Bathinda, October 4
Various government departments, including the Forest Department, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), the Municipal Corporation Bathinda and the District Town Planning (DTP) have geared up to remove encroachments from the national and state highways these days.

The commercial and residential establishments that have failed to obtain the permission to make entrances of their respective places are either told to get permission or face the consequences.

The directions in this regard were issued by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on a Civil Petition filed in the year 2007.

Officials said the aim of removing the encroachments is to reduce the number of road accidents that have assumed an alarming proportion in the last few years. In Malwa districts, the maximum numbers of accidents are reported from the Bathinda district.

Officials stated that the list of violators include factories, hotels, marriage palaces and some residential establishments. Those who have made their entrances on the highways without permission pose serious threats to vehicular traffic that has led to the rise in the number of road accidents, the officials added.

The department officials are preparing the list of the violators and action taken report which is to be submitted before the Punjab and Haryana High Court by October 10.

The violators have been told to pay the penalty or demolish their permanent structures of entrances. Out of nearly 150 violators, the Forest Department is likely to submit a challan against 11 violators for their failure to comply with the orders.

The Forest Department detected maximum 75 violators on the Barnala Road, 14 violators on Bhawani-Kotshamir-Bathinda Road, 2 on Bathinda-Kotkapura-Faridkot Road and 7 violators on the Bathinda-Dabwali Road.

“We are likely to submit challan against 11 violators in this regard as they have failed to comply with the orders. Eight of them are on the Bathinda-Barnala Road and three are on the Bathinda-Dabwali Road,” said the officials of the Forest Department in Bathinda.

The officials said that those who have had their entrances built on the National Highway-64 (Bathinda-Barnala-Patiala and Bathinda-Dabwali), NH-15 (Bathinda-Goniana) and state highway-17 (Kotshamir-Bhawanigarh) will have to remove the encroachments.

The officials said they are submitting quarterly report in the High Court about the developments over removing encroachments.

Similar exercise is being taken by the officials of the Municipal Corporation who have detected violations on the roads falling within the municipal limits of the district.

Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Dr Sanjeev Tiwari, when contacted, admitted of preparing the list of the violators which is likely to be submitted before October 10.

Bathinda, October 4
Road accidents continue to snuff out precious lives in Bathinda with four persons being killed and 10 receiving injuries in the last 24 hours in separate road mishaps in the district.

One person was killed and two injured as a car rammed into a truck on the Bathinda-Bhucho road late on Friday night. The body was taken to the civil hospital for postmortem while the injured were being treated at the emergency ward.

Investigation Officer (IO) Beant Singh said around 12.30 at night, a car coming from the Bhucho side with three persons inside was on its way to Bathinda. It rammed into a truck from the rear. In the incident, Samer Singh, Lovely and Ankit, all residents of Ganesha Basti, were injured.

After receiving information regarding the incident, workers of the NGO Sahara Jan Sewa reached the spot and rushed the injured to the civil hospital. Samer Singh was declared dead by the doctors at the civil hospital while the other two injured were being treated for their injuries.

In another incident, three lecturers from Hanumangarh in Rajasthan were killed in a road accident on the Bathinda- Bajakhana road late on Friday evening. They were on their way to Vaishno Devi in a Hyundai car. The speeding car collided with a truck coming from the opposite direction.

Those killed were identified as Rakesh Saini (32), Jagmal (45) and Ajay Kaushik (45).

The injured, Ashish Vijay and Tarun Vijay, are brothers. They run a college in Hanumangarh.

Meanwhile, two motorcycle riders were injured after a truck hit them on the Gurukul road in Paras Ram Nagar area of the city. The injured have been identified as Labh Singh (52) and Lucky (4).

Another motorcycle rider was injured after hitting the footpath at the ITI overbridge chowk. A labourer was injured after a collision between a cycle and motorcycle at Sadbhavna Chowk in the main market.

Three persons were seriously injured in a collision involving two motorbikes on the Multania over bridge. Two of them fractured their legs. The injured have been identified as Kala Singh, Rachpal Singh and Sukhpal Singh.

Another accident was reported in the city today in the morning when a truck hit his Swift Dzire car on the GT road. Traffic remained affected due to the accident.

It is pertinent to mention here that more than 250 persons were injured in various roads mishaps in the last three months in the city.

More than 500 persons were killed and 419 injured in accidents in Bathinda in the last three years. As many as 677 cases pertaining to road accident were registered with the city police from 2011 to 2013.

Bathinda, October 4
Patients at Bathinda's NCD clinic could soon heave a sigh of relief with a number of medicines slated to be provided to them free of cost. There are a large number of cancer patients receiving treatment free of cost but they have to buy medicines on their own because of the unavailability of drugs meant to be provided free of cost to the patients.

