The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

EDUCATION

Rs 59 crore spent on upgrading schools: Johar
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, April 22
Mr Harnam Dass Johar, Education Minister, Punjab, has disclosed that with a view to improve infrastructure facilities in all government schools, the government had spent Rs 59 crore under the Sarv Sikhya Abhyan program.

Mr Johar was speaking at a function after inaugurating a science laboratory, which is set up in the memory of former Head Mistress late Joginder Kaur, at Government Girls High School, Madhopuri, here today. He also inaugurated a new computer lab based upon six computers.

He claimed that to improve the standard of education, computer education was being started in 5,278 government schools in the state from July 1, 2006, and 7,000 computer teachers were also being appointed for this purpose. He said computer education had already been started in 1,306 schools, another 1,572 schools would start it from April 1, 2006, and from July 1, 2006 more 2,400 schools would be covered under this program.

The minister said to ensure quality diet to the students under midday meal program, the government has developed a new mechanism to provide ready to serve meal supplied by private companies through MARKFED. He informed that a successful experiment had already been made in four districts of the state by the meal through two companies i.e. Real Contract Pvt Ltd of Delhi and Nandi Foundation of Hyderabad and now this system is being implemented in the entire state.

He further informed that to check stagnation, the Education Department had decided to make promotions efficiently and all promotions would positively be cleared by the end of this month. He said orders for around 3,000 posts had already been finalised and would be released by Monday next.

Referring to recruitments on compassionate grounds, Mr Johar said all pending cases were being cleared at fast speed and announced that a special camp was being organised on May 15 for this purpose. He also disclosed that the department was going to fill all vacant posts so that the deserving youth could get employment.

Referring to the development plans of the government, Mr Johar claimed that the government was going to spend Rs 6,000 crore under various schemes to ensure unmatched development in the state during the current financial year. He asserted that funds amounting to Rs 40 crore had been spent on different development works in his constituency during the tenure of the present Congress government. The minister stressed upon the need to lay more stress upon the all round development of the students.

He announced a grant of Rs 1.20 lakh for the construction of additional classroom and presented two cheques of Rs 35,000 each for the construction of two toilet blocks for the students.

Addressing the gathering, Mr Rakesh Panday said the government was committed for the urban development and a Municipal Development Fund of Rs 991 crore has been created for providing basic amenities in all cities and Rs 700 crore were being spent under the Punjab Nirman Program in the rural and urban areas on the development projects.

Ms Leela Rani, Head Mistress of the school, read out the annual report of the school and highlighted the achievements of the students in various fields.

Among others who were present on the occasion included Mr Sham Sunder Malhotra , Mr Ashwani Sharma, secretary, PPCC, Dr Jagjit Singh Ahuja, Mr Amar Singh, father of Ms Joginder Kaur, Mr Yash Pal Mehra DEO (S), Ms Harvinder Kaur, DEO (P), Ms Manjit Kaur Dy DEO (S), Mr Rajiv Johar, and Mr. Jagdish Marwaha.

Guru Nanak institute holds seminar
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, April 22
The Guru Nanak Institute of Management and Technology (GNIMT), Gujarkhan Campus, organised a national-level seminar on “Management Agenda 2010” here today. The seminar was approved and sponsored by the ISTE.

In the inaugural session, Dr (Col) H.S. Singha welcomed dignitaries and delegates from various educational institutions from all over the country. Participants from various states like Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh presented research papers.

Ms Sandhya Mehta, organising secretary, gave a brief introduction about the theme of the seminar. Dr Prem Kumar, Director, Sri Aurobindo College, was the keynote speaker. Dr Prem Kumar, Dr M.A. Zahir, Dr S.K. Singla and Dr S.B. Singh released a souvenir of the seminar.

Around 20 papers were presented in two technical sessions during the day. The delegates presented papers on themes related to corporate governance, Indian management scenario, myths about leadership and its challenges, future of IT and tourism in India, workforce diversity and India’s boom in service sector.

