Bathinda, June 6
The police has arrested 15 persons from areas under the Cantonment, Canal, Thermal, Kotwali and Civil Lines police stations with nearly 50 kg of poppy husk.

Two of the accused, Gurmel Singh and Ajmer Singh, were found carrying 5 kg of poppy husk near NFL Colony and were arrested by the cops deployed at the Thermal police station. Jeet Singh of Tungwali was also arrested for possessing 2 kg of poppy husk by the Thermal police. Bikkar Singh and Thana Singh were spotted carrying 5 kg of poppy husk near Bhai Ghanaiya Chowk by the Thermal police. Different cases under sections 15, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act was registered against the accused at the Thermal police station.

Gawa Singh and Darshan Singh of Bhalaiana village were arrested from near TV Tower for carrying 6 kg of poppy husk by policemen from Civil Lines police station. The police also arrested Gurnam Singh of Gill Patti and Bullet Singh of Mansa with 6 kg poppy husk from near Bhatti road. They have been booked under sections 15, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act at the Civil Lines police station.

Canal Colony police arrested Sukhminder Singh of Baba Deep Singh Nagar, Balwant Singh of Guru Nanak Pura, Hari Chand of Parasram Nagar and Jagjit Singh of Tezab Factory Wali Gali with 15 kg of poppy husk.

Police said the accused were carrying poppy husk in a Toyota Qualis car which was intercepted near Dabwali road. They were arrested and cases were registered against them at the Canal Colony police station.

Darshan Singh of Poohla village and Jagga Singh of Chak Bakhtu village were arrested by the Cantonment police for carrying 4 kg of poppy husk. They were arrested from near Patel Nagar. Cantonment police also arrested Jagsir Singh, Jagjit Singh and Sinder Singh, all residents of Behman Diwana village. They were arrested with 3 kg of poppy husk from near ITI Chowk. A case under sections 15, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act was registered against them.

Bathinda, June 6
Two doctors, including a private doctor, Vivek Jain, and a former Civil Surgeon, Hukam Chand, have been told to pay Rs 6.13 lakh as compensation to a Moga-based family for allegedly causing the death of a woman due to negligence.

The quorum of Consumer Disputes Redressel Forum - the president Vikramjit Kaur Soni, and a member Sukhwinder Kaur - ordered the compensation after listening to the arguments of both the parties.

In a joint complaint, the deceased woman's husband and five children said their patient, Satwant Kaur, was admitted to the Vivek Jain Hospital at Pukhraj Colony in Bathinda with abdominal pain. During preliminary diagnosis and laboratory tests, it was found that she had stones in her gall bladder and Dr Vivek opined that operation for removal of gall bladder (cholesystectomy) was required.

Lakhwinder Singh, the woman’s husband said the doctor assured to operate his wife at his hospital and charged Rs 14,000. Satwant was operated on May 31, 2012.

Despite the doctor’s assurance of successful operation, Satwant complained of nausea, vomiting and pain. She remained at the hospital from May 31 to June-3 but her pain did not subside and the doctor said vomiting was also a sign of successful operation, Lakhwinder claimed.

He accused the doctor of forcibly discharging Satwant Kaur on June 3, 2012, and refused to hand over the medical file and surgical notes despite requests.

Later, Satwant was admitted to the Astha Hospital at Moga where she remained for seven days but failed to recover. She was further taken to the Christian Medical College & Hospital,

Ludhiana, where she underwent CT Scan, laproscopy and other tests. She was hospitalised there for 22 days.

The Ludhiana doctors informed the family that during the operation performed for the removal of gallbladder, common bile duct (CBD) was either cut or injured and the drain also leaked due to which bile fluid and waste fluid collected or entered the abdominal parts of Satwant’s body. It caused infection and poisonous substance in the body. The family then took her to the PGI, Chandigarh, where she died after three days on July 5, 2012. The family claimed that they had spent over Rs 5 lakh on her treatment in Bathinda, Moga, Ludhiana and Chandigarh.

