NEIGHBOURHOOD

Rs 80 crore sewerage plant for Patiala
Attar Singh
Tribune News Service

Patiala, January 14
The Patiala municipal corporation has announced the establishment of a massive sewerage plant at the cost of Rs 80 crore in the city.

Talking to The Tribune today, Patiala mayor Ajit Pal Singh Kohli said the state-of-the-art plant would be set up under the Urban Infrastructure and Developement Scheme.

Kohli added that 80 per cent of the money would be given by the Central Government, 10 per cent by the Punjab government while the rest 10 per cent will be borne by the local municipal corporation.

The mayor added that the present government had drawn a lot of flak from certain quarters on the project but was all geared up to complete it.

The detailed project report is being prepared by the National Consultancy

For Planning and Engineering, a Hyderabad-based company.

The project, when complete, will be a boon for the residents of the town who are facing a lot of inconvenience because of blocked sewerages.

Kolhi added that there were a total of 99 mobile towers which had been set up illegally in the city. He said 92 of these towers came up during the previous regime while seven had come up recently. The mobile companies had erred in not taking permission for constructing these towers, Kohli added.

The mayor said the corporation was in the process of sending notices to the mobile companies who could face harsh fines once their replies to the notices were scrutinised.

Kolhi said for installation of each tower, the mobile companies had to dole out Rs 15,000 with an additional amount of Rs 5,000 every year. He said the corporation had already checked out the details of these towers and would now collect all the pending fees along with the fines.

Patiala, January 14
Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice Vijender Jain said here yesterday that a meeting of senior officers of the Punjab police with judicial officers would take place in Chandigarh on January 19 to chalk out ways and means for expeditious disposal of criminal cases pending in courts.

After distributing prizes to the winners in the moot court competition at National Rajiv Gandhi Law University here, the Chief Justice said an endeavour would be made for settling criminal cases within 10 years.

Similarly, an attempt would be made to ensure that criminal cases, which had been pending trial for over two years in Punjab, would be decided within five years.

Stating that there was an urgent need for speedy delivery of justice, Justice Jain said during the meeting, means for better coordination between the police force and the judiciary would be discussed. Underlining the need to combat the increasing menace of female foeticide in Punjab, Jain said mere laws could not check and curb the growing evil. There was an urgent need to mobilise public opinion, social and voluntary organisations in this regard.

Justice Jain said judiciary was independent and was not working under any pressure.

The Chief Justice also announced that reservation would be made for youths of Sidhuwal village, on the Patiala-Bhadson road, where the campus of National Rajiv Gandhi Law University was to be built.

Chandigarh, January 14
Shahid of Bangladesh fought off cold windy conditions to return the best card of one under par 71 to help his team take the lead on the opening day of LG All-India Amateur Golf Championship which got under way on the par-72 greens of the Chandigarh Golf Club here today.

While Shahid returned a one-under card, his teammate Zaman Mollah played a two-over par 74 card for a team aggregate of one-over par 145. The duo was five strokes ahead of second-placed Chinese Taipei duo of Chien Yao Hung and Hao Sheng Hsu who signed cards of 76 and 74, respectively.

The defending champions and favourites for the title, India ‘A’ team of Manav Das and Abhishek Jha could muster a team aggregate of 152 to occupy the third spot after the first round. While Manav Das of Ambala carded a six over par 78, Abhishek signed a two over par 74.

Seventeen-year-old Rahul Bakshi of Chandiarh, who is entering the amateur circuit this year, played a two-over par card of 74 to tie for the second spot along with Pawan Kumar, Tarun Ghogale, Jasjeet Singh, Zaman H. Mollah, Hao Sheng Hsu and Abhishek Jha while Vikram Rana, Rashid Khan, Mohd Safdar Khan, Chandradasa were tied for ninth place.

After playing five pars Shahid shot back to back birdies on the sixth and seventh. The seventh hole birdie was something really good as most of the players failed to score even a par on the 613-yard par-5 hole, which is one of the longest holes in the country. However, he made a bogey on the par-3 eighth to take the turn at one-under.

