Bathinda, September 12
A team of the Municipal Corporation, Bathinda (MCB), today succeeded in demolishing structures that it had failed to raze on September 3, in the Tinkoni area on the GT Road here.

The team today pulled down constructions in front of four shops that did not conform to the regulations of the Punjab Development and Country Town Planning Act-1995. The GT road has been declared a scheduled road under the Act.

As per the Act, all the buildings constructed after 1995 have been directed to leave 5 metres of area in the front side vacant. But in the Tinkoni area, the establishments of Jindal Sanitary Store, Happy Auto Works, Kohli Tyre Works and Dhiman Tyre Works had flouted the rule.

Even the Punjab and Haryana High Court had passed strict directions stating that the law should be adhered to and construction in violation of the rules should be hammered down.

Earlier on September 3, the MCB team had gone to the area to mow down the encroachments. It directed the shop owners to vacate their shops.

Three hours after the shops were vacated, the MCB readied itself to bring the structures down and brought JCB machines to the place.

However, before the JCB machines could start demolitions, a senior BJP leader intervened buying time for the shopkeepers to remove their belongings.

Today, the MCB team, headed by XEN Tirath Ram Goyal, demolished the structures.

The team also demolished the building of Major Gupta Hospital on the Namdev Road. The building map of the place was passed for constructing a residential unit. However, construction of a commercial building was going on there.

Member of the MCB team that brought down the illegal structures today included sub-divisional officers Gurpreet Singh, Ravinder Singla, Kishore Bansal and Raman Kumar besides XEN Tirath Ram.

Bathinda, September 12
The police today claim to have recovered four vehicles stolen from Mittal Mall and Queensland in Bathinda and five vehicles stolen from Appolo Hospital and MBD Mall in Ludhiana.

The thieves were arrested by the Rajasthan Police and were interrogated by the Bathinda police after they were brought on production warrant by it. The thieves admitted that they had stolen 36 vehicles from Bathinda and Ludhiana.

The accused were identified as Surjit Singh of Delhi, Jagdev Singh of Thuthianwali village in Mansa, Sandeep Singh, alias Nata, and Ranjeet Singh, both residents of Mansa.

SSP Ravcharan Brar said the thieves were arrested by a team under the supervision of SP Amarjit Singh and DSP Ranjit Singh.

The thieves admitted that they used to steal vehicles from Faridabad, Panipat, Karnal, Jagraon, Sangrur, Malerkotla and Delhi.

They used to purchase the accidental worn out vehicles and keep registration documents, locks and number plates with themselves to fix it on the stolen vehicles.

One of them used to chase the car owner and others enter in the car after breaking the rear windowpane. They used to change the chassis number in a shop situated near Jama Masjid, New Delhi. They would further sell the stolen vehicles to prospective buyers.

Bathinda, September 12
The All Punjab Aanganwari Employees will hold a dharna on October 2 in the constituency of the Chief Minister Lambi.

The agitating employees are demanding revised pay scales for the workers and helpers, recruitment of supervisors on a seniority basis, employment for daughter and daughter-in-law of an aanganwari worker in view of her death and an increase in rent paid for running the centres in cities, towns and villages. A worker said they had held a meeting with the Chief Minister around nine months ago. At the meeting, the CM had agreed to our demands in principle, but none of them has been fulfilled so far.” — TNS

Bathinda, September 12
A sudden rush of Bathinda residents for obtaining arms licence has left the government officials and psychiatrists working in government hospitals in a piquant situation as they fail to comprehend the exact reason behind the rush.

Every application makes the state exchequer rich by non-refundable fees of more than Rs 5,000 besides other charges.

The psychiatrists and other officials who have to attest the applications after examining the mental health of the applicants, however, are at the receiving end.

It is learnt that certain rumours have led to the sudden rush in number of applicants. The rumours that are doing the round here include fees for the licence may increase from Rs 5,000 to more than Rs 10,000. There is also a fear of Kala Kachha Gang and the rising criminal activities in the district that are prompting residents to keep arms for self-defence.

Bathinda residents are already tagged as ‘arms lovers’. With residents queuing up outside the Suvidha Kendra to file their applications only substantiate the tag.

The uncontrollable rush has upset the authorities so much so that on Friday, policemen had to resort to mild lathi charge in order to control the crowd outside the Suvidha Kendra.

The agents involved in helping people to prepare applications for the arms licence said during the past 15 days, there had been more than two fold increase in number of applications.

Out of hundreds of applications, only a few manage to get arms licence and that too after making repeated rounds of the centre and with intervention of senior political leaders. Rejections notwithstanding, applicants keep trying to get the licence.

Officials said as compared to 5 to 7 applications received earlier, over 50 applications were being received these days.

“The rush has increased since the past two weeks and people from Rampura, Bhagta, Talwandi Sabo, Maur, Goniana and other places are submitting their applications,” said a psychiatrist working in a government hospital.

He said after the recent orders of the High Court, it was now mandatory for every arms licence holder to undergo mental health check-up. The applicants are now approaching government psychiatrists to get the certificate of mental fitness.

“On last Friday, I got 50 applications and had to take services of a peon to stamp the applications. The extra burden (in the form of arms licence applications) hinders patients’ diagnosis,” said another psychiatrist.

