B A T H I N D A    E D I T I O N

PRTC taps private pumps
Faridkot, January 30
Though it has its own diesel pumps in depots to ensure supply of fuel, the buses belonging to the Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) are these days lining up in front of private petrol pumps for re-fuelling.

Swine flu death in Bathinda, two more cases in Faridkot
Bathinda/Faridkot, Jan 30
A patient of swine flu died at Adesh Hospital in Bathinda early today. The 30-year-old female patient was a resident of Gobind Colony in the cantonment area. She had been undergoing treatment at the Adesh Hospital since January 23.

Students protest rejection of forms
Fazilka, January 30
The students of the local MR Government College today staged protest against the rejection of their admission forms by the Panjab University (PU) authorities.

Calendar for TB awareness released in Mansa
Bathinda, January 30
The Mansa district administration today released a special calendar aimed at educating people about the symptoms and cure of tuberculosis (TB). The calendar also informs the people about the government schemes and institutions for helping the patients.

Admn alerts banks over fake currency
Ferozepur, January 30
Alarmed over the spurt in incidents related to the seizure of fake Indian currency notes (FICN), Deputy Commissioner MS Narang today instructed the bank officials to remain vigilant about the circulation of fake currency.

MGNREGA jobs: Fazilka tops the list
Fazilka, January 30
Fazilka district has emerged at top in the state in providing the maximum number of jobs under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in the year 2012-13 till now. This was claimed by Deputy Commissioner (DC) Dr Basant Garg here today.

Girls urged to learn martial art gatka
Bathinda, January 30
Girls should enroll for self-defence courses and take to Gatka — a traditional form of martial art — to protect themselves. This was a message to the students of the Guru Nanak College for Girls, Muktsar, by various speakers at a day-long camp organized under the aegis of the District Legal Services Authority.

CPI (ML) says UPA anti-farmer
Bathinda, January 30
The CPI (ML) today asked the Congress-led UPA government to stop exploiting poor farmers and tribals by playing into the hands of private companies.

College function held
Abohar, January 30
The SGN Khalsa PG College in Sriganganagar celebrated its annual festival "Jashan" with pomp and show. More than 150 students were awarded for excellence in academic and other activities.

PRTC taps private pumps
Fuel from pumps at its own depots proving to be costlier
Tribune News Service

Faridkot, January 30
Though it has its own diesel pumps in depots to ensure supply of fuel, the buses belonging to the Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) are these days lining up in front of private petrol pumps for re-fuelling.

For the last ten days, the diesel pumps at PRTC depots have discontinued their dedicated bulk supply from public sector oil marketing companies and the buses of the corporation are getting the fuel from retail private filling stations located near their depots.

The supply of diesel to the buses from pumps located at its own depots costs the PRTC about Rs 11 more than the subsidised diesel that is available at private filling stations. So, the PRTC started relying on private filling stations to save money.

After the Centre announced a dual pricing regime for diesel from January 18, the bulk consumers like PRTC, Punjab Roadways, cooperative filling stations in the rural areas and the railways have to pay the market rate for diesel which is Rs 10.81 per litre costlier than the subsidised diesel.

So, if the PRTC gets the bulk supply of diesel from the oil marketing companies, the corporation has to pay Rs 10.81 per litre extra in comparison to the private filling stations on which the Centre is still giving the subsidy.

In Faridkot, PRTC depot buses have about 6000 litres of daily diesel consumption. So, if these buses continue to get the supply from their own pumps, it would put an extra financial burden of about Rs 65,000. The PRTC buses are, therefore, getting diesel from two nearest petrol pumps on Kotkapura and Talwandi Bhai road.

"Paying Rs 10.81 per litre extra for the diesel from its own pumps is not a viable proposition. So, the PRTC buses are now getting fuel supply from private pumps," said MP Singh, depot manager, PRTC, Faridkot.

However the PRTC buses refuelling at private pumps have to face practical problems. Some buses have to travel extra to reach the private filling stations to get the diesel. In Faridkot, the PRTC has identified two filling stations to get the diesel supply but a large number of buses which don't ply on this route have to travel extra for refuelling.

Though the PRTC has deputed two of its employees at the private filling stations for monitoring the refueling, the quantity and quality of fuel might vary from pump to pump impacting the performance of the buses, said insiders in the PRTC. The PRTC is working out the possibility of getting dedicated supply from a private outlet operator through its tankers.

Swine flu death in Bathinda, two more cases in Faridkot

Bathinda/Faridkot, Jan 30
A patient of swine flu died at Adesh Hospital in Bathinda early today. The 30-year-old female patient was a resident of Gobind Colony in the cantonment area. She had been undergoing treatment at the Adesh Hospital since January 23.

Medical superintendent, Adesh Hospital, Dr Gurpreet Singh Gill said the patient breathed her last at 5:30 am today. District Health Officer Dr Raghubir Singh Randhawa said following the guidelines of the health department, the body was wrapped in a plastic cover before being handed over for cremation.

Meanwhile, two more confirmed and one suspected cases of swine flu were reported in Faridkot today. One of these confirmed cases is a health department employee, an auxiliary nurse in Chak Kalyan village. She is under treatment at Max Hospital in Mohali. The other patient is a businessman who is under treatment at the DMCH, Ludhiana.

A suspected case of the H1N1 virus has also been reported. After collecting his blood samples, the health authorities in Faridkot referred him to the DMCH, Ludhiana.

