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Retired cop killed outside his residence
State explores Kolhapur model to check femicide
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Baisakhi conference at Talwandi Sabo
Copying alleged in IIT exam
Fire at State Bank of Patiala in Mansa
Ambulance service launched for emergency medicare
Denial of compensation
Canal water
Prisoners get remission of jail sentences
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Retired cop killed outside his residence
Bathinda, April 11 As per the details, Darshan Singh was returning home after purchasing milk from the market in the morning. He had reached outside his residence, when a white colour Maruti car hit him from the rear. Immediately after he fell on the ground, some unidentified persons, nearly four in number, came out of the car and attacked him with a sharp-edged axe and baseball bats. Assaulting him in a brutal way, the accused cut off his hand and inflicted deep wounds in his neck, head, shoulder and other parts of the body. Leaving him in a pool of blood, the accused fled in the car, before the neighbours could reach the spot. Receiving the information, the Cantonment police reached the spot and took him to the Civil Hospital, where the doctors declared him brought dead. Acting upon the statement of the married daughter of the deceased, Veer Pal Kaur, who also lives in the same locality, the Cantonment police registered a case under section 302 and 34 of the IPC against unidentified persons. People in the locality informed that Darshan was living alone at his house after a dispute with his wife and son. It was also alleged that he had extra- marital affair, which his son used to object. Seeking anonymity, some police officials informed that the car used in the crime was recovered by the police on Dabwali road in the district. It was learnt that some technical snag had occurred in its engine due to which the assailants preferred to leave it there. "Police is working on different theories including Darshan's dispute with his wife and son but as of now, the accused could not be traced," said the SHO Cantonment police station, Jaskaran Singh. He refused to give details about the car. |
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State explores Kolhapur model to check femicide
Dal Khalsa flays Harsimrat over sex
ratio Bathinda: The Dal Khalsa has slammed Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal for failing to improve the sex ratio in her constituency despite her high-profile campaign to contain female foeticide under Nanhi
Chhaan. As per the Census-2011, the sex ratio in Bathinda region has gone down from 870 to 865, said party spokesperson Kanwar Pal Singh, mentioning that Harsimrat had spent a huge amount on literature, advertisement and programmes to create awareness against the social evil. While the rest of the Punjab saw an increase in sex ratio, a positive development, ironically, there was a decline in Harsimrat's constituency, the Dal Khalsa said.
— TNS
Moga, April 11 Health Minister Lakshmikanta Chawla led a state delegation comprising the department’s principal secretary Satish
Chandra, Family Welfare Department’s director Ashok Nayyar and National Rural Health Mission’s MD Krishna Kumar to Kolhapur on April 8. They held discussions with Kolhapur District Collector Laxmikant Deshmukh and Civil Surgeon Ravindra Nitturkar on the achievements made with the implementation of ‘silent observer’ model. The ‘silent observer’ also called as ‘active tracker’, records sonography images and links it to an online portal called ‘Save The Baby Girl’. The portal, where it is mandatory for all the doctors to file the details of each and every pregnancy case that comes to them, then traces ultrasound details throughout the duration of the pregnancy. The technology has been developed by Magnum Opus Company. The data stored online could be used as evidence in suspicious cases of sex-selective abortions. The data is accessible only to the doctors and a few government and company officials. Nobody else can access the sonography video. The technology was implemented in May 2010 in the Kolhapur district, wherein the sonography machines of the whole district were connected to a main server, which monitored all the videos taken in the district. In this way, the sex determination of unborn children went considerably down in that district which had the worst male-to-female birth ratio. According to the 2001 census, for every 1,000 boys born in the area, only 829 girls were born. In the provisional report of 2011 census, the female sex ratio has increased to 848 per 1000 males. Contrary to this, the female sex ratio in Punjab has not increased much despite stringent laws to check sex determination tests. The female sex ratio in Punjab was the worst in 2001 at 798 but now it has improved to 846. |
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Baisakhi conference at Talwandi Sabo
