Chandigarh, March 7
“Despite common knowledge that most women in North India are anaemic, not much is being done to improve the situation, either by health centres or by women themselves.”

This was stated by Dr Rashmi Garg Singh, Consultant — Gynaecology, Fortis Hospital, while speaking at the hospital on the eve of Women’s Day.

“Anaemic women tend to be weak. This affects their outwardly appearance, resulting in loss of confidence and low self-esteem. A healthy mother is a base for a healthy family and a woman needs to empower herself so that she can face the world with confidence,” Dr Garg added.

Explaining the causes of anaemia, Dr Garg said, “In our body, the red blood cells carry oxygen using a particular protein called haemoglobin. Anaemia means that either the level of red blood cells or the level of haemoglobin is lower than normal. This means the red blood cells have to work harder to get oxygen around the body. During heavy exercise, the cells may not be able to do their job adequately and the person may become exhausted.”

She said, “Though anaemia isn’t a disease in itself, it is a result of a malfunction somewhere in the body. This blood condition is common, particularly in females; estimates suggest that around one in five menstruating women and half of all pregnant women are anaemic. A wide range of events, including certain diseases, conditions and medications, can cause anaemia. Iron deficiency is the most common cause,” she stated.

According to a WHO survey, around 58 per cent of all South Asian women are anaemic but India has an alarming statistic of 70 per cent women falling in this category. s

Chandigarh, March 7
The Punjab Governor and Administrator, Union Territory, Gen (retd) S.F. Rodrigues, called for a crusade against drug abuse through an institutionalised mechanism, besides massive community participation in the drive.

Inaugurating the Drug De-addiction and Treatment Centre (DDTC) at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) here today, General Rodrigues said the problem of drug abuse and other related issues had reached alarming proportions in Punjab and the union territory and individuals of all social-economic strata and age-groups were increasingly affected by this menace.

“This can be tackled only by the collective endeavour of all of us, by strengthening the initiatives taken by the medical fraternity,” he stated.

He emphasised the need for a practical approach to make available therapeutic programmes and counselling services at their doorstep.

Expressing his concern over the growing menace of drug addiction, especially in rural areas, General Rodrigues underlined the need for a mass awareness campaign in this area. He said he had already asked the Vice-Chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University to constitute two study groups to study the problem of drug addiction and female foeticide.

Emphasising the need of evolving an effective feedback system, General Rodrigues said the history sheet of every drug addict must be prepared, exploring the cause of origin and prepare a data bank so that corrective measures could be taken.

He also discussed the plan of strengthening the infrastructure set-up of the drug de-addiction centre and expanding its programme.

He suggested that the NRIs and various other social voluntary organisations could come forward to support this programme.

Dr K.K. Talwar, Director, PGI, in his welcome address said this centre, which was established in 1988, had been providing various services under expert medical teams.

He added that the in-patient unit which had only eight beds had been increased to 20 beds and there was a plan to increase it to 30.

Meanwhile, Ms Jean Rodrigues today inaugurated a night shelter, “Vineet-17 ”, behind Neelam cinema, Sector 17, for working children.

This two-room shelter constructed by the Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh, will provide various facilities to the children.

Various organisations, including State Bank of Patiala, Punjab National Bank and DAV College have come forward to support this venture.

Speaking at the inauguration, General Rodrigues said the aim was to make available this transit shelter for these streetchildren and to promote community awareness.

He further said the Administration had already planned a children’s home at Maloya village to house 1,000 children and impart training programmes to equip them with various skills for earning livelihood.

He said the Administration hads already decided to ensure the admission of 15 per cent underprivileged children in public schools being run by various private societies and trusts.

Col Ravi Bedi, head of Youth Technical Training Society, Mr P.S. Aujla, Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, and other philanthropists were also present on the occasion.

Chandigarh, March 7
“When you pay in rupees it seems quite expensive, but in pounds it appears cheap,” said Paul Collingwood, England’s first innings centurion, while shopping at the Lacoste showroom in Sector 17.

Collingwood purchased three T- shirts, but could not get his favourite colour pink.

With shopping as the agenda for the evening, the English team, along with manager Fill Neil, media manager Andrew Wallpole, assistant coach Troy Coolie and coach Duncan Fletcher, had a ball of a time in Sector 17.

Thrilled to see various brands in shops, Andrew remarked, “We can get any brand on earth here, and it is a wonderful place to stroll.” A black suit attracted his attention at Raymonds and he immediately placed an order for it. As the England crew appeared at the Sector 17 plaza, they were mobbed by fans looking for autographs and photographs.

While hunting for pink T-shirt, Collingwood proceeded towards the Nike showroom, where he liked a pair of shoes, which he wanted to purchase for his wife. Not sure whether she would like it or not, he rang her up at his home in England. After finishing the call, he clicked the picture of the shoe with his mobile and sent it to his wife via MMS. Prompt came the reply that she liked it. Collingwood purchased the pair for Rs 4,800.

England skipper A. Flintoff and Peterson got stitched three suits each from Grasim and some check T-shirts while J. Anderson and Blackwell preferred to purchase some CDs from Music World.

The players are staying at Hotel Taj GVK. A special menu has been prepared for the English players and a lot of chicken dishes are being added in breakfast, lunch and dinner. The England players are least bothered about the bird flu menace and are relishing the chicken dishes. “No, the bird flu cannot scare us. I like the way Indians prepare chicken, especially butter chicken and chicken tikka. I ate a lot of chicken tikka and butter chicken in the afternoon,” said Collingwood.

To pass their leisure time after net practice, some English players —Ian Bell, Matt Prior and L. Plunkett —tried their hand at golf at the Chandigarh Golf Club.