Swine flu scare had gripped Faridkot two days back when a man died of the disease at a private hospital in Ludhiana The deceased, identified as Bharpur Singh, who originally hailed from Faridkot district, had come to Ludhiana to attend a family function and fell ill.

As swine flu virus spreads from person-to-person, in much the same way that the regular seasonal influenza viruses spread, so once a person develops even a minor infection after getting in touch with an affected person, he is in danger of contracting the disease.

The symptoms of swine flu are similar to the symptoms of regular human flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, body-aches, headache, chills and fatigue.

Doctors, however, say there is no need to panic as most deaths from the H1N1 virus were in cases where the immunity of the patients was low as they were suffering from other diseases. — TNS

Students protest rejection of forms
Our Correspondent

Fazilka, January 30
The students of the local MR Government College today staged protest against the rejection of their admission forms by the Panjab University (PU) authorities.

"If the 144 affected students of Bachelor of Arts part 1, are not enrolled as regular students within a week, over 2000 students of the college shall block the national highway and boycott the classes in the next phase of the agitation," warned a student Amritpal Singh of village Khui Khera.

The students have alleged that they were assurances for the last four months by the authorities to register them with the university, but nothing has been done.

Notably, these students had been offered admission to the college after an increase in the number of seats from 850 to 1000 by the Director (Colleges) in September 2012.

But Panjab University authorities reportedly refused to register these students on the plea that the college management did not take prior permission from the university. "The future of these students is at stake as they shall not be able to appear in the final examination scheduled to be held in April this year, if they are not registered with the university now," said another student, Raj Kumar, of village Ladhuka.

"The college authorities had informed the university at the time of the admission. But now, the matter would be sorted out in a few days. All the enrolled students would be issued the roll numbers," said Tribhuvan Ram, the officiating principal of the college.

Calendar for TB awareness released in Mansa
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, January 30
The Mansa district administration today released a special calendar aimed at educating people about the symptoms and cure of tuberculosis (TB). The calendar also informs the people about the government schemes and institutions for helping the patients.

Deputy Commissioner Amit Dhaka released the calendar at a function in Mansa. Speaking on the occasion, he asked the Health Department to hold special camps for identifying the patients in the villages and provide them with treatment. He said the calendar will help in spreading the spreading awareness about TB.

Civil Surgeon, Dr Baldev Singh Sahota said there were seven serious cases of TB in the district, all of who were under treatment.

Dr Ranjit Singh Rai, District TB Officer, said the calendar would be circulated free of cost in all educational institutions, panchayats, clubs and other organizations.

Admn alerts banks over fake currency

Ferozepur, January 30
Alarmed over the spurt in incidents related to the seizure of fake Indian currency notes (FICN), Deputy Commissioner MS Narang today instructed the bank officials to remain vigilant about the circulation of fake currency.

At a meeting held here which was attended by bank and police officials, the DC said the bank officials should ensure that CCTV cameras are installed at ATMs and cash counters. Narang said all banks should provide currency detectors to their staff.

If the bank staff detects any fake currency, then the should be informed at once and if five or more FICN notes are recovered, the bank manager should get an FIR lodged immediately, the DC said. — OC

MGNREGA jobs: Fazilka tops the list

Fazilka, January 30
Fazilka district has emerged at top in the state in providing the maximum number of jobs under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in the year 2012-13 till now. This was claimed by Deputy Commissioner (DC) Dr Basant Garg here today.

"An amount of Rs 15 crore has been spent under the scheme in Fazilka district during the current financial year, which is the highest in the state," claimed Dr Garg.

The DC said workers of 22,297 families have been given 5,55,912 daily wage jobs. Of these, 1,46,266 were women. To further popularise the scheme, 46 Rajiv Gandhi Sewa Kendras have been set up in four blocks of the district, Garg said. — OC

Girls urged to learn martial art gatka

Bathinda, January 30
Girls should enroll for self-defence courses and take to Gatka — a traditional form of martial art — to protect themselves. This was a message to the students of the Guru Nanak College for Girls, Muktsar, by various speakers at a day-long camp organized under the aegis of the District Legal Services Authority.

Daljit Singh Ralhan, Chief Judicial Magistrate and secretary, District Legal Service Authority, asked the students to learn gatka as it will boost their confidence. DSP Kanwaljit Singh said the police has set up a special women cell for prompt action in cases of crime against women. Others who spoke on the occasion were Naib Tehsildar Sukhpinder Kaur and advocate Balram Yadav. — TNS

CPI (ML) says UPA anti-farmer

Bathinda, January 30
The CPI (ML) today asked the Congress-led UPA government to stop exploiting poor farmers and tribals by playing into the hands of private companies.

At a rally at Grain Market, Mansa, today, a number of speakers, led by Kavita Krishnan, member, central committee of the party, asked the Central Government to stop handing over natural resources and forests to companies that exploit the tribals and farmers.

Swapan Mukherjee, national general secretary of the party, criticized the SAD-BJP government for not maintaining law and order. He alleged that the Akalis have turned governance into a business house and control everything from transport to sand mining and accused them of encouraging vested interests.

State secretary of the party, Rajwinder Singh Rana, said the party was expanding its base and following in Punjab and claimed that it had become a force to reckon with. — TNS

College function held

Abohar, January 30
The SGN Khalsa PG College in Sriganganagar celebrated its annual festival "Jashan" with pomp and show. More than 150 students were awarded for excellence in academic and other activities.

Chief guest, Agricultural Marketing Minister Gurmeet Singh Kunnar, lauded the students and and the principal KBS Dhillon. — OC