Bathinda, April 11 The Baisakhi fair there is bound to emerge as a show of strength between the two parties that are leaving no stone unturned in their effort of one upmanship. Raninder Singh, whose father and state Congress chief CaptainAmrinder Singh would be the main speaker in the Congress camp, has been holding meetings with the local MLAs and party activists here and in Mansa since yesterday when he arrived from Patiala. He visited Talwandi Sabo today to take stock of the arrangements being made for the party's rally for which a 10-acre piece of agricultural land has been acquired on rent. He told the TNS that it was not a state-level rally and the Congress was concentrating on mobilizing people mainly from the Bathinda parliamentary constituency consisting of the Bathinda and Mansa
districts. Besides, mobilization would also be done from the Lambi segment of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Rampura Phul. All legislators of the Congress in these areas, except Harminder Singh Jassi of Bathinda town, participated in the meeting of Raninder Singh. Jassi was busy in some family function, he said. On the other hand, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal is personally overseeing arrangements of the SAD for making the party's rally a big show. Sukhbir has visited most areas of Bathinda and Mansa to mobilize people for
the rally. He had last week visited Talwandi Sabo to see the new and larger venue of the rally in the grain market. Other parties were yet to identify the venue of their rally as the Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has this time refused to allow political rallies on its land around the Takht Damdama Sahib where the Baisakhi fair is organized every year. |
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Land acquisition for thermal power plant
Bathinda, April 11 These farmers belonging to Kot Shamir, Tungwali and Kot Fatta villages have warned that they would launch an agitation if the government went ahead with the procedure for acquiring land for a private party with whom an MoU has been signed by the Punjab State Power Corporation (PSPCL). The owners of the most fertile land in the district have claimed that they would be turned landless if the government did not listen to their pleadings. Charanjeet Singh of the Tungwali village said that most of them were owners of one to six acres of agricultural land and had the responsibility to look after their dependents. Ranjeet Singh of Kot Shamir pointed out that similar representations have been sent to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and other leaders as there was no justification for acquiring the irrigated land. They pointed out that Badal had recently said that not an inch of land would be acquired without the consent of the owner, but what was being done in the three villages was against the government's commitment. They said that the land proposed to be acquired was just near the limits of the Bathinda Municipal Corporation and residents of the town were already facing an acute problem of ash emission from the existing two thermal power plants. More such power plants are coming up in the vicinity. The PSPCL has signed the MoU with the Hyderabad-based Lanco Infratech for setting up a super critical 1320 MW coal-based thermal power plant at Kot Shamir. |
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PRTC workers want arrears paid
Bathinda, April 11 The general secretary of the union, Nirmal Singh Dhaliwal said here today that the union's other main demand was appointment of a chairman-cum-managing director (CMD) of the PRTC, in place of the existing posts of the chairman and director etc. He said the CMD should be appointed in the PRTC on the pattern of Powercom. Dhaliwal also said that at present, about 60 girl conductors were working in the PRTC. He said the union wanted that all these girl conductors should be made clerks by changing their designation. He said the union also sought that the pay and pension of the PRTC employees should be included in the budgetary provisions of the state. Dhaliwal was here today to participate in a two-hour-long dharna, staged in support of the demands of the employees by the union outside the gate of the PRTC workshop, near the main bus stand here. In the dharna, state president of the union, Pritam Singh also took part. Pritam Singh asked the state government to regularise the services of all contractual employees, working in the PRTC. He said as the financial condition of the daily wage and contractual employees was pitiable, so they should be regularised without any delay. He alleged that due to the "pro private" transport policies of the state government the PRTC had been facing financial losses. He said this was the main reason that the PRTC's sanctioned fleet of 1075 buses had been reduced to 790 now. He demanded inclusion of 300 new buses in the PRTC fleet. Other demands of the union included payment of the salary to regular PRTC employees on the first day of every month, to contract workers on ninth day of every month and to pensioners on fifth day of every month, and payment of the salary and pension to the PRTC employees and pensioners through the government treasury. Among others who were present or addressed the dharna included, union leaders Roop Singh and Sukhpal Singh and leaders of the Pension Bhaichara Manch Jarnail Singh and Gulab Singh. |
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Copying alleged in IIT exam
