Bathinda, April 30
The fire extinguishers installed on the premises of Government Rajindra College have long crossed their expiry date. Interestingly, the one installed outside the principal's office expired in July last year.

In an instance of a fire breaking out in the college, these fire extinguishers will be of no use.

Speaking to Bathinda Tribune, principal of the college Vijay Goyal said the process of refilling the cylinders had been initiated. "A committee has been formed to look into the matter and do the needful. The heads of the departments, where the fire extinguishers have been installed, have been asked to send us their requirements. Only after we get the requirements, we will be able to begin the process," he said.

Ashok Singh Mittal, a mathematics lecturer, has been given the responsibility of refilling the fire extinguishers. "The present fire extinguishers were installed almost three years back. Right now, we don't have the count of the extinguishers on the college premises."

"I have asked all the departments to send us the requirement. It is better that all cylinders are filled at once rather than filling them one at a time. There are around seven cylinders in the college. Before initiating the process, we would also need to know how many of them are gas based and how many are powder based," he added.

Assuring that the cylinders will be refilled within the next two-three days, Prof GS Brar, member secretary of the Higher Education Institute of the society said, "The work for has been started and will be finished within two-to-three days."

He added that the expiry date written on the cylinder was a misleading indicator of the efficacy of the fire extinguisher. "It is the metre of these cylinders and not the expiry dates, which is the real indicator of whether the material inside the cylinder is effective or not. If the needle of the metre crosses the red mark, it means the material has disintegrated and needs to be refilled," he said.

"Fire extinguishers are more effective in high-rise buildings and closed areas. That is why we have installed two fire extinguishers inside the auditorium," he added.

Bathinda, April 30
The District Child Protection Act will come into force soon after the Panchayat elections get over in the state. This was shared with Bathinda Tribune by the district social security officer, Navin Gadwal.

“We are in the process of drafting and putting to force the District Child Protection Act. The act will look into all the issues related to children, including child labour. A team comprising 11 persons will be constituted in all the districts across the state to make sure that the act is implemented properly. A district child protection officer will be responsible for the implementation of the act in the district. He will also have two district programme officers working under him for the same purpose,” Gadwal said.

The news holds a lot of significance in the context of May Day, which is being celebrated across the globe tomorrow and as a nationwide bank and public holiday in India.

We may sit in comforts at our homes, thinking that we have never done any injustice to anyone from the labour class. Look closer and you may see an underage maid sweeping the floor of your house or helping her mother clean the dishes in your kitchen.

In the absence of an official data available on the number of children under 14 years of age as workers, there is little that is being done to curb the menace of child labour. In all probability, a mother, who is a domestic help, takes her daughters as her help and ultimately leads to the latter becoming a full time domestic servant, irrespective of her age.

Talking to Bathinda Tribune about the menace of child labour, he said, “The problem with child labour is that parents willingly send their children to work as domestic helps, as helpers in brick kilns and restaurants or beggars on the streets. Within a short span of time, the children become an indispensable source of income for the family.”

“Many a time, we have tried talking to children begging on the streets and convince them to be a part of some welfare scheme. We offer to provide them accommodation, free education, clothes and food, but the children are least interested in their rehabilitation. The task becomes tough in such instances,” he added.

Another scale on which the extent of child labour can be gauged is the fact that the admission process in government schools gains momentum after the harvesting season gets over.

“The number of students taking admission in our school rises after the harvesting season gets over. Many of the students help their parents in harvesting the wheat crop either on their own land or work as labourers on others fields. This is the time when they become earning members of their families,” said the principal of a government school in the district. 

We are in the process of drafting and putting into force the District Child Protection Act. The Act will look into all the issues related to children, including child labour. A team comprising 11 persons will be constituted in the districts across the state to make sure that the Act is implemented properly
—Navin Gadwal, district social security officer

Bathinda, April 30
With 25 to 50 per cent hike in liquor prices after March 31, the demand and consumption of country-made liquor, too, has escalated in Bathinda. People fond of consuming liquor have devised ways to cope up with the unprecedented hike in liquor prices.

