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Nurses’ stir hits patients
Ludhiana, December 5 To make matters worse, there was a huge rush of new recruits in the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited and the Punjab Police in the medical OPD of the hospital to get medical fitness certificates, which kept the medical and supporting staff busy, further compounding the situation created by the strike of the staff nurses. Some 30 odd staff nurses at the hospital staged a dharna and struck work till lunch hour to express their protest against the denial of selection grade to them from the year 2006 when the pay commission had made its recommendations. As part of the statewide protest, the staff nurses at all government health institutions were observing a half-day strike today. The patients admitted to various wards of the hospital, or for that matter their attendants, had no idea for the sudden disappearance of the nurses. Relatives of some of the patients were seen moving around here and there to seek nursing care, administration of medicines or intravenous drips to their patients. Requesting not to be named, a relative of a patient in the surgical ward said when he could not find the attending staff nurse for administration of an injection to his uncle, he made enquiries and approached some other staff members. "It was only after about an hour that a technician arrived in the ward and attended to the patients. And it was through him that we came to know about the strike by staff nurses.” The senior medical officer of the hospital, Dr Karamveer Goel, did admit that some inconvenience was caused to the indoor patients due to the strike by staff nurses. He, however, asserted that all doctors, pharmacists and technicians were put on alert and they attended to the nursing care of the patients till the nurses resumed their duty in the afternoon. Problem aggravated
To make matters worse, there was a huge rush of new recruits to the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited and the Punjab Police in the medical OPD of the hospital to get medical fitness certificates, which kept the medical and supporting staff busy. This further compounded the situation created by the striking nursing
staff.
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Filth on tracks
Ludhiana, December 5 "The sanitation level at the railway station and especially along the tracks being poor, the situation was compounded by choked and overflowing drains which made it impossible for the carriage staff to fill up water tanks and inspect the undercarriage of the railway coaches," said a functionary of the carriage staff union. As the Indore-Jammu Tawi Malwa Express arrived on the platform, a team of senior railway officials
including divisional traffic manager, Parminder Singh, and senior divisional medical officer, Dr Chetna Kapoor, along with other members of the supervisory staff, came there in the course of inspection. On seeing the inspection team, the employees of the carriage section, who were upset over the filth, overflowing drains and heaps of garbage along the railway tracks, confronted the officials and refused to carry out watering and inspection work of the coaches. The irate railway employees alleged that officials had been giving assurances while practically; the sanitation level was getting worse with each passing day. It was after the intervention of certain activists of the Northern Railway Mazdoor Union and the senior railway officials that the members of the carriage staff were pacified and made to perform their duty. In the process, the train with a scheduled stoppage of 20 minutes at Ludhiana railway station could depart over 15 minutes behind the schedule. Dr Chetna, who is the over all in-charge of the sanitation work at the railway station said the staff shortage, coupled with failure of a private agency, to whom sanitation work was partly entrusted, had led to unsanitary conditions at some places as well as alongside the railway tracks. "Fresh tenders were invited for outsourcing the sanitation work, which are to be opened in a day or two. We hope that the new contractor will take up sanitation work latest by next week when the situation improves. In the meantime, we are arranging some additional sanitation staff from the nearby railway stations," she claimed. |
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Schoolchildren complain of dizziness, hospitalised
Ludhiana, December 5 The problem started in the morning when the students were attending their physical training (PT) period. As they were exercising under the sun, two of the students collapsed. Seeing the fainted students on the ground, many other students got panicky and they complained of vertigo and vomiting. The school authorities took them to a nursing home. One of the students said the incident took place at around 11 am. "Suddenly, someone came to our class (on the first floor) and informed that students were becoming unconscious. Almost all teachers left the classes and went downstairs to see what exactly had happened. The authorities were taking students to hospital. The students were between 10-13 years," said a student. A parent of an affected student saiD the authorities made the students stand under the Sun for the PT period for about 30-40 minutes. The students got tired and their condition deteriorated. They were rushed to hospital, where they stayed for at least three hours. "If so any students had to be hospitalised that means they must be standing
for long. The authorities will never tell the truth but we have come to know from our wards. This callous attitude of the authorities is disgusting," said the parents. Meanwhile, the attending doctor said