A list of the proposed medicines has been sent a few days ago to the senior officials after the health authorities under the NHM demanded a list of the required medicines. The NCD staff has sent the list of medicines required for cancer patients.

A number of medicines for cancer patients are also available at the Jan Aushadhi centre from where the patients get the medicines at cheaper rates. The stock of cancer medicines arrived in August 2013 while it had sold out medicines worth Rs 6 lakhs up to August this year.

It is pertinent to mention that cancer patients are supposed to receive the treatment free of cost. It includes chemotherapy, surgery and radiotherapy. The Cancer Control Unit (CCU) has been established with the aim of detecting cancer at an early stage and helping patients get rid of the disease if possible.

The facility was established vide a Central Government project on prevention and control of cancer under the National Programme for Control of Cancer, Diabetes and Cardio-vascular Strokes (NPCDCS) at Bathinda, Mansa, Hoshiarpur and Gurdaspur. The centre and the state are sharing the expenditure in the ratio of 75:25.

A non-communicable diseases centre (NCD) tasked to detect the symptoms of cancer among the patients that includes a staff nurse, a laboratory technician, a counsellor, a health educator besides an oncologist was set up.

Dr Vandana Midha, an oncologist, said, "We had submitted the list of medicines as demanded and most of the medicines are for cancer patients. The patients will be given the medicines free of cost here. The medicines would reach the hospital soon."

Bathinda, October 4
Residents of street number 6 of Balraj Nagar today staged a protest against the Municipal Corporation of Bathinda (MCB) over the problem of overflowing sewage, which they have been facing for long. The protesters also raised slogans against the MCB and. threatened that if their problem is not resolved soon, then they would intensify their protest.

Residents of Balraj Nagar, Sukhdev Kaur, Amarjit Kaur, Manpreet, Kulwant, Veerpal and others, stated that for the last one and half years, sewer lines have been laid in their area but instead of providing any relief, it has started affecting their lives, as sewage continuously overflows resulting in the formation of puddles and a foul smell emanating from the place. Even crossing the street has come to a halt due to the mosquito menace and the danger of a disease outbreak always lurks in the area.

The residents also stated that street number 6/1 and 6/2 in Balraj Nagar have been laid at a higher level but during the rainy season, water stagnates and they have to face problems.

The residents said they had met former counsellor Balwant Rai Nath, CPS Sarup Chand Singla and MCB Commissioner Dalwinderjit Singh, but the issue has not yet been resolved.

The protesters threatened that if their problem is not resolved, they would intensify their protest against the MCB and the SAD-BJP would have to face the consequences in the coming civic body elections.

Former counsellor Balwant Rai Nath said he is trying to resolve the issue and is hopeful that the issue would soon be resolved.

MCB Commissioner Dalwinderjit Singh said he has not received any complaint in this regard so far from any one. Had he received a complaint, the matter would have been resolved by now, he said, adding that now that the issue had been brought to his notice, it would be resolved at the earliest.

Bathinda, October 4
Residents of Model Town, Phase II, today demanded construction of a nearly 150-foot stretch near the Reverse Osmosis (RO) system which is lying neglected for the past long time.

An area resident, advocate Satish Bansal, said despite repeated requests and writing numerous letters to the concerned authorities no action has been initiated in this connection.

“There are deep potholes on a particular stretch beside my residence where many people have received injuries after falling off from the two-wheelers,” said Satish.

He pointed out that elderly and children are the worst sufferers who have received injuries while walking on the stretch. “In view of the numerous potholes, people now, have stopped using this road and instead take a longer route to reach their respective places,” said another Paramvir Singh.

The residents said though the authorities have recently re-carpeted some roads of the area yet they have again left the stretch which continues to develop more potholes. They added that the road connects Shant Nagar with Model Town, Phase II, and there is no official who has ever visited the place despite raising a hue and cry in this regard.

“Whenever, we have raised the issue with the BDA authorities, they would keep on delaying it over one pretext or the other,” said Malkit Singh. He added that his grandmother hurt herself after she fell off on the road last week.

Another resident, Kusumjit, said her daughter fell off on the road while riding a bicycle and received head injuries.

Area residents, demanding immediate repair of the road, said they would launch an agitation against the district administration and the BDA if the road is not repaired soon.

BDA officials said they have handed over the colony—Model Town, Phase II, to the Municipal Corporation who is now responsible for the laying and filling of the potholes. The officials said that the Model Town Phase I and Phase II has already been handed over to the Municipal Corporation and Model Town, Phase-III, is yet to be handed over to the corporation.

