Bathinda, January 16
Seven nominations across the six constituencies of the district were withdrawn today leaving 60 candidates in the fray for the assembly elections.

District Election Officer (DEO) Kamal Kishore Yadav said that from Rampura constituency, 14 candidates are left in the fray, including the Congress candidate, sitting MLA Gurpreet Singh Kangar, Sikandar Singh Malooka from Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Randhir Singh from Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Sukhmandar Singh from SAD (Amritsar), Lakhvir Singh from the People's Party of Punjab (PPP) and independent candidates, Manjit Singh, Jaswant singh, Amarjit Singh Sharma, Sikandar Singh, Praveen Kumar, Lakhvir Singh, Manjit Kaur, Paramjit Singh and Harinderjit Singh.

From Bhucho (reserved) constituency, nine candidate are left in the fray, including Congress candidate Ajaib Singh Bhatti, National Congress Party (NCP) candidate Ajaib Singh, SAD candidate Pritam Singj, CPI (ML) Liberation candidate Ami Lal, PPP candidate Harvinder Singh, Punjab Labour Party candidate Daljit Singh, Paramjit Kaur from SAD (Amritsar) and Raja Singh from the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP).

From Bathinda (Urban), 13 candidates are left in the fray including Sarup Chand Singla from SAD, Harminder Singh Jassi from Congress, Ranjit Ram from BSP, Sanjiv Kumar from Shiv Sena, Sukhdeep Singh Bhinder from PPP, Jasvir Singh from Lok Janshakti Party, Prem Kumar from Akhil Bhartiya Shiv Sena, Rajesh Goyal from General Samaj Party and independent candidates Sant Lal, Harmesh Kumar, Tribhuvan Kumar, Rakesh Kumar and Vijay Kumar.

From Bathinda (Rural) constituency, seven candidates are left in the fray including Surjit Singh Sohi from CPI, Harbans Singh from BSP, Darshan Singh from SAD, Makhan Singh from Congress, Kiranjit Singh Gehri from Lok Janshakti Party, Malkit Kaur from General Samaj Party and independent candidate Sarup Singh.

From Talwandi Sabo assembly constituency, nine candidates are left in the fray including Amarjit from SAD, Jeet Mohinder Singh Sidhu from Congress, Nikka Singh from BSP, Sukhdev Singh from PPP and independent candidates including Ajaib Singh, Amarjit Singh, Harpal Singh, Yadvinder Singh and Lal Chand.

Bathinda, January 16
Airtel's mobile customers in Bathinda and its nearby places were left high and dry during the entire day on Monday as a "technical glitch" caused problems concerning connectivity and call drops.

While complaining of non-connectivity, most of the Airtel customers here said not getting connected with other mobile users remained an issue throughout the day. They said they encountered such problems while calling on every network, including the Airtel, within and outside the Circle.

On calling on mobiles, particularly those with Airtel numbers, the callers received a system-generated voice from the other side like subscriber is out of the coverage area, out of reach or even busy.

"Whenever I tried to call on the Airtel network, I heard - the Airtel number you are trying to call is out of reach, just leave your voice SMS etc," rued Gundeep Singh, a lecturer at an engineering college in Bathinda.

While talking to Bathinda Tribune on Monday evening, Gundeep said he faced the problem throughout the day and the problem was yet to be rectified.

Narrating their woes, many customers said whenever they received a call, the callers said they had been trying to call them since long and their numbers remained out of reach.

Many Airtel subscribers complained of call drops. "Though I connected with others after making several calls, I failed to complete the chat as the call disconnected midway," a subscriber said.

Sources in the Airtel said "technical snag in cable" occurred in the morning hours of Monday causing network problem and connectivity loss.

However, the Airtel mobile users say they started facing such problems late on Sunday night.

Airtel officials, on the condition of anonymity, claimed that the faults in the cable might have caused the problems which are limited in nature and the company was trying to fix them.

