SONEPAT
No amenities in govt hospitals
Our Correspondent

Sonepat, October 24
One has to take life saving drugs and other medicines, bandages etc from the market along with him if he wants to take treatment from Sonepat civil hospital and other health institutions in the urban and rural areas of the district. This has been the state for affairs in the government hospitals, dispensaries, community health centres and the primary health centres in this district for the last many decades.

If any patient is brought to the emergency ward, he is either referred to Delhi or the PGIMS, Rohtak for further treatment after giving him first aid by the duty doctor. However, no doctor is made available in this ward in the nights, thanks to the failure of the authorities concerned in keeping a tab on the duty doctor and other para-medical staff.

Many patients alleged that the present Civil Surgeon, Dr Rukmani Garg, was due to retire from service in April next year and she had not been taking any interest in doing her primary duty. All their complaints about the inefficient and unsatisfactory working of the health institutions in the urban and rural areas made to her had fallen on deaf ears, they alleged.

Meanwhile, medical services in Sonepat are highly insufficient. It seems that the authorities have any concept of health administration. Even the minimum physical facilities are not available to the patients. The local civil hospital, the only one for a district of over 15 lakh population, has been ridden with problems for paucity of funds. This hospital lacks basic facilities such as bed sheets, trolleys, coolers for indoor patients and X-ray films.

There is no air-conditioner in the only operation theatre and the doctors have been performing operations sweating in the sweltering heat. The generator provided in the hospital always remain out of order and the hospital remains powerless for hours together almost everyday.

Moreover, there are no intercom facilities for coordination between various departments. For every errand such as bringing X-rays reports from the Radiology Department, or test or clinical reports, staff nurses are deployed. Moreover, there is no mobile X-ray machine, essential for operating doctors. These are the factors behind the declining number of patients at these hospitals.

MTNL Health Mela offers vital tips, free check-up
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 24
Around three lakh persons, including a large number of students, have already visited the ongoing MTNL Perfect Health Mela, organised by the Heart Care Foundation of India in association with various governmental and non-governmental bodies at Talkatora Grounds.

The mela president, Dr K. K. Aggarwal, who is the executive vice-chairman of the Heart Care Foundation of India, pointed out here on Wednesday that free health check-ups were arranged on the mela premises where checking of blood pressure, ECG, echocardiography and eye examinations were held. Over 40,000 people have so far benefited from the check-ups. Free medical counselling and consultation were also provided by doctors to the public, who have been coming from all over the city including from far-off places.

It was observed that high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels and hypothyroidism were quite rampant in the city and needed immediate medical attention. It was distressing that around 50 per cent of the people were either not aware about their diseases or the diseases were not fully controlled even though people got a misconception that their disease had already been contained, with the result that they stopped medication and the disease returned with greater ferocity.

Obesity was also found very common. People were told that the waistline should not be more than 40 inches in case of men and 35 inches in case of women. “Higher the waist line, shorter the lifeline,” said Dr Aggarwal.

People were also advised to go in for early diagnosis, right drugs in right dosage and for right duration. Self-medication had been found harmful and people should go according to the medical advice.

Free haemoglobin tests taken at the mela revealed that a large number of people were anaemic. Free blood testing to identify the blood groups was also provided. There were also free OPD consultations pertaining to allopathy, homeopathy, Unani, ayurveda and naturopathy.

A very informative quiz had also become a subject of attraction for the public. They were informed that people should try to give up the consumption of alcohol and those who could not do it should not consume more than 30 ml of alcohol in an hour. People should take only seasonal vegetables and fruits, Dr Aggarwal said.

Certain formulas to reduce weight were also given at the mela. Any vegetable, which is green in colour like karela, neem and bhel, was helpful in reducing weight, and any eatable, which could be broken into two equal parts like pulses and rajma, if taken after boiling would be helpful in reducing gas.

Dr Aggarwal also notified that Hepatitis B vaccine should be taken at 0, 1 and 6 months. “Not giving Hepatitis B vaccine is a medical negligence,” said Dr Aggarwal.

Typhoid vaccine should be taken every three years and de-worming tablet, Albendazole, every three months. Blood pressure should be kept lower than 140/90.

The visiting public was told to discourage the consumption of junk and fast foods. Uncontrolled and indiscriminate use of food additives might also pose health hazards. The basic guidelines still remained to prefer a food, which was more near natural, seasonal and fresh. In fact, anything that was refined was unnatural and therefore unhealthy, Dr Aggarwal added.

