Bathinda, November 15
The railway authorities today allegedly disrupted working of the Municipal Corporation Bathinda (MCB) near Sandeep Memorial Government Senior Secondary School, Paras Ram Nagar. The railway protection force (RPF) cops also took away the tractor of the MCB that was laden with material meant to repair a sewer line.

The incident took place in the afternoon today, when a team of the MCB went to repair a fault in sewer of the aforesaid government school. As soon as the corporation workers started digging the affected area, the railway officials too reached the spot.

“The railway authorities said the government school had encroached upon their land and they would not allow us to carry out any construction,” said a former municipal councillor and area resident Vijay Kumar.

The MCB team had argument with railway officials. Railway officials then summoned the RPF cops. The RPF cops came to the spot and towed away the tractor containing building material. The tractor was released only after MCB authorities took up the issue.

Assistant Municipal Commissioner Kamal Kant Goyal said the school had been suffering from problem of faulty sewer for the past many days. A sewer line at school had got damaged resulting in sewage collecting in potholes on the main road.

Residents approached the corporation stating that since school did not have enough funds to carry out the repairs, the MCB should help. “ We have decided to add an extra pipe jointing the sewer of school with that of mainline, but the railway officials started arguing with our team. Railway officers did not produce any document to prove their claim on the land,” Kant added.

Meanwhile, the residents have now decided to lodge their protest against railway for this tussle. “Railways have always run away from its responsibility in our area. Numbers of representations and requests have fallen on deaf ears. We have now decided to gherao the General Manager Railways on his visit to the city scheduled for November 29,” said Vijay.

However, no railway official was available for comments.

Bathinda, November 15
The people whose land has been acquired to upgrade the 12.96 km Phul-Dhipali-Bhadaur link road under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana at Dhipali, Sandhu Khurd, Phulewala and Phul villages have been asked to collect compensation for their land from the office of the SDM, Rampura Phul.

In a press statement issued here today, SDM Sakattar Singh Bal stated that the land in these villages was being acquired to upgrade the road . The award of compensation were announced on August 26. “We have sent notices to the owners of the land under the Section 12.2 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. We have asked them to collect the compensation. The people were informed through the patwaris and the public announcement system in villages,” he said.

However, the land owners did not turn up for the compensation. Sakattar Singh Bal added that they could collect the amount of compensation amount from his office on any working day over the next one week. 

Bathinda, November 15
Members of the District Bar Association, Bathinda, on Friday intensified their agitation against the alleged anti-lawyers remarks by Civil Line SHO Sikandar Singh and the the "patronisation" of the accused booked under various Sections of the IPC on the complaint of a senior lawyer.

The lawyers demonstrate outside the office of the SSP, Bathinda, and demanded the SHO’s transfer. They also sought the arrest of the accused.

Following a complaint of Parkash Singh Khurmi, an advocate, a case was registered against Dhanraj Jain, Mukesh Jain, Amit Jain and two unidentified persons under Sections 427 and 506 of the IPC and Section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act at the Civil Line police station. Dhanraj was arrested on November 9 at around 2.30 pm but was released after around seven hours, khurmi had claimed.

SP (Detective) Naveen Singla said a departmental inquiry had been recommended against the SHO. “If Sikandar Singh is found guilty of speaking anything obnoxious, then an action would be taken against him," Singla said. He added that Section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act included in the FIR has been removed after a report from the Municipal Corporation.

The SP said other Sections included in the FIR were non-cognisable.

Former Bar Association Secretary Gurwinder Mann said the lawyers had suspended the work in view of the remarks passed by the SHO and the work in the court would not resume untill the stance of the authorities was not cleared.

Bar Association president Mohinder Sidhu, senior advocates J R Khattar, Rajan Garg, Jasvir Singh, Gurtej Singh Sidhu, Navdeep Singh Jeeda, Gurpreet Singh Bhasin, Manjit Kaur, Surinder Sharma, Chiranji Lal Garg, Ranjeet Jalal, Surjit Dhillon and Manpreet Kaur addressed a gathering of lawyers on the occasion.

The joint secretary of the association, Sandeep Kangar, announced to launch a hunger strike, if the Police Department failed to take action against the SHO. Later, Kangar added that though he had announced to hold a hunger strike, he would act as per the decision taken by a committee of senior lawyers at its meeting.

Advocate Khurmi said though the police removed the Section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, the MC has recommended to include Section 425 of the IPC (wrongful loss or damage to the public or to any person, causing the destruction of any property) in the FIR against the accused.

“It is surprising that the police removed the Section 3 within two days despite the fact that the case was registered three months after filing the complaint. As per the fresh guidelines, the police is unable to remove any Section added in the FIR without the prior approval of the officer of the level of DGP," Khurmi said.

“This shows that the police is under some pressure to favour the accused occupying my shop," Khurmi added. 

Bathinda, November 15
Hundreds of pensioners participated in a state-level rally held here today. The call for the rally was given by the Punjab Government Pensioners' Joint Front. Raising slogans against the SAD-BJP government, the pensioners took out a protest march towards the Deputy Commissioner office. The speakers at the rally spoke against the policies of the government towards pensioners. They said if the government did not accept their demands, they would chart out an extensive campaign against the government before the next Lok Sabha elections.

