The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Civil surgeons told to be ready for
suspected SARS cases
Our Correspondent

Sonepat, April 28
The Director-General (DG) Health Services, Haryana, has directed the district health authorities to be prepared for any emergency case of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

In a communications to the civil surgeons in the districts, the Director-General Health Services has asked them to arrange for doctors and paramedics round the clock.

They have also been directed to prepare ‘special screening areas’ in the hospitals where suspected cases are to be screened. “Do not keep suspected cases with other patients in the ward and such cases should be directly sent to the isolation rooms from the screening area,” the direction adds. Pointing out that the disease is spread by droplet infection from close contacts-that means having cared for, having lived with or having had direct contact with respiratory secretions and body fluids of a person with SARS, the DG has suggested spreading awareness among the people about the symptoms of the disease.

“A person with influenza-like symptoms, i.e. high-grade fever with one or more respiratory symptoms including cough, difficulty in breathing, sneezing and running nose can be a case of SARS,” the directions stated.

When asked about the arrangements made in Sonepat district, the Civil Surgeon, Dr Rukmani Garg, told the ‘NCR Tribune’ that all arrangements have been made to tackle any suspected case.

An isolation room had already been arranged in the district hospital and medical and paramedical staff put on duty, she said and added, “We have all arrangements to immediately shift the suspected cases to the PGIMs Rohtak after giving preliminary treatments.”

Health centres ill-equipped to
treat snakebite victims
Our Correspondent

Ghaziabad, April 28
With the arrival of the summer months, cases of snake and scorpion bite are likely to increase, particularly for those engaged in farm and construction work. However, those unlucky to be bitten by these snakes, would have no respite as the dispensaries and primary health centres in the rural areas of the district are inadequately equipped to treat them.

To be precise, the dispensaries and the primary health centres in the rural areas do not have anti-snake venom vaccines to treat people with snakebites. Anti-snakebite vaccines and anti-rabies vaccines are as a ‘rule’ not available in village dispensaries.

Sometimes snakebite does happen in congested areas of cities too, but is common in the rural areas during the harvesting months.

Sadly enough, the Health Department does not care two hoots for this, though deaths due to snakebites in the district have risen in the recent years. It is easy for the department to dismiss these reports as no statistics are maintained on this account. Even in Ghaziabad town, few medical stores have anti-snakebite venom injections. Though these vaccines are available in government hospitals and private nursing homes, the victims are not always lucky enough to make it to these hospitals in time.

According to Dr A. K. Sharma, Chief Physician of M. M. G. Hospital, Cobra, Viper, Rasel and Karat are some of the deadly varieties of snake found in the region. He said if their victims are not given prompt medical treatment, they may die. Only 20 to 25 snakes are harmful while 60 per cent are unharmful, says Dr Sharma.

Faridabad medical services not in the pink
Bijendra Ahlawat
Tribune News Service

Faridabad, April 28
Even as the state government is preparing to open yet another Primary Health Centre (PHC) in the district, the state of affairs of the health and medical facilities at several such centres, is not so healthy. There are reports that the non-availability of staff, medicines and other facilities make the villagers go to either quacks or private clinics in urban areas.

There are already 23 PHCs in the district besides the community Health Centre (CHC) at big villages like Korali, Hathin, Hodal, Kherikalan and Dudhola.

The authorities have announced that the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, would lay the foundation stone of a PHC at Aurangabad village in the districts on April 29. The building will be constructed at a cost of Rs 52 lakh, for which the land has been donated by the village panchayat. It is also announced that at least 10 sub-primary health centres will function under its direct control and the staff for the new PHC, which include two medical officers (doctors), two pharmacists, multipurpose health workers and supervisors have also been appointed for all types of facilities, including immunisation. Although it is claimed that the new PHC would serve a population of about 30,000, it is doubtful in view of the fact that some of the PHCs and CHCs have not been able to come up to the expectations of people, especially those living in remote villages.

According to Mohan Singh of Joharkhera village near Palwal, doctors or specialists here are seldom available to the patients who report at CHCs or PHCs in the region. He said no doctor or nurse was available in the nearby PHC during odd hours. The chowkidar or attendant would tell the people needing medical help, especially at night that the doctor had gone to his residence located in the urban area and would be available the next morning if the next day was not a holiday.

SPORTS

Mukesh Kumar hits the jackpot
Our Sports Reporter

Rewriting the record book.

New Delhi, April 28
Mukesh Kumar rewrote the record books on the Hero Honda Indian Golf Tour when he not only won the season-ending Order of Merit crown for the fourth year in succession, but also managed to record the margin of Rs 9.08 lakh over his nearest rival.

