Bathinda, July 29
While cases of crime are piling up in city police stations and perpetrators are apparently on the prowl, the police is reportedly busy discharging 'VIP' duties owing to the regular visits of members of the Badal family.

In view of the elections to the Municipal Corporation and the Lok Sabha, politicians, mainly from Badal family, are regularly visiting Bathinda and adjoining areas. The last fortnight saw frequent visits of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal to Bathinda and its adjoining areas keeping the police department on its toes to ensure their safe visit and exit.

“We have no other task except for standing in queues on various routes from where VIPs pass through. Only a handful of people are left behind in the police stations and entire work comes to a standstill," said a Munshi deployed in a city police station while pleading anonymity. The VIP visits have hindered the investigation of cases lodged in various police stations.

A day before, burglars struck at a shop in Hospital Bazaar and fled with Rs 23 lakh in cash. Two theft incidents were reported on July 22 in Amarpura Basti and

Partap Nagar from where thieves decamped with cash and other material worth Rs 60,000 and the police is still groping in the dark. It claims that the cases are still under investigation but a number of unsolved cases only belie their claim.

Cash, ornaments and a luxury car, worth nearly Rs 16 lakh, were stolen on July 18 from Hotel Stella in the city and the police is yet to make a breakthrough. Cash and other material were also stolen from a house in Partap Nagar on May 27 and the bike of a head constable was stolen from outside the Punjab & Sind Bank on the Dhobiana road.

On yesterday's heist, Kotwali Station House Officer today expressed his helplessness on getting any clue and claimed that the matter was under investigation. He said he had no idea how long will it take to get the clue or thieves would be arrested.

On two theft incidents that took place in houses at Parasram Nagar and Partap Nagar from where cash and jewellery worth Rs 20,000 and Rs 40,000, respectively, were stolen, Canal Colony Station House Officer Sanjeev Mittal said both the cases were still under investigation. He added that people should not keep cash and costly jewellery in their houses and instead keep them in bank lockers.

Fact file

In view of the elections to the Municipal Corporation and the Lok Sabha, politicians, mainly from Badal family, are regularly visiting Bathinda and adjoining areas. The last fortnight saw frequent visits of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal to Bathinda and its adjoining areas keeping the police department on its toes to ensure their safe visit and exit.

Bathinda, July 29
Awareness programmes, seminars and workshops marked the World Hepatitis Day at district hospital and block hospitals today. During a seminar organised at the district hospital, District Health Officer Dr RS Randhawa spoke about the waterborne Hepatitis A and Hepatitis C infection. He said overuse of alcohol makes one prone to Hepatitis C.

"Hepatitis C causes liver cancer. The preliminary symptoms of the infection include acute pain in abdomen, mild fever, jaundice and weakness. These symptoms should not be taken lightly. The patient should immediately undergo a thorough check-up and subsequent treatment should be started," he said.

Civil Surgeon Dr Ajay Sahni advised the field staff, including ANMs and ASHA workers, to beware of the occupational hazard of contracting infection while dealing with Hepatitis C patients.

He also advised patients against approaching quacks or faith healers for treatment. "Medicine alone can cure hepatitis," the Civil Surgeon said.

Dr Beant Singh Mann said hepatitis was a life-threatening ailment and its patient needed immediate treatment.

Dr Inderdeep Singh Sra said safe transfusion of blood was one of the important factors in containing the infection and stopping it from being transmitted from one person to another.

Dr Rakesh Kuamr said the first dosage of Hepatitis B vaccine was given at the time of child's birth.

A workshop was also conducted at the district hospital today. Programme officers, senior medical officers, medical officers, blood transfusion officer, staff nurses, ANM and GNM students participated in the function.

Meanwhile, in a press statement issued here today, gastroenterologist Dr Gursewak Singh stated that according to the World Health Organization (WHO), 240 million people are chronically infected with Hepatitis B and around 150 million are chronically infected with Hepatitis C.

