The PGI and Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, saw a complete boycott of work in OPDs, wards and the emergency by junior and senior doctors. Interns and house surgeons at General Hospital, Sector 16, too, jumped on to the bandwagon of protests against reservation.

In the general emergencies, patients were given medicine and discharged while those with surgical emergencies were attended to by consultants or senior faculty members. A number of elective surgical procedures had to be cancelled due to non-availability of staff.

Faculty members and consultants, standing in for the junior and senior doctors who abstained from work all day, tried to run the show but ended up being overworked and unable to handle the loads of patients visiting the OPDs.

Consequently, patients from far and wide, though their numbers have significantly come down since the protest began, hoping for quality care and expertise in the city’s hospitals, went back disappointed——long queues of patients outside OPDs waiting for their turn and paucity of staff proved to be a deterrent.

“I came from my hometown to get my leg, in cast, examined. The OPD in the Department of Orthopaedics was overflowing and there was hardly any staff. Though senior doctors are examining patients, it took ages to get into the doctor’s cabin,” Rajwinder Singh, a patient at PGI, said.

In the emergency and the wards, the faculty managed with skeletal staff and tried to tide over the situation. Delhi-resident Sakshi Nanda, her husband and child, who landed at the emergency following an accident while they were on their way to Delhi said: “The doctors tried to manage the situation despite lack of staff. There was a slight delay in attending to us but then there were other patients and only two doctors.”

At GH-16 the protest is only beginning to make its presence felt with interns and house surgeons beginning protest. Emergency services were slightly hit and OPDs were disrupted when protesting doctors descended at the hospital seeking suspension of OPDs.

Meanwhile, medicos from the three hospitals blocked traffic at Matka Chowk to lodge their protest against reservation. Doctors from PGI, GH-16, GMCH-32 and the Dental College at Dera Bassi gathered at the chowk and formed a human chain to garner public support against reservation at the chowk.

“The strike is not about reservation in medical institutes alone but others as well. We are trying to form a common platform and involve students and professionals from other institutes as well. We are in touch with students’ organisations from Panjab University, Punjab Engineering College and other institutes and are talking to patients flocking to the OPDs to muster support,” explains Dr Anindya Banerjee of the Association of Resident Doctors, PGIMER.

The Faculty Association, PGIMER, also met under the president, Prof Ashok Gupta, to condemn the “indifferent attitude of the authorities towards the agitating doctors” and the “brutal handling” of protesting doctors by police personnel in different parts of the country. They also decided to observe tomorrow as a “black day”.

Chandigarh, May 17
To ascertain the extent of unauthorised constructions out of the lal dora of UT villages, the Chandigarh Administration is undertaking a fresh survey of such structures which are primarily residential. Over 4,000 built up houses outside lal dora of the villages would be the focus of the survey.

Field staff in the office of the Deputy Commissioner and the CID wing of the police has been entrusted with the task of identifying the number of structures and the nature of violation.

Sources said in the light of the Supreme Court directive and the present “anti-encroachment” stand of the administration, the survey reports would enable need-based demolition in the periphery and would also enable future planning of the area under encroachments.

It would be pertinent to mention that illegal constructions outside the lal dora of the UT villages has caught the attention of the sub group of the Administrator’s Advisory Council, constituted for the development of the UT villages.

The group had recommended that a proper scheme be prepared for the development of the areas outside the village “phernis”. It has been recommended that effort should be made to accommodate existing pucca structures on the payment of prescribed charges.

Instead of regularising buildings in an isolated manner, the structures which cannot be accommodated under the scheme should be acquired and re-planned, the committee has recommended.

The group has also recommended separate building bylaws to govern construction activity in the newly-built area outside the village ‘abadis’. It has been specifically pointed out by the sub group that constructions in the area between “abadi deha” and village “pherni” was not due to natural growth of the villages.

The sources said the number of built-up houses outside the lal dora was over 4,000. As per the consolidation of the village, carried out between 1952 and 1960, a number of houses had come up outside the lal dora, including those in the extended ‘abadi deh’.

As the figures quoted by the committee, around 35,000 families were living out the lal dora in UT villages.

Chandigarh, May 17
In two separate instances, city residents have alleged negligence by Dr Mangla Dogra, a gynaecologist at the Mangla Dogra Nursing Home, Sector 19.