Dr Zahir, Director, Synetic Business School, chaired the first technical session. He talked about transforming India from a commodity to a brand in the years to come. He also emphasised on shifting the gravity from labour advantage to knowledge advantage.

Dr O.P. Sahni chaired the second technical session, which covered research papers related to electronic payment systems, financial engineering, data mining, retail marketing scenario and marketing to mind.

In the end, Dr Singha presented a vote of thanks. He said such types of seminars would nurture both academicians and industrialists.

Turban tying competition
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, April 22
GNI Public School, Model town, organised an inter-school turban tying competition on the school premises here today.

The Principal, Mrs B. Gulati, welcomed the chief guest. The competition was conducted for students of Classes VIII to plus 2. There were two groups. More than 60 students participated:

The results were as follows:

Junior Group: Ist-Charanjit Singh, GNI Public School, Bhai Randhir Singh; 2nd-Gursharan Singh , GMT Public School;IIIrd-Navkomal Singh, GNI Public School, Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar; and special prize for Nirbhay Singh, Tagore Public School.

Senior Group: Ist-Gurpreet Singh, Sri Guru Harkrishan Public School; 2nd-Hardeep Singh, GMT Public School;IIIrd-Harjotpal Singh,Guru Nanak Public School, Sarabha Nagar; and special prize for Jotjiwan Singh, Guru Amardas Public School.

Ryan students visit pollution control board
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, April 22
Various activities based on eco-awareness were conducted in the montessori, primary and senior sections of Ryan School, ranging from badge-making, poster making, ball painting, debate and fence painting.

The students showcased their ideas in novel ways. The senior students took upon themselves the responsibility of transforming the garbage dump area facing their school into a “green-belt”. The cleaning and refilling process for the same has already been done. To mark their contribution, the students beautified the place by painting the fence around it and also have planned to turn it into a garden tending to one plant each.

Speaking on the occasion, the Principal Ms Jaishree Gupta said, “Activites like these enable children to understand the importance of events and do their part no matter how trivial it may seem, but it is a question of being involved and having a sense of contributing towards it to the best of you capacity. to achieve higher goals one must start young and take small steps before a giant leap. It is in this that the Ryanites come forward and setup trends that are “first-times’ in this city.”

As part of this awareness programme, the students of Class X visited Mahavir Spinning Mills to know about air pollution control, the Hero Cycle unit for knowledge in electroplating Kay Jay forgings and a few other units. The students had an interactive session with the faculty of the Punjab Pollution Control Board on “Bio-medical waste and its treatment”. The onus of the whole programme is on the PPCB without whose efforts it would not have been possible. The students and staff extended a heartfelt thanks to the members for initiating to help in his endeavour and supply the much needed first hand information to the inquisitive queries of the students.

Freshers’ party for tiny tots of BCM
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, April 22
Staff of Kindergarten of BCM Arya Model Senior Secondary School, Shastri Nagar, here hosted a freshers’ party for the tiny tots of nursery yesterday.

The programme started with a welcome song by the teachers of nursery classes along with their supervisor P.K. Oberoi.

The bedecked hall was choc-o-block with tiny tots attired in bright colour clothes. A number of children bagged the prizes and walked away with exciting gifts.

The winners were:

Mr Fresher - Jashandeep Singh Ahuja (nursery G);

Miss Fresher - Gurleen Kaur (nursery E);

Miss Bubbly - Arushi Sayal (nursery F);

Mr Bunty - Arshdeep Singh (nursery C);

Miss Charming - Cherisha (nursery C);

Ms Inquisitive Eyes - Muskan (nursery G);

Mr inquisitive Eyes - Divyansh Deora (nursery H);

Ms Long Hair - Ananta Anand (nursery A);

Mr Good Physique - Ishan Arora (nursery E);

Ms Beautiful Smile Tara - (nursery C);

Consolotion prizes - Pratham Jaiswal and Manishit (nursery D);

Special prizes - Mr Handsome and Ms Gorgeous - Udai Sareen and Dhanshree;

Children also celebrated the birthdays of those students who had their birthdays in April.

