Bathinda, November 8
The false claim of the District Health Departments has come to the fore with two more cases of dengue in the region.

The number of patients diagnosed with the dengue has reached to 10 in the district. Four patients tested positive in a week, while two cases of dengue were reported on Tuesday.

The district health authorities have been claiming of creating awareness among the masses about the disease. The claimed that they have been following up the cases that have tested positive. But, however, on Friday a new patient who was diagnosed with dengue is the son of a dengue patient.

As per the norms, the health authorities are supposed to follow up of the cases by visiting the house of the patient and spraying insecticide in every nook and corner to get rid of the larvae.

Besides, the health authorities are also supposed to create awareness among the neighbours about the precautions to be taken to avoid the growth of dengue larvae that breeds in stagnant water at homes in coolers and refrigerators.

In 2013, about 177 cases of dengue were reported in Bathinda. In 2011, 1,000 cases were reported.

Information, under RTI, had revealed that Rs 20.48 lakh was spent on fogging by the Bathinda Municipal Corporation in April, May and June, this year. In 2013, Rs 50 lakh was spent on fogging.

Water-holding containers, including plastic, metal drums and cement tanks, facilitate breeding of dengue mosquito.

The authorities concerned should organise health education programmes about dengue disease to increase community knowledge and sensitise the community to participate in integrated vector control programmes.

The Bathinda District Health Officer, Dr RS Randhawa, said, “Two more cases have been found positive and the number has risen. But, we have been following up the cases. We have sprayed insecticides. People in and around the surrounding areas have also been told about the precautions to be taken. A regular campaign against dengue is being done by our department.”

Bathinda epidemologist Dr HS Hayer said, “To counter the ‘Aedes Egypti’, we have appealed the public through door-to-door campaign to avoid water stagnation. We have been educating the people about the precautions to avoid stagnation of clean water in streets and their homes and shops.”

Dengue fever is transmitted by the bite of an Aedes mosquito. It can’t be spread directly from one person to another person.

Bathinda, November 8
The process for the online report submissions is yet to see the light of day in Bathinda. Adding to the woes of the doctors, no computer operator has been recruited for the purpose so far.

Besides instructing the department to make computerised Medical Legal Report for the patient, the district health authorities were also told by the state health authorities to implement the ‘Online MLR reports submissions’ a year ago. But the authorities failed to do so.

The Medical Officer was supposed to issue Medical Legal Report in computerised format instead of manual format. The same was to be uploaded on the website. It was learnt that handwriting of the doctor often created problems for the patients. So, the step was taken to avoid chaos-like situation.

A doctor, who did not wish to be quoted, said, “Every doctor was supposed to submit the MLR online in computerised format along with his name. For this, every doctor was issued different ID and password to avoid any confusion and misuse. There is only a single computer available in the emergency ward while no computer operator has been recruited for it. A number of doctors aren’t tech savvy. The work load is a lot too. There is also a staff shortage that hits the backbone of the department severely.”

None of the doctors have used their password and ids yet. The instructions were issued by the High Court but one year has passed and the instructions are yet to be followed.

The District Health Officer, RS Randhawa, claimed that the SMO can tell better about the situation. The SMO, however, could not be contacted.

Bathinda, November 8
The online auction of premium numbers by the Bathinda District Transport Department is proving to be a means of churning out easy money for the agents, working at the Transport Department and the District Administrative Complex.

The bidding for the premium number, belonging to the AE series, ended on October 28. The entire process brought to the light several cases, where only the agents who had participated in the bid could be traced while the details about the real buyers remained elusive.

A total of 39 premium numbers were auctioned by the Transport Department, under the AE series. The department earned close to Rs 15.3 lakhs. The highest bid was made for the number PB03AE0001, which went for Rs 5,01,000 against a reserved bid of Rs 5 lakh. The contact details, recorded with the department for the winning bidder, turned out to be that of an agent, who claimed that he had made the bid for another person who was the agent for the real buyer.

“A few months back the bidding process turned to the online mode. Since then, the bidding is being done through agents since the buyers are not well-versed with the online auctioning method. Also, while earlier the bidder who wished to participate in the process had to submit a refundable draft, now the interested person has to submit Rs 2,000 which is not refundable,” said an agent who had placed bids for as many as three bidders.

Bathinda, November 8
The police today foiled the protest bid of the Teachers Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS), Alternative Inclusive Education (AIE) volunteers and Special Trainer Resource (STR) Shaheed Kiranjit Kaur Action Committee activists’ bid to take out a march from the Teachers’ Home to the Deputy Commissioner’s office.

Police officials locked the gate of the Teachers’ Home when the protesting union workers announced to take out a protest march and when no official turned out to receive a charter of demands from them. Workers, irked over the locking of the gate, raised slogans against the state government and entered into a spat with the SHO, Canal Colony, Angrej Singh.

