CHANDIGARH

ELECTED: The following have been elected office bearers of the Rohtak Medical Alumni Association (Chandigarh): president — Dr Rakesh Khullar; secretary — Dr Suresh Chawla; vice presidents — Dr Rashmi Garg and Dr B.S.Chavan; joint secretary — Dr Nandini Kapoor; and treasurer — Dr Davinder Jain. 

IODINE DEFICIENCY DAY: International Iodine Deficiency Day will be observed on October 20 by Lions Club, Chandigarh Vishal. According to the president, Lions Club Chandigarh Vishal, Mr Daljit Singh Kohli: “People living in the slum areas will be educated through pamphlets and meetings to use only iodised salt as iodine deficiency leads to goiter, which can be toxic”. People living in slums will be given one packet of iodised salt free of cost and the storage procedure will be explained to avoid loss of iodine.

PROGRAMME ON HIV: The Indian Red Cross Society, Punjab is organising a four-day education programme on HIV/AIDS for Youth Red Cross volunteers from October 17 to October 19. The workshop will be formally inaugurated by the Director, Health Services, Punjab, Dr D.P.S. Sandhu, on October 17 at Punjab Red Cross Bhawan, Sector 16 A. About 40 students from different colleges are expected to attend the programme. The resource persons will be from the Indian Red Cross Society, National Headquarters, New Delhi, the Punjab State Red Cross Branch and the Punjab State Aids Control Society.

HARYANA

FATEHABAD
CONVENTION: The fourth state level convention of the National Integrated Medical Association (NIMA), Haryana, will be organised at Sirsa on October 20. Dr Kamal Kumar Bhaskar, joint secretary of the state unit of the NIMA said here on Wednesday that Mr Ajay Singh Chautala, MP, would be the chief guest of the first session of the convention. Dr M.L. Ranga, Minister for Health, Haryana, would preside.

HIMACHAL PRADESH

BILASPUR
APPLICATION FORMS: The last date for submitting application forms for admission to Class sixth Jawahar Navodaya Vidalaya at Kothipura near here has been extended upto October 18. Principal of the Vidalaya said here on Tuesday. The test would be held on February 9 next year. The forms are available from the Vidalaya and also from offices of the District Education Officer and Block Education Officers free of cost. Students studying in Class fifth in any recognised school within the district can appear in the test.

DHARAMSALA
BAN RALLIES: The president of the Bharat Samajik Uthaan Manch, Mr Charan Dev Singh Guleria, has appealed to the Election Commission to ban political leaders from addressing rallies and meetings organised by religious and caste organisation. In a statement Mr Guleria said such a ban should be imposed at least one year before elections.

HAMIRPUR
NON-FUNCTIONAL EXCHANGES: Telephone services have gone haywire in the district since the lightning struck the main telephone exchange here on Friday. Bhira and Dugha telephone exchanges connected with the main exchange are still non-functional.

NURPUR
2 HELD FOR MURDER: The Indora police on Tuesday arrested Santokh Singh along with his wife, Taro Devi of Barote village, for allegedly killing his father, Thunia Ram. A minor altercation had reportedly led to the death of Thunia Ram. Santokh’s father was rushed to a hospital where he succumbed to injuries on Sunday.

ARRESTED: The local police on Tuesday arrested Baleshwar Dass of Bihar from Damtal near here. A wireless set used by the railway staff was seized from him.

REGIONAL POTPOURRI

Blessed with triplets after 4 yrs

HAVING strived for a child for about four years, it was a day with a difference and full of elation for Gurparshan Kaur. Overcoming all difficulties she gave birth to healthy triplets at a Jalandhar hospital.

Gurparshan (30), hailing from Saiflabad village in Kapurthala district, was yearning to have a baby since her marriage about four years back to Santokh Singh, a labourer working with a construction company in Dubai. But the Almighty had a delayed gift in store for her: triplets — two females and a male.

Talking to TNS at the Maqsudan-based Sharma Eye Hospital and Maternity Home, an ecstatic Gurparshan stated: “All I can say at this moment is that it is the biggest gift for me and the whole family. Nobody, initially believed when the doctor told them about three babies. My husband was so curious that he asked me on the phone from Dubai to send photos of the babies,” she narrated in an emotionally charged voice.

