B A T H I N D A    E D I T I O N

Cops suspended for beating up chemist
Bathinda, May 24
Four cops of the Kotwali police station were suspended after they were accused of beating up the owner of a reputed retail chemist shop located at Hospital Bazaar, here today.

Cotton growers wilt as canals run dry
Bathinda, May 24
The paucity of water in canals and distributaries, amid the cotton sowing season, has left the farmers in various pockets of this cotton belt in the lurch.


As there is no water in canals, farmers are irrigating fields with groundwater using tube-wells attached to tractors. Photo by writer

Anti-rabies vaccine out of stock at Civil Hospital
Bathinda, May 22
Bitten by a stray dog! Don't rush to local Civil Hospital or the government woman and children hospital here if you don't have an anti-rabies vaccine with you. Reason being, the vaccine is out of stock in both the hospitals.

Woman found hanging from ceiling
Bathinda, May 24
A woman in her early forties was found hanging from the ceiling of her house located at Amreek Singh road under the mysterious circumstances, here today.

PNB, OICL health policy
Bathinda: The Bancassurance tie-up between Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd. (OICL) was reinforced with the launch of a customised health insurance product ‘PNB-Oriental Royal Mediclaim Policy’ exclusively for PNB customers.

BJP launches signature drive
Bathinda, May 24
The Bathinda district unit (Urban) of the BJP has fixed a target of collecting 30,000 signatures in its drive against price rise.

Consumer Forum penalises pvt firm
Ferozepur, May 24
The district consumer forum today directed a private finance company to pay compensation to the tune of Rs 50,000 while holding the company guilty of adopting unfair trade practices.

Govt to impound unauthorised school vehicles
Ferozepur, May 24
The state government has decided to launch a campaign to impound all those unauthorised vehicles, which were running on roads to ferry schoolchildren without any valid permit and road worthiness certificates.

Morning meal for school kids: Chawla
Ferozepur, May 24
Punjab health minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla has decided to write to the union human resources (HRD) minister Kapil Sibbal to convert the midday meal into morning meal to make this scheme more meaningful and effective.

Cops suspended for beating up chemist
Rajay Deep
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, May 24
Four cops of the Kotwali police station were suspended after they were accused of beating up the owner of a reputed retail chemist shop located at Hospital Bazaar, here today.

The incident took place in the morning, when a woman visited the Jawahar Medical Store and asked the staff to take a strip of Alprazolam (anti-stress) tablets back and return the money, charged for it. After reading the brand name of the medicine, the staff at the shop refused to take it back, saying it was not sold from their shop.

Irked, the woman indulged in a verbal duel with them and started hurling abuses at the staff deployed there. Meanwhile, she called up her husband, who after reaching the spot, introduced himself as a press reporter and threatened the owner with dire consequences.

Taking precautionary measures, the owner of the shop, Ram Vjay Goyal called up Kotwali police to intervene in the matter.

However, seeing the woman and her husband create a hue and cry, the four cops- two head constables (with similar names) Balwinder Singh and two constables, Jagdev Singh and Sukhmander Singh, did not even bother to take an account of the situation and pounced upon the owner of the shop.

Inflicting bruises on him, they pushed him inside their official vehicle and took him to the Kotwali police station. Reaching there, the four cops allegedly started beating him up with shoes and lathis.

Meanwhile, receiving the information, members of the Retail Chemists Association, Bathinda, thronged the police station and asked the SHO to take action against the "guilty" cops. Seeing his dilly-dallying attitude, members of the association left the police station and closed down all medical shops across the city. Assembling at the Sadbhawana chowk, they raised slogans against the police department.

Meanwhile, the SHO Kotwali Amarjeet Singh informed the agitators that finding the role of four cops above reproach, all of them were being sent to the Police Lines. Further, he said that after submitting a report to the senior officials, he had recommended their suspension.

Despite this, the chemists decided to lodge a protest in front of the SSP Bathinda to ensure punishment to the guilty cops. However, SP (City) HS Ghai called them to the Kotwali police station and disclosed that all the four cops in question had been suspended.

Speaking over the phone, the SP (City) said, "We have been waiting for the medico-legal report of the victim, after which we will initiate further action against the cops, who brought a bad name to the department today."

Cotton growers wilt as canals run dry
Rajay Deep/TNS

Bathinda, May 24
The paucity of water in canals and distributaries, amid the cotton sowing season, has left the farmers in various pockets of this cotton belt in the lurch.

Earlier, expecting the closure of irrigation water supply--- a short-term decision-- 
cotton growers had delayed the sowing but finding the government "callous" towards their woes, they resorted to agitation and made the department concerned release the water supply.

However, before the farmers could complete the sowing, the irrigation department again stopped releasing water in various minors and distributaries including the Talwandi minor, Bangi minor, Jodhpur minor, Mansa minor and Pakka minor.

