Rohtak, September 24
“Understanding the social and cultural background in the backdrop of the thought perceptions of a patient is perhaps the main challenge in the treatment process and a doctor just cannot afford to provide medication within a few minutes of interaction with the patient approaching the OPD.

“The doctor will have to get an insight into the problem as treatment could vary with every patient and it was the job of the psychiatrist to go into the cultural and social aspects before deciding the final line of treatment.”

This was stated by Dr Rajiv Gupta, the Head of the Department of Psychiatry of the PGIMS here, in his address while speaking at the inauguration of the two-day annual conference of the Indian Psychiatric Society (North Zone) here today.

Elaborating on the theme, “Integrating Culture in Mental Health Care”, of the 36th conference, Dr Gupta said myths and socio-cultural factors varied in communities and sections of society and the approach of the patients hailing from two or three different residential areas of the town or even the rural parts could be different. There were many persons who were averse to the concept of taking treatment for a disorder. Besides, psychological problems were considered as “mental disorders” and approaching a psychiatrist was taboo in society.

He said any person could be a victim of tension and anxiety due to the fast life and a materialistic approach. Seeking counselling and help of experts should not be looked down upon and one should avoid labelling the sufferers as mental patients.

Dr Sujata Sethi called upon the integration of new techniques and approaches in treatment. She also emphasised on the need to understand the cultural and social values of the patients.

The conference was inaugurated by Dr JS Neki, the founding head of the department here.

The Vice-Chancellor of Pt BD Sharma University of Health Sciences, Dr SS Sangwan, called upon the doctors to concentrate on more research in the field to tackle the issue in an effective manner. The first day of the conference comprised four paper sessions and a quiz contest based on the theme of the conference, according to Dr Ashish Arora of the organising department. 

Fatehabad, September 24
The Congress does not attach much significance to Team Anna’s appeal to Hisar voters for securing an undertaking from candidates contesting the bypoll that they will support the Jan Lokpal Bill after their election.

Arvind Kejriwal, a key member of Anna Hazare’s civil society, had recently appealed to voters to secure written undertakings from the candidates as well as their party leaders, when they visited them to seek their votes. Kejriwal had set a deadline for all political parties contesting the bypoll to give such pledges to the electorates or else face boycott from Team Anna.

Shadi Lal Batra, a Rajya Sabha member of the Congress, said the members of the civil society were not above the elected representatives of people. He said the Congress had always believed in people’s power, who, he said, decided the fate of every election. He said the strength of 120 crore people of this country was much bigger than any civil society.

Batra maintained the Congress was the only party in the country to have shown its commitment to the Lokpal Bill by bringing it before Parliament nine times. He said the Lokpal Bill was before the Standing Committee of Parliament for its consideration and it would be passed by the elected representatives of people very soon.

The Congress leader said the UPA government’s differences with the civil society were over those provisions only, which if included, would make the institution of the Lokpal above Constitution.

Batra mocked at INLD nominee Ajay Singh Chautala’s and HJC nominee Kuldeep Bishnoi’s statements that they stood for the Jan Lokpal Bill to root out corruption from the society. He said people had seen Chautala’s and Bhajan Lal’s regime and added that such statements from their sons sounded rather comic.

Sirsa, September 24
All Additional Deputy Commissioners (ADCs) in the state will henceforth function as adjudicating officers under the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 (34 of 2006), which has been implemented in the state from August 5.

The state government, in a notification issued on August 17, has conferred the powers of the adjudicating officers on the ADCs, who will perform their duties as defined in the Act along with their normal duties. The Act provides certain judicial powers to the adjudicating officers and they can impose penalties on the offenders.

Similarly, the government has appointed all Civil Surgeons of the state as designated officers as per Section 36 of the Act. The designated officers will have powers to issue or cancel licences of food business operators and prohibit the sale of any food article, which are in contravention of the provisions of the Act, and to receive the reports and samples from the food safety officers under his jurisdiction and get them analysed.

