The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Chandigarh Stories

HEALTH

No immunisation plan for hepatitis B
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 16
India has more than 4.5 crore people suffering from hepatitis B virus. Yet the disease is not covered under any of the immunisation schemes in the country. The result: the patients have to spend around Rs 1,000 each month to afford the drugs, the success rate of which is not more than 30 per cent at present. What is worse, the drugs are so strong that many patients develop resistance to them.

“Over 120 developed and developing countries all over the world have included hepatitis vaccine in their vaccination programme. India, considering its huge burden of the hepatitis B patients, must aggressively think on those lines,” said Dr S.K. Sarin of the GB Pant Hospital, New Delhi, at the PGI here today.

In India a few states have started the immunisation programme to include the hepatitis B vaccine in it, but the disease does not fall in the gamut of the national programme of immunisation, which covers tetanus, DPT, polio and measles.

The doctors say that the latest studies conducted in Delhi have further indicated that the virus, which causes hepatitis B in India, is mutated and is found to be more dangerous and severe than that found in other countries.

This enhances difficulty in treating the disease.

Currently two drugs are available in the market, while two more drugs are soon going to be available for the patients at several cities in the country.

Experts further say as these drugs are now being manufactured by the Indian pharmaceutical companies the cost of the medicines might come down.

	Docs discuss blood clotting disorders Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 16 The two-day workshop and continuing medical education (CME) programme on the “Emergency medicine” concluded at the PGI here today. The CME was organised by the department of internal medicine, in which nearly 250 delegates from the PGI and other places deliberated on the importance of various techniques in emergency situations for critically ill patients. The Head of Department of Internal Medicine, Prof S. Verma, introduced the topics to the delegates. The topics covered during the CME included problems related to blood clotting disorders, where Professor Varma emphasised on the need of recognition of blood clots in the peripheral veins and their treatment. He said the disorder should be recognised early to avoid complications. Prof P. Bambery of the department of internal medicine, PGI, spoke on the problem of snakebite and the role of the first aid in managing the patients. He said such patients should be transferred to the medical centres as early as possible. Dr Savita Kumari discussed the management of increased cholesterol and Dr Sanjay Jain spoke on the importance of early recognition of high blood pressure in the emergency patients. Dr R.K. Maini and Dr Samir Malhotra deliberated on various aspects of drug therapy of severely sick patients.
	Tough time for patients, attendants outside PGI Swarleen Kaur As night descends on the PGI, patients and attendants scramble for a space to sleep. Efforts yield little result, as there is no choice but to sleep uneasy. Just after 9 pm, one gets to see the rows and rows of people, sleeping in the open on the premises. These are patients and attendants, who have come from far-off places, mostly, Uttranchal, Uttar Pradseh and Himachal Pradesh. Though they are equipped with beddings and quilts, they are not totally protected from the biting chill. They are waiting for admission to various wards and most of them cannot afford even the basic accommodation outside. Apart from bearing the winter chill, they run the risk of catching infections. Over 250 attendants were asleep on the cold floor in the waiting hall of the Emergency when this Correspondent went for a round of the hospital. Exhausted, they were asleep, oblivious to noise and the commotion around. The five ‘serais’- Nehru, Hansraj, Rotary, Hari, Janata of the PGI, with the capacity of 500 persons, are not enough to combat the problem. Being a premier institute, nearly 3500 patients visit the outdoor patients department (OPD) daily. Though the rent, which varies from Rs 20 to Rs 80 is reasonable, the rush is unmanageable. Surajpal, 45-year-old labourer from Uttranchal, has a heart problem. He has come with his wife for treatment. This is his second visit here as earlier he stayed in the PGI for six months. For the first month he stayed in Nehru Serai but then it became difficult for him to bear the daily expense. He had requested the doctors to recommend him for free accommodation but his case was not considered. So he left the serai and began sleeping in the park at night. After six months he went back home to come back again.He is here for the past 21 days and once again drained out of money, he is planning to return home. “Treatment is a privilege of the rich”, he says. Vamin, 48 year-old labourer from