Bathinda, June 3
With the onset of summer, the district health department is gearing up to prevent outbreak of any epidemic of water-borne diseases like diarrhea, gastroenteritis, jaundice and vector-borne diseases like malaria, dengue and Japanese encephalitis.

In a meeting convened of health, agriculture, water supply, social security departments and the Bathinda Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials at the local Civil Hospital here today, Neelam Bajaj, civil surgeon, Bathinda, said that officials had been directed to strengthen surveillance in the district and ensure that public was provided with safe drinking water.

She directed the officials to strictly enforce the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897. She asked them to carry out regular water sampling to check the presence of residual chlorine and for bacteriological examination so that adequate remedial measures like chlorination could be taken for water treatment.

Neelam Bajaj added that adequate supply of essential medicines like intravenous fluids, oral re-hydrated solution, drink-well tablets and bleaching powder should be ensured.

Bajaj further asked the health officials to hold meetings with the public health authorities and ensure repair of all the leaking water pipes so that there was no contamination of water, which was being provided to the homes of people through the public supply system.

She also informed that all health officials had been directed to hold meetings with the departments concerned such as public health and BMC to ensure that no efforts were spared to provide safe drinking water.

All preventive and promotive measures for water-borne and vector-borne diseases are to be carried out, she added.

Later, the health department officials conducted raids at the local bus stand and the court complex. They confiscated spurious soft drink bottles and also destroyed eatables lying uncovered on the rehris at these places.

Bathinda, June 3
Around 23,000 children in the age-group of three to six years are attending play school at Aanganwari centres even though government schools throughout the state have been closed for summer vacation.

These children are prepared for admission to primary schools at these Aanganwari centres. Though the class timings have been reduced by two hours, from 8 am to 10 am only, but the delay in declaring a holiday means the little kids have to slug it out in the heat.

Sources said vacations for children studying at Aanganwari centres would begin from June 15. The sources added that there were 900 Aanganwari centres in Bathinda district where over 23,000 kids attend pre-primary classes. There was no syllabus for them but they are taught sound and shapes etc.

If sources are to be believed, some of the basic facilities like drinking water are also non-existent at these Anganwari centres which only add to the summer woes. Shashi Tyagi, programme officer, who is looking after these centres, when contacted, said, “All Aanganwari centres do not have drinking water facility but we try to provide them water in campers.”

Sources also said that many centres do not even have furniture and mats for children to sit on.

Tyagi said some panchayats have come forward and have helped Aanganwari centres with drinking water facility, furniture and other things but most panchayats think that it is the duty of the government to provide financial aid to its projects. But no reply could be got as to why these children were still attending classes in the heat when all other schools have declared summer vacation.

Hardhir Singh, who hails from a nearby village, clarified that in his village, the timings for children attending classes at Aanganwari centres is 7 am to 10 am.

“All government schools get summer vacations for a month or so and this time the holiday is even for a longer period because of the rising temperature. But the little kids at the Aanganwari centres will hardly get a vacation of just 14 days. The government feels that if the Aanganwari workers get more holidays, then how would they cope with their work. The Aanganwari Workers’ Union is protesting throughout the state but there has been no change so far.”

Bathinda, June 3
To help kids utilise their summer vacations in a productive way, the district sports department is holding a 15-day summer camp at the Sports Stadium here. It began on June 1.

The young players, belonging to Bathinda and its surrounding villages, were found to be quite enthusiastic about the camp. Coaches impart two hour training in the morning and for similar duration in the evening to the budding players of four games i.e. boxing, judo, wrestling and kabbadi. The training is free of cost. Besides, a diet worth Rs 60 per day is being provided to each participant.

It is worth mentioning that in all four games, the number of participants is more than the allotted seats. As per the information received, there are 15 seats for kabaddi but the participants are 25.

Similarly, the allotted seats for judo are 20 but participants are 26.

Some of the budding players said, “The summer camp is really good to improve our game as now we are free from the burden of school work.”

Apart from the summer camp, a national camp for hockey is also being organised at the stadium, in which 32 children from 12 districts of the state, under old PEPSU division, are taking part. Coach Rajwant Singh said the camp began on June 1 and would continue till June 20. Out of the total players, 16 would be selected for a national competition to be held at Hyderabad. Later, the selected players may get a chance to attend U-19 Junior World Cup.

