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Survey team visits cancer-hit villages
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CPI (M) worker still traceless
Mansa water woes continue
Road was a ‘danger zone’
IMA conference
Pensioners peeved over non-reimbursement of bills
Rajasthan elections
Camp for election staff concludes
BVP holds free check-up camp
Admn to supervise DAP distribution
Two rob bank ATM, one arrested
Two booked for killing cousin
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Survey team visits cancer-hit villages
Bathinda, November 9 Neeta, who is PhD in molecular evolution and systematics, along with her husband M.S. Kang visited Jajjal, Gyana, Husnar, Kotbhai and Bhuttiwala villages. The team, which reportedly came on the personal request of finance minister Manpreet Badal, interacted with a number of cancer-affected patients and their families. During visit to Jajjal and Gyana villages of Bathinda district, the team had to face rude attitude of the villagers as they alleged that despite a number of surveys nothing had been done so far. An old woman in Jajjal requested the team to leave the villagers on their own saying, "The names of these villages had been so much highlighted that it has become difficult to marry the boys and girls of the village. However, in villages of Gidderbaha tehsil, the villagers gathered to narrate their woes to the team members. A daily-wage labourer Paramjeet Kaur of village Kotbhai, whose father-in-law, sister-in-law and a 14-year-old son died of cancer, told the team members that her husband too was infected with the same disease. Many patients said they had been travelling through the "cancer train" to get medicine from Bikaner. Some of them said the treatment of the disease was so expensive that they were finding themselves under the burden of huge debts. Finding cancer patients in large number, team members expressing concern said it seemed as if the whole area was affected with cancer. They cited non-availability of balanced diet, contaminated water, lack of health facilities and some other issues as reasons. Talking to TNS, Neeta and M.S. Kang said, "The area needs an intensive awareness campaign. Though people here were afflicted with the disease they don’t care to get themselves diagnosed." They added, "The matter would be taken up to the authorities of CMCH to chalk out a strategy." Later, the team held a discussion with Manpreet to apprise him of the survey. He assured them of lending his full cooperation to check the menace. Replying to a query, Manpreet said, "No doubt, a number of surveys had already been conducted, but still a lot of efforts are required." He added, "We are ready to set up a cancer hospital in this area but the basic problem would be of the skilled faculty to run the same." About the complaints of "too late too less" help from the government to cancer patients and their families, Manpreet said the funds for such a cause lied with the chief minister. |
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Public information campaign from today
Bathinda, November 9 Gagandeep highlighted various programmes launched by the Centre, including Bharat Nirman, NREGA (National Rural Employment Guarantee Act), NRHM (National Rural Health Mission), Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Mid-day Meal Scheme, ICDS, RTI, PM's New 15 Point Programme for welfare of minorities. Mehay said that more than 200 Bharat Nirman PICs had been held in different parts of the country so far and the impact of the PICs was being felt all over the country. The Bharat Nirman PIC is being organised with the coordination of the central media units, like Directorate of Field Publicity, Directorate of Advertising & Visual Publicity, Song and Drama Division, AIR and Doordarshan Kendra and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. |
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Commission’s work OK: Buta
Abohar, November 9 Buta Singh, who is the chairman of the National Commission for SC/ ST and BCs, was here to mourn the death of Harjaap Singh, the only son of Arniwala block Congress committee president Satnam Singh Burjan. Harjaap, a student of the Assumption Convent School here, was run over by a train few days back. Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee secretary Tahal Singh Sandhu accompanied the former minister. Others present included Nationalist Congress Party district president Dalbir Singh Dhaliwal, senior MSU (Ministerial Services Union) functionary Baghel Singh, Prithvi Raj Bishnoi vice-president of Akhil Bhartiya Bishnoi Sabha, ex-sarpanch Balkaran Singh, senior Congress activists Bhupinder Singh, Raja Kundal and Bittu Chahal. However, Buta Singh during interaction with this correspondent claimed that the Congress president Sonia Gandhi had tried her level best to heal the wounds of the Operation Bluestar by offering Manmohan Singh the highest post and later both of them left no stone unturned for the welfare of the Sikh community. Recently more than Rs 2500 crore were spent on renovating each corner of Nanded Sahib and on celebrating the Gurta Gaddi Samagam. It was unprecedented, he claimed. Asked whether the Congress-led UPA would be able to retain power, Buta Singh said that he chaired a constitutional body (Commission) so it may not be good to discuss politics in detail, however, personally he hoped the Congress may get absolute majority even because of tremendous progress done under the command of the Prime Minister in all spheres globally. On his chances of contesting the Lok Sabha election from Sriganganagar constituency in Rajasthan, he conceded that he was very much willing for candidature there and hundreds of individuals as well as organisations had urged him to contest from Sriganganagar. "You know I had to shift to Jalaur to retain my membership in the Lok Sabha only because elections in Punjab due to militancy were not held. Now Jalaur has been declared in general category whereas Sriganganagar is reserved one,” he said. Expressing satisfaction over the working of the National Commission for SC and ST, he said that he was able to review the functioning of 11 states and Union Territories and all of them agreed to clear the backlog in jobs for the depressed communities besides giving admissions in the Delhi University, Institutes of Medical Science etc. Moreover the aptitude and attitude of the officers towards the SC, ST and BC has changed considerably, he said. |
