Chandigarh, February 17
Going by the frequency of road accidents and other exigencies in the city, inadequate infrastructure and lack of coordination among various emergency services have been taking a toll on mishap victims.

Last year, the police, on an average, attended to over 27 accident spots per day, with a fleet of 35 Gypsies and three trauma vans.

The number of accidents was much higher than the number of cases registered during the year. Last year, 171 persons lost their lives on city roads while another 313 were left seriously injured.

This year, 14 persons were killed in road accidents so far. The police control room (PCR) wing of the police attended to 10,025 accident spots last year and shifted 5,811 injured or unconscious persons to hospitals.

Senior police officials claimed that personnel deployed with PCR vehicles were trained in providing first-aid to mishap victims and every PCR vehicle was equipped with first-aid kits.

Those dealing with the situation held that facilities were far too short than required standards and the vehicles had simple tools, which were not helpful in cutting mangled remains of vehicles to extricate accident victims.

“We have a small kit carrying bandages, cotton and antiseptics, which are handy only in case of a minor injury. We are not trained in rendering proper first-aid in case of a major accident, reducing our role to taking the victim to hospital in the minimum possible time,” said a PCR police officer.

Road safety experts said proper handling was the most vital part of providing first-aid. “The victim should be laid straight before shifting him to an ambulance. This is rarely done in normal practice,” said an expert.

“The victim, being in a state of shock, is generally not able to say anything about injury. The Gypsy, due to shortage of space, is not a vehicle fit to be used as an ambulance. There is no space in the vehicle to carry a proper full-length stretcher in it,” he added.

“A victim suffering a fracture should not be moved without providing support to the injured limbs and, if possible, a collar should be put around the victim’s neck, which is not done here,” said a city-based doctor.

Sources said trauma vans, carrying paramedical staff as well, were stationed at busy intersections in the city. These vans were sent only to major accidents spots.

“At times, we have to rush a victim to hospital in a Gypsy without waiting for the trauma van as onlookers start raising objections over the delay,” a police officer said.

Chandigarh, February 17
In a setback to the concerted opposition put up by Punjab doctors on deputation in the union territory against their repatriation, a few of them have agreed to return to their parent state.

According to sources, at least four doctors have expressed their willingness to return to Punjab, much to the discomfort of the other hundred-odd deputationists, who feel this may adversely affect their chances of staying back in the city.

The lure of extended job tenures, a fallout of the Punjab government’s move to raise the retirement age to 59 years, and promotions long denied in the UT, have apparently prompted these doctors in agreeing to go back to their parent state.

If insiders in the Punjab health department are to be believed, four doctors have so far approached them for repatriation and these include two whose names figure in the list of 25 doctors recently repatriated by the state.

According to the sources, all these doctors have spent between 10 and 15 years in the city, with one of them due to retire in May.

Chandigarh, February 17
Though the city has exceeded the deadline for its claim to the heritage status this year, it is not losing out any chance to let the legacy of Le Corbusier go to anyone.

Swinging into action on an auction of carvings on Le Corbusier’s sketches, which was supposed to be held in Paris yesterday, the secretary, department of urban planning, UT, has written to the director of selling house, Artcurial, Paris, to stop the same.

In its letter, the administration has said the auction of wooden carvings of sketches of Le Corbusier done by Giani Rattan Singh and drawings prepared under the supervision of Le Corbusier were the properties of the Chandigarh administration. It is not known that how these items reached there as the administration had never handed over these items to anyone.

Expressing apprehensions that these items could be stolen or duplicated, the letter stated that given the situation, the auction should be stopped till further investigations. The administration has also asked the authorities in Paris about the source of these articles.

The letter has also been sent to the Indian ambassador in Paris, the French ambassador in Delhi and the director of the Le Corbusier’s Foundation, Paris.

An official of the UT administration, however, said they had to confirm it by tomorrow if the auction was held or not.

This is not the first time that Le Corbusier’s works are being auctioned abroad as recently the UT administration had failed to stop an auction held last year when furniture of Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret were auctioned by London-based P3 gallery, this despite the fact that the UT had specially formed a committee to stop movement of such rare articles.

Le Corbusier and Jeanneret were commissioned to plan Chandigarh following the vision of Jawahar Lal Nehru. They were told to come up with infrastructure, landscape, buildings, and interiors and furniture.