Demanding Rs 17.5 lakh as compensation, including Rs 5 lakh incurred on medical expenses and Rs 50,000 on litigation, the family alleged that even as he was an anesthetist, Vivek Jain performed the operation, which led to her death.

The doctor’s counsels however in their separate replies denied the charges and claimed that the reason of death could not be ascertained and the woman might have died due to surgical intervention by other doctors and various other reasons.

While Dr Vivek Jain stated that he only assisted Dr Hukam Chand Garg in the operation, the latter said he did not conduct the operation but assisted the former.

They denied charges that the patient's health deteriorated after the operation. The doctors apprehended some surgical intervention at the Moga hospital.

They claimed that there was no sign or symptom indicative of any injury to CBD during operation, immediately after operation and during her stay in the hospital or at the time of discharge.

The doctors' counsels argued that the complainants have not produced even the death certificate issued by the PGIMER, Chandigarh.

The Forum observed that both the doctors were unclear as to who performed the operation. It also observed that Dr Jain was an anesthetist and not qualified for such a major surgery. The Forum directed Dr Vivek Jain to pay Rs 5,03, 600 as medical expenses, Rs 50,000 as compensation along with Rs 5,000 as cost of complaint. Dr Hukam Chand Garg has been directed to pay Rs 50,000 as compensation and Rs 5,000 as cost of complaint.

The amount will be paid to all the complainants equitably. In case of non-compliance of order within 45 days the amount of the compensation will yield interest at the rate of 9 percent per annum from the date of the order till its realisation.

Counsel for Dr Vivek Jain said they would challenge the decision in the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum as there was no negligence on the part of his client.

Bathinda, June 6
City girl Ashim Garg is among several students from Bathinda district who have passed the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for undergraduate courses with flying colours.

The NEET was conducted on May 5 at various centres across the city.

A student of the St Xavier’s Convent School, Ashim Garg stood first in the district and grabbed 36th position in the state. Scoring 588 marks out of a total of 720, she also secured an all-India rank of 309.

Speaking to Bathinda Tribune, Ashim Garg said she had never expected such a good result. "I used to study for seven-eight hours everyday but I was not expecting to be the topper in the district," she said. Ashim had scored 92.6 per cent marks in the CBSE Class XII examination and was the topper in the medical stream in her school.

The daughter of a pharmacist and a housewife, Ashim said she had always dreamt of becoming a doctor. "In fact, this is my father's dream. He always wanted me to be a doctor and I also started thinking about the same. I want to study in a Delhi college and then become a radiologist," she said.

Another student of the St Xavier's Convent School, Khushpreet Kaur, scored 492 marks in the NEET. Khushpreet, who topped the medical stream of the Common Entrance Test (CET) conducted by the Panjab University, grabbed the 217th rank in the state and an all-India rank of 3,463.

The CET is conducted for the states of Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Chandigarh.

While Balraj Singh, a resident of the Bathinda Cantonment area, secured the state rank of 156, Shriya Garg of Sangat Mandi has been ranked 291st in the state. Gurkirat Bakshi of Bathinda was placed at 355th position in the state. Rifika of Rampura Phul and Shivam of Barnala were placed at 502 and 631 positions, respectively, in the state.

The students, who aspire to be doctors, are now awaiting the result of the entrance examination conducted by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). The result is expected to be announced on July 1.

Bathinda, June 6
Residents of the Green Avenue, situated opposite the Rose Garden here, have urged the Municipal Corporation, Bathinda (MCB), to take over their colony at the earliest so that it could be provided adequate maintenance just like any other colony in the city.

Built over 15 years ago, the colony is a part of the scheme of the Improvement Trust along with the Tagore Nagar. As per the rules, the MCB should have taken over the maintenance and building control of the colony after five years of its development, but it has not happened.

