Chandigarh, December 2
Notwithstanding what the common man goes through at the PGI, it is on the basis of the observation made by the VIP guests staying at the private wards in the Nehru Hospital that the authorities here want to make improvement in their services.

The PGI has recently introduced visitors book in the four sections of private wards on the fourth and fifth floors of Nehru Hospital to seek the advice of those staying here to enable them to make improvement in services. No such book for recording the comments of the patients admitted to thee emergency and the general wards has been introduced.

Instead of improving the facilities for the common man, the authorities term the praises showered by the VIP patients on the staff and services as the true picture of the PGI by which the institute must be judged. “This is an experiment we have started in the private wards and later may might introduce it in the general wards so that we can improve the facilities and get to know of the hardships faced by the patients,” said Dr A.K. Gupta, Medical Superintendent.

“If the authorities are so committed towards improving facilities by taking feedback from the patients, then it should be from those admitted to the general wards and not special wards, as the VIP’s are well attended to and taken care of in any case,” felt a majority of the senior faculty members. They felt that judging the services at the PGI by the remarks of these VIP patients would amount to living in a fool’s paradise.

The PGI has about 100 private rooms, with the daily charges, inclusive of the patient’s diet, working out to be Rs 1,000. Though a majority of the patients admitted to the private wards are all praise for the doctors, nurses and other staff, there are a few who have remarked that the services here are not upto the mark while the room rent is exorbitant.

Chandigarh, December 2
Former cricketer Dilip Vengsarkar has termed the present imbriglio concerning the alleged demanding of money, as alleged by Maharashtra cricketer Abhijit Kale, as sad for Indian cricket. Clad in a yellow-black track suit, Vengsarkar was present at DAV College, Sector 10, grounds here this afternoon where his friend and former Test cricketer Yograj Singh invited him to watch budding cricket players in action.

Vengsarkar said cricket, was still a gentleman’s game and despite the present controversy, it would not have any effect as far as the popularity of the game was concerned. The chief talent development officer appointed by the BCCI, he had been touring various parts of the country to spot talent during matches.

He was much happy at the interest and hard work of the younger generation. While watching young boys at net practice, he pointed towards one of the boys and said, “Really, it is marvellous”, when he watched one budding player taking a short step to hit the ball. He asked one of the boys, “Bhaiya, thoda step aege ko lene ka, phir ball hit karne ka”.

Vengsarkar later told this correspondent that last evening at Patiala, he watched under-19 players and a few players impressed him. In Chandigarh, he was delighted to see the variety of talent. He said, tomorrow again he would go to Patiala. His main task was to spot talent and report it for future reference to the selectors.

He offered Yograj Singh to send the trainees for playing matches in Mumbai so as to get more exposure.

Asked if cricket had acquired the status of a separate corporate entity, he said it was good for the game and the players. He recalled his old days when they used to travel by ordinary train and stayed in normal hotels. He said it was the hard work on the part of the players which had given them this kind of world recognition.