the students were discharged after being given first-aid at the hospital. "We offered them juice and glucose and checked them thoroughly. Actually about half of them had not eaten their breakfast in the morning. They were vomiting and complained of vertigo and restlessness," said the doctor. ‘Were without breakfast’
Almost 4,000 students were taking part in the assembly when two-three students complained of vertigo and restlessness. We have a medical room and a nurse inside the school premises. As the students complained of vertigo, stomach ache etc, we not wanting to take a chance took them to hospital so that they could be properly examined by doctors. A majority of them had an empty stomach due to which their condition deteriorated. The morning assembly is a routine affair, but the incident took place today when they did had not had their
breakfast — Parveena john, principal, ryan public school Were exercising under sun
The problem started in the morning when the students were attending their physical training period. As they were exercising under the sun, two of the students collapsed. Seeing the fainted students on the ground, many other students got panicky and they complained of vertigo and vomiting. The school authorities took them to a nursing
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Three-year jail for breach of trust
Ludhiana, December 5 Pronouncing the verdict, the court held that the accused did not deserve any leniency as he had committed a serious offence. The court also took the note of contradictory stands taken by the accused. The Judge held that the version of the accused could not be trusted. Initially, he was denying his liability but when confronted with documents bearing his signatures, he took another stand. His stand that he had signed blank papers and later
on given the same to his relatives was not believable at all. A case under Sections 408 and 409 of the IPC was registered against the accused on May 14, 2001, at the Sahnewal police
station following the complaint of SK Verma, AGM, M/s Shreeyans Spinning Mills, Ludhiana. The complainant had submitted before the court that the accused, who was employed with a company as a yarn agent, had misappropriated huge sums. It was alleged that the accused realised the amount of sold yarn
from the market, but did not make the payment to the company. Moreover, it was not his duty to collect the amount from the
market on behalf of the company. However, the accused had pleaded that the case was totally false, frivolous and based on forged documents. But he failed to prove his assertions. |
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Miraculous escape for 11 in road mishaps
Ludhiana, December 5 According to the police, the vehicle belongs to a Delhi resident, who was returning home after attending a wedding. The investigating officer said the driver escaped with minor injuries. In the second incident, nearly 10 passengers had a miraculous escape after a Tempo Traveller they were travelling in overturned near Nehru Sidhant Kendra here today. Eyewitnesses said the driver was driving at speed and lost control over the vehicle after some
cyclists came into the way. Police sources said those injured were from
Jalandhar. They were here to attend a marriage party. The investigating officer said all the passengers sustained minor injuries. The police is searching the reason behind the two accidents. |
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50% of potato crop goes waste in state
Ludhiana, December 5 Pavittar Pal Singh Pangli, president of the PAU Kisan Club, said there was always overproduction of potato in Punjab. “No efforts are being made by the state government to conduct any survey. Not just that, the government is also not paying attention towards the export of potato. The crop gets mature between 70 and 80 days,” said Pangli. A potato grower from Sangrur district, Hardev Singh Ghanaur, said in Hoshiarpur and Sangrur belts, the crop was
sown in bulk. “We can make potato flour, chips and many other things, but due to the callous attitude of the agencies concerned, the crop goes waste. Even the Agriculture Processing Export Development Agency (APEDA) does not seem to be interested in solving the problems of potato growers,” lamented Ghanaur. Holding the government responsible for the potato glut in Punjab, Pangli said, “The state government is to be blamed for the mess. The system needs to be streamlined. It becomes difficult to send the crop to other states as transporters demand huge sums. No survey done
No efforts are being made by the state government to conduct any survey. Not just that, the government is also not paying attention towards the export of potato. The crop gets mature between 70 and 80
days. — Pavittar Pal singh pangli, president of the PAU Kisan Club |
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Bollywood stars shoot in city’s narrow lanes
Ludhiana, December 5 To keep shooting work smooth, the police cordoned off the area. "I was surprised to see cops and camera crew roaming the nearby street. Without wasting time I quickly got down the stairs and asked the cops about the development. They told me that a Bollywood star was here to shoot a scene for his upcoming film," said Vicky Sharma, a resident of Field Gunj. As soon as the news of shooting taking place in Field Gunj spread around, a huge crowd thronged the place. The crowd further led to traffic jam. "We faced a great difficulty controlling the crowd. Fortunately, we kept the shooting process a secret, otherwise it would have resulted in a chaos," said the cop. It is learnt that Kunal Kapoor, camouflaging as a Sikh, had visited the area a few days ago along with the director to decide about the venue of shooting. |
CVO to enquire case
Ludhiana, December 5 It was found that the file related to the matter was never put up before the local bodies department in Chandigarh.