A birdie on the par-3 11th was followed by a bogey on the 12th. Playing some super golf, Shahid converted a birdie on the par-5 13th, to be two-under for the day. As he was progressing smoothly, he made a mistake on the 16th, which pushed him a stroke behind.

"The course conditions are tough. It was a bit windy and tough to putt. My driving and hitting was the key to my under-par round," said Shahid.

The final round of stroke play will be held tomorrow and the top 64 players will make it to the match-play championship which will decide the Indian Open Amateur Champion.

Scores (after 72 holes): Team scores: 145 Bangladesh ‘A’; 150 Chinese Taipei ‘B’; 152 India ‘A’; 154 Pakistan ‘A’; 156 Sri Lanka ‘A’; 157 Sri Lanka ‘B’ Individual stroke play: 71 Shahid (Bangladesh); 74 Pawan Kumar, Rahul Bakshi, Tarun Ghogale, Jasjeet Singh, Zaman H Mollah (Bangadesh), Hao Sheng Hsu (Taipei), Abhishek Jha; 75 Vikram Rana, Rashid Khan, Mohd. Safdar Khan (Pakistan), Chandradasa (Sri Lanka); 76 Rudresh Sharma, Deepankar Kaushal, Col S.K. Lakra, Kanishk Madan, Mithun Perera (Sri Lanka), Chien Yao Hung (Taipei), Mohd. Shekawat (Bangladesh).

Chandigarh, January 14
A deadly bowling spell by Yuzwinder, who took 5 wickets and an unbeaten century by Sidharth (103) paved the way for DAV College, Sector 10, to outclass College of Engineering, Sector 26, by 178 runs in the quarter-final match of the Inter-College Limited Overs Cricket Tournament of the Administrator's Cup organised by the Chandigarh Sports Department being played at the Sector 16 Cricket Stadium here today.

DAV College won the toss and decided to bat first. Openers Sujit Dhiman (60) and Michael Vishal (18) gave them a solid start as they were associated in a 67-run partnership before Michael returned to the pavilion. Sidharth joined Sumit and they carried the total to 148 with 81-run second wicket stand. Omkar (3 for 34) broke this association when he bowled Sumit who stayed at the wicket for 94 minutes for his well-compiled 60 with the help of nine fours in 59 balls.

Sidharth flayed the College of Engineering bowler to slam undefeated 108 in just 97 balls, scoring 11 boundaries.

Omkar was the most successful bowler for College of Engineering who took three wickets for 34 runs. DAV College posted 284 for 4 in 40 overs.

In reply, College of Engineering, Sector 26, was bundled out for 106 in 23.2 overs. Their batsmen failed to cope with the bowling of Yuzwinder who took 5 wickets for 27 runs. Vishal Salgotra was the top scorer with 19. The other batsmen who reached the double figure were Ashutosh (16), Dheeraj 13 and Omkar Singh (11).

Brief scores: DAV College, Sector 10: 284 for 4 in 40 overs. Sidharth (108), Sumit Dhiman (60), Omkar of College of engineering took 3 wickets.

College of Engineering, Sector 26: 106 all out in 23.2 overs. Vishal Salgotra (19), Omkar Singh 11, Yuzwinder of DAV College took 5 wickets, Munish got 3 wickets.

Tomorrow's fixture (semi-final): DAV College vs. SD College-32 at Sector 16 Cricket Stadium at 9:30 am.

Ludhiana, January 14
Jarkhar Academy and Sports Wing, Ludhiana, registered victories in the boys and girls’ sections, respectively, in hockey on the inaugural day of the 22nd edition of the annual sports festival at Jarkhar village, around 15 km from here, today.

The festival is being organised by the Mata Sahib Kaur Sports Club under the patronage of Punjab Rural Sports Promotion Council.

In the boys’ section, Jarkhar Academy prevailed over Kothala Academy 4-3, Sangrur Academy defeated Anandpur Sahib 5-1, while Jagtar XI blanked Patiala 4-0.

