 |
|
|
From today, suwidha centre to SMS status report
Yatra leaves commuters caught in a jam
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Weatherman predicts drop in temperature
NGO to screen films on animal care in Dec
Cloakroom fails to serve its purpose
Bharat Mata Ki Jai...
Nationwide knitting contest held
House burgled
|
|
From today, suwidha centre to SMS status report
According to information available, till now, the staff at the Centre was sending an SMS to about 100 people daily about the status report, whether their work was in the stage of processing or it had been done. If the work had been done, then the person concerned was informed to collect the documents on any working day. However, this service will also continue along with the new service. Hundreds of people visit the Suwidha Centre on every working day to submit their documents or get the copies or certificates of their work done. These works relate to the issuance of driving licences, death and birth certificates, arms licences, copies of revenue documents, copies of the orders of the Deputy Commissioner and other officers like the ADC, the SDM, rural area/residence/SC or BC certificates, pesticide licences, vehicle registration and the transfer of vehicles. The centre reportedly receives 700 to 800 applications on every working day. At the time of submission of the documents at the Suwidha Centre, the employee of the Centre issues a receipt to the person concerned, on which a token number is written along with the year. With the introduction of the new service from tomorrow, the person concerned will be able to send an SMS on the helpline number of the Suwidha Centre by mentioning the token number and the year. After that, within half a minute, the person can get the status report of his work on his mobile phone. The status report will tell the person concerned whether the work is in the stage of processing or has been done. An employee of the Centre said that to avail of this new service, people would have to mention their mobile phone numbers on their application forms. Sources said the software for introducing the new service had been prepared by the company String Software and made available to the Centre.
|
|
Yatra leaves commuters caught in a jam
Bathinda November 13 However, the holding of the public meeting in the heart of the city was not without its share of problems. The meeting was held by blocking traffic on one side of the Mall road and almost at its intersection with the Hanuman Chowk. Though elaborate arrangements had been made to ensure a smooth flow of traffic, with the arrival of the rath yatra, the crowds surged, leaving the motorists and the commuters caught in the melee. The use of the mike elaborately in an area that houses residences as well as hospitals was also not received well by many. Large speakers were installed from the Hanuman Chowk till the Fauji Chowk which raised decibels in the area. The stage was set at the Hanuman Chowk on the Mall road and the loud speakers were pointed towards the either side of the main road. Interestingly, before the rath yatra arrived at the venue, the supporters and the organizers could be heard singing even Bulle Shah's poetry and they did not leave the mike even for a minute. The organisers played patriotic songs quite loudly. Members of the public were seen inconvenienced as they were diverted from their tracks by the police personnel on the one hand and the loud songs played by the BJP supporters on the other. "If it is a political rally, they should have organised it in an open ground. Why are they forcing the common man to hear their personal opinions and listen to their favourite songs. We are not at all interested in this noise," said Parvesh, who was seen quite irritated as he was denied entry by the policeman to the restricted area. In addition to the noise pollution, the residents were also troubled due to the diversion of traffic near the meeting venue. The rally, which could have been organised in any ground of the city, was organised in the heart of the city where the maximum rush is witnessed. Due to the blockade on one side of the Mall road, the commuters had to enter the market from the cloth market by crossing the Fauji Chowk. It is the Fauji Chowk, where traffic bottlenecks continued till the rally was over, which posed difficulties for the commuters. Even ambulances could be seen sidetracked from their ways by the traffic police. "To avoid the traffic chaos, the administration could have used the stadium on which crores have been spent. Why does the public have to suffer always due to any political bigwig's visit," said a commuter. The busy Hanuman Chowk has a bus stop where plenty of people were waiting for the bus unaware that all the traffic was being diverted from Fauji Chowk. "I was waiting for the bus for long and only now I have come to know from some passersby that the route of the buses have been diverted from Fauji Chowk. It is very difficult as the administration should have given prior information to the public to help us escape the difficulties faced during these rallies," said Amanpreet, a student, who is in the city to receive coaching.
