Bathinda, November 21
Four urban healthcare centres opened in the city by the Health Department under the National Urban Health Mission to provide better health facilities to the residents are lying in limbo.

The Punjab Government had opened the health centres at Lal Singh Basti, Dhobiana Basti, Janta Nagar and Jogi Nagar in the city. The centres have failed to serve their purpose due to the staff crunch and the lack of infrastructure since their inception in September 2012. Huge double-storey buildings have been constructed after spending lakhs of rupee for the centres but the department has failed to run them. Dispensaries are being run from the buildings as the authorities failed to utilise them.

The health care centre at Dhobiana Basti lacks staff, infrastructure, maintenance and funds. The centre was opened with the vision of providing healthcare facilities to the people residing in the area. The foundation stone of it was laid by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal along with the then Health Minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla on Febrary 22, 2009.

The double-storey building of the centre has two wards, an operation theater, four huge cabins for doctors and a room for the lab technician. But, all this has been lying in a deplorable condition. There is no furniture in the rooms and doctors are not available.

At present, the centre is running from two rooms. One is used by a dentist and the other by a pharmacist. Due to the non-availability of doctors, the pharmacist attends to the patients and prescribes medicines. There is no nurse at the centre.

The centre does not have any drinking water facility. The staff carry their own water bottles from their homes. Health workers, who conduct door-to-door surveys, have to compile their data while sitting on the table as there is no chair available at the centre.

The centre also does not have any caretaker due to which the tube lights, switches and manhole lids have been stolen. The wash basin in the washroom of the centre is broken.

The urban health centre at Lal Singh Basti is crying for attention due to lack of adequate staff and infrastructure since its inception in September 2012. The foundation stone for the centre was laid by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal in 2009. Later, a double-storey building was built in a large area but the department has till date failed to provide all the facilities to the patients.

The 20-bed hospital hospital has four cabins for doctors, a laboratory, reception desk, operation theatre and an emergency ward. But, for the past two years, it has been working as a dispensary with only one doctor and a pharmacist.

The centre was to have one dental, two MBBS and one specialist doctor. But it has only one permanent MBBS doctor and a child specialist who visits the centre only on Wednesday. Many windows of the centre are broken as youngsters have turned the health centre into a cricket ground.

The administration also uses the first floor of this building for the stay of police officials during elections. It is also used for the same purpose during VVIP visits in the area.

Residents living in the nearby areas are an affected lot as they still travel to the Civil Hospital for treatment despite the centre being located in their area.

The condition of the two other urban health centres at Jogi Nagar and Paras Ram Nagar is also the same.

Anjani Sharma, a city resident, “The condition of the centres is pathetic as there is no staff to run them. The state government is constructing buildings without any infrastructure. Even the sports stadium sans coaches and facilities for the players. This clearly shows that the government is befooling the people.”

Ravneet Singla, secretary, Bathinda Vikas Manch, said,” These urban health centres are of no use as they do not have any emergency facility. Why the public money has been wasted the buildings.”

Manit Garg, president,of an NGO, said,” The government should not waste public money like this and should provide basic amenities at the centres at the earliest.”

Narinder Saini, city resident, said,” The health centres are meant for the poor but nobody cares to run them due to which these have failed to provide any benefit to the needy. As rich people can afford private doctors, the needy go to government health centre for treatment.

Senior Health department official said the centers were opened to provide better health facilities but lacked funds and doctors.

Bathinda, November 21
A new-born girl was found in the panghura (cradle) put up by the District Red Cross Society at Mahant Gurbant Dass School for Deaf and Dumb Children. Employees of the Red Cross Society took the child to the Civil Hospital where she was kept at nursery after medical examination.

Later, the child was sent to Children’s Home in Patiala. Venus Garg, chairman of the society, said daughters were equal to the sons and they should be given their right. She said due to the panghura, many children had found new homes and were leading a good life.

The Red Cross Society started the panghura in 2009 to mitigate female foeticide. Since its installation, 26 babies, including 21 girls and five boys, have been abandoned there.

Paediatrician Dr Satish Jindal said the child was given necessary vaccination and was healthy. The secretary of the District Red Cross Society, Col Virender Singh (Retd), said the child was sent to the Children’s Home in Patiala.

Bathinda, November 21
A monkey created ruckus during a meeting on the World Kabaddi Cup at the Deputy Commissioner’s office today. Officials from the Transport Department, Cooperative Bank, PRTC, ADC office, Municipal Corporation and the Bathinda Development Authority (BDA) were present at the meeting hall when all of a sudden a monkey entered it.