Area municipal councillor Dr Raj Kumar Garga, who has raised the issue several times in the general House meeting of the MCB, said, "The Improvement Trust has already developed roads, laid sewers and drinking water pipes and provided street light facility. But due to lack of funds and commitment, the Trust is unable to maintain the colony."

He added that while the city's potholed roads were being repaired these days, there was no plan for addressing a similar concern in the Green Avenue. "We want the MCB to take it over immediately so that the colony does not remain bereft of adequate development," he added.

Already, the issue of handing over the colony to the MCB has been passed in the meeting of the Trust. In 2004, the Trust had approved that the colony should be passed on to the MCB for maintenance and building control development under Section 55 of the Punjab Town Improvement Trust Act 1922. The colony has 95 houses and an office of the Food Corporation of India (FCI).

When contacted, municipal commissioner Uma Shankar Gupta said a joint survey would be conducted to ensure that the colony had been properly developed. Officers of the MCB and the Trust will conduct the survey. "Once it is done, we will take over the colony within a month," he said, adding that no colony could be taken over as long as civic amenities have not been completely developed there.

Fact file

* President of the union Sunil Kumar Garg said there are a total of 210 rural pharmacists, veterinary pharmacists and class IV employees who are working on contract basis.

* The rural pharmacists were employed in 2006. They are given a mere Rs 7,000 per month and are hired on annual contract basis, the union leader said.

* The union says it is not demanding immediate regularisation. It just wants the government to give complete pay scale immediately.

* The union has already held an agitation at Chandigarh and had burnt an effigy of the Punjab government in other cities. 

Bathinda, June 6
An interactive session on vector-borne diseases like malaria, dengue, chikungunya, Japanese encephalitis, Kala azar and filaria was held at Adesh Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (AIMSR), Bathinda.

Speaking at the event, principal of the medical college, Dr Harkiran Kaur, said vector-borne diseases are responsible for 1.6 per cent of India's total disease burden and the country contributes about 70 per cent of malaria cases in South East Asian Region of World Health Organisation (WHO).

In Punjab, there has been a reduction in the number of cases of malaria from 2,494 in the year 2008 to 1,698 in the year 2012, but cases of falciperum malaria increased from 38 in the year 2008 to 43 in 2012. Similarly, outbreaks of dengue are being reported from most parts of the country.

In Punjab, recent dengue outbreaks were reported in 2008. As many as 4349 cases had come to light. There being no specific treatment or vaccine for dengue, the mainstay is adoption of preventive measures.

Dr Gurdeep Singh from the community medicine department said the National Vector Borne Diseases Control Programme, started in 2003-04, brought the management of vector-borne diseases under one umbrella and integrated it with the National Rural Health Mission to maximize the benefits.

Dr AK Maria, head of the department of medicine, who is an expert at managing cases of falciperum malaria, said the drug chloroquine has been the mainstay of treating malaria for decades. This cost-effective and safe drug has now become ineffective because of resistance by the parasite.

Dr Gagandeep Singh Grover highlighted the main features of the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP). He said that early detection and prompt treatment is one of its key strategy.

Civil Surgeon Dr Ajay Sahni stressed upon the need to adopt strategic approach to curb malaria morbidity and mortality by the year 2015.

Dr Avtar Singh Bansal said Adesh Hospital is fully equipped for management of cases of dengue and malaria.

Dr Tanvir Sidhu conducted the proceedings.

Bathinda, June 6
City-based sand and cement sellers today opposed the ban on the entry of vehicles containing sand. A meeting in this regard was organised by the sand and cement sellers at the grain market wherein they opposed the move to sell the construction material at a dump in Transport Nagar.

The government has decided not to allow the entry of vehicles containing sand and cement products in the city and the same could be purchased from the dump situated on the outskirts of the city. The sand and cement sellers, while expressing their anguish over the decision, said they would oppose the decision. They also held talks with Deputy Commissioner KK Yadav and IGP Nirmal Singh Dhillon in this regard but it failed to yield any result. — TNS