Nehianwala (Bathinda), October 10
Girl students from four government schools supposed to receive bicycles under the Mai Bhago scheme of the Punjab Government were put to inconvenience today as they were forced to reach the Nehianwala village where Member of Parliament and wife of Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal distributed bicycles.

Class XI and XII students from four schools, Bhokra, Sivia, Mehma Sarja and Goniana were to receive bicycles today. The students were forced to travel 2.5 kilometers to 8 kilometers to receive bicycles at the Nehianwala village free of cost.

"Since the government school at Nehianwala is close to the place where the MP was supposed to inaugurate the scheme, so we instructed the students from the four villages to gather at Nehianwala," said Amardeep Singh who was coordinating the event at the Nehianwala Government High School.

He said that 100 girl students from these schools got bicycles, excluding the students of Nehianwala Government School- the venue of the bicycle distribution function-as the school is up to class X. Students of classes XI and XII are included under the scheme.

The bicycles, with photographs of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, fixed on the front basket and printed on the chain cover of the bicycles, were brought to the school in tractor-trolleys to Nehianwala from Bathinda.

The students waited for more than three hours to receive the bicycles from the chief guest at the function.

The bicycles are painted in blue and saffron colours, which are also the colours of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) and the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP).

The photograph of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal is fixed in such a manner on the front basket of the bicycles that it can not be removed easily. All the bicycles bear stamp of a bicycle manufacturing company, Hi-Bird.

Harsimrat Kaur Badal inaugurated a newly constructed room in a temple, school building, a water works building and a newly-built plant of reverse osmosis (RO) at Nehianwala.

She spent ten to twenty minutes in the school premises and got pictures clicked with the girl students with the bicycles before addressing a small gathering of the villagers.

As many as 4459 bicycles are to be distributed in the schools of Bathinda district and 100 were given today which include 23 students from Bhokra, 20 from Sivia, 28 from Mehma Sarja and 22 from Goniana. Some of the students of class XII did not turn up to receive the bicycles as they were supposed to take their exams.

The principals of the government schools 
whose students got the bicycles said they had no other option but to obey the orders of their seniors who told them to rush to the venue to receive their bicycles.

Bhokra government school principal Sukhvir Singh admitting hassle said the students are pleased to get the bicycles free of cost despite travelling to the venue and waiting for the chief guest in the scorching sunlight. 

Bathinda, October 10
A rickshaw-puller was found murdered today near the Mittal Mall in the Vishal Nagar area of city today in the morning. The deceased has been identified as Tejav Yadav, who appeared to be nearly fifty.

Police officials were informed about the murder by the residents of the area who detected the body lying in a pool of blood near an isolated street of the locality.

Kotwali SHO Jagdeesh Lal said preliminary investigations reveal that the rickshaw-puller appeared to be coming from the Mittal Mall side. The clothes of the rickshaw-puller were stained with blood the buttons of his shirt were also found to be broken. It seems that the assailants had beaten him up while attacking him with a sharp-edged weapon. Since not many people use the quiet street where the murder took place, the injured rickshaw-puller might have died due to delay in detecting him, said the SHO.

He pointed out that an amount of Rs 1,370, a wrist watch and his mobile phone were found to be intact. A rivalry, heated arguments with his passengers or some commuter might be the reasons behind his murder, the police suspect.

The area DSP, SHO and others reached the spot today in the morning and shifted the body to the mortuary of the Civil Hospital.

The body was identified from the mobile phone of the rickshaw-puller. He was residing in a rented accommodation along with other migrants in the Deep Nagar locality. The migrants informed the relatives of the deceased who are expected to reach Bathinda to claim the body, said the police.

The police said the statements of people living near the Mittal Mall are being recorded in this regard. "We will soon arrest the culprits responsible for the murder of the poor man," said Kotwali SHO Jagdeesh Lal.

A case has been registered and the postmortem conducted, Lal informed. 

Bathinda, October 10
Panic has gripped the city following the emergence of hundreds of suspected or confirmed cases of dengue.

Over 100 patients with fever, including dengue positive cases, were undergoing treatment at the local Civil Hospital this morning. Besides, hundreds of patients with fever are being treated at the private hospitals in the city 
these days. These include suspected or confirmed cases of dengue.

Two to three deaths of the suspected dengue patients reported recently here have also created fear among the residents though the district health authorities are claiming that these patients died of some other diseases as they had never tested positive for dengue.

The total number of positive cases in the district has risen to 241, including 202 from the Bathinda city alone, this season. However, the remaining dengue positive cases have been reported from Talwandi Sabo block (25 cases), Goniana block (six cases), Sangat block (four cases), Nathana and Bhagta blocks (two cases each).

Panic prevails not just among the residents but also in the minds of the district health authorities as they have called doctors, staff nurses, pharmacists and laboratory technicians to the local Civil Hospital from the neighbouring districts as well to assist the local medical officers (MOs).

