Vadoadar Beat

SSG to hold procession on leprosy
The Sir Sayajirao General Hospital is organising a procession on the New Year eve to create awareness about leprosy among the public. The procession will be part of the Leprosy Reconstructive Surgery Programme, 1999, scheduled from January 1 to January 13 at the SSG Hospital. The rally will commence from Sayajirao Gaekwad8217;s statue opposite the Paediatrics ward and will culminate at the Mahatma Gandhi statue opposite Gandhi Nagar Gruh in Raopura. At the end, there will be a public meeting, according to SSG Medical Superintendent Dr Kamal Pathak.

A second late
Director of the S V Patel Planetarium M D Chakraborty has informed that the New Year would arrive a second late this year. In a statement issued on Wednesday, Chakraborty said, 8220;Timekeepers are adding an extra second to the end of 1998 to make up for the gradual slowing of the earth8217;s rotation8221;.

GEB charges
The Gujarat Electricity Board has decided to relax charges imposed on farmers for upgrading or changing transformers. Board chairman Nalin Bhatt said they had received complaints from Dhangadhra, Halwad, Visavadar, Amreli, Porbandar and Palanpur, about damaged transformers; these can now be changed or upgraded by paying eight three-monthly installments.

KV sports meet
The Kendriya Vidyalaya ONGC, Ankleshwar, recently celebrated its annual cultural and sports fiesta. A march past was organised on the occasion followed by a physical training display and dances by the school students.