Besides these, the government food inspectors (GFIs) working under the Health Department have been designated as food safety officers (FSOs) under the provisions of the new Act. The FSOs will take samples of any food or any substance, which is meant for sale for human consumption.

Another notifications issued on July 28, the state government has conferred the powers of the Food (Health) Authority to the Commissioner, Food and Drug Authority (FDA), Haryana. The FDA will have jurisdiction all over the state, except for railway stations and railway colonies. 

Chandigarh, September 24
Whistleblowers in Haryana can now blow their apprehensions away as the state has come out with a policy that promises to deal expeditiously with protection pleas.

The policy, submitted to the Punjab and Haryana High Court, says threat perception shall be assessed by the Commissioner of Police or the SP of the district concerned within a week of receiving an application.

Security shall then be provided to the whistleblower depending upon the threat perception. The policy also entails the constitution of a special cell for processing the requests for security and for monitoring of investigation of the case registered against whistleblowers and RTI activists, which in the opinion of the State Intelligence Chief or the DGP have been registered due to malice, repression and without reasonable cause.

The state, however, has turned down the suggestion for designating some “public man” as the nodal authority.

The policy was submitted in response to observations made by the Bench of Acting Chief Justice during the hearing of a petition filed in public interest by advocate HC Arora.

Hisar, September 24
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said here today that his government had completed development projects costing Rs 2,812 crore in the district since 2005.

Addressing Congress workers at the Jindal Auditorium here, he said additional projects worth Rs 900 crore had been sanctioned for nine Assembly segments of the Hisar parliamentary seat before the poll process started. Work on development projects, estimated to cost Rs 253 crore, was already in progress.

Dispelling all doubts that Hisar had been neglected by his government, he said Hisar was the only city which had three government-run universities. He said the INLD nominee, Ajay Chautala, had spent only Rs 45 lakh out of his MPLAD fund in Hisar though he was entitled to approve projects worth Rs 10 crore. Likewise, he said, everyone was aware as to how much money the late Bhajan Lal had spent in Hisar out of the MPLAD grant.

He said Hisar was the place where Lala Lajpat Rai began his practice as a lawyer. He had named the new veterinary university set up here after Lala Lajpat Rai. Had he followed his predecessor’s practice, the new university would have been named after one of his family members, Hooda said.

The Chief Minister said Chautala and his sons had been charge-sheeted in corruption cases and till this day, they were the only father and sons trio to have been charge-sheeted together.

HPCC chief Phool Chand Mullana asked party workers to ensure that each and every voter was contacted personally and requested to vote for the Congress nominee.

Meanwhile, in an unprecedented move, Hooda has decided to campaign in the Hisar Lok Sabha seat area continuously from September 26 to October 4. He will be covering all the nine Assembly segments. 

Sirsa, September 24
To save families of the Air Force personnel from malaria and dengue, which have spread their tentacles in Sirsa and the surrounding areas these days, the Air Force Wives Welfare Association (AFWWA), Local, today organised an awareness rally on the campus of the Air Force Station.

Students of Kendriya Vidyalaya, Air Force Station, Sirsa, accompanied by “Air Force Sanginis” (wives of Air Force personnel), teachers and officers of the force, went in a procession through the residential colonies of the station with banners and placards.

The banners and placards carried messages like “they breed, we bleed” and “stop dengue and malaria”.

“Malaria and dengue kill a large number of people across the country every year. Through this rally, we want to convey a message that the spread of these diseases can be avoided,” said Paramjeet Kaur, wife of Air Commodore SP Singh, Air Officer Commanding, Air Force Station, Sirsa, who is also President, AFWWA (Local), and who flagged off the rally.

The rally ended with the participants taking a vow to keep their surroundings clean and prevent the breeding of mosquitoes. 

