Bathinda, July 3
The intense heat wave in the region has claimed 28 lives in Bathinda so far. Most of the deceased are reportedly youngsters addicted to various habit-forming substances.

While most of the residents choose to remain indoors to avoid getting a heat stroke, drug addicts, the homeless and the elderly have become victims of the searing heat.

As per a city-based NGO that sends its volunteers to help the poor, most of those who lost their lives to the scorching heat have been youngsters addicted to one or the other drug.

“There are particular places in the city and in the areas on the outskirts of the city where addicts can be seen roaming, either in search of habit-forming substances or walking around after consuming drugs. They rarely get noticed at such secluded places and become victims of the scorching heat,” said Vijay Goyal, president of the NGO Sahara Jan Sewa. He added that the NGO was informed about the bodies of such persons by passersby.

He said the volunteers of his NGO helped in shifting five dead bodies today and four of them seemed to have died due to the overexposure to heat.

He said the body of a “sadhu” was found in a train and he may have died due to excessive heat, lack of water and proper ventilation. The sadhu was yet to be identified.

In another case, a 40-year- old unidentified man was found dead under the Parasram bridge. He was said to have been a drug addict and was found lying unconscious and was rushed to the local Civil Hospital where he was declared brought dead.

A worker at a carpentry shop was also found dead today. He had, reportedly, consumed some habit-forming substance last night and fell down while walking in a dark street near the shop. His body was noticed by a passerby in the wee hours today.

A young boy, who was found lying unconscious near Bhai Ghanaiya Chowk too was declared brought dead by the doctors at the local Civil Hospital.

The boy was said to have been sitting alone near the lakes of the thermal plant, reportedly, after consuming some drugs. He was found lying unconscious today.

The bodies of two young boys and a woman, who seemed to have succumbed to the excessive heat yesterday, were also found.

Bathinda, July 3
More than 200 families of Prajapat Colony were evicted today by the officials of the Municipal Corporation, with the help of heavy police force.

The demolition of hutments by the authorities has been on for the past one week and the houses, that were left, were completely razed today.

The authorities claim that after removing all the encroachments, the Bathinda-Goniana Road would be connected with the Barnala Road.

The dwellers, however, claimed that they had been residing in Prajapat Colony for the over 15 years and had power and water connections apart from voter identity cards and ration cards.

The residents reiterated that they are sceptical over the authorities’ claim of constructing a road as some businessman had offered the residents a piece of land in lieu of vacating the hutments.

The dwellers were seen sitting along the Bathinda-Goniana Road with their belongings under the scorching sun.

One of the leaders of the dwellers, Ajay Kumar, said they were even driven out from the land in Kheta Singh Basti, promised to them by a businessman.

“While the corporation claims that it is removing our hutments to construct a road, it is still not clear why some persons earlier offered land to us in Kheta Singh Basti,” Ajay pointed out.

He also claimed that the corporation officials had shifted their belongings to Kheta Singh Basti using official tractor-trolleys and other vehicles. And now, the land owner at Kheta Singh Basti threw their belongings away saying that the land was taken on rent by someone for three months and they should move out from the place.

“Now, we are between the devil and the deep sea. The evicted dwellers are scattered all over the Bathinda-Goniana road, right up to Rose Garden,” Ajay added. He said more than 15 children of the locality were suffering from fever and had developed skin diseases as the power and water connections were snapped a week ago.

MC commissioner, Uma Shankar Gupta said he was not aware of the dwellers being evicted from Kheta Singh Basti. “Though the alternate arrangement in Kheta Singh Basti was promised by some private persons, I am aware that the land was offered to the dwellers permanently. The dwellers might have entered the wrong piece of land,” he said.

Bathinda, July 3
Former Congress MLA from Bathinda, Harminder Singh Jassi, today flayed the SAD-BJP government for demolishing the dwellings of the poor, who have been living in the Prajapat Colony here for the last many years. He said this act of the government was a violation of human rights. Therefore, he would approach the Punjab State Human Rights Commission to bring the matter to its notice.

Jassi alleged that the demolition of the hutments showed that the SAD-BJP government had evicted the poor just to benefit an influential section. He said he would also seek a reply from the state government.

Jassi said the SAD-BJP government had not implemented several schemes (relating to the construction of houses for the poor) of the central government as it had to contribute its state's share also to implement them. He said the state government was on the verge of bankruptcy, so it could not contribute its share, due to which the poor were not getting the benefits.

Jassi asked the state government to allot 50-yard plots to all whose houses had been demolished at Prajapat Colony by the administration.

Meanwhile, in another development, the General Samaj Party, led by its president, Suresh Goyal, along with those who have been dislodged from the Prajapat Colony, took out a protest march today in the city and raised slogans against the forcible eviction.

The protesters started their march from Prajapat Colony on Goniana road and reached the Mini-secretariat. They staged a dharna there for more than two hours.

The dharna was lifted after an official from the district administration received their memorandum. Later, the protesters marched through various markets, including Mehna Chowk and Fire Brigade Chowk.

Suresh Goyal said the administration had betrayed the poor residents of Prajapat Colony by not providing them with land for rehabilitation. The leaders of the Prajapat Colony, Lal Chand, Mohinder Kumar and Ajay Kumar, said the corporation had promised to allot them 25-yard plots, but it had now backtracked.