So, director local bodies department, has submitted his case to the chief vigilance officer (CVO) to find out about how the orders reached the MC. As per the information, Sahota’s orders reached the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation (LMC) on November 29 and he took charge as assistant medical officer of health on November 30. When the local bodies department came to know about it on December 1, they immediately contacted LMC officials and told them that no such promotion orders were sent from Chandigarh. MC Commissioner, A K Sinha, said as the CVO is investigating the matter and did not comment on the issue. “But yes, Ashwani Sahota’s promotion orders have been cancelled,” said Sinha. “As per the rules, there is no provision that a chief sanitary inspector can be promoted to assistant medical officer of health in the MC. Even there is no record of movement of any such file,” said an MC official on the condition of anonymity. When contacted, Ashwani Sahota said he was promoted on the orders by local senior bodies department officials. “This has been our long-pending demand and I had personally met local bodies minister, Tikshan Sud, a few days ago, who had said that my promotion case had been cleared. May be now that the particular file has been lost and that is why, I am being blamed for the issue. I have not used any unfair means for getting promotion and now that an inquiry has been ordered, I would fully cooperate with the CVO of the local bodies department.”
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No relief from poor visibility at Sahnewal airport
Ludhiana, December 5 The flights from the Ludhiana airport had started in April last year and since then, the airport authorities have been urging the government to upgrade the airport. Earlier, the flight used to reach the Ludhiana airport in the evening and due to poor visibility in the evening, most of the times, it got cancelled. From November 23, the timings were changed to afternoon as the airport officials were expecting that visibility would be better in the afternoon. Despite the change in the timings, flights are getting cancelled. It is also learnt that the work on DVOR, a device helping in better visibility, installation at the airport is still under process with the under-grounding of 11kv high-tension wires going on. But the airport authorities have said that till the time 66kv high-tension wires were shifted, it would be difficult for the authorities to instal the DVOR device. Last Wednesday, the flight was cancelled as the visibility before landing and take off at the airport was only 1.5 km, while the required visibility is 5 km. “Today, the visibility was 3.5 km and so the flight was cancelled,” said Amrik Singh, manager of Air India at the Ludhiana airport.