While Ms Navjot and her husband, also a doctor, alleged that a stillborn was delivered due to the negligence and absence of the doctor at her clinic at the time of the delivery, Mr Sukesh and Ms Rajni Sharma alleged that the doctor “unnecessarily operated” upon the latter for a blocked fallopian tube.

Ms Navjot said she went to the clinic for a routine check-up on May 11 and was told to come in the afternoon for admission. The nurse who monitored the foetal heartbeat said it was 140 to 150 which was ideal.

“We got an independent ultrasound done which showed the child was normal. In the nursing home, a drip to induce artificial delivery was started. I cried in pain for many hours and my husband asked Dr Dogra to attend to me. However, she continued to attend to patients in the OPD till about 8 am and then left for her house. The junior doctor had already left by 7.30 pm.

“By the time she was taken to the labour room, the condition of the foetus had worsened. The nurse informed the doctor and by the time she arrived, we had lost our child. Our idea in highlighting our tragedy is not to seek compensation but to make the doctor accountable and open the eyes of the public to such callousness,” she said.

When contacted, Dr Dogra clarified that this was a case of chord prolapse and there was little she could have done. “I checked on the patient and asked the nurse to shift her to the labour room. The patient went to the bathroom and when she came back, the chord was already dangling out. That is a medical emergency and we handled it in the best manner we could though we could not save the child. This has happened in six cases in my career and we have been able to save three children. Sadly, this one died,” she stated.

Meanwhile, Ms Rajni Sharma, undergoing treatment at the nursing home for infertility since the past 10 months, said Dr Dogra had performed a laparoscopy for “problem-free” fallopian tubes and charged an exorbitant sum without achieving the desired result.

“We went to her for treatment in August. In May, after the medicines didn't work, she sent us for a hysterosalpingography at a private diagnostic centre where we got a report saying that though the right fallopian tube was normal, the left was blocked at one end,” Mr Sharma said.

“Dr Dogra told us to go in for a laparoscopy to open the blockade to which we agreed. When they carried out the surgery, they found both tubes were open. For this exercise, they charged us over Rs 22,000 and had not even told us that it was only an investigation,” he added.

Explaining the case, Dr Dogra claimed that after the test report, they decided to carry out laparoscopy to ascertain why the patient was not conceiving even though one tube was open. “We told them everything and they even noted down the expenditure on the follow-up chart. After the surgery, we found both tubes were open. I don't understand where the problem is and what they want. Also, even if the test report had been normal, we would have recommended the test since it is essential to see why the patient is not conceiving,” she said.

Chandigarh, May 17
Dan Brown is not done with controversy yet. After instigating Catholics in Delhi and Mumbai, his controversial film “The Da Vinci Code” has arrived to haunt the faith in the region.

The only reason the stir not gathered enough momentum in Chandigarh and churches under its wings is the meager population of Catholics in the area. This has, however, not kept them from reacting sharply to the film and blasting it for “slanderous” accounts that dare the very foundation of Christian faith.

Bishop of Shimla-Chandigarh Diocese Gerald John Mathias has, in a strongly-worded representation to the Punjab Governor and UT Administrator today, along with Imam Maulana Shakeel Ahmad has requested Gen S.F. Rodrigues(retd) to ban the release of the film in Chandigarh. He has suggested a preview of the film by a panel of eminent people, enlightened enough to sift the chaff from reality.

The argument behind the representation is:“Many people who watch the film will not have a clear biblical perspective or the critical tools and education necessary to refute the movie's cruel, blasphemous, slanderous allegations. Even those who think that they have the tools and are not solid theologically, will walk away mentally bruised, blemished and spoiled from seeing the theological travesty, as we know from creditable research.”

Even as Sony Picture plans to push the May 19 release of the film, which has been dubbed into four languages, the protest at the local level is yet to assume proportions as threatening as those in New Delhi.

The first formal word of reservation came only today from the head of Catholic Church in Sector 19.

Father Anil, Assistant Bishop at the Sector 19 church, explains, “The only important thing is to expose the fiction which Dan Brown has promoted—first through his novel and then his film. The film, quite advertently, maintains that Jesus was married and had children whose descendants are still alive. This is a gimmick which the author has adopted for sale. It has no historical licence, nor is it corroborated by the Gospel which is clear on the subject.”