The organising secretary of the General Samaj Party, Parkash Singh Sahota and a senior leader, Nachhattar Sigh Balluana, were also present.

Bathinda, July 3
Bathinda girl Arshdeep Kaur Gill (Roll No 1157446) has brought laurels to the city by securing rank 14 in the All India Institute of Medical Sciences’ (AIIMS) MBBS Entrance Examination 2012, conducted on June 1. She is the only student selected from not only the city but the entire state as well. The results were announced on Tuesday.

Although the family went into celebration mode as soon as the results were declared, this is not the first time Arshdeep has tasted success. Arshdeep was in the news last month for topping the Punjab PMT. She secured rank 3 in the entrance exam conducted by the Vardhman Mahavir Medical College & Safdarjung Hospital.

She also grabbed the second position in the entrance exam for the Christian Medical College (CMC) Ludhiana, rank 47 in the medical entrance exam conducted by Manipal University, rank 40 in the Banaras Hindu University’s entrance exam and had also cleared the prelims of the AFMC, Pune.

The AIIMS result, she says, has been the cherry on the cake.

“Although I had not expected such a good result, it is a relief that my hard work and determination has paid off. After all, only 36 aspirants are selected from across India and it’s considered quite tough to crack the exam,” she said, while speaking to Tribune News Service.

Arshdeep studied at the city’s St Joseph’s Convent School till class X and pursued the senior secondary classes from a Delhi school while taking private tuitions in Bathinda. “I used to study for about 12-14 hours everyday. My parents and all my teachers have played a huge role in my success,” she added.

Arshdeep got the right environment and the inspiration to be a doctor at home only. Her father, Dr Malkit Singh Gill, is the Senior Medical Officer with Ranbaxy, Bathinda. Last year, he retired as the District Family Welfare Officer from the Civil Surgeon’s office.

Dr Gill said he was proud of his daughter’s achievements. “For many years, boys from this region were cracking the AIIMS entrance exam. It is after many years that a girl has been selected and she is my daughter. I’m proud of her,” he said.

While her mother, Paramjit Kaur Gill, is a housewife, her elder brother, Jagatjot Singh Gill, is also pursuing MBBS from the Vardhman Mahavir Medical College & Safdarjung Hospital.

Archana Sasi of National Public School, Bangalore, has topped the AIIMS MBBS entrance exam.

Bathinda, July 3
The leaders of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), the Bajrang Dal, the ABVP and the Jammu-Kashmir Bachao Manch, today urged the Union Government not to accept the report of the Jammu and Kashmir interlocutors.

The state convener of the intellectual cell of the RSS, Vijay Singh, said here today that the Manch had been constituted to prevent the implementation of the report of the interlocutors in J&K as it was against the wishes of the Indians.

Vijay Singh said the Manch would hold dharnas and demonstrations from July 6 to 8 at district headquarters throughout the country to compel the government to scrap the report. Besides, the Manch would also submit memorandums to the deputy commissioners, he added.

Those present on the occasion were the state secretary of the RSS Sukhpal Singh Sra, vice-president of the ABVP, Ashutosh Tiwari, Bathinda convener of J&K Bachao Manch, Chanchal Malhotra, district convener of the Bajrang Dal, Sandip Aggarwal, district Sampark Parmukh of the RSS, Pawan Garg, and the city president of the VHP, Pawan Pathania. — TNS

Bathinda, July 3
An Army jawan, attached with 10 Corps Signal Regiment, was found dead under mysterious circumstances in a dhaba near the Bathinda railway station.

The jawan has been identified as sepoy KK Dubey, a resident of Katihar, Bihar. Investigating officer in the case, ASI Sukhram Singh, said the military police was informed about the death of the jawan, who too reached the place.

The Army officials informed the police that the jawan was in depression since the death of his wife around two years ago. The sepoy had taken a room on rent last afternoon and had been consuming alcohol.

Sukhram Singh added that the Army officials told him that earlier too, the jawan had gone missing from his duty due to being in depression.

The ASI said the family members of the deceased had been informed and the body was being kept in the mortuary. Inquest proceedings have been initiated by the police in this regard.

Bathinda, July 3
A youth from Kotfatta village was found dead near Bhai Ghanaiya Chowk. The body was shifted to the Civil Hospital by the volunteers of an NGO, Sahara Jan Sewa. The volunteers said the deceased has been identified as 26-year-old Kulbir Singh.

They said the family members of the deceased informed them that the youth was missing since yesterday. He was addicted to drugs and was seen sitting in the scorching heat near the chowk. Officials from the Thermal police station reached the spot and inquest proceedings were initiated in this regard. The body would be handed over to the family after the postmortem.

Bathinda, July 3
Police has booked Jagjeet Singh, the sarpanch of Gurthari village, for pocketing Rs 1.93 lakhs of old age pension.

The matter came to light when the old age pensioners of the village raised a hue and cry and brought the issue to the notice of the senior panchayat department officials.

An inquiry was made during which it was found that the sarpanch had not only withdrawn the money but had also distributed it further to the beneficiaries of old age pension.

The complainant in the case, Kewal Kumar, gram sewak, said the case was handed over to the police after a departmental inquiry was conducted against the sarpanch.