One out of every 100 persons in India may be chronically infected by Hepatitis C and most of the patients do not even know that they were infected with the virus. Prevalence of Hepatitis C has been observed to be relatively higher in Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram.

Interestingly, several studies conducted in these states highlight different risk factors which are believed to have led to the relatively higher prevalence of the disease.

Dr Gursewak Singh said unsafe practices like sharing needles by drug addicts was among the major reasons behind spreading of Hepatitis C. A concerted campaign on awareness about the hepatitis viruses and counselling of patients were needed. During surgeries and dental procedures doctors and dentists must only use sterilised equipment since these are major sources of hepatitis infections. It is important to educate doctors in rural areas about the usage of disposable syringes, he said.

"Patients going for surgery should also undergo hepatitis screening to prevent the spread of infection to health professionals treating them. Awareness about the virus among people and availability of early screening and treatment were essential for controlling the disease," Dr Gursewak Singh added.

Bathinda, July 29
The sewer connections of three dairies in the city were snapped today for their failure to construct separate septic tank for their cattle and dumping the waste into the main sewer line.

A team from the sanitation department comprising inspector Raman, supervisor Tarsem Chawla and junior assistant Bhola Singh checked 11 dairies on the Ajit Road, the Power House Road, the 100 feet road and the Dhobiana Road. The owners of these dairies were served notices in the month of April.

Two of the 11 dairies had shifted out of the city after getting notices while six dairies had built small septic tanks. The latter were directed to construct bigger tanks for storing the animal waste.

Sewer connections of three dairies were cut off. These dairies were situated in Street Number 6 of Ajit Road, Street No. 8 and Street No. 11/6 in Sri Guru Arjan Dev Nagar.

MCB workers hold protest

Meanwhile, the workers of the Municipal Corporation Bathinda (MCB) today held a rally against the state government outside the gates of the corporation's office.

Addressing the agitating workers, the patron of the Municipal Workers' Union, Sukhdev Singh Mahinangal, said the Punjab Government is silent over the repeated demands of the union.

They demanded that the services of employees of the municipal councils of Bhadaur, Mullapur, Doraha, Rahon, Samrala, Mahilpur and Garhshankar should be regularised. They should be given the service benefits and the pension scheme should also be made applicable to them right from the date of their appointment.

It was also demanded that the vacancies in the lower ranks should be immediately filled by promoting the employees who are already working. It was also demanded that the excise duty collected should be regularly paid to the respective municipal councils and action should be taken against the civic bodies that are yet to deposit the contributory provident fund in the account of the employees.

Fact file

The dairies, whose sewer connections have been cut off, are situated in Street Number 6 of Ajit Road, Street No. 8 and Street No. 11/6 in Sri Guru Arjan Dev Nagar. 

Bathinda, July 29
The district-level sports tournaments, a part of the 59th School Sports Tournament, began in Bathinda today. The tournament was inaugurated by the District Education Officer Harkanwaljeet Kaur. The inaugural ceremony was held at the Government Senior Secondary School, Bhokhra.

A softball match in progress during the 59th school sports tournament at St. Xavier’s School in Bathinda on Monday. Photo: Bhupinder Dhillon

Also present at the inauguration ceremony were Assistant Education Officer (Physical Education) Pavittar Kaur, general secretaries Sher Singh, Karamjit Singh Khemuana and Hardip Singh Mann, kho-kho conveners Harmander Singh, Ramandip Singh and Gurpreet Singh.

Inspection coordinator Sarabjit Singh and vocational coordinator Balraj Singh were also present on the occasion.

The competitions were held at various schools across the district. While the league matches in some of the disciplines were held today, the finals for some of the events were held today.