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CPI (M) worker still traceless
Mansa, November 9 According to sources, Amarjeet has been missing since February 3, 2006 when she went out of her house on the call of some persons. The Mansa City police had registered a case in this connection on February 2, 2006 on the statement of her husband Avtar Singh, a resident of ward No. 7 in Mansa. Amarjeet was also a member of municipal council, Mansa. Avtar Singh alleged that neither the police nor the political party of whom her wife was a member made any concrete effort to find her. He said that several party leaders who were frequently visiting his house never come forward for any help. Meanwhile, district secretary of CPI (ML) Bhagwant Singh Sammaom, and the leader of the Radical People's Forum, Sukhdarshan Natt, said that it was unfortunate that there was no clue of a state committee member and district secretary of the national party. They alleged that no serious efforts were made by the police and her party to trace her. They further said that her party had not issued any statement and had also not staged any protest to pressurise the administration for taking action. When the state secretary of CPI (M), Charan Singh Virdi, was contacted in this connection, he declined to give any comment on this issue. However, senior superintendent of police, Mansa, Manwinder Singh, said that this was the old case and the then police officials had made their best efforts to trace her but could not get success in their
endeavour. |
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Mansa water woes continue
Mansa, November 9 According to canal department officials, the supply of water in the canal was stopped on October 12 in view of maintenance work in the canal near Dhuri. The normality was supposed to be restored on November 7. But the water is yet to released in the canal. The Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan) has decided to stage a dharna at Jwaharke on November 10. District president of the union, Ram Singh Bhaninibagha, said that most of the farmers of this district depend on canal water for irrigation as the groundwater was not considered fit for crops. The canal department had taken a wrong decision to stop the supply of water at the time of wheat sowing when farmers need more water, he added. Hardyal Singh Sidhu, Xen Public Health admitted that the reason of low water supply of drinking water was due to the absence of water in the canal. Moreover, the water workers had low storage capacity tanks. Now, they have been facing the shortage of water and pursuing the officials of the canal department for releasing water in the canal as soon as possible. It is notable that out of 104 water workers, 99 per cent are canal based in the district. Meanwhile, Xen canal department Gopal Singh assured that 75 per cent of repairing work is over and the water would be released at the earliest. |
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Not admn, NGO fills ditch on busy road
Bathinda, November 9 Head of the NGO, Vijay Kumar said, "Since the administration was not ready to check the menace, our volunteers have started filling up the ditch, which had been posing a threat to the commuters for a long time. Though many accidents have occurred on the road, the officers concerned are yet to show their concern." Replying to a query, he said, "We are using debris collected from various places in the city. So, it costs nothing. Just our volunteers' labour for which we are ready as ever." "It is a matter of shame for the administration that after paying taxes people have to perform the duties assigned to administration," said an irate senior citizen. When contacted, Baljeet Singh Bir Behman, mayor of the Bathinda Municipal Corporation, expressed his ignorance on the issue and parried the query saying, "The project lies with the Improvement Trust, Bathinda." Despite repeated efforts, K.K. Yadav, administrator of the Improvement Trust, could not be contacted. On his part, Angrej Singh, executive engineer, PWD (B&R), said, "The ditch had been filled up many times but a water pipe joint, which leaks often damages the road again. Though the case has been taken up with the water supply department, it has not set the fault right yet." |
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Road was a ‘danger zone’