The man from Mhow won a staggering 10 titles during 2002-03 season and aggregated a record-breaking Rs 21.77 lakh from 21 starts. Apart from the ten victories, he also had eight other top ten finishes, including four runner-up positions and two third place finishes. Such was Mukesh’s dominance that he mopped up approximately 9.25 per cent of the total prize money of Rs 2.35 crore on tour. Mukesh also held the previous record of Rs 17.51 lakh in the 2001-02 season, which gave him a margin of Rs 4.96 lakh over the second placed Feroz Ali.

Meerut’s Digvijay Singh, in his fourth season as a professional, had three outstanding wins, and yet could only finish second with a season-ending tally of 12.7 lakh.

The 2002-03 Hero Honda Indian Golf Tour featured 24 tournaments and a total prize money of Rs 2.35 crore, record level in the history of the tour. Interestingly, two players—Mukesh and Digvijay—crossed the million-rupee earnings in 2002-3, six earned more than Rs 8 lakh, 23 players crossed the Rs 3 lakh mark and the tour produced 55 lakhpatis for the season.

Sixty-two players had earned more than Rs one lakh, but thanks to Mukesh, the number was less this season.

Apart from the fact that the top two players this season hail from small towns with almost no golfing history, and the reassertion of the role of Army courses in the development of golfing careers, the season’s money list of the Golf Tour makes for some very interesting reading.

The third ranked player, Feroz Ali of Kolkata, did not win a single title throughout the year, and yet made it to the No 3 positing, with earnings of Rs 9.51 lakh, courtesy 14 top ten finishes in 21 starts.

Vijay Kumar of Lucknow won thrice but his move to play the Asian PGA Tour meant he could only play in 13 events and collected a total of Rs 8.66 lakh.

The new generation of golfers made a big impact last season. Twenty-two-year-old Delhi golfer Ashok Kumar, finished fifth in his first full season as a professional, making Rs 8.61 lakh from 20 starts, which included his maiden title at the Noida Open.

Shiv Shakar Prasad Chowrasia, the 24-year-old from Kolkata, was the man to bet in the closing part of the season, as he won the Hero Honda Open West and the HT ProGolf titles to aggregate Rs 8.26 lakh in 20 tournaments and finished sixth in the money list.

Uttam Singh Mundy of Kolkata, winner of the Surya Nepal Masters, and Delhi’s Arjun Singh, who successfully defended his Honda-Siel PGA Championship crown, were placed seventh and eighth respectively. Yusuf Ali and Rafiq Ali of Kolkata completed the top ten.

Narain Karthikeyan takes podium finish
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, April 28
Tata Carlin Motorsport team driver Narain Karthikeyan overcame stiff competition and adverse driving conditions to finish third in a podium finish in the second race of the World Series Nissan Championship at Zolder, Belgium on Sunday. In race one, which was full of spin-offs and tough track conditions, Karthikeyan finished fourth, according to information available in Delhi.

After the race, a delighted Narain said, “That was pretty good. To get a fourth and third place in two races against some of the best drivers in the world and spinning twice along the way is a solid result with some very valuable points. I felt my car was well set up and I was able to push really hard to put maximum pressure on the guys in front. I was a bit unlucky in the first race, but made it back in the second jumping from fifth to third on the last lap. I can’t wait for the next race. Who knows, maybe we’ll get a full weekend without rain.

Franck Montagny won the race with Jean Christopher finishing second. The next race of the season will be held at Magny Cours, France, on May 18. The race at Zolder was a longer 26-lap event with mandatory pit stops for tyre changing, which adds pressure for the drivers and pit crews who have to emulate the rapid stops that are an integral part of modern Formula One racing.

Abhay Ram Gym beat Gyan Bharti, move up
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, April 28
A fine all-round performance by Services Ranji Trophy player K K Dixit and deadly bowling of 4 for 26 by medium-pacer Sanjeev Tomar helped defending champions Abhay Ram Gymkhana beat Gyan Bharti South Delhi Academy by five wickets and entered the quarter-final of the fourth Abhay Ram Memorial Cricket Tournament at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium ground. Gyan Bharti made 190 for 9 in 40 overs.

Scores: Gyan Bharti: 190 for 9 in 40 overs (Shivam Gupta 51, Gursharan Singh 42, Prateek Pawar 34, Sanjeev Tomar 4 for 26, K K Dixit 3 for 23).

Abhay Ram Gymkhana: 192 for 5 in 30.2 overs (K K Dixit 50, Subodh Yadav 39, Kamal Nigam 35 n.o, Mukesh Kumar 2 for 36).

Sant Ram, Franklin shine

An all-round performance by Sant Ram (37 and 3 for 17) and penetrative bowling by Franklin (4 for 33) helped South Delhi Club beat Pelican Club by 106 runs and entered the quarter-final of the Shera Pandit Memorial Cricket Tournament at the Mohan Meakins ground.

Sant Ram received the man of the match award.

Scores: South Delhi: 188 for 9 in 40 overs (Sant Ram 37, Amanjeet Singh 36, Harpreet Singh 3 for 25, Saurav Bali 3 for 37).

