B A T H I N D A    E D I T I O N

Survey finds water not potable
Fazilka, October 24
The fluorine content in potable water in some villages of Fazilka district has been found to be high, resulting in health problems like fluorosis, abortion, gastroenteritis and other abdominal disorders among the local populace.

103-yr-old steamroller rusting in junkyard gets a new lease of life
Faridkot, October 24
The 103-year-old rare steamroller that stood in a junkyard close to the railway station at Ferozepur, has finally got its due.

Tributes paid to Indo-China war hero
Moga, October 24
The civil and military officials paid homage to Subedar Joginder Singh, a Chinese war hero, on his 50th death anniversary at a commemoration ceremony organised here yesterday.

Three sent to judicial custody
Abohar, October 24
The court here has remanded three members of a Mohali-based family in judicial custody in a dowry case. The city police claimed that the car, gold and silver ornaments along with the electronics items gifted at the time of marriage of the Abohar girl Nagma have been recovered.

Sessions court in Fazilka all set for inauguration
Fazilka, October 24
The newly-set up additional district and sessions court in Fazilka is all set to be inaugurated in the first week of November. Preparations for the inaugural ceremony have been completed.

Pilgrim dies on way to Salasar
Abohar, October 24
Three persons from Bathinda were injured as the motorcycle they were using for pilgrimage to Salasar Dhaam collided with a pick-up van in between Pallu-Bisrasar on the mega highway at about 10 pm. 

 Survey finds water not potable
Fluoride level in water in some Fazilka villages found to be higher than the permissible limits 
Praful Chander Nagpal

Fazilka, October 24
The fluorine content in potable water in some villages of Fazilka district has been found to be high, resulting in health problems like fluorosis, abortion, gastroenteritis and other abdominal disorders among the local populace.

This was revealed when the district health authorities conducted a survey in these areas on the concentration of fluoride content in potable water under the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Fluorosis.

"We conducted a survey by collecting water samples from various sources in 50 villages of Abohar and three dozen villages of Jalalabad blocks. It was found that the fluorine content in water in some villages was high," said District Health Officer Dr YK Gupta.

It has been learnt that the fluorine content in water samples taken from hand pumps in villages Chak Arniwala and Bharoliwala in Jalalabad block is alarmingly high at 15 ppm against the permissible limit of 1 ppm.

The tests were conducted at the district laboratory.

Similarly, the fluoride content was recorded high in villages Sukhchain (6.0 ppm), Dhani Hiranwali (5.7 ppm), Mannewala (5.6 ppm), Dhani Des Raj (5.3 ppm) and Amarpura (4.3 ppm).

The fluoride content in water from the hand pumps has been found to be higher. However, water from reverse osmosis (RO) plants has been found to be fit for consumption and the fluoride content in it is within the permissible limits.

During the survey, the team came across many cases of dental fluorosis in the Abohar area which indicate that the fluoride level in drinking water was above the permissible limit.

The team has been taking samples from deep bore pumps, hand pumps, tubewells and RO systems.

"The fluoride content in some of the areas has been recorded below the permissible limit," claimed Dr Gupta.

Notably, the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Fluorosis was started by the Central Government in 2008.

It has been introduced only in two districts of Punjab-- Ferozepur (including Fazilka district) and Sangrur.

The district health authorities organised a workshop under the programme at the local Civil Hospital and the primary health centre (PHC) at village Dabwala Kalan to inform the staff about the adverse effect of high fluoride content in water. a"The rural populace should use RO water to protect themselves from different ailments like dental and skeletal fluorosis, miscarriage among pregnant women, gastroenteritis and abdominal disorders," said Dr Gupta.

 103-yr-old steamroller rusting in junkyard gets a new lease of life
Balwant Garg/TNS

Faridkot, October 24
The 103-year-old rare steamroller that stood in a junkyard close to the railway station at Ferozepur, has finally got its due.

The heritage steamroller has now been shifted to the lawns of the Division Railway Manager’s office in Ferozepur. A Tribune photograph

The heritage steamroller has now been shifted to the lawns of the Division Railway Manager (DRM) office for public viewing. Restoration work with a new coat of painting is underway to give a splendid look to this roller which is an important link with the Railway's historical past.

The heavy and slow-moving vehicle that flattened the surface of many under-construction roads in pre-independence years in the Ferozepur railway division was in a state of neglect, surrounded by wild grass, in a junkyard close to the railway station in Ferozepur.

In the last one year, it was not only Derek A. Rayner, a mechanical and electrical engineer with the British Railway and vice-chairman of the Road Rollers Association in the UK who raised the issue with the Indian Railways but also Satinder Pal Singh, an assistant traffic manager in Northern Railway, who took up the matter.

