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Dental college students taken ill after consuming ‘stale’ food
Ruckus at ex-servicemen rally
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Alert farmers avert breach in Gang canal
Drain water fury victims await compensation
Sewerage woes
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Dental college students taken ill after consuming ‘stale’ food
Faridkot, March 19 Instead of rushing these students to a hospital, they were given treatment at the emergency wing of the dental college so that the incident could be kept under wraps. The parents were not informed about the incident. However, in the afternoon when some parents came to know about it they rushed to the college and shifted their wards to
private clinics. The condition of all students is reported to be out of danger. However, some students were being kept under observation. The director of the college Dr Gursewak Singh said some students suffered indigestion after eating their meals, but now their condition is stable. Students of the dental college alleged that they had informed the college authorities several times that the quality of food served to them was poor but they never took the complaint seriously. The annual contract with the incumbent kitchen contractor is to expire on March 30. Due to this, the contractor was least bothered about the quality of food, alleged students. |
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Ruckus at ex-servicemen rally
Bathinda, March 19 The things got out of hand once the official speeches got over and Lt-General NS Ghei, AVSM, GOC Chetak Corps, started distributing scooters, wheelchairs and bags among war veterans and those injured on duty. Representatives of the Army Ex-servicemen Union, Punjab, and the Ex-servicemen Welfare Organisation rued that they were not given time to address the audience. President of the Ex-servicemen Welfare Union, Punjab, Capt Bhagwant Singh (retd), said “We could not understand why the rally was organised. The officers did not talk about the welfare of the ex-servicemen. I wanted to share a couple of points with the gathering. Let alone being given time to speak, I wasn’t even allowed to go close to the stage. Did they call us to the rally just to give us lunch and tea?” “Instead of reading out the pre-written speeches, the officers should have told the gathering what are the schemes for their welfare. Ask anyone if he or she understood anything of what was said. They have insulted us. Tomorrow these officers will also be ex-servicemen and then they will feel our pain. They have staged a play in the name of hosting a rally,” he said. Lt Gen Ghei tried to pacify the irated ex-servicemen. “Share with us the information that you have and we promise that you will be given time to speak next time. A pension adalat will be held in Bathinda on April 24-25, you are invited to speak there,” he said. Members of the Ex-servicemen Welfare Organisation also distributed their list of demands which pointed out that 70 per cent shops in the Cantonment area were allotted to civilians in 2012-13 while the priority should have been given to the ex-servicemen and their dependents. The organisation also demanded that till now the privilege of defence quota is entitled to only one child of the defence personnel. If the vacancies are still available, then instead of giving the jobs to civilians, second child of the ex-servicemen should be considered for the vacant posts. They also demanded that work of ex-servicemen be done on priority basis at police stations, courts and other government offices. |
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Alert farmers avert breach in Gang canal
Abohar, March 19 Some farmers noticed the erosion of sand from the path of the 2500 cusec capacity canal near RD 322 yesterday. They informed the officials concerned of the Abohar canal division as well as officials of the Water Resources Department, Sriganganagar. Junior engineer Hari Ram Ghorela from Sriganganagar, who requested the Punjab counterparts to cut down the water supply considerably, said about 10 feet wide erosion was visible in the berms near RD 322. Fazilka sub division assistant engineer Amarjit Sharma and his subordinates reached the spot to plug the leakage. The team ensured reduction of the water supply from RD 45 onwards and strengthened the berms. Shivpur head works assistant engineer Jalal Khan also reached the site to review the situation that had worried state headquarters at Jaipur and Chandigarh. Experts observed that the breach would have washed away crops spread over hundreds of acres of land in the Abohar sub division. Some of the farmers said the Rajasthan government had paid Rs 45 lakh annually to the Punjab Irrigation Department for the maintenance of the Gang (Bikaner) canal from Zero RD to 360 RD but the latter had not been performing its responsibility in letter and spirit. The sand had started eroding during the monsoon last year but none of the members of the inspection team from Abohar came to check it. Kisan Sangharsh Samiti spokesman Subhash Sehgal, who had led the monitoring team during the lining of the canal with a budgeted cost of Rs 464 crore in 2004, said the Rajasthan Water Resources Department had slapped a letter to the Chief Engineer of the Punjab Irrigation Department to apprise the latter of observations made by the farmers’ organisations about the sub-standard work. The Punjab officials had said the erring contractors will have to replace the faulty lining but it was not adhered to. The issue was raised at the tripartite meeting of the Bhakra and Beas Management Board and it was also brought to the notice of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal but no remedial steps were taken, Sehgal regretted. The Samiti has urged the Punjab and Rajasthan governments to take up a joint inspection of the canal as the second phase of renovation has been scheduled for the next month. |
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Drain water fury victims await compensation
Abohar, March 19 As per a special ‘girdawari’ conducted by the department, the farmers in the Balluana segment were paid Rs 13 crore only against the damaged crops. Estimates regarding loss of orchards and immovable residential properties were worked out separately. While compensation for the damaged orchards is being distributed this week, no word is available for reconstructing or repairing hundreds of houses that were washed away. Village Khubban residents Rupinder Kaur, Lakshmi Devi and Jeeto Bai recall that the overflowing Abulkhurana drain in the neighbouring Tarmala village had triggered flash flood, which washed away their houses. CM Parkash Singh Badal on September 27, 2011, had promised that flood victims would be provided a roof besides compensation in cash. SDM Gurmail Singh said the matter would be looked into. |
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Sewerage woes
Abohar, March 19 The information was provided during the hearing of the contempt plea on a PIL filed by Congress councillors Vimal Thatai and Suman Taneja and former youth congress block president Vijay Chhabra in compliance of the decision taken at a meeting convened by legislator Sunil Jakhar at his office here last year. The High Court directed Executive Officer Bhushan Aggarwal to utilise the grant released by the state government efficiently and submit a status report during the next hearing on March 21. |
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