MDR-TB centre to be set up at LNJP
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 24
The Government of Delhi is to set up a Multi-Drug Resistant (MDR)-TB Treatment Centre shortly at the Lok Nayak Hospital. It will be the first of its kind in the country. A decision to this effect was taken in a high-level meeting held under the chairmanship of the Delhi Health and Family Welfare Minister, Dr A. K. Walia. The Principal Secretary (Health), Mr S.P. Aggarwal, Director of Health Services, DEAN, MAMC, Director, G. B. Pant Hospital and Medical Superintendent of Lok Nayak Hospital were also present in the meeting.

Dr Walia informed that although the Revised National TB Control Programme is being implemented vigorously to control the situation in the NCT of Delhi, a number of patients have been reported as sputum positive despite treatment.

These patients continue to infect other people who come into their contact. As such, the treatment of these MDR-TB patients is necessary to contain this menace. The Health Minister said that the treatment of MDR-TB is costly, toxic and often unsuccessful and is desirable to be undertaken in a specialised centre. Since it require multi-disciplinary approach, the Departments of Medicine, Microbiology, PSM, Psychiatry and Cardio Thoracic Surgery would be involved in the treatment of such patients in this centre.

Apart from counselling, a state-of-the- art laboratory would also be set up for the purpose. In order to maintain quality, the proposed centre will be affiliated with institutions recognised by the World Health Organisation (WTO), he added.

SPORTS

BSF win cross country races in police meet
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, October 24
The Border Security Force (BSF) won the team championships in the 4km and 12km races by logging 14 and 15 points, respectively, in the All-India Police Aquatic and Cross Country Championships. In the 4km race, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Rajasthan finished second and third while in the 12km race, the CRPF came second while the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) accounted for the third place. The Haryana Police did an excellent job in controlling the traffic on the Delhi-Alwar national highway for the smooth conduct of the races.

In the 4km race, Om Prakash of Rajasthan clocked 11:25.9 minutes to take the first position. He was followed by Jiji Thomas, Radhey Shyam, Harish Kumar and Ranjit Singh (all of BSF) and Kuldeep Kumar of Uttar Pradesh.

In the 12km cross country race, Naresh Kumar of the BSF clocked 36:15.8 minutes to finish first. He was followed by Upendra Kumar of the CRPF, N. Gogen Singh of the BSF, Balram of the CRPF, Jagmal of the BSF and Ram Bahadur of the BSF.

In the swimming action at the Talkatora pool, Amar Muralidharan of the CRPF clocked 1:0.13 secs to win the 200m free style gold in a new meet record time, which sunk the old record of 2:0.80 secs. Kailash Nath of the CRPF and Sujeet Mukjherjee of the BSF accounted for the silver and bronze, respectively. Amar Muralidharan had earlier won gold medals in the 100m butterfly and 100m free style events.

P. K. Senthilkumar of the CRPF also created a new meet record while winning the 200m free style gold. His time of 0:29.18 secs erased the old record of 0:29.20 secs. Sanjay Haldar of the BSF lifted the silver while the bronze went to Yudhbir Singh Tokas of the CRPF.

Gopi Malpeddi of the CISF tumbled to the gold in the 1m diving. He logged 239.40 points with Mahendra Bilore of Punjab and Dinesh Chandra Badoniya of the CRPF claiming the silver and bronze, respectively.

Neeraj Sharma hits century
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, October 24
An unbeaten century by Neeraj Sharma and fiery bowling by Anoop Rao (3 for 8) helped G M Traders beat Rena Sonic by 105 runs in a league match of the first Turf Sports Management Cricket Tournament at the Jamia Milia ground. Neeraj Sharma was declared the man of the match.

Scores: G M Traders: 219 for 7 in 25 overs (Neeraj Sharma 104 n o, Tejpal 21, Ishneet Singh 4 for 25).

Rena Sonic: 114 all out in 17.1 overs (Ishneet Singh 51, Sandeep Kumar 27, Anoop Rao 3 for 8, Sudesh Kumar 2 for 26, Mahesh Prasad 2 for 26, Dhiraj Sharma 2 for 27).

Deadly bowling by Amit Kalyan

A devastating bowling performance of 6 for 39 by Amit Kalyan helped Vijay Yadav Academy beat Gyan Bharti South Delhi Academy by 18 runs in an under-19 cricket match at the Gyan Bharti ground.

Scores: Vijay Yadav Academy: 196 all out in 39.2 overs (Aslam Khan 47, Kshitij Kumar 42, Bhushan Kapoor 4 for 43, Arjun Juneja 3 for 31, Anil Kumar 2 for 27).

Gyan Bharti South Delhi: 178 all out in 37.2 overs (Bhushan Kapoor 53, Charlee 52, Puneet Singh 31, Amit Kalyan 6 for 39).

