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World Bank team in Muktsar
village Members of the World Bank team discussing the waterlogging problem with farmers at Panjava village in Muktsar district on Wednesday. Tribune photo: Kulbir Beera
Strike stalls banking operations
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De-addiction centre faces financial crunch
The overcrowded single hall of the de-addiction centre in Bathinda.
Tribune photo: Kulbir Beera
Villagers lock school to register protest
Students of the Government High School, Burj Mehma sitting outside the school after the villagers locked it on Wednesday. Tribune photo: Malkiat Singh
Farmers stage dharna, disrupt traffic
Up in Arms: Farmers under the banner of the Bharatiya Kisan Union, Ekta Ugrahan, block traffic on the Bathinda-Talwandi Sabo road on Wednesday. Tribune photo: Malkiat Singh
Barnala land sale deed row
The 29 NTSE winners of Dashmesh Public School, Faridkot, pose with their principal. A Tribune photograph
Rising water level in Sirhind canal poses threat
The irrigation canal in Bathinda flowing at a dangerously high level on Wednesday. Tribune photo: Kulbir Beera
Cotton pest attacks yet again, growers in tizzy
Jassi delights audience with hit numbers
‘Being NTSE scholars, we feel special’
Blood donation camp
Special Lok Adalat on Nov 29
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World Bank team in Muktsar
village S.P. Sharma Tribune News Service
Muktsar, September 24 A three-member team of the World Bank, led by Sanjay Pahuja, senior water resource specialist, accompanied by R.K.Goyal, chief engineer, irrigation (Punjab), today visited many villages to take the first-hand account of the problem. The team members also discussed the problem with farmers. The farmers in the Muktsar district are the worst victims of waterlogging, as crops do not grow on their land. The team visited Husnar, Channo, Panjava, Sikhwala, Tapakhera, Fatehpur and Mania villages where the farmers brought to their notice the type of problems they were facing due to waterlogging. Pahuja said the main cause of waterlogging was seepage from the Rajasthan and Sirhind feeders and could be solved only by their waterproofing. He would discuss all aspects with senior officers of the Punjab government at Chandigarh and submit the report to the World Bank. Some farmers in Panjava village brought to the notice of the team that the problem was solved a bit due to digging of channels and installation of lift pumps in the area.
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Strike stalls banking operations
Bathinda, September 24 Hundreds of bank employees gathered in front of the Union Bank of India on the Mall Road this morning to protest against the alleged "anti-employee" policies of managements as well as the government. Leaders of United Forum of Banks' Union, Pawan Jindal, Ashok Sharma, Binderpal Garg, R.D. Bansal, Pushpa Lata and Kamal Sachdeva, also addressed the gathering. They said the two-day strike was a wake-up call for the government. They criticised the Indian Bank Association (IBA) for not offering a fair wage increase to the employees and expediting the settlement, leading to unwarranted delay and unrest among employees and officers. The issues that were raised during the strike include privatisation of banks, the proposed mergers of public sector banks which the employees feel would do more harm to banking in the country than good, job to the kin of deceased employees on compassionate grounds, second option for employees to join pension scheme by forgoing their provident fund amount and outsourcing of various banking activities. "We will resort to an indefinite strike if our demands were not met by October 20," Pawan Jindal said. On the other hand, customers had to face inconvenience as most banks were closed. There was a huge rush at ATMs with people withdrawing cash for fear of these running dry.