Surinder Joshi, a typist outside the district court complex, said those seeking arms licence were suppose to purchase the file for Rs 5,000 besides Rs 980 as charges for one weapon, Rs 1180 for two weapons and Rs 1380 for three weapons.

Neither ADC (G) Rajeev Prashar nor Deputy Commissioner Kamal Kishore Yadav was available for comments over the issue even as repeated attempts were made to contact them.

Bathinda, September 12
Six teams of the Municipal Corporation Bathinda (MCB) have so far collected Rs 37 lakh as fees for regularisation of houses and plots in the unauthorised colonies.

For the first time, a coloniser in the Lal Singh Basti area today moved an application for regularising his colony at a camp. Municipal Commissioner Uma Shankar Gupta said a team had been analysing documents and the application submitted by the coloniser.

Starting from September 9, the corporation has been organising camps at six places in the city for the colonisers to get their assets regularised. Plot holders and house owners have been attending the camps organised by the civic body, whereas the colonisers had preferred to stay away from such camps.

As many as five applications were received from plot holders and house owners at a camp in Guru Gobind Singh Nagar and Rs 1.5 lakh was collected. Similarly, 10 applications and Rs 1.9 lakh was collected in the Adarsh Nagar area, 17 applications were filed and Rs 2.57 lakh was collected in Paras Ram Nagar, one application was received and Rs 47,000 was collected at a camp in the Ambuja cement area, four applications were received and Rs 4 lakh was collected in the Lal Singh Basti area and one application was received and Rs 19,000 was collected at the camp on the Mansa Road.

Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Kamal Kishore Yadav today convened a meeting of officials of the district civic body and directed them to conduct camps in the same manner as the MCB teams are conducting. They were directed to submit reports of the camps conducted and the action taken in this regard.

He said impetus should be laid on educating people about the benefits of regularising assets in unauthorised colonies. He said the collector rates decided on April 1, 2013, would be applicable for regularisation. The last date for applying for the regularisation is October 7. He directed the officials to upload details of applications received in their records.

ADC Mohammad Tayyab, Commissioner Uma Shankar Gupta, Talwandi Sabo SDM Shruti, Bathinda SDM Damanjit Singh Mann, Rampura SDM Charandeep Singh, Maur SDM Harjit Singh Sandhu, general assistant Sakattar Singh Bal and others were also present at meeting.

Impetus should be laid on educating people about the benefits of regularising assets in unauthorised colonies. The collector rates decided on April 1, 2013, will be applicable for regularisation.
— Kamal Kishore Yadav, Deputy Commissioner

Bathinda, September 12
The election officers were today directed to keep in touch with educational institutes in the district for the purpose of enrolling young voters.

District Election Officer Kamal Kishore Yadav gave directions while presiding over a meeting of the election officers held here regarding updation of voters’ lists for the year 2014.

He said the officers should remain in touch with the colleges, ITI centres, senior secondary schools and other educational institutes so that the students qualifying as voters were enrolled.

Yadav also said the ongoing work for the revision of voters’ lists should be popularised so that maximum people could derive benefit from the drive.

Persons above 18 years of age as on January 1, 2014, are eligible to vote. The pro forma containing objections and rectifications can be submitted to the election registration officer or the booth-level officer concerned from September 6 to October 4.

On September 15, 22 and 29, all the booth-level officers will be present at their respective booths from 9 am to 5 pm to collect these pro formas.

For making new votes, residents of India have to fill Form number 6 and affix a passport size colour photograph while the NRIs will have to fill Form 6 A for the purpose. To delete a vote, Form number 7 has to be filled. For any kind of correction in a vote, Form 8 has to be filled and for changing the residence address Form 8 O has to be filled.

If a voter has his or her entry made in the voters’ list but does not have a photo voter I-card, he or she should fill Form 001 B with two passport sized coloured photographs.

All these forms are supplied free of cost. Photostat or cyclostyled copies can also be used. 

Bathinda, September 12
The Department of Architecture, Giani Zail Singh Punjab Technical University Campus, today celebrated Teacher’s Day and formally welcomed first year students.

The AART, a students’ organisation, organised a function to honour faculty members for their contribution in shaping up of the lives of students.

Faculty members, campus director Dr Jasbir S Hundal, Registrar GS Bath and head of the department Bhupinder Pal Singh Dhot shared their experiences with the students.

The first year students competed for the title of Miss Freshers’ and Mr Freshers’. They were judged on their confidence, talent and spontaneity in three different rounds. Avneet Kaur Mann and Akash were declared winners and awarded by Dr Hundal with their respective titles. He also gave away prizes to students who won poster making competition and sculpture making competition.

Dr Hundal appreciated the efforts of the students in organising the event. 

Bathinda, September 12
The police has booked three members of a family in a case related to abetment of a man’s suicide.

In a complaint to the police, Roop Chand said his son, Narinder Kumar, was married to Kiranjit Kaur, a daughter of Preetam Singh. He said his daughter-in-law, her sister and father were harassing his son (Narinder) on one pretext or the other. The complainant said his son hanged himself to death in Bir Dayalpura village. The police has booked Kiranjit Kaur, her sister Babli and their father Preetam Singh, all residents of Badhni Kalan village.