B A T H I N D A    E D I T I O N

Addicts battle it out at rehab centre
Bathinda, March 24
Harinder Singh, a tall, fair and well built youth of Patiala, has got everything that a youngster dreams of. Apart from his good looks, he is the son of a prominent politician, has studied in Doon School, had his own car in his teens besides a fat bank account and a bungalow in a posh area for his personal use. But the early freedom and easy availability of resources saw him fall in the drug trap.

Abohar Water works land row
Kanungo suspended
Abohar, March 24
The ‘land scam’ highlighted by the Congress Legislative Party Leader Sunil Jakhar during the mock session outside the Punjab Vidhan Sabha has taken its first toll. Kanungo Buta Singh, who had monitored the demarcation of boundaries to hand over possession of the controversial water works land to some persons last month, has been placed under suspension.

One booked for misbehaving with Naib Tehsildar
Barnala, March 24
On the complaint of the Naib Tehsildar, Bhadaur, Jaspal Kaur, the Tallewal police has registered a case against one Ranjodh Singh of Bhotna village under sections 186, 341 and 355 of the IPC.

Gang Canal to remain closed for 40 days
Abohar, March 24
The Gang (Bikaner) Canal will remain closed for 40 days.

Mammography machine installed
Moga, March 24
Baba Ishar Singh group of institutions has installed a mammography machine in its charitable hospital at Gagra village, last week.

Addicts battle it out at rehab centre
Many drug users have been returning to the Civil Hospital after kicking the habit
Jupinderjit Singh
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, March 24
Harinder Singh, a tall, fair and well built youth of Patiala, has got everything that a youngster dreams of. Apart from his good looks, he is the son of a prominent politician, has studied in Doon School, had his own car in his teens besides a fat bank account and a bungalow in a posh area for his personal use. But the early freedom and easy availability of resources saw him fall in the drug trap.

At 26, he has no major achievement to boast of other than that he is one of the few trying to get rid of drug addiction. He is a chronic case of relapse and has been de-addicted five times as per his own admission, but returns to the de-addiction centre every few months.

While ace boxer Vijender Singh fights off charges of consuming drugs, like Harinder, many youngsters of the region are fighting a battle against drug addiction. But they are returning time and again to the dark world of intoxication. Most of the youths are from well-to-do families.

The drug de-addiction centre at the Civil Hospital here presents a case of several lives shattered in the prime of their youth because of addiction to drugs like heroin and smack. Though one finds hope of revival as the addicts sound determined to change, but the high percentage of relapse does not inspire much success. The only silver lining is that most addicts return to the centre on their own, requesting treatment.

Harpreet Singh , a 24-year-old youth from Joga in Mansa district and his friend Kuldeep Singh of Sekhan village in Barnala district, have been friends ever since they met in a college in Barnala. They were hooked to smack and reached the de-addiction centre together for treatment. They only remember that they remained in a state of intoxication for a better part of 24 hours for the last five to seven years. They used to wake up only to get another dose of smack.

Harpreet Singh revealed that he came to the centre for the third time. "I want to leave drugs for ever. I tried earlier but once I returned to my world, I could not resist the offer of my friends," he said with Kuldeep Singh nodding in affirmation. The former owns 8 acres of land while the later owns 12 acres.

Two brothers, Ravinder Singh and Bhupinder Singh, from Mallanwali in Ferozepur district, appear to be addicts by their very look. They have sunken cheeks and a frail figure. Hooked to heroin for over four years, both have come for treatment for the first time.

"The birth of my son acted as a catalyst for me," said Ravinder Singh. Nine days after the birth of his son, he reached the centre here for treatment. "I don't want to become a bad role model for my son," he said. Bhupinder said drugs had become costlier over the years and was affecting their financial condition also.

Dr Nidhi Gupta, psychiatrist, who is supervising the treatment of the addicts, said the centre was showing encouraging results but relapse was a major headache. "By our estimate, as many as as 70 per cent of cases are repeated. They soon get in touch with the peer group which actually pulled them into the world of drugs.

She said easy availability of drugs outside, lack of sensitivity by family and friends were some of the major reasons for the relapse. "It is a chronic illness at times which can be life long also. We try our best to bring down the frequency of relapse but the whole society has to contribute," she added.

Abohar Water works land row
Kanungo suspended

Abohar, March 24
The ‘land scam’ highlighted by the Congress Legislative Party Leader Sunil Jakhar during the mock session outside the Punjab Vidhan Sabha has taken its first toll. Kanungo Buta Singh, who had monitored the demarcation of boundaries to hand over possession of the controversial water works land to some persons last month, has been placed under suspension. He is closely related to a former MP, who had joined the SAD and played a vital role in the Delhi Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee elections.

The transfer of a senior revenue officer has been linked to the alleged scam but sources said he was already trying for a posting near his native town.

As of now, no action has been initiated against the patwaris who had important role in changing the mutation of the land besides ensuring transfer of possession to the ‘buyers’ of the controversial land.

The CLP leader Jakhar had alleged involvement of a close relative of ruling Badals in the land deals but the latter refuted it claiming that his name nowhere figured in the list of purchasers.

Interestingly, a section of the BJP workers here had urged the state govt to get the entire scam enquired by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as there had been a deep rooted conspiracy on the part of some politicians in the back drop. — OC

One booked for misbehaving with Naib Tehsildar

Barnala, March 24
On the complaint of the Naib Tehsildar, Bhadaur, Jaspal Kaur, the Tallewal police has registered a case against one Ranjodh Singh of Bhotna village under sections 186, 341 and 355 of the IPC.

Tallewal police station SHO Harwinder Singh Khehra said Naib Tehsildar Jaspal Kaur had gone to Bhotna village to recover Rs 6,000 as stamp duty and fee from one Saudagar Singh. However, Saudagar Singh was not available at home, but his neighbour Ranjodh Singh reportedly misbehaved with Naib Tehsildar and tried to gherao her, he added. So far, no arrests has been made in the case. — TNS

Gang Canal to remain closed for 40 days
Our Correspondent

Abohar, March 24
The Gang (Bikaner) Canal will remain closed for 40 days.

The canal water regulatory committee not only accepted the recommendation of the Punjab Irrigation Department to keep the canal closed for 30 days but added 10 more days to the proposal to take up some other work. The canal system in Abohar area might also go without water during this period to take up annual repair and desilting work.

Kisan Sangharsh Samiti spokesman Subhash Sehgal said the irrigation deparment authorities were requested to take up desilting of the canal from RD 50 to RD 66 in the area falling in the Malwa region.

The supply of canal water will remain suspended in the 2500-cusec capacity canal from April 9 to May 18. The Rs 14.4-crore project will cover repair of damaged berms and lining.

Mammography machine installed

Moga, March 24
Baba Ishar Singh group of institutions has installed a mammography machine in its charitable hospital at Gagra village, last week.

JS Dhaliwal, the owner of these institutes, said the machine costing Rs 26 lakh has been provided by the London-based organisation Roko Cancer to check breast cancer among women.

Dr Dharminder Dhillon a medical practitioner associated with the Roko Cancer said the machine would help the women patients of Moga, Barnala, Ferozepur and Kapurthala districts.

Dr Dhillon said that in the next phase his organization would also install mammography machines at Babeke Hospital at Daudhar village (Moga), Guru Kashi University at Talwandi Sabo and Government Hospital, Majitha (Amritsar). — TNS