Phoos Mandi (Bathinda), October 5
Petrol and diesel, worth lakhs, is being illegally sold everyday in the Phoos Mandi area, the hub of the petro-chemical industry in the region. The pilferage is going on right under the nose of the police, the administration and the oil companies.

The oil is pilfered from the trucks which are supposed to transport petrol and diesel from the oil depots to petrol pumps in Punjab and some areas of Rajasthan.

The sale of illegal oil has become an easy way to earn money for those who have adopted the 'profession' as a full-time occupation. There are more than a dozen 'nohras' (closed parking place for trucks with high walls) adjoining the three oil depots of the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL).

It is at these places that trucks carrying oil is allegedly pilfered.

Nearly 250 trucks containing thousands of litres of oil come out of these depots everyday and could be seen entering these Nohras. The trucks after coming out of the depots, enter the nohra and its big iron gates are shut. The trucks come out again after a few minutes.

"Almost every truck pilfers oil before delivering it to the petrol pump. From each truck, 10 to 100 litres of oil is stolen everyday and sold to the local customers at a cheaper rate," said the president of the Petroleum Association of Mansa, Amritpal Garg.

Garg said that fuel worth lakhs is sold at the place due to which the sale of petrol pumps also gets affected. "We have brought the matter to the notice of the company officials many times during meetings but nothing has been done," he said.

Posing as a prospective buyer, The Tribune team visited a few of the nohras. While petrol is sold at a rate which is Rs 10 to Rs 15 cheaper than the market rate, the selling price of diesel is Rs 10 less than its actual price.

"You may purchase 220 litres of petrol in bulk for Rs 800 less than its actual price. We are selling petrol and diesel in bulk and people come from far off places to purchase the oil," said an oil seller on the Bathinda-Mansa road.

He said his customers include tractor, truck and bus drivers. At times, policemen, marketing executives, doctors and people in field jobs also purchase the oil.

"Since our oil is not of good quality as it also contains dust particles, we have now stopped selling it to the car owners. We prefer selling it in bulk to the farmers, tractor drivers and other needy people," the oil seller said.

The owner of Mann Petrol Pump in Bathinda, Baljit Singh Mann said people are aware of the illegal sale near the oil depots for the last four decades but the police and the administration choose to remain mute spectators due to reasons best known to them.

"Pilferage leads to losses for the petrol pump owners as truck operators devise ways to make up for the quantity of the fuel. They have altered the oil tanks in such a manner that the fuel is measured accurately. Many truckers also indulge in adulteration after pilfering the oil from the trucks," he said.

Though the police had registered a case earlier for selling and stealing fuel from the oil tankers, but nothing concrete has been done to stop this practice.

Oil is reportedly procured from Kandla, Mathura and other oil refineries, which is stored in huge oil tankers and is further distributed to the petrol pumps.

Deepak Goyal, owner of a petrol pump at Hanumangarh in Rajasthan, while admitting the problem, said the matter has been brought to the notice of the authorities concerned but te pilferage continues unabated. Baldev Singh, Fire Officer at the Bathinda fire station said a truck caught fire three months ago at one of the nohras.

"Truckers were trying to extract petrol or diesel from a large number of small plastic containers using an electric motor. They were trying to fill a redundant big oil tank with fuel," he said.

A case under sections 279 and 411 of the IPC was registered at Kot Fatta police station against Sukhjinder Singh. Similar incidents of fire were also reported in the past as well but no action was initiated in this regard.

Almost every truck pilfers oil before delivering it to the petrol pump. From each truck, 10 to 100 litres of oil is stolen every day and sold to the local customers at a cheaper rate. — Amritpal garg, President, Petroleum Dealers Association, mansa

I am not authorized to speak to the press. You may contact officials sitting in our Mumbai head office in this regard. I also have no idea about the illegal sale outside oil depots. — RK Uppal, Chief regional Manager, HPCL

Bathinda, October 5
Due to the indefinite strike by the medical laboratory technicians at the Civil Hospital here and at other health centres, the laboratory work in the entire district today remained paralysed in a big way.