Bathinda, November 9 One Yash Sharma termed it as a danger zone, adding that the accident threat rose during wee hours and evenings when visibility was poor. Old people and women had to face more trouble while commuting on the road. Recently, a woman employee of the Thermal power plant fell down from the rickshaw while going to her office and sustained injuries. Many accidents had also taken place causing damage to vehicles. The road had become a tough terrain for the drivers during night, as they fail to see potholes. The condition of the road was a big source of inconvenience for the passers by as well. People used to take the wrong side for want of any other alternative because one side of the road was closed for traffic. The area had become stinky because of the accumulated muddy water. Besides, it provided a breeding ground to the mosquitoes as well. Shopkeepers on the road complained that the accumulated water affected their business as customers avoided visiting their shops due to the mess around. — TNS |
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Non-completion of Railway under bridge
Bathinda, November 9 The residents had been demanding the resumption of work on the RUB for the past six months. They rued that due to the non-completion of the RUB, they had to traverse extra 4 km daily to reach the interior of the city for their day-to-day work. Vijay Kumar, president of the committee, said, “We had approached the railway authorities many a times for the early completion of the bridge but the railway authorities never bothered to listen to our grievances.” He lamented that about 50-60 residents of these localities falling in western part of Bathinda had been penalised for illegally crossing the railway crossing No. 245A. The work on the bridge was started in July 2006. The Punjab B and R department had completed its portion of the RUB but the area falling under the railways had been hanging fire since then. However, the rail blockade was lifted after the railway authorities gave a written undertaking to resume the construction work on the railway under bridge in December. Talking to TNS, Mahender Kumar, assistant divisional engineer, Bathinda railway station, said that the work on the RUB completion was given to an agency in February 2008 but its contractor never turned up to start the work. Now, the fresh tenders had been invited and the agency would be nominated this month. The work on the completion of RUB would likely to start in December this year, he added. Regarding other demands of the residents, including the extension of railway footbridge on platform Nos. 5-6, Mahender Kumar said, a provision for a sub-way on the railway tracks had already been sent to higher authorities in Ambala that would serve all their demands. |
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IMA conference
Muktsar, November 9 She said that the present system was formulated when there was an era of shortage in the country and the policy makers were to think of providing health services for basic needs of the common man with limited resources. She said that in addition to this, policy makers need to explore the possibilities of providing super-specialised facilities to promote medical tourism in the country. However, it should be ensured that the interests and needs of poorest of the poor were not sacrificed by such changes. The role of government in this system should not remain up to preventive or community medicine only. She said that the union government had increased the spending on health sector from 0.9 per cent to more then 2.3 per cent of the total GDP in last four years but the common man in the country was not getting the desired benefits of that because of the inefficiencies of the state governments. Dr Malti revealed that private sector was contributing more then 70 per cent of the health delivery system but a common man fails to realise the fact that the cost of medical education had gone so high that young doctors were forced to see the financial returns. The number of students in the medical entrance tests had gone down by more than 30 per cent in the last two years, she added. She appealed to the Prime Minister, Health Minister and senior policy makers of the country to realise this fact and take timely action to strengthen the health delivery system. She conveyed thanks to the Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal for enacting legislation to protect the doctors and their establishment from violence. She was confidant in saying that no doctor in private practice or in government service could wilfully harm any patient. "Doctor-Patient relationship is based on trust and good faith", she said. She said that it was unfortunate that the government had given this Doctor-Patient relationship a legal definition of consumer. Some people had started taking benefit of this. Dr Amrik Arora, president of the state unit of IMA, Dr Manmohan Singh, president of the Punjab Medical Council, Dr Baldev Raj and other speakers who addressed the gathering stressed upon the need of continuing education for medical professionals to get knowledge on latest techniques. |
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Pensioners peeved over non-reimbursement of bills
Fazilka, November 9 The spokesperson of the Punjab Government Pensioners Association, Ferozepur, Om Parkash Sharma, alleged that the reimbursement bills worth several lakhs and even small amounts of majority of the pensioners remain unpaid due to alleged dilly-delaying attitude of the concerned officers. Sharma said that in some cases the payment was delayed to such an extent that the very purpose of getting the reimbursement was not served. He claimed that in some cases, the reimbursement bills had remained unpaid during the entire life time of the pensioners. Sharma said that the pensioners had submitted several memorandums to the concerned authorities, particularly the office of civil surgeon and district education officers, primary and secondary but to no avail. The pensioners held a meeting to chalk out a strategy to launch an agitation at district headquarters for prompt reimbursement of their bills. They submitted notices to the civil surgeon, Ferozepur and district education officer, Ferozepur, following which the civil surgeon, Ferozepur have invited a deputation of the Punjab Government Pensioners Association for a meeting to chalk out a system for prompt disposal of the reimbursement bills. The pensioners' panel will meet the civil surgeon on November 10 in Ferozepur. The concerned officials have been directed by the civil surgeon to ensure their presence in the meeting. |