While brands of whiskey and vodka have increased manifold, there is a considerable increase in the country-made liquor available at liquor vends of the city.

There are some brands which have witnessed an increase of Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 increase per box. Policemen, who recently arrested people with country-made liquor, admitted that the demand for indigenous alcoholic beverages had increased manifolds.

Policemen said the people were opting for country-made liquor as they found it hard to purchase liquor from vends, following unprecedented hike of liquor, especially whisky and vodka.

On Monday, the Phul and Rampura police had seized 150 litre of laahan and 18 litre of country-made liquor and arrested two persons. During interrogation, the accused admitted that they were trying to fulfil the demand of cheap liquor in view of the rising liquor prices in Bathinda.

Investigation officers said the accused were found carrying illicit liquor meant for boozers in Rampura and its surrounding areas.

The police said it costs nearly Rs 5,000 to prepare 120 bottles of good quality liquor. Senior policemen said they had deployed men to check the flow of illicit liquor into parties at public places, including the city hotels.

ASI Sukhdev Singh, who arrested Gurbax Singh of Sidhana village with 150 litre of laahan, said a case under Sections 61,1 and 14 of the Excise Act had been registered against the accused, who was sent to 14-day judicial remand. The investigation officer said despite knowing the imprisonment, people continue to risk their future to extract the country-made liquor to save few pennies.

A section of liquor contractors of Bathinda said there was a competition among the liquor contractors, but was less as compared to other districts in Punjab.

Excise officials said possible reasons behind the liquor hike could be the smaller group of contractors this year. This year the liquor contract was given by the government to 527 liquor vends of district for Rs 142 crore as compared to last year's Rs 134 crore. Rs 54.80 crore of contract was given to the 56 vends of city area.

Assistant Excise and Taxation Commissioner GS Tiwana said he had joined today and would look into the details soon. 

Bathinda, April 30
Over 250 special trainers, who protested against the Punjab Government by raising slogans and blocking the road traffic, were booked under various sections of the IPC and sent to jail today.

The teachers raised anti-government slogans at the Civil Lines police station from where they were sent to the Faridkot jail. As many as 48 female trainers were brought to the police station on Monday night and were sent to the jail today in the afternoon.

Relatives of the trainers accused the police of not allowing them to meet the trainers. The trainers protested outside the deputy commissioner's office here yesterday. Earlier, they protested at the Rose Garden on Sunday from where they were taken to different police stations, but were released with warning.

The trainers were also assured by senior police and district administrative officials of facilitating a meeting with the Chief Minister over their demands of reinstatement. The trainers were shown the door on March 31.

While the male counterparts were lodged in Bathinda jail, the females were brought to the Civil Lines police station last night. The trainers, including Nasreen from Malerkotla, Mandeep Kaur, Harpinder Kaur, Harpreet Kaur from Amritsar and other districts, accused the policemen at the Civil Lines police station of giving them food quite late at night. “We were not given anything to eat or drink in the morning,” they alleged. 

Bathinda, April 30
A woman died today while six other members of the family fell sick reportedly after consuming some poisonous substance. The family was shifted to the Civil Hospital by volunteers of the NGO Sahara Jan Sewa at around 8 am today. Senior police officials including SP (D) Amarjit Singh and the SHO, Canal Colony police station, Karamjit Singh reached the house of the victims to enquire into the matter.

Police said one of the family members worked in a factory while the others were roadside vendors who were living in Balraj Nagar for the last few years.

The family members complained of nausea and started vomiting. The residents of the area contacted the NGO for shifting the members of the family to the Civil Hospital.

The volunteers shifted the family to the Civil Hospital where a woman, Lalita, died. The condition of six other family members, including the children, men and women, is said to be improving.

