Haryana to set up ENT centre at Panchkula

Chandigarh, July 17 (UNI) Haryana Governor and President of Haryana Welfare Society for Hearing and Speech Handicapped, Dr A R Kidwai has emphasised the need to provide education, treatment, vocational training and counseling hearing and speech challenged children to ensure they grow up as condfident and self-reliant individuals.

Presiding over the Executive Committee and Annual General Body Meeting of the Society here today, Dr.

Kidwai said that latest equipment and best technical personnel should be engaged to impart training and treatment to the specially challenged.

It was revealed in the meeting that a proposal to set up an E.N.T OPD Centre at Panchkula at a cost of Rs 29 lakh had been sent to Health Department. This will prove beneficial for not only hearing challenged persons of the state but adjoining areas like Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh also.

The General Body also approved budget of Rs 3.08 crore for the year 2007-08 to be incurred on the welfare of hearing challenged persons.

The Organizing Secretary of the society, Mr. H.N.

Upadhayaya highlighting the achievements of the Society said that during the year 2005-06 education was imparted to 625 students in six welfare centres at Gurgaon, Hisar, Raipur Rani, Sirsa, Karnal and Sonepat for the hearing handicapped children of Haryana and also adjoining states.

He said that the students were taught the normal syllabus of Haryana Education Board from first standard to 10th standard after 3 years of special training in speech, lip reading, auditory training, gestures and other communication skills with the help of individual or group hearing aids and speech trainer.

Eminent ENT Specialists from AIIMS, New Delhi, PGIMS, Rohtak and PGIMER, Chandigarh examined 2261 patients at various centres for speech and hearing problems. All the centres have ideal testing equipments and rooms for assessing hearing loss and diagnosis of the patients.

On this occasion, the Governor awarded trophies to the Deputy Commissioners and Chairman of the district societies of Gurgaon Rakesh Gupta, Raipur Rani (Panchkula) Mrs Neerja Shekhar and Hisar Mrs Deepti Uma Shankar, for being adjudged the top three centres for collecting maximum funds for the welfare of hearing handicapped children in the State.

District Gurgaon collected Rs.8.31 lakh, Raipur Rani Rs.3.87 lakh and Hisar Rs.2.95 lakh respectively, an official media release said here.

UNI