HEALTH

Conjunctivitis causing shortage of eye drops
Shivani Bhakoo

Ludhiana, August 26
The prevailing epidemic of conjunctivitis in the city has lead to a shortage of eye drops and medicines to cure the disease. Wholesale as well as retail dealers in the city have confirmed that excessive demand has lead to an acute shortage of eye drops. They said several of these eye drops contained, which could be harmful to eyes, yet those wanting immediate relief preferred these.

Mr Lalit Verma, general secretary, Ludhiana District Chemists and Druggists Association, Pindi Street, said eye drops like pyrimon, betnesol and sofradex were not available for the past many days. “We are finding it difficult to get these drops. Some local- make eye drops are available, but pharmaceutical companies are out of stock. Manufacturers prefer to sell their products in their city where they can get payments easily,” said Mr Verma.

Mr Verma further added, “Many of these eye drops have steroids, which can be harmful to the eyes and even doctors say that these should not be used. But the people prefer to buy these because these give instant relief.”

Asked whether these eye drops were sold on doctors' prescription, Mr Verma said wholesale dealers distributed these to retail outlets. “I cannot comment on that because the retail dealers sell the products directly to customers,” he said.

Conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye, is an infection of the inside of the eyelid and is a common eye disease. City residents have been in its grip for the past many years. Medical experts stress that the infection was brought in the city by those coming from outside and was mostly prevalent during the rainy season.

Ophthalmologists suggest that to prevent the spread of the infection, one should wash hands thoroughly. Clothes, pillowcases and towels of the infected persons should not be used. “Do not share make-up. If the infection is caused by a bacteria or a virus, one must throw away the used make-up,” stressed a leading ophthalmologist.

An ophthalmologist at the DMCH said infected persons had been using different eye drops, including ciprofloxacin, gatifloxacin ophthalmic solution, norfloxacin and many other ointments, and believed in self-medication. But before putting any drops in your eyes, please consult a good eye specialist, he said.

Emergency in corridor
Naveen S. Garewal & Iqbal Singh

Khanna, August 26
Given the health infrastructure in the state, the situation here is not surprising. But keeping in mind the importance of the Civil Hospital, Khanna, that caters to the needs of thousands of people in and around the industrial town, functioning of the hospital emergency from a corridor is deplorable.

The practice has been going on since the past two months due to the renovation of the emergency ward, which was to be completed within a month.

Patients are facing problems due to this temporary arrangement as while the renovation work is going on, the contractor has gone to England. What is most pathetic is that patients are made to lie on the floor in the new hospital building, constructed last year at the cost of Rs 3 crore. Despite the new building, the emergency ward continues to function from the old building.

Two month ago, the contract for the renovation of the emergency ward was given to M/s Inder Mohan and Company. When the work started, the emergency services were shifted to the corridor as a makeshift emergency that had only two beds and some furniture. Two months later, the emergency is still functioning from the corridor.

When an attempt was made to contact the contractor, a supervisor at his office said that contractor Inder Mohan had gone to England and would return next month. The supervisor, who identified himself as Nandu, said a government engineer was inspecting the work and the renovation was expected to be completed in a day or two and then the emergency ward would be handed over to the hospital authorities.

The SMO, Mr Dharm Pal, was not available in the hospital today for comments. His deputy, Dr P.D. Singla, said the emergency ward would be shifted within a day or two after taking the charge of renovated ward. He said all facilities were being provided in the makeshift emergency ward, like a stitching room, a minor operation theatre and rooms for doctor. 

Awareness rally on dengue
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, August 26
An awareness rally on dengue and malaria was flagged off from the Civil Surgeon's office here by Mr Anurag Verma, Deputy Commissioner. The rally was organised by health workers and anti-larva employees of the district Health Department. The rally, after passing through different areas, including Haibowal Kalan, Haibowal Khurd, Kundanpuri dispensary, Guru Nanak Pura and Kapoor Hospital, ended at the Government Dispensary, Sabzi Mandi.

Participants were carrying banners and placards to spread awareness about dengue and malaria and the people were told about symptoms and precautions of the diseases.

Scholarship for shuttler
Our Sports Reporter

Ludhiana, August 26
Gurbaksh Singh, a local badminton player has been given with a sports scholarship. Recognising Gurbaksh Singh's achievements at national-level tournaments, the Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) has announced a scholarship for the year 2003-2004 for him.

An elated Mr Sukhwinder Singh, father of Gurbaksh Singh who is currently playing in the All-India Major Ranking (junior) Badminton Tournament at Mumbai informed that he received a communique to this effect from the board, which stated that Gurbakash had been chosen for the scholarship of Rs 2000 per month for the current financial year.

Gurbaksh Singh (13), a student of the local Green Land Senior Secondary School, G T Road started playing badminton at the tender age of eight years. He began his training under Mr Gian Inder Singh, a senior badminton coach with Sports Department, Punjab. Gurbaksh gave an impressive performance in his maiden outing. In 1998, he secured second spot in the Ludhiana District Badminton Championship.

After that, Gurbaksh never looked back. He finished runner-up in the doubles (u-13) in the Punjab State Meet held in 1999 at Amritsar. Next year, he improved upon his performance, clinching a gold medal in the state championship at Ropar.

He repeated the feat in the 2001 and 2002 respectively. This year also, Gurbaksh, pairing with Neogi of Panchkula, reached the semi-final in the All-India Major Ranking Tournament held at Thane.

The real success came his way last year while playing in the All-India Sub Junior Badminton Tournament at Patna. Gurbaksh and his schoolmate Raj Kumar gave an astonishing performance to come out triumphant. This achievement came Punjab's way after a span of nearly 12 years. In 1990, local lad Harish Kumar, elder brother of Raj Kumar, and Sachin Ratti of Jalandhar won a gold for Punjab.

In the beginning of this year, Gurbaksh Singh helped his school win the title in the All-India CBSE Schools Championship at Delhi in which teams from Gulf countries also participated.

In the Punjab State Badmintion Championship held from August 16 to 20 at Jalandhar, Gurbaksh, in association with Raj Kumar, gave a tough fight to the top seed duo of Kunal Mahajan and Daneshwar Singh from Amritsar, before going down in three games to finish at second spot.

Gurbaksh Singh has a very busy schedule ahead. He will participate in the National Major Ranking Tournament slated to be held at Bangalore from September 16 to 20 and then will take part in the Zonal CBSE Cluster Badminton Tournament to be conducted from October 2 to 6 at Chennai.