 |
|
|
Bathinda Lok Sabha seat all set for poll
Candidates use poll symbols, candidly
Bathinda votes: Paid holiday declared on April 30
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Curtains drawn on campaigning
my hopes from bathinda MP
Only 2.7 per cent workers complete 100 days under MGNREGA
Diabetes emerging as a leading cause of blindness, says doctor
Fee waiver for students casting vote
|
||||||||||||
|
Bathinda Lok Sabha seat all set for poll
Bathinda, April 28 Sector officers deployed
Eighty-nine sector officers have been deployed in the district who will have powers to take on the spot action against the violators of model code of conduct. This includes detention and taking other preventive measures. There are 12 sector offices each for Rampura Phul and Talwandi Sabo and 17 each are being stationed at Bathinda urban and Bathinda rural. Similarly, 16 are stationed in Bhucho Mandi and 15 are stationed at Maur. With the campaigning having ended at 6 pm, the sector officers, the police, the static surveillance teams (SST) and other staff of the election duty have been directed to be alert, said District Election Officer Kamal Kishore Yadav. Polling parties to be dispatched
All the polling parties will be dispatched from the PESCO training institute in industrial growth centre where the electronic voting machines (EVMs) have been stored. As per the transport plan of the district, around 493 buses, mini-buses and light vehicles have been roped in to ferry the polling parties to respective polling stations along with the electronic voting machines (EVMs). These include 144 buses, 109 mini buses and 240 light vehicles. The entire polling staff, except for women, will leave for polling stations tomorrow and stay there overnight. The women polling staff members will arrive at the destined polling stations on April 30 morning. On April 30, a mock poll will be conducted at 6 am, while the voting will start from 7 am. The presiding officers are being given election kits and an elaborate set of instructions. Every presiding officer will have to send 16 SMSes from the time he arrives at the polling station till the time he leaves the station with his party. 562 paramilitary forces, 20 web cams deployed
The polling booths identified as critical, expenditure sensitive pockets, hypersensitive booths and sensitive booths have special security arrangements made for them. There are 542 polling locations having 1,029 polling booths. These include 12 critical, 14 expenditure sensitive (where money or kind could be used to lure voters) pockets, 172 super sensitive and 197 sensitive polling locations, while there are 165 ordinary polling locations. The maximum numbers of expenditure sensitive pockets include six polling booths each at Rampura Phul and Bathinda rural segments. As many as 562 paramilitary troops, 20 web cams, 122 videographers and 625 micro-observers are being stationed at the polling booths. The maximum number (5) of web cams are being installed in Bathinda urban. This web casting will enable the District Election Officer, Returning Officer, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Punjab and the ECI to monitor these booths anytime through a click at the ECI’s web portal. 25,000 first-time voters
to be honoured
Encouraging the first time voters, 25,000 appreciation certificates have been printed and will be distributed during polls. Yadav said all the booth-level officers have a list of first time voters. Whenever a first time voter will arrive, the BLO will inform the concerned presiding officer, who will award the certificate. To make polling booths friendly for the voters, all the polling stations are being provided with potable water and toilet facilities. No VVPAT for Punjab EVMs
The Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) facility will not be available on any of the EVMs in the state. Under the VVPAT, one could take out a print of one’s vote that has been cast. In his letter sent to the ECI on April 3, Congress state spokesperson Sukhpal Khaira had demanded that the VVPAT EVMs should be specially sent for the Bathinda constituency, which is among 15 expenditure super sensitive seats of the country. Meanwhile, all the six assembly constituencies in the district have been given nine additional units of the EVMs apart from the reserve voting machines. |
|
Candidates use poll symbols, candidly
Bathinda, April 28 As the campaigning ended today, the Bathinda Tribune looks back at the way the poll symbols were used by some of the candidates while campaigning. Although SAD-BJP candidate Harsimrat Kaur Badal, who is contesting on the weighing scale symbol, has only been asking people to put the stamp on her poll symbol. Comedian-turned-politician Bhagwant Mann, during his days with the PPP, had taken a dig at the Bathinda MP saying, “Baba Nanak di takrhi tere tera toldi si, Biba di takrhi mera-mera toldi ae (The weighing scale of Baba Nanak weighed in favours of others, but the weighing scale of Harsimrat Kaur Badal tilted in her favour)”. Manpreet Singh Badal had a showdown with the Returning Officer-cum-Deputy Commissioner of Bathinda Kamal Kishore Yadav on his party’s symbol ‘Kite’ being allotted to his namesake candidate through a draw of votes. He went on to term it a ‘ploy of the SAD-BJP alliance to confuse the voters’. Interestingly, while his namesake spent very little time campaigning in the constituency, pamphlets and handouts carrying his name and his poll symbols were distributed today. Quite expectedly, his photograph was missing from the pamphlets which the opposition again claimed was a way of confusing the voters even further. A former AAP worker-turned-independent candidate Satish Arora who was allotted a telephone as the poll symbol, has been actively canvassing in the city and even holding door-to-door campaigns. Reminding the public of the biggest problem of