Bathinda, September 17
The process of transferring the subsidy on LPG gas cylinders directly to the consumers' bank accounts will begin in the district from October 1. Only those consumers would be able to avail of the benefit whose Aadhaar cards are synchronised with their bank accounts and the same was informed to their respective gas agencies, said additional deputy commissioner (ADC) Mohammad Tayyab in a press statement issued here.

Tayyab stated that it was compulsory for consumers to have online Aadhaar bank accounts. To ensure smooth transition to the new system of transferring subsidy, the administration had already held meetings with the owners of LPG gas agencies.

Consumers have to visit their respective gas agencies and provide their Aadhaar card number. He directed the district managers of the leading banks to ensure that consumer does not face any problem in opening a bank account and bank officials should be sensitised to the issue beforehand.

Under the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme, three months of grace period is being given to the consumers who have not received their Aadhaar cards yet or who have not enrolled themselves for the cards. On the completion of the grace period, January 2014, consumers will get LPG subsidy directly in their bank accounts only.

Tayyab appealed to the LPG consumers to get their Aadhaar cards made and provide related information to their respective gas agencies.

The consumers not having Aadhaar cards in sync with their bank accounts will not be entitled to subsidy.

Bathinda, September 17
A Canada-based NRI has reportedly been cheated by five persons, including a couple.

In a complaint to the police, Harpal Singh, the NRI, said he had given the power of attorney of his property in Bhucho Mandi and Tungwali village for the purpose of selling.

The accused sold the property but did not transfer the money into his account.

Investigating officer in the case, Sub-inspector Kabal Singh said two separate criminal cases were registered in this connection at Nathana police station.

Gora Singh, his wife Veerpal Kaur of Sehna Khera village in Muktsar Sahib, Tek Singh of Bibiwala Road, Parampal Kaur of Civil Line and Jaswinder Kaur have been booked under Sections 420, 406 and 120-B of the IPC.

Kabal said no arrests were made so far.

Bathinda, September 17
The recently introduced policy on regularisation of unauthorised colonies has left the dwellers of the colonies located on the Wakf Board land confused.

As per the rules, in case of houses and plots on the Wakf Board land, registry or land mutation cannot be done in the name of their owners. The one possessing the land is deemed to be its owner.

After the government brought out the regularisation policy, the residents of colonies under the Wakf Board approached the office of the Municipal Corporation, Bathinda (MCB), and sought authorisation of their assets, which has been denied.

"We have no right over the colonies on the Wakf Board land. We have already informed the local administration about this issue," said Municipal Commissioner Uma Shankar Gupta.

The land in the city is mainly divided into three revenue estates -Patti Mehna, Patti Jhutti and Haji Rattan. The area under Haji Rattan revenue estate, which is around 1,500 to 1,600 acre, is Wakf Board land.

Neither the administration nor the municipal body has any right over these areas. However, the municipal body has been developing colonies there by providing facilities like sewer and water connections, laying streets and maintaining the areas.

Since the board land has not been included in the new policy for regularisation of illegal colonies, residents of these areas will not have to pay any compounding fees and can still avail of the civic amenities and services.

In the absence of any monitoring body, the areas under the Wakf Board are witnessing haphazard development and these pockets are soon turning into urban slums.

In Bathinda, these colonies include Guru Tegh Bahadur Nagar, Guru Ki Nagri, Sanjay Nagar, Bangi Nagar, Udham Singh Nagar, parts of Amarpura Basti and others. Also, all the sewer water ponds of the MCB are located on Wakf Board land.

Officials in the Bathinda Development Authority reasoned that the government should at least frame some minimum basic policy such as making it mandatory to leave at least 40 feet space for streets so that development could be streamlined.

Bathinda, September 17
Police today booked a jail inmate for possessing medicinal drugs. The accused has been identified as Jagtar Singh of Bhucho Mandi. He is already undergoing imprisonment in connection with a case registered under the Narcotic, Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

The jail superintendent said the prisoner was suspected to be on medicinal drugs.

Jail authorities recovered 180 tablets from his possession and a fresh case has been registered against him.

In another case, another prisoner, Baljinder Singh, was also found to be in possession of 180 tablets for the purpose of consuming it as drugs.

A case under various sections of the NDPS Act has been registered against the accused at the Civil Lines police station.

Bathinda, September 17
Nagina Begun, who claims to be a social worker, has been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for assault and issuing threats.

Following a complaint by one Mohandeep Singh of Hajura Kapura Colony, a case under Sections 452, 323, 148 and 149 of the IPC was registered against Nagina Begum, her two sons and six or seven unidentified persons at the Thermal police station.

In his complaint, Mohandeep Singh stated that the accused attacked him after entering his house and injured him.

The Thermal police said that investigations were being conducted. However, no arrest has been made yet.

Bathinda, September 17
The police today arrested a resident of Guru Gobind Singh Nagar for gambling.

An amount of Rs 1,520 has been recovered from his possession.

The accused, Prem Kumar, was brought to the Thermal police station where a case under various sections of the Gambling Act has been registered against him.

The accused was later released on bail.

Bathinda, September 17
As part of the ongoing campaign launched for cancer detection and treatment in the state, the health department will be holding camps on September 28 and 29 at civil hospitals in different districts and government medical colleges at Faridkot, Amritsar and Patiala.