Pelican Club: 82 all out in 24.2 overs (Deepak Anand 27, Franklin 4 for 33, Sant Ram 3 for 11).

Top teams for Goswami Cricket
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, April 28
Sixteen top teams, divided into four groups, will participate in the 30th All-India Goswami Ganesh Dutt Memorial Cricket Tournament to be held at the Sant Harchand Singh Longowal Sports Complex, SGTB Khalsa College, from May 4 for 25.

Indian Airlines, Central Warehousing Corporation, Young Friends and Lal Bahadur Shastri Club have been put in Group I while other groupings are PCA Colts, (Chandigarh), South Delhi Colts, Air Sahara and Sonnet (Group II), Collage Group, Rajdhani Sports, Delhi Blues and Chand Khanna Club (Group III) and BCA President’s XI (Jamshedpur), Youngsters Club, Food Corporation of India and Oil and Natural Gas Commission (Group IV).

A match between the Delhi Sports Journalists’ Association and the Organising Committee will be held on May 18 for the Chaman Lal Katyal Trophy, the founder of the tournament.

Darling club to tour Australia

Darling Club, which toured New Zealand and Bangkok, will tour Australia to play cricket matches and a six-a-side tournament next month. Interested players should contact umpire Anil Chaudhary.

Narender Dahiya wins gold in judo
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, April 28
Narender Dahiya of Ganga School, Hiran Kudna lifted the gold in the boys section in the National Judo Championship held at Defence Colony in New Delhi. Rohan Gupta, Anmol Gupta and Sahil won silver and bronze medals.

Mamta Lakra and Savita won bronze medals in the girls section. Principal H Srow and chairan of the school Sushil Kumar Gupta congratulated the players and coach Santosh Rajput for their fine performance.

Sanjay, Karmarkar deadly

Deadly bowling spells by Sanjay Sirsaat (4 for 21) and Karmarkar (4 for 30) and a half century by P M Reddy helped Indian Air Force beat Karma Eleven by seven wickets in the fourth Millennium Cup Inter-Institutional Cricket Tournament at the Palam ground.

Scores: Karma Eleven: 120 all out in 33.4 overs (Hemant Dogra 33, Surya Azad 18, Sanjay 4 for 21, Karmakar 4 for 30)

Indian Air Force: 124 for 3 in 27.3 overs (P M Reddy 50, Harish Bhaskar 24, Jai Kush 2 for 15). Tuesday’s matches: Delhi Administration vs Karma XI —Palam ground..

Tarun Chandel shines

An all-round performance by Tarun Chandel (37, 3x32) and a half century by Pankaj Kumar (59) and effective bowling spells by Sunny Arahwat (3 for 28) and Deepak Gulia (3 for 27) helped Sharda Cricket Academy beat Gupta Eleven by eight wickets in the Executive Cup Under-17 Cricket Tournament at the Raghuveer School ground, Vikas Puri.

Scores: Gupta Eleven: 149 for 9 in 30 overs (Upmanyu 38, Sunny 3 for 28, Deepak 3 for 27, Tarun 3 for 32).

Sharda Academy: 150 for 2 in 19.3 overs (Pankaj Kumar 50, Tarun 37, Deepak Gulia 27).

Sadhu Vaswani lift taekwondo trophy
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, April 28
Sadhu Vaswani School for girls tallied 53 points — nine golds, eight silver and ten bronze medals, in the 12th International Taekwondo Championship held at the Heritage School, Vasant Kunj.

Four hundred and sixty students, representing 70 schools of Delhi, participated in the championship.

Hosts Heritage School won eight gold, ten silver and 18 bronze medals to take the second position while Laxman Public School finished third with 39 points and Delhi Public School, R K Puram took the fourth place with 38 points.

Director of Heritage School Manit Jain said the school was happy to host the championship in which a lot of boys and girls displayed exceptional talent.

Reebok beat Gillette
Our Sports Reporter

New Delhi, April 28
Reebok defeated Gillette by five wickets in the Reebok Cricket Tournament. Gillette, batting first, lost four wickets quickly to struggle at 33 for 4 in 12 overs. Then Sushil Menon and P Reuben put on a 78-run partnership to revive their hopes.

But in the end, their bowlers could not contain Reebok, who coasted to victory in 23.4 overs. The cameo of Sanjay Arora had a big contribution for Reebok.

Scores: Gillette: 135 for 5 in 25 overs (Sushil Menon 52, 4x8; P Reuben 44 n o, 4x3, 6x2; Ravi Yadav 2 for7, Vishnu Bhagat 2 for 14).

Reebok: 138 for 5 in 23.4 overs (Sonu Mahna 44, 4x4; Sanjay Arora 23, 4x3; Vishnu Bhagat 18, 4x2, 6x1; Ravi Yadav 19, 4x2, 6x1; Paljeet Singh 2 for 14).