Goswami Club enter semi-final

Goswami Ganesh Dutt Cricket Club, Delhi entered the semi-final beating hosts State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur by five wickets in the 22nd All-India State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur Cricket Tournament in Jaipur.

Scores: State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur: 188 for 9 in 50 overs (Deepak Chauhan 28, Yogesh 27, Devinder Pal 23, Sanjeev Sharma 2 for 35, Ankit Bhargava 3 for 20, Kapil Mehta 1 for 28, Farman Ahmed 2 for 26).

Goswami Ganesh Dutt Club: 190 for 5 in 47 overs (Sanjeev Sharma 50 n o, 3x4; Kapil Mehta 58, 4x4, Anshul Lamba 31, Krishan Kumar 2 for 40)

Collegians crush Hans Club
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, October 24
Collegians Club drubbed Hans Club 4-1 in an A Division Super League match of the Delhi Soccer Association (DSA)-SAIL Open Clubs Football League Championship at Ambedkar Stadium.

Collegians forged ahead in the second minute when inside-left Gautam took advantage of a defensive lapse to put the ball in. Inside-right Aftab Ashraf enhanced the lead to 2-0 in the 17th minute while Salauddin made it 3-0 in the 23rd minute. Hans pulled one back in the 36th minute on resumption through striker Ravinder Mohan Bisht. Aftab Ashraf completed the scoring for Collegians in the 61st minute.

In another A Division match, Shastri Club were held to a goalless draw by Indian Air Force (Palam). Shastri Club have earned eight points from four matches while Air Force have earned eight points from four matches.

The League Sub-Committee has upheld the protest filed by IAF against Youngmen. Their match had ended in a goalless draw, and now IAF have been awarded both the points.

Meanwhile, under instructions from FIFA, the All-India Football Federation (AIFF) had incorporated in Players’ Status Regulation a second chance for inter-State transfer of players. Accordingly, the transfer of players will be held from November 1 to 15. The transfer will be effective as soon as the forms with the No Objection Certificate from the original association are received by the AIFF. Players who have already taken transfer in May are not entitled for transfer again.

Friday’s fixtures: Bangadarshan vs New Friends (1.30 p m); Rohini vs Goodwill (3 p m)—Ambedkar Stadium.

Hero Honda beat Jassal
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, October 24
Hero Honda beat Jassal Ranganathan Associates by seven wickets in the sixth DG Phadkar Memorial Cricket Tournament at the Teri Oval.

Scores: Jassal Ranganathan Associates: 109 all out in 24.3 overs (Sampath 35,2x4; Khazan Singh 3 for 12, Raghubir Singh 2 for 18, Bhagavan Singh 2 for 19, Satish Sharma 2 for 20).

Hero Honda: 111 for 3 wickets in 18 overs (Raghubir Singh 43, 5x4, 1x6; D S Dogra 39, 4x4). Raghubir Singh was adjudged the man of the match.

Sar Group beat Friends Globe Travels by 138 runs in another match.

Scores: Rajesh Brown 71, 10x4; Lalit Anand 47, 5x4; Mahesh Prasad 47, 3x4, 2x6).

Friends Globe Travels: 71 all out in 14.2 overs (Man Mohan 30, 5x4; Javed 22, 1x4; Amresh Pradhan 3 for 11, Jitender 2 for 2, Lalit Anand 2 for 17). Rajesh Brown was adjudged the man of the match.

Reckitt down Sundaram in Eventus Cup
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, October 24
Reckitt Benckiser beat Royal Sundaram by four wickets with 1.5 overs to spare in a league match of the second Eventus Cup Cricket Tournament at the Palam ground. Extras played a vital role as Reckitt conceded 41 extras while Royal Sundaram’s tally was 46.

Scores: Royal Sundaram: 130 all out in 20.4 overs (Prashant Gupta 32, 28b; Samiransen Gupta 4 for 20, Vinod Agarwal 3 for 19, T Ganesh 2 for 8).

Reckitt Benckiser: 134 for 6 in 23.1 overs (Shaibal Sinha 32, 48b; Samiransen Gupta 28, 28b; Manu Mehta 3 for 27).

Hughes Software Systems beat NDTV by seven wickets with 7.1 overs to spare.

NDTV: 140 all out in 24 overs (Rakesh Gaur 65, 57b, 4x9, 6x1; Jai Chauhan 28, 40b; Ashwani Dosaj 4 for 19, Upen Babu 2 for 16, Sriniwas Vanguru 2 for 34).

