Bathinda, April 11
The officialdom here is defying with impunity the orders of the Chief Minister, Parkash Singh Badal, to be present in their offices from 9 am to 5 pm on all working days.

The Tribune team that visited the Mini-secretariat for a reality check between 9-10 am today, found that hardly any senior official had reached the office in time. Most officials turned up much later than the scheduled time and the common people who had come to meet them with regard to their grievances had to return unattended.

The Deputy Commissioner, KK Yadav, had proceeded to Kaljharani where the Deputy CM, Sukhbir Singh Badal, had to arrive for his tour to Jalalabad.

The personal staff of the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Harjit Singh, was not aware of his whereabouts.

The DIG (Bathinda Range), Pramod Ban, and SSP, Sukhchain Singh Gill, had proceeded to Talwandi Sabo to make security arrangements for the Baisakhi Mela and the political conferences on April 13.

The situation was almost similar in other offices till almost 10 am. Even the parking lot made for the officers to park their vehicles remained unoccupied till that time.

The District Town Planner was also not present in his office and the chair was waiting for its occupant. His personal staff said the officer had gone out of the city for some meeting.

Both the executive engineers in Public Works Department, Kulbir Singh Sandhu and Daljit Singh, were also not present in their offices. Their junior staff said they would be reaching within a few minutes.

Neither the District Development and Panchayat Officer (DDPO), Rajinder Singh Batra was present, nor the District Revenue Officer, Amandeep Singh came till about 10 am.

Deputy Registrar, Co-operative societies, Harbant Singh Jattana, according to his staff, had gone to attend an awareness camp in a nearby village.

Surprisingly, both Malkit Kaur and Khushbir Singh, District Education Officers for elementary and secondary education, respectively, had reached their offices well in time. Repeated attempts to contact the Deputy Commissioner KK Yadav remained futile.

Bathinda, April 11
High velocity winds and mild showers rendered the city residents powerless owing to technical snags. Power supply all over the city got disrupted on Monday night when strong winds blew, while the first showers of the season created problems in insulators installed at various places.

“During winter, insulators get covered with a thick layer of dust. The first showers of the season washed away this layer and created technical problems leading to disruption of power supply,” said the officials of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL).

There are no provisions for cleaning the low-tension wires and first showers always create power disruption. “We may call it a blessing in disguise, but after the first showers, other spells of rain do not pose any problems for us,” added the technical staff of the PSPCL, Bathinda urban.

Due to a similar problem, the express feeder in the Civil Lines area developed a problem leading to the snapping of hotline power supply to the areas of Civil Hospital, Max Hospital and residential areas situated in Civil Lines. The power went off at around 3 am today and was restored only by 8:30 am.

The PSPCL officials maintained that no unscheduled power cuts were being imposed in the city. Instead, the feeders were being shut down for maintenance and repair purposes. Today, the Vishal Nagar feeder was closed down for maintenance from 10 am to 1 pm rendering the areas of Vishal Nagar and Panchvati Nagar powerless. The power load on Thermal Colony feeder has been increased and today, some of the load was shifted to the Vishal Nagar feeder.

As per the PSPCL rules, all repair and maintenance work should be completed by April 30. However, this year, the work got delayed due to the model code of conduct imposed in the wake of the assembly elections.

“Even if we tried to repair a feeder or change its power cables, people complained against us. We were instructed to stop the work completely and resume it only after the code of conduct was lifted,” added the PSPCL officials pleading anonymity.

Having lost the winter months to the code of conduct, the PSPCL is now trying to make up by shutting the feeders for maintenance and expediting the work.

Bathinda, April 11
For the residents of Bathinda, who have two boating sites, one at the thermal lake and the other at Chetak Park on the Bathinda-Chandigarh highway, the latter proves to be a better place to hang out to beat the heat in the evening, all because of the availability of tickets at cheaper rates.

Chetak Park, which is being maintained and run by the Army, offers a ride to four persons on a pedal boat for just `25 for 20 to 30 minutes, whereas at the thermal lakes, a pedal boat is available at the rate of `50 per person.

The lush green lawns at Chetak Park also attract a number of youngsters. The authorities managing the park also offer some discounts to students to attract the school kids.

“If a school organises a trip, we charge them only `3 per student as entry fee, which is otherwise `5 for kids and `15 for an adult,” said an official, sitting at the ticket counter at Chetak Park.