When contacted, VN Singh of the Le Corbusier Centre said the Le Corbusier Foundation in Paris had all the records of his works and have the control over the same. 

Chandigarh, February 17
Beer guzzlers in the city can expect a fresh flavour to satiate their taste buds this summer as the Chandigarh administration is chalking out last-minute details to allow brewpubs under its new excise policy (2010-2011).

A brewpub is a basically a European concept, where an eating joint also serves self-brewed beer. A brewpub is different from a draught beer pub.

A more traditional definition for draught beer is beer that is served from a large container, which may either be a keg or a cask.

Brewpubs serve fresh beer with a distinct taste, minus preservatives. The freshness of the amber brew is the biggest attraction for connoisseurs.

The success story of brewpubs at Gurgaon has reportedly led the Chandigarh administration to contemplate having the new addition.

These brewpubs will be an addition to the upgraded ‘ahatas’, now called taverns, offering competitive seating and eating options to visitors.

The concept may not find favour with residents, who have criticised the administration for the huge number of drinking outlets already existing in the city.

There are approximately 155 liquor vends, definitely more than the total number of government schools in the city.

The Haryana government is the first state in the country to allow the setting up of micro-beer brewery pubs. There are reports of certain brewpubs doing roaring business in Delhi.

Brewpubs, as a concept, had existed in Germany for hundreds of years. Brewpubs, as a modern concept, came up in the United Kingdom during the 1970s, referred to as small breweries. Brewpubs later became a style statement. The concept came to the USA during the 1980s and was associated with breweries producing less than 15,000 barrels of beer annually.

Data on liquor sales in the city reveals that adults, on an average, consume 11 bottles of liquor per month. This information has been secured by Kamal Anand, a social activist, under the Right to Information Act. The figures reveal that apart from beer and wine, an adult annually drinks 136 bottles of alcohol, on an average. Records of the excise and taxation department reveal that approximately 20,000 bottles of liquor are sold in the UT every day. The UT recorded a sale of 6,57,36,000 bottles of alcohol in 2008-09.

Chandigarh, February 17
The UT finance department has sanctioned Rs 1 crore for the 1984 anti-Sikh riot victims who had shifted to the city but had not been able to secure any help, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today heard.

As the petition by the Danga Peedit Association came up before the Division Bench of Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal and Justice Jasbir Singh,

UT senior standing counsel submitted that the court would be apprised in about a week’s time when the amount would be made available to those seeking assistance.

Chandigarh, February 17
Jet Airways’ Chandigarh-Delhi flight will operate on new timings from March 28.

The morning Delhi-Chandigarh flight will make it to the city airport at 8 am. The flight will now depart from the city at 8.55 am and reach Delhi at 9.30 am. Earlier, the flight used to depart from the city airport at 10.35 am.

Airlines official said they were also planning to introduce some additional flights on the Chandigarh-Delhi and Chandigarh-Mumbai routes, keeping in mind the passenger rush.

“We are inducting Boeing aircraft, which has a capacity of carrying around 165 passengers. Its earlier fleet of smaller aircraft used to carry 60 passengers at a time,” said the official.

Meanwhile, airport director Suneel Dutt has said the upgrade work on the new Chandigarh airport was likely to be completed by July. Talking to the TNS, he said besides improving the physical infrastructure, the Airports Authority of India was also trying to make the airport more passenger-friendly with touch-free security screening systems and common-user terminals, he added.

Dutt said the AAI was already in the process of installing the instrument landing system (ILS) facility at the airport after getting clearance from the Air Force authorities, which, he said, would likely be installed by April-end.

Renovation work at the airport was at its peak and the new airport would likely start functioning from July, Dutt informed.

Besides, the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel stationed at the airport are being given special behavioural training in dealing with passengers and understanding body language.

Chandigarh, February 17
The proposal of the Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) to seek deputationists on vital posts is threatening to snowball into a major confrontation between the board and its employees.

The proposal for the creation of 81 posts on deputation, which will be taken up at the board of governors’ meeting tomorrow, has earned the ire of the employees.

They allege that this will deprive them of their basic right to promotion and lead to resentment among all. This is being done at a time when there is no dearth of eligible officers with the board.

The shortage of staff has to be seen in the light of the CHB taking up major projects, totalling about Rs 3,800 crore, in the next 10 years.