Dr Shabnam Sharma, who operated on Gurparshan, said what surprised everybody was that all the three babies were of normal weight and were perfectly normal. “When we examined her in the seventh month and told her about three babies, Gurparshan was worried as she had already lost a child through miscarriage and had a frail body. She was so heart-broken that she refused to believe that she could give birth to triplets. So much so, one of her aunts suggested that two of the foetuses should be terminated. But, she finally agreed to go ahead with the babies after much persuasion,” said Dr Sharma.

“Actually, it’s a blissful dream after a nightmare. I could not even sleep properly for two months. And one can say it is by the grace of God that no harm was caused to babies when I fell down in my courtyard three days ago and broke one of my teeth,” she revealed, adding that she had gone to all holy places to invoke blessings for a child. “Finally, the dream turned into reality.” Her aunt, Balbir Kaur, was so elated that she distributed laddoos to every one coming by her way.

The accompanying photo by Pradeep Purohit shows Dr Shabnam Sharma enquiring about the health of triplets from their mother, Gurparshan Kaur, at Sharma Eye Hospital and Maternity Home.

UGC grant for Karnal college

The University Grants Commission has recognised the services of Dyal Singh College, Karnal, in the field of education. The UGC has sanctioned a special grant for the college on its completion of 50 years. Dyal Singh College was founded by the great philanthropist, Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, at Lahore through a will which was executed by the trustees. Sardar Dyal Singh was the founder of The Tribune at Lahore which has rendered yeoman service in the field of dissemination of information in the north-western region.

A public library was also founded by Sardar Dyal Singh which started functioning at Delhi after partition. The Dyal Singh College Trust Society established two colleges in his name. One college was re-established in Delhi.

The other after the name of Sardar Majithia was founded in Karnal by the trust society headed by Dewan Anand Kumar. The Dewan was also the founder Vice-Chancellor of Panjab University in this part of the country.

Dewan Anand Kumar chose Karnal for the establishment of the college because educationally it was a backward region. The college started from scratch and has now 2,200 students on its rolls according to the newly appointed principal, Dr Ramji Lal. The principal, a political scientist of repute, maintains that the college has flourished into a higher education institution providing post-graduate courses in four streams — three in humanities and one in software computer science.

Dyal singh College, initially, was housed in a haveli owned by Mr Liaquat Ali Khan (Pakistan’s first Prime Minister) and his brothers. The trust society, now headed by Dewan Gajendar Kumar, has expanded the building and added a modern auditorium named after the late Dewan Anand Kumar. The auditorium is likely to cost Rs 1 crore.

In order to commemorate the memory of Sardar Dyal Singh, it established two model secondary schools under the guidance of Mr R.C. Sharma, a former Director of CBI, and Dewan Gajendar Kumar. It is learnt that the society is contemplating establishing another modern secondary school. In fact, Karnal has become a hub of education and has kept alive the memory of Sardar Dyal Singh. Dr Ramji Lal maintains that Dyal Singh College has done yeoman service in meeting the educational needs of the rural poor. A majority of the male students of its rolls hail from the rural areas.

Key post lies vacant

The post of Professor has been lying vacant for the past three months at Department of Anaesthesia in Dr. Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College, Tanda. The Government policy based on rotation required that a professor from the Department of Anaesthesia, I.G.M.C, Shimla, should be transferred to R.P.G.M.C, Tanda, but orders to this effect have not been issued till date. This has adversely affected the working of this key/crucial department, which caters to a host of surgical departments such as general surgery, gynaecology, orthopaedic’s, eye and ENT. At present, the Department of Anaesthesia in this institution has a skeleton staff of one associate professor, two assistant professors and two registrars. It is noteworthy that the Deptt. of Anaesthesia, Dr R.P.G.M.C, Tanda, is the only department in this institution which is in the process of being accorded recognition by the National Board of Examinations for starting the postgraduate DNB course; but such a careless attitude on the part of the authorities may jeopardise such a move.

Contributed by Varinder Singh, K.G. Dutt & TNS