Fusion is fashionable for city women
Minna Zutshi
Tribune News Service

It was never so clear. You could not get the 'long and short' of it, say city women. But now the die is cast - fusion is fashion. "Initially, I used to associate fusion with confusion. Now, I know it's a style statement. In fact, the trend these days is to mix-n-match," says Ms Preeti, a young homemaker.

Heavy embroidery, loud outfits that screech for attention are out for the women here. "Your outfit should jell with your personality. If your dress looks like a lift from a Bollywood flick, you only end up making a laughingstock of yourself. The effect may be hilarious for others, but you yourself would look pathetic," sallies Ms Shielja, a schoolteacher.

Interestingly, she is not averse to taking a cue or two from the Bollywood stars and starlets. The only point, she says, is that there should be no 'straight-lifting'. "You must adapt 'a style statement' to make it 'the style statement' for yourself. It works well," she adds.

The 'mannequin' approach is passé, Ms Upneet, a career counsellor with the Computek Group, tells us. "I prefer trousers, jeans and suits with not-so-heavy salwars.

Gypsy skirts are a rage with youngsters, while parallels are not in vogue. Anyway, the idea is to wear what you can carry off with élan," she says, adding that it is equally important to coordinate the outfits with matching or contrasting accessories.

"You can't ignore the footwear. If you do so, you end up looking sloppy and unkempt. Gone are the days of blacks and browns. It's time to experiment with footwear - pink, fuchsia, red - any colour so long as it goes well with the outfit. My favourite footwear is a colourful slip-on," she says.

Ms Shefali, a young professional, feels that it's very simple for her. "Just stand in front of a mirror and take a good look at yourself. If you appear dull or washed out, dab on a bit of rouge, wear stringed beads, drape over a colourful duppatta-stole or get a bright ethnic bag. You'll look mesmerising," she explains.

Thanks to fusion, even bangles (the ultimate traditional stuff) are not out. Some women flaunt dainty glass bangles even with Western outfits. "Colourful bangles look chic if matched well with your outfit. But I think chunky gold jewellery looks gauche on girls," says Ms Priyanka, a college student. Well, fashion is all about your personalised style. You cannot buy it off the counter, unless you want to be out of sync with what's in! And the city women more than agree with this. 

Staff shortage, medicine scarcity at District TB Centre
J.S.Malhotra

More than 10,000 patients suffering from tuberculosis (TB) here are yet to benefit from the better treatment procedures and facilities available under the Revised National TB Control Programme, which has been a non-starter right from its inception.

The scarcity of medicines at the District TB Centre here has hit the programme hard. While economically sound patients purchase these medicines by spending from their own pocket, poor patients are left with no option but to seek the help of non-government organisations (NGOs) for monetary help. To exacerbate the problem, there is an acute staff shortage. The number of medical officers posted at the centre can hardly do justice to the job. The number of laboratories, too, is much below the requirement. The District TB Centre caters to about 3000 patients.

The Central TB Division of Union Ministry of Health, under the aegis of the World Health Organisation (WHO), had launched the Revised National TB Control Programme about two years back. The main objective of the programme was to ensure close liaison of health officials with patients to provide the latter with the requisite dose of medicines according to the prescribed schedule.

The health ministry, according to sources, in a survey conducted throughout the country about four years back, found that most of the patients, who were being provided with free medicines, usually did not complete the medicine schedule for various reasons. Under the revised programme, it was planned to set up additional laboratories, keeping in view the population. A separate medical box for each identified patient was to be maintained at the centre itself for providing medicines at regular intervals.

But the programme could not be implemented in the district during the past two years. Showing an utter lack of planning, the state government failed to appoint Senior Treatment Supervisors and Senior TB Laboratory Supervisors to work in the TB treatment units here. There are four TB units in the district, one each in Jalandhar city, Nakodar, Phillaur and Kartarpur, which cater to the population of about 20 lakh.

The patients complain about the shortage of medicines at the district centre. "Most of the time there is a shortage of medicines. I have been told to purchase medicines from private medical stores," a patient maintains.

"I am thankful to a local NGO for providing me with the medicines at regular intervals, as I cannot afford to buy these rather costly medicines. The state government must ensure a regular supply of free medicines at the District TB Centre," a migrant labourer said.

"We have already set up 19 centres in different parts of the district for providing testing facilities to patients. The laboratory at the District TB Centre has already been upgraded. We are awaiting the appointment of new health officials," claimed Dr M. Bali, District TB Officer.

Dr Bali admitted that there was a delay in the supply of medicines from the Central TB Division. "We have recently received the supply and there is presently no such shortage," he said.

When contacted, Dr Anil Joshi, State TB Officer, admitted that there was an inordinate delay in the implementation of the programme. He maintained that it would take more than four months for the programme to take off, as the state government was yet to complete formalities regarding the appointment of the health staff.