On the other hand, the Indian team stuck to vegetarian diet in the morning where they took paneer tikka, mixed veg and veg biryani. The fitness conscious opted to sweat it out at the gym. Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar was spotted listening to his favourite numbers on his walkman wearing earphones, loitering in the lobby of the hotel. Sachin

In the afternoon, the Indian team left for net practice at the PCA.

Mohali, March 7
For once the fear of the ongoing examinations among students vanished, thanks to the Yuvraj charisma. As he rolled in the well-lit skating rink of DAV Public School, Mohali, students vied for space outside the rink to see the cricket star in an entirely different role of a skater. “I love skating. The tension of the game, especially your own performance, keeps you so stuck to cricket that such a lovely opportunity is a never-miss-kind of adventure, said Yuvraj who came from net practice at the PCA Stadium to inaugurate the DAV Sports Academy and the skating rink.

Students, who defied the pressure of their examinations to have a word with their favourite cricket star, who also represents the region in the Indian squad, were overwhelmed and cheerful. “How can I resist the temptation of meeting my favourite cricket player. I never miss an ODI on TV and now when Yuvraj is in town, that too in my own school, there is no way I cannot spare time for him,” said a buoyed Harpreet Kaur, a Class X student who is to appear for her mathematics examination on March 9.

“There is no reason that I cannot cope with my studies after witnessing this function. After all, I am in the revision mode,” said Gurpreet Chopra of Class IX.

Another student Venus was also elated to have Yuvi’s autographs. “There isn’t anyone who could have missed this opportunity and I am no exception,” she shrugged, adding that the pressure of the examinations could be tackled.

However, Yuvraj minced no words to inspire them to perform well in their examinations. “At times, players are not in a position to devote enough time for their studies but it is always good to strike a balance,” he said.

Ms Jaya Bhardwaj, Principal of the school, said since the function was of a short duration, it would not disturb studies. “Rather it would provide them the much needed succour at the time of strain due to studies.

I am sure that the kids would be again heads down on their books after attending the function,” she said. 

Mohali, March 7
To prove their mettle at the PCA stadium from March 9 to 13 in the second Test of Indo-England series, the cricketers of both India and England team toiled on nets here today.

In the morning, the overnight rain and hailstorm forced the enthusiastic England team to come late by over one hour from the scheduled training time (9.30 a.m).

The pitch area was covered when the English stars entered the stadium. The players took on nets under the supervision of their coach Duncan Fletcher after half-an-hour warm up exercises.

Monty Panesar, the first Sikh playing for England team, was the centre of attraction. The man, who has a prized scalp of Sachin Tendulkar on his debut match under his belt, honed his fielding and bowling skills for nearly two hours.

The wicketkeeper G Jones underwent an intensive catch practice session accompanied by Fletcher. After his batting practice, the skipper Andrew Flintoff inspected the anticipated pitch.

On the other hand the Indians turned up the stadium much in time in the afternoon (1.30 p m). Started with a novel warm up exercise to develop agility and flexibility, the team minus Sreesanth remained on nets for more than two and half hours.

The rookie pacer Sreesanth has to miss the session as he was not well. However, the leggie Anil Kumble, who could not come yesterday due to some personal reasons, joined the team today.

Much to the relief of the cricket fans, the hero of Pakistan tour Yuvraj showed his fitness by participating in the session. "I am fully fit and determined to repeat the show", said the stylish player.

The Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar played many beautiful shots in all the direction which showed that he may prove to be the nemesis of the English bowlers in the forthcoming matches.

The session was culminated at 5.15 p m. 

Chandigarh, March 7
Former world champion Rashmi Kapoor of India crushed former Amitha Wikramsinghe of Sri Lanka 25-0, 25-0 in the second match of the Indo-Lanka carrom series being held at St Stephen’s, Sector 45, here today.

In another tie reigning national champion P. Nirmala (India) beat Yashika (Sri Lanka) 25-0, 25-6. Kavita Somanchi won the third singles defeating Leela D’Silva of Sri Lanka 25-5, 25-4.

In the men’s group, Chamil Cooray of Sri Lanka could not prevail over his Indian opponent Ravinder Gaur in the final game and lost the match 22-25. The other two games were also won by Indian players — Dilesh Khedekar beat Viraj 25-5, 25-1 and Yogesh beat his Sri Lankan opponent 25-07, 25-10.

Chandigarh, March 7
After failing to check encroachments effectively on prime public land in the past, the Chandigarh Administration has now worked out a new mechanism to deal with such violations on a daily basis.

A task force, comprising officers of the Estate Office, Engineering Department and the Municipal Corporation, has been constituted by the Administration. The progress made by the members of the task force will be monitored by the Deputy Commissioner on a daily basis, said sources in the Estate Office.

The team members have been assigned particular areas for which they will be responsible for detection and reporting encroachments.

As per the mechanism, the field staff will submit their status report to respective SDMs. The SDMs will further report to the Deputy Commissioner, who will take action for removal of the encroachments. It has been conveyed to the field staff that the detection and reporting mechanism should be quick.

The task force will also assist the Administration in carrying out demolition drive in a phase manner. As per the orders issued by the Finance Secretary, the city has been divided among the SDM (Central), SDM( South) and SDM (East). The sector wise area has been further divided as per the jurisdiction of the respective police station.

Chandigarh, March 7
City’s railway station is all set to have two additional platforms. Construction work on these is under way and is expected to be over soon.

Officials of the Northern Railway stated the new platforms would hopefully be functional by the next month.

Covered sheds with seating for at least eight persons are being set up on the new platforms, the officials said.

The railway station has three platforms at present. TNS