He further added that as many as eight kids can enjoy a boat ride at one time, whereas only four adults can pedal the same boat.

Giving further details, he said, “Yesterday, we sold tickets for 33 boats, which shows people like to come here. Besides boating, we have a Mickey Mouse ride for kids at the rate of `5 per person.” The only dull point about the park, it seems, is the fact that it remains closed on Monday.

On the other hand, when TNS visited the thermal lake, it was found that the private company, which has the contract to run the boating facility, had arranged for not only the pedal boats, but also electric boats, shikaras, water scooters and speed boats.

But the ticket prices were much higher as compared to those at Chetak Park.

Here, a person has to shell out `50 for a pedal boat, `100 for an electric boat and Rs 100 for a shikara.

Interestingly, to run an electric boat and a shikara, a minimum of four persons are required. This means that a ride in an electric boat and a shikara would cost `400 each.

Similarly, the water scooter is available for `300 per person and a speed boat at `200 per person.

Shashi Kumar, an official sitting at the ticket counter here, said, “On an average nearly, 100-150 persons ride the boats daily. We are hoping to see an increase in the number of visitors in the ensuing summer.”

“Having modern boats gives us an advantage over other places offering boat rides,” he added.

Both the Chetak Park and the thermal lake, have food junctions, where they serve fast food and beverages to the visitors.

Bathinda, April 11
A newly-wed teacher couple, employed in two different government schools, met with an accident yesterday. While the husband succumbed to the injuries, the wife was critically injured and is undergoing treatment at a hospital in Ludhiana.

The couple, who had got married in January, were on their way to their schools when a speeding Maruti Alto car, bearing the registration number HR-29-CB-T-4825, hit their bike.

In her complaint to the police, the deceased’s wife Amandeep Kaur, a resident of Guru Teg Bahadur Nagar, Mansa, said she was riding pillion on the bike driven by her husband, Harpal Singh.

They were going towards Maur Mandi and at around 6 am, they reached the Ghuman Kalan village where their bike was hit by a speeding and rashly-driven Maruti Alto. They were rushed to a nearby hospital by some passersby.

Ajaib Singh, a family friend of the couple, said Amandeep had suffered hip, leg and thigh fractures.

Police officials said a case under the sections 304-A, 279, 337, 338 and 427 of the Indian Penal Code had been registered at Maur police station against the unidentified driver of car.

No arrests have been made in this regard so far.

Bathinda, April 11
In a quaint place like the Jaipalgarh village, which comes to life only for a few days during the Virasat Mela, one would not expect much to be happening during the rest of the year. But since the last week of March, the zaildaar’s haveli inside the village has been buzzing with activity.

It is here that the Rashtrawadi Granthalaya Sabha, Punjab, in association with the Malwa Heritage Foundation, recently opened the Sahib-e-Kamaal Guru Gobind Singh Public Library, Bathinda.

The library, opened inside a room, which looks rather small to house books worth `3-4 lakh, boasts a collection of books and literature ranging on subjects from health to wealth. Niranjan Singh Premi, head of the Bathinda chapter of the Rashtrawadi Sabha, shows with pride the Shri Guru Granth Sahib Darpan, Quran Sharif and the Ramayana.

“What is special about the Ramayana and the Quran Sharif kept here is that both are in Punjabi. Everyone knows about his/her own religion, but we want interested people to learn what holy books of other religions teach. This will diminish ignorance about other religions. Here, we’ve kept all the three scriptures on the same shelf,” says Premi.

A walk around the library and you get to know that the library indeed has books on various topics in English, Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu. There are books on agricultural practices, Commonwealth countries, Mizo society, human rights, economics, ‘tantra vidya’, ‘bhakti’, ‘sadhna’, ‘upasana’, folk songs, Buddhism, Jainism, Marxism, bound reports from Parliament sessions, parenting, early childhood, among many others.

Premi rues that the public libraries are not as popular among the public as they should be. “Earlier, grandparents used to relate to the children in the family, stories that had moral lessons. But now, technology takes up all the free time that the children have. We are planning to stock up more books that would interest children and will revive their reading habits,” he says.

Harvinder Singh Khalsa, head of the Malwa Heritage Foundation, says, “We gave support to the Rashtrawadi Granthalaya because we wanted more and more people to come to the village and read books on culture, world history, religion and literature and expand their knowledge base.”