Meanwhile, talking to this correspondent, some old players of this Malwa heartland expressed pleasure over the re-starting of the kabaddi centre, which was shut in 1990.

Bathinda, June 3
To tackle floods and make preventive arrangements for exigencies ahead of the rainy season, the district administration has started making all arrangements.

To tackle the problem, the administration has divided the area into nine sectors. Each sector has been assigned to a senior officer, one post-warden of the food and supply department or excise inspector and one junior engineer.

As per the list of the areas, sector 1 includes Urban Estate, Shant Nagar, Civil Station, Bus stand.

Sector 2 has Nand Singh Chowk, Bibi Wala road, 100 feet road, Ajit road and Power house road. Sector 3 includes Rose Garden, Ganesha Basti, Aggarwal Colony, Basant Vihar and Harpal Nagar and Hazura Kapura. Sector 4 has Janata Nagar, Paras Ram Nagar, Partap Nagar, Hans Nagar and Railway Colony.

Sector 5 has Mall road, Amreek Singh road, Veer Colony, Shakti Nagar and Birla Mill. Sector 6 has Dhobi Bazaar, Satta Bazaar, Maal Godam, Fort area, Mehna Chowk. Sector 7 comprises Grain Market, Gurunanak Pura Mohalla, Awa Basti, Sirki Bazar and areas to the rear of the bus stand. Sector 8 has Amarpura Basti, Lal Singh Basti, Sanjay Basti, Naruana road and Multania road. Sector 9 has Grain Market, Haj Rattan area, Bhai Mati Das Nagar, Mansa road and engineering college.

Giving details, Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Upjeet Singh Brar said Rampura Phul and Talwandi Sabo sub-divisions would be under the supervision of the concerned SDMs.

He said 65 locations have been identified in Bathinda city, 13 in Rampura Phul and 22 in Talwandi Sabo to provide shelter to all persons rescued. Moreover, a list of divers, boat drivers and swimmers has also been prepared.

To monitor the eight drains in the district, the drainage department has been put on alert. They are Chand Bhan drain, Dhipal drain, Sandhu Kalan drain, Dialpura drain, Fatta Balu Kalal wala drain, Lisada drain, Sehana escape drain and Chughe Khurd drain.

Bathinda, June 3
Muskmelon and watermelon growers in Punjab have been hit hard owing to the glut in the market. As traders from outside Punjab are not buying these fruits, farmers have had to sell their produce at throwaway prices. The muskmelon is being sold for Rs 4-5 per kg while watermelon is available for Rs 3-4 per kg in the wholesale market.

Bathinda is one of the biggest markets of muskmelons and watermelons in Punjab, as these crops are sown in over more than 10,000 hectares of land in the nearby villages of Bathinda, Mansa, Faridkot and Muktsar etc.

More than 150 trolleys, trucks and tempos daily come to the vegetable market for sale of these fruits.

Shamsher Singh, a farmer from Malkana village, had sown the muskmelon on 35 acres of land, says: “I had to sell my produce at a price between Rs 4-5 per kg. The reason is that the traders of J&K are not coming to buy the produce due to the recent violence in Punjab. The prevailing situation in the state has spelt havoc for us.”

He further adds that the traders from UP have started coming but the huge stocks lying in the mandi have brought the prices down.

Jagat Singh, a farmer of Gumti Kalan, who had sown the muskmelon on 50 acres of land is also worried over the slashed prices of muskmelon and watermelon, as the traders from outside Punjab are not coming forward to buy the produce due to the unstable situation in the state.

“Farmers are suffering huge losses due to the poor sale of muskmelon and watermelon and the farmers are therefore being forced to sell the produce at throwaway prices,” he says.

Rakesh Jindal, a commission agent, tells, “The situation has improved during the past two days as the traders from UP have now started to come to buy the muskmelon and watermelon but the traders of Jammu and Kashmir are not coming so far. He attributed the large quantity of muskmelon and watermelon as the reason behind the slashing of prices.”

It is pertinent to mention that there was no arrangement for weighing the crop in the mandi and the farmers have had to sell the produce at lump sum rates.

The commission agents auction the trolley filled with muskmelon or watermelon without weighing them and the farmers are forced to accept it as there is no arrangement for weighing.

