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Maternity ward presents ‘the dirty picture’
Sidharth Nagar locality turns into garbage
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Sambar strays into Surya Enclave
Residents and the police rescue a sambar that strayed into Surya Enclave in Jalandhar on Sunday. Photo: Sarabjit Singh
90% lung cancer cases associated with smoking
Five held with 40-gm
heroin
Shopkeepers losing clientele due to bad condition of road
The poor condition of the road outside New Red Cross Market, near Jyoti Chowk, in Jalandhar. Photo: Sarabjit Singh
NCC Day celebrations conclude
An exhibition of models of aircraft put up by Air Wing cadets on NCC Day in Jalandhar.
A Tribune photograph
Employees’ strike: Services
to remain hit this week too
Body of educationist Gian Singh Bal donated for research
from schools and colleges
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Maternity ward presents ‘the dirty picture’
Jalandhar, November 27 The maternity ward of the Civil Hospital here is one of the best examples of official apathy. Even if one doesn't look in, the stink in the passage adjoining the maternity ward is enough of an indication of the state of affairs. Patients and visitors go in with their noses covered and inside, it certainly doesn't smell like a place meant for the arrival of babies. Swabs of soiled cloth and linen litter the ward floors and at places, accumulated dirty water raises stink. Every toilet of both wards is so dirty that a majority of patients told The Tribune that they do not urinate through the day and secretly go out in the open during night. As if all this wasn't enough, the ward is without water for the past two days. The washer man, too, hasn't arrived for the past two days.
So the dirty blood-smelling bed linens lie stacked up in a corner of one of the wards, adding on to the already unbearable stench in the ward. Dustbins lay toppled and a majority of the patients, especially in the wards with the bed linen stacks, sit with their noses covered. Joginder Kaur, mother of a patient said: "My daughter has been admitted here for the past three days and it has been this bad all through. No one has swept floors and the deadly stink makes us feel like leaving this place. We have lost our appetite and the visitors do not even drink water here. Not to mention, we have been getting water from across the road (outside the Civil Hospital) for the past two days." A patient said she brought water from the ESI Hospital. A relative of a patient from Adampur said since the one visit to the ward toilet, she felt nauseated all through the day. "One cannot enter the toilet here. I did so once by mistake and ended up puking. It has virtually caused sickness among many patients and they are not using it now. We go out in the night. There is no other choice," she said. Patients said some elderly women in the stinking ward have even been suing the ward corners at night. "What do the poor women do? They hold their bladders all day long. It is impossible to survive here." The ward had 53 patients when The Tribune team visited. But 19 patients were discharged today and patients said their linens had all been stacked up. Except the present crisis, the earlier problems of the ward stay. Rodents crawl around in the place and patients say it makes them worry for the newborns as many people have reported mice walking around on the beds too. Many patients said their bed linens were not being changed and a family from Gorayan complained that they had not been given blankets in the night. "While the locals get blankets from home, we can't do that. We cover ourselves in shawls to counter the night chill." When The Tribune team visited the hospital, 53 patients at the ward were being handled by a single staff nurse and an intern, who was a bonus since interns usually do not come on Sundays. While the nurses even have to give up their off days during crises, they admitted that the dearth of sweepers had caused this situation at the ward. "Ideally, three staff nurses and two sweepers are supposed to be present at the ward, but at times like these, we have to handle it this way." State of affairs
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Sidharth Nagar locality turns into garbage
dump
Jalandhar, November 27 The locality, which is surrounded by a fodder market and a sizeable number of leather tanning units, has gradually turned into a garbage dump, inviting the ire of area residents. Such is the magnitude of the problem that all that meets the eye is filth, garbage and stench in this locality. Sadly, repeated attempts of residents to take up the matter with the area councillor and MC officials fall of deaf ear. As if this was not enough, even the residents of nearby localities, including KP Nagar, Jallowal Abadi, Buta Mandi, Deol Nagar and Model House too have started dumping garbage in the locality. Kulwant Rai, a resident of Sidharth Nagar, said: “During night, workers of leather tanning units and those running this trade in their houses also throw the waste material here, leading to foul smell. Our locality can easily fall prey to any deadly disease and it requires timely effort to clean it.” Another resident, Parshottam Klair, lambasted the MC and the area councillor for turning a blind eye towards the health hazard. “We met the councillor to provide us with a ditch machine so that the garbage could be lifted at the earliest, but all that we got in return was an assurance. The problem has become grave as not only the local industrialists, vendors, leather tanners, but private operators too have started dumping garbage in our locality,” he added. He said recently the Kerala High Court had declared throwing of garbage in the open as a punishable offence and that the Punjab government should also follow suit. The residents demanded a separate garbage dump in their locality or somewhere outside the area and timely lifting of garbage. “We cannot stop people from throwing garbage in the open as this leads to arguments and fights. It is a major health hazard and the MC should address this problem,” said Samual Masih, another resident.
