Bathinda, November 6
Despite ban, stubble burning in fields by farmers continues to wreak havoc on the lives of lakhs of residents in and around the city. In spite of organising awareness campaigns to make the farmers aware of the health hazards of stubble burning, the illegal practice goes on unabated here.

The farmers have been indulging in such practice for a long time but the Agriculture Department has failed to check the menace or provide an alternative to the farmers.

“The practice is now assuming even more dangerous proportions as all the paddy stubble left after the harvesting is burnt. Farmers hire a tractor-driven paddy chopper, that cuts stubble from the level of the roots. Then the field is burnt,” said Balwinder Singh, a farmer.

Another farmer, Sukhdev Singh, said there are solutions, but most farmers refrain from deploying them due to the cost. Agriculture equipment such as Rotavator, Roto seeder and happy seeder can be use to clear the field. However, these have not gained mass acceptance.

The Agriculture Department officials said, “We offer subsidy on most of the equipment used to clear the field, but farmers are not coming forward to buy them. We also have a subsidy scheme for paddy bailer costing around Rs 10 lakh.

He also feels that there is a need to enact a law to keep a check on this practice, which not only causes environment pollution but also affects soil fertility. Besides, it also sometimes leads to tragic fire incidents.

He said, “There are hardly a few incidents reported from across the state in the past when the police registered cases against farmers in this regard. It means that the ban under Section 144 of the CrPC does not prove effective.”

An official of the pollution control board said burning of paddy stubble certainly leads to pollution as it increases the harmful contents in the air. We advise the farmers not to burn paddy stubble.

It is worth mentioning that paddy stubble leads to air pollution, which can precipitate diseases like asthma and others related to the respiratory tract. More than 10 times the cases are reported this season.

The practice of burning paddy stubble goes on unabated in the absence of any specific law to deal with the same. Though the authorities impose a ban on burning stubble under Section 144 of the CrPC (prohibitory orders) during the harvesting season every year, it has failed to yield desired results.

Bathinda, November 6
Refusal by the National Fertilisers Limited (NFL) to use a road for diverting traffic in view of the construction of a Railway Over Bridge (ROB) on the Bathinda-Malout Road will now force commuters to travel four kms extra.

Though the route is yet to be diverted, the authorities have, however, begun the process of laying the diversion in view of the ROB’s construction.

After completion of the Railway Over Bridge (ROB) on the Bathinda-Ganganagar railway line, the construction of the ROB on the Bathinda-Ferozepur railway line is also speeding up. Though the actual work, on paper, began on October 9, the PWD B&R authorities are yet to clear the road for diverting the traffic.

The diversion entails shifting of the power utilities, clearing green zone, removing encroachments and others. In view of the construction of the ROB, traffic from Bathinda to Muktsar and vice-versa is to be diverted.

“The issue (of diversion), however, has become a headache for the authorities as the NFL authorities flatly refuse to use their road for diversion of traffic. Now, we are trying to remove the encroachments on the Sivia Road,” said PWD B&R 
officials. Apart from the green cover of 60 trees, statue of Bhai Ghanaiya, landmark of Bathinda at the intersection of Bathinda-Malout and Bathinda-Goniana Road too would be dislocated to construct the ROB, the officials said.

They added that NFL’s road is 7.5 mt-wide and in good condition, except for a small bumpy stretch, as compared to the Sivia-Gill Patti Road, which is hardly 5.5 mt-wide and is in poor condition. The NFL authorities wre upset as some workers began digging a road, used by the NFL, without taking the authorities (NFL) into confidence. “They began the digging without even having a word with us, which could have lead to disaster as various underground pipes of oil-gas or electricity are passing underneath. A small mistake could have lead to a major accident,” said a senior NFL official.

The officials of the NFL shot off a letter to the Bathinda DC and made calls to stop the work. The officials refused to give their consent to use ‘their’ road for the diversion of the traffic in view of the construction of the Rs 58 crore ROB on the Ferozepur-Bathinda railway line situated on the Bathinda-Muktsar Road. “Now, since the NFL refused to use their road, commuters would have to travel at least 4 kms extra as the route would be diverted from Sivia Road and Gill Patti villages. Earlier, the commuters had to travel around 7.5 kms and denial of permission to use the road, the commuters will have to travel at least 12 kms extra to reach Muktsar Road from Rose Garden Chowk side.

“The problem cropped up when the workers of the contractors used earth movers to dig the road (of NFL) for the diversion of traffic in view of the construction of ROB. The officials (of NFL) got upset for not seeking their consent to use their road and they raise a hue and cry and got the work stalled after two days,” said another official.

The PWD authorities said they have only one month (November) for the diversion. “We are trying to fill as many potholes as we can so that the commuters taking the diversion route should not suffer,” said another official.

Bathinda, November 6
On the eve of Virasat Mela 2014, SDM Damanjeet Singh, accompanied by the president of the Malwa Heritage and Sabhyacharak Foundation, Harwinder Singh Khalsa, and members of the foundation, released the poster of the mela. It is pertinent to note here that while the Deputy Commissioner, Bathinda, Dr Basant Garg, had been invited for the ceremony, he could not make it to the event.

