Bathinda, July 21
Wildlife authorities are worried about the reoccurrence of tuberculosis (TB) among the animals in the deer park here where more than 50 black bucks have died due to the disease during the past three years. The zoo authorities have segregated 35 black bucks that were still diagnosed to be infected with TB.

The disease was first detected in 2006 when the highest number of 37 deaths, including those of 34 black bucks and three female sambars, were recorded.

Divisional Forest Officer Anandh Kumar, who also looks after the affairs of the deer park, said today that the situation has stabilised as only two of the three deaths of black bucks this financial year were due to TB.

The disease persists despite the authorities having disinfected the enclosures and treating the soil. They believed the disease to have disappeared following the initial 90 days course of Direct Observation Treatment (DOT) that was administered by doctors from the Chhat Bir Zoo. However, the alarm bells rang again in December last when the post-mortem examination of two black bucks indicated that they had been suffering from TB. Their lungs were found infected.

A deer is reported to have died about a fortnight ago.

Kumar said the animals were under constant observation of the zoo staff. A proposal to construct another enclosure for the black bucks has been sent to the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) to enable decongestion in the existing two enclosures.

The park at present has 75 black bucks, 19 spotted deer, three half deer and nine sambars besides various species of birds.

According to the data available with the CZA, 24 male and 10 female black bucks besides three female sambars died in the deer park during 2005-06. Four male and two female black bucks and a male spotted deer died during 2006-07. As many as two black bucks, a sambar and a deer hog died during 2007-08.

Chak Atar Singh Wala (Bathinda), July 21
The Rural Hospital at Chak Atar Singh Wala village, about 10 km from Badal village, the native village of chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, is lying in a state of neglect.

The hospital, located on the Bathinda-Badal road, was inaugurated on February 1, 1985, to facilitate a couple of adjoining villages. With the passage of time, the structure is now decrepitating but no official seems to be concerned about it.

Outer wall of the hospital displays various facilities like x-ray, ultrasound, ECG and laboratory tests available at nominal charge but the realty inside the hospital is somewhat different. The hospital does not have any such facility.

The laboratory of the hospital is in mess. Injections, tablets, bandages everything is covered by layers of dust and germs. The general rooms for patients are lying vacant with termite and filth scattered all over.

Besides the poor condition of the patient rooms, toilets and other infrastructure, the main OPD room of the lone pharmacist appointed there is in pathetic state. One would find it difficult breathing inside the room while he is being examined. It is infected by termites. A deep freezer and a bed for patient emit foul smell. A washbasin is smudged with blood stains and is full of germs.

Making mockery of the medical facilities in the state, a class IV female employee claims herself to be trained enough to administer injections or check blood pressure of the patients. When asked, she said, “I do all this to help the ‘doctor sahib’ as there is no one else except me. Earlier, there was a midwife but she too was transferred to some other village.”

The pharmacist was not there in the hospital and was said to be gone out to get an official record audited.

When contacted, Neelam Bajaj, Civil Surgeon, Bathinda, said, “We are aware about the pathetic condition of the hospital. We have sent a proposal of renovation to the authorities concerned but it is lying somewhere in the official process.”

Despite repeated attempts, health minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla could not be contacted on her mobile phone.

Bathinda, July 21
The two reprobate minor drug addict thieves, who had made the lives of people miserable, have now been arrested by the Bathinda police. During interrogation, the accused reportedly accepted having committed 40 thefts in the district for the sake of drugs.

Kotwali police, after completing the formalities, send both the accused to juvenile jail, Faridkot.

The accused are Gurnam Singh (16) of Bir Talab and Ajay Kumar (17) of Balram Nagar. Both belong to poor families and could not even complete primary education.

Police sources said the accused were drug addicts and had become habitual thieves to fulfill their desires.

Finding it to be an easy operation, they focused on stealing cash, which could not exceed more than Rs 5000 in most cases. Further, the articles they decamped with, too were not much costly but the number of their crimes was astonishing.

In a recent case, they had stolen a cooking pan, a gas burner and handles of three sweater knitting machines from a house in the city on July 23, for which a case was registered the next day.

Giving details, Kotwali police said the accused accepted to steal Rs 4000 from a shop in village Bir Talab, Rs 4000 from a dhaba at Maesar Khana, Rs 2000 from Subzi Mandi, Rs 2000 from a sweet shop at Sirki Bazar and Rs 3000 from a tyre shop on the Abohar road.

Among other operations, they accepted having snatched Rs 400 from an elderly person in Bathinda, Rs 2500 from an eatery at Bibiwala road, Rs 5000 from the owner of a biscuit shop located at Badal road.

They did not even spare a rehriwala, who was selling mangoes and they looted him of Rs 2000.

The boys also stole the jack of a truck, 10 portraits of a saint from Maesar Khana and speakers from a petrol pump.

About three years ago the accused Gurnam Singh was working as a helper for a truck, from which he stole 20 tonnes of sand and sold it. Then he started committing thefts by breaking open the shutters of shops at night. According to the police, the accused had two more accomplices, who were yet to be traced.

