Fazilka, December 10
Dumping of wood by some saw mill owners in front of their premises on road in thickly populated areas here has been causing inconvenience to common man.

Saw mills are located on busy Waan Bazaar near clock tower crossing, both sides of Madan Gopal road, border road and on Ferozepur road at the entrance of the town. A large number of big logs and axed trunks are dumped there. A lot of space on public roads remains encroached upon causing inconvenience to vehicular traffic.

It may be recalled that some of the saw mills are decades old and have been operating since pre-partition days. In those days, the population of the town was too thin and these saw mills were on periphery of the town and now these locations have become heart of the town.

The problem is further aggravated when large number of purchased wood is loaded and unloaded from tractor trailors and donkey carts causing traffic hazard.

The council had served several notices to the owners and had seized the logs. But all these steps are proving insufficient to eradicate the problem of encroachments.

Executive officer Municipal Council, Tilak Raj Verma, said that several times logs dumped on road sides had been seized by civic body but the mill owners continue to flout the law with impunity. To overcome the problem, the council had worked out a comprehensive plan to allocate adequate council land to mill owners at the Senia Road on outskirts of the town near SD Senior Secondary School. The space could be a better venue for saw mills, added Executive officer.

When the proposal will taken a practical shape and when the people shall get rid of this typical type of traffic problem can be any body's guess.

Bathinda, December 10
Three persons including a staff of the district and sessions court, sustained severe bullet injuries, when a firing took place at Model Town phase-III, here this evening.

It was a dispute over the sharing of common wall of two houses which so heated up that one party opened fired several rounds at the other.

Sources informed that acting swiftly, police rounded up two accused—a junior engineer of the PSEB along with his nephew and also recovered the weapon used in crime (.32 bore revolver). However, no police official confirmed the development.

As per details, Rajinder Singh, JE of the PSEB had been getting his house constructed at Model Town phase-III. His neighbour, Sham Garg had been asking him to pay the share, before using his wall for lintel. Rajinder had been refusing to pay the charges, and accused Sham Garg of stealing his 2500 bricks.

The dispute had been stretching for some days. Meanwhile, the welfare committee of the locality also intervened into the matter, but failed to settle the issue.

Seeking anonymity, neighbours said some “goons” belonging to Rajinder Singh had started sitting at the under construction site. They used to drink liquor in the open and were also heard hurling abuses.

The situation turned violent when Sham Garg objected to it this evening. Irked, the goons, approximately three in number, assaulted him on the spot.

Witnessing the scuffle, his neighbours, namely, Kulwant Singh and Rakesh Arora, who is employed at district courts, tried to pacify the assailants. Meanwhile, one of the assailants, Sandeep Singh, nephew of Rajinder Singh, took out a revolver and opened fire.

During the incident, Sham Garg, Kulwant Singh and Rakesh Arora, all sustained bullet injuries. Meanwhile, a crowd assembled there and rushed the injured to Civil Hospital, Bathinda, where sensing their condition to be critical, doctors referred Sham Garg and Kulwant Singh to a private hospital located at Barnala road.

Soon after receiving the information, three judges from the district and sessions court, Bathinda, reached the Civil Hospital but refused to interact with media. Meanwhile, SSP Bathinda, Ashish Chaudhary, SP (D) Ajay Maluja along with police force reached the hospital and recorded the statement of Rakesh Arora.

Later, rounding up the accused Rajinder Singh and Sandeep Singh, police officials assembled at Civil Lines police post, where they launched interrogation.

Refusing to divulge details, SHO Kotwali, Gurjeet Singh Romana said, “We have been collecting evidence after which a case would be registered under relevant sections of the law.”

Bathinda, December 10
A deputation of the Sant Samaj, the Damdami Taksal and various Sikh organisations will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to express concern over the spread of Gurudam and Deraism, insult of Sikh gurus and ‘gurbani’, murder of Sikhs and failure of the state government in checking such incidents.

In reply to a question here today, former Jathedar of Sri Akal Takht Sahib Bhai Jasbir Singh Rode said the deputation would meet the PM on the latter’s convenience to air their grievance at the Central level. He said they would tell the PM that if such incidents continued to occur in the state, the peaceful atmosphere of the state might vitiate.

