J A L A N D H A R    E D I T I O N

Residents not getting birth, death certificates on time
Gurdaspur, February 19
Residents are struggling to get birth and death certificates on time from Gurdaspur Civil Hospital despite the Punjab government’s tall claims of having implemented the Right to Service Act.

15 booked in 2 dowry cases
Tarn Taran, February 19
Fifteen people were booked in two dowry cases at different police stations in the district. Sources said five residents of Kila Jeewan Singh village, Amritsar, identified as Rupinder Singh, his father Surjit Singh, mother Rajwinder Kaur, sister Supandeep Kaur and brother Kiranbeer Singh were booked for harassing Amandeep Kaur.

Wife booked for abetment of suicide
Tarn Taran, February 19
Sukhdeep Kaur, a resident of Mirgandpura village, 35 km from here, was booked for abetment of suicide. The police said Kuldeep Singh, husband of the accused, died on November 11 last year after consuming poison.

Polio campaign
Phagwara, February 19
Pulse polio campaign was launched in Phagwara, Goraya, Phillaur, Bilga, Apra, Noormahal and Nakodar today. Children below the age of five were administered polio drops at various booths set up in and around the towns.

Residents not getting birth, death certificates on time
Ravi Dhaliwal
Tribune News Service

Gurdaspur, February 19
Residents are struggling to get birth and death certificates on time from Gurdaspur Civil Hospital despite the Punjab government’s tall claims of having implemented the Right to Service Act.

The Right to Service Act states that certificates should be provided within five days of application. However, scores of residents are harassed everyday as they are denied certificates for several weeks. Moreover, Pathankot residents have to travel 35 km to Gurdaspur as there is no Civil Surgeon office. Surinder Kumar of Dinanagar, Naresh Kumar of Paniyar and Navpreet Singh of Babbehali all complained that they were made to wait for hours despite having deposited their applications about a month ago.

Yet the hospital authorities have not received even a single application under the Right to Service Act. This is despite the fact that nearly 200 people turn up at the Civil Hospital everyday to get their documents.

The section dealing with the certificates have six officials dealing with 200 applicants and to top that important posts such as computer operator-cum-clerk, junior statistical officer and statistical officer are lying vacant.

Ashok Thanewal, superintendent, said, “We are facing an acute shortage of staff. We are takin help of health workers to ensure that applicants get their certificates on time. There was a huge backlog which has now been cleared. A team from Chandigarh is here to streamline the entire process.”

The applicants are primarily from villages of Gurdaspur and Pathankot districts. “Being uneducated the villagers do not know much about the Right to Service Act. This is one reason why we have not received even a single application challenging the delay in service,” said a senior health department official.

15 booked in 2 dowry cases
Our Correspondent

Tarn Taran, February 19
Fifteen people were booked in two dowry cases at different police stations in the district. Sources said five residents of Kila Jeewan Singh village, Amritsar, identified as Rupinder Singh, his father Surjit Singh, mother Rajwinder Kaur, sister Supandeep Kaur and brother Kiranbeer Singh were booked for harassing Amandeep Kaur.

The victim was married to Rupinder Singh about five years back. The accused has been demanding Rs 1 lakh and two tolas of gold ornaments.

In the second case, ten members of a family were booked for dowry. They were identified as Sukhjinder Singh, his father Balwinder Singh, elder brother Jaswinder Singh and his wife Pinder Kaur, younger brother Manjot Singh, sister Opinder Kaur and others.

Wife booked for abetment of suicide

Tarn Taran, February 19
Sukhdeep Kaur, a resident of Mirgandpura village, 35 km from here, was booked for abetment of suicide. The police said Kuldeep Singh, husband of the accused, died on November 11 last year after consuming poison.

Sukhwant Singh, the first uncle of the deceased, said Kuldeep Singh consumed poison after a fight with his wife. Sukhdeep Kaur. — OC

Polio campaign
Our Correspondent