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De-addiction centre faces financial crunch
Bathinda, September 24 The centre in this Malwa heartland that tops Punjab in drug abuse is in a deplorable condition and the building has not been repaired for the past many years. It receives from the ministry an annual grant of Rs 6.30 lakh that is inadequate to meet the financial needs as the cost of medicines and related back up has increased manifold. The ministry provides 90 per cent grant, while the Red Cross puts its share of 10 per cent annually. Baljinder Singh, project director of the centre, said that a loan of Rs 10 lakh had been raised from the state Red Cross during the past two years to run the centre. A sum of Rs six lakh was borrowed last year and Rs four lakh had so far been taken during the current year. The first thing that would be done whenever the grant is released by the ministry was to repay the loan of Rs 10 lakh that would again create financial problems. Rahul Gandhi, AICC general secretary, paid a surprise visit to the centre yesterday and had first hand information about the problems being faced in its running. He assured that he would get the held up grants released at the earliest. The monthly grant for medicines that was fixed at Rs 6,000 in 1992 when the centre was set up, has not been enhanced by even a single penny although the cost of medicines and overhead expenditure has sharply increased during these years. The 15 inmates have to arrange for their own meals, as the centre does not have any grants for this purpose. Initially, the Red Cross provided Rs 4,500 per month to meet the expenditure towards food for inmates, but it was discontinued many years ago as a result of which attendants of inmates have to run the kitchen were only cooking gas is provided. Addicts like Paramjeet Singh of the Gurthrer village, who had been consuming 150 lamolet tablets every day, were under treatment in the centre. Interestingly, while leaders of parties that ruled the state from time to time have been giving sermons against drug abuse, but not a single out of them has visited the de-addiction centre eversince it was opened 16 years ago. Rahul Gandhi was perhaps the first top leader to visit here. The visitor's book maintained by the centre indicates that Gargi Devi, wife of the then Governor Surendera Nath, visited the centre on May 15, 1994, whereas Rajendera Kumar, inspector general of police, visited there on September 7, 2005. No senior functionary of the government, except some deputy commissioners, has visited the centre. |
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Villagers lock school to register protest
Bathinda, September 24 According to information available, a teacher of mathematics and the teacher of science, Rakesh, were at dispute over taking class for class VIII for the past six months. The district education officer (DEO) had earlier intervened to sort out the matter but in vain. The matter turned serious when villagers stood up in support of Rakesh. Today, hundreds of villagers, supported by sarpanch Gurjant Singh, Gurtej Singh (ex-sarpanch) and Jagjeet Singh of the BKU (Ugraha) locked the front gate of the school after asking the teachers, principal and the students to vacate the school premises. Students were to appear for their half-yearly exam but they boycotted the same in protest. The protesters, including villagers, teachers and students, raised slogans against the DEO and a SAD leader. They demanded that the transfer orders of Rakesh be reversed. "The students could not
complete the syllabus due to the dispute between the teachers. Rakesh was transferred on August 21. We had written to the education department for getting him back as he had delivered good results. But the department had turned a deaf ear," said
Jagjeet. DEO Baljinder Singh Mann, when contacted, said: "When I came to know about the issue, I went to the village and instructed Rakesh to take the class but he did not do so. I even sent him written orders. But since he did not obey them he was transferred." The DEO added that Rakesh had requested for a transfer to a nearby village as his child was physically challenged. His request was accepted." "Deepak Goel was sent as a replacement and was to join today. But the villagers did not allow him to do so," said Mann. Meanwhile, the villagers are bent upon getting their demand accepted and said that the school would remain closed till Rakesh was transferred back. They said in clear terms that they would not allow Goel to enter the school premises. |
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Farmers stage dharna, disrupt traffic
Kot Shamir (Bathinda), September 24 The farmers accused the police and civil administration for being hand-in- glove with a contractor, who refused to pay the dues to Bhola Singh of village Kot Shamir. The protesters alleged that Bhola Singh sold his 6-7 acre piece of land to convert his three old tractors into new ones. To earn his livelihood, he put all his earnings in a construction work going on in a private colony on the outskirts of the city. They said that Bhola encouraged his friends to deploy their tractors on the job, giving them assurance about the remuneration. The total dues reached upto Rs 14-15 lakh, out of which about Rs 11 lakh was paid to them, but then the contractor of the construction work, Tony Bansal, who had hired his tractor, started dilly-dallying in paying a balance sum of around Rs four lakh. To get his dues, the village panchayat and activists of the union approached the contractor, Tony, a number of times, but it proved to be in vain. Disappointed over not getting back the dues, , Bhola Singh consumed poison and ended his life on July 10 this year. He is survived by his father, mother, wife and two children. The protesters also said that after holding a dharna outside the mini-secretariat in Bathinda, a delegation of the BKU Ekta Ugrahan met the deputy commissioner and submitted a memorandum to him on August 26. In reply to this, the DC, Rahul Tewari, gave them the assurance of marking an inquiry to the SDM concerned and also to SSP Bathinda to look into the case. Shingara Singh, district president of the BKU Ekta Ugrahan, said that at that time, the DC had assured them of moving the file for a compensation of Rs 2.5 lakh from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund. But till date, nothing had been done except for asking them to compromise with the accused
contractor. He alleged that the case under section 306 of the IPC was registered on the basis of the statement of Bhola Singh, which was videographed, but the accused was yet to be arrested. |
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Revenue officials call off stir after probe assurance
Our Correspondent
Barnala, September 24 It has been learnt that the civil and police officials reached a compromise over the issue. The revenue work in the district, however, remained suspended for the second day today causing great inconvenience to the people. The revenue officials from patwari to tehsildar staged a dharna in front of office of deputy commissioner R.L. Mehta here today. The protesters were demanding withdrawal of cases registered against tehsildar and naib tehsildar on Monday. They alleged that both the officials had been falsely implicated. To find an amicable solution, the deputy commissioner (DC) and the senior superintendent of police (SSP) held a closed-door meeting. The exact nature of the matter of discussion was not known but one senior official on the condition of anonymity said a compromise had been reached over the issue. As per the compromise, an independent inquiry would be conducted in the case. DC R.L. Mehta told TNS today that he had a meeting with the SSP, Barnala, Shiv Kumar Verma over the issue. He said the SSP had assured him that a SP rank official would hold an inquiry into the case. After the meeting, the DC assured the agitating revenue officials that justice would be done to everyone and an independent inquiry would be conducted in the case. After getting assurance from DC, the revenue officials lifted the dharna and decided to resume work from Thursday. Meanwhile, SSP Barnala said that the DC was going to write a letter to him for conducting an independent inquiry. After receiving the letter, he would hold an inquiry by a SP rank official, he added.
