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Kin want POWs in Pak jails freed
National-level counselling ends, IHM seats still vacant
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Clash between cops, bus operators averted
Residents miss souvenir as Telegram office shuts early
Rajindra College seats nearly full, little hope for aspirants
Magnificent Seven celebrate their golden jubilee
Addicts flee from de-addiction centre, held at railway station
City News in Brief
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Kin want POWs in Pak jails freed
Bathinda, July 15 They claimed that the two were lodged in Pakistan jails after they were caught by the enemy during the Indo-Pak war of 1971. The family members said following the war, while Sepoy Jugraj Singh of the 102 Bombay Engineering Regiment was declared as martyr Naik Veer Singh of the 15 Sikh Regiment was reported to be missing. Sepoy Jugraj Singh, who was 26 then, had left behind his daughter and wife while Naik Veer Singh, who was 27, left behind his wife, who was in the family way, and one-and-a-half-years old daughter, to attend the call of duty. The family members said Jugraj fought in the Khemkaran sector and Veer Singh fought at the Hussainiwala border. Both were arrested by Pakistan soldiers. Jugraj's daughter Paramjit Kaur said an Indian prisoner, Satish Kumar who had participated in the war, was released by Pakistan in 1986, had told them that Jugraj was lodged in a jail in the neighbouring country. Veer Singh's daughter Rajinder Kaur said both the families have united to get the two soldiers released from the Pakistan jails. She said an Indian prisoner, Gurcharan Singh, had informed their family that he had seen Veer Singh in Kot Lakhpat jail. From time to time, they had written numerous letters to prime ministers of India, presidents, external affair ministers and others, but to no avail, she said. "I was 22 years old and in the family way when Sardarji (her husband) left us with an assurance that he will come back after winning the battle," said Surjit Kaur, Veer Singh's wife with eyes welled up. Even after 42 years of separation, she has not lost hope of meeting her husband one day, notwithstanding the fact that the Government of India had, in 1990, given her the death certificate of her husband. Surjit Kaur said once former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi visited Bathinda and assured that the family members of martyrs would be offered petrol pumps and agricultural land, but they did not get anything yet. Even her husband's pension is now shared by her in-laws, she said. The families gave a memorandum to the Government of India through the Deputy Commissioner seeking its immediate intervention to get their men released from Pakistan jails. Kin recount An Indian prisoner, Satish Kumar, who had participated in the war, was released by Pakistan in 1986. He told us that Jugraj was lodged in a jail there. — Paramjit Kaur Sepoy Jugraj Singh’s daughter I was 22 years old and in the family way when Sardarji left us with an assurance that he will come back after winning the battle. — Surjit Kaur Naik Veer Singh’s wife
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National-level counselling ends, IHM seats still vacant
Bathinda, July 15 As many as 76 seats out of the total 126 have been left vacant after the national-level counselling. Fifty one seats are vacant under the general category while 16 under the Scheduled Caste and nine seats under the Scheduled Tribe categories are yet to be filled, informed the principal of the institute, Kamal Piyush. “The vacant seats are now available for the students belonging to Bathinda and the entire Malwa region who had missed the admission procedure earlier. They can send in the applications by July 22 and the list of the selected candidates will be issued by the institute on July 24,” said Kamal Piyush. He added that the aspirants would be chosen on the basis of merit and no examination or interview would be conducted as part of the local admissions. The merit list will be compiled on the basis of the marks secured by the candidate in the Class XII exams. The principal of the institute said the IHM, Bathinda, also offered courses that train the staff attached to the hotels and restaurants in Bathinda under its skill certification programme. Satish Arora, the president of the Bathinda Hotel, Restaurants and Resorts Association, said, “There are nearly 1,500 rooms in various hotels, 35 restaurants and 40 banquet halls in the city. Right now, the industry can absorb close to 1,000 trained staff.” As many as 76 seats out of the total 126 have been left vacant after the national-level counselling. Fifty-one seats are vacant
under the general category while 16 under the Scheduled Caste and nine seats under the Scheduled Tribe categories are
yet to be filled. |
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Banks of Sirhind Canal strengthened
Bathinda, July 15 Decision to line the banks with sand bags came after the ADC (general) Rajiv Prashar, municipal commissioner Uma Shankar Gupta and XEN, Irrigation Department, Upkaran Singh conducted an inspection. "During the inspection, it was found the banks of the canal were eroding and that there was an urgent need to make them stronger. Hence, it was decided to line the canal from the foot bridge near Papiha palace up to the bridge near the Thermal lakes with sand bags," said XEN Upkaran Singh. The inspecting officials also observed that the bank of the canal towards the road leading to the National Colony and other areas was eroding at a faster rate. In case of a mishap, the water could flood the entire road and cause difficulties to the residents of the areas nearby. The stretch being covered with sand bags is mainly the one that does not have permanent (pucca) lining. The banks of the canal have a high rate of soil erosion. A 7-km stretch of the canal falls within the city before it enters the Bir Talab area. The canal was cleaned in the month of April last year. Then, it was de-silted and the waste settled at its bottom was removed. Post de-silting, its water-carrying capacity too had increased. "Though the water-carrying capacity of the canal increased, the flow of water during the pre-monsoon showers was scary," said Karamjit Singh, a resident of Green Avenue, a locality situated along the canal. |