inaccessibility of leaders after they win the elections, Arora had been asking the masses to put their stamp on his poll symbol after which he would use his telephone to call and wake up the leaders who are in deep slumber. Another independent candidate, Sushil Jindal, best remembered by the public for consuming poison in a vain attempt to commit suicide as he was ‘distressed with his wife’, was allotted ‘cake’ as the symbol. Using animals during his election campaigning, he claimed: “Cake se hum aapke mooh ka swaad badal denge (The cake will change the taste of your mouth)” hinting that other leaders had left a bad taste. Throughout his campaigning, independent candidate Vijay Kumar, a former municipal councillor, was seen dressed as a cricketer and displaying his poll symbol ‘bat’. As he swayed his bat in the air, he told the public “Bat se sabke chhake chhuda denge (We will hit them hard and send them for a six)”. Vijay, who also contested the Assembly elections in 2012, is known for having a stronghold on the vote bank in areas across the Railway Lines. |
|
Bathinda votes: Paid holiday declared on April 30
Bathinda, April 28 He added that the employees, transporters, labourers and others related to the wheat procurement will also be given chance to cast their vote. There will be no procurement on April 30. He suggested the farmers not to bring their produce in grain market. Yadav added that those who have not got their Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC), but are registered as voters, can also cast their votes on April 30. The voters can download a mobile application that contains entire information about the polls, including details of candidates, polling booth locations and others. Any voter, who does not have an EPIC, can cast his vote using a list of identity proofs that the Election Commission of India (ECI) has approved. He can also cast vote on the basis of slips issued by the Booth-Level Officers (BLOs). The other identity proofs include passport, driving licence, photo I-cards issued by public limited companies, photo passbook issued by banks and post offices, Aadhaar card, smart cards issued under the national census register, MNREGA job card, PAN card, insurance smart card issued by the Ministry of Labor, photo-based pension documents and the photo voters slip issued by the Election Office. If any voter faces a problem in finding the location of his booth, he can download an application I-Vote from Google playstore on anrdoid phones and get information regarding the elections. To access information about the booth specific area, the voter will have to punch in his voter I-card number and get directions for navigation. |
|
My dream has come true: Neeru Bajwa
Bathinda, April 28 Reminiscing about his initial days after he became a singer, Gurdas Maan recalled that the first time his photograph was printed in a newspaper, his grandfather was elated and kept the newspaper clipping with him and showed it to everyone. Both Neeru and Maan seemed to have learnt the ways of the film industry which believes in keeping the suspense around the film alive and refused to divulge any details about the film. “If we tell you even the plot outline of the film, you will lose interest in it and will not go and watch the film which is what we want you to do,” Maan said. Maan also steered clearly of getting into any controversy when he was asked if all Punjabi singers were turning into actors. “I can’t speak about others. Singers are turning into actors. All are doing well,” he said when asked why all the Punjabi singers were taking up acting thereby giving their primary talent secondary importance. When asked about his close associate of yesteryears, Hakam Sufi, who died in 2012 at the age of 60, Maan said, “We used to practice together. We also did some shows together. It is sad that luck doesn’t favour all. I was lucky to have become popular and make a small place for myself in the world of Punjabi music. Hakam Sufi, sadly, wasn’t that lucky. We kept in touch but our lives took us in different directions.” |
|
Curtains drawn on campaigning
Bathinda, April 28 SAD conducted mohalla meetings and a road show, while the Congress remained occupied with the visit of the AICC vice-president Rahul Gandhi. The candidates left no stone unturned to woo the voters. SAD candidate Harsimrat Badal met groups of people from various walks of life, including the religious groups. Education Minister Sikandar Singh Maluka conducted meetings in different parts of the city, including the Pratap Nagar area. Starting from Dhobi Bazaar, she went around in the areas of the Sadbhavna Chowk, Hospital Bazaar, Railway Road, Post Office Bazaar, Sadar Bazaar, Bank Bazaar, Arya Samaj Chowk, Kikkar Bazaar, which culminated at Sirki Bazaar. Speaking at different halts of her road show, Harsimrat said she will get the property tax revoked, when elected to power. She rolled out a list of her achievements and took a dig at her opponent Congress candidate and estranged brother-in-law Manpreet Badal. The Congress had plans to conduct a road show, but cancelled it due to Rahul Gandhi’s visit and to avoid any clash with the SAD’s road show. All the workers and supporters largely remained occupied with Rahul’s visit. The Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) candidate Jasraj Singh Longia also canvassed in the urban area. He met the shopkeepers of Mall Road reiterating the AAP’s ideology of running governments without corruption. He called upon the voters to cast their vote for rooting out the political rot from system. Independent candidate Satish Arora campaigned in Janta Nagar, Paras Ram Nagar, Pratap Nagar, Oriya Basti, Madhokpura and Shakti Nagar area. He claimed to have raised the concern of the common man, especially businessmen in hospitality industry, who have been bogged down by the Congress and BJP policies.