According to SMO Satish Goyal, three MOs and three pharmacists today arrived at the Civil Hospital from Sangrur district, two medical officers, three staff nurses and two laboratory technicians from Barnala and five pharmacists, two staff nurses and three laboratory technicians from Mansa district.

However, the residents are angry with the BMC as they feel it has 'failed' to carry out fogging to destroy the mosquitoes. Some NGOs have extended support to the BMC in fogging. The civic body has provided three fogging machines along with drivers and operators and since yesterday, fogging has been carried out in 24 areas.

A medical specialist at the local Civil Hospital, Dr KK Goyal, said people should not panic due to fever as it could also be due to a reason other than dengue.

He said there was no doubt that in dengue, platelet count reduces rapidly. But in other types of fever also like malaria, typhoid or infection of throat or abdomen, the platelets get reduced.

A local doctor, Ashwani Mittal, MD, said he has been treating a large number of dengue patients daily in his OPD and hundreds of suspected or confirmed cases were being treated by the private doctors in the city daily.

Meanwhile, a meeting was held in which the District Health Officer Dr Raghubir Singh Randhawa and the BMC Commissioner Uma Shanker were present along with the other doctors.

It was decided to send 25 joint teams of the health department and the BMC to conduct door-to-door survey and detect larva, causing dengue. It was also decided to counsel the people so that they do not panic. Each team has been assigned two wards. 

Bathinda, October 10
The prices of fruits, vegetables and mosquito repellants have skyrocketed following widespread cases of dengue.

The prices of edibles have shot up in view of the increase in the demand of the edibles and gadgets that help in fighting dengue.

A visit to the local market reveals that the prices of kiwi fruit, coconut, goat milk and mosquito repellant have shot up.

"Besides shelling out money on the medicines, medical check-ups and fees of doctors, people like me are spending extra money on fruits and vegetables which are said to be good for a dengue patient," said Tarsem, a resident of Ajit road.

Tarsem's wife, brother and a child are suffering from dengue for the last one week. He said despite taking precautions and using anti-mosquito repellents, his family members were detected to be suffering from dengue.

"The prices of kiwi fruit have jumped up from Rs 25 to Rs 30 per piece in just one week. Also, the price of coconut has shot up from Rs 30 to Rs 35," said Pushpa, a resident of Guru Ki Nagri.

Dengue patients said that goat milk is also said to be good for the patients and it has now become the much sought after for the relatives of such patients.

A shopkeeper on the Bhagu road said that the sale of mosquito repellents have also increased as dengue has spread its tentacles.

District Health Officer RS Randhawa, however, said that people have pressed the panic button without any reason. "Dengue is just like any other fever and people need not depend on hearsay and should strictly obey the doctor's prescriptions and suggestions," he said.

Bathinda, October 10
"India has inspired me to draw emotions and not just paintings. Since my childhood, I believed that my soul belonged to this place in one way or the other. It seems as if I have lived here for ages," said the French artist Martine Le Cam in a tête-à-tête today.

She was here with a set of 20 of her paintings exhibited at the Central University of Punjab (CUP).

A painter, poetess and a creative guide to literary tours, Martine is on her second visit to India for her research work.

Inspired by nature, she paints in China ink. Martine has been painting since her childhood and writes poems too. At the CUP today, he creations found admirers in students and the faculty members of the varsity.

She paints with spontaneity. "It is not the intellectual, but the emotional bent of mind that beckons me when I pick up the brushes. To paint is to touch the invisible. It means striking the right chord with the right shade of colours," she added.

The grand-daughter of the great artist Maurice Vogt, Martine drew inspiration from her maternal grand-father in the early years of her life. Her works reflect the tranquility of her region Massi des Maures.

Martine's companion RM Singh, secretary Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi, presented five of her poems, translated from French to English, before an august audience including the CUP Vice-chancellor Dr Jai Rup Singh, teachers and the students.

Martine has earlier held her exhibition 'Beyond the Borders' at the Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi where she presented 72 of her works.

Bathinda, October 10
The pen-down strike by the NRHM (National Rural Health Mission) employees today entered its seventh day in support of their demand regarding regularisation of their services in the district. The employees have also been staging a dharna on the premises of Civil Hospital here.

District president of the NRHM Employees Union Narinder Kumar said today the state government was dilly-dallying in the acceptance and implementation of their demand. “During the last many months, the Health Minister had given them many assurances but to no avail.

Narinder further said they would now visit the villages to expose the state government’s ‘anti-employee’ policies. “If our demands are not met soon, we would move towards Lambi to intensify our stir and also oppose the SAD-BJP alliance in the ensuing assembly elections, he warned.”

Meanwhile, the medical laboratory technicians, working at the government hospitals and health centres, have also been observing pen-down strike since October 4 in support of their demands.

They have also been staging a dharna since October 5 on the premises of the Civil Hospital here.

The protesters today used public address system to deliver the speeches.

After their attention was drawn towards the ‘silence zone’, they stopped the usage of mike.

Barring dengue tests, no routine tests are being conducted at the civil hospital.

The Association leaders also announced that their agitation would continue until their demands are accepted. They lambasted the government for sitting on their demands and not accepting them. 