Zirakpur, May 17
The Shiromani Akali Dal(SAD) yesterday virtually kicked off its election campaign for the coming Punjab Assembly elections with a call to oust the “inefficient and corrupt” Capt Amarinder Singh government.

Addressing a largely attended dharna against the “anti-people” policies of the Punjab Government here yesterday, the SAD general secretary, Capt Kanwaljit Singh, blasted the Punjab Government alleging that all sections of society were at the receiving end of the government. Even the provision of basic amenities, including water and power, left much to be desired, he added.

Terming the Congress a “divided house”, the senior Akali leader alleged that the tug-of-war between the various factions of the party in the media spoke volumes about the functioning of the party and the Punjab Government.

Picking holes in the claims of the Punjab Government that mega projects worth about Rs 56,000 crore had been cleared for the state, the senior Akali leader alleged that the government was “misleading” the people ahead of the Assembly poll. Not to talk of the mega projects, the government had burdened the state with debt amounting to Rs 22,500 crore during the last four years.

Commenting on the alleged favours by the government to Reliance, Capt Kanwaljit Singh asserted that the government had no right to bestow favours on an industrial house and compromise on the tenancy rights of farmers.

For the past four years, the industrial growth rate had been going down steadily in the state with the result that now the growth rate stood at 2.5 per cent as compared to 5.3 per cent during the Akali regime, Capt Kanwaljit Singh, who represents the Banur constituency in the Punjab Assembly, alleged.

Prominent among those who spoke on the occasion included Mr Jasjit Singh, general secretary of the youth wing of SAD, Mr Narinder Sharma, president of the Zirakpur Nagar Panchayat, Mr Jaswinder Singh Jassi, SAD district youth president,Mr Nirmail Singh Jaula Kalan, SGPC member, Mr Sukhdev Singh Changera and Mr Bhupinder Saini.

Chandigarh, May 17
The Chandigarh Police has adopted 400 men -almost literally, from the Punjab Police, in what can aptly be described as operation road dominance, wherein the Chandigarh Police will not only train their 'elder brothers' from Punjab in traffic rules and regulations, but above all give lessons on "how to be polite". The Chandigarh Police is taking this opportunity to seek the assistance of the Punjab Police personnel to increase their own presence on the Chandigarh roads, albeit only for three days.

Besides their presence on the traffic points, Punjab Police cops will also attend theory classes at the Children Traffic Park in Sector 23 here in the morning and late in the afternoon. For every pair of Chandigarh Traffic Police (they work in team of twos), one Punjab Police traffic cop and two other constables have been attached.

Though the primary purpose of this exercise is training, but the move also finds its roots in a recent observation of the Punjab and Haryana High Court asking Punjab and Haryana Governments to pitch in their bit to overcome shortage of manpower with the Chandigarh Police as they do have an obligation towards the city's administration, Chandigarh being the common capital 
of the two states.

Talking to The Tribune, Mr Dinesh Bhatt, the UT Senior Superintendent of Police (Traffic and Operations) said, "In all there are 400 policemen from Punjab, who are attending a three-day crash course in traffic management and assisting in checking traffic violations in Chandigarh. The cops would also be made to attend classes to make them aware about the traffic rules and regulations and the provisions under Motor Vehicles Act, which could be used for challlaning the traffic violators. But above all they will also be trained to behave like public servants dealing with a civilised society".

Another police officer involved in the training process said , "We will also make efforts to make them understand the importance of being polite with the violator and not lose their temper, even if the violator misbehaves and shouts. They cannot tell people that they are a law unto themselves. Though, it is a difficult task, but we are trying".

Mr Bhatt further said Senior Superintendent of Police, Mohali, Mr Naunihal Singh, had approached him for this crash course. When asked about any other such course for Punjab and Haryana Policemen in near future, he said no one had approached the Chandigarh Police so far in this regard.\

The constables are attending theory classes at Children Traffic Park after which they participate in the regular challan drive at 35 different spots in the city. Punjab Police cops would act as part of the Chandigarh Police during the crash course. They would be stopping violators, then assisting the challaning officer and finally issuing the challan to the violator, said a traffic police officer of the Chandigarh Police.