|
|
Weatherman predicts drop in temperature
Bathinda, November 13 The chill, which remained behind the schedule in Bathinda and its adjoining areas during the first week of November and also in the first half of the second week, has now started reaching its near normal level. Sources in the weather office said that the temperature at the minimum level remained above normal around last Sunday and also in the first week of the current month. The reasons cited for this are both natural as well as man-made. While the reason for the mercury hovering above normal in the first week was man-made as the area witnessed straw burning on a large scale, natural factors like the onset of western disturbances caused the mercury to remain between 14 degree and 17 degree Celsius from November 9 to 11. As of now, the mercury is hovering around 11-12 degree Celsius in the morning. The nip is also quite palpable in the evening hours. The behaviour of the mercury has baffled the residents as well as woollen cloth sellers in the region. While the former were waiting to wear woollens just after Diwali, the latter were expecting a brisk business. However, the news emanating from the weather office suggests that the wait is almost over now as morning walkers are feeling the nip in the air and the sun has also became warm in the noon. With mercury dipping, cheer was seen on the faces of the shopkeepers in the Sunday market at Amrik Singh road. A shopkeeper said that last Sunday, buyers were not appearing to be enthusiastic and woollens failed to draw their attention while today, shops selling woollens remained crowded throughout the day. Residents were also seen preparing for the winter as sweaters, blankets and quilts were seen drying on the terraces of many houses in the city. The region has been witnessing the vagaries of weather for the last few years. As a resident, Kishan of Ganesha Basti, here rightly said, “Mercury behaving abnormally has become a normal feature nowadays.”
|
|
Sensitising People
Bathinda, November 13 President of the society Gaurav Goyal said the society was going to purchase a projector and a big (10'x10') screen to show the movies on animals in the mohallas, streets and schools, besides the open grounds, so that people start paying special attention towards the animals and involve themselves in the cause. He said the NGO would screen films which show how people commit atrocities on the animals and misbehave with them, besides leaving their pet animals alone when they need extra care. He said they would also screen films on the animals in the open grounds of temples every Tuesday as a large number of devotees visit the temples on that day. He said they would also screen the films in the big parks of several localities, including Panchvati Nagar, Ganesha Basti, Ganpati Enclave and Nai Basti. The NGO believes that while pets do receive a lot of care and affection, the attitude has to be broad based so that unwanted cruelty towards the animals can be prevented by sensitising people on the issue. Goyal said the society had formed a 30-member committee for providing 'dalia' (nutrition feed, made from wheat) to the cows in the gaushalas in the city. Each member had contributed Rs 100 for the purpose. He said 50 kg of 'dalia' is prepared at a cost of Rs 800. So, they would serve it four times a month in the Gaushalas. One kg of 'dalia' is sufficient for a cow, he added. He also said they would start their campaign from the Sirki Bazaar Gaushala in the days to come. The campaign would be extended to other Gaushalas, situated on the Dabwali road and at Gillpatti. He said they would also enroll more members in the committee to make the nutrition feed available to more cows.
|
|
Cloakroom fails to serve its purpose
Bathinda, November 13 Moreover, this is perhaps the only junction in the country where the passengers hire a rickshaw to avail of the cloakroom service as it is located around 200 meters away from the main gate of the station. Lack of porters — Bathinda has only five coolies for 20,000 passengers who uses the station every day - coupled with the distance of cloakroom from the platform and the main gate of the station discourage passengers to avail the facility. It's no exaggeration! If one goes by the data given by the sources in the Bathinda railway, it may be comprehended. “On an average, only 150 to 200 passengers avail of the cloakroom facility per month while nearly 20,000 passengers use the station everyday,” sources said, adding that more and more passengers could have used the amenities, had it been situated near the platform, enquiry office or the main gate. The ‘absence’ of the cloakroom has been causing a lot of inconvenience to the passengers, who carry luggage and use Bathinda station to get connecting trains. Naib Subedar Deepanker Dey who reached Bathinda by train today narrated his experience while talking to The Tribune at the cloakroom in the evening. “The facility of cloakroom is absent as it is not near platform or main gate,” Dey said and added, “I am to go to Patiala and I am carrying three bags. I had some work also at Bathinda. I needed to keep the bags at cloakroom.” Dey said he did not see any board guiding the passengers to the cloakroom. The person at the enquiry counter told that it was with the parcel room, which is situated some 100 meters from the gate. “I had to hire a rickshaw to reach the cloakroom and I have to again hire a rickshaw as I will be boarding another train,” he added. Another Army man, on the condition of anonymity, said it was a sheer wastage of money as to avail of the service, he had to give around Rs 40 to rickshaw puller. It is not that only passengers are losing the money, the railway would have also been earning more through the cloakroom, had the facility situated near the main gate or platform, sources in the railway said. Senior officials of the railway said if the passengers give suggestions or require the facility near main gate, the railway would certainly consider the matter as it is one of the important passenger amenities. Fact file
n On an average, only 150 to 200 passengers avail of the cloakroom facility per month while nearly 20,000 passengers use the station everyday n
More and more passengers could have used the amenities, had it been situated near the platform, enquiry office or the main gate n
The ‘absence’ of the cloakroom has been causing a lot of inconvenience to the passengers, who carry luggage and use Bathinda station to get connecting trains n
To avail of the service, the passengers have to shell out around Rs 40 to rickshaw-pullers
|
|
Reporters’ diary
In the city, for the BJP leader’s Rath Yatra, the organisers seemed very excited while making arrangements on the stage as well as the roads. The crowd started gathering when Advani was about to arrive at the venue. All the local leaders were fixed on the stage and started appealing to the locals to remain at the rally till their leader comes. They had flowers in their hands to sprinkle on their father-figure leader. After hearing the voice of any siren, the leaders started raising more and more slogans on mike. However, when they found noone, their alertness went in vain. It happened twice or thrice, which gave a funny sight to the mute spectators. Finally, when the supremo arrived, all the BJP workers jostled with each other and shouted slogans, ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ using all their powers in the vocal chords as if they were challenging or threatening the ‘Bharat Mata’. Moreover, LK Advani gave his speech from atop his luxurious bus (oops Rath), where the flowers could not reach and fell back on the leaders’ heads. Stop giving chillars please...