Bathinda, April 11 Vipin Gupta, a resident of Kotkapura, whose ward appeared in the test, in a complaint lodged with the Chairman, Joint Admission Board (JAB), IIT, Kanpur, alleged that around 10.10 am in the morning shift paper, a particular male teacher, on duty in the room, went outside and returned with sheets of papers in his hand. The invigilator allegedly started telling answers to a female candidate, sitting ahead of his daughter. He then did the same to candidates at the rear. The same invigilator reportedly did not collect the ORS sheets from students to whom he was dictating the answers, he alleged, adding they were given extra time. He said inquiries by him revealed the candidate was the daughter of a GZSCET staff. He urged the Chairman, JAB, to cancel the paper and institute probe. TS Sidhu, Principal, GZSCET, while admitting the candidate was the daughter of a college clerk, said no one facilitated copying. Sidhu said the invigilator only assisted in filling data in ORS sheets to those unable to do so. |
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Officials pass the buck as foodgrains rot due to poor storage facilities
Maur (Bathinda), April 11 A random visit to an open plinth located on the outskirts of Maur Mandi in Bathinda, revealed that various rakes of wheat bags were emitting foul smell. It was learnt that the plinth was hired by the Punjab Agro and there were various irregularities in the storage of the grain. A number of labourers, busy in opening the decaying bags and refilling the rotten grains into fresh jute bags, informed that nearly 9,500 bags of wheat, procured in 2005-06, came in the direct contact of rain water and got damaged. They were not sure about the purpose of changing the bags but apprehended that it was being done to supply it outside the state. Speaking over the phone, Harwinder Singh Chahal, inspector of the Punjab Agro for Maur Mandi, denied the responsibility claiming that he tookthe charge of the stock only about a year ago, when it was already rotten. Disclosing the reason for the rotting of the foodgrains, he said that after a custodian of the plinth died some years back, the department did not appoint a new custodian for a long period and the grains rotted during that period. Later, the duty was assigned to some inspector, who retired and proper care of the stock could not be taken. He said the officials of the FCI, rather than clearing the stock on time, kept on categorizing it from bad to worse and now declared it unfit for issuance. District Food and Supply Controller Tarwinderjit Singh also disowned the responsibility stating that it was the duty of the procurement agency to keep the stock intact. Though nobody is ready to share the responsibility in the case, it emphasises a strong case for revamping the network of storage and food processing facilities
to check the thousands of wheat bags piled up in the stores from rotting for no rhyme or reason. |
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Fire at State Bank of Patiala in Mansa
Mansa, April 11 Official sources said the five guards including Manjeet Singh and Ashok Kumar (head constable), Balraj Singh, Jagga Ram and Jaswant Singh (constables), had been placed under suspension by Sidhu. He visited the premises today in the morning and made verifications. Last night, panic gripped the residents of different colonies, located around the branch of the bank, in which fire broke out under mysterious circumstances. The bank guards, who were present inside the bank premises, did not make efforts to stop the fire from spreading. One of the guards even tried to fire shots at Sulakhan Singh, SHO, city police station, who along with other policemen rushed to the spot immediately after getting information in connection with the incident and started making efforts to bring the three guards, who were inside the bank, out for their safety. Sources said that Sidhu had also tasked Darshan Dass, Adjutant, IRB, to start departmental inquiry against the guards. He had also ordered the deployment of new guards in place of those who had been placed under suspension. SSP, Mansa, HS Mann said prima facie, it was clear that the bank guards had shown negligence in taking necessary action after the fire broke out. He added that he had given his initial report to Sidhu. Information gathered by TNS revealed that one of the five guards was in an inebriated condition while two guards had gone to the market without taking permission from the authorities concerned to leave their place of duty. The fire was brought under control after 2-3 hours when the fire tenders were pressed into service. SK Manchanda, Manager, SBOP, said all valuables in the bank were safe as the fire was brought under control before it could have spread to other parts. RS Gill, security officer, SBOP, had also visited the spot. He added that the bank was kept closed today and its customers were being served through the other branches of the SBOP located in the city. |
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New building for historical gurudwara
