Bathinda, June 16
Gurbinder Singh, who travelled with the seven Jalandhar students on a Qatar Airlines flight, did not show signs of swine flu when the doctors here tested him today. He would be put on Tamiflu dose tomorrow, doctors said.

No symptoms of swine flu have been found on Gurbinder Singh, said civil surgeon Dr. Neelam Bajaj.

Although Dr. Bajaj claimed that necessary arrangements have been made in the Civil Hospital to tackle any case of swine flu by “creating an isolation ward,” but during a visit to the district hospital in the evening, this correspondent did not find any such ward where patients suffering from swine flu could be quarantined.

The doctor on duty said that swine flu patients would be treated in the trauma ward but he has not received specific orders for this purpose.

Earlier during the day, the health authorities said that any swine flu case here can be reported and medical aid sought by contacting phone numbers 0164-2212501, 9417118604 (district health officer) and 9876154218 (civil surgeon). However, insensitivity of these nodal officers came to the fore as they did not attend to the test calls on these numbers by this correspondent.

This place does not have the facility to test the swab and blood samples of patients suspected to be carrying swine flu. The samples would be sent to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) at Delhi for testing, the civil surgeon said.

The health department has asked people not to panic on the issue. If anyone is found with fever and flu, especially those returning from the USA, particularly from Mexico and Canada, they should report to the civil surgeon without any delay.

Bathinda, June 16
A rabies-infected labourer from Rajasthan, who bit three persons yesterday, died at the Civil Hospital here this evening. Doctors at the hospital had referred him to the PGIMER at Chandigarh yesterday. But since the authorities at the PGIMER, expressing their inability to treat the patient, refused to admit him he was brought back to the Civil Hospital in the midnight.

Ram Chand of Rajasthan had bit three persons at the Grain Market here on Monday. He was referred to the PGIMER. Sensing the degree of infection, the PGIMER authorities refused to admit him. On return, Senior Medical Officer (SMO) was informed that the patient was denied admission in the PGIMER as authorities cited shortage of treatment facility as the reason. Further, the SMO apprised the same to the Civil Surgeon, Bathinda. The SMO, Charanjeet Garg, could not be contacted for confirmation of the facts. However, a senior official at the hospital, on the condition of anonymity, has confirmed the facts.

Following Ram Chand’s death, the Civil Hospital authorities, fearing the highly-contagious disease, immediately approached the district administration and some NGO volunteers to cremate his body. Earlier, the authorities had consulted the forensic science department of the Adesh Medical College and Hospital.

Vijay Goyal, president of the Sahara Jan Seva, an NGO, said, “After the patient was brought back, our volunteers rushed to the hospital as he had gone wild. We will cremate him on our own as the district administration has not provided any help. A relative of the migrant deceased could not be traced either.”

It may be mentioned that the three persons, whom Ram Chand had bit, have not been traced so far.

Bathinda, June 16
Taking notice of a complaint regarding the transportation of schoolchildren, the Punjab State Human Rights Commission (PSHRC) has sought a report into the matter from the state government.

The complaint was lodged by Ajay Kumar of Maur Mandi, in which he had highlighted the dilapidated condition of various vans and vehicles transporting children to their respective schools. The complainant alleged that due to the poor condition of the vehicles, many accidents took place, in which schoolchildren lost their lives. Parents of children suffered immensely and human rights were violated, the complainant alleged.

Considering the facts, the PSHRC took cognizance of the matter and called for a report into the matter from the state government through it principal secretary and also from the transport department by July 17 this year.

Ropar, June 16
The students of government and government-aided schools will be allowed free treatment at various hospitals. Health Minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla said this while interacting with members of the Ropar Press Club here today.

Chawla said school students suffering from cardiac problems and cancer would be given free treatment. Not only the government hospitals, but also the private ones had been roped in to provide advanced treatment for the two deadly ailments. Hospitals such as DMCH and CMCH, Ludhiana, and Fortis had been approached in that context. The facility of free treatment to students had been already started in OPDs of various hospitals.