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Clash between cops, bus operators averted
Bathinda, July 15 Donning khaki, a new recruit of the Punjab Police, who is deployed with the Police Control Room (PCR), Bathinda, boarded a private bus from Talwandi Sabo and refused to purchase a ticket saying that he is a mulazim (staff). The bus conductor did not argue with him and allowed him to travel without ticket. However, a ticket checking inspector boarded the bus at Bhagi Wandar bus stand and asked the cop to purchase a ticket as policemen could travel for free only in PRTC or government buses. After an argument, the cop purchased a ticket. However, he got upset when the checking
inspector asked the bus conductor not to allow such policemen travel without ticket. The cop dialled 100 and called his colleagues. A PCR vehicle intercepted the bus near the Civil Hospital and enquired into the incident. While the bus operators said they would block traffic in protest against the cop's high-handedness, the cop sought action against the ticket checker for using foul language against policemen. The matter was resolved after around 45 minutes. All this while, the traffic in front of the Civil Hospital remained disrupted due to presence of a large number of bus operators and policemen. Inspector Balwant Singh, in-charge, PCR Bathinda (city), who reached the spot to mediate, said the matter was resolved amicably. Fact file
Donning khaki, a new recruit of the Punjab Police, who is deployed with the PCR, Bathinda, boarded a private bus from Talwandi Sabo and refused to purchase a ticket saying that he is a mulazim (staff). |
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Residents miss souvenir as Telegram office shuts early
Bathinda, July 15 Due to shortage of staff, the office could not remain open till 9 pm, sources said. There were just two employees left with the unit and they could not perform duty round the clock, the sources added. Colonel Daya Singh (retd) who missed sending a telegram to the President of India seeking immediate release of 54 Prisoner of Wars from Pakistan jails, said the local Telegraph office gave an early and disrespectful burial to the service by shutting down the office early. He said he and several other persons who wanted to send a telegram as a souvenir to family or important people for a cause missed out on the opportunity. |
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MLA seeks people’s participation
Bathinda, July 15 Singla declared that removal of stray cattle from the roads was a herculean task and said the people hold the key in getting rid of the menace. He urged the people to extend support in removing the stray cattle that roam freely on the busy roads and in commercial and residential areas. "There are religious beliefs associated with the animals and it is quite difficult to address the problem keeping in view the sensitivity of a large number of people and society," Singla said. He claimed that though the government and the local administration were keen to look into the problem and assured that it will be solved with the passage of time. The MLA blamed people from the nearby villages, who drop stray cattle into the city, for the increase in the number of road accidents and other problems. Singla said that earlier, a tie-up with a religious leader in Bhucho had been made and new gaushalas too have come up in the city but the problem seems to have assumed an alarming proportion, which could be resolved with the support of the people. Singla was speaking ahead of a meeting with local businessmen to enquire into their problems related with the excise and taxation department. He said that today's meeting had been called to address the grievances of the local businessmen facing problems at tax collection centres like non-availability of various tax-related forms, among others. Singla claimed that sewerage connection for every household is being ensured by the SAD-BJP government and soon, all the localities would be equipped with a sewerage connection. The work on laying sewerage pipes has already been completed at many places and the remaining work too would be completed soon, the MLA from Bathinda Urban constituency said. |
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Rajindra College seats nearly full, little hope for aspirants
Bathinda, July 15 "Within the next three-four days, we will be able to decide whether the college needs to hold a second counselling session or not. There are little chances that we will need to do so since the number of applicants far exceeded the number of seats available with the college," he added. Admission to BA (Part I) closed on Friday. As many as 735 students were admitted to the course on Friday. The cut-off for the general category was recorded at 73.5 per cent. For students belonging to the rural areas, the cut-off was recorded at 67.11 per cent while it was 68.10 per cent for the students belonging to the scheduled caste category and 70 per cent for the backward class category. Interestingly, apart from vying for seats in a course of their choice, the students were also forced to handle the unexpected hike in the fee structure. While the admission process began at the college on June 10, Punjabi University, Patiala, issued a letter on July 8, intimating the colleges affiliated to it about a change in the fee structure. While the registration fee was hiked from Rs 400 to Rs 600, migration fee was also hiked from Rs 30 to Rs 100. Verification fee was also increased from Rs 600 to Rs 700 and the university fund was increased from Rs 1,104 to Rs 1,240. The hike in the fee caught the aspirants unawares as most of the students carried money according to the break-up mentioned in the prospectus of the college. Fact file