The library, at present, has as many as 175-200 members. While the members are allowed to take the books home, the non-members can sit at the library and read the books. “There are certain books that are not available in the market anymore, and some that are so old that their rate is in ‘aanas’ but they are precious. For such books, even the members have to submit the cost of the book as a security before taking the book with them,” says Premi.

The library is open from eight to ten in the morning and from five to seven in the evening. “We would like to open it for the whole day, but for some technical reasons. There is no provision for drinking water here. Also, right now we don’t have a power connection. Power is supplied to this village only during the Mela. We’ve spoken to the Deputy Commissioner who assured that the power connection will be granted soon,” says Premi, and adds, “After that, we would go full throttle with popularising the library.”

Bathinda, April 11
Due to the strike and dharna by the doctors of the local Civil Hospital and the local Women and Children Hospital, the functioning in the OPDs at both the hospitals was affected adversely for about three hours. Due to this due, the patients had to suffer a lot as many of them returned to their destinations without getting themselves examined.

The doctors today worked in the OPDs till about 10 am. But later, they gathered in front of the emergency ward and staged a dharna for about three hours there in protest against the action of the Civil Surgeon.

The Civil Surgeon had recommended to the Director, Health and Family Welfare, Punjab, the transfer of two doctors from Bathinda to any other place after a patient reportedly died after about three hours of his arrival in the hospital yesterday, allegedly due to improper treatment.

The recommendation was made by the Civil Surgeon, based upon an inquiry report following the death of the patient in the hospital. The inquiry report was submitted by a three-member board that opined that Dr Shekhar Mangal and Dr Dhiraj Goyal, both emergency medical officers (EMOs), were guilty.

In the light of the inquiry report, the Civil Surgeon recommended disciplinary action against both the doctors, besides their transfer from Bathinda.

A leader of the doctors said both the doctors were innocent and they were being punished without any fault of theirs.

He said the condition of the patient was already critical and the doctors on duty did what could do in this case.

He said under pressure from the relatives and others, the Civil Surgeon ordered an inquiry as the relatives and others had started raising a hue and cry.

Later, the doctors lifted the dharna at around 1 pm and joined duties in the OPDs when the Civil Surgeon Dr Iqbal Singh, along with the deputy medical commissioner Dr Vinod Garg and district health officer Dr Raghubir Singh Randhawa, visited the site of the dharna and gave them an assurance, that action will not be initiated against the two doctors.

Dr Gurmail Singh said they lifted the dharna and ended their strike when the Civil Surgeon gave them in writing that no action would be taken against both the doctors accused of negligence.

On the other hand, when contacted, Civil Surgeon Dr Iqbal Singh said after holding talks with the Director, Health and Family Welfare, he had given an assurance to the agitating doctors of the two hospitals that for the time being, no action would be taken against the two doctors caught in the eye of the storm.

Bathinda, April 11
Close on the heels of the Education Minister, Sikander Singh Maluka, announcing policies regarding teachers in government schools, he has a task at hand— that of addressing the demands of the Bathinda unit of the Private ETT Students Union, Punjab.

The union is of the view that the government is mulling the possibility of allowing all the B.Ed colleges to start an ETT course. The decision, the union says, is a step towards the privatisation of education.

The union says this is diametrically opposite to the government's decision to offer free education in the schools.

Avtar Singh, a member of the union, points out that the same course, if done from a District Institute of Educational Training, would cost the students an amount of Rs 2,000-3,000 per semester while the same course offered at a private college would cost the students close to Rs 40,000 per semester.

"Add to this the fact that a large number of the existing ETT trained teachers are unemployed. Where will the ETT teachers being generated at these colleges get jobs? Just as there are numerous private colleges and institutes offering the B.Ed course, we will soon see private institutes in every nook and corner offering an ETT course," Singh added.

According to the information shared by the union, as many as 1,800 ETT trained teachers are unemployed at present. Besides, as many as 4,000 students are studying at the Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS) centres and 7,000 at the Alternate Innovative Education (AIE) centres. As many as 4,200 students are doing their ETT course in private colleges. These add up to the figure of 17,000 teachers who are still unemployed.