Many posts had lapsed due to the inability of the board to hold annual department promotion committee meetings and 115 vacant posts had lapsed on account of the failure of the board take follow-up action.

Reacting sharply to the creation of posts on deputation, the Association of the Chandigarh Housing Board Engineers alleged that meetings were not conducted annually as per rules, resulting in key posts lapsing.

The post of superintending engineer had been lying vacant for the last six months and had been filled by giving additional charge to the executive engineer-II, which was against instructions of the Government of India, a representation to the CHB chairman said.

Demanding a meeting of the department promotion committee to fill the post, the representation said this would pave the way for filling the post from the SDE cadre to safeguard interests of CHB engineers.

The CHB had proposed the posts on deputation for an initial period of five years to avoid any permanent liability on the board. 

Panchkula, February 17
The evening OPDs, discontinued 10 days back silently by local health authorities, have been started once again here today.

The director general, health services, Dr Narveer Singh said the people suffered a lot because of this and an explanation had been sought from the former civil surgeon, Panchkula, Dr Kamla Singh, in whose tenure the evening OPDs were discontinued.

“It was basically a lapse on the part of former civil surgeon Dr Kamla Singh that the evening OPDs, which were being running successfully benefiting the masses, were closed down without consulting the higher authorities,” said the director general adding that an explanation for this had been sought from Dr Kamla Singh.

The former civil surgeon seemed to have failed in monitoring the facilities, he said. Dr Kamla Singh had been transferred to Kurukshetra on February 10.

It was in August last year when an order to control the rush at General Hospital, Sector 6, evening OPDs were started at 11 dispensaries of Sectors 4, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12-A, 20, 21, 25, Mansa Devi Complex, and Mansa Devi Temple.

After morning OPDs in these dispensaries doctors used to attend patients from 3 pm to 6 pm as well.

The facility was a boon for the employees who could visit to health facilities after the office hours. There was a great hue and cry among residents after the service was discontinued.

Dr Kamla Singh, however, denied that she had ordered for discontinuing the evening OPDs.

“I never issued such orders,” she said. “In fact I did not know when the evening OPDs were closed down by the staff members and that is why I could not take any action against them,” she added.

Chandigarh, February 17
A three-day exhibition for display-cum-sale of medical books begin at the PGI here today.

Prof Kusum Joshi, chairperson of the library committee and head of the histopathology department, PGI, inaugurated the exhibition.

The exhibition is being organised by Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers, New Delhi.

A book “Practical manual of experimental and clinical pharmacology” by Bikash Medhi, associate professor, department of pharmacology, PGI, was released on the occasion.

To have a good hand in research needs a reference manual/book.

This long expectation has been made successful by Dr Bikash Medhi and Ajay Prakash. The practical manual illustrates the research methodologies in experimental and clinical work with good presentations and is understandable to all the students and researchers.

The book projects the new prospects in history of pharmacology, including brief history on the Father of Pharmacology, drug development and animal use. It also covers complete drug developmental process from lead compound to clinical practice. It presents details on experimental animals including zebra fish, pig, chicken etc.

It also demonstrates about the diet of experimental animal, drug dose calculation for experimental animal, methods of blood and other body fluid collection from the experimental animal, and the most prominent issue (ethical consideration in animal use). Practical aspect of cell line culture, pre-clinical to clinical drug dose calculation, protocol and thesis writing for postgraduate student, biomedical waste disposal have also been presented in this manual comprehensively.

Clinical pharmacology part includes regulatory guidelines in the field of clinical and experimental research, methods and good clinical practice on experiment on the CVS, the CNS, respiratory and kidney and pharmacokinetics experiment have been demonstrated.

Mohali, February 17
A former principal of GGS Polytechnic College, Kharar, who is now working as an adviser in the same institute, was allegedly attacked and injured by a lecturer of the college.

According to the police, Harwinder Singh, a resident of Sector 69, complained that when he came back from the institute in the college bus yesterday and got off in Sector 70, he was allegedly followed by Harbir Singh and his friends who later attacked him.

He was undergoing treatment at the Chawla Nursing Home in Phase VII. Investigating officer Harbans Singh said someone had complained to the college authorities that the lecturer had not completed his degree and had to reappear in a subject and as such was not eligible for the job because he had not fulfilled the conditions laid down in this regard. An inquiry was conducted into the complaint by the college authorities.