Even the routine tests of the patients could not be conducted at the laboratories due to which they were compelled to visit the private laboratories where they more money has to be shelled out on the tests as compared to the charges at the Civil Hospital.

Among these patients, there were reportedly several poor, who were advised tests.

Some patients were of the opinion that as the laboratory technicians were on strike for indefinite period, the government should make some alternative arrangements so that the poor and the patients from the lower middle class could get their tests conducted in the hospital, in place of the private laboratories where tests are conducted at higher rates.

However, keeping in view the seriousness of the dengue cases, the Medical Laboratory Technicians Association has exempted the technicians working at the Blood Bank and the Biochemistry Laboratory at the Civil Hospital here so that the dengue tests, like Mac Elisa, could be done.

Besides, the association leaders also said that the laboratory technicians would also deal with emergency cases, like accidents.

Under the banner of the association, the laboratory technicians from the district today staged a dharna at the Civil Hospital (in front of the Blood Bank) here.

They also raised slogans in support of their demands, like risk allowance, rent free accommodation, regularisation of technicians working on contract basis.

District secretary of the association Resham Singh said there were 33 permanent laboratory technicians and 15 on contract basis in the district.

He said all the technicians, except some who had been allowed to work for testing dengue, were on strike.

He also said that in case the state government did not accept their demands, then on October 11, laboratory facilities throughout the state would be paralysed completely.

He said even the delivery, dialysis and TB cases besides the emergency would be affected badly.

He also said though the association understood the problems and inconvenience to the people but it had been compelled by the state government to do so as it had adopted an indifferent and adamant attitude towards their demands.

The stir by the lab technicians comes at a time when the Civil Hospital is already grappling with the problem of staff shortage.

As dengue patients crowd the wards in the Civil Hospital, the health authorities are already despairing at the situation they are in. 

Bathinda October 5
The Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has decided to honour those villages of Bathinda, Mansa and Muktsar districts that will celebrate Diwali without bursting the crackers.

The award for a cracker-free Diwali has been announced to create awareness about the increase in pollution among the villagers.

The XEN, PPCB, Najjer Singh said, "We have given an invitation to all the villages and are waiting for their response. The honour will be in the form of trophies or other basic help that will be provided to the villagers by the PPCB."

"The Board will recognize those villages that will celebrate the festival peacefully as eco-friendly. The panchayats and the youth or the sports club of the villages will be involved. Also, help will be taken from the district science supervisors, school teachers and Board employees," he said.

The villages that will emerge as winners will be awarded during the Environment Awareness Month, to be observed from November 19 till December 18.

The PPCB, in collaboration with the Education Board, is also planning to organise rallies of schoolchildren on October 13, in the villages of Bathinda, Mansa and Muktsar districts to create awareness about the harmful effects of stubble burning. With these rallies, a message would be conveyed to the farmers not to burn the paddy stubble as it is hazardous for the environment.

"Every year, 20 lakh tonne of paddy stubble is burnt in the months of October and November, which is a major cause of pollution. It is harmful for the natural resources in the fields. Moreover, it becomes a major threat for the insects in the soil. To reduce these destructive effects, we are trying hard and the planned rally is to make the farmers aware of these harmful effects of pollution," Najjer Singh said.

"To make the effort successful, the PPCB will require the help of the district education officers of the secondary and elementary schools, CBSE schools, agriculture and forest departments and various NGOs."

The PPCB will also measure the noise pollution on Diwali and Dussehra with the help of a device, Decibel Meter. The noise will be measured on the previous day of the festival and on the day of the festival. The comparison will be evaluated for an account of the noise pollution created by the crackers on the festivals.

The device will be used in some specific areas such as the Dussehra Ground, which witnesses a heavy rush of residents, city markets which have a fair amount of people visiting on the day of the festival and other locations, which are otherwise peaceful. 

Bathinda, October 5
In the absence of a radiologist for the last over one year at the local Civil Hospital, the ultrasound and mammography machines have been lying unused. Owing to the problem, the poor especially hailing from the BPL families, who cannot afford to take ultrasound or mammography test at a private centre, at times avoid to undergo such tests.

