HEALTH

Fortis plans corpus of donations
Tribune News Service

SAS Nagar, July 10
Fortis Heart Institute here has decided to form a corpus of donations to introduce free cardiac surgeries in the hospital for poor patients.

This was stated by Dr Achintya Moulick, chairman, cardiac vascular sciences, at a press briefing here yesterday.

Announcing the first such operation done completely free of cost on a 13-year-old slum dweller, Khushboo, Dr Moulick stated that this was just the beginning. ‘‘This time we were able to manage sponsors for the patient from within the hospital, but if people start to chip in, we will be able to give poor patients world-class treatment at the lowest cost possible.

The hospital will work on the lowest cost in these cases but we have to ensure that the surgeries we do are also financially viable,’’ he said.

Giving details of the mitral valve replacement surgery procedure for Khushboo, Dr Moulick pointed out that Khushboo was one of the five daughters of a physically challenged and unemployed father and a domestic help mother and was suffering from the chocked and leaking valve condition. She started experiencing constant pain in her legs accompanied with swelling. Recalls Khushboo’s mother, Sarita, “Initial treatment did help in subsiding the pain, but then she started suffering from loss of appetite.”

A series of tests confirmed Khushboo’s condition of chocked and leaking valve in the heart and a replacement surgery to cost around Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 2 lakh was recommended. Added Sarita, “We all were completely shocked and did not know what to do. It was impossible for us to organise such a huge amount. We felt so helpless!”

It was then decided that the hospital would generate the required funds and undertake the surgery. During the same time, a sponsor approached Fortis and offered donation for the treatment. On June 25, 2003, Khushboo was brought to Fortis and operated upon the next day.

SPORTS

Cricket match ends in tie
Our Sports Reporter

Tomorrow, four matches will be played: Century Steel XI versus 17 Boys Cricket Club, Fateh CC versus CICA XI, LIC XI versus Kishangarh XI and IAF XI versus Chetna Cricket Club.

ADMINISTRATION

Industrial Area violators beware
HUDA plans to act tough
Ruchika M. Khanna
Tribune News Service

Panchkula, July 10
The Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) has decided to act tough against large-scale violations of HUDA bylaws in the Industrial Area, here.

A survey of the Industrial Area, Phases I and II, is being undertaken by the Estate Office to assess the violations. The Estate Officer, Mr Ashwani Kumar, says that he has instructed the junior engineers to submit a report of the survey by July 14 so that they could proceed against the violators.

It is learnt that notices will be issued to the defaulters/violators for abiding by the rules, and in case of non-compliance, resumption proceedings will be initiated against the defaulters. The Industrial Area was developed by HUDA almost 20 years ago, but it has failed to come up to expectations. Of the 900 industrial plots spread over the two phases, industrial activity is going on in less than 450 (50 per cent) plots.

A preliminary survey conducted by the Estate Office shows that most of the developed industrial plots are being misused. Instead of manufacturing units, it is hardware and furniture shops, textile and garment retail outlets, schools, a career academy, computer training institutes and a gymnasium that are operating here.

Three schools have also come up in the Industrial Area against the norms. Inquiries at District Town and Country Planning Department reveal that no school site had been earmarked or allotted in the area.

In several plots, where a manufacturing unit is operational, the plot allottees have rented out space in their plots to other business ventures.

HUDA norms for allotment specify that only one unit can run in a plot. Though the authorities had made relaxations in this regard by allowing one tenant in a plot last year, a large number of industrial plots have two or three ventures running from a single plot.

The HUDA rules, it is learnt, specify that an industrial plot cannot be used for any activity other than manufacturing industrial goods. This tantamounts to misusing the site for the purpose other than what it is allotted for and the sites of violators can be resumed. Though officials maintain that resumption notices are regularly issued to defaulters, it has failed to have any deterrent effect.

The authorities, meanwhile, say that they are finding it difficult to take cognisance of the rules being flouted by plot allotees and have sought directions from the higher authorities in this regard. They say that even if there was violation of building bylaws in the Industrial Area, at least some commercial activity was going on here, thus helping in the development of Industrial Area. As many as 80 ancillary units of Hindustan Machine Tools are functioning here along with a few other units. Construction work is yet to start in around 300 plots here, while over 100 plots are lying vacant.

The President of the Haryana Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. C.B. Goel, said to promote small-scale manufacturing units, the authorities should allow more than one tenant in a plot. “We agree that there should be industrial activity only in the Industrial Area and commercial activity should be restricted to the market complexes. Also, HUDA had reduced the rate of interest on annual installments from 15 per cent to 11 per cent for residential plots. This reduction should be extended for industrial plots as well,” he added.