Pathankot, March 2
Two persons were killed and three injured in a blast in a junk dealer’s shop in Mamun town, 3 km from here, near the Military Station here yesterday.

The mishap occurred at 2 pm when junk dealer Madan Lal (50), alias Billu, and his employee Swaran Singh (35), alias Pindi, were trying to extract brass metal from the unexploded bomb shell. Both were killed on the spot. The bodies of Madan Lal and Swaran Singh were charred badly and were found on the other side of the road 18 feet away from the shop.

Three persons, including two passers-by and a shopkeeper sustained injuries. The injured, Sher Singh, Sham Lal and Munshi Ram, were rushed to a nearby private hospital. The explosion caused panic in the market. Shopkeepers immediately closed their shops.

The blast was so powerful that the roof of the adjoining shop caved in and four vehicles were damaged. The bodies were sent to the Civil Hospital for a post-mortem examination.

The state government has announced a financial help of Rs 1 lakh each to the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to all three injured.

The police said since the incident had occurred in the military area, the Army authorities had been approached to investigate the matter of hollow bomb shell at the junk shop. The police said it was also investigating the matter as to where from the junk dealer had purchased the bomb shell.

Hoshiarpur, March 2
The torturing of a housewife by her husband and mother-in-law has forced the former to commit suicide at Bajwara Kalan village.

According to police sources, the body of Parminder Kaur, wife of Darshinder Singh of Bajwara village, was found floating in the Sadarpur Uchi Bassi Canal on February 28.

Parminder Kaur’s mother Gurmit Kaur, wife of Ranjit Singh of Baba Deep Singh Nagar, Maqsudan (Jalandhar), alleged that Gagandeep Singh, nephew of Darshinder Singh had bad intentions against her daughter which Parminder Kaur brought to the notice of her husband and mother-in-law.

Instead of taking any action against Gagandeep Singh, both mother and son started torturing her daughter. Due to their severe torturing, Parminder Kaur left the house on February 24 and her body was found floating in the canal last Sunday .

The Dasuya police has booked Darshinder Singh, his mother Joginder Kaur and Gagandeep Singh, son of Devinder Singh, all of Bajwara, under sections 306 and 34 of the IPC in this connection.

According to investigating officer ASI Manjit Singh, Darshinder Singh had been arrested while his mother and nephew had absconded.

Gurdaspur, March 2
The newly-installed dialysis machine in the Civil Hospital is proving to be a boon for the locals who earlier had to go to far away places for the treatment of kidney-related problems.

A four-member hospital team, which includes Dr. Rajesh Lakhanpal who is the in-charge of the dialysis unit, two staff nurses and a laboratory technician, was given elaborate training in the functioning of the equipment at Amritsar’s Guru Nanak Dev hospital.

A senior doctor explained, “Dialysis is a treatment for people in the later stage of kidney failure (chronic renal insufficiency). This

treatment cleans the blood and removes wastes and excess fluid from the body, which otherwise is removed by healthy kidneys. Sometimes, dialysis is a temporary treatment. However, when the loss of kidney function is permanent, dialysis is required on a regular basis (chronic). The only other treatment for kidney failure is a kidney transplant. This machine will surely come in handy for Gurdaspur residents, who earlier had to travel to Amritsar and Jalandhar to get renal treatment.”

The Civil Surgeon Dr. HS Batra said there was scope for improvement, but in the same breath, added that, “As the use of the machine increases - which is also called utilisation quotient - more and more people will flock to the hospital to get treatment as patients who have been treated here can tell their near and dear ones about the new device.”

Sawinder Singh, whose father is a kidney patient, had come from a nearby village to get first-hand information about the working of the contraption. He was impressed by the cheap cost of the treatment as compared to private hospitals. He commented, “In private hospitals doctors are always out to fleece middle class patients like my father. They should actually have a recovery room near their cashier’s office. Here things are different. The treatment is good, effective and clean. Moreover I do not have to shell out a fortune every time my father has to undergo dialysis.”

Dr. Rajesh Lakhanpal, in-charge of the dialysis unit disclosed, “Kidney-replacement-therapy comprises of dialysis (hemodialysis and peritoneal) and renal transplantation. Here, we just do dialysis while patients diagnosed with Acute Renal Failure (ARF) are referred to the Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, Amritsar, with whom the hospital authorities here have a tie-up.”

Whenever a new contraption is introduced, sceptics are sure to have a field day. Things are no different here with many, particularly rural crowds, turning out to be doubting Thomases. They view the machine with uncertainty.

Veer Singh, from nearby Tibri Cantonment area, who was at the hospital to get a first hand view of things before getting his patient admitted, said, “A dialysis machine purifies your blood but it does not always purify it well enough. So it is better to have a good diet, long walks and remain healthy.”