Jalandhar, February 10
The district administration finally woke up to the woes of Divya, the Assamese girl who had been languishing at Jalandhar railway station for the past 15 days.

Strange, a city where publicity hungry NGOs claim to play the saviours of the “bechari janata” clamouring for the press coverage of relief and medical camps, there was no relief, no services for a lone girl, incapacitated, battling the winter chill at platform 4 of the city railway station.

Divya’s wait ended only when the district administration was informed about the matter by some mediapersons on Tuesday evening.

Deputy commissioner Ajit Singh Pannu, when apprised of the situation, arranged for the girl to be taken to the hospital through civil surgeon S.S. Walia who then contacted Surinder Saini of Child Helpline.

Saini, while talking to The Tribune, said, “The girl is in the emergency ward of the civil hospital where she would be taken care of until the completion of treatment.”

Divya’s finally getting treated but the functioning of non-government organisations, social organisations and other missions and trusts operating in the Doaba region has come under a scanner with the incident.

The organisations in the Doaba region seem to have gone to a deep slumber after “guzzling” financial aid worth crores annually from government and foreign agencies.

Talking to The Tribune, Umesh, who has been looking after Divya and fulfilling her daily needs, said a member of certain Amritsar-based missionary organisation had come to know about her but went back assuring to take her along tomorrow.

Jalandhar, February 10
After The Tribune carried two reports of the non-payment of refunds by the PUDA and HDFC Bank (earlier Centurion Bank of Punjab) for demand survey of a housing scheme and dispatch of invalid drafts to the applicants, the applicants were assured of corrective measures today.

The bank representatives met the applicants who had expressed their grouse using The Tribune as their forum and assured them that their problem would be sorted out in two days.

Since most of the complainants were from Nawanshahr who demanded that the bank should sort out the problem in their town, the bank officials deputed one Jatinder Singh in the HDFC Bank branch on Kulam Road there specifically for the purpose.

Jaspal Singh Gidda, a representative of NGO Upkar who had carried a campaign on behalf of several other applicants in the town, said bank officials also committed to deliver fresh, valid drafts to the remaining applicants.

He said the applicants were promised that even in case some applicants found their names missing in the computer list, their cases would be rechecked.

The scheme for which the demand survey had been conducted in 2003 was cancelled by the PUDA.

The drafts had been lying with the bank branch in Jalandhar with officials saying the courier company had sent them back giving the excuse addresses were incorrect.

The Tribune had questioned the fact as to how could over hundreds of addresses be incorrect with the PUDA even issuing strict instructions to the bank for a quick delivery of drafts through registered post in three days.

PUDA estate officer Harbir Singh had sought a status report from the bank before
the weekend.

Jalandhar, February 10
In a rare achievement, Dr H.K. Bali, a renowned cardiologist, has successfully performed intracranial carotid stenting and angioplasty on two patients who are now leading near-normal lives.

Talking to The Tribune during a visit here today, he said two patients had been treated in one of the most complicated intracranial procedures involving angioplasties that were usually done to remove obstruction and occlusion in carotid arteries that supplied blood to the brain.

Dr Bali, who is associated with Fortis Hospital in Mohali, said though the procedures were performed a few months back, the operative procedures were declared successful after months of monitoring and post-operative observation and recovery of the patients.

The patients, retired army officer Rikhi and I.J. Chhibber, came to him with symptoms of recurrent paralytic strokes involving left upper and lower limbs.

After investigations, both were found to have critical obstruction of the internal carotid arteries in the intracranial part (inside the skull).

The obstructions were in the segment that was on the under surface of the brain.

Angioplasty of this segment was extremely complicated and technically challenging as compared to the extra cranial carotid artery stenting, he pointed out.

Intracranial vascular procedures were a rarity in the region even today and such stenting had been done for the first time in the region, he claimed.

With the successful treatment of Rekhi and Chibber, this treatment could now be offered to a large number of patients with symptomatic intracranial carotid artery stenosis, he added.

Dr Bali said with this expertise, all types of obstructive lesions in all the segments of the arteries supplying blood to the brain could now be performed in the region.

