|
|
|
|
Man killed, wife hurt in accident
Govt health institutions face shortage of rabies vaccine
Digitised birth, death certification process launched in city
Promoters of Sikhism honoured
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Workshop to create awareness on green, social issues
Varsity pensioners flay state govt
Admn recovers 11 rolls of Chinese string
Carols, dance welcome Christmas at Ryan School
Draw of lots for EWS houses
21-day long refresher course concludes at GNDU
City girl wins 2 silver medals in skating
Scandals, controversies haunt health services; dept finds little to cheer
|
|
Man killed, wife hurt in accident
Amritsar, December 24
The incident occurred when a speeding 108 emergency ambulance hit the two-wheeler being driven by the victim, identified as Gurdial Singh, a resident of White Avenue, who died on the spot. His wife, Baljit Kaur, and grandson, Tejas Singh, who were critically injured were taken to a nearby private hospital. They were admitted to the Intensive Care Unit where Baljit Kaur and Tejas were still critical. They have been kept under observation. The police have arrested the driver of the ambulance, Harmandeep Singh, and a case has been registered. According to information, the incident occurred on the busy Majitha road area at about 11.30 pm while the family was returning home from their younger son Manpreet Singh's home who lives in Kashmir Avenue. A relative of the deceased said that Gurdial Singh lived with his elder son in the White Avenue area. “Baljit Kaur had asked her husband to visit Manpreet’s home. Yesterday, they had gone to Kashmir Avenue and were coming back late in the night," said the relative. Harjit Singh, in charge, Majitha road police chowki, said according to eyewitnesses, Gurdial Singh was crossing the divider while the ambulance which was carrying a patient and was coming from the other side at a high speed hit their vehicle. While Baljit Kaur and Tejas fell on the road, Gurdial was dragged along the road by the ambulance. He said a case had been registered while Harmandeep Singh, driver of the ambulance, had been arrested. The authorities of Ziqitza Health Care, the company operating the ambulance service in Punjab, said the ambulance was carrying a patient who required urgent medical attention when it collided with the two-wheeler. “Unfortunately, the rider died on the spot while his wife and grandson were injured. The company was ready to provide all possible help to the injured and their family members,” they said.
|
|
Govt health institutions face shortage of rabies vaccine
Amritsar, December 24 The high number of cases of dog bites can be ascertained from the fact that around 1,707 such cases were reported at Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, associated with Government Medical College here. Given the fact that most of the people who can afford to pay for treatment at private hospitals do not opt to visit government health institutions, the actual number of dog bite cases is much higher. Being the only medical college in the region, people from nearby districts, too, visit Guru Nanak Dev Hospital. However, patients at the hospital said that they were being told that anti-rabies vaccines were out of stock. The Civil Hospital also does not have these vaccines in stock. A patient, pleading anonymity, said, “Not everybody can afford to buy these vaccines from the market. So the government hospitals must always have them." He said that on the one hand the government had announced to provide medicines free of cost at hospitals but these were out of stock. About the stray dog menace, a survey conducted by the MC in 2007 states that there are around 25,000 such canines in the city. The Civil Hospital’s Senior Medical Officer, Dr Balbir Singh Dhillon, said such vaccines were available most of the time, but can be out of stock at a given time. He said they conveyed the volume of stocks to the authorities concerned on a regular basis.
|
|
Digitised birth, death certification process launched in city
Amritsar, December 24
Instantly reacting to the lapses pointed out by the Mayor, MC Commissioner DPS Kharbanda ordered suspension of a clerk, Raj Kumar, on then and there. Meanwhile, the computerised wing was thrown open for the public with a fully degitised processing of issuing birth and death certificates. The non-operational scanning machine, too, invited the ire of the Mayor. The flaws were noticed when the Mayor randomly checked an applicant’s form and found it without the signatures of any verifying clerk. It was mandatory for the clerk to endorse the particulars on the application form and specify under whose name either of the certificates had to be issued. “We had received a number of complaints that the clerks of this wing ask for a bribe to clear the applications. The clerk concerned has been put under suspension. Actually, we have devised the system in a more efficient and a transparent manner through computerisation. This will facilitate issuing of certificates within the stipulated time,” he said. Another lapse which caught the attention of the Mayor was the scanning machine which was not put into service for want of government permission. The Mayor argued that when the permission to make it operationalised had been given in the general house meeting, then there was no justification of for delaying it. This machine was to be utilised to scan the documents submitted by the applicants and then record these in a digitised way. This will have facilitated to keep the records intact once and for all. Others present on the occasion included Senior Deputy Mayor Avtar Singh Trukkanwala, Deputy Mayor Avinash Jolly, Assistant Commissioner Jaswinder Singh, Health Officer Dr Yogesh Arora, Local Registrar, Birth and Death Certificate Wing, Dr Sonia Sharma and Superintendent, Birth and Death Certificate Wing, Ashwani Sehgal.
