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Combating AIDS stigma
IOC venture |
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Oral polio vaccine for kids of migrant labour
Side-effects of development:
Residents at receiving end
30 metres in 3 months: A view of the dug up patch between Hanuman Chowk and Fauji Chowk in Bathinda. —Tribune photo by Kulbir Beera
Gold stolen
PU stand leaves students in lurch
Students constitute union, threaten to intensify agitation
Canal breach creates havoc
A 70 feet breach in the Malukpura distributory canal near Abohar flooded 300 acres of land in village Dhaba Kokrian on Sunday. — Photo by Raj Sadosh
Dera followers in BJP fold
MC polls face revocation
Foes turn friends
Rs 14-cr for Moga facelift
DRDA staff to stage protest
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Combating AIDS stigma
Bathinda, July 6 Nails polished and arms waxed, Preety could be mistaken for a woman. In fact, he thinks he is a woman trapped in a man’s body. Eyelids aflutter, he is all self-confident and assured, no more hiding behind his illness. Now a counsellor for homosexuals in the State AIDS Control Society (SACS), he says: “I have gained respectability in my social circle. I walk with my head held high. This is all thanks to my new role. It has changed my life for ever.” But as he goes back in the dark alleys of his past, the smile vanishes and the triumphant youth suddenly turns into a whimpering child. “I was raped at the age of 10 by my cousin, but I couldn’t confide into anyone as my family was already troubled by poverty. And there was my stepmother to handle. It went on like this, one exploitation after the other. First it was the tenant at home, then a lawyer’s son who abducted me and sexually assaulted me for more than a week.” As tears roll down Preety’s cheek, Anurag, another HIV positive man, offers him solace. A school dropout, Anurag’s tale is as tragic. A recent medical report showed him with the deadly virus and his life went haywire. “After I came to know of my status in one of the tests, I was aghast. But the role as a counsellor for HIV positive people has come as a silver lining in my bleak life.” Yogesh, a shopkeeper, also feels both empowered and ennobled in his role as counsellor. “I not only know the importance of safety in such relations but also disseminate urgently required information to others in our community,” he says. SACS, which stood like a rock and instilled self-esteem in all three men, has transformed their lives in more ways than one. Through a project, “Targeted Intervention”, funded by SACS and implemented by the Servants of People’s Society, such embattled groups have been made self-reliant. Project coordinator Kameshwar Chopra said: “The plan to allocate them a place where they can make and sell their products is in the final stages. We also are moving towards creating self help groups amongst them, something that will aid in the empowerment. Soon, they will be allocated free ‘poor card’, where they will be paid for transportation and counselling.”
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IOC venture
Bathinda, July 6 With hike in fuel prices deterring people from using vehicles, Indian Oil Company (IOC) is going to cater to the region with autogas, which would approximately cost Rs 39.57 per litre, from its unit in Bathinda. Owner of the said pump, Paramvir auto fuel station, located at a distance of 10 kms from the city on the Bathinda-Chandigarh highway, Laddi Sukhmander Singh, said it would be the first such pump in this region and the project would cost more than Rs 50 lakh, but the whole amount is being spent by the IOC itself. “We are hopeful of inaugurating the pump this month,” he added. Officials of the company involved in setting up the plant said the tank would be of 10,000 litres capacity but as part of the safety measures there is a valve which would allow filling up to 85 per cent of its total capacity. To ensure the safety of vehicles and complying with the motor vehicle rules, the nozzle of the gas pump would only be inserted in company fitted authorized kits. Moreover, the filling in car kits would also be to the maximum of 85 per cent of their capacity. The pump would cater to commuters from various districts namely Ferozepur, Mansa, Muktsar, Bathinda, Faridkot and Barnala. To confirm the feasibility and response of the public, when Ranbir Singh Tut, owner of Amar Highway Filling station located on the Jalandhar-Ludhiana highway, who was the first to launch such pump in the state, was contacted, he said, “Sensing the heavy demand of people, many car companies have started fitting in built LPG kits.” But to promote the autogas, the government will first have to be strict towards the use of domestic LPG in vehicles in unauthorised way.
