Bathinda, September 23
The supply of drinking water in Bathinda city has been hit following floods in the adjoining Muktsar district.

People are getting rationed water supply at odd hours. In the areas of the old city like Pujjan Wala Mohalla, Mehna Chowk, Telian Wala Mohalla, Ban Battan da Mohalla, Guru Nanak Pura, Haji Rattan and others, water supply is giving sleepless nights to the residents.

"For the last one week, we are getting water supply at 3 am for an hour and from 5 pm to 6 pm in the evening. The supply in the evening is not assured and it has become a Herculean task to get up at 3 am to fill all the canisters," said Yashodhra, a housewife living on the Qila Road.

In the absence of adequate supply of water, the public RO systems, installed in each ward, are bearing the brunt of the inadequacy. "People are buying 20 litre canisters to meet their water demands. Earlier, a family of six persons used to take a canister every alternate day. For the last one week, people from these families are taking two canisters each," said Ranjit Singh, an employee at the RO system.

Residents of the area feel that Bathinda should not have faced any problem in water supply as the nearby districts are inundated with floodwater and even the canals are full to the brim. There are 125 schemes of water supply in the district of which 50 to 60 cusecs of water is utilised daily in the area under the Bathinda Municipal Corporation (BMC).

XEN Irrigation Nirmal Singh Brar said that water supply in the canal was stopped a week ago. "People living in the flood-hit areas and at the tail-end of the Bathinda branch of Sirhind canal had requested the state government to stop the water supply in the canal as it was adding to their woes. Consequently, we have stopped releasing water in the canals," he said. He added that the floods had also ended the demand for water to grow paddy.

The canal would remain closed for the next three days and if it rains, the closure would continue. Talking about the shortage of drinking water in the city, Brar said that canals frequently remain closed. Hence, civic bodies should have the capacity to store water for at least 15 to 20 days. "We have not been informed about the water shortage. If informed, we will restore the supply," he said.

Apart from Bathinda, Mansa too is battling the same problem.

Sandeep Bansal from Mansa city said that for past two days there has not been even a single drop of water to drink or for conducting daily ablutions.

Bathinda, September 23
Frequent incidents of protesters holding up traffic during the peak hours has always been a matter of inconvenience for the public.

On Wednesday, students of Polytechnic College and transporters blocked traffic at a time when schools and colleges close for the day.

In this melee, it is the common man who is at the receiving end. “I saw a handicapped girl having a tough time crossing the Bibiwala Chowk on Wednesday. Even her mother and brother were helpless,” said Jeet Singh, an ex-serviceman from Kamla Nehru Colony.

The police is empowered to register a case under section 283 of the IPC against those who disrupt traffic. SSP Dr Sukhchain Singh Gill said that the police plans to register cases against the culprits.

The cops defend themselves saying that registering cases alone cannot solve the problem. “It would end up adding to the paper work of the already overburdened cops,” he said. Cops turned such traffic jams as intelligence failure. “If the intelligence tips off in advance, the troublemakers can be rounded up,” said Chander Mohan Ruby, an advocate. — TNS

Bathinda, September 23
Students of government primary school at Dhobiana Basti have been studying amidst fly ash dumped here. Battling health hazards like inflammation in the eyes, skin irritation and respiratory problems, these children are forced to study in unhygienic atmosphere. "The ash was dumped here around a year ago. The fly ash acts as a good land filling substance and was dumped here to fill the cesspool in the village," said a teacher, requesting anonymity.

Residents said the fly ash, after being dumped, should be covered with earth. Water should be sprinkled on it to ensure that it does not become a health hazard for people in the nearby localities.

The authorities, in this case, however, failed to cover the ash with earth, which is now wreaking havoc on the health of the children studying here. Most of the buildings and residential areas in Dhobiana Basti and other slum areas are using coal ash to raise the level of the ground, as it is cheaper compared to the mud used for filling earth. People dump coal ash and then cover it with earth to raise the ground level.

"The situation worsens during the summer when dry air picks up the ash particles and spreads it around. Not just our children, even the poor living in the nearby areas are living in such dismal conditions," said another teacher while pointing towards the students holding their lunch boxes with hands covered with ash and dust.

Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal too has visited the area and assured of finding a way out but nothing has been done. Municipal councillor of the area Majeet Singh said it is the only school in this slum area as other schools are far away and the poor can't afford to send kids there.

The school has over 300 kids in primary classes and many of them were recently shifted to a nearby 'dharamshala' because of the problem. A pond with polluted water is near also the school that is sans any boundary wall as well.

Bathinda, September 23
In just 19 days, the Panghura (cradle), installed by the District Red Cross Society (DRCS) in February 2009 at the Mahant Gurbanta Dass Deaf and Dumb School on Goniana road here, today received its fourth baby. She is the 11th baby, that has been abandoned in the cradle since its installation.

The first baby that was abandoned in the cradle on May 22, 2010 was a male child. Till now, the cradle has received nine female and two male babies. The cradle that was installed by the society for the well-being of the unwanted and abandoned babies seems to have now become an easy source to get rid of the unwanted children.

Today at about 1.40 pm, someone left a girl child in the cradle and rang the bell to inform the attendant. The attendant picked up the baby and informed the school and the Red Cross authorities about it.

The baby was taken to the Women and Children Hospital here by the secretary, DRCS, JR Goyal along with some others for medical examination. Child specialist Dr Satish Jindal examined the baby and found it to be medically fit.

Dr Jindal said the baby, about two-three days old, was normal and weighed 2.7 kg. He said the baby was handed over to the Red Cross for bringing her back tomorrow to the hospital for administering the BCG and hepatitis-B injections besides the oral anti-polio drops.