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Sambar strays into Surya Enclave
Jalandhar, November 27 The straying of wild animals from the Shiwalik foothills is leading to the loss of many such animals due to accidents and they being injured by dogs every year. The Punjab Government has for not setting up even a single rescue and rehabilitation centre for these animals in this part of the region. The rescue and rehabilitation centre of the People for Animals (PFA), an NGO, has virtually been proving a lifeline for these wild animals that get injured after straying from forest into the city. While some are injured by stray dogs and human beings, others lose their lives in accidents while crossing the road during night. Dr Chander Bhushan of the PFA claims that he treats 10-15 injured wild animals that stray from the catchments areas of the Lower Shivaliks into the city every year. Dr Bhushan, who is also a honorary wildlife warden, Jalandhar, said the government had failed to stop the straying of the wild animals into the city. The absence of shelter, waterholes and green fodder in the forests are some of the factors that force these animals (sambar, barking deer, blue bull, porcupine, and pangolin) to stray into the residential areas, he feels. The government has been making hollow claims of setting up a rescue centre for the injured wild animals in this region, but nothing has been done in this regard so far, he adds. “Last week a sambar that suffered a spinal injury was brought here by officials of the Wildlife Department after it was captured from the Ladhewali area,” he added. “The department has been sending the injured animals and birds to our centre for their better medicare,” claimed Dr Bhushan. Wildlife lovers claim that the ill-equipped department succeed in rescuing only 20 to 25 per cent wild animals that strayed into the city safely. The rest of them either die while being trapped or poached by human beings. They also fell prey to dogs and get injured in road accidents.
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90% lung cancer cases associated with smoking
Jalandhar, November 27 Dr Anubha Bharthuar, a city based oncologist, reveals that early detection of this silent killer is the key to successful treatment of the disease. She was talking on the occasion of Lung Cancer Awareness Month, observed in November every year. Around 90 per cent of lung cancers are non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC) and are very aggressive. More than 85 per cent patients suffering from the disease report to the doctors on advanced stages. If detected at stage one, the cure rate is 65 per cent, while in stage three, it is 20 per cent. Dr Bharthuar says one-fourth of all lung cancer patients show no symptoms when the cancer is diagnosed. These cancers are usually identified incidentally when a chest X-ray is performed for certain other reasons. The other three-fourth develop some symptoms, which include cough, coughing up blood or rusty-coloured phlegm, fatigue, unexplained weight loss, recurrent respiratory infections, hoarseness, new wheezing and shortness of breath. Some facts about the disease
Symptoms
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Five held with 40-gm
heroin
Nakodar, November 27 The accused have been identified as Tarsinder Singh of Nakodar, Jasveer Singh Shera and Hardeep Singh, alias Deepa, of Hussainpur, Harvinder Singh of Fajalwal village and Balwinder Singh of Billi Chaharam village. Station house officer (SHO) Surinder Pal Singh said party during patrolling near Balraj Palace, the police party noticed five youths sitting in a Tempo Traveller parked near the palace. On suspicion, policemen asked the youths to come out for routine checking. During search, the police team recovered 40 grams of heroin from their possession. The SHO said the police also seized an electronic weighing machine, a mobile phone and equipment meant to consume the contraband from their possession. During investigation, the accused admitted that they were addicted to heroin. They also claimed that the drug recovered from them was meant for their use and not for sale, the SHO said. The SHO said that during preliminary investigation, it came to light that out of the five accused, Tarsinder Singh and Jasveer Singh were drug peddlers and they used to sell heroin at Rs 5,000 per gram. After impounding the vehicle, a case under Sections 21, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act has been registered against the two main accused, while a case under Sections 27, 61 and 85 has been registered against the remaining three accused who were consuming the stuff. The police has also sought a two-day remand of the accused for further investigation, the SHO said.
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Shopkeepers losing clientele due to bad condition of road
Jalandhar, November 27 The old SP Office Road in front of the market has completely worn out and has not been repaired for years. The surface of the road is much uneven with edges of stones and brick pieces protruding outward. Even as the market has a level parking, the shoppers find it extremely difficult to cross the road to reach there. Surjit Singh, who owns a shoe store in the market, said the shopkeepers had been repeatedly asking the MC officials to re-carpet the road for a long time, but no one was paying any heed to them. Owner of an art gallery Jaspreet Singh said, “We are losing our regular clientele just because of the poor condition of the road. I really fail to understand as to why the authorities are not bothered to take care of one of the most busiest areas of the city.” Kulwinder Singh, SE (B&R), MC, said the road was constructed about two years back. “It got broken because of the construction work in the area. We will get the estimates passed for the repair of the road at the earliest for the convenience of the shoppers and shopkeepers,” he added.