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Oral polio vaccine for kids of migrant labour
Bathinda, July 6 He said the department had geared itself fully to administer polio drops to children of 170 migrant families in the district, who were below the age of five years, as per the WHO guidelines. In Bathinda, about 16,000 migrant children would be administered polio drops in the next two days, he said, adding that 69 teams, comprising 16 supervisors, nine block supervisors and seven observation supervisors, were looking after the campaign. Sixteen mobile teams were pressed into service and door-to-door campaign for would be conducted on July 7 and July 8, Ajitpal said. — TNS |
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Side-effects of development:
Residents at receiving end
Bathinda, July 6 The administration has turned a blind eye to the woes of the people and the situation has becoming so disgusting that the shopkeepers in the area are thinking of pulling down the shutters. The shopkeepers rue that the local authorities had assured that the work would be completed by the end of August but so far only 30 metre long pipeline had been laid. If the work continued at the same pace, the people would be forced to suffer this agony at least till the end of the year. The obstruction caused due to ongoing work, is causing frequent traffic jams and minor accidents and more than half a dozen people fell into the trench during the recent waterlogging on two occasions. The area is surrounded by schools and it is difficult to find one’s way during morning and afternoon when schools open and close. The office-goers are also a harried lot as sometimes the traffic jam continues for hours and they gate late for the office. Jatinder Singh, who runs his clinic in the area, says that his business has come down by fifty per cent. This was no facility or relief but only harassment, he added. Harbant Singh and Raj Kumar, both having shops in the area, complained that tardy progress of work had
virtually ruined their business. For half the time the roads remained closed, the passage was filled with heaps of debris and power supply was available only for one and a half or two hours, they rued. The shopkeepers said that in case the corporation was not capable of finishing the work on time, it should hand over the work to them and they would deliver. A worker present at the site said that the progress on the work was slow as labour was not available. Some shopkeepers alleged that the munipal corporation authorities were hand in glove with the contractor and were not pulling him up to finish the work on time and provide some relief to people. Despite several attempts, municipal commissioner K.K. Yadav could not be contacted. |
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PU stand leaves students in lurch
Bathinda, July 6 The M.Phil degrees through distant education programme of these universities are recognised by the UGC and the Association of Indian Universities (AIU). Registrar of Algappa University R. Dandpani took up the matter with Panjab University, but the university replied in the negative. Another student from Sirsa, Jaipal, was told by the university authorities that M.Phil by distance education was not recognised. Algappa University has been given “A” grade by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), an autonomous body established by the UGC for grading universities on the basis of infrastructure and academic standards. The Panjab University plea that it had not recognised M.Phil degree through distance education so far is untenable as the matter regarding recognition of degrees falls under the purview of the UGC. The university’s refusal to recognise such M.Phil degrees has put a question mark on the career of aggrieved students who want to pursue Ph.D, a spokesman for the students said here on Sunday.
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Students constitute union, threaten to intensify agitation
Malout, July 6 The M.Phil degree holders through distance education assembled here today to express their resentment and anguish and elected Jaspal Singh as president to lead the agitation. The convention attended by M.Phil degree holders from various parts of the state decided to boycott the Panjab University senate elections and further intensify the agitation if the university failed to accept their demand. Addressing the convention, Jaspal Singh said that it was intriguing that while the University Grants Commission (UGC) and Association of Indian Universities had permitted the universities to start M.Phil through distance education and recognized the degree, the Panjab University was acting like a “Super UGC” and flouting the guidelines of the apex regulatory body. |
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Canal breach creates havoc
Abohar, July 6 Fazilka SDM Rajiv Prashar along with irrigation department executive engineer Bhagwant Singh Werad and other available local officials visited the site A farmer from village Raipura, Parmod Bishnoi, told the visiting newspersons that some one had cut a small part of the brick-lined sidewall during the wee hours and the spade, suspected to have been used for the purpose, was found abandoned near the site. A junior engineer Sukhdev Singh said that the dry top of the wall indicated that it was not at all overflowing and no breach had occurred at the present site earlier. The discharge of water from the Sirhind feeder and Muktsar-based Sotha head was suspended resulting in the reduction of water flow to about 50 per cent by the afternoon. Efforts to plug the breach would be started by Monday after a complete suspension of the supply. |
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Dera followers in BJP fold
Abohar, July 6 Interestingly, the panchayat in the past had been under exclusive control of the Congress or Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal). The local gurdwara management here is headed by the Congress workers, who had raised obstacles in 'Naam Charcha' by the Dera followers. The latter resolved to field five "Premis"(Dera followers) in the recent panchayat elections. All of them emerged victorious by polling about a thousand votes out of 2,500 total votes. With the help of an Independent today, they elected Hardev Singh, a Premi, who alone had polled 273 votes. Four Congressmen and a SAD (B) member of the panchayat formed the opposition. The BJP leadership today offered moral and logical support to the followers of the Dera at a meeting held at Hardev Singh's residence. The panchayat members, who were offered siropas by former BJP MLA Ram Kumar Goyal at the function, included Hardev Singh, Nachhattar Singh, Krishan Lal, Jamuna Devi, Ramandeep Kaur and Vidya Devi. Goyal assured all kind co-operation to continue 'Naam Charcha'. He himself had become a 'Premi' in 1994 and was convinced that the followers of the Dera had played a vital role in making people teetotallers besides fighting against social evils. District BJP general secretary Arun Narang said, "We will support the freedom of worship even at the cost of annoying our partner (SAD).” Zila Parishad member Sita Ram Telupura, district BJP vice- president Om Parkash Kataria and spokesman Om Parkash Kaushik also appreciated the social work done by the Dera followers in the village, which included construction of classrooms in the Government Elementary School and marriages of the needy girls. Harjit Singh, who is in the 25-member panel of the sect for Punjab, said local gurdwara management had not allowed Dera followers to perform last rites of their kin in its premises. Humiliated, they decided to contest panchayat polls and had won.