“The monkey created ruckus during the meeting. Apart from tearing the sponge on three mikes, he ate dairies, papers and pads lying on the center table of the hall. We tried to shoo it away but failed,” said an official attending the meeting.

He said that the incident occurred just before the arrival of the Deputy Commissioner who was to brief senior government officials about the modalities to be chalked out on assigning duties for the World Kabaddi Cup.

“One of the senior officials intervened and pointed out the open window to the monkey,” said of the officials.

The officials said it needed courage to tackle the monkey as none of the people sitting in the room dared to drive the him away. There was only one official who dared to run after the money but it caught hold of the employee’s legs and did not allow him to move. The monkey created ruckus for over 20 minutes at the meeting. The officials said earlier too stray dogs managed to gain entry to the District Administrative Complex. The officials added that though DC Dr Basant Garg had taken steps to curb the menace and got garbage heaps removed from the parking, there was still a lot to be done. 

Bathinda, November 21
Financial crunch has lead to the snapping of landline telephone connections of various government departments in Bathinda. Due to the non-payment of bills, the telephone connection of the District Transport Office (DTO) has been disconnected.

Apart from reducing the monthly phone bills, the state government has stressed on the need of curtailing extra expenses for which officials of all departments have been told to reduce their daily expenses.

Government officials said telephone connections were disconnected over the non-payment of the bills.

The employees said they were being forced to use their cell phones for official work and their monthly bills were not being reimbursed on time.

There was a time when we used to communicate through landline phones but now due to the non-clearance of bills, the connections are being disconnected,” said a senior government official at one of the departments in the District Administrative Complex.

District Transport Officer (DTO) Latif Ahmed said the telephone connection was disconnected before he joined.

He added that though cell phones were being used most of the time these days, landline phones had their own usage for daily communication with the head office and other government departments.

The DTO office is instrumental in creating awareness among schoolchildren about road safety in view of a large number of road accidents these days. The District Transport Office has also been creating awareness among truck drivers. Expressing similar views, policemen at several city police stations said telephone connections were being disconnected due to the non-payment of bills and they were mostly using mobile phones for communication.

Due to the non-payment of bills, the telephone connection of the District Transport Office (DTO) has been disconnected. Government officials said telephone connections were disconnected over the non-payment of the bills. The employees said they were being forced to use their cell phones for official work and their monthly bills were not being reimbursed on time. Apart from reducing the monthly phone bills, the state government has stressed on the need of curtailing extra expenses for which officials of all departments have been told to reduce their daily expenses.

Bathinda, November 21
Members of the District Bar Association (DBA), Bathinda, today observed a strike after the alleged thrashing of a lawyer and registration of a case against him. The lawyers did not pursue the cases in any of the district courts after the call of the strike.

The litigants who came from far off places for hearing suffered due to the strike. DBA president Navdeep Jeeda said the lawyers observed a complete bandh in view of the attack on a lawyer at Talwandi Sabo following a dispute between two parties. He said one of the lawyers from Rama Mandi, practising at the Talwandi Sabo courts, was beaten up by the opposite party and was then booked by the police in a cross case registered against both the parties. Jeeda said they protested the injustice meted out to the lawyer. 

Bathinda, November 21
Two more patients were tested positive for dengue today, increasing the total official count to 12.

The increase in the number of patients has added to the worry of the Health Department.

While the health authorities claimed that the department had been spreading awareness among the people on the issue. two patients were tested positive. Three samples were collected for the test by the health authorities. 

Bathinda, November 21
Deriding the cane-charge on students at Punjabi University, Patiala, on Thursday, members of the Punjab State Students’ Union (Shaheed Randhawa) today held a meeting on the premises of Punjabi University Regional Centre in Bathinda. Raising slogans against the university authorities, the students boycotted the classes.

Addressing the students, union leaders Sarabjeet Maur and Pawan Ghudda said the students in the Patiala campus were protesting against the increase in fees, and the delay in the construction of the new hostel.

They added that despite the fact that the students were on a silent protest, the police personnel supported by the university administered canecharged the students to disperse them.

The union members further stated that the increase the fee in the middle of the term was unfair and had laid bare the anti-student attitude of the university. They said though the number of students in the university was increasing every year, the number of hostels had remained the same over the past many years and the construction of new hostels was the need of the hour.