Bhai Jasbir Singh also said a meeting of the Damdami Taksal, the Sant Samaj and Sikh bodies would be held at Gurdwara Gurdarshan Parkash at Chowk Mehta, the headquarter of the Damdami Taksal, on December 12 to chalk out an action plan for checking Gurudam, Deraism and discussing other Sikh issues. He also appealed to all Sikh organisations to participate in the meeting.

Bhai Jasbir Singh alleged that the Akal Takht system was being destroyed by the SGPC by way of misusing powers while taking decisions. He also alleged that Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and president of the SAD Sukhbir Singh Badal were responsible for the recent Ludhiana incident, in which one Sikh had died.

He claimed that they had informed the SAD president four days before that if Guru Ashutosh’s Ludhiana programme was organised it could have serious ramifications. He also alleged that the Ludhiana programme had been allowed just to please a BJP leader.

Bhai Jasbir Singh admitted that Deraism had been spreading due to the failure of Sikh institutions like the SGPC.

Bathinda, December 10
Although the incidence of cancer is high in Punjab but the state health department has taken two years to identify nodal officers and space in the district hospitals for launching the Centre-sponsored ONCONET project that would directly link four hospitals with the PGIMER, Chandigarh, for treatment of patients.

The Punjab government had identified the district hospitals at Bathinda, Muktsar, Sangrur and Hoshiarpur in April 2007 for launching the project, but the authorities here identified the nodal officer and space in the hospital through a letter only on December 2, 2009. The authorities here have identified Dr Pawan Mittal as the nodal officer for Bathinda.

The exercise was also being done in Muktsar, which also has a very high incidence of cancer.

Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his daughter-in-law and MP from Bathinda Harsimrat Kaur have been accusing the Centre of not coming forward to combat the disease. However, in an apparent reaction to these allegations, union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has reportedly snubbed the Punjab government for delaying the nomination of nodal officers for the ONCONET project and not utilising the grants for setting up regional cancer centres in the Faridkot and Patiala medical colleges.

The districts of Bathinda, Mansa, Muktsar and Faridkot have a very high incidence of cancer and the patients have to go all the way to Delhi, Chandigarh and Bikaner for treatment.

The purpose of connecting Bathinda and Muktsar with the PGI through the ONCONET was to provide treatment to the patients here and cut their travel to Chandigarh. The Union Health Ministry would provide equipment and an air-conditioner for the room identified for the purpose.

It is worth mentioning that as many as 2,218 cancer patients have been identified in the Bathinda district, of which 1,355 were women and 863 men. An official survey indicated that 1,347 patients, including 724 women, have died in the district because of the disease during the past nine years.

The Mansa district also has 1,058 cancer patients and 695 patients died during the past nine years.

The figures of Muktsar were not available, but many areas of the district have a high number of people suffering from cancer.

While the Health Department, Punjab, has failed to respond to the Centre’s offer of setting up cancer treatment facilities at six places in the state, Harsimrat Kaur recently wrote letters to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, Water Resource Minister Pawan Bansal and Minister for Rural Development CP Joshi seeking steps for controlling the incidence of cancer. She also sought setting up of a cancer hospital at Bathinda where, she has pointed out in the letter, 2,500 persons were afflicted with cancer and 321 patients have died in the past three years. She also sought safe drinking water supply in 292 villages of the district.

Bathinda, December 10
The Human Rights Protection Organisation submitted a memorandum to the deputy commissioner urging him to hold seminars to educate people about protection of their rights.

The memorandum was submitted on the occasion of the International Human Rights Day on Thursday.

They urged the DC to hold camps to educate government employees and those associated with non-government organisations about human rights. The DC was also urged to hold separate camps for women where laws pertaining to domestic violence should be discussed.

The organisation also insisted to hold special classes in schools and colleges where students were told about human rights and ways to defend if their rights were violated.

Bathinda, December 10
Deputy commissioner Rahul Tewari here today released Bathinda’s draft master plan (2009-2031).

Addressing media, the DC said that Bathinda city, Bhucho Mandi, Goniana Mandi and 46 villages had been included in the draft master plan. A total of over 57,000 hectares had been included in the proposed land-use plan, he added.

In the draft master plan, the break-up of major proposed land-use includes residential, commercial, industrial, warehousing and godowns, traffic and transportation, public and semi-public utilities, forests, rural and agriculture, prohibited areas and other special areas.

