Bathinda, June 1
In a major breakthrough, the Railway Police Force (RPF) assisted by Railway intelligence on Saturday night arrested Army personnel Raju Ghose (R & O, 668), for allegedly travelling on a forged railway warrant. He was nabbed at Maur Mandi railway station in the dead of the night while travelling from Bathinda to Delhi on the Punjab Mail.

The arrest followed a tip-off from the Army intelligence which was regularly receiving unsubstantiated information about some fake warrant racket active in the Army.

Raju Ghose, who was caught travelling on the warrant in the name of Arjun Tewari, had allegedly scrubbed off the original name and superimposed his name for forging the document. He was thoroughly searched by RPF inspector Mukesh Kumar Pawar and Satpal Malik of railway intelligence and was ordered to get down from the train.

The Army personnel get a free railway warrant every year for going home during vacation and the entire expense by way of fare is borne by the Army.

The Army intelligence was deeply concerned over the reports about misuse of this facility and had written to both the Defence ministry and 
the railways about this and followed the clues and information inputs.

The close coordination between the Army and Railway intelligence and vital inputs provided by the Army finally helped in making a breakthrough and a clear case of forged railway warrant was brought to light.

The Railway Police Force has filed an FIR (701/08) and a case under section 137 and 142 of the RPF has been registered.

Investigations are in progress to ascertain whether it was a solitary case or some organised gang was behind the racket. The Army intelligence wing suspects that the illegal and corrupt practice of travelling on forged railway warrant is not uncommon but how far the tentacles of this malady are spread would be revealed only by further investigations and intense interrogation of the arrested person.

The railway intelligence has highly appreciated the initiative taken by the Army intelligence and credible information supplied about the racket.

Bathinda, june 1
Coronary heart disease has assumed epidemic proportions in northern India, and abysmal lack of awareness is further compounding the problem. According to Rajesh Jindal, an interventional cardiologist and electro-physiologist of Jindal Heart Institute and Infertility Centre, Bathinda, modern lifestyle is an open invitation to heart diseases.

“These days, there’s an imbalance between physical exercise and food intake. A few decades back, women did not have push-button gadgets to do household chores. And men had to sweat it out. Two-wheelers and three-wheelers were a rarity. Cycling was more common than driving. But today, things are very different. And the fast food fad has given yet another unhealthy dimension to the already sick lifestyle,” he says.

Jindal explains that Asians are genetically predisposed to heart diseases. But earlier, the genes were not manifesting themselves because there were hardly any external factors to provide a fertile soil for them to manifest.

To cap it all, he says, patients often come too late for treatment. Mostly, the patients are not aware of the initial symptoms of a heart attack. The overall heart functioning depends on heart muscle, and it’s not easy to resuscitate the dying muscle.

“If the patients consult a cardiologist on time, 95 per cent of the cases can be treated successfully. With each passing hour, the success rate drops, so much so that after six hours, it comes down drastically,” he said, and added that “in case of strokes, too, the warning bell rings at least four-six days before.”

Very few people go in for regular medical check-ups, observed the cardiologist. Either they are simply not interested or they feel they are too busy to be bothered with these ‘inconsequential things’! And even among those few who are health-conscious, awareness is restricted to a few catchwords like lipid profile and cholesterol levels. The holistic approach is missing.

“Also, people need to know that advances in medical field are happening daily. The diseases that were not treatable a few years ago are treatable today,” he says.

About the use of stents, Jindal said medicated stents reduce the chances of blockage at the same spot to a mere five per cent. “In medicated stents, medicine acts locally at the site where the stent is put. This stent doesn’t allow blockage at the same spot in 95 per cent cases.”

However, there should be no compromise on the quality of the stents used, he stressed. “The stents should be safe and effective and in no case should the patients or their relatives opt for sub-standard stents that may cost less,” he adds.

Abohar, June 1
It is wisely said that well begun is half done. But the ruling alliance partners seem to be working against this.

Within minutes of the call given to the aspirants for the municipal council elections by the district BJP general secretary Arun Narang desiring them to submit the applications for respective wards to the block presidents along with Rs 500 as fee (250 in case of Scheduled Castes) latest by June 5, a controversial former council president Babu Ram Arya invited some mediapersons to air his accusations against a senior party worker Thakar Dass Siwan who had outwitted Arya in a show of strength during the BJP’s maiden provincial Dhanak Sammelan recently.

