Bathinda, May 22
The first light of success for the Panghura (cradle) scheme, initiated by the District Red Cross Society (DRCS), to save the unwanted abandoned babies, shone today, after a newborn baby was left in the cradle installed outside the MGD Deaf and Dumb School on Goniana road in Bathinda.

The infant is a male child and doctors said had been born 24-36 hours earlier.

After the preliminary diagnosis, doctors said the child was hale and hearty but preferred to keep him under observation for the next 24 hours.

Authorities of the Red Cross Society informed that at about 3.50 pm, an unidentified person placed the child in the cradle and rang the bell, installed there. Before the caretaker of the cradle could reach, the person had left the place.

The staff of the DRCS rushed the child to the government women and children hospital, where a team of doctors examined the baby and declared it to be quite normal.

Complying with the legal formalities, officials of the DRCS informed the thermal police station, under whose jurisdiction the area comes.

Confirming the details, secretary, DRCS, Bathinda, JR Goyal said, “After the doctors discharge the child, we will take him to one of the five authorized adoption centres in the state, from where he would be given in adoption.”

It may be mentioned that receiving funds from the authorities of the under construction Guru Gobind Singh oil refinery, the DRCS, Bathinda, had installed the cradle outside the MGD Deaf and Dumb School, on February 28, 2009.

With the first ever baby landing in the cradle today, the development is being seen as the real inauguration of the Panghura scheme initiated to serve society by checking the killing of unwanted infants.

Fazilka, May 22
The BSF today nabbed a Bangladesh national who had intruded into the Indian territory near the BOP Roopnagar in Fazilka area. As per the FIR lodged with Sadar Police, Fazilka, the jawans of 199 Battalion noticed a person entering the Indian territory near the border observation post of Roopnagar on Friday.

As he stepped into the Indian side, the vigilant jawans nabbed him. On interrogation, the 17-year-old youth was identified as Raffiqulla Islam, a resident of village Hablabilpura, district Taangal (Bangladesh). “Nothing has been recovered from his possession. The BSF officials have handed over Raffiqulla Islam to the Sadar police, Fazilka, for investigation,” sources said. The police have registered a case under Article 3 of the Indian Passport Act. 

Ferozepur, May 22
The local municipal council (MC) authorities have initiated a move to sell off a part of the park located in the heart of the city to private players to generate enough money to fill its empty coffers.

Though a section of Congressmen have openly criticised the movement of the MC authorities by alleging that selling of property belonging to the MC would be harmful to its interests, a resolution in connection with the selling off a part of park has been passed by the MC authorities. The resolution has also got approval from the state local bodies authorities.

“We have to pay Rs 5.5 crores to employees of the MC under different heads. We have to carry out various development works in this border town. For these tasks, the money is very important and hence we are going to sell a part of park to generate enough funds,” pointed out Devinder Kapur, president of the MC.

Devinder Kapur was elected president of the MC over two years after the election of the local municipal council was held. The president of the local MC could not be elected due to factionalism in the rank and file of the BJP. Hence, for the past two years, the town virtually has not witnessed any development work.

Kapur said that about 20 shops with the reserve price of Rs 45 lakh each would be auctioned to private persons to generate money to fund various development works. About Rs 25 lakh would be spent on the development of that park, which would be left out after selling its one part. Refusing to make any comment over the resistance being offered by the Congressmen on the decision of the MC authorities to sell off a part of the park land, he said that he wanted to provide the residents with basic amenities at the earliest.

The residents had been facing various problems connected with the sewerage system of the town, which required immediate solution.

Kapur said fresh assessment of house tax would be carried out in the city to generate additional income for the MC. The illegal connections of water and sewerage would be regularised so that everyone using that facility could be charged on one hand and additional revenue could be generated for the cash starved MC.

He added that he was of the view that about Rs seven crores would be given to this MC by the state government also to speed up its development projects. 

Abohar, May 22
Even as the Gaushala managing committee preferred to observe silence over the death of a youth due to between stray bulls, representatives of various organisations held a meeting today.

City Congress president Banwari Lal Nagpal, Rashtriya Suraksha Samiti secretary Sita Ram Sharma, Nar Sewa Narayan Sewa president Raj Kumar Charaya, Punjab Arorvansh Sabha president Jagdish Nagpal and senior councillor Vimal Thathai were present.

They urged the Municipal Council to free the main roads of stray cattle. “If the council feels incapable, let it allot some land to develop another yard for the cattle besides the old Gaushala,” they said. The same will be run by the NGOs. The urged the civil and police administration to prevent the farmers from pushing cattle into the town. — OC

Ferozepur, May 22
The iron pills supplied by the state health authorities and later found not fit for consumption in the laboratory tests, are still lying in the schools.

The school authorities could not answer when asked why the stock had been lying in school, if these pills had been found unfit for human consumption? Deputy Commissioner KK Yadav said sub-standard iron pills were still lying in the school due to laxity of the district education and district health authorities. He added that they had been directed to remove the sub-standard iron pills from the school premises by Monday.

Civil Surgeon, Dalip Kumar, said he was the one who had sent the iron pills for laboratory examination. He added that when the iron pills failed the test, he asked the district education authorities to remove the stock from the schools.

Kukar said he was not aware as to why the sub-standard iron pills were still being kept in the school premises. He added that he had now written to all the senior medical officers (SMOs) to take personal interest and get the stock removed from the government schools. 

Moga, May 22
In the job fair which was organised at the ISF College of Pharmacy, various pharmacy companies have given offer letters to as many as 32 students in the field of production and marketing.

Praveen Garg, chairman of the college, said that job letters have been given to B. Pharma and D. Pharma pass-outs.

The chairman and staff members congratulated the students on getting the job letters and wished them good luck for their future. 

Bathinda, May 22
Laying a trap, sleuths of the Vigilance Bureau (VB) nabbed a junior engineer of the electricity department red-handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 8,000 from a farmer of village Baho Sivviyan on Friday.

Sources in the VB, Bathinda, informed that one Hardev Singh of village Baho Sivviyan accused junior engineer (JE) Sham Lal of harassing him.

In the complaint, Hardev Singh claimed that he had a vacant chunk of one-and-half kanal of land opposite his house in the village and that the property was under 
dispute.

Litigation was going on in the courts.

The complainant stated that the junior engineer intentionally dug up some land and put some poles to install a transformer there. When Hardev urged him not to do so, the JE demanded Rs 12,000, which was finally settled at Rs 8,000 after negotiation.

Unwilling to pay the bribe, Hardev lodged a complaint with the Vigilance Bureau, Bathinda.

Taking action upon it, a team headed by DSP (VB) Faridkot Bhupinder Singh laid a trap and nabbed the junior engineer red-
handed with the bribe amount of Rs 8000.

Confirming the details, SSP VB, Bathinda range, Sukhdev Singh Chahal said, “The JE has been booked undersSections 7, 13 (2) 88 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and further investigations are going on.”