The leaders of joint front, including Prem Sagar Sharma, Mahinder Singh Parwana, Om Prakash Gabga and Kewal Singh, addressed the rally. They said due to the wrong policies, the pensioners were being forced to agitate in the times when they should sir comfortably at their homes. They said while the state government had enough money to pay political leaders and get the latest vehicles for them, it had no money for the pensioners who had spent their prime years working for the state.

They demanded that dearness allowance from January 1, 2013, to June 30, 2012, should be released soon. They also demanded free medical services for pensioners. 

Bathinda, November 15
The second annual Deworming Day was observed at various educational institutes today. About 1. 23 lakh students were administered albendazole tablets.

The district Health Department observed the day at Adarsh School, Canal Colony, Bathinda. All the students were administered albendazole tablets under the guidance of District School Health Officer Dr Kundan Kumar.

Addressing the students, Dr Kundan said the tablets remove worms from intestine that hinder growth and might cause anaemia. He said around 1.23 lakh students were administered tablets today.

Those who were absent will be administered the dose after they from leave. School principal Dr Surinder Naagar thanked the health team for visiting the school and administering the dose.

The day was also observed at the Civil Hospital, Nathana, where students of government, government-aided, model and Adarsh schools were given the tablets. Children at anganwari centres were also given the tablets.

The first albendazole day was observed across the state on May 10 this year. Observing the day is a part of the School Health Programme being carried out across the state with an aim to focus on the health of schoolchildren. Deworming is one of the major components of health as a child's growth may be affected due to worms.

The state Health Department has been administering albendazole tablets to all schoolchildren every Wednesday after mid-day meal. 

Bathinda, November 15
Accused of murdering a college student 14 years ago in 1999 and after spending two years in jail, a city resident has successfully rehabilitated himself as a lawyer. Advocate Harjinder Singh Sidhu now asks other students to keep themselves away from the violence. He advises prisoners to adopt the study route to come out of the quagmire.

"A jail is a place of reformation for those who are determined to do good for themselves and society," said Harjinder.

Practising at the District Courts, Bathinda, for the past two years, Harjinder after undergoing the misery advises youngsters to keep themselves away from petty brawls, drugs and anti- social activities.

Extending every possible help to the poor, especially the youngsters lodged in Bathinda Jail, he advises them to choose the path of reformation.

Harjinder, along with 19 others, was booked for the murder of a student at Government Rajindra College. Six of the accused, including Harjinder, were given life imprisonment in the case. Harjinder, after spending two years in the jail was acquitted by the High Court in 2007.

"Forcing others to choose me as the president of the students' union at the college was my biggest mistake, which I failed to decipher at that time. This was the reason that my name was included in the FIR registered after the murder of a student on the college premises," Harjinder said.

Now, he makes every possible effort to save youngsters from taking the wrong path. Harjinder said he never had the idea of discontinuing his studies despite being lodged in the Bathinda Central Jail and completed his graduation while he was behind the bars and took a special permission to take the exams.

After completing graduation while in jail for two years, Harjinder also did a postgraduation diploma in computer applications (PDGCA) and then completed LL B from a college in Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan.

"The period I spent in the jail still haunts me even today and the harrowing experience taught me to help others in coming out of the trauma," he added. Harjinder is famous for extending the free legal aid to the needy, especially the youngsters willing to achieve a goal in their life by taking the study route. 

Bathinda, November 15
Guru Kashi University (GKU) has been chosen by the Solar Radiation Resource Assessment Centre (SRRSC) for Wind Energy Technology, Chennai, for setting up a Solar Radiation Resource Assessment (SRRA) station at a cost of Rs 2.50 crore in private sector.

A university spokesperson claimed that it was one of its kind in Punjab. The SRRA station, set up on the rooftop of the Agriculture Department, was inaugurated by Chairman Gurlabh Singh Sidhu. The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy has sponsored the project, while the Centre for Wind Energy,Technologies,Chennai, is implementing it.

The SRRA station is an automatic standalone system having more than 25 instruments and equipment of international quality manufactured in Germany. All the equipment and instruments gather a host of information (measuring about 37 parameters) on solar and metrological parameters every minute and will automatically transmit it to a server established at C-WET, Chennai, through the GPRS technology. The data required for any research and development activities of the university can be accessed from it. An MoU will be signed between C-WET and GKU to ensure data confidentiality and continuation in the project for a minimum of five years.

Vice-Chancellor Dr NS Malhi said this instrument would be useful for scientists as well as the farming community and help them finalising the cropping pattern. Director (Planning & Development) Prof Gurbhajan Singh Gill said GKU was the first among the private universities for being selected for the installation of this station.

Among others, Managing Director Sukhraj Singh Sidhu, Registrar Satish Goswami, Director (Campus) Dr Narinder Singh, Dean (Academics) Dr BS Dhaliwal, Director (Sports) Olympian Dr Tarlok Singh Sidhu, Dean (Education) Dr AK Kansal, Dean (Agriculture) Dr DR Godara, Deputy Registrar Prof Ashwani Sethi, Prof Amit Tuteja, Prof Pardeep Mittal and Hardam Singh Mansa were also present.