Market Committee official Raj Aggarwal, says, “More than 150 trolleys, trucks and tempos come to the Bathinda vegetable market daily for the sale of muskmelon and watermelon. The daily sale is of Rs 10-12 lakhs worth of muskmelon and watermelon and the season lasts one month. The market committee collects Rs 25 lakh as market fee on the auction of muskmelon and watermelon every year.”

Moga, June 3
The chief parliamentary secretary (CPS) of Punjab, Sheetal Singh and district magistrate of Moga, Satwant Singh Johal have promised to provide monetary help from the Red Cross for the skin grafting and plastic surgery of the Dalit woman from the Ghal Kalan village, who is undergoing medical treatment in the district hospital.

They along with the chief medical officer (CMO) Dr Adarsh Sood, sub-divisional magistrate Ajay Sood, deputy medical commissioner (DMC) Dr Tejinder Gupta and some other officials of the administration visited her in the district hospital and listened to her grievances.

The Punjab State Commission for Scheduled Castes had constituted a sub-committee to listen to the grievances of the victim and provide all possible financial and legal help to her. The CPS Sheetal Singh has been appointed the chairman while DM Satwant Singh Johal and SSP Ashok Bath are the members of this committee.

The victim had suffered sexual exploitation followed by an acid attack and recently kidnapped by the police personnel. Besides, an attempt was made to kidnap her teenaged daughter by assaulting her at the district hospital.

After listening to the tragic tale of the Dalit woman, the CPS and DM had promised her to provide with free of cost advanced medical care along with providing a grant of Rs 2,000 per month to get her daughters educated for one year and take up her issue with the chief minister to provide her with financial help for rehabilitation.

On the spot, the DM ordered a magisterial probe into the incident of the alleged torture and kidnapping the Dalit woman, who was taken away from home by some policemen on May 2, on the pretext of producing her before a local court but she went missing and was found lying in an unconscious state on the roadside on May 8 on the outskirts of the town.

The DM also pulled up the SHO of the police station (south) for adopting an insensitive attitude into the incident of assault on her daughter and questioned him as to how one of the culprits had managed to get bail.

He asked the SHO to add relevant sections of the IPC and the SC/ST Atrocities Act against the culprits and arrest the other culprit as soon as possible. The incident took place on May 31 in the district hospital, where her mother is undergoing medical treatment and one alleged culprit was nabbed on the spot.

The DM further ordered the SDM to prepare a detailed report and put it before him to establish a police post in the district hospital so as to ensure security and safety of the doctors, patients and the visitors.

Johal asked the health authorities to liaison with the senior authorities of the Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital Faridkot to provide advanced medical care for skin grafting and plastic surgery. He said, "We will provide all financial help through society for her advanced medical treatment."

It may be mentioned that the SSP Ashok Bath, who is also member of the sub-committee, did not visit her along with other members. However, he separately met her in the afternoon but details of the conversation were not immediately available.

Meanwhile, Dalip Singh Pandhi, member of the SC Commission, while talking to The Tribune on telephone, said that the rights panel was determined to provide justice to the victim woman and her daughter, besides, taking an action against all those guilty officials of the district administration, who adopted an insensitive attitude towards the atrocities committed on her.

This Dalit woman came to light when she carried out a semi-nude march on May 19, 2008, in the heart of the town to get a case registered against the culprits, who abused her sexually.

On October 13, 2008, the culprits after coming out on bail again attacked her with acid leaving her seriously injured. The Punjab State Human Rights Commission and the Punjab State Commission for scheduled castes had separately taken suo motu notices of the news reports of The Tribune highlighting her plight. These cases were still pending before these rights panels.

Mansa, June 3
The national secretary of the All India Progressive Women Association, Kavita Krishnan and professor of Jamia Milia university, Manisha Sethi criticised the Punjab government for sending hundreds of labourers, women and children, to the jail, for raising their voice in favour of their genuine demand to get houses to live in.

These women leaders are on a Punjab tour to meet the people, who have been put behind the bars for demanding plots to construct their houses.

Speaking to this correspondent, the women leaders alleged that the Punjab government was trying to crush the agitation of labourers. Some rich people, who had occupied the panchayat land, are free and the government has not initiated any action against them, they said.

They further said that it was a shameful act for the land of Bhagat Singh and Guru Nanak Dev to send poor women and children to the jails. All the arrested labourers and their leaders be freed and provided with plots, they demanded.