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National Talent Search Examination Harbinder Singh Tribune News Service
Faridkot, September 24 The feat is significant and historic for the fact that the school had won 43 per cent of the total 51 seats won by Punjab in NTSE (class VIII). Furthermore, it is the only school in the country to secure as many scholarships in this category. In all, 23 class VIII students from this district have cracked the NTSE. “My dream has come true. Finally, after 35 years, my hard work bore fruit,” said Gurcharan Singh, director principal of the school. “Our students had won the scholarships many a times earlier also. But this time, the students have broken all the records,” the ecstatic principal averred. Those who considered Malwa as a backward area, for education or otherwise, the students have forced them to rethink, he added. It is pertinent to note that only 51 class VIII students acquired the NTSE scholarships, out of the 95 allotted to the state. The students went through two written tests, first at state-level and then at national-level, and finally an interview. The written examination consisted of Mental Ability Test and Scholastic Ability Test. Chandigarh, a renowned education hub, could produce only nine NTSE scholars this year, while 29 students from a single school have achieved the feat, said Singh with pride. Last year, 68 students secured above 90 per cent marks in the matriculation exam conducted by the CBSE, informed the director. “We would spring a surprise next year as I am sure of a national topper from my school,” he added. The district administration has recommended the name of Nikhil Mahajan, who was the NTSE winner last year and the student of the school, for the National Excellence Award. Students from class X and class VIII, running into lakhs, appear for the screening examination of the NTSE every year. However, from the next year, the NCERT will conduct the exam for class VIII only.
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Rising water level in Sirhind canal poses threat
Bathinda, September 24 Over the years, the Bathinda branch of the canal brought prosperity in general in this region but its condition went on deteriorating. It is feared that due to recent heavy rains in Himachal and Punjab, the water may spill over to the many low-lying areas anytime, as was the case last year in Parasram Nagar, Arjun Nagar and Jogi Nagar localities, and the threat of an epidemic looms large. Last year, dirty water from the canal had spilled over into the adjoining streets making the lives of people miserable. An artificial embankment, which had come up on the fringe, also aggravated the problem. Since the natural flow of water had been checked, the dirty water spills into nearby streets and houses much to the annoyance of local residents. The rising water level would not only pose a threat to adjoining houses, but would also affect landed property of residents. Last year, the water had entered courtyards of some houses located on the fringe of the canal bringing along leeches and pests, which posed a serious threat to livestock. Besides, its water, which was being used in most of the district for drinking purposes, has become highly polluted. Residents of various towns and villages through which the canal passes throw garbage and other waste materials into it without any check. Official sources said that weeds had adversely affected a length of about 80 km of the canal. The weeds had now started hampering flow of water.