Deputy Medical Commissioner (DMC) at the Civil Hospital here Dr Vinod Garg also confirmed, “Dr Gurbinder Singh, Radiologist, has been absent from duty since September 3, last year. Since then, the ultrasound and mammography machines had been lying idle.” He said technically the post of the radiologist was not vacant on papers.

It was also learnt that the hospital authorities have suggested the top health authorities at a meeting that they should transfer Dr Gurbinder Singh from here so that his post could be filled by other radiologist.

As per the information, since September 3, last year, no ultrasound test has been conducted in the Civil Hospital here though during the earlier months (from April 2010- August 2010) thousands of tests had been conducted by Dr Gurbinder Singh. He conducted 540 ultrasound tests in August, 445 in July, 610 in June, 450 in May and 376 in April. Later, a large number of ultrasound tests are being conducted by the private ultrasound centres. In the hospital, the test is conducted only for Rs 150 while at a private ultrasound centre, it is done for Rs 400.

Likewise, in April 2010, as many as nine mammography tests were conducted at the local Civil Hospital while in May (11 tests), in June (12 tests), in July (56 tests), in August (42 tests). However, in the month of September, 12 tests, in October four tests and in November one test was conducted by others.

While in February and March, this year, as many as 10 and 35 tests, respectively, were conducted at mammography camps. However, during the financial year, no mammography test has been conducted so far.

In the hospital, the mammography test is done for Rs 100 while in the market the patient has to spend manifolds. The worst-affected persons are the Punjab Government employees, ex-servicemen, BPL/yellow card-holder and freedom fighters, for whom there are no charges for an ultrasound/mammography test in the hospital. 

Bathinda, October 5
Under the banner of the ‘Computerised Land Records Employees Welfare Association’, Punjab, a large number of employees of the Punjab Land Records Society (PLRS), working in Farad Kendras throughout the state, today burnt the effigy of Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal and blocked the vehicular traffic for 40 minutes in support of their demand regarding regularisation of their services at the main Bus Stand Chowk here.

Earlier, they took out a protest march from the Mini-secretariat to the Bus Stand Chowk and raised slogans against the state government and in favour of their demand. At the Chowk, they also held a ‘Siapa’ around the effigy of the Deputy CM and completely blocked the traffic by forming a large circle there.

Neither the buses could enter the bus stand nor come out of it. The commuters remained inside the buses for 40 minutes. They agreed to lift the blockade following local SDM Sandip Rishi’s assurance of arranging their meeting with the CM on October 7. They also submitted a memorandum to the SDM for forwarding it to the state government.

Bathinda October 5
Punjabi singer Feroz Khan has proved his worth in the both the Bollywood and Pollywood. From a small town Malerkotla, he has spread the Punjabi music beats in all the discotheques.

He was in the city to perform on the last day of the zonal youth festival of Bathinda zone, today.

Hailing from the families of singers, Feroz started singing since childhood. His maternal uncle Shaukat Ali Matoi was his mentor. However, he got his basic music education from Anil Bharti, who was his music teacher at the Government College of Malerkotla. “Music is in my blood. My whole maternal family is in the music profession. So I did not face any difficulty in learning the basics of music. It naturally comes from my soul whenever I am on the stage,” he said.

He has been in the music profession for over 20 years. According to him, there is no short-cut in life, he said, “I have done a lot of struggle for over seven years to establish myself. After that I never turned back. It was only my hard work, which has brought me to this stage.” The songs of movie Mannat, directed by Gurbir Grewal ‘Paani Diya Challan’ and ‘Umran Di Saanj’ made him favourite of his Punjabi fans.

The fast beat songs like ‘Tapke Masti’ from movie London Dreams and ‘Sohniye dil nahi Lagda’ have made his space in the Bollywood singers. However, he wants to sing romantic songs in the Bollywood,which can show the original quality of his voice. “Be it fusion or the sufi singing, I want to prove myself in every genre.” His favourite singers are Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar and Sardool Sikandar. 

Bathinda October 5
The concluding third day of the Zonal Youth Festival - 2011 of the Punjabi University Patiala (Bathinda Zone) began with the heartbeat of Punjabis, the folk dance Bhangra at the Baba Farid College, Deon, Bathinda. On the last day of the fest, Bhanga remained the main attraction of the youngsters. The competition of mime and skits were also held.

