 |
|
|
|
|
||||
Smile restored to Pak,
Afghan girls
Chandigarh, January 15 And, even before you can ask her how she's doing, Ahaidiyeh pre-empts what's coming her way. "Khoobast, khoobast (I am fine and well)," she says in Pashto, her native tongue, with a wave of her hand. That's about all the talking she does. The rest of the conversation is only sign language because she and her father, Noor Ahmed, a carpenter in Afghanistan, can speak only their mother-tongue and nothing else. On the bed next to her, eight-year-old Nimra, from Pakistan, is recuperating from a surgery to plug two holes in her heart. A mill worker's daughter, she was born with a hole in her heart which grew bigger with time. At a time when their doctors were urging them to prepare the children for surgery to rectify the "fault", paucity of funds was staring the two families in the face. That's when the Rotary Club of Chandigarh touched their lives in the most moving ways—by offering to fund the entire surgery. Both these girls were adopted by the Rotary Club under the "Rotary Heartline" project and brought to the PGI. Here, Dr RS Dhaliwal, Head and professor, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, along with his team, gave these kids a new lease of life. Post-surgery, the two girls are recovering fast and looking forward to a life of normalcy. "Nimra was running high temperature when we took her to the doctor. He told us that she had a hole in the heart but assured us it was nothing to worry about. He told us the hole would close with time and she would be well. A few months back, Nimra had these stabbing pains in the chest everytime she would jump and play. That's when we contacted the doctor again and he told us that there were two holes now and surgery was the only answer," recalls her mother, Parvin Akhtar. Ahaidiyeh's story, however, was more painful of the two. She has never been able to play with other kids of her age and was forever running high temperature. "We admitted her to a school but she could not attend classes and had never been to school since. At home, she was too unwell to be taught anything," her father explains to the Pakistani family who, in turn, translates it for the benefit of the others. Both families, now friends, are delighted they chose to come to India for treatment. "We were never apprehensive about coming to India. We had met a lot of patients back home who had undergone treatment here and spoke very highly about the facilities. In fact, this help came from the most unexpected of quarters and at a time when we were in dire need of support," they maintain. A little gestures like a liftman's acknowledgment and the security staff's help have enthused them even further. "We will take back a lot of love and happy memories of this place," they admit. So far, 125 children have been operated under this project of the Rotary Club. The team of doctors, too, are elated with the smiles they are bringing to unknown lives. While these two girls are waiting to be discharged from the hospital, a third child, an 18-year-old Pakistani, will undergo surgery sometime next week. |
|
Health care camp for women
Chandigarh, January 15 Speaking at a women’s health care camp organised by the Chandigarh Clinical Laboratories in association with the Chandigarh Press Club at the club premises, Dr Handa said that 50 percent of the women suffered from anaemia (low haemoglobin levels) due to excessive blood loss during periods as one of the main causes. “Infertility is a very emotional issue in our society. One out of every 10 couples suffer from infertility and women are subjected to multiple tests and unproven medical treatment. We need a standardised protocol to do the optimum tests and have a clear and effective treatment plan,” he emphasised. Stating that cancer of the cervix was a leading cause of death due to cancer among Indian women, second only to breast cancer, Dr Handa said that of the seven to nine lakh cases of cancer detected each year, one lakh were of cervical cancer. “As many as 75,000 women between the age group 25 to 40 year die of cervical cancer each year. Though India can’t afford mass screening programme for the entire population, individuals can avail the benefits of a three-yearly screening to avoid this ailment,” he explained. Another cause of concern among women was the polycystic ovarian syndrome, a condition seen in 20 per cent of women in different severity. “It manifests itself in irregular periods, infertility and recurrent abortions. If untreated, it is a risk factor for development of uterine cancer,” the gynaecologist said. At a special camp, as many as 65 patients were examined. The doctor offered free check-up, consultation and investigations of pap smear, haemoglobin, blood sugar and serum cholesterol. |