Police officials contacted the senior officials and the Naib Tehsildar reached the spot to receive the letter. SHO, Kotwali, Mahesh Saini also reached the spot. When the protesters stuck to their demand of meeting the Deputy Commissioner, the police arranged their meeting with the SDM.

At their meeting held with the SDM Damanjit Singh Mann, the protesters were assured a meeting with the Deputy Commissioner on Monday. They were also assured that the Deputy Commissioner will fix their meeting with the Chief Minister on November 15.

Addressing the protesters, union leader Veerpal Kaur Sidana said the state government was continuously harassing them and they had not been paid the salaries for four months starting from July.

She also stated that a one- year-old child, named Ruth, had died during their protest against the state government. After this the government had given a job to her father Karamjit Singh at Mall village, but he has not been paid the salary so far for past three months.

She said on the one hand, they have been given salaries and on the other, the government had started a school mapping survey.

In this survey, they have to get the information as to how many students are studying in the age-group of 6 to 14 years and as to how many are not studying and what are the reasons behind their not going to schools.

She said for this survey, they had been assigned duty in other villages due to which they were facing a lot of problems, and they did not even get any fare from the government.

Bathinda, November 8
Posters bearing the photographs of SAD leader Shivkaran Singh, who was arrested for thrashing and sexually harassing a girl on the Ajit Road in September, dot Jaipalgarh village in the city.

In the posters, Shivkaran Singh along with SAD leader Chamkaur Mann and other organisers, are seen welcoming people coming to the Virasat Mela.

It is worth mentioning that Gurvinder Singh, a friend of Shivkaran Singh, had teased a girl by holding her hand besides using obscene language. The girl resisted and called her father who reached the spot immediately. At this, the accused called Shivkaran Singh.

Shivkaran, along with others reached at the spot and started brandishing arms and then thrashed her father and brother, who had tried to resist the accused, Gurvinder Singh. They hit the father’s head with a gun.

The girl had also accused that Shivkaran Singh tore her clothes, beat her up badly, abused her by using vulgar comments and even threatened her too that he would kidnap her from her house. He was arrested by the police in this case and was out on bail recently.

The Malwa Heritage Foundation organises Virasat Mela every year at Japalgarh Village in the city.

One of the members of the organising committee said the case was pending in court, so we could not call him guilty until proven by the court and he was out on bail.

Neha Gupta, a resident, said the organisers should refrain from inviting such opersons to the prestigious mela organising committee.

Another resident Gurmit Singh said Malwa Heritage Foundation was doing a great job and they should continue this trend.

Contestants put up hoardings ahead of the MC elections in Ludhiana on Saturday

MC Poll

Besides placing hoardings, posters and organising door-to-door meetings, the leaders are also raising their voice for the attainment of basic facilities in the city. These basic facilities include better sewerage system, potable water, combating stray cattle and dog menace, curbing the rising number of road accidents, regulating public smoking and rampant sale and consumption of drugs.

Bathinda, November 8
The issue of the alleged forcible possession of a park at Urban Estate in Phase II on Friday, today, snowballed into a major issue between the claimants, the Municipal Corporation of Bathinda and the Congress leadership.

Harminder Singh Jassi, general secretary, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee

Jarnail Singh, a resident of Tapakhera village in Lambi constituency, today, claimed that the land, on which the Municipal Corporation of Bathinda developed a park around four years ago, belonged to his ancestors. “The land belonged to my grandfather Sher Singh. It was being looked after by my uncle Sukhmander Singh who passed away recently. After his demise, we asked the patwari to give us the details of the property owned by our ancestors and that’s when we discovered that we own more than 9 bighas of land in Urban Estate,” said Jarnail Singh.

He claimed that on November 5, he had also submitted the property tax levied on the land and had also paid the power bill at the office of the Municipal Corporation.

Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Municipal Corporation of Bathinda, Dalwinderjit Singh, stated that some people, claiming to be the owners of the land, had tried to stop the work in progress at the park and were told to approach the MCB with requisite papers to substantiate their claim. “But instead of following instructions, they tried to take over the land forcibly on Friday,” said the MCB Commissioner.

“The MCB park was developed on the land more than four years ago. All this while, no one had claimed the land as theirs. They should have approached the MCB or the BDA with the papers and should have taken the legal way. This way is not ethical,” said Singh.

He further stated that as per the preliminary study, the land belongs to the MCB and added that he would refer to the records with the MCB to ascertain the owner of the land.

The matter has been registered with the SHO.

Congress leader jumps in

The eneral secretary of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, Harminder Singh Jassi, held a press conference accusing the Police Department and MCB for not taking any action against the group of people who cut tress and uprooted tree guards without any fear of law. It is pertinent to note here that the disputed park is adjacent to the residence of Jassi.

“When I saw that a group of people were trying to forcibly lay claim on the land on which a park has been developed, I tried to bring the matter to the attention of the administration but to no avail. While the Deputy Commissioner of Bathinda did not reply to my calls, the Senior Superintendent of Police assured me of action. After some time, two police officials arrived at the spot but stood there like mute spectators,” said Jassi.