HEALTH

‘Indians more prone to heart disease’
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, April 22
Dr Anil Chhabra, a USA based cardiologist, has said that the risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) among the Indian population was three to four times higher than white people, including Americans. Not only this, Indians were prone to CAD at a much younger age, and to make matters worse, the disease pattern was severe and diffused (with blockage of more than one vessel).

Dr Chhabra was on a visit to Hero DMC Heart Institute (HDHI) here recently. During his stay, he accompanied the cardiology team of HDHI at the state-of-the-art Cath Lab in the institute.

In an interaction with media persons, he observed that premature CAD, occurring before the age of 55 in men and 65 in women, was defined as cardiac events. “CAD in its severe form affects Indians five to ten years earlier as compared to other communities. This global phenomenon of prematurity and severity suggests that the disease starts at an early age and has a malignant and progressive course.”

He maintained that in the Western population, incidence of CAD, particularly among younger people was up to 5 per cent as compared between 12 and 16 per cent in Indians.

The post-infarction course was also worse in Indians as compared to the white population. This was reflected by a three-times higher rate of re-infarction and two-times higher rate of mortality.

He further explained that one particular study had reported two times higher (10 per cent) prevalence of CAD in urban areas than in rural India. “The vulnerability of urban Indians to CAD is possibly related to different nutritional, environmental and life-style factors. Unfortunately, the on-going urbanisation of rural India is likely to narrow down these differences.”

He was of the opinion that adoption of Western culture, especially the sedentary life-style, higher consumption of calories, saturated fats, tobacco and alcohol would lead to increased incidence of CAD and would expose the Indian people to greater risk.

Don’t panic over panic attack
Kuldip Bhatia

Ludhiana, April 22
“Have you ever had a spell when your heart suddenly began to pound and you felt light-headed and shaky? You may have had a panic attack. This is usually accompanied by physical symptoms, such as shortness of breath and trembling. These episodes are very frightening. People often think they have some life-threatening problem, are going crazy, or utterly losing control. But these calamities do not really happen. Such an attack usually lasts only a few minutes and then gradually fades away. The affected person becomes normal within an hour or so.”

According to Dr Paramjit Singh Khurana, consultant neuro-psychiatrist and drug de-addiction specialist at Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, here, most of the panic attacks come “out of the blue”. But some are triggered by consuming too much caffeine, or using stimulating drugs, such as those for asthma or colds. Other times, attacks occur during stressful periods, such as with a heavy workload or an emotional upset.

If one has repeated episodes of panic attacks, the person is described to have panic disorder. Many people with the disorder are terrified that they will have another attack and begin to shun situations that they fear will bring one on. This anticipatory anxiety and avoidance can be seriously limiting.

Dr Khurana says that fortunately treatment is available that can help keep the disorder from progressing to the point where fear is in control. As far as medication therapy is concerned, anti-depressant agents can often prevent or reduce the number and severity of panic attacks and decrease anticipatory anxiety. Several anti-depressants are available, and your psychiatrist can help you decide which is most appropriate.

In the normal course, the affected person has to take the drug for six to 12 months and then gradually cut down and eventually discontinue it. Sometimes benzodiazepines like alprax, valium etc (anti-anxiety drugs) are prescribed because they take effect quickly, but there is some concern over becoming dependent on them.

The cognitive-behavioural therapy has proved very effective in treating such cases. This method is aimed at bringing about a change in thinking and behaviours that the panic disorder victims may be unaware of, but which contribute to a cycle of fear. For example, the person may become very anxious over an upcoming event, which triggers more unpleasant sensations that further increase anxiety, and a panic attack results.

A trained medical professional can teach the patients to control runaway thoughts, reduce anxiety, stress and hyperventilation with relaxation and breathing techniques to achieve great results.