Boycotting the classes, the students of the regional centre backed the demands raised by the Patiala campus students and alleged that in the name of financial crunch, the university authorities had made it an annual ritual to increase fee.

They also alleged that the university authorities were working on behest of the government, which wanted to bring the university in the league of private universities that fleece students on several pretexts.

The students further argued that since it was a government university, the government should fund its new projects and the university should immediately stop fleecing the students belonging to different socio-economic background. 

Bathinda, November 21
The Deputy Commissioner, Dr Basant Garg, convened a meeting of different committees formulated regarding preparations for the fifth World Kabaddi Cup in the District Administrative Complex here today.

The Deputy Commissioner said, this time the players and government officials would stay in Bathinda. He said for the arrangements of the visiting teams, around seven committees had been formed. He asked the committees members to coordinate among themselves ensuring proper arrangements.

“For the reception committee the ADC (General) has been appointed as the head. District Transport Officer has been appointed as the head of the transport committee. District Public Relations Officers have been appointed as the heads of media committee. The Assistant Commissioner, Excise and Taxation, have been appointed as the heads of accommodation committee and ADC (general) has been appointed as the head of the finance committee,” said Garg.

The ADC (General), Dr Sumit Jarangal, Assistant Commissioner (General),Dr Narinder Singh Dhaliwal, Assistant Commissioner (grievances) Charumita and district transport officer Latif Ahmed were also present. 

Bathinda, November 21
The Udaan Project, launched by the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry to bridge the teaching gap between school education and engineering entrance exams, is all set to take wings on Saturday. The co-coordinator for the project in Bathinda, RBDAV School principal Satwant Kaur Bhullar said under the project, special tutorial classes would be held for the students who had been selected for the project in various schools. The classes will be held at RBDAV Senior Secondary Public School in Bathinda from November 22.

She added that 17 girl students had been selected for the classes at her school. She further said that the classes will be held on Saturdays (1-5 pm) and Sundays (9.30am-5pm) where two facilitators, one computer teacher and supporting staff would remain available. She also said the queries of parents of the selected students would be addressed either through e-mails or the face-to-face interaction.

The project to be handled by the Central Board of Education, will provide free study material and resources to selected girl students of Class XI and XII for preparation. The points secured by the students will be converted into scholarship points used for their fee, if selected in any IIT or NIT. 

Bathinda, November 21
While presiding over a meeting of different departments here today, District and Sessions Judge Tejwinder Singh informed that the national lok adalat would be held on December 6.

He said lok adalats give people free and speedy justice and save their time and money.

Cases decided in the lok adalat cannot be challenged anywhere as the decision is reached after seeking mutual consent of both the parties, he added.

He appealed to the officers present in the meeting to bring maximum number of cases to the lok adalat, which would reduce pendency of cases in the country and ensure speedier justice for the litigants.

He said all the departments should first send list of their cases to the office of the secretary, District Legal Services Authority-cum-Chief Judicial Magistrate, Jasbir Kaur, by November 29.

He also appealed to the public to put up their cases on December 6 and put an end to their disputes mutually.

Except for the serious criminal cases, cases pertaining to compoundable criminal cases, Motor Accident Claim Act, 138 Negotiable Instruments Act, traffic challans, rent cases, domestic disputes, Domestic Violence Act cases, 125 CrPC cases, civil suit, labour dispute cases, MNREGA cases, bank recovery cases, power and water recovery cases, companies cases, service matters, railways related cases, income tax, sales tax and other such cases could be brought up for consideration.

ADC (General) Dr Sumit Jarangal, ADC (D) Sonali Giri, District Transport Officer Latif Ahmed, SP Jasvir Singh and other department officials were also present during the meeting. 

Bathinda, November 21
Members of the PRTC Employees’ Union today convened a meeting at Congress Bhawan. During the meeting, office-bearers of the union were selected. While Ganda Singh was unanimously chosen as the president of the union for the 12th consecutive time, Darshan Singh was chosen as the senior vice-president and cashier. Jagjeet Singh was elected as the general secretary while the post of the additional general secretary went to Tarlochan Singh and that of press secretary to Ashwini Kumar.

After the election of the office-bearers, the members of the union said pensioners had not been given pension for the past four months while the employees had not been paid for the past four months. They derided the PRTC for pushing its employees into penury.

They threatened that if pension and salaries were not released soon, they would intensify their protest.