Managing Director of the Baba Farid Group of Institutes (BFGI) Gurmeet Singh welcomed the chief guests IPS Nirmal Singh Dhillon, Inspector General of Police, Bathinda Municipal Commissioner Uma Shankar and Dean Academic, Punjabi University, Patiala, Sukhjinder Singh Tiwana. Other dignitaries included Dean College Development Council, Punjabi University, Patiala, Dr Jamsheed Ali Khan and AETC Bathinda Pawan Garg.

Nirmal Singh Dhillon said, “The students must participate in extra-curricular activities, which adds to their overall development.”

The famous Punjabi singer Feroz Khan and the winner of the Voice of Punjab-2 Pardeep Sran entertained the audience and the young crowd danced to their tunes.

The winners of Bhangra and mime competitions were the teams of the Government Brajindra College, Faridkot while Baba Farid College (Deon) team won the second prize in both the competitions.

In the skit competition, Government Rajindra College (Bathinda) bagged the first prize while Baba Farid College (Deon) team stood second.

For getting the maximum awards in various competitions, Government Rajindra College (Bathinda) lifted the overall first trophy of the Zonal Youth Festival. And the winner of the second trophy is the team of Brajindra College Faridkot.

In the end of the fest, MD of the BFGI Gurmeet Singh congratulated the winners and other participants for becoming the part of the youth fest.

Bathinda, October 5
Bathinda police today arrested two accused with smack from Bir Talab village. The accused have been identified as Satnam Singh of Bir Talab village and Jeet Singh of Ferozepur.

A case in this connection has been registered under Sections 21, 61, 85 of the NDPS Act.

Police officials said the accused were carrying 21 grams smack and were intervened during a special checking.

The police officials said a special drive was launched a few months ago to nab smack smugglers and addicts selling the same in Bir Talab village.

The arrests are made after a gap of many days as earlier a large number of unscrupulous elements were arrested by the police for possessing, consuming and selling smack.

Meanwhile, a resident of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar lodged a complaint with the police wherein he stated that his Indigo car (PB-10Q-5788) was stolen from outside the Mittal Mall on October 2.

The car, as per complaint, was worth Rs 4 lakh. A case in this connection has been registered by the police at Kotwali police station. Investigation is in progress in the case.

Bathinda, October 5
An illegal factory manufacturing fire-crackers was unearthed by the sadar police last night. The factory was operated by two brothers, Sunil Kumar and Jagdish Kumar, both residents of Bathinda.

They were operating the factory on the Naruana road.

Sadar SHO Gurjeet Singh Romana said that a raid was conducted following secret information and the factory owners failed to produce any valid document pertaining to the licence for manufacturing the fire-crackers.

He said that such factories pose danger to the residents living in the area.

A case under sections 3/4 and 9B of the Explosives Act has been registered against the accused. They were arrested on the spot and sent to jail.

Police officials said that the accused had been operating illegally for a long time. Fire-crackers worth an estimated Rs 1.6 lakhs were recovered from the factory and its market price was valued at around Rs 16 lakhs. 

Bathinda, October 5
Bathinda police have booked six people for stealing five cattle from the Chak Fateh Singh Wala village.

In his complaint to the police, Mukhtiar Singh said that the accused Furman Qureshi, Irfan Qureshi, Babbu Khan, Momin Khan, Cheeku Qureshi, all residents of Muzaffarnagar and Raj Bath of Budhlada had stolen the cattle.

He said the cattle were tied in his cattle yard and the accused managed to take it away at night.

The animals were yielding milk and were worth Rs 1.5 lakhs, the complainant said. A case has been registered against the accused at Nathana police station. No arrests have been made so far.

In a similar incident, Ram Singh of Dhingar village complained that three cattle were stolen from his yard by some unidentified people.

The cattle were worth nearly Rs 80,000. A case in this connection has been registered under sections 457 and 380 of the IPC at Phul police station.

Further investigation is on in the case to determine the antecedents of the accused and their local connections.