|
|
Promoters of Sikhism honoured
Amritsar, December 24 Sikh leader from Canada Jagmeet Singh was honoured with the Sikh of the Year Award for his tireless contribution to the protection of human rights. Dr Rajwant Singh from the US was felicitated with Sikh of the Decade Award for his endeavour to create awareness regarding environment conservation. Dr RS Bains was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award for authoring the ''Multimedia Encyclopaedia of Sikhism". Baba Sewa Singh Khadur Sahibwale was also felicitated for his contribution to environment conservation and promoting education. Bhai Davinder Singh Khannewale, Bhai Baldev Singh Wadala, Jarnail Singh, Raja Singh and Satdeep Singh were also honoured in different categories.
|
|
Workshop to create awareness on green, social issues
Amritsar, December 24 Former Jathedar of Takht Sri Damdama Sahib Giani Kewal Singh presided over the function. Delegates of the organisations stressed the need to sensitise the general public towards social and environmental issues. The VASBM Secretary, Jagmohan Singh, said the organisation was a consortium of around 100 NGOs which had decided to work jointly for the cause. Convener of the Amritsar district Deepak Babbar said that the prominent among those participated in the workshop included Mission Aagaaz, Amritsar Vikas Manch, Lok Kalyan Samiti, Savera, Bhai Ghaniya Mission, Jan Kalyan Sangathan, Anti-Crime Mission, Youth Sikh Council. The VASBM has said that it would organise an awareness walk from Ram Bagh here on January 1.
|
|
Varsity pensioners flay state govt
Amritsar, December 24 General secretary of the association Giani Amar Singh spoke about the problems being faced by the pensioners. These included stopping deduction towards commuted pension on completion of time period which should be clearly mentioned in the pension pay orders; an additional pension should automatically be introduced on completion of 65, 70, 75, 80 years of age; LTC should be automatically be transferred in the bank accounts of the pensioners for a block of every two years; and above all, for efficient and expeditious dealing of pension matters, separate, independent and adequately staffed pension cell be created. Dr Inderjit Singh assured to solve the problems of the pensioners on priority basis. He voiced his apprehension that due to cuts in the grants and delay in their release by the Punjab Government, there might be problem in giving pension on time. He further said though the university’s pension fund was better than other universities of the state, it might lead to financial crunch if the Punjab Government did not give adequate and time-bound grants. President of the association Amarjit Singh Bai criticised the policy of the state government towards the pensioners and advocated the need of collective opposition of such policies. Bai demanded from the government to release at least Rs 50 crore grants immediately for the pension fund of the university, and a provision for annual grants of Rs 10 crore in the state budget. He supported the protests and agitations by state pensioners associations in favour of their demands. Dr Parminder Singh emphasised the need of strengthening the pensioners’ association and stressed that it was the duty of every pensioner of the university to come and attend functions of the association. Iqbal Singh Bhullar thanked all the members who participated in the general meeting of the association.
|
|
Admn recovers 11 rolls of Chinese string
Amritsar, December 24 Deputy Commissioner Ravi Bhagat said teams of officials of the district administration and Municipal Corporation had been constituted to keep an eye on the sale of the Chinese string. The plastic Chinese string used for kite flying is causing injuries to the residents and the birds as the thread does not break after coming in contact with the person. The district administration had earlier banned the sale and use of the string in the district and efforts are being made to implement the ban order effectively. Ravi Bhagat said all the police stations in the district too have been issued instructions regarding making the ban effective by registering cases against defaulters.
|
|
Carols, dance welcome Christmas at Ryan School
Amritsar, December 23 Talks were organised on the relevance of Christmas and Nativity Play was enacted along with Christmas Carols that were sung by the school choir. Santa Claus was cheerfully welcomed by the students. Ryanites witnessed a wonderful sequence of events which comprised of Hip- Hop dance, carol singing, ramp walk and many more. Cake and sweets were also distributed among the students. The students of the school had a gala time as it was a day full of activities, fun and frolic. Principal Rajni Kalra wished all the Ryanites Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year. Spring Blossoms kids sing Christmas carols
Christmas, being the favourite of all the winter festivals, was celebrated at Spring Blossoms School with great fervour here today. Children danced to popular songs and sung Christmas carols. Santa kept up the tradition of distributing gifts among children. The school campus was aptly decorated with X-mas bells, trees and balloons. To inculcate the values of sharing and caring and to enliven the spirit of Christmas, children were encouraged to bring a set of old sweater/jacket and a pair of socks. More than 1,500 such sets were distributed among the lesser privileged children of Mother Teresa Orphanage, Citizen Forum Vidya Mandir, Maqboolpura and an institution at Nangali. Principal Anupama Mehra said, “Christmas celebrations not only enliven our spirits but also imbibe in us the values of love and compassion for the entire mankind. Through these celebrations, our endeavour is to inculcate secularism and values of unity and brotherhood in our children, which will lead in building of a prosperous and united world.”