He said Harbir Singh, who was likely to lose his job, allegedly attacked the former principal out of anger. The police has registered a case under Sections 341, 325, and 34 of the IPC in this regard.

Mohali, February 17
Members of the Mohali unit of the Punjab Government Pensioners Association staged a dharna outside the office of the Deputy Commissioner in support of their demands here today.

The protesters said the association was compelled to hold a dharna as the SAD-BJP government in the state had not fulfilled the promises made to them before the elections.

They demanded that they should immediately be given arrears for 43 months, the fixed medical allowance should be raised from Rs 500 to Rs 1,000, government should directly pay medical expenses in the case of chronic diseases to the hospitals from where treatments were got done, full pension should be given after 20 years of service as per the recommendations of the pay commission, leave travel concession should be given to retired husband and wife, house rent allowance should also be given to retired people, old age allowance should be given at the rate of 5 per cent to 65 years old and above, 10 per cent to above 70 and 15 per cent to those above 75 years.

Chandigarh, February 17
Five years ago the railway authorities had announced a budget hotel would be constructed at the city’s railway station. However, officials these days prefer to remain tightlipped about the project, part of the plan to build such hotels at about a 100 stations across the country

Sources close to the railways stated the latter had encountered problems in finding space near the station for the hotel, for building which it might have had to use up land in the parking lot, reducing its size.

The budget hotel was proposed to have four floors, a food court and 60 rooms. The entire process of booking rooms was to be done through the Internet and rented out at controlled prices. Apart from food and lodging services like taxis were also to be provided to visitors.

The Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corp Ltd (IRCTC), the nodal agency for the project, failed to initiate construction work despite the fact that the tender had been finalised in 2007 and the project was licensed to Zoom Developers, a Mumbai-based firm.

IRCTC officials were also not been able to finalise the tenders for construction of budget hotels, the sources said.

“The project hasn’t been able to take off as tenders had to be floated again at revised rates. As steel and cement prices had risen manifold during the past few months, it was required to renegotiate the rates through financial bids with the shortlisted company,” said IRCTC chief regional manager Aneet Dulat.

The railway authorities had also planned to provide space for the hotel in the station’s proposed multilevel parking. But that appears to be a distant solution as the parking lot is itself is far from being completed. The project, which was initially proposed by the railways, was then handed over to IRCTC.

The site for the proposed hotel is close to the station entrance. There is no signage at the space earmarked for the project, though a board reading ‘Space for Budget Hotel’ was placed there a few months ago.

“There is no progress on the project construction so far. Earlier the delay was attributed to selecting the construction firm to be awarded the contract, which was later given to a private developer. Nothing can be said on where the problem lies and why work had not been able to begin,” said Dulat.

"We have decided to put the budget hotel on hold for the time being. There are some issues to be addressed before any decision can be taken on the project," a senior railway ministry official said.

Chandigarh, February 17
“To expect not to have global warming or global cooling is to expect too much,” said Dr Ashok Sahni, Department of Geology, Panjab University, during a seminar ‘Climate, Carbon and Copenhagen’ organised by the Society for Promotion of Science and Technology in India (SPSTI) at Panjab University.

“In a phase of 500 billion years the earth’s temperature has seen very high and low mercuric levels. What’s happening now is part of a cycle. Though we need viable solutions to save our planet, the current situation of global warming is not just human induced,” Dr Sahni said.

Even the sea level follows a pattern. Since 1850, the sea levels have been increasing. Is this increase just a co-incidence or a result of human activities? Why should you be concerned if the earth is heating up?

“There are many implications for the Chandigarh-Punjab-Haryana region. There is an immediate need to conserve water as annual rainfall is decreasing and ground water is depleting. Measures must be taken to start water harvesting, introduce drought resistant crops and promote mass transportation,” Dr Prodipto Gosh, distinguished fellow The Energy & Resources Institute (TERI), New Delhi, said.

Dr Prasanna Kumar, principal secretary Environment, Government of Haryana, summarised by putting forth solutions to counter the human induced climate change.

He said: “There is a need to work at three levels. At the corporate level we must adopt better technology, which is more energy efficient while individually we must know small things like a vehicle not turned off at a light point emission is 20 times more than when a vehicle running at optimum speed.”