The organisers of the annual cultural and heritage extravaganza have been busy with the preparations for the fair for almost a week now and looked content as they shared the schedule of the three-day long fair. Speaking to TNS, Khalsa stated that Virasat Mela was an attempt to showcase the dying traditional and cultural fine arts and other art forms to the visitors. He added that going by the increasing footfall at the fair, one could say that the fair was succeeding to a great extent to showcase the lost and forgotten arts of the state. — TNS

Bathinda, November 6
The local unit of the BJP is all geared up to contest the forthcoming Municipal Corporation elections independently from its old ally Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and a report has been sent to the high command.

A final call on seat sharing, if any, will be taken by the party high command, said Parminder Goyal, district BJP president after a core committee meeting to finalise the ambitious membership programme of the party.

The district president told TNS, “Currently, the BJP has 22 seats out of the total 50 in the town. Recent election results and the changed political scenario clearly indicated that we should be given a much bigger share than that under the current understanding. Our unit has forwarded its broad suggestions to the party high command that will take a final decision.”

The core group of the local unit of the BJP under the leadership of the party in charge for Bathinda Sandeep Rinwa today discussed the programme outlay for the special membership drive of the party as part of the national level primary membership programme from November 1 till March 31.

Others present included Neeraj Jaura, district general secretary, Babu Ram Jindal and Gurinder Kaur Mangat, both former district party presidents, Gulshan Wadhwa, a former deputy mayor and Sunil Singla, state media in- charge of the party. — TNS

Bathinda, November 6
Sleuths of the Vigilance Bureau (VB) have caught a conductor of the PRTC for taking bribe red-handed. The police have also recovered the Rs 70,000 from the accused conductor which he had taken as bribe. The police have registered a case under various sections of the IPC and started a probe.

Sources said conductor Kuldip Kumar demanded Rs 70,000 from another conductor Gurdip Singh (on contract) to get him a permanent job in the PRTC. Gurdip Singh informed the DSP (Vigilance), Bhupinder Singh, about this. After this, a vigilance team made a plan and arrested the accused Kuldip Singh while taking the bribe red-handed late on Wednesday evening. — TNS

Bathinda, November 6
An Army jawan, who was killed in action in a militant attack in Imphal, was cremated at his village in Behman Kaur Singh of Talwandi Sabo.

A large number of local residents, leaders of various political parties and officials of the district administration and the police attended the last rites of the jawan. The jawan, Jagga Singh, is survived by two daughters, aged 8 years and 4 years, besides his 25-year-old wife and father.

Born in 1985, Jagga joined the 107 Engineer Regiment of the Indian Army in 2003. As per reports, he along with two other jawans came under a grenade attack on the night of November 3. The relatives said that the militants lobbed hand grenades on the tents of the Army jawans.

The grenade fell on another tent but failed to explode. Unfortunately, the one that fell on the tent in which Jagga was sleeping, went off and injured him seriously, resulting in his subsequent death.

Bathinda, November 6
Open manholes continue to result in road accidents, regular injuries to the pedestrians besides causing damage to vehicles.

Despite repeated requests, nothing has been done in this regard by the authorities so far. “Though Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal always speaks of proper sanitation, beautification of the city, basic facilities and other services, he has failed to fulfill even a single promise,” said Nathu Chaiwala, owner of an eating joint on GT Road near Rose Garden.

He said the issue was brought to the notice of the junior engineer concerned of the Municipal Corporation a number of times but nothing was done.

“There are two open manholes in front of my shop, situated opposite the three cinemas on Goniana Road. The MC workers have placed two huge bamboos in the open manhole to avoid the hassle of opening it again and again,” said Mohan Sharma. He said two pedestrians and three bikers had already been injuries due to the open manhole on the road and despite repeated requests, the MC failed to to cover it.

Whenever there is a report regarding the choking of sewage, MC workers come and shake the bamboos to remove the obstruction.

“As the authorities have now replaced the iron lids on the manholes with the cemented ones, it has become difficult to remove them. The frequent removal of such lids leads to breakage and then the manholes are left open,” said Gurwinder Singh, a resident of Ajit road.

Junior engineer Krishan Kumar said he was aware of the problem and the manholes would soon be covered. 

Bathinda, November 6
The district Health Department, along with several NGOs’ in Bathinda, will spread awareness among the masses about female foeticide. The NGOs will carry out a candlelight march on November 14 while the department will hold several awareness camps in the district.

The NGOs, including the Sahara Welfare Club and the Naujwan Welfare Society of Bathinda, will participate in the awareness campaign. A meeting regarding the campaign was held by the health officials in Bathinda on Wednesday, in which it was decided that the NGOs would be taken into confidence.

A signature campaign against female foeticide will also be held. In view of the steep decline in the child sex ratio from 1991 to 2001, the implementation of the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Prohibition of Sex-Selection) Act, 1994, is a priority for the government.

Bathinda, November 6
Farmers burnt an effigy of the state government in protest against the arrest of the farmers, who were agitating against the insecticide dealers whose spray destroyed the cotton crop in five acres at Ghudda villages. The protestors also blocked the Bathinda-Badal road.