Arya alleged that Siwan had misappropriated huge funds that had been collected under the banner of Ram Natak Sewa Sangathan which was floated in the Arya Nagar locality, dominated by the Dhanak community, about three years back. He exhibited one receipt that indicated that Rs 3,100 had been received from a person even when the Ram Natak season was over. Interestingly, Arya faced uncomfortable queries from none else but from the local scribes of his choice. Arya went on to accuse that Siwan was disrupting harmony in the community and bringing a bad name to the party which stood by its principles.

Reacting sharply Siwan termed the allegations as a bundle of lies. He confessed that collections were made from the public but the same were utilized to arrange food for the families which donot cook meals for twenty four hours after the death of a kin. He claimed that funds were also used for providing medical assistance to some chronic patients of the Dhanak community who were hand to mouth.    

While leveling some serious allegations against Arya, Siwan said his arch rival was trying to defame him to ensure his candidature from the locality in the council elections whereas as president he had become a liability for the saffron party. Arya was perhaps the only president in the history of the local council who faced allegations from his own party leaders and was refused grant in aid for development works due to his alleged “dubious working”, he rued. Thakar Dass Siwan reportedly claimed that the party high command had promised him ticket from the ward in question. This had upset Arya, he lamented.

In an attempt to score a point over its alliance partner, the SAD (B) here hurriedly called a meeting last night to discuss strategy for the municipal council elections. The party resolved to stake claim for 15 seats out of 31 in the council election. The SAD (B) had fielded 4 candidates in 2003 but only one could win with the help of the BJP. Now the BJP at its district unit meeting yesterday resolved to accept applications from the aspirants from June 1 to 5 but the SAD (B) went ahead by collecting applications on Saturday and also fixed June 3 as last date for submitting the applications. Even when the meeting resolved to put 15 candidates, applications were reportedly received from 16 wards on the spot. The applicants included former councillor Harcharan Singh Pappu, Harbans Singh Panjpeer, Dalip Kaur, Sukhwant Fauji, Surinder Aneja, Rajesh Gupta, former councilor Vijay Nagpal, his wife Meena Nagpal and son Sahil Nagpal besides two local newspersons Suresh Satija and Rajinder Soni, sources said. The demand has put the local BJP leadership in a quandary.

Abohar, June 1
A revision in the categorisation of wards for the upcoming municipal council (MC) elections has sparked a blame game between the ruling alliance and the Congress. Both are pointing fingers on each other for “influencing” the administration to make some strategic changes.

According to the information available, wards 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, 14, 16, 18, 21, 22, 24, 25, 28 and 29 have been marked for the general category while the wards 3, 7, 10, 15, 19, 23 and 26 have been reserved for women candidates (general category). Ward number 6 and 30 are for women candidates (scheduled castes). Ward 20 has been reserved for backward classes and 12, 13, 27 and 31 for scheduled castes.

Sources said a former BJP mandal president Suresh Phutela (son of a former MC president Mukand Lal Phutela) could not contest election in 2003 as his ward (number 23) had been reserved for women. This led to the victory of Santosh Baghla, a Congress candidate. Now again, the ward falls in the same category. He too was considered a front-runner for the office of the president, hoping that the BJP would be able to wrest the council from the Congress this time.

Narang families had maintained unchallenged dominance for about four decades in the ward 30. Darbari Lal Narang, Murari Lal Narang and Kashmiri Lal Narang had a long stint as members of the MC.

Among the present generation, Satish Narang served as working president of the council besides winning elections in a row. After his death, his wife Suversha Narang was elected as councillor unopposed in a by-election. Now when her name figured in the panel of prospective presidents, if the ruling alliance was voted to power in the upcoming election, ward has been reserved for the SC women.

Sanjiv Chahar finds a change in his ward 6 as the same had been also reserved for SC women. Leader of the migrants Master Ram Avtar also faces a question mark after reservation of his ward (number 10) for women.

Ward 29 has been put in general category and ward 3 falls in the women category. Ward 17 has been reserved for an SC woman.

Bhagta Bhai Ka (Bathinda), June 1
Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Rajinder Kaur Bhattal today demanded a CBI inquiry into the killings of Congress workers in the district saying the law and order situation in the state was in shambles and criminals were having a field run. “The criminals here have direct links with the Badals and that is why, even the police is hand in glove with them. All that the state government wants is bloodbath and nothing else. We demand that President’s Rule be imposed in the state and the PRI and Gram Panchayat elections be cancelled.”