Bathinda October 10
Dr Satpal Bhateja has been made adviser of the Doctor Cell of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) and in-charge of the four districts-Bathinda, Mansa, Faridkot and Muktsar by the president of the committee, Captain Amaninder Singh with the permission of the All India Congress Committee President Sonia Gandhi.

Dr Bhateja said doctors, nurses, pharmacists and class IVth employees related to medical professions are visiting him. He said he would soon employ the staff in all the four districts as well as blocks and would start working in the cities and villages by making different teams. He said, “With the formation of the teams, the party would become strong and also the problems of the medical professionals would easily reach the Congress party.”

He said the PPCC has formed 17 wings all over the state, which would play an important role in the upcoming assembly elections.

The patients would also be equally benefitted, he added.

Dr Bhateja would appoint a chairman, co-chairman, secretary and ten advisers each at the district and block levels to hear the problems of the medical professionals.

Bathinda, October 10
Under the ‘Mai Bhago Scheme’ of the Punjab Government, Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal today distributed bicycles among 100 girl students of the XIth and XIIth classes on the premises of the Government High School at Nahianwala village.

The bicycles were given to the students, belonging to the Government Senior Secondary School, Bhokhra, Government Senior Secondary School, Sivian, Government Senior Secondary School for Girls, Goniana, and Government Senior Secondary School, Mehma Sarja.

The scheme has been launched by the state government to promote the girl students for studies and provide them convenience for coming to school and back to their homes. Under the scheme, as many as 4,459 bicycles are to be distributed among the girl students of senior secondary classes.

Addressing the gatherings at various places, she lauded the Badal Government for enacting the Right to Service Act. She said this was a revolutionary step of the Badal Government, under which, people would now get their 67 works done within stipulated period of time. She also urged people to give another opportunity to the SAD-BJP alliance for forming the government and serve people once more.

During her visit to the villages, she inaugurated a reverse osmosis (RO) plant at Kothe Chet Singh Wala. She also inaugurated water works at Mehma Sawai and Kothe Natha Singh villages. Besides, she also inaugurated a ‘Dharamshala’ and an auction yard at Nahianwala village. She laid the foundation of a 66 KV Grid at Aaklian Kalan village.

Among others who accompanied her, Deputy Commissioner Kamal Kishore Yadav, Senior Superintendent of Police Sukhchain Singh Gill, vice-chairman of the PRTC Balkar Singh, chairman of Market Committee, Goniana, Iqbal Singh, and a member of district health advisory committee Om Parkash Sharma.

Later, Harsimrat Kaur Badal inaugurated two water works at Transport Nagar and Alam Basti here.

She also held a meeting with the ward presidents of the Istri Akali Dal at Aroma Palace here.

Bathinda, October 10
A total of 18 people have been booked by the Bathinda police in two separate incidents of beating at different police stations.

While nine people are booked at Dialpura police station for attacking the house of woman and firing gun shots, a similar number of people have been booked at the Rama police station for beating up two persons.

The complainant Gurdev Kaur of Dialpura Mirza village, said, “Six identified while four unidentified accused entered her house on Monday and fired gun shots. They ransacked the entire house and damaged a motorbike parked near the entrance of her house.”

The complainant said she was at her neighbours’ house when the incident took place. She said the accused tried to create panic in the area by attacking her house due to an old rivalry.

The accused have been identified as Inderjit Sharma, Vishavnath, Mauji Pandit, Deesha Singh, Jeetu and Gori, all residents of Dialpura village.

Police officials said efforts are on to nab the culprits. A case under various Sections of the IPC has been registered in this regard.

In another incident, Mewa Singh of Chak Heera Singh Wala village, alleged that three identified persons and seven unidentified people attacked him and his nephew with sharp-edged weapons and sticks.

The accused were identified as Kuldeep Singh, Gurmukh Singh and Darshan Singh. Efforts are on to identify another accused.

A case under various sections of the IPC and Arms Act has been registered. No arrests have been made.

Bathinda October 10
The strike of Farad Kendra employees has been going on even on the 15th day.

At the press conference held here today, the district president Harpreet Singh said Director, Land Record, Jalandhar is falsely implicating the leaders of the organisation and even suspending some of the employees. He said this is being done by the director to benefit his own persons.

The union has criticised the move of the director of Jalandhar. They said the government should curb the activities of the director, else, they may have to launch a stir.

Bathinda October 10
Due to the pen-down strike by the employees of the Sarva Sikhsha Abhiyaan (SSA)/Rashtriya Madhiamik Sikhsha Abhiyaan (RMSA), Punjab, the work in the offices halted on October 10.

On the occasion, state president Ankush Bansal and vice-president Beant Kaur congratulated all the employees for making the protest successful. They said today’s strike has boosted all the employees of the blocks and the districts. In their press statement, they said the government has no dearth of funds. Even then, it is not giving them appropriate salary.

The SSA has been started since 2001. They have proposed their demands to give them the regular scale and also government benefits should be given. — TNS