|
|
Amritsar, December 24 Built in the Rasoolpur area, the Mayor handed over allotment letters to 47 beneficiaries, who were present on the occasion. Mayor Bakshi Ram Arora said though the allotment procedure of 89 flats was conducted today, only 47 persons were present who were given allotment letters. “The rest of the beneficiaries can contact us any time with their identification proof to get the allotment letters,” he said. A total of 320 multi-storeyed dwelling units for the EWS strata are being constructed under the BSUP (Basic Services to the Urban Poor) project of the JNNURM. — TNS
|
|
21-day long refresher course concludes at GNDU
Amritsar, December 24 Dean, Academic Affairs, Prof MS Hundal, was the chief guest and director, Research, Prof TS Banipal, was guest of honour at the valedictory session. Prof MS Hundal in his valedictory address lauded the participants for their sincerity, dedication, devotion to make this refresher course a grand success. Talking about the challenges confronting the Indian languages today, he lamented the fact that despite unprecedented advancement in the field of information technology, no keyboard in any Indian language existed till date. The need of the hour was to create software in the Indian languages, he further said. He cautioned against the extensive usage of difficult or alien words in the vernacular languages, as it discouraged the reading habits amongst the younger generation, especially the beginners. Prof Banipal exhorted the teachers to disseminate the knowledge gained in this refresher course. “The purpose of the education is not to churn out white collared students, but to make good human beings,” he said. Asking the teachers to realise the onerous responsibility on their shoulders, he implored them to perform their duty towards the nation with wholehearted dedication, devotion, and to act as role models for the community as a whole. Prof Kawaljit Kaur Jassal of the School of Punjabi Studies and course coordinator expressed hoped that this course must have succeeded in meeting the aspirations of this heterogeneous group.
|
|
City girl wins 2 silver medals in skating
Amritsar, December 24 The first year MBBS student was the solo skater from Punjab in her category. She finished second in 3 kilometer road race and won the other medal in rink race-II (500mt), speed racing. Sonali said over 800 skaters from 22 states of the country had participated in the championship. She added that in the championship held last year, she had won three medals, one each of gold, silver and bronze. On her arrival at the college, GMC principal Dr Karnail Singh congratulated her and wished her success in both medical studies and skating. Sonali’s proud mother Veena Devgan and father Sunil Devgan said the state government should also promote budding players who were excelling in events like bskating. Veena Devgan said while the Haryana government had a policy of giving Rs two lakh for every national level gold and Rs one lakh for every silver medal, there was nothing of the sort in Punjab. In 2011, Sonali had won three medals at the national level including one gold and 2-silvers at a championship held in Viskhapatnam. In the same year, she also won a bronze medal at National School Games Roller Skating Championship held in Delhi. Dr Karnail Singh said Sonali was among the brightest students of the college and equally good in other activities as well. He said that the college also encouraged students to excel in other walks of life besides academics.
|
|
Year 2013 ender Anmeet Singh Gill Tribune News Service
Amritsar, December 24
The unfair purchase of medicines both by the Civil Surgeon’s office and the Government Medical College, wherein those assigned the duty paid almost double the market price, and similar other cases were reported during the year. The first scandal of the year- salary scam came into light in the first week of January as a clerk at Civil Hospital, Baba Bakala, was suspended for embezzlement of Rs 75 lakh, on the complaint of another employee. The month was also controversial for the Civil Surgeon’s office as it remained busy in hushing up a matter wherein a junior employee had accused another employee of asking for Rs 10,000 as bribe on behalf of the Civil Surgeon for issuance of a no objection certificate. The free medicine scheme for patients at the government hospital too was initiated in the same month. However, controversies regarding the availability of stock and its distribution to patients continued to surface. The happiness of the general public was short-lived as the user charges for various services were increased in the month of April. The shortage of funds for operating kitchens at ESI Hospital and Guru Nanak Dev Hospital resulted in their closure for some time. However, release of funds at later stages helped in resuming the services. A controversy regarding empanelment of private hospitals for providing services under the Chief Minister Cancer Fund scheme also erupted as at least four of the total nine hospitals were directly or indirectly managed by family members or relatives of senior officials of the department. Later all other hospitals except Guru Nanak Dev Hospital and Sri Guru Ram Das Institute of Research and Medical Education were removed from the list. The year also brought to light the shocking incident in which a few doctors at ESI Hospital devised a novel way to save themselves from swine flu. These doctors started the practice of not allowing patients to enter their rooms and treated them at their windows. The practice continued for almost one and a half month and was stopped only after it was highlighted in news. The year also witnessed strikes by the department employees on a number of occasions for release of salaries, pay grade anomalies, promotion discrepancies and even transfers. In a big jolt to the medical fraternity, the ministry engineered mass transfers of doctors in the month of June, which was followed by a strike. In another scandal, the department removed two private hospitals from the list of hospitals empanelled under RBSY scheme as they were guilty of fraud. The year also witnessed thefts at health institutions as instances were reported from ART Centre, Bebe Nanki Centre, ENT Hospital and ESI Hospital. On the contrary to all these vexing issues, the extensive drive run by the Health Department during the year brought to light the food being sold by sophisticated and renowned hotels and restaurants was not up to the quality standards. An achievement of the department that marked the year was that it topped among all the districts of the state for delivering maximum amount of cash benefit to cancer patients. In another instance the Union Health Minister Gulam Nabi Azad visited the city to launch National Iron Plus Initiative scheme to fight anaemia among children and adolescents.
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
