The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Ectopia-2006 concludes at DMCH
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, February 12
Ectopia-2006, a three-day cultural festival organised at Dumra Auditorium of Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) concluded here last evening. On the third and final day, performances of the participants added flavour to the event.

On the concluding day, competitions in various categories, including 'girgit' (turn coat), rangoli, rang manch, cacophony, 'Miley Sur Mera Tumhara', bialamous(group song), 'glam-n-glitz' were organised. There was an overwhelming participation by students in the competitions of 'rang manch' and theme show.

In his address, Dr Sandeep Puri, chairperson of DMCH Cultural Committee said such functions were helpful in shaping the personality of students. He appreciated the enthusiasm of the students with which they took part in various contests and lauded the effort of faculty members for their whole-hearted co-operation.

A glittering prize distribution ceremony marked the end of the cultural festival in which the winners of different competitions were honoured by the chief guests -Ms Subha Sanwalka and Ms Sunita Gupta. Other dignitaries present on the occasion were Mr Prem Gupta, Mr Satish Sanwalka, secretary and treasurer respectively of the DMCH Managing Society, Dr Daljit Singh, principal and Dr Jagdeep Whig, vice-principal.

Editors of 'Ectopia Times' Dr Anurag Chaudhary, Dr Kapil Dua, Dr Sunil Juneja and Dr Suman Puri informed that 'Ectopia Times', a daily bulletin on events of the day and detailed results became popular among the students during the three-day cultural extravaganza.

Following are the results of different competitions:

Girgit (turn coat extempore): 1. Divyanshu Malhotra (batch 2004), 2. Gursimran (batch 2001) 3, Nidhi (batch 2003)

Rang manch (skit): 1.batch 2001, 2.batch 2004

Cacophony: king of cacophony - Danish Kathuria, queen of cacophony - Sukriti

Miley Sur Mera Tumhara : 1. Rohit and Jagdeep, 2. Sandeep and Harkiran, 3. Surneet and Rahul

Best male singer : Rohit best female singer : Surneet, best actor : Tejmeet Mehal, best actress : Aditi, best dancer (male) : Shaminder, best dancer (female) : Ashmeet, Mr Popular of DMCH : Shamim (batch 2001).

Johar gives grant to govt school
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, February 12
Mr Harnam Dass Johar, Education Minister, has asserted that to check the menace of copying during the Punjab School Education Board examinations strict vigilance would be exercised.

Mr Johar was addressing a gathering at the annual prize distribution function of Government Senior Secondary School, Gobind Nagar, here today.

He asked the teachers to cooperate in this regard. He said the process had started for the recruitment of 12,000 teachers in the state. He said more stress was being laid upon all-round development of the students and said the government had spent Rs 4 crore on the development of sports infrastructure in schools.

Mr Johar appreciated the staff of the school for making excellent achievement in the fields of education, sports and cultural at the state and national level and announced a grant of Rs 11 lakh for the school.

He presented another cheque for Rs 3 lakh for the construction of a classroom and toilets in the school. He also honoured students.

HEALTH

Free artificial limbs given away
Asha Ahuja

Ludhiana, February 12
More than 70 physically handicapped persons were provided artificial Limbs by the Bharat Vikas Parishad Charitable Trust at a camp organised in coordination with all its Ludhiana branches here today.

Mr Yash Paul Gupta, national secretary, Bharat Vikas Parishad, informed the gathering that the organisation had been holding such camps in collaboration with the RCS in various districts of Punjab, since year 1998, and Ludhiana, Jalandhar and many other districts of Punjab were declared 'viklangta mukt' in the last century.

Such camps were also held in Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur and Mansa districts so as to make them 'viklangta mukt'. Mr Gupta requested the chief guest, Mr Karam Singh Dhillon, District Social Security Officer (DSSO), to get the payment of the Sponsorship Bill pending since 2002,released from the district authorities in Jalandhar and Ludhiana.

Mr Gupta said 'Corrective Surgery Hospital,' first of its kind in northern region will be operational very soon. Polio patients will be operated free and they will be saved from going to far off places for surgery. There will be no need to call doctors from Vishakapatnam and Udaipur for polio operations.

