The operational and maintenance cost of the machine is very high. It is not a viable option and now the machines are completely worn out. There is no plan to re-run the machines.
— Uma Shankar Gupta, Municipal commissioner

Bathinda, July 4
One has heard of recruitment rallies taking place during daytime but the city witnessed an Army recruitment rally, whose process started last midnight.

The rally meant for the twin districts of Ferozepur and Fazilka was unique as candidates started pouring in at the local military station by midnight. The filling up of forms and other basic eligibility tests began as early as 2 am today.

Recruiting officers said almost midnight start was necessary due to the hot and humid conditions here.

"We were supposed to end the physical tests, especially the races, well before 11 am. With 6,000 candidates appearing for a few hundred posts, we thought of starting the process early," said Colonel PF Nikam, Director-Recruitment.

He said the Army would build stamina of the selected candidates in all conditions during the training. "As per our experience in the past, hot and humid weather conditions worsen the performance of candidates. We are looking for basic physical strength in candidates; rest we will build," he added.

The recruitment rally for Bathinda district would be held tomorrow.

Colonel Nikam hoped youths from Bathinda district would also respond in high numbers to the rally.

Bathinda, July 4
A day after the panchayat elections, the police has booked 17 persons by name in two separate cases for creating ruckus, preventing polling officials from carrying their duties and inflicting injuries on them.

In a complaint to the police, Jagjit Singh, the in-charge of the polling booth No. 3 at Bahadurgarh Jandian village, said the accused persons barged into the polling booth after breaking the door and took away ballot papers at gunpoint. The accused were identified as Jagjit Singh, Gogi Singh, Kheeta Singh, Thana Singh, Harpal Singh, all residents of Bahadurgarh Jandian, Sukhchain Singh, Nikka Singh and Kaka Singh, residents of Mithri in Haryana.

The police has registered a case under Sections 307, 392, 353, 332, 452, 506, 186, 148 and 149 of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act at Nandgarh police station.

In another complaint, SHO Sikandar Singh of Rama Mandi stated that some identified and a large number of unidentified persons attacked a polling party by pelting stones at them. He stated that the attackers stopped the government officials, including some policemen, near Bhagwangarh Bhukkianwali village and pelted stone at them with an intention to kill.

The accused were identified as Rimpy, Rajinder Singh, Balour, Jagdeep, Resham, Jagsir, Avtar Singh, Bhola, Sukhpal and 170 unidentified persons.

A case under Sections 307, 353, 186, 342, 341, 148 and 149 of the Indian Penal Code has been registered at the Rama police station.

Bathinda, July 4
Two days after three passengers were looted after being offered sedative-laced eatables at the railway station here, miscreants made another passenger their victim today.

The three unidentified passengers were found in an unconscious state near platform No. 7 and one more passenger was found lying there in a similar manner this morning. Of all the four victims, the identity of only one could be ascertained, as two of them slipped away to evade legal complications and questioning by the police while one is undergoing treatment at the local Civil Hospital.

Volunteers of the Sahara Jan Sewa, an NGO, who rushed the unconscious passenger to the hospital, said similar incidents were reported in the past as well and people behind such robberies were yet to be nabbed.

The president of the NGO, Vijay Goyal, said most victims belong to poor families. "It is quite easy for someone to offer them food or liquid and take away their belongings and cash either from platform or train," he added.

Goyal said that one of the three passengers has been identified as Shiv Shankar, who was taken to the Government Railway Police (GRP) at the railway station.

In his statement to the GRP, Shiv Shankar said he lost Rs 700, a mobile phone and other belongings after someone offered him a sedative-laced edible.

Goyal said two of the three got themselves discharged from the Civil Hospital in the wee hours today and left the hospital in a semi-conscious state. He said earlier too, victims of such incidents slip away to evade legal complications and grilling by the police.

Officials of the GRP said that they had increased patrolling on the premises of the railway station and would press their sources into service to nab the culprits.

Bathinda, July 4
The municipal limits of the city have been revised and the final draft will soon be sent to the state government for remarks.

A sub-committee of the Municipal Corporation, Bathinda (MCB), constituted to carry out the task of increasing the limits, has considered all the objections filed with it. Some areas have been left out as the residents there were not willing to be part of the revised city limits.

People of Basti Bir Talab 1, 4 and 5, Behman Diwana and Sivian villages had objected to their inclusion in the MC limits.

Bir Talab Basti residents appealed that they be joined with a gram panchayat. Behman Diwana villagers said the extension of MC limits should be limited to the ring road only.

Now, both the areas are not part of the final draft.

Similarly, the residents of Sivian village objected and gave a representation mentioning that their cultivable land should be kept in the village itself to maintain brotherhood and social harmony in the village. The area too has been spared.

The new map will be drawn and sent to the state government for final drafting. The agenda will come up for consideration before the MC general house meeting to be held tomorrow.

The sub-committee was formed under Mayor Baljit Singh Birbehman and included municipal commissioner Uma Shankar Gupta, muncipal councillors Nirmal Singh Sandhu, Mithu Ram Gupta, Tek Chand Khalsa and Baljit Singh Sra.

Bathinda, July 4
In yet another case of payment not being refunded, the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has directed Metlife India Insurance Company Limited to pay Rs 54,000 to a resident of Guru Ki Nagri. The Forum also directed the company to pay Rs 3,000 as cost and compensation to the complainant.