The DRCS secretary said that of the 11 babies received, two were male while the rest were female. He said the baby would now be taken to the Yadwindra Puran Bal Niketan, Lahori Gate, Patiala, tomorrow for handing it over to the authorities for further proceedings.

President of the District Bar Association Rajan Garg said an FIR could be lodged by the police in the case, relating to abandoning a child, if someone lodged a complaint in this regard.

He was of the view that the adoption process should be simplified by the government so that abandoned children could be adopted by the needy through a single window system, for which the Deputy Commissioner should be authorized to perform the adoption process.

Bathinda, September 23
To fetch money for the treatment of his wife who was expecting, a resident of ward number 28 today snatched the gold chain of a woman in Model Town Phase III area.

The accused has been identified as Parvinder Singh. Investigating Officer SI Jugraj Singh said the accused was arrested after raids were conducted by the police on the complaint of one Ravinder Kumar.

The SI said the accused was employed in a Chandigarh-based private company and was earning a paltry sum. He had been trying to arrange money for the medical expenses of his wife.

"The poor man is now behind the bars and may not be able to be able to do much to arrange money for his wife’s medical expenses,” said the SI. A case in this connection has been registered. — TNS

Bathinda, September 23
On entering Bathinda — the heart of Malwa — once considered to be the most backward area in Punjab, one can sense a positive change. Looking back on the past, one could barely think that in a few years, the city would witness a huge change.

However, there is still a challenge for both the authorities and the citizens to get a permanent soulution for the solid waste. In 2001, the Municipal Corporation had estimated 95 MT per day generation of solid waste, which increased to 100 MT per day in 2005. This year, the solid waste generation is 110 MT per day.

At present, the corporation collects solid waste and disposes it of on the outskirts of the city putting the health of the citizens at risk.

“If the authorities were aware that the city would expand at such a fast rate, why was so little done to curb the problem of solid waste,” asked Amandeep Sharma, a resident of Kalia street, adding that people living in the dumping zone were more vulnerable to the constant threat of epidemics.

On the other hand, the officials stated that the municipal solid waste management project, which is in the pipeline, would be completed in a year.

“A lot is being done to sort out the trouble. We have started door-to- door waste collection service. However, the authorities alone cannot do anything. Even the citizens have to cooperate and keep their surroundings clean,” said Dr Ajay Garg, Medical Health Official, Municipal Corporation, Bathinda.

“Moreover, the waste management project would also solve many problems,” he said.

“Though the problem would be solved by the treatment plant but the proposed project would take more than a year to get completed. But why the planned project has come at this delayed stage,” said a resident of Paras Ram Nagar.

Bathinda, September 23
Six persons have been booked for firing on a resident of Saidoke village. The accused have been identified as Surjeet Singh, Chhota Singh, brothers, Surjeet, Gurcharan, Kaka and his brother Balvir.

They were accused of opening fire on Bahadur Singh while he was returning to his village on a bike after paying obeisance at a gurdwara in Bhagta village last evening.

Bahadur Singh alleged that some persons chased him in a Tata Sumo and opened fire at him due to which he fell from the bike. Following this, traffic got disrupted as people had gathered around him. On seeing the crowd, the accused fled from the spot.

Bahadur received bullet injuries on his thigh and was rushed to the Civil Hospital in Bathinda. The victim suspected that some villagers, who tried to stop him from becoming a witness in a land sale, could be behind the attack. His condition is stated to be normal. The police officials said no arrest had been made in this regard so far. Investigating officer in the case, ASI Bhupinder Singh said the accused was hit by a splinter and managed to hide in cotton crops in a nearby field. It seemed that the attackers came with an intention of killing him as he was posing as a witness in a land deal. The attackers had allegedly asked him not to become witness in the sale of a piece of land.

A case in this connection has been registered at the Bhagta police station.

Bathinda, September 23
Patiala gharana singer Barkat Sidhu was in the city for a musical concert that was organised by the Baba Farid Group of Institutes (Dhanoa) to celebrate the birth anniversary of Baba Farid.

“Sufiana and classical are the purest form of music and I always keep a distance from the emerging trend of commercialisation in the music industry,” maintained Sidhu.

Expressing concern over the diminishing essence of Punjabi singing, he said, “The audience is disappointed with the singers. However, they are equally responsible for the degradation of singing as what the singers are selling is being bought by the audience.”

He further added that he had seen many odds in his childhood. “I have been in the music line for over 45 years. However, I never hankered after fame to make money,” Sidhu added.

“I want to sing songs to give peace to the audience's mind. I love to sing sufinana kalams of Sultan Bahu, Baba Bulle Shah, Amir Khusro and Waris Shah,” Sidhu added.

The singer believes that the singing should give a good direction to the people.

He is also associated with various progressive groups and performs at their functions free of cost.

He also performs at Punjabi Bhawan in Ludhiana on May Day and also at ‘Gadri Babea da Mela’.

On being The hip-hop and rock music are in vogue and the youngsters are not receptive to the sufiana, classical and folk music.

To this, the singer said, “The young blood has the potential to learn fast. They have grabbed what they have been watching. It is the duty of parents to teach their children about rights and wrongs.”

On his views about piracy and plagiarism, he said, “These things should be controlled by making strict disciplines. Also, there is no respect for music these days. Anything can be written and sung by the lyricists and singer, respectively.”

Dressed in very simple attire, Barkat tactfully ignored questions about bigwigs of Punjabi music industry.