 |
|
| Tuesday,
February 25, 2003, Chandigarh, India
|
|
|||
SPECIAL FOCUS ON
FARIDABAD Faridabad, February 24 According to Health Department sources, not a single case of violation of the PNDT Act has been detected in the past one year while it is a fact that Faridabad had taken the lead in this between 2000 to 2001 by booking four cases in an about 18 months’ period. There are about 100 ultrasound centres which have been registered with the district health authorities but no raids have been carried out in the last one year. Earlier, raids and surprise checks were the norm when Dr B. S. Dahiya, who is at present the Director, Health Services, Chandigarh, was Chief Medical Officer (CMO) here. After his transfer, the fear that persisted among the ultrasound centre owners over the misuse has faded away. The Health Department had recently carried out an advertisement in the print media giving details about the Act and the addresses and telephones numbers of the CMOs (Civil Surgeons) in the state, who could be contacted for providing information about the misuse of the ultrasound or violation of the Act. The Director, PNDT, had conducted a raid in Panipat town a couple of months ago and had booked some persons, including a doctor, on charges of violating the Act. Although about 15 cases have been booked in Haryana so far, the share of Faridabad, which has had a total of five cases, has not increased in the past one year. This does not mean the misuse of ultrasound facilities or violation of the PNDT Act has stopped in Faridabad but it also points towards the seriousness of the authorities in tracking down the culprits although the district health officials have claimed that there is no slackness on their part to create awareness and implement the act. The last case was booked in May 2002 when the authorities had sealed an ultrasound machine in Hodal subdivision, which was being operated without any registration. The earlier cases booked were of a different nature as the authorities which had conducted raids had charged the accused of conducting the test in an illegal manner. The rampant sex detection test has resulted in a decrease in the male-female ratio, which is 839 women per 1,000 men in a district like Faridabad. It is learnt that the meeting of the district committee on PNDT is attended by hardly half of the members. The meeting is held after every two months and the committee disposes the applications received for registration of ultrasound machines mainly. |
Malhotra expects substantial allocation for sports New Delhi, February 24 But this time around, there is a great hope that Finance Minister Jaswant Singh would make a substantial allocation for sports. In the previous years, successive finance ministers have given short shrift to sports in the Budget. Sports aficionados, however, expect a quantum jump in the allocation of funds for sports as no less a personality than Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had assured various sports agencies of favourably considering their demand for more allocation for sports, particularly after India’s impressive performances in the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games last year. All India Council of Sports (AICS) president Vijay Kumar Malhotra expects the sports budget to be pegged around Rs 250 to 300 crore from last year’s figures of Rs 190 crores. Normally, only 15 per cent hike is effected in the budget but this time, the hike may be substantial. “Our expectation is that the Finance Minister would allocate Rs 250 to 300 crore for sports in the coming financial year”, Prof Malhotra said. He said it was futile to expect India to catch up with other sporting powers without the right kind of financial backing. Prof Malhotra, who has been demanding a steep hike in the allocation of funds for sports in the ongoing Five-Year Plan as well as the 10th Five-Year Plan, said shortage of funds was a major constraint in creating infrastructure for sports. “Our Universities are bereft of the right kind of sports infrastructure. Very few of them have the facility of swimming pools, gymnasiums and synthetic tracks for athletics whereas in other countries, such facilities are plentiful”, Prof Malhotra observed. He said it was also unfair on the sportspersons to deny them their cash awards for months together once the Government made the announcement. For example, the Union Government is yet to present the cash awards to the medal winners of the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games. The amount will work out to around Rs 12 to 13 crores. But the awards function has not been held due to shortage of funds. “Such award functions should be held within two months of the announcement”, Prof Malhotra averred. The AICS president has requested the Prime Minister to enhance the sports budget to around 2,500 crores in the 10th Five-Year Plan so that some meaningful steps could be taken to give a big boost to sports. “Now schools and colleges lack even basic facilities for sports and games. How can we expect world class
sportpersons to emerge from such a setup?” he wondered. Prof Malhotra, who enjoys Cabinet rank as the AICS chief and whose brief is to advise the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports on important matters concerning sports, admitted that there was some “teething trouble” in making the Sports Ministry comply with AICS’s advise. The AICS was not consulted when the External Affairs Ministry, after taking the views of the Sports Ministry, announced India’s non-participation in the South Asian Federation (SAF) Games, scheduled to be held in Islamabad (Pakistan) from March 29 to April 7, on the ground of security. But Prof Malhotra was confident that things will fall in place in the coming months. The AICS will be holding a Sports Congress at Vigyan Bhawan in Delhi in May in which all the heads of the national sports federations, Indian Olympic Association, Sports Ministers of States and vice-chancellors of Universities would be attending. That will be the defining movement in the functioning of the AICS, which has been revived to give a shot in the arm to Indian sports. Prof Malhotra, who is also the president of the Archery Association of India, was confident that AICS would fully live up to the purpose for which it has been created. |
|
Pankaj Sharma shines in Sonnet’s win New Delhi, February 24 Scores: Inter Face Club: 175 in 39.3 overs (Suresh Tanwar 69, Dinesh Yadav 36, Oneil Wilson 3 for 29, N S Negi 3 for 31, Chetanya Nanda 2 for 29). Sonnet Club:
176 for 6 in 39 overs (Pankaj Sharma 75, Saket Bhatia 34, Satender Yadav 3 for 33, Dinesh Yadav 3 for 27).