Chandigarh, September 24 
In recognition of Haryana’s efforts in preserving soil and conserving water, the Director, Agriculture, Ashok Yadav, has been invited to participate in the fifth conference on “Conservation Agriculture” being held in Brisbane, Australia, from September 26 to 30.

The conference has been sponsored by the Asia Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions in collaboration with the International Centre of Improvement for Wheat and Maize. — TNS

Jind, September 24
The district court has held 12 persons guilty in the infamous honour-killing case of Singhwal village of Narwana subdivision of the district that took place in July 2009.

One of the accused has been acquitted in the case. The court is likely to pronounce punishment on September 29.

The court of Additional District and Sessions Judge, RN Bharti, today held 12 of the 14 accused as guilty. The convicts include the parents of the girl, Sonia. The victim, Ved Pal, had got married to Sonia before he was murdered in full public view on July 22, 2009, at Singhwal village. Those held guilty of Ved Pal’s murder have been identified as Dhan Raj and Dhanpati(parents of Sonia), Ramdiya, head of Bhanwala Khap, Dharam Pal, a former Panchayat Samiti member, Ranbir, a former panch, Miya Singh, Shamsher, Mahender, Rajesh, Ram Kumar, Ram Mehar and Krishan.

One of the accused, identified as Pawanjit Bhanwala, chief of the All-India Adarsh Jat Mahasabha, who was also charged with various sections of the IPC in this case was, however, acquitted due to lack of evidence.

One of the accused is reported to be absconding. The case had been booked on the complaint of Ved Pal’s brother against the accused. The victim, a resident of the neighbouring Mator village, had been beaten to death by a mob at Singhwal village on the fateful night.

Vedpal had married Sonia, a resident of Singhwal village, against the wishes of her parents and the local panchayat. He had come to the village to get custody of his wife on the directions of the high court and was escorted by a police team and a warrant officer appointed by the court. Members of a caste panchayat had declared their marriage unacceptable and had passed a diktat on the issue before the unsavory incident in which Ved Pal was lynched to death. 

Panipat, September 24
In yet another incident of loot on the road, three miscreants looted Rs 2 lakh in cash and jewellery worth over Rs 6.5 lakh from a local jeweller while he was returning home after calling it a day, last night.

The incident took place near SD Girls Senior Secondary School. The three miscreants attacked Ghanshyam Verma, a resident of Hari Singh Colony, who owns a jewellery shop in Quila Market, with a brick and after injuring him seriously, they fled with the bag in which he was carrying the cash and jewellery and also took along his bike.

The jeweller, who fell unconscious after the attack, was taken to the Civil Hospital by some passers-by. After the matter was reported to the police, a team of officials reached the spot to take stock of the situation. The police said from preliminary investigations it appeared that the miscreants had been kepping an eye on the jeweller and were well aware of the fact that he was carrying cash and jewellery.

The police has registered a case against three unidentified persons and started investigations. The district police had recently stepped up the drive against cases of loot as there had been seven major robberies in the district in the past nine months. 

Sirsa, September 24
The police today booked a trader under sections 7, 10 and 55 of the Essential Commodities Act after the recovery of over 4,000 bags of DAP fertilisers from his store at Ellenabad town in the district.

The fertilisers worth over Rs 30 lakh were not mentioned in the stock registers of the trader, Saharan Pesticides and Fertilisers, and were allegedly meant for black-marketing.

The local unit of the Akhil Bhartiya Kisan Sabha had informed the authorities about the hoarding of large quantities of DAP by the trader.

Farmers have been facing difficulty in getting the DAP fertiliser these days, while some unscrupulous traders have been hoarding the commodity for black- marketing.

The activists of the Akhil Bhartiya Kisan Sabha have been keeping a vigil at Ellenabad and have managed to bring two hoarders to book.

Jagdeep Brar, Deputy Director, Agriculture, Sirsa, maintained that his staff members had been checking stores of traders throughout the district.