Kho-kho, Girls Under-19: Mandi Kalan Zone beat Maur Mandi; Talwandi Sabo Zone beat Bathinda Zone 2; Kho-kho, Girls Under-17: Maur Mandi beat Bhucho Mandi; Sangat Zone beat Bhagta Mandi; Phul beat Bathinda 2; Talwandi Sabo beat Mandi Kalan; Goniana Mandi beat Maur Mandi; Basketball, Girls Under-19: Bathinda 2 beat Sangat; Basketball, Girls Under-17: Bathinda 2 beat Talwandi Sabo; Basketball, Girls Under-14: Bathinda 1 beat Talwandi Sabo; Basketball, Boys Under-19: Mandi Phul beat Goniana; Basketball, Boys Under-17: Mandi Phul beat Bhagta; Cricket Girls Under-19: Bathinda 1 beat Bathinda 2; Bathinda 1 beat Maur Mandi; Throwball Girls Under-19: Bathinda 2 beat Mandi Kalan; Goniana beat Mandi Phul; Fencing Boys Under-19: Maur Mandi: First position; Bathinda 2: Second position; Fencing Girls Under-19: Sangat Mandi beat Bathinda 2; Fencing Boys Under-17: Bathinda 1 beat Bathinda 2, Goniana beat Sangat; Wushu, Girls Under-19: Minus 36 kg category: Babita Rani of Bathinda 1 stood first; Minus 44 kg category: Kamaljit Kaur of Bathinda 2 stood first; Minus 48 kg category: Sapna Rani of Bathinda 1 stood first; Minus 52 kg category: Lakhvir Kaur of Bathinda 1 stood first; Minus 56 kg: Sadhna of Bathinda 1 stood first; Minus 65 kg: Jaswant Kaur of Bathinda 2 stood first; Plus 65 kg category: Ramandeep Kaur of Bathinda 2 stood first.

Bathinda, July 29
A family residing in NFL Colony has been booked by the police for abetment to suicide under section 304-A of the IPC after a woman committed suicide. Ram Singh, a resident of district Bijnaur in Uttar Pradesh said his daughter was married to Laghupal Singh, who along with his other family members had been harassing his daughter on one pretext or the other since their marriage.

The accused was working in a private telecom company in Bathinda.

The complainant said his daughter committed suicide by hanging herself from the ceiling of the house on July 27. Police have booked Laghupal, his father Netram, a peon in the NFL, mother Santresh, Sanjay, his wife Asha, Binny and his wife Sony. A case in this connection has been registered against the accused at the Thermal police station.

In another similar incident, police have booked Gagandeep Singh and Binder Kaur of Laleana village after a 17-year-old girl committed suicide. The complainant, Chhinder Kaur, mother of the deceased, named the duo in her complaint after which the police booked the accused under sections 306 and 34 of the IPC at Rama police station.

Three arrested for snatching purse

Police have arrested three persons for snatching the purse of a woman near the Bhucho Mandi bus stand. The complainant, Kamaldeep Kaur of Bhucho Mandi, said the accused snatched her purse containing Rs 2,000 in cash and a mobile phone worth nearly Rs 2,000. The accused were arrested with the help of local residents. They have been identified as Jagga, Kaka and Sempa, all residents of Puhla village. A case under section 382 of the IPC has been registered against the accused.

NGO flays hike in rate of govt ambulances

The non-government organizations (NGOs) in the city today flayed the revised rates of ambulance charges for government hospitals.

President of Naujawan Welfare Society, Sonu Maheshwari, said the government first hiked the charges of blood units made available to private hospitals and now, the ambulance charges have been hiked.

The Punjab Health System Corporation (PHSC) has raised the rates from Rs 5 per km to Rs 8 per km. Maheshwari said even the private ambulances charge Rs 6 to Rs 7 to ferry patients. "The government has gone ahead and started claiming Rs 8 per km, which is not fair. It amounts to fleecing the poor," he said.

Since the state government does not have enough funds, it is now trying to use people's money to fill its coffers, he added.

Bathinda, July 29
The office-bearers of the newly constituted media cell of the BJP were announced today. They later interacted with the state chief Kamal Sharma.