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Magnificent Seven celebrate their golden jubilee
Bathinda, July 15 The celebrations were graced by a large number of veteran officers, junior commissioned officers, soldiers and Veer Naris, who despite the unprecedented calamity in Uttarakhand, graced the occasion expressing their commitment, solidarity and love for the battalion even after having retired long ago. The celebrations commenced with the inauguration of the war memorial on the battalion campus to be followed by a series of functions spread over three days. The occasion was also used to felicitate the Veer Naris whose husbands gave up their lives for the battalion's honour. The 'Regimental Guard of Honour', to honour the Colonel of the Regiment, was an impressive display of drill and precision. A special First Day Cover was also released by the colonel of the regiment in the presence of the veterans and serving ranks. The battalion also established a photo gallery in the Officers' Mess recording major events of the 50 years. |
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Addicts flee from de-addiction centre, held at railway station
Bathinda, July 15 At around 6:40 pm, when they were about to board Jammu Tawi Express, the volunteers of the NGO Naujawan Welfare Society became suspicious because of their cautious attitude. “Our volunteers mistook them to be thieves and started running behind them. Of the three addicts, two were held, while one fled from the scene,” said the president of NGO Sonu Maheshwari. One of the addicts held is from Ferozepur, while the other belongs to Bathinda. Meanwhile, the in-charge of de-addiction centre, Dr Nidhi Gupta, said that the three addicts were admitted just two days back. “It is common practice for the addicts to flee as they are unable to cope up with the restrictions imposed here,” she said. Dr Gupta added that before admitting the patients, their parents were duly informed about the possibility. Sources said that some addicts even call up their families and try to emotionally blackmail them and coerce them to take them (addicts) away. In such a situation, the family members have to be very strong and not fall for such emotional excuses. If a family yields to an addict’s demand, it is not only detrimental for the addict’s health, but for the family as well, she said. The addicts held have again been taken into medical care, while the parents of the third addict have been informed about their son fleeing away from the de-addiction
centre. |
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City News in Brief
Bathinda, July 15 Volunteers of the NGO, Waheguru Welfare Society, helped in shifting the injured to the hospital. The injured has been identified as Ramesh Kumar, a resident of Ghanaiya Nagar. The volunteers said ramesh had received injuries on the head and shoulder. Two rescued by NGO
Two persons who jumped into the lake of Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant (GNDTP) and into the canal near Bir Talab to commit suicide were rescued by the volunteers of the NGO Sahara Jan Sewa. The volunteers said that a young man jumped into the lake of Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant last night. Some bystanders informed the NGO whose volunteers reached the lake and rescued the young boy. After giving first aid, the youth, identified as 22-year-old Gopal Ram was taken to his home. In another similar incident, a mentally upset man, residing in Bir Talab, jumped into the canal and was successfully rescued from the waters by the local residents. Sahara Jan Sewa volunteers reached the place and administered first aid to the man. He also received counselling and united with his family. Ludhiana resident booked for cheating
Police has registered a case against Dr Umesh Jain, a resident of Ludhiana, for cheating city doctors of over Rs 4 lakhs. The complainants, Dr Niranjan Lal, Dr Ajay Bansal, Dr Balwinder Singh and Hardeep Kaur, all deployed in Adesh Hospital, Bhucho Khurd, complained that the doctor cheated them and took away more than Rs 4 lakhs from them. A case under section 420 of the IPC has been registered at the Nathana police station. Two arrested with stolen cattle worth
Rs 1.5 lakh
Police has arrested two thieves, identified as Matloob, a resident of Uttar Pradesh and Vicky of Bajakhana, with stolen
cattle worth nearly Rs 1.5 lakhs. Police said two calves were recovered from the possession of the accused and a case under sections 379 and 411 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered against them at the Dyalpura police station. First aid camp held in Mannuana village As part of its campaign to train the residents of villages in and around the city, the first aid first wing of the NGO, United Welfare Society, organized a first aid camp in village Mannuana. The camp was conducted at Government Elementary School under the supervision of the newly-elected sarpanch, Kulwant Singh Wirk, the panches and Karnail Singh, the school
lecturer. During the camp, the villagers were given information on how to offer first aid and handle situations like a bleeding nose, fits, heat stroke, chocking, snake bite, burns and animal bites etc. |
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