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MC polls face revocation
Fazilka, July 6 Of the 21 wards in Fazilka, seven seats were to be reserved for women including one seat for SC woman. But strangely, the department of local government municipal election office, through the Punjab government gazette notification dated May 23, reserved six seats of the 21 wards for women instead of seven including one woman (SC). According to the notification, ward numbers 2,5,15,17 and 19 were reserved for the general category women, while the ward number 3 was reserved for an SC woman. The constitutional experts say that the entire election process can be stalled, as it didn't meet the constitutional requirements.
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Foes turn friends
Barnala, July 6 The supporters of both the groups had violent clashes in the past. Many of their supporters had been hospitalised and many cases had been registered against them. But today, the things took a dramatic turn. Bhola Singh Virk went to Keetu's residence along with his group of municipal councillors. Out of the 18 councillors gathered at Keetu's residence today, eight had sworn allegiance to the SAD, two are from the BJP, while eight were Independents. The 18 councillors gave all rights to Malkeet Singh Keetu to announce the name of the president. Both the leaders reached a compromise after having a long discussion for about an hour. What transpired between the two could not be ascertained but according to sources, Virk left the claim for municipal committee presidentship to Keetu and in return got the post of chairman of the Improvement Trust. Keetu told the press that he welcomed the wishes of councillors to authorise him to announce the presidential candidate and the final decision regarding the president and vice-president would be taken unanimously.
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Rs 14-cr for Moga facelift
Moga, July 6 Revealing this to The Tribune, DM Satwant Singh Johal said that the state government had sanctioned Rs 6.54 crore for the development of areas falling under municipal limits of the town. Various projects related to sewerage system, supply of potable water, concretising of streets etc. were lying pending, which would now be completed soon with the sanctioning of money, said the DM. He said that an ambitious project to link Ferozepur road with Amritsar, Jalandhar and Ludhiana roads by constructing a new road as a by-pass link along a canal had been approved and an amount of Rs 1.80 crore had been sanctioned by the state government through the Mandi Board. The DM said that a metalled road would be constructed on both sides of this canal to make it a two-way and the total stretch of this road would be 5.68 km. One side of the road, from Zira road to Amritsar road, had already been constructed and was through for traffic but major portions were yet to be constructed, which would ease the traffic blues of the town. The proposal to develop a park near Guru Nanak College on a vacant forestland had been approved with an outlay of Rs 1.67 crore, the amount of which had also been sanctioned by the government, said the DM. Under this proposal, a sum of Rs 42-lakh would be deposited with forest department for giving land and allowing to cut some trees to develop the park. It may be mentioned that the project to beautify this town by developing green belts and new roads was hanging in fire for the past many years. In 2002, a proposal 'people's project for the beautification of Moga' was drawn up with the initiative of the district administration but hardly anything was done in this regard during the past years. |
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DRDA staff to stage protest
Bathinda, July 6 Faced with the threat of dharna, the Union Minister for Rural Development Raghuvansh Prasad Singh has written a letter to all chief ministers asking them to review the service conditions of DRDA employees. The joint secretary, SGSY, Amar Singh, has also shot a similar letter to secretaries of rural development in all states. The All India DRDA Staff Welfare Association has pointed out that although they were implementing various rural development schemes for poverty alleviation at the district level, but their own working conditions were miserable. The state governments have ignored their demands since 1999. S.S.Chauhan, secretary general of the association, said that most of the employees were working on a temporary basis without any promotional avenues for the past 27 years. He pointed out that in some states, including Himachal Pradesh, officials of the sick undertakings of government were being posted in DRDAs on senior posts to utilise the funds provided by the centre. The recent decision of the Centre to discontinue providing funds under the DRDA administration scheme has given another set back to these employees. In case this decision is implemented, the DRDA staff will even be deprived of salary not to speak of betterment of their service conditions. The association has demanded that a permanent administrative structure for the DRDA may be created and the practice of appointing officers on deputation should be stopped.
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Bathinda, July 6
Bathinda, July 6
Abohar, July 6