Headed by Sunil Singla (Bathinda), the new team comprises co-convenors Jived Sood (Chandigarh), Manoj Sharma (Ludhiana), Raj Menro Khanna, Janardhan Sharma (Amritsar) Jatinder Jeet Singh (Tarn Taran), Vikrant Sharma (Jalandhar), Ramit Kehar (Ropar) and members Amit Sharma (Nawanshahr), Pardeep Raina (Pathankot), Krishan Advani (Patiala rural south), Narain Singla (Sangrur-1), Karamveer Singla (Sangrur-2), Rajesh Garg (Bathinda Urban), Lajpat Rai Goel (Bathinda Rural), Ravi Kukkar Fazilka (Jalalabad), Kamal Mahajan (Gurdaspur), Rajinder Singla (Bathinda Rural), Ramesh Bhatia (Batala), Kishore Kumar (Barnala), Hemant Mehra (Amritsar), Gautam Bansal (Faridkot), Rajan Monga (Moga) and Ved Tayal (Mansa).

Bathinda, July 29
Medical check-up and assessment camps will be organised in Bathinda, Rampura Mandi and Talwandi Sabo under the Sarva Siksha Abhiyaan. These camps will aim at assessing the degree of disability in children and will provide medical help and aid. The camps will be held in a phased manner from August 1 to August 3.

The camps, which will be held under the supervision of the District Project Director, SSA, Amarjit Kaur Kotfatta, will cover children studying in schools, Anganwari centres and out-of school kids in the age-group of 0 to 12 years.

Following the assessment of the physical disability, the children will be provided physiotherapy, artificial limbs, surgery, callipers, tri-cycles or other medical aid as per their requirement. The cost of conveyance and refreshments will be covered under the Sarva Siksha Abhiyaan. The camp will be held at the Government Primary School, Mall Road, on August 1, in Rampura Phul on August 2 and in Talwandi Sabo on August 3. 

Bathinda, July 29
The Millennium School, Bathinda, celebrated Global Tiger Day today. To mark the occasion, the school organised activities including stamp making and poster making competitions for students. The activities aimed at generating awareness about the need to protect tigers.

Students participated enthusiastically in the competitions. They chose to depict the magnificence of the tiger through their stamps.

Posters created by the students explored various aspects pertaining to the extinction of tigers. Through their powerful visuals, students chose to address various aspects of the issue like causes of extinction and measures that can be taken to protect the tigers.

Speaking on the occasion, Anju Dhawan, principal of the school, said, "The tiger is our national animal and is known for its beauty and power. Unfortunately, due to our carelessness, tigers are now on the verge of extinction. If we don't realise the need to protect them, we might just lose them forever and the future generations will learn about them only through books and pictures. Today's activity was an attempt to get the students to take charge of the situation and disseminate the message further."

The students were also informed that the Global Tiger Day is celebrated to raise awareness about tiger conservation.

The day holds much importance for India as tiger is India's national animal and nearing extinction. The population of tigers has seen an alarming dip from 40,000 in 1947 to just 1,706 in 2010. However, owing to the increased awareness and the efforts of the conservationists and the government, there has been some improvement from 2006, when the population of tigers stood at just 1,411.

Bathinda, July 29
Jigyasa — a two-day science fest was inaugurated by the District Education Officer, Harkanwaljeet Kaur (Secondary) and Rajinder Batra, DDPO, in the pre-primary block of the DAV School here today.

Officials and the RBDAV school staff with the children at the inauguration of the science festival. A Tribune photograph

The students of the pre-primary block gave an elaborate description of the life cycle of a plant, materials received from plants, type of animals, life cycle of human beings and water animals etc.

The social science corner displayed the solar system, types of soil, roads, houses, traffic etc. A message on healthy lifestyle was displayed through charts and models on yoga.

In the formal science lab, the students performed experiments on light and shadow, floating and sinking objects, different states of matter, magnetic objects and several other topics.