Manav, Brigesh slam tons An unbeaten hundred by Manav Sharma and 116 by Brijesh Obrai helped Gyan Bharti South Delhi Cricket Academy defeat Shanti Sports Club by 50 runs in a limited-over cricket match at the Shanti Sports Club ground. Scores: Gyan Bharti: 289 for 6 in 40 overs (Brijesh Obrai 116, Manav Sharma 100 n o, Mohnish Sharma 29, Sushil Prasad 4 for 11). Shanti Club: 239 all out in 39.4 overs (Sunny Grover 55, Shekhar Singh 31, Bhushan Kapoor 3 for 37, Manav Sharma 3 for 37, Mohnish Sharma 2 for 26).
Bechtel beat Seagram Bechtel beat Seagram by 56 runs in the third Reebok Cup Cricket Tournament at the Siri Fort ground. Scores: Bechtel: 171 for 9 wickets in 23 overs (N Chinnappa 57, 4x8; Sushil Chauhan 32, 4x2, 6x1; Bikram Basu 6 for 31). Seagram: 115 all out in 19.5 overs (Abhishek Mishra 43, 4x5; Ranjan Das 23, 4x3; Sushmit Mukherjee 6 for 18; Dharam Singh 2 for 30). Sushmit Mukherjee was named the man of the match.
Amit, Parag star An all-round performance by Amit (46 n o and 2 for 19) and deadly spin bowling of 4 for 5 by Parag helped Sapient Corporation beat ICICI by 114 runs in the second Turf Corporate Cricket Challenge at the Sri Guru Gobind Singh College ground. Amit was declared the man of the match. Scores: Sapient Corporation: 207 for 5 in 25 overs (Rajat 27, Amit Goyal 46 n o, Neeraj 28 n o, Abhishek Pradhan 20, Nilesh 20). ICICI:
93 all out in 19 overs (Sarpreet 20, Naveen 33, Parag 4 for 5, Amit 2 for 19, Abhishek 2 for 31). |
|
Australian High Commission crush World Bank New Delhi, February 24 Scores: World Bank: 127 in 24.4 overs (Anoop Rana 41, 1x6, 4x4, 46b; Puran 25 1x6, 2x4, 48b; Jamie Stewart 6 for 26; David Tow 2 for 15; Danny 2 for 27).
Australian High Commission: 130 for 4 in 23.3 overs (Danny 35, 6x4, 47b; Rana 22 n o, 3x4, 37b; Shavez 20, 3x4, 24b; Sriniwas 2 for 28, Sanjay 2 for 39).
Sar Group win Sar Group defeated Railway Officers by six runs in the 10th Teri Cup Cricket League at the Teri Oval. Scores: Sar Group: 143 for 6 wickets in 25 overs (Amresh Pradhan 33, 3x4; Narender Singh 34 n o, 2x4; Rajesh Brown 24, 2x4, 2x6; Sanjay Sawhney 3 for 25). Railway Officers: 137 for 9 in 25 overs (Bharat Dhuppal 31, 2x4; Arun Sharma 25, 2x4; Amresh Pradhan 2 for 32, Rajeev Rana 3 for 32). |
|
A collector’s compendium New Delhi, February 24 But this time around, he came out with a very impressive work, containing articles not only by authorities on the game, but also by others on other sports disciplines as well, including an authoritative article on the “Other side of doping” by Dr P S M Chandran, director of sports medicine, Sports Authority of India. The souvenir also contains articles on travel, tourism and films, the one on Dharmendra, once the heartthrob of Hindi films, being the pick of the lot. And there are also interesting vignettes on a variety of subjects. The souvenir is a labour of love for Mr Menon, but an invaluable contribution to volleyball, as it opens unknown windows on the game to the lay person. A commendable work, indeed. |
|
Amity School win New Delhi, February 24 Scores: Amity: 143 for 5 in 25 overs (Lalit 61, Animesh 14, Antriksh Garg 2 for 20, Ahavya Bishnoi 2 for 23). Clintus: 81 all out in 17.3 overs (Bhavya Bishnoi 28, Shaunak Kumar 14, Divyansh 5 for 28, Saransh 4 for 20). |
|
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | In Spotlight | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 123 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Volleyball is an ever-living passion with Padippurakkal Vijaya Raghava Menon, and on the occasion of every major volleyball tournament held at the temple town of Triprayar, the Delhi-based Menon had come out with informative souvenirs, which provide a wealth of information to the lovers of the game.