The union is demanding that employment opportunities be offered to these 17,000 teachers first and only then should the government go ahead with the step of allowing the private colleges to offer the ETT course.

At a meeting held last week, the members of the ETT Unemployed Teachers Union, Punjab and J&K, said despite the government's long-pending promises, the unemployed ETT teachers are still struggling to gain employment.

The union said though the government had brought out a merit list of the ETT trained teachers, recruitment process was delayed on one pretext or the other.

Later, say the union members, the government made an excuse that the teachers would be given jobs on the basis of the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET).

The union even decided to give an open invitation to all the unemployed ETT trained teachers to voice their concerns.

They said a copy of the demands would be sent to the Education Minister and the union would like to know what the minister has to say on the issue.

Bathinda, April 11
The body of an unidentified man was found today from near the Pathrala village.

Volunteers of an NGO, Sahara Jan Sewa, were informed about the body, who in turn, informed the police.

The volunteers said the body appears to be that of an elderly person and was lying in an empty water channel.

The deceased was wearing a blue pant and blue shirt. Police officials said efforts are on to identify the deceased.

Bathinda, April 11
Bathinda seems to be fast becoming the hub of illegal trade in habit forming drugs. Despite the arrest of over 100 people selling drugs without the doctor's prescription in the past six months, the problem has assumed an alarming proportion.

Though the police have registered cases under section 15 of the Indian Medical Council Act 1956 and section 420 of the IPC, the sale of illegal drugs is still rampant.

Police arrested Chander Shekhar, a resident of Bathinda yesterday while he was luring people to purchase drugs. He was found selling vials and tablets to some drug addicts without possessing any valid licence or degree.

Investigating officer in the case, Gurjeet Singh from the Kotwali police station, said a case has been registered against the accused who was arrested following a tip-off from the area falling under the Kotwali police station.

The officer said 85 vials of syrup and 100 tablets for consumption by the addicts have been recovered. The accused used to increase his customer base by selling such drugs in the market place by offering medicines in lieu of money.

He said the accused used to entice customers and assure them that they would get rid of various ailments by using these drugs. Those illiterate and ignorant fell fall for the nefarious designs of the accused and purchase these drugs inadvertently.

Once hooked to the drugs, the customer base of the accused increased and they manage to sell the drugs to make fast bucks.

Though the police are still enquiring about the source of these medicines, the policemen said such people clandestinely procure these medicines from the adjoining Haryana or Delhi.

Though the police are geared up to arrest such elements, they managed to dodge the police by taking advantage of the loopholes in the legal system. They came out on bail and again started the illegal sale.

Kotwali SHO Jaspal Singh said over 100 people selling the habit forming drugs have been arrested by the police in the city during the last six months.

"The problem is acute but there is no way out. Despite the arrest of such a large number of people, there seems to be hardly a pause," Jaspal said.

He added that most of the people involved in such illegal activities are youngsters and most of them are already addicted to one drug or the other. These people purchase such medicines from nearby Dabwali or Moga areas at an economical price and sell these medicines while on way to Bathinda and distribute to their existing customer base in the city.

"We are told to keep a strict vigil in areas falling under the Kotwali police station, Canal Colony, Civil Line, Thermal and Cantonment police stations. But despite arresting them, they manage to come out of the jail within 15 to 20 days," said the SHO. Policemen pointed out that the more they are booked at various police stations for investigations, the more they manage to make contacts and flourish.

Bathinda, April 11
A resident of Harbans Nagar, his brother and parents, have been booked by the police after he eloped with a girl.

In his complaint to the police, Jaspal Singh alleged that a neighbour, Ketan enticed his daughter on the pretext of marrying her. The girl left the house a few days ago and could not be traced.

The family members suspect that Ketan, his brother Nitin, father Naresh and Ketan's mother, had planned to take away their daughter. The family members of the girl suspect she may have got married to the boy without the consent of the family members.

Bathinda, April 11
Two residents of Tilla road in Maur Mandi have been arrested by the police for possessing medicines without any valid licence, bills or any other kind of documents pertaining to the medicines.

Thirty vials and 344 capsules have been recovered from the possession of the accused near Maur Mandi. The accused have been identified as Bhagirath Kumar and Somi. They were brought to the police station for investigations and were produced in a local court.

A case under sections 22, 61, 85 of the NDPS Act has been registered against them at the Maur police station.