“So for the upcoming MC and Nagar Council elections, we will be forming ‘Protection Groups’ that would make sure than no hooliganism takes place during the whole process,” Bhattal informed.

Bhattal was speaking on the occasion of the Bhog ceremony of Sham Lal, a Congress worker and business partner of Congress MLA from Rampura Phul Gurpreet Singh Kangar, who was allegedly murdered by Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) leaders a few days back.

Bhattal arrived at the spot with around 12 MLAs, which included one of her trusted lieutenants, Faridkot MLA Avtar Singh Brar. Interestingly, most other MLAs present on the spot, namely, Gurpreet Singh Kangar, Jeet Mohinder Singh Sidhu, Balbir Singh Sidhu, Ajit Inder Singh Mofer, Ajaib Singh Bhatti, Makhan Singh Pakka Kalan, Joginder Singh Panjgrain, Surinder Sivia, belonged to the Capt Amrinder Singh group. However, Congress MLA from Bathinda, Harminder Singh Jassi, was conspicuous by his absence. However, Bhattal had on May 29 appealed to all 40 Congress MLAs to start an agitation against the government from Bhagta Bhai Ka village here, but the number of party legislators who turned up was much less.

Capt Amrinder Singh too kept away from the function. But he is expected to visit Bhagta Bhai Ka village, as MLA Kangar is one of his core strongest supporters.

Challenging the state government, Bhattal said, “If SAD wants to give us a fight in the Malwa area, they should behave like politicians and not like criminals. After these incidents, our party will start a statewide agitation against the government.” However, when asked when and where would this agitation start, Bhattal gave the oft parroted reply, “It’s up to the party high command to decide.”

Cutting across party lines, Simranjeet Singh Mann, president, Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) who also reached there, said, “Badal has been the CM four times. For the first three terms, he behaved normally, but I don’t know what has happened to him now? The law and order situation in the state is out of control now. If the situation does not improve, people will take law into their own hands and militancy will revive in the state once more.”

Both Bhattal and Mann visited the families of other murdered Congress workers at villages Ghaso Khana and Raiyaa as well. At Ghaso Khana, Bhattal asked MLA Talwandi Sabo, Jeet Mohinder Singh Sidhu, to arrange a meeting of the family members of the victims with the Prime Minister. 

Bathinda, June 1
Finalising the list of candidates for the forthcoming Bathinda Municipal Corporation elections is not proving to be a cakewalk for the leaders of ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (B).

Even, the party’s recently-held two meets, aimed at releasing the list of candidates, proved futile. Sources in the party said that there were a number of hitches in releasing the list, mainly internal factionalism.

According to sources, due to Charanji Lal Garg’s demand for the MC ticket for his son Rajan Garg from ward number 12, the SAD (B) leaders had to defer the matter of releasing the list. It is pertinent to mention that the ward number 12 had been allotted to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). One more issue, the number of Hindu and Sikh votes has also been creating hindrances in releasing the names of candidates.

When contacted, the district president of the SAD (B), Sikander Singh Maluka said, “In the last two meetings, Charanji Lal Garg was found adamant. We had offered him to choose any ward in the 28 allotted to the SAD. However, later on, his son himself refused to contest the election and now we would release the list of around 20 candidates, who are non-controversial and the rest would also be announced soon.”

“Everything is clear to the party chief Sukhbir Badal as he is actively involved in the BMC elections and regularly discusses the matter from America,” he added.

Refuting the allegations of factionalism, junior vice-president of the ruling SAD, Sarup Chand Singla, who had remained in news for his anti-Garg statements, said, “There is no factionalism in the party at present and tickets would be given only to them who are capable of winning; more importantly personal liking of anyone is not going play any role in this regard.”

On his part, Charanji Lal Garg said, “It was not my demand, in fact it was an offer given by the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and the general secretary of SAD Balwinder Singh Bhunder. I also floated the idea, but now my son Rajan, himself has decided not to contest the election terming it as below his level, as he is the district in-charge.” “Only ward number 12 was not the issue, there are several other issues which are yet to be settled, he added.

When he was asked about his absence from the press conference held on Friday, he said, “I was not invited for the press conference but the invitation was only for lunch, which I tuned down.”