Hughes Software Systems: 142 for 3 in 17.5 overs (Sachin Singh 55, 43b, 4x8; Tarun Makkar 35 n o, 25b; Rakesh Gur 2 for 25). Sachin Singh was adjudged the man of the match.

DDA Open Roller Skating

New Delhi: Guru Harkishan Public School beat Doon P School by 4-1 in the DDA Open Roller Hockey and Skating Championship at the Dyan Chand Sports Complex in Ashok Vihar. Sri Mola inaugurated the Championship. In other matches, Ryan Public School beat R S Academy 5-3, Talkatora Stadium beat Sratemen team 8-0 and Father Ecagane School beat Sri Fort Complex 4-2. In roller speed skating, Anusha of Sardar Patel Vidyalaya finished first. Other winners were Anmol of Talkatora Stadium, Karandeep and Ashish of Guru Harkishan Public School. OSR

Shifting of dyeing units runs into rough weather
Pradeep Sharma
Tribune News Service

Panipat, October 24
With the district administration allegedly adopting a soft approach, the shifting of about 500 dyeing units from the residential areas to Sector 29 Industrial Area seems to have run into rough weather.

According to sources, the employees of the Electricity Department, who had been issued “verbal orders” to snap the power connections of the dye houses not applying for plots in the industrial area, had been facing resistance from the dye house owners.

And lack of written orders by the district officials has compounded difficulties of the Power Department and they had returned empty-handed from the dye houses.

Adopting a tough posture, the district administration last month, had “sealed” over 40 dye houses and served ultimatum on dyeing unit owners to apply for the plots. However, as the days passed, the administration apparently developed cold feet with the result that the shifting process had suffered a set back.

The administration and the powerful dye house lobby had been locked in a war of wits over the shifting of about 500 dyeing units, which are considered to be the backbone of the world-famous handloom industry.

Over the years, the dye houses had been functioning from the residential areas with impunity despite a Supreme Court directive to shift them.

They had been blamed for the pollution and contamination of the ground water. According to an estimate, about 10 million litres of contaminated water discharged by these units daily have been playing havoc with the lives of the residents.

After years of deadlock about the modalities, the administration and the Panipat Dyers Association had worked out a scheme for the rehabilitation of the dyeing units. The administration had also announced certain additional incentives for the shifting of the units to Sector 29.

However, before the concrete plan of action could be worked out, differences between the administration and association resurfaced. The association accused the district administration of going back on its promise of providing additional incentives.

And even as the deadlock continues, the association is planning to move the Punjab and Haryana High Court for the “redressal of their grievances”.

The association contends that shifting the units to the industrial area is a costly proposition and would deal a deathblow to the industry, already reeling under severe recession.

On the other hand, official sources said the administration was firm on the shifting of the units to tackle the pollution problem, which had assumed alarming proposition in the affluent industrial city.

However, till the shifting process was over, the residents of one of the most-polluted cities of the country, will have to live with the pollution problem. That would mean that fresh air and clean water would be a pipe dream for the residents.

Ban on 15-yr-old autos
Tribune News Service

Faridabad, October 24
Admitting that air pollution in the town has been growing, the Deputy Commissioner today announced that the administration would soon ban the plying of auto-rickshaws that are more than 15 years’ old.

The `Action Plan', which was formulated after a meeting of the authorities with Pollution Control Board officials, states that the air pollution has gone up severely in the town over the years and thousands of three-wheeler auto-rickshaws have been mainly responsible for it.

The Deputy Commissioner announced that besides banning 15-year-old vehicles, the administration had also decided to categorise all three-wheelers. While three-wheelers that were less than five years’ old would be painted with a green strip, those between five and ten years would be given an orange strip and those between 10 and 15 years’ old would have to display a red colour indication. He said the new norm would be applicable from November 1 and action would be taken against all those vehicles found violating the rule.

He said a drive would be launched soon to check adulteration of diesel and petrol at petrol pumps and the persons using such fuel.

He said all authorised pollution checkpoints would be inspected regularly and action would follow if irregularity in the issuance of pollution certificates was detected. In another important decision, the authorities declared that to check the growing number of auto-rickshaws in town, a scheme had been chalked out to allow their plying on the basis of their registration numbers.

The vehicles having odd numbers in the last digit would be allowed to ply on odd dates and those having even numbers in the last digit would be allowed to ply on even dates from November 1. This, if implemented, would be able to check air pollution and decongest several main roads, it is claimed.

The Deputy commissioner also asked the District Food and Supply Controller (DFSC) to conduct raids and find out if furnace oil was not being used in factories. He also directed officials to remove encroachments on the national highway and service lanes.