Mansa, June 3
The chairman of the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) HS Brar has said that all arrangements have been completed for the paddy transplantation regarding the electricity supply.

Speaking to this correspondent, he said that proper electricity supply would be ensured to the farmers during the paddy season. He appealed to the people to save power for their own benefit, especially during the summer season, as it is more in demand as compared to other seasons.

A campaign to control the electricity theft has also been launched and raids had been conducted at many places. Speaking about CFL scheme, the chairman informed that senior officials had been assigned the responsibility to expand this scheme on a large scale. The farmers would also be provided with new tubewell connections on the basis of seniority to those who had submitted their applications for this purpose.

Fazilka, June 3
A lung cancer patient, Harmesh Singh, a resident of Dhani Mohna Ram of this sub-division, has in an affidavit sent to the senior police officers alleged that he was kept in illegal custody by the city police, Fazilka, last night.

He has stated in the affidavit that he is seeking treatment from the medical college in Bikaner. He had come to the Fazilka grain market on Tuesday evening to sell his wheat in a tractor-trailor.

But the city police seized his wheat and registered an FIR against his brother, Harjit Singh, on the charges of pilfering the government wheat of his (Harjit Singh) fare price shop meant for the distribution to the poor people.

Harmesh Singh has alleged that since he was allegedly kept in an illegal custody last night and was not allowed to take his medicine for lung cancer, his condition deteriorated, following which he was let off.

He has further alleged that since his brother Harjit is a Congress activist and has remained a member of the Zila Parishad, he has been falsely implicated.

It is pertinent to mention here that the city police have registered a case on Tuesday night against Harjit Singh under sections 406, 420 of the IPC on the charges of trying to sell about 50 quintal wheat of fair price shop in an open market.

Harjit is a fair price shop (depot) holder at the border village Jhangar Bhaini. The FIR has been registered on the statement of the villagers against Harjit Singh. According to the FIR, they saw that the subsidised wheat was being carried away in a tractor-trailor and immediately informed the police, who seized the wheat in the grain market.

SHO, city police, Fazilka, Gurjant Singh, on being asked, denied the charge of illegal custody of Harmesh Singh. He said that prima facie, it appears that Harmesh too is involved with his brother in misappropriating subsidised wheat. He has further said that legal action will be taken against the guilty in accordance with the law.

Mansa, June 3
Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) president, Simranjit Singh Maan said that not only the Congress but some Akali and BJP leaders were also responsible for Operation Blue Star.

Addressing a gathering at Ramditewala village, organised on the Ghalughara Divas, he said the BJP was the main party that encouraged Operation Blue Star.

BJP leader LK Advani too admitted this fact, Mann said, adding that Sant Harchand Singh Longowal and Gurcharan Singh Tohra have passed way.

However, the CM Parkash Singh Badal and Jagdev Singh Talwandi should apologise for encouraging the Operation Blue Star against the Sikh community. Speaking to the media, Simranjit Singh Maan informed that his party has been reviewing the poll result of the Lok Sabha elections.

His fight for the independence of the Sikh community would continue, Mann added.

Hanumangarh/Abohar, June 3
An exhibition, titled "Jugalbandi", inaugurated by Sunita Jain on Wednesday, attracted visitors from all walks of life.

The organisers, an NGO, "Toom-10", have brought together the paintings based on the work of poet Om Purohit "Kagad" and poems titled "Yatra" based on the photography of Naveen Jain, presently posted as district collector at Hanumangarh.

Boats, camel, birds and clouds join the journey.

ADIG Mohinder Partap Sharma and Rajinder Suthar have unfolded their talent through their drawing work depicting the ancient Kaliganga, heart-rending impact of drought in deserts, khejdi tree, famine and others. The visitors lauded the venture.

Abohar, June 3
Budding cricket players got a boost with the inauguration of the two practice wickets at the Nehru Stadium here by Bhupinder Singh, bronze medal winner, in the Commonwealth games. Punjab police basketball coach, Navdeep Sharma, was the special guest on the occasion.

Dr Rajinder Girdhar, principal of the Homoeopathic Medical College and organising secretary for the cricket tournaments said Sarvhit Housing and Infrastructure Ltd, which had sponsored nets, mats and wickets, also assured to bear all the expenses of 20-20 cricket tournaments to be held during this year. Company's executives Praduman and Surinder Kakkar were present in the function that was attended by scores of sports lovers.