Naseeb Singh, irrigation officer, said though the problem of clearing of weeds had been taken up by Irrigation Department officials with their superiors and at the level of the state government a number of times, no funds had been given for this task so far. "If a permanent solution is not found, a day would come when the dirty overflowing water will enter our houses'', said Narinder Singh, a resident of Parasram Nagar. Meanwhile a team of district officials today visited the canal to take stock of the situation. The sources said funds were being given for bricklining the banks of canal. |
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Cotton pest attacks yet again, growers in tizzy
Mansa, September 24 When this correspondent visited the fields of cotton crop in nearby villages, many of them were found to be dry due to this disease. Some farmers said they expected 10-12 quintals of cotton from an acre but the disease had dashed their hopes. Even the regular sprays of pesticides have proved to be a failure, lamented the farmers. The officials at the agriculture department admitted that the disease had affected the cotton but were not sure of what the disease was. District agriculture officer Davinder Singh said the flowers and fruits of the infected cotton had fallen. A team of agriculture department, including Dr Jagtar Singh Brar, Gurditta Singh Sidhu, Satpal Sharma and Manoj Kumar, admitted that the disease has affected the cotton crop but it had only affected the unrecognised seeds that were sown by the farmers against the department’s advice. District president of the Bharatiya Kisan Union Ram Singh Bhaini Bagha said the agriculture department had not made the farmers aware of the disease. Farmers of nearby villages rued that the crop had been attacked at the wrong time. |
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Jassi delights audience with hit numbers
Faridkot, September 24 Several renowned and budding folk singers left the audience spellbound in the Nehru Stadium. Hundreds of people from the nearby villages also witnessed the show. The programme started with cultural items by folk singer Sandeep Akhtar, a budding artist from Faridkot district, followed by Masha Ali, a young folk singer of Bathinda, who has made a mark at the national-level. A renowned comedy artist Gurdev Dhillon (Bhajna Amli and Santi) presented comedy notes that were well received by the audience with repeated applause. Sudesh Lahiri presented mimicry of other reputed folk singers. Renowned folk singer Jasbir Jassi recited religious couplets and few salokas of Baba Sheikh Farid. He started the cultural stage with his popular song tune “Dil lai gayee kuri Gujarat dee” and continued with his popular composition of Punjabi songs. The audience responded by dancing to the tune. A glittering firework show was also organised on the occasion. Avtar Singh of Amritsar won the firework competition. Sukhbir Singh Badal, SAD chief, was the chief guest of the concluding function. The celebration committee honoured him with a bust and a portrait of Baba Sheikh Farid. Later, V.K.Meena, deputy commissioner, and Paramraj Singh, SSP, Faridkot, released a documentary film “Asha Di Kiran” produced with financial support from the district administration and directed by Sarabjit Singh Tittu, president, Sarab Sanjha Sabhyacharak Manch, Faridkot. |
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‘Being NTSE scholars, we feel special’
Faridkot, September 24 The scholars found interview as the best of all slogging they went through and said the board members made them comfortable every time they felt nervous. “They never strained us,” said Amritjot. They were quite friendly, added Pratika. When asked what tips they would give to their juniors, who aspire to crack the examination, the scholars said: “Hard work and self-study can help you crack the NTSE. Don’t depend only on your teachers. Read as many books as you can. Rigorous and exhaustive preparation would never let you fail. In-depth study is the secret to success.” “The NTSE is all about practical application of the theoretical knowledge,” concluded Stalinjeet. To a query, the scholars replied that they like to read The Tribune, especially the editorial page. “The language is quite easy to comprehend and it provides complete information. It helped us in replying to the questions on current affairs.” “I like the middle on the edit page the most where the writer shares his/her experience,” Amritjot quipped. |
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Blood donation camp
Bathinda, September 24 Anil Saraf, chairman of the society and a state awardee as a blood donor flagged off the rally. The aim of NGOs was to dispel the wrong notion that weakness was caused after blood donation. Anil Saraf said after blood donation, there was renewed energy in the body. J.R. Goyal, secretary and Naresh Pathania, training supervisor of the Red Cross Society respectively, Bathinda, said if a person donated blood after every three months, then blood was replaced soon and no weakness was caused.
— TNS |
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Special Lok Adalat on Nov 29
Bathinda, September 24 Kuldip Singh, District and Sessions Judge-cum-Chairman of the District Legal Services Authority, Bathinda, would preside over the meeting of the
District Legal Services Authority. According to a press note, Kuldip Singh, District and Sessions Judge, Bathinda, said that this Special Lok Adalat would aim at solving cases relating to bank loans, matrimonial disputes, rent dispute and Motor Vehicles Act on
the spot. |
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The youth wing of the Bharatiya Janata Party has decided to attend the state-level ‘Vijay Sankalp rally” to be held at Jalandhar on the occasion of birth anniversary of Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh on September 28. More than 20 buses carrying BJP youth workers from Bathinda would take part in the rally. — TNS
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would consider providing a loan of Rs 900 crore to the Punjab
govt for waterproofing the Rajasthan and Sirhind canals to check seepage that would solve the problem of waterlogging in several villages of the Muktsar district.
Bathinda, September 24
Bathinda, September 24
Kot Shamir (Bathinda), September 24
National Talent Search Examination
Bathinda, September 24