The development left the farmers with no other way out than opt for the unfit sub-soil water, which reportedly affected the productivity of the agricultural land.

During a visit to villages located in Maur, Rama, Talwandi and Sangat blocks of this district, almost every distributary was witnessed to be dry and the farmers were irrigating their fields with groundwater using tube-wells attached to their tractors.

Farmers informed that the canal-Kotla branch--- which used to feed about 100 villages of Bathinda district, had been running dry since May 15.

An irked farmer of village Jeevan Singh Wala, Gursharnajeet Singh said, "While closing the water supply, the officials concerned had given the excuse of revamping the canal. But sources in the irrigation department informed that the project was grappling with litigation at the Punjab and Haryana High Court."

"It is for sure that the irrigation department can not initiate the work till the court gives its verdict. Despite this, the officials closed supply, which is an injustice to us," he rued.

Pointing towards a dry distributary located on the outskirts of Talwandi Sabo, two farmers, Gurjant Singh and Makahn Singh, said, "If the department does not release the water during the sowing season, from where will we get the Narma (cotton) yield?"

Further, a farmer leader Malkiat Singh of village Bhai Bakhtaur said, "It seems the government understands only the language of protest and agitations as earlier too, water was released after we lodged protests and again it is forcing us to do the same."

On his part, the District Agricultural Officer, Bathinda, Paramjeet Singh Sandhu confirmed that in areas where the sowing was under process, closure of canal water would surely affect the crop's yield.

However, the executive engineer of the irrigation department, Gopal Singh said, "The water supply was closed to revamp the canal but due to litigation, the project got delayed. We are hopeful that the courts will announce the verdict soon. Farmers will have to bear with the situation, this season, as ultimately the project is for their benefit."

Anti-rabies vaccine out of stock at Civil Hospital
Sushil Goyal
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, May 22
Bitten by a stray dog! Don't rush to local Civil Hospital or the government woman and children hospital here if you don't have an anti-rabies vaccine with you. Reason being, the vaccine is out of stock in both the hospitals.

When a person bitten by a stray dog reaches any of these hospitals for treatment these days, he is surprised to learn that not even a single dose of anti-rabies vaccine is available at the hospital that could be administered to him. Even more surprising is the fact that the vaccine is out of stock in both the hospitals for past several months.

According to information available, the Punjab Health Systems Corporation (PHSC) supplies doses of anti-rabies vaccine to both local hospitals. Each dose costs Rs 260 to the state government, but it supplies to the patient for Rs 100 only. Patients belonging to below poverty line (BPL) families and Punjab government employees get it free of cost. Every case of dog-bite is administered three to five anti-rabies injections. About 15 to 20 dog-bite cases are reported at local Civil Hospital every month.

As both the government hospitals in Bathinda have not got supply of anti-rabies vaccine for past several months, the doctors while attending the patients advise them to bring the vaccine from the market. It is learnt that sometimes, poor parents take their wards back home without getting the vaccine administered as they could not afford the costly doses of the vaccine.

Sources in the hospital told TNS that the PHSC had supplied 2,000 doses of anti-rabies vaccine (Verorab) in the first week of May 2009 to the local office of the deputy medical commissioner (DMC) for distributing it among 12 hospitals and community health centres (CHCs) of the district. Of the 2,000 doses, a total of 800 doses had been issued to the Civil Hospital and the woman and children hospital from May 2009 to second week of August 2009. However, in September 2009, the SMO of the Civil Hospital wrote to the DMC to arrange more doses of the vaccine for the hospital, but to no avail so far.

As the incidence of dog-bite is high in this town, the stock at the hospital exhausted at a fast pace. With the unavailability of the vaccine at these hospitals for several months, not only patients from BPL families but common masses are also compelled to buy the anti-rabies vaccine at a high cost from the market.

Woman found hanging from ceiling
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, May 24
A woman in her early forties was found hanging from the ceiling of her house located at Amreek Singh road under the mysterious circumstances, here today.

According to police officials, the daughter of the deceased Sham Bala stated that she was the first to have found that her mother was hanging dead. The kin of the deceased informed the police that she suffered from depression.

Acting upon the statement of the bereaved family, police initiated inquest proceedings and sent the body to the Civil Hospital, Bathinda, for postmortem. Meanwhile, the neighbours alleged that the body remained hanging for more than two hours as police reached late after receiving the information.

Injured in firing

Mystery shrouds the firing incident in which a 31-year-old man was injured at his house in Civil Lines area, here today.

Soon after hearing the sound of firing, people assembled at the house of Upinderjit Singh and found him in lying in a pool of blood. Receiving information, volunteers of the Naujwan Welfare Society rushed him to the Civil Hospital. Sensing his condition to be critical, doctors referred him to Adesh Medical College and Hospital.