Bathinda, July 21
Primary teachers in Bathinda today said they were not able to provide the basic facility of drinking water to the students who attend schools from 8 am to 2 pm. The reason cited by these teachers was that every school had electric motors to pump water but due to long hours of power cuts in the city they were unable to make use of them. Therefore, school authorities are forced to fetch water from homes in villages located near the schools.

Teachers blamed the district administration for this because the timings of primary schools remain unchanged even after the neighbouring Faridkot administration issued orders to all schools in the district to change the timings from 7:30 am to 12:30 pm.

“All government offices get closed by 1:30 pm. Despite being equipped with all facilities, private schools in the city are closing before 2 pm. However, the DEO (Elementary) passed verbal orders to Block Primary Education Officer (BPEO) that primary schools will run till 2 pm. Classes I and II get over at 1 pm and classes III, IV and V get over at 2 pm. How can children of classes III, IV and V sustain in such hot weather conditions without a fan,” Jagseer Sahota, a primary teacher argued.

Harwinder Singh, a primary teacher from Faridkot, said, “Considering the hot weather conditions, the DC, Faridkot, passed orders to all schools here to run between 7:30 am and 12:30 pm. These timings were made applicable from today. Earlier, the timings were from 8 am to 1 pm.”

Rahul Tewari, Deputy Commissioner, Bathinda, when contacted, said he would ask the DEO (Elementary) why he had passed such orders.

However, after talking to the DEO (Elementary), the DC said the DEO told him that in a meeting held recently with the Director General of School Education (DGSE), it was ordered that the primary schools would operate from 8 am to 2 pm.

DGSE Krishan Kumar, however, denied passing any such orders at his level in the meeting held with the DEOs recently.

The DEO (Elementary) did not answer his phone despite repeated attempts.

Ferozepur, July 21
Riding high on his outstanding performance in the World Cup where he shot gold with a score of 145/150, local lad and ace marksman Ronjan Sodhi has been selected along with other sportsmen for the prestigious Arjuna Award this year.

Disclosing this here today, his father Malwinder Sodhi said he was ecstatic ever since the news has come in yesterday. Malwinder, who himself has been an ace shooter said that Ronjan was in good form these days, and this award will give him a lot of confidence to do better in the coming events.

Ronjan, who is at present in San Mario (Italy) for a shooting championship, told The Tribune over the phone, “My dream now is to win gold for the country.”

Currently ranked No. 11 in the world, Ronjan said that he was keenly looking forward to the Commonwealth Games to be held in New Delhi next year.

Meanwhile, the local sports fraternity congratulated Sodhi for his extraordinary achievement.

Sriganganagar/Abohar, July 21
The degree college complex for girls, the foundation stone of which was laid by the Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh on July 15 in his native village Gurusar Modian, had almost been completed in 144 hours.

Some of the visiting engineers and civil officials while interacting with this correspondent said it would have taken about six months, after floating the tenders, for raising such a huge complex. They have not compromised with the quality in construction, the visitors observed. Medical teams from the 'Nanha Farishta' hospital were kept on stand-by to provide aid to the workers but nothing unpleasant happened.

Dr Pawan Insan informed that the girls’ college will be affiliated to Maharaja Ganga Singh University, Bikaner. The students will get admission in BA, B.Com, BCA, commerce vocational classes. Sports ground is under construction.

There will be a residential colony for the staff. The Dera management had decided to develop dairy farm with 100 miltch cattle to ensure supply of pure milk to the hostellers.

Mansa, July 21
Farmers have been organising meetings at different villages for the preparation of dharna, which would be held in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office on July 23, in favour of their demands. The dharna would be held following the state-level call.

District president of Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan) Ram Singh Bhainibagha said the main demand of farmers is direct payment by the government procuring agencies to the farmers of purchasing crop.

The role of agents (Arhtiyas) was not proving to be in the interests of farmers because they do not provide payment on time, due to which, the farmers face harassment, he added. He demanded that 2.5 per cent commission that goes to Arhtiyas, should be sent to the market committees so that the committees could appoint new employees to take care of the crop procurement on time. Another Kisan leader Mohinder Singh Romana raised the issue of farmers loan.

He said farmers could get loan of Rs 25,000 after one acre through limit system.

Farmers should be provided Rs 50,0000 loan after one acre to avoid exploitation by the money lenders and Arhtiyas, who charge them unreasonable interest, he added.

Hanumangarh/Abohar, July 21
Low lying electricity wires resulted in the death of a young farmer identified as Kulwinder Singh in village Srinagar located near Hanumangarh town on Tuesday. As per family sources, Kulwinder had also been using an iron pipe bed for rest after working in the fields. He had always been very careful about the low lying electricity wires that pass through the fields but on Tuesday as he lifted the bed and it touched the wire resulting in severe shock. He died on the spot.

His family members were inconsolable. Farmers of the village said they had brought it to the notice of the Electricity Board authorities many times but no step was initiated to raise the wires. They had been working under tense atmosphere for a long time, they added.