Heath centre reopens
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, May 1
Christian Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) commenced out patient medical services at Bhagwant Memorial Hospital, Narangwal, here today. The hospital was built in 1953 by the Grewal family in memory of their son Balwant Singh who died at the tender age of 15. The hospital was being successfully run by the CMCH till 1991, but due to some problems, it had to be closed down. Efforts by various institutes to run the institute proved futile. After remaining closed for over five years ,the founder trust, Mr Gurmail Singh ,and his son ,Mr Gurdish Singh, requested the CMCH authorities to restart the operations at Narangwal hospital.

During the reopening ceremony here today, Mr Gurmail Singh appreciated the efforts put in by the villagers and the Christians Medical college to make the hospital functional again.

Dr Basant Pawar, Deputy Director, CMCH ,said the support of the people and their faith in the hospital would make Balwant Memorial Hospital a success again and could contribute in improving the health of people living in and around Narangwal.

Addressing the gathering, Dr John Abraham, Medical Superintendent, CMCH, said due to some constraints only the outpatient services would be available at present and within next three months, 24-hour services , including surgery, would also be introduced. He added that all specialised services would be available at this rural centre. Mr Kuldeep Singh, Mr Jarnail Singh and other eminent people of Narangwal were present during the occasion.

Over 100 persons were examined on the first day. Local residents hospital authorities for restarting the hospital.

"Since the hospital was closed we had to go to Jagraon for small health problem. It is two -hour journey and we have to hire a taxi to go there. We bless the doctors who are starting this hospital again. God has answered our plea," said Ms Jaswant Kaur ,who had come to consult for her eye problem.

Ludhiana basketball teams
Our Sports Reporter

Ludhiana, May 1
The following have been selected to represent Ludhiana in the 54th Punjab State Junior Basketball Championship slated to be held at Amritsar from May 2 to 5, according to Mr Teja Singh Dhaliwal, honorary general secretary, Ludhiana District Basketball Association:

Girls: Tarunjet Kaur, Manpreet Kaur, Rajni, Manju, Gagandeep Kaur, Simran, Baljeet Kaur, Sarabjeet Kaur, Tejinder Kaur, Rajinder Kaur, Kiran, Harjeet Kaur and Hardeep Kaur, Davinder Singh Dhindsa and Jaswinder Singh Bhandari will accompany the team as coaches, while B.S. Brar will be the manager of the team.

Boys: Snehpal Singh, Jagdeep Singh, Vijay Kumar, Ramesh Kumar, Ajay Parkash, Talwinder Singh, Ranjan Mehra, Kanwal Nain Singh, Bharatdeep Singh, Sumeer Singh, Gurbaz Singh and Ankush Passi. Brij Bihari and Vijay Chopra will accompany the team as coach and manager, respectively.

Cricket tourney

The Rotaract Club, Ludhiana Central, will organise a day-night cricket tournament, Challenge 2003 Cup, at main ground of Rishi Nagar, Haibowal Khurd, here from May 9 to 22.

According to Mr Sikandar Kumar, president of the club, the last date for registration of teams is May 4. Mr Sukhapal Singh and Mr Prabhdeep Singh may be contacted on phone Nos. 98151-92519 and 98142-50316, respectively, for registration.