IN Brief

No decision taken regarding leader of opposition in MC
Congress councillors on Sunday held a meeting with Congress observer for Ludhiana and Gurdaspur Partap Singh Bajwa regarding the selection of leader of opposition for councillors in the Municipal Corporation. Bajwa had a one-to-one meeting with councillors Amrit Varsha Rampal,Shyam Sunder Malhotra and Hem Raj Aggarwal who are the strong contendors for the post. Bajwa said that he will submit his report to Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee chief in two days and the decision will be taken in a week’s time.

‘DOT centres not sufficient to control tuberculosis’
The state-level workshop on the Revised National Tuberculosis Programme (RNTCP) for reviewing the progress of Directly Observed Therapy for Tuberculosis concluded here on Sunday. Addressing delegates,Dr Narotam Dewan,President,IMA Ludhiana,said,“The problem of tuberculosis is very gigantic. In Ludhiana,at least 30 per cent of population comprising migrant labourers is undernourished and living in crowded,unhygienic conditions. The incidence of tuberculosis is at least 25 per cent in our population. Many people become incapable to work and many die off due to this disease. The programme of RNTCP and DOT is not very effective in controlling this problem. The number of DOT centres is quite less. The doctors who have been trained but unable open DOT centres due to technical problems.”

Prize distribution function held
The annual prize distribution function of Guru Nanak Khalsa College for Women,Gujarkhan campus,was held on Sunday where Professor Ved Parkash,Vice-Chairman,UGC,was the chief guest while Amarjit Singh Dua,Director General Education,Delhi Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee,was the guest of honour. The chief guest honoured about 180 prize winners and exhorted them to work hard. Addressing the gathering,Ved Parkash said education alone could empower women.

Budget is anti-Punjab: Badal
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said the annual budget was anti-farmers and anti-Punjab as the Centre had totally ignored Punjab. Badal was addressing a rural gathering at a function organised to commemorate the martyrdom day of Babu Santa Singh at his native village Harion Khurd near Samrala,about 40 kms from here on Saturday today.

Job fest for IT,management students
Quest Infosys Group organised a mega job fest for the students of IT & management courses in Ludhiana. About 14 companies namely Vardhman Industries,Oswal Industries,Mahindra Automobiles,Vishal Megamart,IndusInd Bank,Kotak Life Insurance,Johnson & Nicholson,Saarthi Enterprises,EON Infotech Ltd,Reliance Communications,Kangaroo Industries,Destimony Enterprises,Anagram Capital Ltd,Reliance Life Insurance and OIT Infotech participated in the fest. About 70 students have been shortlisted. Students came from Ludhiana,Mullanpur,Raikot,Doraha,Khanna and Ahmedgarh participated in the placement drive.

Workshop on critical care held
The department of anaesthesia,DMCH,recently organised a workshop on “Perioperative & Critical Care-Trans esophageal Echocardiography” which was attended by a large number of anesthesiologist and critical care experts from the region. Dr PL Gautam,Head,Critical Care Unit at DMCH,highlighted the emerging role of TEE in ICU and during surgical operations. Dr Juan Pulido,anaesthetist,USA,and Dr Andreas Fiehn from Germany delivered lectures on role of TEE in Surgery and ICU. Giving information,the speaker said TEE was an alternative way to perform an echo cardiogram. “A specialised probe with an ultrasound transducer at its tip is passed into the patient’s esophagus to diagnose heart problems. The advantage of TEE is clearer images,especially of structures that are difficult to view through the chest wall echocardiography. TEE can be performed by the anesthesiologist to evaluate,diagnose,and treat patients during the surgical procedure,” he said.