Uttranchal, came to the PGI with a liver problem. “I cannot pay for the ‘serai’. I want to request the doctors to give me concession but I don’t know how to approach the right person. We are not educated. I have to make several rounds to get small jobs done. To add to our woes, security guards often throw our luggage out,” he says. While the PGI seems inconsiderate to them, institute officials have their own tale to tell. Medical Superintendent-cum Professor and Head of Department of Hospital Administration, Mr Anil Kumar Gupta says: “These people have some psychological problem. They are not ready to avail of our facilities. There are five serais in the hospital. Many do not want to sleep in serais. They just want to remain within the hospital premises. For poor patients we give free accommodation also. Still if they have some problem they can always contact the Public Relation Officer for help.” He claimed the facilities, which PGI was providing, were more than sufficient. Never mind men and women lying out in the open-unattended, uncared for. All claims seem to fall flat on the face of this reality.
	8 new leprosy cases detected Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 16 Eight new cases of leprosy have been detected in the skin-cum-leprosy detection camp organised by the District Leprosy Society, Chandigarh, at Ram Darbar, here today. The new detected cases have been given free Multi-drug therapy. In all, 638 cases were diagnosed with skin diseases and were given treatment by the dermatologists from the PGI, the GMCH, Sector 32 and the General Hospital, Sector 16. The camp was in continuation with the District Leprosy Society’s objective of eliminating the disease from the city, which falls in the moderate prevalence zone. Since December last year, 1,60,000 population in the city has been examined at various leprosy detection camps. Fourteen new leprosy cases have been detected in Chandigarh over the past one month.
	Yuvasatta derides tobacco company awards Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 16 About 500 labourers turned up for the drug deaddiction and HIV/AIDS awareness camp organised by Yuvasatta at Labour Chowk, Colony No. 5, today. Made possible with the help from the State AIDS Control Society, the camp helped in dissemination of information regarding the ill effects of drugs. The occasion was also taken by Yuvasatta coordinator Pramod Sharma to criticise tobacco companies like Red & White for promoting cigarettes in the garb of bravery awards. This year, the awards are being presented tomorrow. At the camp, Dr Harinder Pal Singh, Dr Atreyi Ganguli from Yuvsatta and Ms Shakun Adhikari from General Hospital, Sector 16, examined the visitors. Besides the camp, the day also witnessed sloganeering on issues vital to human health. Over 200 students and youngsters from Colony No. 5, accompanied by volunteers of Yuvasatta and Kranti Youth Club, took out drugs and HIV/AIDS awareness rally in Colony No. 5. The placards bore interesting slogans like, “Papa na piya karo sharaab, Mujhe la do kapi aur kitaab” and “Ghar main nasha, Sukh Shanti, sampatti durdasha.” Speaking on the occasion Mr Pramod Sharma also highlighted the role which vigilant youngsters and students could play to curb the menace of addiction. Mr Ramkiran, president, Kranti Youth Club of Colony No. 5, stressed that faith in marriage and family values could help preventing AIDS.
	Health awareness camp held Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 16 A free medical check-up and the adolescent health awareness camp was organised jointly by the Servants of the People Society and the Department of Ophthalmology, Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, at Government High School, Ram Darbar, on Saturday. As many as 350 students were examined during the camp. Dr Rosy also delivered a talk, informing the students about the management of eyesight and visual hygiene. She stressed upon the early detection of refractive error to avoid eye complications. Students were short-listed for the follow-up check-up at the GMCH, Sector 32. Dr Avnish Jolly delivered an interactive talk on HIV\AIDS and explained the disease and its causes to the students. The participants were also motivated to contribute for the tsunami victims.
	Drug de-addiction camp organised Chandigarh, January 16 A drug de-addiction and HIV awareness camp was organised by Yuvsatta, a voluntary organization, along with the State AIDS Control Society, UT, at Colony No. 5 here today. About 150 patients were examined and given medicines at the camp. More than 200 students and youngsters of the colony took out an anti-drug and HIV\AIDS awareness rally. TNS

SPORTS

Crushing defeat for Satluj Coaching Centre
Tribune News Service

Panchkula, January 16
A well-compiled unbeaten 58 by Sumit Kamboj enabled the Chandigarh Cricket Association (CCA) to crush the Satluj Coaching Centre by a huge margin of 130 runs in the Panchkula District Cricket Association league-cum-knockout tournament in Barwala (Panchkula).