In the girls’ section, Sports Wing, Ludhiana, carved out a 3-0 win over HMV College, Jalandhar, and Northern Railway, Ambala, pipped Khalsa Club, Ludhiana, 5-0.

Club president Balbir Singh was the chief guest today.

He announced a grant of Rs 1 lakh for the club to update facilities at the sports venue.

Former coach of the Indian hockey team Baldev Singh along with former international kabaddi star Channa Alamgir, Deepinder Singh Dimpy, Gurwinder Singh Kila Raipur, Daljeet Singh (Canada) and Dr Kulwant Singh was 
also present.

Punjab sports minister Gulzar Singh Ranike will be the chief guest.

Chandigarh, January 14
The 2nd Athletic meet of SIKHYA- The School of learning, started with great fanfare on its premises in Sector 46, here. Although the school caters exclusively to the children of marginalised communities, the professional standard and decorum of the meet was very impressive.

The three-day event that is being sponsored by “Quark Media House” Ltd, was inaugurated by the principal Sonia Channi. The day’s events began with a march past, the lighting of the flame and the oath taken by the sports captains, Rahul of class VIII and Sunita of Class VII, respectively.

Interspersed with displays of Yoga, aerobics, gymnastics as well as Bhangra, the day’s events included 100 m, 400 m, 800 m as well as 1,200 m races for both boys and girls. The five houses in the fray are ether, earth, fire, water and wind. The athletic meet will conclude on January 16 with the prize distribution by Brothe Paul, managing director, Quark Media House.

Chandigarh, January 14
This team of twin brothers is creating ripples in the tennis arena together. Meet brothers Chandril and Lakshit Sood, who emerged winners in doubles International Tennis Federation (ITF) (Grade 3) Tennis Tournament, concluded recently at Chandigarh.

After winning the doubles’ title in three national series held at Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi last year, the duo brought laurels to the country by clinching double’ title in ITF (Grade 4) at Karachi in August 2007.

Again they carried the winning tradition as in the second-week tournament there, both Chandril and Lakshit reached into the semi-finals in singles besides bagging runners-up trophy.

In October during ITF (Grade IV) at Dubai and ITF (Grade V) at Singapore in November, the result was not different. The duo missed the top spot in the finals in both top class (junior section) tournaments. We got inspiration of taking to the game from our father Sandeep Sood, who was Panjab University champions in his times”, said the twins, who have been honing their skills under coach Rattan Sharma at their DAV School, Shreshtha Vihar, in Delhi.

“We are working very hard to reach our target. But lack of adequate tennis infrastructure as well as financial support or sponsorship are big hurdles, the Indian tennis players face”, opined the duo. “The foreigners (tennis players) are ahead of us because they have better facilities and infrastructure. Otherwise talent wise there is no major difference”, summed up the players.

Chandigarh, January 14
Dr S.K. Mehta, one of the pioneers of gastroenterology in India and former professor and head of the department of gastroenterology of the PGI, Chandigarh, has added another feather to his cap.

He has been awarded the ‘lifetime achievement award’ by the Indian Society of Gastroenterology for his outstanding contribution to gastroenterology in India.

The award was presented to Dr Mehta, credited with the setting up of the speciality training programme at the PGI, at the annual conference of the society at Bangalore recently.

Dr Mehta and his wife Dr Saroj Mehta, a renowned pediatric gastroenterologist, were hailed as the “parents” to the Indian gastroenterology at the conference.

In fact, Dr Mehta has the rare distinction of having a post-doctoral fellowship from the prestigious Cornell University, New York, in the early sixties.

Putting knowledge gained at Cornell to optimum use, Dr Mehta set up the ‘speciality training program’ at the PGI, a department he headed for 16 years, from 1978 to 1994.

The super-speciality department at the PGI is now regarded as the most-prestigious alma mater for the gastroenterologists in the country.

