway. But still they should be thoroughly washed with clean water before consumption. (see picture) Sentinel |
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‘Give private workers social security’ Ludhiana, October 15 In a memorandum to the Union Labour Minister, Dr Sahib Singh Verma, the state president of the INTUC, Mr Balwant Rai Kapoor, has urged the government to give funds to the Regional Directorate of the ESI in Punjab directly, so that, workers could derive proper benefits from the scheme. It is said that the prevailing system of releasing funds through the state Health Department is faulty and the department often diverts the funds for other purposes, while the ESI hospitals and dispensaries remain ill-equipped. The INTUC has urged the Labour Ministry to form vigilance committees comprising trade unionists for a regular inspection of these hospitals and dispensaries. The committees could act in cooperation with the medical superintendents of these hospitals and dispensaries. In view of the rise in the prices of medicines and treatment, the limit of Rs 600 per annum for each worker covered under the ESI scheme should be suitably increased. Mr Shiv Gupta, general secretary of the INTUC said the other demands in the memorandum included effective implementation of laws on labour, the ESI scheme, provident fund, minimum wages, bonus and gratuity in factories and industrial units in the private sector. Workers hired on contract should be provided with social security. |
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Function in memory of Sant Sucha Singh Ludhiana, October 15 In the first session, conducted by Jaswant Zafar, the participants presented their views on ‘death and kaal’ by delving on the myth, historical and spiritual aspects of the topic. Prof Niranjan Tasneem quoted from the works of Shakespeare, Milton, John Donne and Ghalib to expound his views on the issue. Others who took part in the deliberations included Dr A S Gorkhi, Dr Jagtar Singh Dhiman, K. S. Aujla and Dr Surjit Singh Muktsar. In the second session, the participants recited thought provoking poems on death and eternity which were appreciated by the audience. Darshan Buttar, Balwinder Sandhu, Kulwant Jagraon, Jaswant Zafar, Swaranjit Savi were among those who recited their compositions. The stage was conducted by Dr Raman. Sant Karnail Singh, present head of the Jawaddi Taksal, also spoke on the occasion. |
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Cong government a failure:
SAD Ludhiana, October 15 Other speakers, including Mr Kirpal Singh Arora, vice-president of the SAD Youth Wing, said harassment of traders and industrialists by officials of the Excise and Taxation Department in the city and elsewhere had crossed all limits. “The traders are already reeling under a severe recession and the officials of the Sales Tax Department are further adding to their woes.” Criticising the civic administration, the youth wing activists alleged that the people were getting notices for old cases of violation of building by-laws, which stood compounded and settled, while the Mayor and the Congress councillors had become mute spectators to this high-handedness. The party functionaries expressed concern over the chaotic traffic conditions in the city, which had further worsened due to the slow pace of construction work on various flyovers here. The recent increase in the minimum prices of land in different city localities for registration of title deeds was also criticised and the speakers demanded a rollback in the increase. Meanwhile, Mr Amrik Singh Aliwal, vice-president of the party, while addressing a meeting in the Ludhiana rural Assembly segment here, charged the Chief Minister, Cap Amarinder Singh, with failure to carry out development works and effectively dealing with a drought-like situation in the state. He said in order to distract the public attention from its failure, the Congress government was hatching a conspiracy to put Mr Parkash Singh Badal behind the bars on false and fabricated charges. Mr Aliwal further said their party’s stand against corruption was unambiguous. Rather than following a policy of vendetta and hounding its political opponents, the government should order a fair and independent inquiry by an agency like the CBI or a high court Judge. |
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RSS takes out route march Ludhiana, October 15 Speaking on the occasion, the regional pracharak of the RSS, Mr Prem Goyal, urged everyone to oppose radical and fundamental forces. Lashing out at those carrying out “ false and baseless propaganda against the sangh parivar ”, he said elements which were making nefarious attempts to break the country should be made to lick the dust. Mr Goyal said the basic ideology of the RSS stood for the good of society, the nation and the world and charging such an organisation with communalism was unfair. He also denied the allegation of Left parties that education was being saffronised. “The fact is that the education system is being Indianised and now that the apex court has also given its nod to the revision of history text books, the Left parties should see the writing on the wall,” he said. The RSS regional pracharak, dwelling on the foundation of the organisation, said the dream envisioned by the founder of the RSS, Dr Keshav Ram Baliram Hedgewar, on the same day in 1925, appeared to be taking shape now. “The RSS has more than 50,000 units in over 30,000 locations in which lakhs of swayam sevaks take part and resolve to stand for unity and integrity of the country,” he said. Later, RSS volunteers, led by a band, marched through Lakkar Bazaar, Books' Market, Chaura Bazaar, Division No 3 chowk and Brown Road before culminating at the starting point near Lakhsmi Cinema. Prominent RSS functionaries comprised the lead group in the route march. |