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Five days after resignation, Kaler vacates official house
Ludhiana, December 5 The vacating of the house by the former bureaucrat and SAD confidant triggered a battle of sorts amongst police officials and bureaucrats who are trying hard to occupy the house. After vacating the house, Kaler said, "There is no point of staying in the official residence. I am privileged that I was provided the official residence during my tenure as bureaucrat. Now that I have resigned, I have no right to stay in the house. I want to stay with my people in Jagraon and work there." Sources said Kaler vacated the house soon after Sukhbir Badal indicated that the bureaucrat would be a SAD candidate from Jagraon. Punjab Civil Services officer SR Kaler, posted as Additional Deputy Commissioner, resigned on November 31 from the job and expressed his intention to contest election from Jagraon. Kaler was the second high-profile officer to join the SAD coterie after the former Punjab DGP Paramdeep Singh Gill, who is also expected to contest on the SAD ticket from the Moga constituency. He formally joined the party at the rally at Dakha yesterday addressed by CM Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal. Sources said Kaler's joining of SAD was on expected lines. Being posted as ADC, he was focusing on Jagraon as the constituency had been declared reserved after delimitation. From ADC to jathedar
Till a few days ago, Kaler used to refer himself as ADC, but following his joining of the SAD, he is calling himself as jathedar. The former bureaucrat is trying hard to make himself comfortable with his new avtar. "Initially, my friends and known ones laughed at me when I called myself jathedar. I can understand it would take some time for them to get used to my new role as a politician," said
Kaler.
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Residents live in unhygienic conditions
Jagraon, December 5 The area residents have to face a lot of inconvenience due to sewage water flooding the streets of these localities. "Our street reeks of a strong stench that at times is unbearable," said a resident of New Gaushala Road. The areas have become a breeding ground for mosquitoes. The residents of these localities fear an outbreak of an epidemic if the problem is not resolved at the earliest. During a visit to the localities, it was found that heaps of garbage were strewn about. The residents claimed that these garbage heaps had not been lifted for the last many months. Even the MC sweepers did not bother to clean the streets, which exacerbated the problem further, the residents said. According to the area residents, most of the streets of the locality remained flooded with dirty water due to the blockage of the drains. The sewage water also seeps into many houses. "We are forced to live in unhygienic conditions for no fault of ours. Neither the MC employees do the lifting of the garbage nor the sweepers do their job of cleaning the streets," said Ram Kumar Sahota, a local resident. He added, "The dirty water and the garbage emanate a horrible stink. We feel embarrassed when any of our relatives visits us." The residents lamented that though they had raised the issue with the civic body officials a number of times, no effort had been made by the MC for lifting the garbage and cleaning the area. "About a month ago, we had held a protest against the Municipal Council for neglecting our localities. When MC president Baldev Krishan Dhir visited our localities, he assured us that the problem would be addressed at the earliest, but nothing concrete has been done so far," said Mithu, another resident. The nullah that carries the sewage of the city also passes from near these localities, which has increased the problem manifolds. The residents have been demanding from the MC for a long time to cover this nullah, but this demand too has not been fulfilled. When contacted, MC president Baldev Krishan Dhir said the tenders had been floated to lay down interlocking tiles in these localities. Asked about the demand of covering the nullah, he said the MC had asked the government for more funds to cover the
nullah. Threaten to go on hunger strike
The residents of these localities have now threatened that if the MC continues to neglect the demand of cleaning the blocked drains, which has made the lives of the residents of these two localities a virtual hell, they will go on a hunger strike.
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Arms licence seekers to face disappointment
Ludhiana, December 5 As far as the security arrangements for the elections is concerned, the EC officials today held a meeting with all Deputy Commissioners, Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs), Deputy Inspector Generals (DIGs) and Inspector Generals (IGs) of the state at the Circuit House. As per instructions of the EC officials, licences will not be issued till the
time the Assembly elections are over. The EC officials directed the police officials to collect arms from people owing allegiance to political parties. The officials have also sought a list of local politicians who were caught brandishing weapons. The status of 3,156 proclaimed offenders (POs) was also discussed.
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‘Time for layout, preparation of fields for deciduous plants’
Ludhiana, December 5 The experts said the best time for the application of farmyard manure (FYM) and compost to the fruit trees in Punjab was the second fortnight of December. Inorganic fertilisers like super phosphate were also applied along with the FYM, especially, in the deciduous fruit plants like pear, peach, plum, pomegranate etc. "If the growers have not properly covered the young fruit plants till now, they should do so without any further delay to save the plants from frost," cautioned the experts. The dead and diseased wood and criss-cross branches from the bearing citrus trees should be removed during this month soon after the harvest of fruit cops. Informing that the harvesting of malta and grape fruit will be in full swing, the experts emphasised that the fruit should be properly sorted, graded and packed for market. Young nymphs of mango mealy bug should be prevented from crawling up the trunks of mango trees by applying slippery bands one meter above the ground level by middle of December, suggested the experts. To control the citrus canker, the experts stressed that the infested leaves, branches should be cut off and destroyed by burning, said the experts.
