The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Chandigarh Stories

NEIGHBOURHOOD

Woman delivers baby on doorstep of hospital
Suman Bhatnagar

Ambala, August 28
In a shocking incident, a 25-year-old pregnant woman, Mamta, was forced to give birth to a baby boy just outside the entry gate of the trauma centre in Ambala city this morning.

Sunita Devi, mother of Mamta, said she had brought her daughter to the trauma centre on a rickshaw after the complaint of labour pain by Mamta at around 9.30 am. The lady doctor on duty was not available so she approached the nursing staff present there who asked her to bring an OPD slip from the main building of the hospital. Sunita being an illiterate could not manage to get the slip and came back empty handed.

Sunita said, “The nursing staff refused to admit her and asked her to sit outside. Having no other option we sat on the bench close to the entry gate.”

In the mean time Mamta suffered severe labour pain and delivered a baby there around 10.15 am, she said. Later, the nursing staff took her to a ward.

Husband of the woman Ravi, who is a labourer, said it was gross negligence on the part of the hospital. It was the first delivery of her wife and this situation could cause life threat to his wife and the baby.

Civil surgeon Dr Vinod Gupta ordered a probe into the matter and said the doctor on duty was busy in an operation case at the time of the delivery.

Farmers get tips on direct sowing of paddy
Our Correspondent

Fatehgarh Sahib, August 28
To promote ‘Direct Sowing of Rice’ (DSR), Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Fatehgarh Sahib, organised a field day seminar at a farmhouse of a progressive farmer, Manjit Singh, at Shampur village today.

Harinder Singh, deputy director, KVK, motivated the farmers to adopt the technology for a brighter future. He apprised them about the main requirements like laser levelling and stale seed bed for DSR. He said with the direct paddy sowing, soil becomes healthy, environment doesn't get polluted and agricultural-based expenditure such as labour also reduces.

Agronomist Dr Maninder Kaur apprised about weeds grown in DSR and laid emphasis on their control. She emphasized on the proper use of Leaf Colour Chart so as to reduce the excessive use of nitrogen in the fields.

Dr Reet Verma, entomologist, made the farmers aware of the diseases and insects affecting the paddy crop and advised the various treatments that can be utilised as remedial measures.

COURTS

Advocate’s murder
Police remand of proclaimed offender extended
Our Correspondent

Mohali, August 28
A proclaimed offender in the case of the murder of a Punjab and Haryana High Court advocate Amarpreet Singh Sethi has been remanded in police custody for three more days. He was produced in a court here today.

The police claimed to have recovered a .32 bore pistol and two live cartridges from his possession. An Indica car in which he had fled was traced by the police.

Kevin Sushant, alias, Richy, was earlier arrested by the Kharar police and later handed over to the Matour police.

He had been declared a proclaimed offender on July 30 by Judicial Magistrate Varun Nagpal.

Lawyer Amarpreet Singh was murdered on February 27 in Phase III a here after a dispute over the parking of vehicles. Some youths living in PG accommodation had allegedly fired at him. Two more persons, Gaganjot Singh and Simarjit Singh, were injured in the incident.

CRIME

Man held for misbehaving with traffic cop

Chandigarh: The police has registered a case against Raj Kumar, a resident of Jagatpura village, in Punjab who quarreled with Head Constable of Traffic police and tore his uniform while he was on duty at a traffic naka near Sector 25-38 roundabout. Accused has been arrested in this case.

Snatching incidents

Parveen Kumar, a resident Saharanpur, UP, has alleged that three-unknown pedestrians restrained and snatched Rs 3,000 and a mobile phone from him from the backside of the Police Lines in Sector 26 on August 27. A case at Sector 26 police station has been registered and investigation is under way. Satbir Kaur, a resident of Phase VI, Mohali, alleged that an unidentified motorcycle rider snatched her purse containing mobile phone, important documents, jewelry and Rs 2,000 near the south end chowk, Sector 35, Chandigarh, on August 27. A case has been registered at Sector 36 police station. — TNS

SPORTS

National sports day
Sports facilities in city in a state of disarray
Deepankar Sharda
Tribune News Service

An ultra-modern gymnasium hall at the Sector 42 Sports Complex. Tribune photo: Vicky Gharu

Chandigarh, August 28
The nation will celebrate National Sports Day tomorrow and so will the City Beautiful. The day is celebrated to commemorate the birth anniversary of the Indian hockey legend, Dhyan Chand, and like every year, the city will celebrate it by organising a cultural evening and awarding meritorious players.

The day is important for motivating sportspersons. But at the local level, it turns out to be more important as this is the only time of the year when both the UT Sports Department and UT Education Department celebrate the occasion on a single platform, keeping aside all their grudges and differences between policies.

As scheduled (this year), the Secretary finance and sports will award the meritorious players, at the Skating Rink, Sector 10, on the occasion. The team of The Tribune has tried to find some of loopholes in local sports.