"All the Airtel mobile users are not affected as the problem is confined in a limited area, probably within two to three towers," they added.

Though the officials claimed in the afternoon that efforts to rectify the technical snags were on and the problems would be sorted out within an hour, the issue persisted till filing this report.

Despite several attempts, senior officials concerned at Airtel, Chandigarh, could not be contacted for their comment.

Fact file

n Airtel customers complained of problems concerning connectivity and call drops.

n The callers received a system-generated voice from the other side like subscriber is out of the coverage area, out of reach or even busy.

Bathinda, January 16
While Punjab has been hitting the headlines because of the ongoing political slugfest, a battle of nerves, on the boxing turf in Maharashtra, also brought the state into headlines.

Meet the Bathinda girl, Priya, who has brought laurels to the state by wining the 57th National School Boxing U-17 Girls Tournament organised in Akola under the Pune district in Maharashtra besides adding another feather in her cap.

Priya, 16, was drawn towards boxing ring some three years ago while seeing her brother and sisters punching their way to glory. She learns the ABC of packing the punch from Balwinder Singh, boxing coach and lecturer at the Police Public School in Bathinda.

For Balwinder, Priya is a fine learner and a disciplined and focussed sportsperson. “She learns from her mistakes and is dedicated towards master the art of knocking her opponent out,” said Balwinder while talking to Bathinda Tribune on Monday. Upbeat over Priya’s performance, the coach said, “She would bring glory to the country as well.”

Aiming to grab medals at the international level, a student of class XI at the Government Senior Secondary School, Patiala, Priya has been practising for about five hours a day under the guidance of her coach, Meenakshi Kashyap.

Visibly satisfied with her current form which helped her clinch gold, Priya who returned from Akola yesterday, told Bathinda Tribune that as the per wish of her parents —- mother Rajbala, a housewife, and father Dharamveer, a railway employee in Bathinda— she has been working hard on the ring to fetch medals at the international level. Her opponents in the ring during the practice are also senior boys as she believes that sweat determines the smile.

Among her medal tally, the glitter includes a gold in Rural National Championship held in Fatehgarh, the state championship title, among others.

She firmly believes that one day, she would live up to the expectations of her coaches and family whose unrelenting support have been paving her way to success. 

Bathinda, January 16
Rapping the authorities on the knuckles, the Supreme Court has directed the state authorities to implement its December 2011 order to provide shelters to the homeless. The order aimed at "preserving and protecting" the homeless people from the intense cold wave conditions that the northern states are reeling under.

Unconfirmed reports say as many as five persons have already succumbed to the intense cold in Bathinda so far. The figure could be higher considering a large number of homeless persons spending their nights outside closed shops or under the flyovers.

Bathinda NGOs that have been distributing blankets, quilts and sweaters to the homeless and the needy, have now starting working towards providing shelters to the homeless to save them from chilly winters.

One such place that has come to the rescue of many homeless is the local Municipal Corporation's Rain Basera. The shelter is located opposite the MC office and is much sought after these days although it can accommodate only about as many as 50 persons.

The Supreme Court's December 2011 order had also emphasised on the availability of the basic facilities like drinking water, separate toilets for men and women, bedding, and medical aid.

The Rain Basera is managed by volunteers of the Sahara Jan Sewa, a local NGO, and the cleanliness of the place is taken care of by the 'safai karamcharis' of the Municipal Corporation, Bathinda.

Talking about the functioning of the Rain Basera, Vijay Goyal of the Sahara Jan Sewa said, "While the homeless can be spotted sleeping out in the open as well, we go around the city till one in the night looking for such persons who need shelter. If we find someone who doesn't have adequate covering or is sick, we immediately bring him/her to the Rain Basera, administer first-aid and give a place to sleep."

Speaking about the availability of quilts and blankets at the shelter, he added, "We keep getting calls from various societies and individuals wishing to donate old clothes and blankets. We have adequate number of warm clothes at the shelter."