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621 widows get relief Ludhiana, October 15 The Ludhiana Young Welfare Society, New Cycle Market, Gill Road also organised 15th Shri Harmilap widow function yesterday at which relief was distributed among 101 widows according to Mr Krishan Rajpal, a spokesman of the Mission. |
Communication training course
concludes Ludhiana, October 15 Presiding over the concluding function, Mr Vardan Kapil, Director, All-India Radio, Jalandhar, said new communication technologies were facilitating the exchange of information at world level. Though we had made revolutionary progress in the field information technology, but had failed to harness the benefits of this technology for the betterment of the masses. He said advances in information technology had given us a better and fast medium of communication but at the same time we had done a little to develop communicators who could effectively use these tools. Dr M.A. Zahir, Dean, College of Basic Sciences and Humanities, observed that we merely used language only as a medium of communication whereas communication was more than the exchange of information and ideas. He said new communication technologies should be used in such a way that they facilitated easy and fast exchange of ideas and information. Earlier, Dr
K.S. Gill, Head, Department of Journalism, Languages and Culture, welcomed the chief guest and the participants. Dr Ravi
Dhar, coordinator of the course, proposed a vote of thanks. Mr Rantej Singh Gill and Dr Neena Chawla shared their experiences about the course with the chief guest and the participants. |
Enthralling recital
by Johar Ali Ludhiana, October 15 Students of Ramgarhia Girls College had the opportunity to listen to violinist who had given more than 400 performances and is the son and disciple of late Ustad Gohar Ali Khan of Rampur, one of the violin geniuses. Soon after he ended the recital, he told the students that he had played ‘Rag Lalit’, which is played in the morning. He said ragas were not only time bound, but also season bound. Johar Ali kept the students interested by asking questions like how many strings a violin has, which raag he had played. After playing different ragas, he played folk tunes of different regions and again asked the students questions on them. The notes of violin became more feisty with the playing of folk songs. He further told students that quite after composer of a well-known composition like ‘Dama Dam Mast Kalandar’, which was written by Amir Khusro to please his guru, Nizammudin
Auliya, was not known. The students appreciated the ‘jugal bandi’ of Johar Ali and Asif Ali. Later talking to mediapersons, Johar Ali said the violinists of younger generation should be provided a platform to show their talent. Asked whether he was in favour of fusion of music from the West and the East, he said, “Yes! do favour it as the western classical music is bound within certain notes like our classical music, and the fusion results in something beautiful. But I am not in favour of creating ‘new ragas’, as it will be just like owning a 10-room house while using a few but still looking for more rooms.” Asif Ali said since he belonged to a ‘music family’, he had been playing tabla for years, besides playing violin and singing. Mr Navin Talwar, a member of SPIC
MACAY, spoke about the activities of the society to promote Indian classical art, music and dance forms among the youth. The chief aim was to bind the students with their traditional forms of performing arts through demonstrations of art forms by reputed artists of India, lectures and student meetings. He said a national convention would be held from December 24 to 26 at GRD Academy. |
WORLD ANAESTHESIA
DAY Ludhiana, October 15 Dr Tej K. Kaul, Professor and Head of the Department Anaesthesiology in Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, said, before Dr William T.G. Morton, surgery was agonising and painful. Dr Kaul said surgical procedures were uncommon before 1846, not because of a dearth of efficient surgeons, but because the means of surgical-pain relief were rudimentary. Tranguilisers like alcohol, hashish and opium, along with unconsciousness induced by blow to the head were used to sedate patients. Surgery, hence, was considered a last resort. The pain relief technique using ether was first practiced in India in Kolkotta. The foundation of anaesthesiology was laid in the 19th century and the scientific art was systemised in the 20th century, giving birth to superspecialities like cardiothoracic, neuro, paediatric, neonatal, obstetric and geriatric anaesthesia. Today, the techniques have become sophisticated, the instruments for administering anaesthetics and monitoring patient responses have been refined and the substances for achieving anaesthesia have multiplied. Dr Kaul said, when awake, an individual could protect himself or herself by various mechanisms that were knocked out when he or she was asleep or put to sleep. “Anaesthetists not only put patients to sleep in operation theatres, but also show their professional expertise in emergency rooms, ambulance squads and critical care units,” he said. An anaesthesiologist’s responsibilities have come to include cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) of a patient, following any mishap or cardiac arrest, arranging pain relief for patients with terminal illnesses like cancers and neurological disorders, on-site management of trauma and disaster victims, providing advanced pre-hospital care at the site of accidents, respiratory therapy and solving airway problems. The faculty of the DMCH Department of Anaesthesiology will mark the
day by organising a lecture by Dr Anurag Tewari on ‘Day Care
Anaesthesia — Challenges and Improvement’. |
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