The case was decided by the president of the Forum, Vikranjit Kaur Soni and members Amarjeet Paul and Sukhwinder Kaur. Advocate Sanjay Goyal appeared for the complainant while NK Batta was the counsel for the other party.

Twenty-four-year-old Sirtaj Kaur lodged a complaint under section 12 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 wherein she accused the company officials of selling insurance policy by saying that she has to make payment of Rs 18,000 only once for an insurance cover of Rs 1.80 lakh.

The insurance company promised that she could get a refund of Rs 18,000 along with interest at the rate of 12 per cent per annum anytime without any other deductions.

After paying a premium of Rs 18,000 in January 2010, the complainant was assured by the company that no further payment is required to be paid. The complainant alleged that neither any cover note nor any separate terms and conditions or free look period was provided to her.

Eleven months later, in December, 2010, the complainant approached the other party seeking refund of Rs 18,000 but her request was turned down on the pretext that she has to make the payment for a minimum period of three years failing which she will not be entitled to get her money.

The complainant said that under the circumstances, she paid Rs 18,000 each in January 2011 and 2012. In this way, the total amount paid by her was Rs 54,000.

The complainant again requested the other party to refund an amount of Rs 54,000 along with interest at the rate of 12 per cent per annum but it refused to pay anything.

After hearing the arguments of both sides, the Forum observed that the other party failed to place any evidence of dispatching the policy papers to the complainant. The Forum, observing deficiency in service on the part of the other party, accepted the complaint with Rs 3,000 as cost and compensation. The other party was directed to refund the premium after making a deduction of the proportionate risk premium for the period on cover and the expenses incurred by the insurer on medical examination of the proposer and stamp duty charges.

The other party was also directed to furnish complete details about the deductions which are to be made as per the order.

The order has to be complied with within 45 days from the date of receipt of the copy of the order. In case of non-compliance, the amount payable to the complainant will carry interest at a rate of 9 per cent per annum till realization.

Bathinda, July 4
The Bathinda District Chess Association will hold a chess tournament separately for both boys and girls on July 6.

A spokesperson of the association said the tournament is for boys and girls in the under-15 category and only those candidates are eligible who were born on or after January 1 1998.

The matches will be held at the multi-purpose sports stadium, near Hanuman Chowk. The entry fee for participating in the tournament is Rs 250 per player and an additional Rs 75 in case the player is not registered.

The entries will be accepted on the day of the tournament from 8 am to 11 am at the venue.

The players who are not residents of Bathinda city will be provided free accommodation on the first night. The winners will be declared separately in both the categories.

The top four position holders from both the categories will be given an opportunity to represent Punjab in an upcoming national chess championship to be held in Kerala.

Bathinda, July 4
United Welfare Society, an NGO, organized a voluntary blood donation camp in the memory of Prem Kumar Thakur, father of the blood donor Rohit Thakur. Seventeen units of blood were donated at the event.

Secretary, District Red Cross Society, Col Mukhtiar Singh Kular (retd), assistant Naresh Pathania and councillor Santosh Mahant were also present at the event.

Speaking on the occasion, the Secretary, Red Cros Society, said the family has set the right example by holding a blood donation camp in memory of Prem Kumar Thakur. 

Bathinda, July 4
The district administration has asked the survivors of Uttarakhand tragedy, who have returned to Bathinda safely, to report to the district administration.

In a press statement issued here today, Deputy Commissioner Kamal Kishore Yadav stated that people who got stuck up in Uttarakhand during the June 17 tragedy should immediately report to district administration about their safe arrival.

As per the information available with the district administration, 16 people of Bathinda have been evacuated safely from the affected pockets of Uttarakhand including Chamoli, Ghagriya, Gobind Ghat and other places. Those evacuated safely include Gurpreet Kaur, Amrit Singh, Parvinder Singh, Prakash Kaur, Sukhwinder Kaur, Tara Singh, Raghuvir Singh, Gurjit Singh, Jagdeep Kaur, Gunmeen Kaur, Gurbaksh Kaur, Prabhjot Kaur, Dilraj Kaur, Satinder Kaur, Jaskar Singh and Amandeep Singh.

Yadav appealed to immediately report the safe arrival of people from Uttarakhand at the phone numbers 0164-2862100 and 0164-2862101.

Besides, if no information has been received about the missing person, a call can be made at these phone numbers to give the details of the missing person.

Bathinda, July 4
A youth today committed suicide by hanging himself near the Markfed godown in the Grain Market. The body was found hanging from an iron pillar in an empty plot located in the area. A suicide note was recovered saying he was forced to take the step because his name figured wrongly in a theft case.

The deceased has been identified as 20-year-old Nikka Singh. He lived in the hutments near the Grain Market. DSP City Gurmeet Kingra, SHO Kotwali Karamjit Singh and others reached the spot to enquire into the incident. The body was shifted to the Civil Hospital by the volunteers of the NGO Sahara Jan Sewa.

The family members of the dead youth said he worked as the driver of a tractor-trailer but was now jobless. He got hooked to drugs and slipped into depression.

The suicide note revealed the name of a tractor-trailer owner, Rajwinder. "We will enquire into the role of the person whose name figured in the suicide note and as to who could have written it," the SHO said. — TNS