The cost of living has become so high that it has adversely affected all the classes including businesses, service classes, agriculturists and others. Interestingly, beggers are also no exception to it. In the markets and on the traffic lights, one can witness as many as five to ten beggars gathering around vehicles. In an incident, at the red light, a girl begged a motorcyclist. He looked for some change or chillars in his pocket and gave her a coin of Rs 2. Expressing her anger, the girl returned him the coin and said, “If you need, take some money from me, ‘Aajkal mehangai ch vi lok 1-2 deno hatde ni’ (Why don’t people stop giving these chillars when the prices of everything are going up).” She left the person cold and went to an other customer, who was in a car. Perhaps, she thought the car owner would be more well off than the motorcyclist. The PP fear...
For the inaugural ceremony of the World Kabaddi Cup-2011, the police force from various cities was called to safeguard the audience and avoid any untoward incident in the multi-crore event. However, a day before the ceremony, a fair like air was filled in the city as the small vends were seen surrounded by a number of Khaki men, who had to have their lunch from the vends nearby their duty areas. As per the Punjab Police (PP) tradition, the Khaki men feel ashamed, if they have to pay anywhere. On being asked about the payment, a vendor instantly reacted, "Hanji, eh sare poore paise de rahe ne, koi v free ch ni kha reha."(Yes, they all are paying for their food, nobody is being served free). Poor feeble vendor! How could he utter his plight before so many wand bearing cops of the Punjab Police. The FB mania...
Undoubtedly, the social networking sites have jarred the minds of the youth and these days it is very common to hear youngsters talking about the FB status every time. However, what if someone middle-aged talks flawlessly about the notifications, poking and the friend requests. The same thing happened when an employee of an institute was approached to get some information, he gave all the details. Every required detail was re-checked. It was very funny when the official asked for the Facebook or Twitter account and promised to send the friend request to remain in touch in the future. Thanks to FB! Even uncles and aunts are not spared. Holding traffic
A bike parked in the middle of a busy road baffled all as well as the drivers of vehicles. One had to think that something unusual had happened as no one could do such an act and block the entire traffic. All of a sudden, a youth came out talking over his cell phone and very patiently started the bike and moved on as if nothing unusual had happened. No wonder, traffic is tied up in knots! |
|
Nationwide knitting contest held
Bathinda November 13 The contest continued for two hours and the students competed in five categories of class VI to XI. The students knitted beautiful patterns, caps, booties and miniatures of purses and bags with colorful yarn provided by the Vardhman Company, which organised the competition nationwide. Some of the participating schools included Police Public School, Lord Rama Pubic School, MHR Senior Secondary School, Summer Hill Convent School, SSD Public School, SSD Moti Ram KVM Senior Secondary School and Dashmesh Public School. Ten best patterns from each category have been short-listed for the final evaluation phase. The state-level winners would be decided in Ludhiana by a panel of judges in December and its announcement would be made in January.
|
|
House burgled
Bathinda November 13 The victim, who lives alone at his place, along with his brother had gone to Hardiwar to immerse the mortal remains of his mother when the incident took place on October 29. When they returned on the next day, they found the broken locks of his home and everything scattered here and there on the floor. A gold chain, two gas cylinders, a television set and other items with some cash had been stolen. A complaint in this regard has been registered at the Canal Colony police station against the unidentified persons. Investigation is in progress.
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
Bathinda, November 13
Bathinda, November 13