Asking the governments in northern states to put into action the SC's order without "loss of any time", a bench comprising justices Dalveer Bhandari and Dipak Misra said, "The state governments' endeavour should be to preserve and protect the human lives." 

Bathinda, January 16
The Director General of School Education (DGSE) has warned against an NGO that has been collecting forms from the students of classes 9 and 12 in the name of holding an examination and providing scholarships to the students.

Director General of School Education-cum-project director Sarv Shiksha Abhiyaan (SSA) has written to all the district education officials in the state asking them to be cautious that the Government of Punjab or the education department does not have any tie-up with the forum.

Quoting the Under Secretary, Government of India, Human Resource Development, School Education and Literacy department’s a letter number 3-1/ 2011 - CDN (SE II), issued from Shastri Bhawan, the DGSE has asked school heads not to collect any kind of payment for this scholarship.

The NGO, namely, National Council for Development of Human Education, sector 31-D, Chandigarh, has been asking for registration fees of Rs 60 and Rs 300 for classes 9 and 12 with the aim of providing them scholarship through the school principals.

School heads have been warned not to collect any money for such kind of scholarship.

If any of the schools has collected money, the teachers have been directed to send a report of the amount collected to the DEO office so that it can be forwarded to the DGSE office.

DEO (Secondary) Harbans Singh Sandhu said reports have been sought from various schools in Bathinda.

Bathinda, January 16
The non-government organisations (NGOs) from Bathinda have taken it upon themselves to make the voters aware about their right and duty to vote. The NGOs' voter awareness campaigns, being hosted in the city these days, have not only gained appreciation from the administration, but have also inspired the NGOs from he adjoining areas to start similar drives.

Taking their cue from the voter awareness drives being organised in Bathinda, NGOs from Rampura Phul, Mansa, Maur and Bhucho are now planning to start similar campaigns in their respective areas.

"The work that is being done in Bathinda is exemplary. We also wish to start such campaigns in our area to encourage the voters to turn their back on the political parties or candidates that may try and lure them with inducements like money, drugs and liquor, in exchange of their precious votes. We also want to tell them that exercising their right to franchise is also their duty as an Indian citizen," said the head of one of the NGOs from Rampura Phul.

Bathinda NGOs are helping the NGOs of the adjoining areas in their noble cause. Rakesh Narula of Bathinda Vikas Manch said that ten voter awareness banners have already been prepared to be put up in Maur. He also shared that a meeting of the heads of Moga NGOs was called by the Deputy Commissioner, G Purushartha.

Voter awareness campaigns have been planned for Bhucho Mandi on Tuesday and Rampura Phul in the coming days.

Bathinda, January 16
Gun houses in the city are minting money by collecting exorbitant charges from the customers depositing their arms ahead of the Assembly elections.

Although arms are also being deposited at the police stations, there are many who prefer to deposit their guns, pistols and other arms with the private gun houses in the city.

The owners of these gun houses charge anywhere between `300 to `500 per month for keeping the arms with them.

As per the rule 1964 of the Arms Act 1959, the government is supposed to charge a mere `6 per month for depositing arms.

Talking about preferring private gun houses over police stations, those owning arms alleged that the policemen drive them to the gun houses citing various reasons including staff shortage.

“Although the arms can also be deposited at the police stations, policemen hardly cooperate if someone goes to the police stations to deposit arms”, said Sukhdev Singh, who recently deposited his 12 bore rifle with a gun house in the city.

He said that the gun houses are minting money since it is the election season and they are exploiting the fact that the customers have no option but to deposit arms in the gun houses.

There are around a dozen gun houses in the city that are now filled with the deposited arms. There are around 30,000 arms license holders and so far 12,800 weapons have been deposited by the arms holders.

Manoj Kumar, who has an imported pistol, rued that the police stations fail to take care of the weapons properly and policemen simply dump all the weapons at the Maalkhana.