SHO Civil Lines police station, Buta Singh said nobody gave any statement to help ascertain the cause of firing. However, he said police recovered the weapon (.32 bore revolver) used in firing and found five cartridges in it. "The doctors have declared the injured unfit to give statement. So we will initiate action after he regains senses and gives a statement," said the SHO.

The injured is learnt to be the nephew of a renowned Congress leader of Bathinda.

PNB, OICL health policy

BJP launches signature drive

Bathinda, May 24
The Bathinda district unit (Urban) of the BJP has fixed a target of collecting 30,000 signatures in its drive against price rise.

The unit held a meeting here that was attended by secretary of the Punjab BJP Sumita Gautam, district president (Urban) Sham Lal Bansal and district general secretary Gulshan Wadhwa. — TNS

Consumer Forum penalises pvt firm
Tribune News Service

Ferozepur, May 24
The district consumer forum today directed a private finance company to pay compensation to the tune of Rs 50,000 while holding the company guilty of adopting unfair trade practices.

In a judgement issued here by Sanjay Garg, president, Tarlok Singh and Meena Bishnoi, members of the district consumer forum, they directed Magma Leasing Limited, a finance company, to pay a compensation of Rs 50,000 for not issuing the ‘No Dues Certificate’ to a loanee (debtor) who paid the loan installments at regular intervals. The Forum also ordered the Magma Leasing Limited to refund to the complainant the amount of Rs10,925 along with the interest at the rate of 9.9 per cent per annum, as this amount was found charged in excess by the finance company. Kamal Kumar Singla of Ferozepur cantonment approached the District Consumer Forum at Ferozepur with a complaint that he had obtained a loan of Rs 3, 40,000 for the purchase of car from the Magma Leasing Limited and its subsidiary Magma Fincorp Limited.

The loan amount was to be returned in 48 regular installments. The finance company collected 49 installments instead of 48 installments and further forced the complainant to pay Rs 5950 more for the issuance of ‘No Dues Certificate’.

Govt to impound unauthorised school vehicles
Chander Parkash
Tribune News Service

Ferozepur, May 24
The state government has decided to launch a campaign to impound all those unauthorised vehicles, which were running on roads to ferry schoolchildren without any valid permit and road worthiness certificates.

Official sources said the decision had been taken by the state transport authorities when they received a number of complaints in this regard. A few days ago, a school van crushed a schoolgoing child here and injured another student in Abohar. “The campaign would start in July after the summer vacation is over. The unscrupulous transporters would not be allowed to wreak havoc on the lives of school children by running unfit vehicles on the road,” said R. Venkat Ratnam, state transport commissioner (STC), Punjab.

Meanwhile, Gurcharan Singh Sandhu, district transport officer (DTO), Ferozepur, said he had to face resistance from some unscrupulous transports when he started challaning those vehicles, which were unfit for plying on the roads.

Disfavours mid-day meal scheme, to write to Sibal
Morning meal for school kids: Chawla
Chander Parkash
Tribune News Service

Ferozepur, May 24
Punjab health minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla has decided to write to the union human resources (HRD) minister Kapil Sibbal to convert the midday meal into morning meal to make this scheme more meaningful and effective.

“I would write a letter to Sibbal on Tuesday to bring this change in the midday meal scheme so that it could serve its purpose,” said Chawla while talking to the TNS this evening here today.

Chawla, who paid a surprise visit to the local Central jail here, said that she had met school children, who had fallen ill after consuming iron pills in Amritsar and Batala in the recent past. Most of these children fell ill after they consumed iron pills as they went to school on an empty stomach.

“A major section of children do come to schools with empty stomach as breakfast is rarely available to them due to their poor economic condition. For such children, midday meal scheme does not hold any relevance and hence, they must be served with morning meal instead of midday meal,” pointed out the minister adding that morning meal would attract more children to schools than the children being attracted by the mid-day meal.

Besides, state education department must make arrangements to deploy additional persons who could monitor that every child must be served iron pills with meal in the schools in a proper manner.

At present, the teachers, who were put to this job, could not do justice with the same as they were already burdened with other tasks.

She disclosed that the state health department had decided that in future, any medicine for improving the health of school children, supplied by the Centre government, would not be supplied to schools for distribution among the students before the same were tested in state government-run-laboratory through random sampling.

She said that after the two incidents of children falling ill after consuming iron pills, the supply of all kinds of tablets had been stopped in the schools.

The fresh supply in the schools would be made in July 2010 after carrying out all the necessary tests.

Earlier, Chawla met the women inmates of the local Central jail and inquired about their problems. A medical check-up camp was also organised in the jail for women inmates.