Bathinda, October 4
Alleging that the state government was ignoring the woes of the common man, Congress leaders in the city burnt the effigy of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today for hiking VAT on diesel in the state near the railway station in the city.

Congress leaders also raised slogans against the state government and demanded from them they should look into the public issues and they are highly affected with the anti-people policies of the SAD-BJP ruling combine.

District president (rural) Gura Singh Tungwali said the SAD-BJP has succeeded in getting votes by misguiding the innocent people of the state but now, as the government is not interested in development of the state; people of the state are fed with the SAD-BJP.

They also told that the inflation has already broken the backbone of the common man and the increase in diesel prices would further affect the farmers.

They also stated that due to these anti-people polices of the government, each and every section of the society is annoyed with the ruling combine. The condition of the state is going down day-by-day in every section but the government doesn’t have any concentration on it. The fake face of the government has now been exposed in front of the people and they are eagerly waiting to given befitting reply in upcoming elections.

During the protest, PPCC, vice-president, Gurpreet Singh Kangar, MLA, Ajaib Singh Bhatt, city president, farmer cell, Bhagwan Dass Bharti, were present.

Bathinda, October 4
Gearing up the party for the forthcoming Municipal Corporation elections, Gidderbaha MLA Raja Warring today conducted a meeting with the party officer-bearers and workers of the rural as well as urban units.

Warring was appointed the party observer for the rural as well as urban units of the Bathinda district by the president of the Punjab Pradesh Cong Committee, recently.

Not willing to comment on the situation of inner differences between groups in the party, in Bathinda, Warring only said, “All the leaders have been clearly communicated that in case, they remained absent from three consecutive party meetings, without any valid reasons, they could invite strict party action.”

Warring said as the party observer, he will meet the leaders and workers on every first Saturday of the month. Block level presidents will meet on every second Saturday.

Bathinda, October 4
Court of Additional Sessions Judge Paramjit Kaur, upholding a judgment passed by a lower court, acquitted a person in a case of cheque bounce.

Pardeep Kumar of Partap Nagar had accused Surinder Kumar of Hazi Rattan Gate of issuing a cheque of Rs 3.05 lakh which got dishonored in the bank due to insufficient funds. Pardeep stated that the accused had taken a loan from him for which he gave a cheque which got dishonored.

The complainant moved to court against the accused under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instrument Act. The court recorded the statements of the accused and the complainant in the case during the course of the hearings.

Counsel advocate of the accused, Hanish Bansal, said that the complainant’s petition was, earlier, dismissed by the court of special Judicial Magistrate first class in July 2012. The complainant, however, moved an appeal in the higher court and the matter reached the court of District Sessions Judge from where it was further transferred to the court of Additional Sessions Judge (fast track court).

After hearing the arguments and pleas of both the parties the court reached on the conclusion that the complainant failed to prove the claim of loan given to the accused.

Bansal said lack of a loan agreement put on record by the complainant led to the acquittal of the accused in the case. He pointed out that the complainant had also failed to show in his Income Tax Return (ITR) that he had given a loan to the accused. The complainant, he said, is into the business of sale of spare parts and had not given any loan to the accused.

Complainant’s counsel advocate, JK Gupta, when contacted, said he would further appeal against the upholding the judgment of the lower court, after consultation with his client.

Bathinda, October 4
Leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party condemned the Door Darshan National for broadcasting the speech of 64-year-old Mohan Bhagwat, chief of the Rashtriya Sawayam Sangh.

RSS chief, Mohan Bhagwat, on Friday had addressed a special programme in Nagpur, Maharashtra, to mark the Hindu festival of Dasehra.

The speech was telecast on state broadcaster Doordarshan (DD), drawing much flak from opposition parties i.e. the Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist), and other parties.

APP leaderl Gurjit Sidhu, said, “Hindu nationalist RSS is the ideological parent of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its headquarters are based in Nagpur city. It’s totally unfair that a national channel has broadcast the views of a Bhagwat. The BJP is trying to pollute the environment and trying to play the Hindu card in elections by such acts.”

Bathinda, October 4
The Bathinda police have booked three persons on the charge of carrying an illegal weapon from the Ajit Road area of the city during a checking.

The police have arrested Karandeep Singh, a resident of Guru Teg Bahadhur Nagar, while two other persons Yash Kumar, a resident of Ajit Road and Sarabjit Singh, a resident of the Civil Hospital Colony were able to flee away from the spot.

One .12 bore AC pistol and a live cartridge have been recovered from his possession by the police.

The police official said, they were checking the vehicle as per routine at Ajit Road area, when they found these accused carrying illegal weapon will them.

He said one accused have been arrested, while two succeeded in running away.

A case has been registered against all the three under Sections 25, 54, 59 of the Arms Act at the Civil Lines police station.