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City all set to have new-look
ISBT
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SSIs seek hike in capital investment limit
Railwaymen demand recognition of pvt hospitals
Primary school in deep waters
Student council members sworn in
BSF seizes 10 kg heroin
‘Barnala on NH map soon’
Social Science exhibition held Health team visit jaundice affected areas
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City all set to have new-look
ISBT
Bathinda, August 2 Though the Bathinda ISBT is one of the busiest bus stands in Punjab, with 15,000 to 20,000 passengers frequenting it daily, it has been a picture of neglect for the past over 10 years, thanks to the apathy shown towards it by the state government. Presently, the ISBT daily receives about 1,500 buses, which depart for various destinations, both inter-state and within the state. What is more interesting is the striking similarity between the assurances put forth by the leaders of the previous Congress government and those put forth by the present SAD-BJP government during the past seven years that the bus stand would acquire a new look. However, practically nothing has changed so far. If something has changed during all this while, it is the names of promise-making political leaders. The pathetic condition of the bus stand, which has been almost like a slush-filled cesspool for more than 10 years, continues till date. The situation becomes unbearable for passengers during rains, when they have to hire rickshaws to come out of the main platform area, all thanks to the accumulation of sewer water on the ISBT premises. But finally, there seems to be some hope for the “poor passengers” as the state transport department has come out with the claims, which suggest that the Punjab government has woken up to the inconvenience of the passengers. “The rebuilding process of the bus stand will start within a month or so and it will cost about Rs 240 crore. The new bus stand will have all modern amenities, and the construction process will be completed within a period of 18 months. For the first seven-eight months after the completion of the construction work, the new-look ISBT would be run by the construction company, and afterwards it would be transferred to the PRTC,” said Iqbal Singh, General Manager, PRTC. Keeping in view the early start of the construction of the bus stand, the PRTC authorities have served eviction notices to 58 shopkeepers adjoining the bus stand. These shops had been rented out about 10 years back to shopkeepers on rental basis by the PRTC authorities. However, there was resentment among shopkeepers over the eviction notices. But the PRTC authorities were adamant over eviction of shops. PRTC authorities said that it had made an agreement that these shops could be got evicted whenever the need arose. |
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SSIs seek hike in capital investment limit
Bathinda, August 2 In a memorandum submitted to the Managing Director, Punjab State Industrial Development Corporation (PSIDC), Anurag Verma, who was in the city today; industry associations said there had been manifold increase in the cost of plants and machinery. “An increase in capital investment limit would help SSIs perform better,” said industry representatives. They also took up the issue of non-payment of capital subsidy. Capital subsidy had not been paid to the industry since 1997 despite repeated representations by various associations, they said. They demanded that modernisation subsidy be released on a priority basis. They said though the government had granted funds in the shape of modernisation subsidy to the industry in the state with a view to upgrade quality so that they could compete on the international level, funds had not been released so far. Giving example of fluctuating steel prices, representatives of the engineering industry said large steel manufacturers had adversely affected them due to “arbitrary hikes” in steel prices. “Protective measures to ensure availability of raw materials should be taken so that the SSI units can frame and implement their production plans accordingly,” they said. The representatives further demanded availability of finance at lower rates and withdrawal of service tax on job work. They urged the ministry concerned to issue a directive to the state governments to comply with its policies and commitments. An innovative approach should be adopted to support SSIs, they said. A data bank of small industrial units could be prepared so as to provide information on demand and supply statistics in local and international markets, industrialists said. Such measures were necessary to help the industry compete on the international level, they asserted.
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Railwaymen demand recognition of pvt hospitals
Bathinda, August 2 In a memorandum submitted to the General Manager of Northern Railways, functionaries of the All-India Retired Railwaymen Federation have pointed out that presently only one private hospital, Apollo Hospital, is on the approved list of the Railways and both the serving and retired employees often find it difficult to reach the hospital from different localities of the city. Tara Chand, divisional president of the federation, said Bathinda is a major city in the Ambala division of Northern Railway with more than 18,000 beneficiaries. Making a case for the recognition of more private hospitals to provide better and easier access to the serving and retired railway employees, the federation suggested that in addition to the already recognised Apollo Hospital, the Railway authorities ought to bring at least two more private hospitals in the list of approved medical institutions.
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Primary school in deep waters
Abohar, August 2 This correspondent during a visit to some villages, including Ramsara and Amarpura-Bahavwala, located close to the Hanumangarh-Abohar (state highway) road found that rain water continued to affect attendance as well the teaching work. The worst situation was evident in the government elementary school located in Azeemgarh on the outskirts of the town. The locality is within the municipal limits. As it was a high risk to force the students of the primary classes to cross knee-deep water to reach their respective classroom, the staff preferred to give them today's lessons in open on the roadside. The road too was under water and only a part of the footpath was available for the students to stand in. The accumulating water also posed a threat to new blocks that had been constructed by using grants received under the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan. The teachers however braved the odds to reach their place of work.
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Student council members sworn in
Bathinda, August 2 Brigadier Bant Singh (retd.) was the chief guest at the function which was also witnessed by the proud parents of the school students. The chief guest congratulated DPS principal Arun Jee for carrying out the good work of making the students aware of their rights and more importantly of their duties. He congratulated the appointees and urged them to maintain the dignity of their posts. The student council is as follows: Aman Seth - head boy; Neeti Chaddha - head girl; Tejinder Brar - vice-head boy; Aastha Rishi - vice-head girl; Adnan Sami - general secretary; Anjum Monga - cultural secretary (boys); Sayee Deshpandey - cultural secretary (girls); Manjeet Kumar - literary secretary (boys); Priti - literary secretary (girls); Rhea Kanwar - discipline secretary; and Fatehjeet Singh Sra - sports secretary.
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Ferozepur, August 2 BSF official said that the consignment was recovered near border pillar number 214/14, close to the BOP of DRDN. — OC
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Barnala, August 2 Earlier, Dhillon met Jagir Singh Jagtar, a Punjabi Tribune correspondent, to inquire about his health. Jagtar had recently undergone angiography. — OC
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Abohar, August 2