“When I came back from the USA, there were just a couple of gastroenterologists and no training set up available. My first aim was to set up a training program from internal medicine students to become gastroenterologists,” Dr Mehta says.

The Mehtas played a yeoman’s role in developing gastroenterology into a super-speciality exposing its students to other areas like pathology and radiology.

In fact, Dr Saroj Mehta was instrumental in setting up the first pediatric gastroenterology department in India in 1984.

Dr Mehta, who has over 200 research papers, besides five chapters in various national and international text books, has trained 91 DM (gastro) students at the PGI.

Several of his students are heading departments at various national and international institutions. 

Chandigarh, January 14
For diabetic smokers it is time to quit smoking as they are 11 times more likely to die of heart attack or stroke than a normal human being.

With India emerging as the diabetes capital of the world, with 35 million diabetics and 74 million of world’s 1.3 billion smokers, a substantial number of them having diabetes, warning bells have started ringing for doctors and general population.

“Not many may be aware that smoking can compound diabetes manifold. Smoking alone can cause a significant reduction in insulin production, often leading to severe complications. There are over 35 million diabetics in India, many of whom are smokers and these diabetic smokers are unwittingly complicating their dreaded disease putting their lives to extreme risk,” according to Dr Sanjeev Mehta.

Chandigarh, January 14
For Amar Dass, a poor cancer patient, struggling to make both ends meet, treatment at a private hospital was a luxury. However, thanks to the gesture of certain good Samaritans and a Mohali-based hospital, Amar Dass is on way to recovery following a major operation here today.

In fact, the rare tongue cancer surgery performed by a team of doctors, led by Dr Vijay Bansal, at Ivy Hospital and Cancer Research Institute, Mohali, gave a new lease of life to Amar Dass, a daily-wage worker at a cooperative bank in Ranwa village in Fatehgarh Sahib district.

The complicated six-hour operation involved surgical removal of cancer mass and 50 nodes from the upper neck and shoulder region, which could have caused dysfunction in several organs, Dr Bansal, who was earlier with Tata Cancer Hospital, Mumbai, said here today.

Dr Bansal said Amar Dass was having cancer of tongue for quite some time and repeated consultations with several doctors could not diagnose the cancer mass, which had the potential to spread to neck and other parts of the body.

"The challenge for the doctors’ team was not only to remove the cancer but also sort out the potentially dangerous nodes, numbering roughly 50, which could have proved fatal", added Dr Bansal. In fact, to guard against any post-operation complications, the team also performed plastic surgery on the tongue for early recovery, Dr Bansal added.

Gurtej Singh, CEO of Ivy Hospital, said the surgery proved that cancer care facilities in the region were on par with the best in the world. The highly-subsidised surgery was part of the corporate social responsibility of the hospital, which has launched a major initiative to create awareness about cancer, he added.

Family sources said Amar Dass had difficulty in arranging money for treatment. However, seeing his deteriorating condition, his co-workers and friends chipped in with some money to admit him to hospital. Besides their contribution, the hospital discounted a major portion of the surgery bill amounting to over Rs 65,000.

Chandigarh, January 14
The Chandigarh administration has invited applications for merit-cum-means-based scholarships from the students belonging to the minority communities.

Meritorious students belonging to the minority communities, who are pursuing technical and vocational courses of classes XI and XII, will be entitled for scholarships of Rs 10,000 per annum.

The hostel inmates and day scholars, who are pursuing studies for classes XI and XII, will also be given admission and tuition fee up to Rs 7,000 per annum.

The scholarships, instituted by the ministry of minority affairs, Government of India, will be given to permanent residents of Chandigarh. The benefit will be extended to those students who have secured at least 50 per cent marks in the qualifying examination and their parents’ or guardian’s income does not exceed Rs 2.5 lac per annum.

Interested students can apply on the prescribed application form along with required documents before January 31.

The application forms will be available free of cost at the office of the director, Social Welfare, Chandigarh administration, Town Hall Extension Building, 3rd Floor, Sector 17, Chandigarh.