“Now I have started depositing my weapon with the private gun houses, despite hefty charges, as they take care of the weapon better than the policemen do,” he said.

The customers also said that most of the private gun houses refused to give receipts for the money charged and instead gave slips that proved that an arm has been deposited with them by the owner.

Owner of a gun house in the city said that he was charging `350 per weapon for a month and customers had deposited nearly 500 weapons with his gun house. “Now, I am left with no place to deposit more weapons. Even now many customers are approaching me to get their weapons deposited,” he said, pleading anonymity.

Deputy Commissioner KK Yadav said that he was not aware about the gun houses levying heavy charges for depositing the arms. He, however, assured to look into the matter.

Bathinda, January 16
National Institute of Technical Teachers Training and Research (NITTTR) Chandigarh is organizing a one-week short-term course on Climate Change and Disaster Management in collaboration with the Punjab Technical University (PTU) Giani Zail Singh Campus Bathinda.

This short-term course was inaugurated today by the principal of the institute, Dr Gursharan Singh, and professor and head, department of rural development, NITTTR, Chandigarh Dr JS Saini.

Around 60 faculty members of the various engineering colleges of the region are participating in it. The course faculty includes NITTTR Chandigarh, National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar, National Institute of Disaster Management New Delhi, Indian Railways and the Indian Army.

Course coordinator, Dr Manjeet Bansal, from the PTU Giani Zail Singh campus, further said that at present, engineers and builders are giving much emphasis on making the buildings but few efforts have been made to make them disaster safe.

The only way to ensure minimum risk from natural disasters is awareness. Different types of disasters, their effects and mitigations will be discussed during this five-day course.

Dr Bansal further added that this short-term course will be of immense benefit to the participants in gaining more knowledge about different types of disasters and their mitigations.

Bathinda, January 16
An unidentified vehicle today crushed a woman on the Bathinda-Bajakhana bypass. The woman, who could not be identified, died on the spot.

Her body was kept in the mortuary of the Civil Hospital as policemen and NGOs made efforts to establish her identity. Volunteers of the Sahara Jan Sewa said the body of the woman got crushed under the wheels of the unidentified vehicle. The eyewitnesses failed to note down the registration number of the vehicle as it sped past after hitting the woman.

They added that the woman seemed to be mentally unstable and had been spotted roaming around on the busy road for the past couple of days.

Police officials were informed about the incident and a case in this connection has been registered. 

Bathinda, January 16
A resident of Raiya village, near Phul, has been booked by the police for beating up a woman and her son.

In her complaint to the police, Sukhpal Kaur, a resident of Shant Nagar, said Chand Singh used to visit her daughter who had divorced her husband around ten years ago.

The complainant shared that her daughter resides in Shant Nagar and the accused used to visit her there.

The complainant also said she, along with her son, had been objecting to Chand’s visit.

Chand, irritated with the protest, got upset and beat the mother-son duo.

A case under sections 325 and 323 of the IPC has been registered in this connection. No arrests have been made so far.

Bathinda, January 16
Volunteers of the Sahara Jan Sewa today rescued a mentally-unstable man lying unconscious near the Bathinda-Dabwali road.

Some passersby had informed the NGO about a man lying on the side of the busy road.

President of the NGO, Vijay Goyal said that a volunteer of the NGO rushed to the spot at around 11 last night and found a man shivering. He was given a blanket and also administered medication at the NGO’s office. 

Bathinda, January 16
A resident of Maur Mandi, identified as Raj Singh alias Babbu, has been booked at the Talwandi Sabo police station for possessing 186 vials and 900 habit forming drugs.

The investigating officer-cum-complainant in the case, SI Gurcharan Singh, said the accused was arrested during special checking being done by the Punjab Police ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections.

A case under sections 22, 61, 85 of the NDPS Act has been registered in this connection at the Talwandi Sabo police station. The IO also said further investigation by the police is underway.