HEALTH

Free OPD services for poor started
Tribune News Service

SAS Nagar, November 13
Free out-patient department (OPD)services for the poor were inaugurated by the Punjab Governor Lt Gen J.F.R. Jacob (retd) at Fortis Heart Institute here today.

The OPD which became functional today will be for two hours each day (2 p.m. to 4p.m.). It will make accessible the Fortis faculty to people who due to monetary limitations cannot otherwise come to the paid OPD in the hospital.

The Governor speaking briefly on the occasion stated that such efforts were also required of other private medical institutions in the city who should also come forward and create such facilities.

The OPD will include free consultations from Fortis doctors in areas of internal medicine, general surgery, endocrinology and gynaecology.

Later addressing a press conference Mr Daljit Singh, CEO, Operations, Fortis stated that the free OPD service is likely to be expanded in the future to include free investigations and treatment services.

‘‘For now the services is limited to consultation only but specific cases can be considered for free treatment or subsidised treatment on need basis, ’’said Mr Shivinder Singh, COO, Fortis during the press conference.

The hospital authorities are also thinking of coordinating this free OPD services with Civil Hospital, Phase VI SAS Nagar where the patient can be referred to. ‘‘But for that we will have to contact them and take their referral policy into consideration as is the case with the PGI and GMCH.’’said Mr Shivinder Singh.

The Governor in his usual upright and non nonsense style, clearly showed his unhappiness over the tin roof that the OPD quarter building had. ‘‘Will this not be too hot for poor patients in the summers?’’ Questioned the Governor. This atleast made the authorities take an immediate decision to expand the location in case there is a shortage of space in the future and also change the roofs before summer set in.

Leprosy elimination campaign
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 13
The Modified Leprosy Elimination Campaign-IV will be launched to detect hidden cases of leprosy in the city, specially in the urban slums where migrants from high endemic areas are residing.

In collaboration with the Department of Female Literacy and Adult Education, the Chandigarh District Leprosy Society today held an orientation camp in leprosy for 350 ‘preraks’ (society workers) and ‘nodal’ ‘praraks’ at Sports Stadium, Sector 42.

The campaign will be organised in the city from November 15 to December 20 to create awareness about the disease and produce free treatment in city hospitals.

Speaking on the occasion, the Deputy Commissioner-cum Chairman-District Leprosy Society, Mr M. Ramsekhar, urged the workers to look out for suspects particularly migrants from high endemic areas of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar where there was a higher disease load.

He said the prevalence of the disease in the city, was two per 10,000 and had to be brought down to one per 10,000.

Assuring all support, the Director, Social Welfare, Mr I.S. Sandhu , said the ‘preraks’, CBRW’s and anganwari workers would be involved in the programme.

Dr Uma Vasudeva, Medical Officer , District Leprosy Society, trained the workers to suspect leprosy whenever they found a pale patch, large painful nerves and nodules and loss of sensation in hands and feet.

SPORTS

Sanjay Public win football title
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 13
Sanjay Public School, Sector 44, won the Inter-School Football Championship (under 19) beating Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 16 5-0 at the Government Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 22, here today.

Sanjay Public School played a coordinated game and dominated the proceedings. Right-half Rahul fed the forwards with regular supply. Government Model School put up a stiff resistance in the early minutes and did not allow the rival forwards to do any harm. In such an attempt right striker Sandeep gave a through pass to right-half Mandeep in the 11th minute whose first-time shot went straight into the goal. Three minutes later it was the turn of left striker Rambilas who struck in the 15th minute.

Government Model School tried to slow down the game but failed in their attempt to stop the rival forward Deepankar Shardha from scoring the third goal in the 24th minute. After the lemon break, right-half Mandeep added the fourth goal in the 42nd minute while the fifth goal was scored by Naveen in the 50th minute to complete the tally.

Pala Ram to lead tennis team
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 13
Pala Ram from the office of the Principal Accountant-General (Audit), Punjab, Chandigarh, will lead a seven-member Regional Sports Board Lawn Tennis Team in the All-India Civil Services Lawn Tennis Tournament to be held at Indore from November 18 to 23.

The other members of the team are: Suresh Jaswal, Deepak Seth, Rajiv Rattan, Balwinder Singh (all PAG (Audit) Punjab, Chandigarh), Jasmer Walia (Central Excise and Customs) and Arun Dhingra (ETDC, Mohali).

According to Mr A.S. Khokhar, secretary, Regional Sports Board, the team will leave for Indore on November 16.

Sumit bags snooker, billiards titles

Sumit Talwar clinched both the titles in junior snooker and senior billiards in the 19th NK Duggal Memorial Chandigarh State Senior and Junior Billiards and Snooker Championship held here on Wednesday.

In junior snooker, Sumit Talwar beat Gagan Makkar 3-1. In the first frame Gagan was leading by 40 points but could not maintain his lead. Sumit showing good potting slowly covered the lead and won the first frame on the black ball 56-53. The final scores were 58-53, 45-57, 63-22 and 69-29 in favour of Sumit Talwar.

In the junior billiards section, Sumit outclassed Parmod Kumar by 100 points. Sumit won the finals 304-204.

In the senior snooker section, Gagan Makkar lead Pranav Jain 4-2. The final scores were 43-31, 57-61, 51-37, 69-34, 62-55 and 43-23 in favour of Gagan Makkar.

ADMINISTRATION

‘Council can’t impose tax’
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 13
A legal debate has been initiated by the Indian Citizens’ Forum regarding the powers of those Municipal Committees and councils which have no elected representatives of the people to impose new taxes within their areas of jurisdiction.

In a statement issued here today, the president of the forum, Mr S.K. Nayar, said in the absence of powers to the Administrator under Rule 56 of the Haryana Municipal Business Bylaws, 1981, the Panchkula Municipal Council, to which the elections were yet to be held, could not impose any levy or tax on the registration of vehicles, stamp duty, issuance or renewal of driving licences, electricity tax, house tax, fire tax or professional tax.

He said Section 75(1) of the Haryana Municipal Act, 1973, empowered the state government to ask a committee to impose any tax by special or general order notified in the official gazette. Subsection 3 of the same section also said that if the committee failed to impose such tax, the government might impose the tax by an order notified in the official gazette.

Since, Mr Nayar said, the government did not notify its order imposing these taxes in Panchkula, the civic body in the satellite town had no legal right to collect these taxes.

The secretary of the forum, Mr J.S. Parmar, pointed out that the Punjab and Haryana High Court had held in the Naranjan Dass Doomra Rice and General Mills versus the State of Punjab case that “neither the language nor the spirit of the entire Section 62-A of the Punjab Municipal Act (similar to Section 75 of the Haryana Act) can throw even the slightest hint that the state government has got independent powers to directly impose a tax”.