In an interview with ENS here last night, Dr Harbans Lal, who was here to participate in the 12th annual conference of the North Zone Opthamological Society of India which concluded here today, said that phaco surgery was fast catching up and he had already performed thousands of such operations. While he had been performing phaco surgery for the last four years, he had been doing phaco surgery operations without injections for the last about 30 months.

Listing the benefits of phaco surgery, Dr Harbans Lal said that in this case the vision stablises in about two weeks, there is no restriction on activity, no hospitalisation and there is little post operative follow-up required. While in the case of lens implant surgery of the eye, there is generally a restriction of activity for four to six weeks and it takes six to 12 weeks for the vision to stabilise.

Dr Harbans Lal yesterday gave a live demonstration of the phaco surgery to about 100 delegates in the government medical college here.

A 60-year-old female patient suffering from cataract walked in and was briefed on the operation.The patient then lay down on the table. Her eye was cleaned and anaesthetic drops put into it. After making a small hole (about three mm) with a special instrument, the lens was broken into small pieces which were sucked out leaving behind the members to support intra ocular lens. From the same hole, a folding lens was put inside the eye and and it opened up in the eye.

The patient could see immediately after the surgery and there was a thunderous applause from the delegates at the conference. Dr Harbans Lal says the number of patients opting for phaco surgery is increasing because it is very convenient.

Police urged to reorient functioning: Punjab and Haryana High Court Justice H.S. Brar, who is also executive chairman of the Punjab Legal Services Authority, yesterday urged the police force to reorient its functioning.

In a speech before inaugurating the permanent lok adalat at the district courts, Justice Brar said 90 per cent of litigation could be avoided if the police did its duty properly. He urged the police to register FIRs promptly and investigate cases without succumbing to pulls and pressure. Justice Brar said legal aid would be provided in every magistrate's court from next month. He said these councils would provide necessary legal assistance adding application forms for seeking legal aid would be available in the lok adalat office.

The High Court judge said the ceiling of Rs 18,000 fixed at present for applicants bringing their cases to the lok adalat, was too less. He said he would take up the matter at a meeting of the National Legal Services Authority so that more persons could avail of the this facility.

District Sessions Judge K. S. Garewal said the lok adalat would be held at the district courts every Friday from 2 p.m.