Meanwhile, it has also been reported that several ‘strong’ SAD candidates, who could not get tickets, due to their wards being allotted to the BJP, would contest from there independently.

Bathinda, June 1
As the filing of nomination papers for the Bathinda Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections is in full swing, aspirants for the party tickets are leaving no chances to campaign. Political heavyweights of all parties, not only from neighbouring Haryana, but also from neighbouring districts in Punjab, are camping in the city to ensure victory at all costs.

After all, the stakes are high for the ruling SAD-BJP combine, which wants to gain power in the local body here. Senior leaders of all political parties, who have been camping in Bathinda since the notification of MC polls here, are leaving no stone unturned to ensure that the alliance gets a clear majority this time.

It is not without reason that Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal, too, have decided to descend here in the days to come to seek votes for the party and the alliance partner BJP.

Though this is the first election to the local body since its formation, all three major political parties are fielding candidates on party symbols.

Kamal Sharma, state general secretary of the BJP, who had convened a meeting of party workers here on Saturday, said that he had asked the aspirants seeking party ticket for MC polls to submit their applications by June 1and the names of the candidates would be made public on June 5 after having consultations with the party high command, he added.

He further said that while distributing party tickets, aspirants with a clean image would be given preference. SAD and BJP would have a common manifesto this time, Sharma added.

Reminding of development works, carried out by the Akali government in Bathinda since coming to power in the state, Sharma did not forget to promise that Bathinda would be developed as number one city in the state.

It seems that each party is keen to woo the voters and treat these elections as a litmus test to gauge their popularity. 

Bathinda, June 1
Two students from Bathinda have excelled in Punjab School Board Class XII examination securing 21st and 94th positions in the state.

Kiratpreet Singh of local SSD Senior Secondary School was placed 21st in the merit securing 90 per cent marks while Harpreet Singh of Baba Farid Institute got 94th position with 86 per cent.

Kiratpreet who wants to become a doctor worked hard to earn the rank and used to study for ten hours. His mother said besides interest in cricket, Kiratpreet is district level table-tennis player and fond of dance and music.

Harpreet took the examination in a stride and was not unduly concerned about his rank. Obsessed with cricket, Harpreet is fully enjoying the IPL matches but missed the final as he along with his parents, was invited by the staff and Management of Baba Farid Institute.

He said that mock tests and sample papers were of great help to him in preparing for the examination.

Interested in creative writing, Harpreet is good at writing essays but he did not have any coaching or tuitions for the examination and prepared with the help of the teachers and self study. Aspiring to be an Engineer, he was confident of getting admission in AIEEE. But Baba Farid Institute has not only offered him a seat in their Institute but also free education for the entire course, said Gurmeet Singh Dhaliwal, MD of the institute.

Bathinda, June 1
It is an exercise aimed at bringing the best out of underprivileged and needy students. In a major move to give wings to the career dreams of children belonging to economically weaker sections of society, the Punjab government has prepared an action plan to start coaching classes for them free of cost.

For this purpose, an amount of Rs 10 crore has already been earmarked. The state government has also decided to set up a helpline to provide counselling and guidance to students in order to boost their academic performance.

According to the action plan, underprivileged students from Classes IX to XII will be provided extra coaching. Also, special classes would be conducted to help them prepare for various entrance examinations like PMT, CET and AIEEE. The Director Public Instructions (Schools) will invite applications through school principals and then identify beneficiaries on the basis of the candidate’s economic, social background and academic performance in the lower examination.

Initially, coaching would be imparted at government high school level, said sources. “The move would enhance academic potential of children lacking support at home and provide them a better opportunity to realise their goals,” said Kiranbir Singh, a senior education department official, while talking to The Tribune. It would also help students from all backgrounds compete for admissions and jobs on an equal footing, he added.

The plan was prepared at a meeting held in connection with the implementation of the recommendations of a sub-committee on education. Dr Kanwarjit Singh, DPI (Colleges), and Jagtar Singh, DPI (Secondary), were part of the sub-group.

Bathinda, June 1
Eighty per cent of the marriages break up because of interference of either parents or in-laws, found the TNS while seeking views of the city-based counsellors.

“We receive about three to four cases of broken marriages in a month and 80 per cent of disputes are because of the interference from the parents’ side,” informs Anu Pathania, a counsellor with the Society for Social Health here. “Money is the reason behind most of break-ups. For which, in-laws interfere in the happy life of couples leading to disputes among the couples.”