— TNS |
|
State govt claims development, roads cry for attention
Bathinda, April 28 However, with the elections on mind and to lure voters, some of the main roads have been repaired or newly made in the city by the district administration. But many roads are still in need of repair and the administration seems to have turned a blind
eye towards them for a long time now. In the past also, the administration only come to the helm of the people and repaired the roads when the residents of the locality protested against the administration or some VVIP had to visit the area. Whereas on paper, some roads have been shown newly laid with good material, in reality, they have been left with some patch work only. Due to his the condition of roads have become worse again. Some of the roads have developed potholes due to rain or sewerage and water-logging on it. Vikas Verma, a resident, said that people have to face the problems of bad roads due to lack of co-ordination between the district administration, Municipal Corporation and the sewerage board. At first, crores are spent on making the new roads and then, they are dug up for laying sewerage or telephone wires. At last, the roads are left as it is. It is pertinent to mention that even the roads near the house of Chief Parliamentary Secretary and local MLA Sarup Chand Singla, near the Rose Garden Chowk, Bus Stand Gate Road, Mata Jivi Nagar, Sanguana, Amarpura Basti and Lal Singh Basti are in poor condition. Even the road on the underbridge connecting the city with the area across the railway line is also not good and has even led
to accidents. Sanjay Kumar, a resident of Paras Ram Nagar, said sometime ago, their lane was dug out to lay sewer lines but after that, the road was not laid due to which the commuters suffer. |
|
CM flays Cong for development claim
Bathinda, April 28 While campaigning for the SAD-BJP candidate from Faridkot, Paramjit Kaur Gulshan, at Rampura Phul yesterday evening, Parkash Singh Badal said Congress had always acted as a “stumbling block” in the way of development and prosperity of Punjab. He said even small states like Haryana had been given two AIIMS hospitals while no hospital had been given to Punjab by the UPA government at Centre. He asked the people to vote for the SAD candidate and make her win by a huge margin as the Modi-led NDA government at the Centre was confirmed and Modi would open the gates of development in Punjab by giving grants. The Chief Minister lauded the hard work of Bathinda Zila Parshaid chairman, Gurpreet Singh Maluka, for campaigning in the constituency and arranging a massive gathering during the meeting yesterday. Education Minister Sikander Singh Maluka also applauded the release of Rs 200 crore grant for the veterinary college project released by the state government recently. He appealed to the people to vote for the SAD candidate to bring the NDA government to power at the Centre. |
|
‘MP should understand there is no point in development without order’
Bathinda Tribune is carrying the views of residents of the city, outlining their hopes from the new Bathinda MP. In the third part of the series, Bhawna Jaimini shares her views...