While addressing the agitators, farmers’ leaders Amreek Singh, Babu Singh and Sandeep Singh said on the direction of the government, the district police was backing the dealers and had arrested the victims as they were demanding justice and compensation for the loss.

They said even the Agriculture Department had admitted that the dealers did not have the licence to sell the insecticides of Anand Company but instead of acting against the dealers, the police had put the farmers behind the bars.

Naujawan Bharat Sabha leader Pavel Kusa said their organisation and the BKU Ekta (Ugrahan) had jointly given a call to observe an agitation for a week in the district, during which they would burn the effigy of the state government at various villages everyday. 

Bathinda, November 6
The health check-up camp, scheduled to be held on November 7, on Cancer Awareness Day has been cancelled. However, the health authorities seem unwilling to reveal the reason behind the decision.

A number of preparations were made for the camp. Last year, the state government had organised the state level-camps in Bathinda, Muktsar, and Mansa districts.

In November 2012, a three-day medical camp was organised in Mansa, in which around 17,360 patients were registered on the first day while more than 10,000 patients got registered for the check-up on the concluding day. About 153 cancer patients were identified during the camp. The camp in Bathinda was planned for November 7 this year but due to some unknown reason, it has been cancelled.

Sources said the camp was proposed to be organised in collaboration with the Tata Memorial. It’s noteworthy that union Health Minister Dr Harshwardhan had launched the initiative to mitigate the suffering of cancer patients. Orders were issued to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to conduct a campaign against cancer.

On October 21, the minister had met eminent oncologists of the country and listened to their suggestions. Bathinda Civil Surgeon Dr Tejwant Singh Randhawa said, “Earlier, we were given instructions to prepare for the camp but it has now been cancelled and we do not know the reason. The decisions are taken at the higher-level and we are totally unaware of it.” 

Bathinda, November 6
The three-day district-level science exhibition, organised by the Education Department under the supervision of District Education Officer (Secondary) Dr Amarjit Kaur Kotfatta and the District Science Supervisor in Bathinda concluded on Wednesday.

On the concluding day of the exhibition, the DEO appreciated the ideas and efforts put in by the students in preparing the science and maths models. She also added that the projects and models exhibited by the students were outstanding and belied their young age.

District Science Supervisor Baljit Singh Sandoha said such exhibitions helped in bringing together brilliant students on a common platform so that they could learn from each other and also gave them a chance to lend a voice to their ideas.

While 20 students belonged to the senior secondary category, 44 students belonged to the secondary category during the exhibition. Seven students participated in the elementary category. The panel of judges included Dr Jatinder Sehgal, Vijay Kumar, Narinder Verma, Kawaljeet Singh, Amardeep Singh, Sher Singh and Amanpreet Kaur.

In the elementary category, the first prize went to Karmveer Singh of Mandi Kalan. The second prize was given to Lovejot Kaur of Bibiwala and the third prize was won by Prabhjot Kaur of Jajjal.

In the secondary category, Ramandeep Kaur of Mehraj won in the historical segments of maths and science. Mohammad Sajid of Gulabgarh won in the information and communication technology category while Jeevanjot Kaur of Killi Nihal Singhwala won in the source of energy and their conservation category and Akashdeep Singh of Gehri Butar won in the traffic category. In the waste management category, Gurjit Kaur of Harraipur won the first prize.

In the senior secondary section, Priyanshu Grover of Goniana won in the community health and environment category. Harpal Singh of Gonaina won in the historical segments of matchs and science while Ankur Kaliya won in the information and communication technology category. Shehnazia from Jassi Pau Wali won in the dources of energy and their conservation’ category while Lovepreet Singh of Deon won in the ‘traffic’ category.

Bathinda, November 6
A resident of Arjun Dass Nagar has allegedly been duped of Rs 1.5 lakh on the pretext of sending him to Canada.

In a complaint to the police, Jatinder Kumar stated that he had given Rs 1.5 lakh to Nirmal Singh, a resident of Pathankot, and in return he was to provide the Canadian visa. However, the accused failed to do so and refused to return the money.— TNS 

Bathinda, November 6
The police booked seven persons for dumping a man of Rs 5 lakh today. In a complaint to the police, Lucky, a resident of Amarpura Basti, stated that Amandeep Singh, Bablu and Jagjit Singh, residents of Bucho, Ashok Kumar, Chaumkaur Sing, Shrikanth and Bhupinder Gupta were his friends, who had requested him to invest in Live Trading Company. On their, request, he gave Rs 1 lakh to them. They told him that the interest would multiply by 10 every month and after a year, they would return him the entire money.

He stated that on January 28, 2014, he invested Rs 3 lakh of his cousin Jaswant Singh, a resident of Guru Nanakpura, in the company and till June, 2014, he received the interest and after that the company did not return Rs 5 lakh (including the interest). Later, he complained to the Canal Colony police station. Notably, the police had issued a notice to singer-cum-actor Gippy Grewal in the case as he is the brand ambassador of the company. — TNS