Canal Colony SHO Karamjit Singh said the 32-year-old woman who died was married to Manoj Kumar, who is also undergoing treatment at the hospital. The family, including Bansilal Prashar (55), his son Jatinder Kumar (28), Sushil (5), Prince (6), Gaya, wife of Om Parkash and Ruby, wife of Jatinder, are receiving treatment at the hospital.

The SHO said the reason behind the food poisoning had not been ascertained yet. "We have taken some utensils, food and other edibles into possession to collect samples to find any poisonous substance in the food items," he said.

According to the police, three branches of the family had been residing in separate parts of the house for a long time. They had separate kitchens but used to share food items.

The SHO said inquest proceedings have been initiated in this connection under section 174 of the CrPc.

Bathinda, April 30
The Rs 3 cut in petrol price has been welcomed by the residents of Bathinda. The owners of petrol vehicles have welcomed the move. However, the owners of diesel vehicles have asked for a similar reduction in the price of diesel. The present price of petrol in Bathinda is Rs 72.87 per litre. After the price slash, it will come down to Rs 69.87 per litre.

"The owners of two-wheelers are pleased with the reduction in the price of petrol. It is indeed a good move to bring some respite to the people who have two-wheelers," said Prabhsimran, a resident of the city.

Sumer and Shahvaris Singh, who were refuelling the oil tanks of their vehicles at a petrol pump near Tinkoni, said the government should also think of the owners of four-wheelers who have to think twice while refilling their fuel tanks.

Dr Jagsir Singh, a resident of Model Town Phase-1, said he has changed his four-wheeler from the petrol version to diesel version recently. "Now, the government is reducing the price of petrol but it should also think of reducing the price of diesel as well to benefit more people," he said.

Bathinda, April 30
The District Defence Service Welfare (DDSW) Officer Cdr (retd) Baljinder Virk informed that the Directorate of Defence Service Welfare, Punjab, is compiling a document regarding families that have served in the armed forces for three generations or more.

He added that the compendium will be a befitting tribute to these families for their sacrifice and valour. This will also act as a source of inspiration to the future generations so that they can learn about the achievements of their family members and strive to emulate them.

Virk appealed to the serving defence personnel, ex-servicemen and their families belonging to Bathinda district to submit the details of such families with the District Defence Service Welfare Officer, Bathinda, so that their details can be included in the said document and preserved for the sake of information.

Bathinda, April 30
The timing at the Bathinda courts has been changed. The working hours at the court will now be from 8 am to 2 pm. Earlier, the court timing was from 10 am to 4 pm.

Bathinda is the only district in Punjab where the court timings are changed during the summer. "Following an increase in temperature, the timings of Bathinda courts are changed every year.

Earlier, Mansa was a part of Bathinda district and the timings used to change there as well. But ever since Mansa became a separate district, the court timings in Mansa remain the same," said the president of the District Bar Association Mohinder Singh Sidhu.

Sidhu said these timings suit the lawyers as their efficiency to work in the court increases during these hours.

He, however, said the timing should not increase for more than two and half months, as the courts remain closed during the summer vacations between June 15 to July 1 (criminal courts) and up to July 16 (civil courts).

The old timings would again be reinforced in the courts from August 16. Lawyers Shahbharat Sidhu, Tek Singh, Gurwinder Mann and others welcomed the move to change the timings of the district courts in Bathinda. 

Bathinda, April 30
Police has arrested two women with 6 kg poppy husk at Sangat police station. The accused, Gurcharan Kaur and Chhote Kaur, were found carrying the contraband near Sangat Kalan village.

Bathinda, April 30
Goodwill Society, a non-government organisation (NGO), today organised a free medical check-up camp in the city. Lung disease specialist, Dr Mohit Garg and his team, and bone specialist Dr Nitin Bansal, checked the patients at the camp.

The patients were also provided free-of-cost medicines and those diagnosed with breathing ailment were also given inhalers free of cost.

The organisers of the camp said the idea behind holding the camp was to make people aware about the bone-related diseases so that they can be detected early and treated on time to prevent complications.