In this scenario, what do we really expect from the elected Bathinda MP? What more do we want out of this city? More malls? More flyovers? Big brands? Luxury hotels? No. Pumping money into the city in the wake of infrastructural development will not make Bathinda a liveable city. We need an MP who can understand this and is capable of looking beyond the big, bold and beautiful. Here are a few things that I expect from the Bathinda MP. Importance to civil order
It is not hidden that Bathinda suffers from absolute lack of civil order. There are no rules and regulations to follow, no traffic sense among the people and the widening gap between the rich and the poor further adds to the problem. The rich can get away with everything. The elected MP should understand that there is no point of development without order. Gender sensitivity
Even though Bathinda had a woman MP for the past five years, the city still needs to learn a lesson in gender equality. It is still very difficult to walk on the streets even in broad daylight without being stared at or even worse, followed. Women are treated not just one but many steps below their male counterparts. No city can grow without providing equal opportunities to both the genders. Approachability
Our MPs break their cocoon once in five years and then settle again after being elected. A thick blanket of security surrounds them at all times which is impervious to the common people. The appearances get limited to inaugural functions and press conferences. But are we electing just another VVIP? Don't we have enough of them already? We are looking for our representative who can get to the basic fabric of the city and bring about a change. Realistic model of development
Just like every vegetable is not a potato, every city cannot become Shanghai and it is high time we realise this. Every city has its own potential and limitations and its growth model should respect them. For example, Bathinda now boasts of having three shopping malls within a radius of 10 kilometres with only 30 per cent occupancy. One more is on its way to completion. Is it fair to exhaust the limited resources of the city on things which we don't need at all? |
|
|
Only 2.7 per cent workers complete 100 days under MGNREGA
Bathinda, April 28 As per the figures, 10,65,432 households were issued job cards in the state, out of which only 4,54,857 households demanded jobs. 4,11,796 households were given jobs while only 12,336 households completed 100 days of work under this scheme. Patiala district is on the top as 52,477 households had asked for jobs and 49,039 had been provided jobs, out of which only 2,605 households completed 100 days of work. Surprisingly, in the Tarn Taran district, only 22 households completed 100 days out of 9,217 households who were given jobs. Sources said workers preferred to do manual jobs in cities and towns in different private projects because they get very less wages under the MGNREGA. Under the scheme, they are paid Rs 200 for a days’ work. But by working somewhere else, they easily earn a higher amount than this. Another reason for workers not completing 100 days is that they do not get their wages in time as compared to jobs. It is pertinent to mention that this scheme was started in 2005 with an aim to provide employment guarantee of at least 100 days in the rural parts of the country. Under this scheme, all persons above the age of 18 years, who register for employment, are given non-skilled work. Many political analysts gave credit to the MGNREGA scheme for the UPA’s coming back to power in 2009. Varinder Singh, president MGNREGA Employees’ Union, Punjab, said very low wages were being given to workers under this scheme as the state government is not giving its due share to run the scheme. |
|
|
Diabetes emerging as a leading cause of blindness, says doctor
Bathinda, April 28 Irregular control of diabetes over a long period leads to the development of retinopathy of various degrees. The emergence of newer modalities in early detection and management of this blinding malady was helping many patients to retain useful vision even in cases of advanced retinopathy, he said. Dr Singh said the judicious use of many anti-VEGF (Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor) drugs, which had been made available recently, had changed the visual outcome in these patients by blocking the VEGF which is responsible for the formation of new and weak blood vessels in the eye, causing bleeding inside the eye and loss of vision. Dr Devendra Sood, head, Glaucoma Services, stressed on the need for a strict patient compliance in using prescribed anti-glaucoma drugs to prevent further loss of vision. Prof GS Bajwa, head of the Eye Department of DMC, Ludhiana, was the chief guest and Prof SP Singh of GGS Medical College and incumbent president of the North Zone Ophthalmological Society presided over the proceedings. President of the society, Dr Amrit Sethi, while welcoming the delegates, cautioned them against using half measures in free eye camps for optimum results. |
|
|
Fee waiver for students casting vote
Bathinda, April 28 In a press release issued here today, the BFGI management said, “BFGI will give 25 per cent waiver in tuition fee to all the students after checking their voting marks till May 10. Everyone must realise the significance and necessity of casting his/her vote to build a progressive nation. The students must be fully aware of our political system and cast their votes.” Chairman, Baba Farid Group of Institutions Gurmeet Singh Dhaliwal, said, “The youth must be well-informed and choose a deserving candidate. We hope that our gesture will motivate the youngsters to cast their votes.” |
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | E-mail | |
When I came to Bathinda five years back as a 17-year-old who had been born and brought up in the capital city of New Delhi, I could not find anything to rejoice about in the city. I met with disappointments at every nook and corner. After five years, the city has changed manifold and seen unmatched rate of development. Railway track is now criss-crossed by flyovers, malls are sprouting up and sewerage lines have been laid all over.