He also alleged that the police and corporation officials didn’t take any action against the claimants since they belonged to Lambi, the village of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.

Bathinda, November 8
A blood donation camp was organised by RBDAV Senior Secondary School today to commemorate 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Hans Raj. Over 75 teachers, parents and followers of Arya Samaj took part in the camp.

It was inaugurated by Sudesh Gandhar, a social worker and educationist. Dr Anil Pathak and Parmod Kasrija, principal of DAV School, Panchkula and Samana, were the guests of honour. The principal thanked the volunteers and guest for making the campaign a success.

Bathinda, November 8
National Tooth Brush Day was observed by students of Adesh Institute of Dental Sciences and Research, Adesh University, Bathinda, to commemorate the occasion.

A march was organised from Sirki Bazar, Post Office Bazar and Amrik Singh Road, which ended at the Hanuman Chowk.

National Tooth Brush Day serves as a reminder of how important a little brush is for the health of a person. The tooth brush was not invented until 1498. The first nylon tooth brush was called “Doctor West’s Miracle tooth brush”.

Dental cleaning is often ignored. Dental problems, like tooth decay, gum problem and even bad breathe starts from improper tooth brushing. On the occasion dental fraternity raised its voice against the quacks and those practicing illegally without having the requisite qualification.

“The management of the university will provide all possible help in maintaining the dental hygiene through Adesh Institute of Dental Sciences and Research,” said Dr HS Gill, Chancellor, Adesh University.

Dr GPI Singh, Vice-Chancellor, Adesh University, congratulated the team for its efforts.

Dr Amanish Singh, principal, promised all efforts for creating awareness about the dentistry.

This event was a team effort which was headed by Dr Jatinder Singh, Head of the Department, Preventive and Public Health Dentistry along with his team.

Bathinda, November 8
On the last day of the 17th Punjab State Junior Senior Wushu Championship-2014 Boys and Girls, a stiff competition was witnessed at the community Centre, Model Town, Phase- III here today.

A bout in progress during the Punjab State Junior Senior Wushu Championship in Bathinda on Saturday. Tribune photo: Pawan Sharma

In the event of junior girl category (below 45 kg), Sweety of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar won gold, Rajwinder Kaur of Ludhiana pocketed silver, Parneet Kaur of Patiala and Kamaljit Kaur of Bathinda bagged bronze medals.

In (below 48 kg category), Jaspreet Kaur of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar won gold, Shristy of Patiala won the silver, Shivani of Bathinda and Sakshi of Jalandhar clinched the bronze medals.

In (below 52 kg category), Amanpreet Kaur of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar won the gold, Navdeep Kaur of Gurdaspur and Raj Kaur of Jalandhar won the bronze medal.

In (below 56 kg category), Lakhbir Kaur of Bathinda baggfed the gold, Rano Kaur of Bathinda won the silver medal and Ramandeep Kaur of Bathinda pocketed the bronze medal.

In the below 60 kg category, Reema Sharma of Patiala won the gold and Harpreet Kaur of Bathinda won the silver.

In (below 65 kg category), Manpreet Kaur of Patiala clinched the gold..

In (below 70 kg category), Navdeep Kaur of Mansa won the gold medal and in below 75 kg category, Manjot Kaur of SBS Nagar won the gold.

In the senior girls category (below 45 kg), Kamaldeep Kaur of Mansa won the gold, Sonam of Gurdaspur won the silver and Sandeep Kaur of Tarntaran bagged the bronze.

In (below 48 kg) Amanpreet Kaur of Nawashehar won the gold, Monika of Gurdaspur won the silver, Kulbir Kaur of Tarantarn and Sapna of Bathinda won the bronze medals.

In (below 52 kg), Gunjan Kumari of Bathinda won the gold, Harmanjit of Mansa won the silver, Simranjot Kaur of Gurdaspur and Amandeep Kaur of Bathinda won the bronze medals.

In (below 56 kg) Manpreet Kaur of Gurdaspur won the gold, Harvir Kaur of Patiala won the silver, Jatinder Kaur of Bathinda and Prabhjot Kaur of Bathinda won the bronze medals.

Bathinda is a city plagued by encroachments. Encroachers rule the city. They are not afraid of any authority because of high financial stakes. Several hotels have no parking lots for visitors. A very famous hotel on the Mall is responsible for traffic jams because several big cars stop there right in the middle of the road. In the same way, several hospitals on Bhatti road, Power House road and the Mall create traffic problems, particularly during the peak hours.

In Dhobi Bazar, several shopkeepers have permanently encroached upon footpaths, creating problems for the pedestrians and the traffic. The MCB sometimes carries out an anti-encroachment campaign, but the influential are out of their net. The drive is only for small shopkeepers and rehriwalas. The need of the hour is for all residents to unite and request the administration to start an anti-encroachment drive in the congested area.