She emphasised the need to strengthen medical facilities and networking in the state to meet the needs of the people.

Recruiting new staff members, including doctors, paramedics and other employees, and improving the existing infrastructure at government hospitals would remain the core areas of concern for the Health Department, she added.

She said the department had launched a campaign to check entry of spurious or synthetic eatables in the market. The department was working in coordination with the police to achieve the objective. It had even managed to confiscate a large haul of spurious milk, milk products and other eatables.

Moga, June 16
The officials of the rural development and panchayat department have been asked to pull up their socks for implementing the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) scheme in letter and spirit in the Moga district and prepare more project reports for all the villages so that they could be sent to the union government for grant of money.

No matter, NREGA was successfully introduced in as many as 20 village panchayats in the last financial year but there were still over 300 panchayats left in the district.

As many as 19,000 cards had already been issued to the rural people desiring to get 100-day job under this scheme. But the officials of the rural development department has so far managed to open only 1,104 accounts in the post offices and 304 in various banks of these job card holders.

It has come to light that the officials of the rural development and panchayat department, particularly, the block development officers were not showing interest in this scheme, for the reasons best known to them.

Taking serious notice of this incompetence of the official machinery, Karan Raju joint commissioner (development) of the state government, who is in-charge of the NREGA scheme, while addressing a meeting of the officials of various departments here, has asked them to pull up their socks and deliver results as there was no dearth of funds for this scheme.

Raju directed the block development officers to motivate the village panchayats to bring more proposals of all the development works that the panchayats demand from time to time so that these could be sent forward for the approval to get money.

District magistrate Satwant Singh Johal said that the administration was serious in carrying out the development works. The administration has almost completed all the projects taken up in the last financial year but has received only Rs 20 lakh as the first installment in the current financial year as against the proposals of Rs 35.5 crore sent to the union government, he said.

He said there was a need to create awareness among the rural folk about NREGA so that maximum number of people should come forward for getting the jobs.

“Rather, the need of the hour is to make the implementing agency sensitive towards their responsibility and duty,” added Johal.

Fazilka, June 16
To check the rising menace of drug addiction among the youths, a meeting between the police officers and the members of the Chemists Association, Fazilka, was held today.

The delegation of the association was led by chairman Rattan Lal Thakral and president Sandeep Bhusari while the police team represented by the DSP Hargobind Singh.

The DSP said in the surrounding areas of the town and nearby villages, several quacks were selling addiction-causing medicines under the guise of treatment to the ignorant poor people. The DSP urged the association to ensure that no chemist shop should run in an unauthorised medicine shop. He also urged them not to sell medicines beyond one strip to each customer.

The DSP further revealed that a special task force had been constituted to keep a vigil on all those chemists.

Bhusari while assuring of cooperation to the police officials said that in Fazilka area there are total 115 medicines shops of which none of them is unlicensed. — OC

Mansa, June 16
Simran Sidhu, a student of DAV Senior Secondary Public School Mansa, cracked several medical entrance examinations this year at the state and national level. She has secured 156th rank in the PMET conducted by the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot.

Besides, she obtained 90th rank in the entrance medical examination of the CMC Ludhiana, 129th rank in HIHT examination Dehradun and 489th rank in the medical examination of Karnataka. Simran had scored 91 per cent marks in the CBSE medical examination of this year.

Fazilka: Eight students of Fazilka have cleared the Punjab PMET examination conducted by the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences. Sharajit secured 61st rank while others who made it include Ankush Sethi, who secured 86th rank, Vidushi Doda (233rd rank), Lovepreet (283rd rank).

Three wards of doctors have also qualified for the PMET. They include Pranav, son of Dr Navdeep Jasuja, Shehjeen, daughter of Dr Renu Dhuria and Aarish, son of Dr Yash Pal Jassi. Another student Ishani has obtained 307 rank.