Jalandhar, January 15
Jalandhar Cricket Stadium at Burlton Park will soon adorn a new look at par with PCA Stadium at Mohali, as local bodies minister Manoranjan Kalia has recently declared to refurbish it to the international standards. The stadium would be reconstructed under Rs 200-crore city development plan.

The mayor and vice-president of the Jalandhar District Cricket Association (JDCA) Rakesh Rathore said the association had decided to engage an architect to design the stadium and give it a facelift. “We want to raise the standard of the cricket stadium to the international level so that we can regain its days of glory. The members recently passed a resolution in this connection. It would be further passed on to the state government.”

JDCA secretary Surjit Rai Bitta said, “The association is trying to work on the pattern of the Mohali stadium and would soon introduce club culture to give chance to budding cricketers of the city.”

Interestingly, many one-day and Test matches between teams like India, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Pakistan have been played in Jalandhar Cricket Stadium during initial years. Besides, the stadium has been a learning ground for the ace players like Harbhajan Singh “Bhajji” and Vikram Rathore.

The association also runs a cricket academy for which trials are held in the month of April every year. Around 3,000 to 4,000 students turn up for the trials. Bitta said, “It is the Bhajji factor which brings the students to the academy. The young boys look towards him as an inspiration and that is why we have been witnessing an increase in the number of boys coming for trials here every year.”

Recently the academy increased the number of seats so that more youngsters could avail the privilege of playing on the same ground where at one point of time, India’s top-notch players learnt their basics.

JDCA secretary said, “Some of our players have been playing very well and the academy has honoured them with cash awards. Our player Mandeep Singh (u-19) was adjudged the best player of India and was awarded a prize of Rs 50,000, including Rs 25,000 from the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) and Rs 11,000 from the JDCA.”

He added that the academy also awarded a prize of Rs 5,000 to Rahul Sharma (u-22) for being selected for the Wiji Trophy scheduled for the next month. Apart from this, two cricketers, Ishant Malhotra and Rajesh Sharma, are Ranji trophy players, while Sarbjit Singh joined the Indian Cricket League (ICL) last year.

Jalandhar, January 15
The local civil hospital would soon have a state-of-the-art trauma centre. The construction of the centre is in full swing, minister for health and family welfare Laxmi Kanta Chawla told The Tribune at the inauguration of a pilot project for the national programme for prevention and control of diabetes, cardio-vascular diseases and stroke (NPCDS) here on Saturday.

The hospital authorities had earlier received Rs 1.5 crore for the trauma centre, of which around Rs 65 lakh was meant to provide the necessary infrastructure, but an additional amount had been granted for the same, she said.

The amount has been increased up to Rs 4.5 crore, said Chawla. The centre was to be completed within nine months, before March 31 this year, but the project may now take more time, she added.

Construction of similar centres was also going on in Pathankot and Amritsar, she added. Central health joint secretary Vineet Chaudhary visited the hospital a couple of months back and finalised the site.

Its building will be located between the old cycle stand and the blood bank.

It will also have a round-the-clock helpline to help patients in getting immediate help from the hospital. Besides, the centre would be equipped with the latest machinery and will also have a six-bedded burns ward, intensive care unit, operation theatre, X-ray, ECG facility, plaster room and a trauma examination room, Chawla said.

“The 20-bedded centre will also have a CT scan and a hi-tech ambulance with resuscitation facility and monitor installed inside it,” said medical superintendent Dr Ranbir Singh.

“It is only after strict action taken by the Centre that the trauma centre project is finally taking shape,” said Dr Ranbir. Patients can now avail of services of a neurosurgeon at the centre at a reasonable fee, he added.

Congrats youth for celebrating National Youth Day with rocking spirit. Everywhere youngsters have unfurled their feelings for “Youth Icon” Swami Vivekananda with notable gratification. The whole country has shown tremendous interest in paying tributes to the towering genius who is known for his undaunted spirit. His sermons have proved impeccable brain tonics for the weaker minds afflicted with debility.

The youth, as Vivekananda believes, is the perennial source of current and energy that stirs up a fresh vigour in the national veins. Vivekananda tapped the boundless bounty of this very energy and stimulated the dormant power of youth. Look at his exalted words, “Have faith that you are all, my brave lads, born to do great things. Let not the bark of puppies frighten you, no, not even the thunderbolts of heaven…. Stand up, be bold, be strong and know that you are the creator of your own destiny.” Such marvellous uttering helped in bringing about a complete transmogrification in the visage of his motherland.

His magnetic persona has enthralled the millions of young people since pre-Independence era. His contribution in rekindling the sense of national pride among the Indian youth is overtly accepted. He was well aware of the necessity to encapsulate the vigour and vivacity of the Indian youth toward some positive goal. His sparkling lectures modelled the thinking process of the youngsters like Subhash Chandra Bose and so many other revolutionaries who did not think even for a second to lay down their lives for their motherland.

Vivekananda’s teachings helped scores of stalwarts, students, industrialists and politicians to pave a finer way for their lives. Even today, the impact of his mesmerising erudite can be felt. His discourses on faith, strength, service and salvation keep illumining the lives of the modern youth with great perfection.

Let us seek inspiration from his wonderful lexis, “Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life - think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.” If we stand by this philosophy with firm conviction, we can attain the acme with amazing ease. So youth, be cognizant of your potentialities and rock the world.