The DC said that with the proposed plan, the Bathinda city would grow fully in two-three decades.

He said after the approval of the master plan, a residential house or shop constructed in violation of the plan norms would be demolished.

Tewari said the state government had now sought objections to the proposed plan from the public within 30 days. If the objections were found to be genuine, the changes would be made in the plan.

He said that after the completion of objection process, the draft master plan would be sent to the secretary, Housing, Punjab, who would forward it to the Chief Minister while the Chief Minister would table the same at a cabinet meeting.

Ferozepur, December 10
The issue of siphoning off of paddy, worth crores of rupees, allegedly done by a section of rice mill owners, labourers and truck operators from Noor Rice Mill of this district, turned into a major controversy after the officials of food and supply department and police started levelling allegations against each other.

A senior functionary of food and supply department while claiming the fact that though officials of the department were involved into this case, alleged that police had been protecting the other accused also. The district police Chief S.P.S. Parmar alleged that officials of food and supply department were involved into this scam.

Meanwhile, Inderneel Singh, whose named figured in the FIR, was handed over to police, has been freed. Parmar said no evidence establishing his involvement in the case had come to light.

The Food and supply department officials alleged that police were trying to hush-up the matter as political bigwigs of Punjab were also involved in the case. They claimed that clerk of the Noor Rice Mill, was also handed over to police to find out the fact.

The officials of food and supply department had also sought the intervention of food and supply minister, Adesh Partap Singh Kairon, and Secretary, Food and supply, Punjab, S.P. Singh. Singh, when contacted, said that he would look into the matter.

Harjit Singh Pannu, SP (D), said that food and supply department authorities had been asked to produce its record for investigation. He added that physical verification of the stock of paddy lying in a mill located in Jaitu town of Faridkot would be done by the officials of food and supply department.

Abohar, December 10
Delay in providing medical aid to a newly-born girl who had been abandoned by some unidentified person reportedly caused her death here on Thursday that coincided with the Human Rights Day.

As per available information, some residents of street 13 in Nai Abadi locality noticed a infant lying near a small drain at about 6.30 am. The city police was informed immediately but only two constables who were on duty as "munshi" and "santri" turned up at 8 am. The child was taken to a private hospital that is run by a child specialist on the Gaushala road. The doctor said the child had died by then. The residents said they had not dared to rush the child fearing police action even when injury at her head was noticed.

President of Nar Seva Narayan Seva, Raju Charaya, rued that had police rushed in timely the girl child could have been saved.

Police sources said most of the staff was away on VIP duty in Gidderbaha as CM was camping there for last twenty-four hours to attend a big public function so it was not possible to leave the police station unguarded today morning.

Faridkot, December 10
Burglars struck at a Punjab and Sindh Bank branch situated near Barjindra College and took away a .12 bore gun of the bank here, last night. However, they could not break the cash locker of the bank.

The DSP of Faridkot Sewa Singh Malhi and SHO Gurjant Singh reached the spot immediately to inquire into the incident. They said that the thieves entered the bank from the back side where there was an open farm. The thieves cut the grills and entered into the bank.

The police had found few empty match boxes and some material that seems to be drugs near this window.

Malhi said that he had pressed in a dog squad and collected some fingerprints from the arms safety box and other items of the bank.

Gurdeep Singh, branch manager said that he had locked the branch at about 6.00 pm, last evening after winding up the days work. “When we opened the branch today in the morning at about 9.30 am, we found that the gun was missing and also the grills of the window were broken,” he said.

The bank manager immediately alerted about the incident to the police. He stated, “The way things are in the bank indicates that the thieves first tried to open the cash safe but they failed and could not loot the cash but they broke the arms safe and took away the gun.”

Fazilka, December 10
The Fazilka co-operative sugar mill has inaugurated its sugarcane crushing process today at mill premises in village Bodiwala Pitha 15 kilometers from here.

The inauguration was performed by Fazilka SDM P.K.Aggrawala. This crushing season is incidentally the silver jubilee season.

On this occasion, a farmer Bohar Singh, a resident of village Chack Pakhi, was honoured. He had brought a maximum of about 11000 quintals of sugarcane last year for crushing.