4 years on, new Astroturf nowhere in sight

When a world-level hockey match is being played on Blue-Pink-colored Astroturf, the city lads are nurturing their skills at the old green-Astroturf. The largest and the only hockey stadium of the City Beautiful, is waiting for the new Astroturf field for the past 4 years. As per information, the life of present Astroturf had expired during the year 2008-09 and since then the officials are working on inviting tenders. The process to review the demand notice inviting tender (DNIT) specifications is not clear to any official of the department. The new turf-blue playing arena with pink border-includes specifications of 2 ball rebound (vertical) mean 100 mm-400 mm, ball roll mean 9 m to15 m, individual tests +10 per cent from mean deviation 3 degree, underfoot friction coefficient of friction 0.6-1.0 individual tests +0. One from mean, impact response 40 to 65 per cent, individual tests +5 per cent from mean, pile pad deformation 40 per cent individual tests +2 per cent from mean, 7 pitch dimensions and markings will be kept in mind, including friction of the turf, ball moving, ball blockade, ball run and water retention, is yet to see the ray of hope.

New indoor court under construction since 2009

The new indoor Basketball Stadium at Sports Complex of Sector 42, the first international standards court of the City Beautiful, is under construction since 2009. The project, passed by the administration, was expected to start functioning during the year 2009-10. The original plan of the UT Sports Department was to organise an All-India Basketball (U-19) Tournament at this new indoor stadium during that year. But due to the incomplete work, the tournament was postponed. The courts are still under construction. The story at the Basketball Court of Sector 7 Sports Complex is no different with the courts waiting to get the synthetic base since the year 2011.

Condition of football and hockey academies is worst

The dream project, to provide local players an edge to perform and make fame (although no local player was admitted in the academy), was launched by Lt Gen JFR Jacob, PVSM (retd), the then Governor of Punjab and Administrator UT Chandigarh during 2000, is facing the worst. The players of Chandigarh Football Academy (CFA) are leaving the academy in between their contract period seeing no future ahead and the authorities have failed to take any step against these players. Notably, out of the 11 playing members, that won last year's edition of the All-India UT Administrator Cup, 10 are unavailable this year as six players have left the academy without even informing the authorities, three are attending the ongoing Indian team camp and recently, a player suffered a knee injury.

On other hand, in the recently concluded SN Vohra Memorial Hockey Tournament, some members of the state-run Chandigarh Hockey Academy (CHA), were declared overage by the panel of doctors. Interestingly, the players, who are admitted to this academy; undergo a proper medical check-up. But the authorities had failed to take a stand for their own academy in this private tournament. The situation became interested when a player of the CHA was declared overage. But his brother, who was two years elder to him, representing Surjit Hockey Academy, was allowed to play in the same tournament.

The players of both the academies are witnessing no tournament or match exposure and also getting served with low-quality kits and equipment.

Claimed expenditure

Annual expenditure on diet and refreshment. Rs 80 per head per day (for 88 players plus 2 officials attached with the academy)=Rs 7,680 and for one year, it will be Rs 26, 28,000

Expenditure on sports equipment for one year (equipment, kits, shoes) Rs 15,000 per inmate and Rs 13, 20,000 per annum.

Miscellaneous expenditures (excursions, audio-video aids and utensil washing) Rs 6, 00,000. Annual expenditure of staff, tutors, tournaments, special diet during tour and tournaments and recurring expenditure on medicines, hair cutting, repair of shoes and sports kit: Rs 8,00,000.

Transportation: Rs 25,000 per annum.

Age-old stadiums still the same

To uplift the standards of sports in order to improve the infrastructure, many new projects have been introduced. But when it comes to maintaining the present infrastructure, the department has nothing to offer. The department has still not woken from the fact that there is a dire need to upgrade the stadiums and gyms of all the local stadiums, including Football Stadium, Sector 17, Hockey Stadium, Sector 18, Sports Complex, Sector 46, and Sports Complex, Sector 7. The proposal to upgrade these stadiums was approved way back in 2008. But no development has been made so far. The layout of the football stadium was prepared 1980-81 while for Sports-cum-Athletics Complex, Sector 46, it was made in 1983-84. The no-cost gyms are in bad condition and players have to try hard to remove rust from the machines situated inside the stadium.

Snippets

Each local stadium has only one water-cooler for players.

No gymnasium hall for general players on the entire premises of Sports Complex of Sector 42. The only hi-tech gym serves the general public (as members) and players only from academies.

The newly built hall for the players of kho-kho, lawn tennis and handball, serves no direct entry for the players of lawn tennis and handball.

No synthetic-track for the athletes

No exposure for the players of Chandigarh Hockey or Football Academy

On the National Sports Day, players holding top three positions in international events are being awarded while the players, who only represented the city in international tournaments, were kept out of the award list.

Many players, who represented at international competitions less than seven teams, are not included in the award list.

The UT Sports Department and Sports Council will honour International Sportspersons, including Shaira Kansal, Kapil, Priyank, Amrinder Singh Sidhu, Navdeep Singh Brar, Sanket Sharma, Nisha, Feroz Singh Grewal, Mukesh and Poonam along with coaches Vikas Shashtri, Rajeev Kaushal, Darshan Lal, on the occasion of the National Sports Day. The ceremony will take place at the Skating Rink, Sector 10 (5.30 pm).