Ludhiana, June 17
In the ongoing process of infrastructure development and upgrading of equipment, various new areas have been constructed in the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) here. Dr Brijmohan Lall Munjal, president of the DMCH Managing Society, inaugurated the ultramodern pathology laboratory, psychiatry ward and urology ward yesterday.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Munjal emphasised that optimum patient-care was the top priority for the faculty and the staff of the institution. He urged everybody to ensure that each patient, who left the hospital, should be fully satisfied with the services provided. He also made an appeal to the patients and visitors to maintain the hygiene and cleanliness of the newly constructed hospital premises.

Appreciating the efforts of the faculty, administrative and para-medical staff of the hospital, Mr Prem Gupta, secretary of the managing society, exhorted all of them to enhance the quality of services in the hospital and work with a spirit of dedication. He added that new equipment had been added in several departments during the past one year and the management was planning to bring in many more state-of- art equipment and diagnostic aids in other departments for the benefit of patients of the region.

Dr Daljit Singh, Principal, DMCH, said the management was constantly engaged in fulfilling the needs of the patients and the relatives attending to them. Dr Sandeep Puri, Medical Superintendent of the hospital, commented that there was a rapid advancement in the field of medicine and the DMCH was making all efforts to provide the latest in the fields of medicine, surgery and infrastructure for better patient-care.

Giving details of the upgraded facilities, Dr Sandeep Sharma, Professor and Head, Department of Urology, said at present the department had all types of facilities for endoscopic management of prostate, bladder tumours and strictures. “A urology lab will soon be established with facilities for urodynamics study. A super specialty course in urology would also be introduced soon,” he added.

Dr Ranjiv Mahajan, Head of Department of Psychiatry, said besides treating all kinds of psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, depression and anxiety disorders, various treatment modalities like ECT (shock treatment), psychotherapy and psychological testing were available in the department. Facilities for de-addiction of abuse of alcohol, smack and opium were also being provided to the patients.

On the upgrading of the pathology laboratory, Dr Vineeta Malhotra, Head of Department of Pathology, elaborated that the department was now equipped with state-of-art instruments with fully automated cell counters and coagulometers. The lab had been provided with the immuno-florescent microscope and the latest edition of HPV-DNA for the screening of cervical cancer. Among other members of the managing society present on the occasion were Mr Sunil Kant Munjal, Mr Dharam Vir Bector, both vice-presidents, Mr Satish Sanwalka, treasurer, Mr Om Prakash Munjal, Mr Prem Nath Gupta, former secretary, Mr Balraj Kumar and Mr Gian Chand Dhawan.

Ludhiana, June 17
In a bid to create awareness about rabies among the rural masses, a rabies awareness and free anti-rabies vaccination camp was organised at Halwara village in this district under the directions of Dr B.S. Sidhu, Director, Animal Husbandry, Punjab. The Department of Animal Husbandry, in collaboration with the Punjab State Veterinary Council, has been organising such camps throughout the state for the past two years.

Inaugurating the camp, Dr Paramjeet Singh, Deputy Director, Animal Husbandry Department, said that the state government was in the process of issuing a notification under which all dog owners would have to get their pets registered with the nearest veterinary institution. A registration number and a card would be issued to the owners so that they could be able to get their dogs vaccinated against rabies as per schedule. This statutory condition would serve a dual purpose. First, it would protect the dogs against rabies and secondly, in the case of a dog bite, the human beings would stand protected against the deadly disease.

During this camp, 213 dogs were vaccinated free of cost by a team of vets, comprising Dr Kulwant Singh, Dr Gurdeep Singh and Dr Naresh Bajaj. The camp was a big draw with a large number of farmers and pet owners of surrounding villages thronging the venue with their dogs in cars and trolleys.

According to Dr Kulwant Singh, strays dogs of the area were also brought in the camp for vaccination by residents of several villages. Dr Gurdeep Singh delivered a lecture about rabies. Dr Vinod Gupta, Registrar, Punjab State Veterinary Council, who played a pivotal role in arranging free anti-rabies vaccine, told the farmers that dogs, which had been vaccinated today, must be given a booster dose at regular intervals.

Keeping in view the interest taken by farmers of this area, Dr Sidhu, Director, Animal Husbandry, Punjab, who was also the president of the Punjab Veterinary Council, promised to arrange more camps at different places in the state. He stressed on the need for bringing stray dogs as well in such camps so that these could also be vaccinated and rural people saved from the threat of rabies.

Ludhiana, June 17
Babbu Pehalwan of Ludhiana proved his mettle as he won by fall against Nazar from Ambala in the 14th annual Wrestling Championship organised by the Peer Baba Mehar Shah Sports Club at the Field Ganj ground opposite Civil Hospital, here yesterday.

In an other match, local wrestler, Mithu of Mandod drew with Dimmy also from Ludhiana while the match between Karma from Mandod and Rafique from Ludhiana, too, ended in a draw as both the wrestlers matched each other well.

Earlier, Mr Gurcharan Singh Brar, DSP, Vigilance inaugurated the championship in which a large number of wrestlers from Ludhiana besides places such as Ambala, Delhi, Patiala, Phagwara, Jaipur and Patna exhibited their prowess. Mr Surinder Dawar, Parliamentary secretary, Punjab, gave away prizes to the participants.

Prominent persons who were present on this occasion were Mr Prem Lal Kandiara, Mr Subhash Sondhi, Mr Raju Nahar, Mr Rocky, Mr Charan Bains, Dr Jasbir Singh Bawa, Mr Manohar Lal Ghai, Mr Amarjit Singh Arora (advocate), Mr Krishan Singh, Mr Bishan Singh, Mr Amrik Singh, Mr Devi Dass Devgan, Mr Dalip Bharti, Mr Jaswant Singh, Mr Dharamvir, Mr Amarnath Kalyan and Mr Shankar.