A growing generation gap is another key cause of splits. Counsellors with the Women and Child Support Unit inform, “A transition is on. Women are educated, but in-laws still have a traditional mindset. They keep a constant tab on what their daughter-in-law wears, what she eats and where she goes. This causes arguments and disputes.”

“In fact, in many cases, the girls’ parents become over-protective and interfere in the married life of their daughters, which ends up in a break up,” affirms Piyush Mittal, a counsellor with the Society for Social Health.

The Society has received around 10 cases of marital maladjustment during the past four months. Main causes included personality differences, interference of parents, extra marital affairs, alcohols, drugs and economic problems.

Though it is very difficult to change the mindset of parents but counselling sessions are being provided to the affected couples. This help them understand when and how to maintain an appropriate involvement of parents.

Bathinda, June 1
As most of the posts of district drug inspectors in the state are lying vacant, the present lot of eight drug inspectors is reportedly ‘overburdened’ as they have to function as assistant public prosecutors in cases of samples collected by them from the shops of chemists and druggists. Therefore, their primary work of checking sub-standard drugs and intoxicants has been suffering in a big way as they are performing their duties in more than one district.

In the capacity of assistant public prosecutors, they not only file the cases in the courts but also conduct proceedings on behalf of the prosecution side. Apart from appearing in the court of chief judicial magistrates and sessions courts, sometimes they also appear in the High Court. As a result, they have to spend a lot of time in the courts.

And since the drug inspectors are overburdened, the state health department seems to be ‘unable’ to check the menace of sub-standard drugs, besides facing great problems in checking the growing sale of drugs in the form of intoxicants in the state, especially in rural areas, by unregistered medical practitioners or unauthorised chemists.

For example, the drug inspector posted at Bathinda is also looking after Patiala and Muktsar districts while the drug inspector posted at Ropar is covering Nawanshahar district.

It is learnt that the monthly quota for collection of samples from chemists’ shops is also fixed for the drug inspectors. It is 15 samples in big districts and 10 samples in small districts.

Meanwhile, Dr Jatinder Mittal, a member of the state drug advisory committee, said that at the first meeting of the committee last year, the government was urged to fill up the vacant posts of drug inspectors immediately, but to no avail so far.

Expressing concern over the vacant posts of drug inspectors, he said shortage of drug inspectors was also hampering the process of checking the sale of spurious and adulterated drugs in the state.

Bathinda, June 1
Members of the Bathinda Chamber of Industry and Commerce alleged that the Punjab government was meting out step-motherly treatment to the small-scale industries in Punjab.

Addressing a press conference here today, president of the chamber Joginder Singh demanded that the government should intervene and solve the problems being faced by the allottees of Bathinda industrial area here. General secretary Parvesh Jindal said the area had been completely ignored for the past three years and all efforts to improve the situation had failed.

The members said the industries here had not been allowed to construct residences within the premises as was allowed to industries in other districts. They demanded that the government should have a uniform policy regarding this.

They added that the roads in the industrial area were narrow and electricity poles were set up in a haphazard fashion. There was also a severe shortage of water.

Abohar, June 1
A resident of village Alamgarh was allegedly stabbed in the presence of the police at the Nehru Memorial Civil Hospital here on Saturday. The victim, Duni Chand, said he had visited the hospital to learn about the condition of his sons, who were allegedly assaulted by neighbours last night following a dispute over use of canal water for irrigation.

As per complaint, the neighbouring farmers attacked Sohan Lal, Subhash Chander and Vijay Kumar with sharp-edged weapons and chased them as they tried to take shelter in an orchard while taking advantage of the darkness. During the melee, the culprits fired in the air also. The culprits later reached the civil hospital and beat the injured persons with lathis before getting them admitted to hospital with injuries allegedly sustained in scuffle.

The police rushed to the hospital. But even in its presence, one of the miscreants stabbed Duni Chand, who had come to know about the condition of his injured sons. The incident created panic among other inmates and they were seen rushing helter-skelter, sources said.  

Later, the police took six persons in its custody but their formal arrest was not confirmed.

The hospital had turned into a combat zone on several occasions earlier also and the setting up of a police post at the hospital with four cops, failed to check the recurrence of such incidents, the staff regretted.