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Environment seminar
Doraha, December 5 The teachers spoke on environmental pollution and its ill-effects on health and physical fitness. Dr Brett MayField from the USA was the chief guest and the key note speaker. Arjuna awardee, Olympian Baljit Singh Saini and Dr Jenipha Lauren Nilson, California State University, was the guest of honour. Dr RS Brar from Chandigarh, prof Nishan Singh from Patiala and Dr HS Randhawa from Amritsar deliberated on the theme of the conference. Dr Gobind Singh, conference director highlighted on the targets met by the Indian Association of Health and Fitness and the projects in hand. He elaborated that the health is one important factors that cannot be ignored at any stage, especially in the present day mode of living. Dr “So it becomes extremely important to walk, exercise and meditate, if one has to get over stress and disease,” he added. Sources said around 150 delegates from different states participated in a total of 8 scientific sessions organised in the conference.
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Doraha Girl makes to national basketball camp
Doraha, December 5 Avneet is the only girl to be selected from Punjab. The youngsters called for the sub-junior camp have been chosen on the basis of their performances at the 38th Sub-Junior National Basketball Championship for Boys and Girls in Lucknow in September. The camp will help the players to prepare for the future international exposure matches.
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Stress on increasing pork production
Ludhiana, December 5 Dr V.K. Taneja, vice-chancellor, GADVASU, was the chief guest on the occasion. He said there was a need to increase production and productivity of swine and pork. With the population growing rapidly and more and more consumers upgrading to the middle-income group, the demand for more meat will also rise, compared to starch. Dr Harish Verma of the Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Extension Department delivered a lecture on pig farming in Punjab: constraints and opportunities. Alfred Wahl, president, Polar Genetics Group, gave an overview of the Canadian Swine Genetics industry and how it can work with the Indian market. Parkash Seth and Grant Winton were other speakers on the occassion. Around 100 farmers of the Progressive Pig Farmers Association, Punjab, attend the meeting and interacted with experts regarding new technologies, superior germplasm, nutritional practices and value addition of pork and pork products.
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Farm women given tips on interior decoration
Ludhiana, December 5 These views were expressed by home scientists of the department of family resource management, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), while providing tips to
the farm women and homemakers about interior decoration. They emphasised the need to develop ability to
observe, analyse, collect ideas and make wise purchases while being economical.
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Vision check-up camp
Ludhiana: A two-day vision check-up camp concluded at GN International Public School, Model Town, here on Monday. The camp was conducted for class from VI to VIII class students. The aim of the camp was to check the visions of the students, which is becoming a matter of concern in this age of addiction of computer games and television. "It was noticed that more problem was persisting in girls than that of boys" said the team head Israil Ansari. The students were advised on how to eat balanced and nutritious food. The team of optometrists accompanying also suggested some simple eye exercises to the studens.
GMT boys shine
GMT Public School has won first runners-up trophy in the category of U-16 boys in athletic events. Prashant Sharma of class X won three gold medals in 400m, 800m and 1500m, respectively. Suraj Sharma of class IX won three silver medals in long jump, high jump and Triple jump, respectively. Sajanjeet of class X won silver medal in 200m and bronze medal in 100m. Deepak Nagi of class X won a bronze medal in discuss throw. Prashant, Suraj, Deepak Nagi and Sajanjeet won Silver medals in 4 x 400m. Inderpal won two gold medals in shot put and discuss throw in the U-19 boys’ category. Gagan Puri won the silver medal in long jump in U-19 boys’ category.