|
|
Over 23,000 children immunised
Mohali, January 15 Dr Parminder Singh, nodal officer in charge of the campaign in rural Kharar, said as many as 23150 children were immunised in the villages in Kharar. Polio drops were given by staff and Volunteers by the Health Department with the help of Rotary International. As many as 65 booths were set up in the town and the slums. Three transit camps and five mobile units were organized. Rotary Club members under the leadership of the Club president supervised the entire operation which was earlier launched officially by the Civil Surgeon. Rotary Teams went all over the town in all the 65 booths to personally ensure that the volunteers faced no problems in doing the needful. |
|
New eye care facility
Chandigarh, January 15 The scanner has applications in screening of candidates for Lasik surgery and enhancement of results in refractive surgery. Dr SPS Grewal, CEO, GEI, addressed various topics including cornea and refractive surgery. |
|
Rajiv reigns supreme
Chandigarh, January 15 Rajiv won men’s singles and doubles title. The pair of Payal Pruthi and Arvind Katyal claimed the mixed doubles title. The General Manager of the State Bank of India, A. Krishna Kumar, was the chief guest and gave away the prizes. In the men’s singles final, forehand smashes of Bajaj proved much for Vikas who could gather just eight and seven points in each game. The doubles final was an exciting affair in which Rajiv Bajaj and Vikas had to face resistance from spirited pair of Amit Puri and Jasjot Singh before they emerged winners. The mixed doubles final played between Payal Pruthi and Arvind Katyal and Chitleen Sethi and Maneesh Chibber turned to be a thrilling affair. The first game went in favour of Chitleen-Maneesh duo at 21-14. But Payal-Arvind came back to level it 1-1 with a win at 21-13. Payal-Arvind pair surged ahead to a 11-2 lead in the third. Chitleen showed resilience in her serve by gaining seven more points. Finally Payal-Arvind pair managed to win 21-10 and the match. Results: Finals: Men Singles: Rajiv Bajaj b Vikas Ghai 21-8, 21-7. Doubles: Rajiv Bajaj and Vikas Ghai b Amit Puri and Jasjot Singh 21-11, 21-12. Mixed Doubles: Payal Pruthi and Arvind Katyal b Chitleen Sethi and Maneesh Chibber 14-21, 21-13, 21-10. |
|
Gurukul girls clinch gold
Chandigarh, January 15 Mr D.R. Yadav, Joint Secretary, Regional Office, Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), was the chief guest and gave away the prizes. Results: The medalists: Twinkle and Himani, Himani and Rajat, Shivam Sharma and Sahil, Kuljinder & Karishma, Mukul, Karishma, Sarbjeet Singh & Jyoti Kaushik, Tribhuvan &
Manooja, Tanuj, Abhinav Pal & Gurleen, Gurvinder, Gurleen, Tarun & Ritesh, Tarun Dhingra, Jagdeep Kaur, Shubhankar Goyal, Tatarndeep Kaur, Gunjeet Singh & Kamaljeet, Lovepreet, Srithi Tripathi, Ankit Bansal & Shavy. |
|
|
Elite Club register emphatic win
Chandigarh, January 15 Brief scores: Elite Cricket Club: 259 for 3 in 20 overs (Raman Sharma 122, Rajinder Singh 84 n.o.). Harmukh Cricket Club: 111 all out in 17 overs (Ravinder Sattu 52, Kamal 22; Vikas Bhardwaj 4 for 17, T.P. Singh 3 for 16). In another match, YJM Club beat Palsora Club by 7 wickets. Brief scores: Palsora Club: 151 for 6 in 20 overs (Kuldeep 29, Harman 20 Ravi 19). YJM Club: 155 for 2 in 16 overs (Sorav 72, Kuljeet 38). |
|
Carrom teams
Chandigarh, January 15 The other players are: Men: Neeraj Bharti, Asif, Mazhar Khan, Riyasat Ali, Amjad Khan and N.S. Pahwa Women: Farheen, Anjali Yadav, Aakanksha, Kudrat and Surbhi Hemdan. Mahesh Sekhri and S.K. Mishra will be the coaches of the team while Umeed Ali and Dr Kiran has been nominated as managers of men and women team, respectively. |
|
Tawlaw CABA chief
Chandigarh, January 15
|
|
JPS Sidhu
Chandigarh, January 15 |
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