The development is significant as the Punjab Police known for its tough stand against militants hardly does anything to catch traffic violators. The fact that most of the motorists loosen the seat belts, or take off the helmet soon after entering Punjab from Chandigarh is a testimony to this effect. Besides this, rudeness on the part of the cops is known to one and all.

Interestingly, even though the Chandigarh Police is challaning motorists driving vehicles with black films or talking on the mobile while driving in compliance with the high court directives, no such move has so far been initiated by the Punjab Police.

Panchkula, May 17
Vedic mantras and hymns are replete with the spiritual and ethical content and posses the cosmic power maintains, Dr Vibha Shri, well-known religious scholar and spiritual head of Shani Ashram from Aurangabad. Dr Vibha Sri is a learned scholar of astrology, yoga and religious studies with a special reverence for Shani Dev (Saturn).

Talking to mediapersons at the Shiv Mandir Complex here she delved deep into the myths and wrong notions about the mythological aspects of the Hindu philosophy.

She had analysed various perspectives of the Hindu philosophy with a scientific approach and sculpted 15 books.

Dr Vibha is a myriad minded scholar holding a doctorate in astrology, a postgraduate in Hindi literature, a qualified BAMS doctor, and a diploma holder in journalism. She had been Bureau Chief of Dainik Bhasker at Bhailai for five years.

Dr Vibha, is conducting spiritual discourses and short courses in astrology and other streams at Panchkula before holding the 108 kundli anushthan at Chandigarh from May 25.

Chandigarh, May 17
Two couples duped a jeweller in Sector 37 of a gold chain worth Rs 35,000, here today.

Chandigarh, May 17
A 32-year-old resident of Hallo Majra village was seriously injured when a truck hit him near the Tribune chowk this afternoon. He later succumbed to his injuries.

Giving details, sources at the Sector 31 police station said Hari Ram was going home on his cycle after buying kerosene from Sector 29 at around 12.15 p.m. The accident took place when a truck (HR-37- 4123) hit his cycle from the rear side and in the process Hari Ram fell on the road.

A police control room vehicle reached the spot and took the victim to the Sector 32 Government Medical College and Hospital, where he died.

Hari Ram hailed from Bihar and was living alone in the city. He was working as an assistant in a shop. The police has informed his family about the accident.

Meanwhile, Narinder Singh of Rajpura, the truck driver, has been arrested.

Chandigarh, May 17
A talk on “Annual monetary and credit policy, 2006-07” was organised by the local office of the RBI today. Dr R. Kannan, Principal Adviser, Department of Economic Analysis and Policy, RBI, Mumbai, delivered the talk.

Mr D.P.S. Rathore, Regional Director, chaired the talk which was attended among others by Mr V.R. Rao, CGM, RBI, Mr Hemant Contractor, CGM, SBI, Ms Balbir Kaur, Banking Ombudsman, Mr B.P. Chopra, GM, PNB, and convener of SLBC (Haryana), Mr I.D. Singh, GM, PNB, Ludhiana, and convener of SLBC (Punjab) and Dr M.R. Aggarwal, Professor of Economics, PU.

Commenting on an overall assessment of the performance of the Indian economy, Dr Kannan mentioned that in terms of macroeconomic outcome, the GDP growth rate turned out to be better than anticipated during 2005-06.

The gross domestic saving rate, which had increased to around 30 per cent of the GDP during 2005-06, coupled with sustained absorption of external savings of 2 to 3 per cent of the GDP, provided potential for attainment of an accelerated growth trajectory.

While interest rates firmed up at the shorter end, the long-term interest rates were stable, possibly indicating more stable inflation expectations. Though non-food credit growth exceeded the earlier projections, a substantial part of it came from a shift in asset portfolio by reduction in banks' investments which was made possible because of unwinding of MSS securities without undue pressure on interest rates.

Deposit growth and money supply growth were higher than the projections made at the beginning of the year. The money and government securities markets had, by and large, been stable and there was a large shift of overnight transactions from the uncollateralised market to the collateralised markets.

The movements in the exchange rate continued to be orderly despite volatility in major currencies, Dr Kannan said.

The expansion of the money supply had been projected around 15 per cent during 2006-07, he added.