Mr Dhillon was impressed with the spirit of the organisation working for the cause of society and appreciated their efforts in building up the infrastructure of the polio corrective hospital.

He assured to extend all help to the organisation. The office bearers of different branches of the Bharat Vikas Parishad and Mr Brij Bhushan Bansal, state convenor, Viklang Sahayata, Mr Narinder Mittal, president district coordinator, Mr J.P. Gupta, Mr Pawan Aggarwal, Dr Lajpat Rai, eye surgeon, Dr Kuldeep Gupta, Ms Neelam Gupta, Ms Sangeeta Soni, Ms Janak Trehan, Mr Rajinder Sharma were also present.

Don’t sleep over sleep disorders, warn experts
Kuldip Bhatia

Ludhiana, February 12
In India about 200 million people of all ages have sleep problems and more than 80 sleep-related disorders have been identified. These interfere with quality of life and contribute to many types of accidents.

Says Dr Paramjit Singh Khurana, Consultant Neuro-psychiatrist and Drug De-addiction specialist at Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital here : "It isn't clear why we need sleep, but we do know that sleep is as important as food and water. Some experts think sleep helps the brain recharge its energies and store memory for the long term.

"Sleep also seems to help the body fight off infection. It is an essential, active state that regenerates the body physically and mentally."

The need for proper sleep , he said, varied from person to person. Some people felt fine with just four hours of sleep while others slept up to 10 hours. Generally, older people tended to need less sleep than younger adults and children and teenagers needed sleep the most. The right amount of sleep for anyone was the period that allowed one to awake refreshed and energetic throughout the day.

According to Dr Khurana, some experts maintained that a person was sleeping the right number of hours if he or she did not need an alarm clock to wake up in the morning. Others suggested that the sleep duration during vacation ,when the people did not have to get up at a certain time, should be used as a benchmark.

"During the first part of vacation, people may sleep longer to make up for any prior lack of sleep, but the length of time one sleep after vacationing for a few days, is probably the ideal amount of sleep for anybody."

He informed that health professionals who worked with sleep disorders had coined the term 'sleep hygiene' to help explain factors that affected sleep. These experts had also come up with guidelines for improving 'sleep hygiene'.

In a word of advice to those with disturbed sleep for more than a month and who felt that the problem interfered with the way they felt or functioned during the day, Dr Khurana suggested that they ought to see their doctor

The medical professional might refer such persons to a sleep disorders specialist who could perform tests that helped define specific problems. At times, medical problems, such as a breathing disorder, caused sleep disturbances. In some cases, short-term use of an appropriate medicine can help solve the problem.

Tips for a refreshing sleep as suggested by experts are :

Go to bed only when you are sleepy, but try to establish a fairly regular time that works most nights. Although an occasional late night is no problem for most people, a familiar routine helps promote sleep.

Get up at the same time each morning, even when you haven't had much sleep. If you need to vary your sleep time, adjust bedtime, not wake-up time.

Get regular exercise, but not within four hours of going to bed. Try to set up a consistent morning or afternoon exercise routine.

Eat at regular times and keep your evening meal light. Some sleep specialists advise patients to remember that ' later the meal, the lighter the meal.'

Don't eat or drink anything containing caffeine within six hours of bedtime. Avoid alcohol for several hours before your usual bedtime or whenever you feel sleepy.

Avoid smoking altogether, if possible, but certainly at bedtime.

Set aside a few minutes each evening to jot down your immediate problems and what you might do about them. Or talk to someone who might be able to help you solve the problem. If you can, avoid taking worries to bed.

Use your bedroom for sleep and relaxation - not as an office, television room, or eating area. For the most restful sleep, keep the room as quiet, cool, and dark as possible.

Try to establish a relaxing bedtime routine. A warm bath works for some people, a glass of warm milk or herbal tea for others. .

Do not use sleeping pills unless your doctor tells you to and never take sleeping pills if you have been drinking alcohol. Counting sheep or counting in the reverse works for many people.

If you've done all the right things and still can't sleep, get out of bed. Do something in a different room for a few minutes such as watching a low-key (or boring) television programme or reading a book.