The CCA skipper Kamapreet Singh opted to bat first, but started on a shaky note, as they lost both their openers with the scoreboard reading only 20 runs after six overs.

Thereafter, Micheal Vishal and Sarul Kanwar played cautiously, as they were involved in a 50-run partnership for the third wicket.

In the 18th over, left arm spinner Ashutosh Walia trapped Sarup Kanwar lbw for the score of 28, while the scoreboard read 78.

Skipper Kamalpreet Singh also did not last long, and it was another 56 runs’ partnership between Micheal Vishal and Sumit Kamboj which took the score past 100 runs in the 25th over.

At the score of 136 in the 30th over, Ashutosh Walia struck again and sent back Micheal Vishal to the pavilion, but not before the latter had played a valuable innings of 48 runs.

Now, Sumit Kamboj took charge and added some aggression to the innings. His unbeaten knock of 58 included four hits to the fence.

Towards the end, Sansar Bali chipped in with a brisk innings of 18 runs, which included the only six of the match. The innings folded at 241 all out in 49.3 overs.

The Satluj Coaching Centre never looked in the hunt once the CCA medium pacers Saurav Arora and Sandeep Mittal gave them early jolts as scoreboard read 24 for 4 after the conclusion of the first 10 overs of their innings.

Sarul Kanwar replacing Sandeep Mittal further pushed the SCC to the wall, as he ripped through the middle order, removing Prabhjot Singh and Paritosh Dothal both they could open their account.

Their only resistance came from Nagsh Gupta, who contributed 37 runs. The other batsman who reached double figures was Nikhil Sharma (16) as the SCC were all out for 111.

Brief scores : CCA — 241 all out in 49.3 overs (Sumit Kamboj 58 n.o., Michael Vishal 48, Sansar Bali 18, Amarjeet Singh 3 for 36, Sunny Arora 3 for 39, Ashutosh Walia 3 for 51.

Nagesh Gupta 37, Nikhil Sharma 16, Sandeep Mittal 15 for 4, Sarul Kanwar 3 for 36, Saurav Arora 2 for 24.

CHANDIGARH
Warehousing club victorious

The inaugural match of the Sunday league cricket tournament was played at St. Soldier School, Panchkula, today. Punjab Warehousing Cricket Club ( PWCC) defeated Central Warehousing Club (CWC) by a margin of 125 runs.

The team of PWCC scored 205 runs for five wickets in 25 overs but the CWC team could score only 80 runs. Colour belt exam

Colour belt exam

A colour belt examination was conducted by Choi Kwang Do Martial Arts School at Saupin’s School, Sector 9, Panchkula, today. Nearly 60 students appeared in the test and were promoted to the next grade after clearing the tests of patterns, speed drills and power.

The examination was supervised by the Chief Examiner, Mr B.S. Thapa, third Dan Black Belt and First Dan Black Belt, president of Martial Arts School, Mr V.S. Kundu. Rudal Kumar and Shivam Garg were the assistant instructors.

Office-bearers

Office-bearers of the Panchkula district Taekwondo Association were elected on Saturday: President — Vishnu Mohan Vikrant; general secretary — Satish Kuhaar; vice-presidents — Lokender Malik and Col. S.K. Katoch (retd.); joint secretary — Narinder Rana; treasurer — Archana Malik; advisor — Birbal Sharma; technical director — Sunder Mani Patel; coordinator — Ramesh Kumar; and executive members — Hatinder Kumar, Rajiv and Ravinder Singh.