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NCC Day celebrations conclude
Jalandhar, November 27 The motive of the week-long events was to acquaint the youth with the NCC and career opportunities available with the armed forces. 1 Punjab Air Squadron NCC organised a “run for fun” on November 21 with a message of national unity and integration. As many as 250 NCC cadets of the Air Wing and 2 Punjab Battalion NCC from various local colleges participated in the event. Cadets and staff of 1 Punjab Air Squadron visited Rashtriya Andh Vidyalaya in the city. The cadets distributed sports equipment and sweets among the students of the school. Earlier on November 24, cadets of 1 Punjab Air Squadron, 2 Punjab Battalion and 2 Punjab Battalion (Girls) NCC donated blood at the Punajb Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS). A static display of aero models was organised by the Air Wing in which models of various aircraft of the Indian Air Force were exhibited. 21 Punjab Battalion NCC, Kapurthala, also celebrated NCC Day at Kapurthala and other surrounding places in the district. At Kapurthala too the celebrations were held from November 21 to 26. Lt-Col Raobinder Singh, Commanding Officer, Associated NCC Officers, PI Staff from the Army, civilian staff and cadets of the battalion conducted various events. A “run for fun” was organised at New Cantonment, Kapurthala, in which cadets from all the local units took part. Painting and essay-writing competitions were organised at Sainik School, Kapurthala. A visit to an orphanage, “Sukhjit Hostel”, was organised by the battalion in which 120 cadets participated. An anti-drug rally was organised by nearly 200 cadets from different educational institutions of Kapurthala. The Red Cross School for the Deaf, Jalandhar, also participated in the NCC Day celebrations held at the Red Cross Bhawan. The event was conducted for the students of the institution. School Principal Dr Harwinder Kaur said the aim was to acquaint the special children with the NCC. Events held
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Employees’ strike: Services
to remain hit this week too
Jalandhar, November 27 The clerical staff of the entire state will not be working for the next five working days beginning from November 28. As a result, various works, including getting ration cards, driving licences and vehicle registration certificates in all state-run departments would remain paralysed. Thousands of employees of Punjab had been on mass casual leave since Tuesday last. As many as 2,500 clerks and superintendents in Jalandhar have been on leave since then. While the Suvidha Centres where contractual staff is on duty has been receiving documents, their delivery will remain affected owing to rising
pendency. What will you not get
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Body of educationist Gian Singh Bal donated for research Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, November 27 Suffering from a rare motor-neuron disease for the past few years, 63-year-old Gian Singh Bal during his days of illness had expressed his desire of donating his eyes and body. Even as there was a little opposition from his parents on this front, his wife, son, daughter-in-law and daughter remained adamant and chose to tread a different path. After his death, the family called all relatives and friends for the last tributes at their residence in New GTB Nagar here, following which the eyes were donated for Punarjot Eye Bank in Ludhiana and body was send to the medical college. After this, everyone dispersed and the family did not even hold any religious function, including path or bhog as usually is the tradition in all Sikh families. His son Raj Mohan, a computer science lecturer with Innocent Group of Institutes, said: “My father was a great thinker and did not believe in any religious or social norms. He had instructed us on not carrying out any rituals after his death many years ago. Following his decision, one of his like-minded friends had also written a similar will. He, however, passed much earlier and his family had abided by what he had preached.” Asked if anyone of the visitors at the ceremony expressed his desire of following in the footsteps of the departed soul, Raj Mohan said: “One should have a lot of grit and determination to take such a decision, especially when people believe in re-birth and religious ways to calm the departed soul. I did not hear anyone that day expressing his or her desire to done body.” Prior to clearing the civil services examination, Gian Singh Bal had even served as a lecturer at Sikh National College, Banga, and government colleges at Ropar and Hoshiarpur. His wife Surinder Kaur had been a teacher at a Ladowali Road school. Bal’s daughter Amrit Pal Kaur is a dentist and his daughter-in-law Hardeep Kaur is a lecturer at Apeejay College. Bal’s career had many facets. He was a writer, social activist, chairman of Manavvadi Rachna Manch, Punjab and director of the Institute of Ambedkar Studies, Jalandhar. As a PCS officer, he served as SDM, Kapurthala and Shahkot, and ADC at Amritsar, Ferozepur and Kapurthala, Additional Secretary, Forests and Settlement Officer, Punjab. He retired as Deputy Director, Urban Local Bodies, from Amritsar in 2006. Some of his prominent works include Sarghi Di Lo (1993), Ambedkar and Humanism (1984), Alam-Kav (1994 and translated in Punjabi in 1999), Understanding Ambedkar (Edited in English in 2000), Darshan Parampara (2004) and ‘Bhakti Parampara-Santan de Samajak Sarokar (2007).
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Essay-writing competition on corruption, rising prices held
Tribune News Service Jalandhar, November 27 |The NCC wing of the Prem Chand Markanda S.D. College for Women organised an essay-writing competition on “Corruption and rising prices”, in which cadets took part. Under Officer Gurpreet and cadet Phoolmati bagged the first and second prize, respectively. Lecture competition The Hindi Parishad of the Kamla Nehru College of Education for Women, Phagwara, organised “Vedic Bhashan Pratiyogita” in collaboration with the Ved Prachar Mandal, Ludhiana, in which 15 students participated. Pallavi, Neha and Sukhdeep bagged the first, second and third positions, respectively. NSS camp Ankita Sharma of BA-I and Mehak Mehta of BA-III of Hans Raj Mahila Maha Vidyalaya (HMV) attended the national-level NSS Mega Camp
held from November 13 to 24 at New Delhi. They were the only girls to be selected from Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, and from the
college. The students also attended a training programme at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports, Dharamsala. |
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Rescued by People for Animals and taken to rehabilitation centre’
Jalandhar, November 27
Jalandhar, November 27