In a letter to the DRM, Ferozepur Division, Derek Rayner wrote that the rare steamroller deserves better than its present location. "This venerable steamroller needs to be moved to a better position, possibly to be installed on a suitable fenced concrete plinth outside the railway station," said Derek, also a steam archivist.

Derek wrote that this machine was dispatched from Rochester on February 29, 1908. This six tonne and four HP single-speed machine was made in 1908 by Aveling & Porter, a UK-based firm. The archive records indicate that it went originally to Karachi.

Fascinated with this vintage machine, Satinder Pal Singh Bhatia, had approached the Road Rollers Association (RRA) in the UK and collected information about it. He urged the higher authorities to make it look presentable and suitable for display in the railway office complex.

NC Goyal, DRM, Ferozepur, said the steam roller has high heritage value for the Indian Railways. 

 Tributes paid to Indo-China war hero
Tribune News Service

Moga, October 24
The civil and military officials paid homage to Subedar Joginder Singh, a Chinese war hero, on his 50th death anniversary at a commemoration ceremony organised here yesterday.

Colonel Suresh Yadav Deputy Commander of the 29th Infantry Brigade, Colonel SS Guleria, Commanding Officer of the 21st Punjab Regiment, District Magistrate Arshdeep Singh Thind, District and Sessions Judge Karamjit Singh Kang were among those who paid floral tributes to him at the war hero's memorial situated along the national highway in the city.

Kulwant Kaur, daughter of Subedar Joginder Singh, and her husband, participated in the ceremony. They were honoured by Army officials. A grant of Rs 1.16 lakh was also given to the widows of the Army officials and jawans by the state government on this occasion.

Born on September 28, 1921 at Mahla Kalan village in Moga district, Subedar Joginder Singh served in the First Sikh Regiment.

He joined the Army on September 15, 1941. He was posthumously given the Param Vir Chakra (PVC), the highest gallantry award of the nation.

It may be mentioned that during the 1962 Indo-China war, Subedar Joginder Singh commanded a platoon in the Tawang sector of the North East Frontier Agency (NEFA) and made the supreme sacrifice in the battle.

 Dowry case
Three sent to judicial custody
Our Correspondent

Abohar, October 24
The court here has remanded three members of a Mohali-based family in judicial custody in a dowry case. The city police claimed that the car, gold and silver ornaments along with the electronics items gifted at the time of marriage of the Abohar girl Nagma have been recovered.

The girl's husband Anubhav, father-in-law Vijay Kumar and mother-in-law Madhu were arrested in connection with the case registered here under Sections 306, 398-A and 34 of the IPC early this week for abetting the suicide of eminent social activist Sham Lal Chhabra. Chhabra had committed suicide by jumping into the Malukpura distributory on September 3.

Chhabra (62) had served as the vice-chairman of the Abohar Cooperative Marketing Society. 

  Sessions court in Fazilka all set for inauguration

Fazilka, October 24
The newly-set up additional district and sessions court in Fazilka is all set to be inaugurated in the first week of November. Preparations for the inaugural ceremony have been completed.

As per sources, the exact date is yet to be finalised. "But the Punjab and Haryana High Court has decided in principle to inaugurate the court next week positively," claimed the president of the Bar Association Sushil Gumber.

For a final inspection of the newly-constructed three additional district courts in the old court complex at Fazilka, District and Sessions Judge, Ferozepur, Fatehdeep Singh visited the court complex yesterday.

Fazilka DC Dr Basant Garg also convened a meeting of senior officials yesterday to review the arrangements for the inaugural ceremony.

"Sub-committees have been constituted to make preparations to make the event historic," said Gumber.

Notably, Punjab government has already transferred Rs 50 crore to the Building Committee of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to construct session courts at Fazilka.

Twelve acres have already been acquired near the Dussehra ground on border road for setting up the sessions courts there. Interestingly, as per the official sources, 67 per cent of the total appellant cases relating to the NDPS Act, Wakf Tribunal, Land Acquisition Act etc that trailed in the sessions court at Ferozepur belong to the newly carved Fazilka district comprising Fazilka, Abohar, Jalalabad and Balluana areas.

With the setting up of the sessions court, the work would be shifted to Fazilka and litigants who had to travel to Ferozepur after a distance of 150 kilometers from one side will no longer need to do so. — OC

  Pilgrim dies on way to Salasar

Abohar, October 24
Three persons from Bathinda were injured as the motorcycle they were using for pilgrimage to Salasar Dhaam collided with a pick-up van in between Pallu-Bisrasar on the mega highway at about 10 pm. 

One of them, Raj Kumar of Bahadurgarh Jandiala later died. The others identified as his brother Sonu and cousin Rajan of Fazilka were admitted to the Hanumangarh district hospital but later referred to Bathinda. A case has been registered against the driver of the van. — OC