MGM organises
talent hunt fest
MGM Public School organised Talent Hunt Fest-2011. The tiny tots showed their talent in singing, dancing, painting, calligraphy, modelling and eloquence. Results: Calligraphy-Group BC-Gursimran Kaur of nursery; Drawing-Group B, Nischay of Nursery B, Group C Japleen Kaur of KGI; Dancing-Group B Rasleen Kaur, Group C (singing)-Kiranpreet, Group-D (Modelling) Riya; Group-D (Eloqaution) Ridhi
GRD academy conducts Sports Day
GRD Academy, Humbran Road, organised its sports day in kindergarten section on Saturday. The day was held near school boating area. Tiny tots took parts in flat jump races, zigzag race & hurdle race, back race, and lemon race. Winners were awarded with gold, silver and bronze medals and certificates.
Power-point
presentation contest
Doraha: An inter-house power point presentation competition was organised at Green Grove Public School. The students of four houses i.e. Gandhi, Tilak, Nehru and Tagore participated in the competition. The themes of the presentation were terrorism, corruption, female foeticide, fast food and drug addiction. The Nehru house presented their presentation on Terrorism. They put forth the threat of terrorism all over the world and the destruction caused by it. The Tilak house students made the audience aware of drug-addiction. They showed the side-effects of the drugs on health as well as on life. The Gandhi house students demonstrated a presentation on female-foeticide. The Tagore house students presented their presentation regarding Corruption. A dance was also performed by the students. The Gandhi House was declared as the winner of the competition. The Tagore House stood second.
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Cop crushed to death
Khanna December 5 As per the information, the villagers were doubtful about a gang of buffalo-thieves that was roaming around their village which they brought into Jaswant’s notice. Jaswant made a group of the villagers to tackle the gang. The villagers found a four wheeler that had stopped on the outskirts of the village and tried to corner the vehicle. The suspected members of the gang tried to flee and run over Jaswant under their four wheeler. Sources said Jaswant’s body was dragged up to 500m. Kuldip Singh, a villager, said the gang of the buffalo lifters was active in their village and periphery areas. The villager also claimed that on the eve of Dasehra, the gang took away 11 buffaloes. He further said that the gang has two women members also who would visit the village and inform their gang members. Later, the buffaloes would be stolen in a four-wheeler. The villagers also alleged that the gang members use some substance to make the villagers unconscious during the crime. The SHO Kashmira Singh Mandi Gobindgarh when contacted said that the deceased policeman was on leave when the incident happened. He further revealed that they had deputed police parties for searching the criminals. The police have registered a case under Section 302 of the IPC against the unidentified persons in this regard. Jaswant made a group of the villagers to tackle the gang. The villagers found a four wheeler that had stopped on the outskirts of the village and tried to corner the vehicle. The suspected members of the gang tried to flee and run over Jaswant under their four
wheeler.
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Two theft incidents in city
Ludhiana, December 5 The incident came to light when owner of Bagga Communication Gurmeet Singh reached the shop and was shocked to find the shutter uprooted. Soon he called the police. He said thieves entered the shop by uprooting the shutter and fled with 25 mobile phones, recharge coupons worth Rs 20,000 and a gold ring. In the second incident, thieves struck at a house in the Hargobind Nagar area and decamped with 15 tola gold ornaments, Rs 25,000 cash and two mobile phones. Harsimranjit Singh (25), a sales executive at Balbir Store in Ghumar Mandi, said the incident took place during the day (December 3) as no one was present in the house. He came to know about the incident when he returned home after work. After receiving the information, the police has registered a case and is investigating.
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Residents stage protest
Amloh, December 5 The SHO Sukhdev Singh said that the police has registered an FIR under Sections 353, 332, 186,
427, 34 of the IPC. The police said that Sections 458, 280, 506, 148 and 149 have also been added against the alleged accused and four other unidentified persons.
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