10-day de-addiction camp from tomorrow
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 18
As part of the free community de-addiction camps being organised by the Psychiatry Department of the GMCH, 30 addicts will be treated at a 10-day camp at Maloya village from March 20.

The mental health professional team, headed by Dr S.B. Chavan, Head of the Psychiatry Department, has been organising such camps in slums and rehabilitation colonies, seeing the increasing number of drug addicts. “With drug abuse, especially among the younger generation on the rise, we decided to hold camps in the slums,” said Dr Chavan. He said while almost half of the addicts were hooked to alcohol, others were taking opium, smack, cough syrups and tranquillisers. “In the recent months we have seen that a large number of school children, especially in the Motor Market area in Mani Majra, have become addicted to inhaling correction fluids ,” said Dr Chavan. He said the fact that a majority of these children were below 10 years of age was very disturbing.

In the past such camps have been organised in Palsora, Dadu Majra and Hallo Majra. He said it was not just slum dwellers and the migrant population who were taking drugs but children from affluent families were also high on it, the only difference being in the kind of drug they were taking.

During the camp, free treatment, food and stay facility is provided with the help of the local panchayats. 

Dr Joshi to revisit Fortis
Tribune News Service

SAS Nagar, March 18
The renowned orthopaedic surgeon, Dr Anant Joshi, will be available in Fortis Heart Institute and Multi-Speciality Hospital, SAS Nagar, for consultations on March 20 from 4 pm to 6 pm. Dr Joshi is a leading arthroscopy surgeon and his name is synonymous with sports injury care in India. For appointment patients can contact Fortis Helpdesk-0172 396500.

According to Dr Joshi, MS Ortho, Master of Sports Science (USA), arthroscopy is a speciality of the orthopaedics, which has revolutionised the management of joint injuries of the shoulder and knee, and especially when the injury sustained is, in sports or an accident. The advantages of the speciality are the modality of treatment involves minimum invasive surgery, low morbidity, early rehabilitation and quick recovery. Also, obesity coupled with sedentary lifestyle is a major factor that almost guarantees the setting in of diseases like degenerative arthritis in the general population.

Dr Joshi said,“ Very few injuries are extrinsic of the kind other people have as a consequence of which one has to find the cause of the injury and address it. It is imperative that people should be fit and active to prevent orthopaedic problems, which get compounded with advancing age.”

Further Dr R. V. Karanjekar, Medical Director of the institute said ,“This initiative is part of Fortis’ endeavour to bring quality healthcare closer to the people of the region and also to emphasise the importance of preventive healthcare check-ups.”

Training course on mentally challenged kids’ care
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 18
The Government Institute for Mentally Retarded Children (GIMRC) has become the first centre in North India to start a training programme for care givers for these children.

“As barely 5 per cent of the 10,000 mentally retarded children in the city have access to proper care, the institute today started a training programme for care givers ,” informed Dr B.S. Chavan, Head of the Psychiatry Department at Government Medical College and Hospital. He regretted that unlike in the South, where there were many training institutes, the region did not has this facility.

Dr Chavan, said under the concept of providing home-based training to mentally retarded children, the Rehabilitation Council of India under the National Trust Act ,1999, would authorise these care givers after six months training to offer their services. “The trained people in this field are mostly confined to the institutes, to which many people do not have access, and as such children with mental disabilities suffer,” he added.

“The care givers will be trained to identify the disability in a child within the first six months of his birth, so that it can be tackled better,” said Dr Chavan. Early acceptance of the child’s disability by the parents was also a must as till the last stage there was strong denial , delaying treatment.

The presence of a large number of care givers closer to the home of the mentally challenged children would not only provide cost-effective treatment but would also enable more and more children to have access to physiotherapy. At present, lack of awareness, shortage of trained manpower and barriers like poor economic condition and other preoccupations of the parents prevent these children getting proper care and treatment, he added.

SPORTS

Manager of indoor hall cremated
Our Sports Reporter

Chandigarh, March 18
The body of Mr S.S. Gill, Manager, Sector-42 Indoor hall and an employee of the UT Sports Department, was consigned to the flames this afternoon at the Sector-25 cremation grounds. It is believed that Gill died on Sunday in his house in Sector-22. Last night, his body was found in mutilated condition in his house.

He was 54 and is survived by his wife, and two sons. Incidentally his elder son, employed in the defence services, was scheduled to get married on March 29. Sources said the husband and the wife had been living separately for quite some time. The cremation was attended by senior officers of the UT Administration, a large number of employees of the UT Sports Department and other sports personalities.

World Cup fever increases
Our Sports Reporter

Chandigarh, March 18
The Cricket World Cup mania has gripped city residents. This is evident from the fact that people just want to imitate their cricket idols. A visit to various showrooms in the city revealed people's craze to buy World Cup T-shirts, similar to the ones worn by Indian cricketers. Mr Praveen Kharbanda, owner of a factory outlet of Pantaloon in Sector 35, said there was a great demand for these T-shirts, both from kids and adults. He said today about 20 students of Vivek High School, Sector 38, came to the showroom to buy the T-shirts.

Showrooms in Sectors 17, 22, 35, 8 and 9, and some big hotels have already displayed attractive banners, wishing good luck to the Indian team.

Sukhdeep Chawla, a bank officer, said, Chandigarhians were getting more excited since cricket stars Yuvraj Singh and Dinesh Mongia were from the city.