Elaborating the disease, Dr Bali added that obstruction or narrowing of carotid arteries that supplied blood to the brain was the usual cause of cerebrovascular occlusive strokes.

Termed as carotid artery stenosis, the situation becomes even more complex if the narrowing or obstruction occurs in the intracranial part of the carotid arteries i.e inside the skull.

Dr Bali, former PGI cardiologist, already has many firsts in carotid artery procedures to his credit. He is acclaimed as the first cardiologist to perform carotid artery stenting in India and the first to do bilateral carotid artery stenting in the region.

Hoshiarpur, February 10
The District Consumer Forum has ordered the ICICI Bank to pay Rs 5,000 as compensation and costs of litigation to Harjit Singh of Prem Garh within one month from passing this order.

Harjit Singh filed a complaint before the forum alleging that he was the holder of a savings bank account with the bank and on March 5, 2008, he deposited a cheque (No 456450) of Standard Charted Bank for Rs 1.5 lakh with the bank for realisation.

Later, he approached the ICICI Bank branch and enquired about the payment of the cheque, but the bank officials neither gave a satisfactory reply nor returned the cheque to him.

The bank took a plea that the cheque drawn on Standard Chartered Bank, Punjabi Bagh (West), New Delhi, dated December 27, 2007, was delivered by Harjit Singh on March 25, 2008, for collecting the proceeds and the same had been sent for collection to the Regional Processing Centre of the ICICI, Delhi.

The cheque was sent for clearance by the RPC branch of the ICICI, New Delhi.

It was further replied that the cheque bounced on account of insufficient funds on March 31, 2008.

The RPC branch despatched the original cheque along with the return memo issued by Standard Chartered Bank, New Delhi, to the ICICI Bank branch here through Speed Man Courier (POD 5458).

But the local branch did not receive the envelope containing the original cheque and memos from the courier agency as the envelope had been lost during transit.

The bank authorities further pleaded that the collecting bank was not at all liable for the loss, if any, suffered by Harjit Singh as no amount had been charged from him for collecting the proceeds of the cheque.

The bank is ready to give a certificate regarding the loss of the cheque during transit and Harjit Singh could collect another cheque from the person who had issued the cheque in his favour.

The consumer forum held that the ICICI bank had not furnished any valid explanation with regard to the loss of the cheque and it had been established on record that the cheque had been lost during transit and the bank had no valid and legitimate explanation with regard to the loss of the cheque, which amounted to deficiency in service.

Batala, February 10
Sallo Chahal sarpanch Baljinder Singh in a press statement here on Monday to mediapersons raised allegations against Pawan Kumar Pamma, head trustee of the Achleshwar Mandir Trust, 6 km from here, on the Batala-Jalandhar road.

It was stated that Pamma was misusing his position and had embezzled lakhs of rupees out of the temple donations.

Besides, he was accused of offences of moral turpitude and a delegation, led by Congress municipal councillor Rewa Soni, had raised slogans outside his house a few years ago. He was also allegedly involved in flesh trade.

The district administration had promised legal action against for misappropriation
of funds and also of creating communal tension in the area, but so far nothing has
been done.

Sarpanches of the area demanded an enquiry by the Vigilance Department and the CBI into his assets.

If no action was taken against him, villagers threatened to hold and processions
against him.

The villagers refuted the allegations by Pamma regarding illegal occupation of the land of the temple.

Pathankot, February 10
The Dinanagar police has recovered 10 head of cattle, including cows and bulls, which were being smuggled to Jammu and Kashmir for slaughtering, here today.

Gurdaspur SSP Lok Nath Angra said a truck carrying 10 cattle head to Srinagar, was impounded at a police naka which was laid on the Pathankot-Amritsar road, near Dinanagar, 25 km from here.

The police arrested Luoha Masih, a resident of Pandori, Ram Rattan of Udhampur (J and K) and Mohammad Hanif of Bali Lal (J and K).

The police has registered a case under sections 295-A of IPC, and 11, 12 of the Prevention of Animal Cruelty Act and Cow Slaughter Act.