Talwandi Sabo, April 11 The historical old building of Bir Singh-Dhir Singh Gurdwara has also been replaced with a new building, which is bigger. The halls of these two historical gurdwaras have also been made big. All these changes have been made to give an attractive look to Takht Damdama Sahib. Giani Balwant Singh Nandgarh, Jathedar of Takht Damdama Sahib, said even the main hall of Takht Damdama Sahib was being made air-conditioned. Its roof was also being beautified. he added. The facade of the Damdama Sahib complex is being changed for the first time after it was accorded the status of Takht. Besides, to make a large chunk of open space available in the front of Takht Damdama Sahib, the residence of the Jathedar has been shifted to a new building. ‘Zora Ghar’ and the office of the SGPC have also been shifted to other places. Jaspal Singh, manager of Takht Damdama Sahib, said sanctity was being maintained while constructing new buildings in place of the old religious buildings. |
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Ambulance service launched for emergency medicare
Fazilka, April 11 The ambulance will be available free of cost on call to a toll-free number 108 for transporting delivery cases, accident cases and serious medical emergencies including heart patients within a radius of 20 km at Fazilka. It is operational under the Global Positioning System monitored by its control room at Amritsar. According to Dr SP Garg, SMO, Civil Hospital, Fazilka, the ambulance would be available at the desired place within 20-30 minutes. It has been equipped with lifesaving drugs, oxygen cylinder, suction machine, splints and first aid kit. Two paramedics designated as Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) and two drivers will operate the ambulance round-the-clock. The para medical staff of the ambulance has been imparted a special training of one month to deal with emergencies at Amritsar. The EMT posted with the ambulance here are Narinder Singh and Pardeep Kumar. They would work in day and night shift with one driver each. At the flag off ceremony here today, Market Committee chairman Ashok Jairath, Municipal Council president Anil Sethi, NGO Social Welfare Society president Raj Kishore Kalra, members of Manav Ekta Manch and a number of other socialites of different NGOs were present on the occasion. While addressing the gathering on the occasion, Surjit Kumar Jyani said the toll-free number ambulance would go a long way in providing prompt medical facilities to emergency cases particularly the road accidents and disasters. Jyani lauded the efforts of the Punjab government in launching this unique service. |
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Denial of compensation
Ferozepur, April 11 Raising slogans against Punjab government, the farmers, who have launched an agitation under the banner of Border Area Sangarash Committee, gave an ultimatum to Punjab government that if they were not given compensation by the end of May, they would launch massive agitation continuously. The farmers were carrying the banner, on which it was written, “We work with hunger under the shadow of guns to feed the nation”. They blocked the traffic at main road for about half an hour. Arsal Singh, president, Border Area Sangharsh Committee, while addressing the dharna, said the Punjab government had been discriminating against the farmers of Ferozepur district. He said that compensation for damage caused to crops by floods in the July and August months last year, had been given to farmers concerned in Amritsar, Tarn Taran and Gurdaspur border districts but it was denied to the affected farmers of Ferozepur district. Karan Singh Dhaliwal, general secretary, Border Area Sangharsh Committee, said the two other demands raised today were connected with the sanctioning of electricity connections to their tubewell motors on a priority basis by the authorities concerned, which was announced by the Punjab government in 2009 and which were not given to them so far. |
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Canal water
Sriganganagar, April 11 Samiti spokesman Subhash Sehgal said the level of water from the Harike headworks has been reduced by 6,000 cusecs to siphon off the water through the Sutlej river bed that finally reaches the Hussainiwala headworks. Inquiries made from officials indicated that gate number 16-17 at Hussainiwala headworks were lifted by four feet on Sunday to divert water to Pakistan. He said only 3570 cusecs of water was today released in the Rajasthan feeder that was designed to intake 18000 cusecs. Only 670 cusecs water has been released in the Ferozepur feeder that was supposed to have 11000 cusecs of water. The officials in the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) lamented that Rajasthan had already drawn its share. However, Sehgal questioned the logic of releasing surplus water to the neighbouring country. He blamed the BBMB for giving step-motherly treatment to Rajasthan. |
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Prisoners get remission of jail sentences
Chandigarh, April 11 The decision was taken by the CM at a meeting held at his residence here today to review various ongoing activities and initiatives for the development of jails to ensure a congenial atmosphere to inmates. The remission of one year would be granted to those who were awarded 10 to 20 years’ imprisonment. The remission of nine months would be granted to those who were sentenced for seven to 10 years and six months to those serving jail terms of five to seven years, three months to those who had been sentenced for a jail term of three-five years and two months to those with less than three
years. — TNS |
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