At Bathinda, the camp will be held at the Civil Hospital in the OPD block. State programme officer, cancer control cell, Chandigarh, Dr Jai Singh said the doctors from government hospitals, empanelled hospitals and a few from abroad will be examining the patients at these camps.

Civil Surgeon, Bathinda, Dr Ajay Sahni said experts from the fields of surgery, gynaecology and medicine from the district as well as Max Super Speciality Hospital (the empanelled hospital for cancer treatment) will examine the patients.

During the door-to-door symptom-based cancer detection survey conducted in the state, more than 50 per cent patients did not report back. "The camp is a follow up of those patients who were suspected of carrying the symptoms of cancer but did not report for further diagnosis," he said.

The ANMs and ASHA workers have been given the responsibility of bringing those patients who have gone missing after the survey was conducted. For this, the ASHA workers will be paid Rs 200 per patient.

Added to this, the patients already undergoing treatment for cancer can also seek a second opinion from doctors present at the camp.

Meanwhile, for administrative reasons, the state has been divided into seven hubs. The Bathinda hub will cover areas of Bathinda, Barnala and Muktsar. The doctors and volunteers participating in the camps will stay at Bathinda and commute to the respective districts allotted.

Bathinda, September 17
The training of booth level officers (BLOs) of Vidhan Sabha constituency 93 - Bathinda urban-- was held today wherein the assistant director, youth services, Kamaljit Singh Sidhu and the principal, Government Senior Secondary School, Buladhewala, Prem Kumar Mittal educated the trainees about the role and duties of BLOs.

Speaking at the training held at the office of the Zila Parishad, Sidhu said the BLOs work at the grass root level and are the foundation for the updated and complete voters' lists. The BLOs are responsible for enrolling new voters in their respective areas, updating the existing ones and removing or adding new voters as per the law. A BLO is a representative of the Election Commission.

Mittal said the new voters have to be enrolled using form 6. For NRIs (who do not have votes abroad), form 6 A has to be filled. For deletion of a name, form 7 has to be used. For revision of name, form 8 should be filled and for transferring a vote from one place to another, form 8 A has to be filled. These forms are provided free of cost and it has to be ensured that the voters' lists are updated regularly.

The data prepared by a BLO is then uploaded on the web by the electoral registration officers (ERO) or assistant electoral registration officers (AERO). He added that BLOs should rope in the maximum number of voters and ensure that everyone above 18 years of age is registered as a voter.

Sidhu and Mittal also answered the queries put in by the BLOs participating in the training.

Anyone of 18 years of age or above on January 1, 2014, can file claims and objections for registration as voters and submit documents with the BLOs or with the election registration officer from September 6 to October 4.

The BLOs will get forms at the respective polling stations on September 22 and September 29 from 9 am to 5 pm.

Bathinda, September 17
Deputy Commissioner Kamal Kishore Yadav today called upon villages to make their 10 per cent contribution for constructing canal outlets and water courses under the work undertaken by the Punjab Water Resources Management and Development Corporation Limited.

He said that while the population that will be benefited will contribute 10 per cent for the project, the state government will pay the remaining 90 per cent. He added that while many villages have availed of the benefits, in some villages, work has not started at all owing to the lack of contribution from the villages.

For Bathinda district, Rs 18,294 lakh has been sanctioned for the lining of water courses. The beneficiaries deposited Rs 869.68 lakh while Rs 959.69 lakh was pending.

Bathinda, September 17
The results of the fourth semester university examinations of M.Sc (Mathematics) and M.Sc (IT) conducted by Punjabi University, Patiala, were declared today.

A spokesperson of Baba Farid College said that in MSc (IT), 43 students out of 59 scored more than 70 per cent marks while 21 students scored more than 75 per cent marks. Two students scored more than 80 per cent marks in the university examinations.

As many as 61 students of M.Sc (Math) at Baba Farid College scored more than 70 per cent marks while 13 students scored more than 80 per cent marks in the university examinations.

The first position was bagged by Himani who scored 86 per cent marks followed by Paramjit Kaur at 85.2 per cent, Sandeep Kaur at 84 per cent and Anjali at 83.6 per cent, respectively.

Bathinda, September 17
Malwa College will host the youth festival of Bathinda zone, comprising 54 colleges, from October 1 to October 3.

A meeting being held at Malwa College in connection with the forthcoming youth festival. A Tribune photograph

A meeting of the principals and youth coordinators from the colleges belonging to Punjabi University, Patiala, was held today at Malwa College.

Director, Youth Welfare Department, Punjabi University, Patiala, Dr Satish Kumar Verma presided over the meeting. Dean, Prof NK Gosain, welcomed the participants and outlined details of the youth festival to be held at Malwa College.

Dr Satish Kumar Verma sought the cooperation of all the principals to make the youth festival a success. He released a day-wise programme of the festival. The achievements of the Department of Youth Welfare of Punjabi University, for the year 2012-13, were also highlighted.

Host college director Dr Shardev Singh Gill thanked the participants and discussed preparations for the forthcoming youth festival. Giddha, bhangra, plays, skit, cultural and literary items are the star attractions at the festival, said Dr Gill.

Chairman of Malwa College Sewak Ram Singla was also present on the occasion and participated in the deliberations.