And lastly policy amends to award eco-friendly citizens and punish those causing harm, he added. Though there is no a need to panic, every citizen must act with a certain level of concern. We need to set the climatic conditions right that have been mangled due to our actions.

Chandigarh, February 17
The Art of Living and eSys Information Technologies today started a four-day workshop for underprivileged children at Shikya School, Sector 46, today.

Deepa Sharma, a teacher with the Art of Living, said the course would cover children from the underprivileged section, including Colony No 5, Burail and other areas of the city.

Sonia Channi, principal, Sikhya School, said the fee of the workshop was Rs 1,250 per participant, but it was free for the students of Sikhya School.

“School and the Art of Living wanted to reach to slum children for which the cost of course was reduced to Rs 200 per head. Now with the eSys sponsoring the event, children will not have to pay the fee,” added Sanju Laroia, vice-president, eSys.

Chandigarh, February 17
Having patented effective medicines like “Thank God” for bleeding piles and “Psorisome” for psoriasis in the recent past, the Panjab University pharmacy department is now officially investigating the healing effects of prominent Indian herbs.

The department, which is the only institute in the country to become a centre of advanced study (CAS), has been assigned the work by the Central government to lay down the norms for the ayurveda rulebook (Pharmacopoeia), which is an official compilation of drugs in India.

In addition to this, faculty here is also set to play a lead role in training pharmacy personnel from other institutes now.

A section of the department named pharmacognosy is currently studying the benefits of traditional herbs like shankhpushpi, chirata and jivanti to formulate the guidelines for its manufacture.

These guidelines, laid down by the department, would be mandatory for the herbal manufacturing houses in the country to follow.

“The faculty had been doing tremendous work in research at an international level. Since it is not possible to clinically test these molecules created here, they are generally sold to pharmaceutical giants, who test them in their labs and market them,” said department chairperson Prof Karan Vashisht.

For a dreaded gynaecology disease like leucorrhoea, affecting nearly 40 million people in the world, the department invented a medicine “Darvi Malahar Gel”, which is also patented. The scientists were asked to formulate this medicine meant to be circulated to the rural population by the government free of cost.

The department research group, which is working in the area of medicinal plants, has developed monographs of more than 40 plants of ayurveda, which includes important plants like silybum, rauwolfia, neem and valerian in India’s reference book on ayurveda. 

Chandigarh, February 17
Maharishi Dayanand Public School Daria, Chandigarh, celebrated its annual function on the school campus here recently.

Surpanch Gurpreet Singh inaugurated the function, while cricketer and film artist Yograj Singh was the chief guest.

The celebration began with a welcome song. Kids presented rhymes and took part in a fancy dress show. Students of primary section captivated the audience with the rhythmic dance movement. Students of middle section performed giddha and senior students presented folk dances. The chief guest gave away medals and momentous, along with certificates to students who excelled in academics, sports and curricular activities. The members of panchayat were also present.

Chandigarh, February 17
The two-day conference on human rights held at Panjab University concluded here yesterday where Baba Seechwal ji, an eco-activist, was the guest of honour, while justice RS Mongia, chairperson, Panjab State Human Rights Commission, was the chief guest.

“Everyone has a right to life and by using pesticides and releasing sewerage into rivers, we are denying the basic right of life to all living beings not only humans, but also to hundreds of water animals,” said Baba Seechawal ji.

Justice Mongia admitted that the human rights commission has its own limitations and it could only accept complaints against public servants and recommend to the state, rather than taking direct action.

While PU Vice-Chancellor Prof RC Sobti looked at the dilemma of the society to provide the child right to education first or to provide him the basic right of food because if the Child Labour Act was implemented then hundreds of children would not be able to get a single meal in a day.

“It’s better to have no law, but only consciousness,” said Dr Jitendra Mohan, Prof Emeritus, psychology, Panjab University, in the plenary session.

He argued that how could the society be empowered if its seeds were not given and made aware of their natural rights. He also warned of the misuse of technology in the form of child pornography and prostitution.

A panel discussion was also held on media and human rights in which Kanwar Sandhu, Day and Night News, Asit Jolly, BBC Bureau Chief, and Jyoti Kamal, CNN-IBN Bureau Chief, were the panelists. It was chaired by Prof MM Puri, former Vice-Chancellor, Panjab University.