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Rajasthan elections
Sriganganagar/Abohar, November 9 Another significant development was the Maha Panchayat convened by supporters of former Congress MLA Radhey Shyam at the Public Park but the witnesses said that number of the people present there were less than the expectation. The rally was organised to draw a strategy on the political future of Radhey Shyam after denial of Congress ticket but nothing tangible was made known till this evening, sources indicated. Notably the Dera Political Committee had changed the election scenario in the Malwa region during the Punjab Assembly elections last year. The first team started the tour from Sangaria today where one Sampuran Singh addressed the gathering at the Naam Charcha Ghar. Similar meetings were held at Tibbi and other centres also where hundreds of devotees raised their hands to express solidarity with the stand to be announced by the political committee. The team has reached Suratgarh. Another team which was escorted by senior functionaries like Raja Ram, Ranjit Singh and Pargat Singh claimed this evening that the turn over in the meetings was heavier than the routine Sunday gatherings for the Naam Charcha. The second team started the tour from
Raisinghnagar. |
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Camp for election staff concludes
Hanumangarh/Abohar, November 9 The DC informed that filing of nominations will be started on Monday. Any person or his authorised representative could file the papers with the respective election officer. Nominations could be filed till
November 17 from 11am to 3 pm, she informed. DC Bhawani Singh Detha in Sriganganagar informed that commercial hoardings will not be allowed for political publicity. Municipal Corporation commissioner has been given necessary instructions for taking action against the offenders. So far 6172 weapons had been deposited by the licensees in the police stations while 2772 persons booked under section 144, he
said. |
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Gopi Chand Arya cagers clinch title
Abohar, November 9 In the men's group, the Baba Club, Ferozepur defeated 21 Rajputana Rifles by 70-66 to win the title. Jaswant Singh of the Army team was declared best player. The tournament was organised by the District Basketball Association under the aegis of the Punjab Basketball Association. SDM N.S. Brar was the chief guest at the concluding function which was presided over by Kaur Singh, circle president of Shiromani Akali Dal. International player and coach Col Birbal Bishnoi was the guest of honour. Praveen Bhardwaj of the host school and coach Navdeep Sharma conducted the tourney which witnessed some coaches of national repute including Parmod Kumar, Raj Kumar and Ashok Kumar serving as referees as well as technical consultants. The guests announced cash prizes also for the winning teams and best players. |
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Abohar, November 9 Two hundred of them were selected for conducting major surgeries at Amritsar. The patients were examined by Rajiv Vohra, Amardeep Singh, Ravi Kant Sharma and Pravesh Gupta. Students from Sardar Patel Medical Institute for Nursing assisted the specialists. — OC
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Admn to supervise DAP distribution
Abohar, November 9 The deputation led by Sat Pal Khariwal, chairman of the NGO, had informed the SDM that a rack of the Urea fertilizer was expected to reach here within 2-3 days and there could be scramble for the material. The NGO feared that fertilizer could be smuggled to the neighboring state also besides selling in black market. The memorandum urged the administration to direct the wholesalers to ensure supply to the retail outlets in equitable manner. |
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Two rob bank ATM, one arrested
Bathinda, November 9 According to police sources, the guard of the ATM moved out of the ATM cabin for a while and on return, he found the cash box of the ATM open. Suspecting two persons standing outside, the guard called up the bank authorities concerned, who reported the matter to the civil lines police. The police arrested one of the two suspected persons while the other fled from the spot. Talking to the TNS over phone from Chandigarh, Tripurari Sharma, PRO of the HDFC said the bank was not at fault as the outsourcing of ATMs were given to a private company named the Uronet. The accused was an ex-employee of the outsourcing company. |
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Two booked for killing cousin
Bathinda, November 9 According to details available, Gurdev Singh and Hardev Singh were having some water dispute with their cousin Binder Singh. On the issue, they had a quarrel around two years ago. Darshan Singh, brother of the deceased, reported to the Sadar police that his cousins killed Binder in the fields with sharp-edged weapons. Acting upon his statement, the police booked the duo under sections 302 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code. |
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