Bathinda, June 12
Jan Aushadhi, a generic drug store opened at the local Civil Hospital about one and a half years back to provide medicines at cheaper rates, is now on the verge of closure. Thanks to the doctors of the hospital, hardly a few prescription slips reach the Jan Aushadhi. A majority of these doctors are accused of receiving commission through a nexus with some medical representatives (MRs) or helping their kin who trade in medicines.

Almost every prescription slip of the Civil Hospital either goes to the Red Cross Medical Store (RCMS), which is adjacent to the Jan Aushadhi, or the private shops located outside the hospital. It is due to this that the RCMS has a monthly sale of about Rs 15 lakh while the Jan Aushadhi sells medicines worth Rs one lakh only.

Though the RCMS runs under the District Red Cross Society and offers a concession of 10 per cent, sources in the hospital said the RCMS staff had also started trading in some brands, and by having commission arrangements with doctors, they manage to do a roaring business.

If the sources are to be relied upon, the practice is so rampant that a number of doctors at the hospital are so deeply involved in the practice that they tally their prescription and commission accounts on a daily basis.

Levelling an allegation upon a skin specialist, some doctors said that for the past couple of years, he had been prescribing drugs only of a brand of his choice. They disclosed that the doctor stopped prescribing those salts, which were earlier quite common in his prescription, just because they became available at the Jan Aushadhi store from where he would not get any commission.

Naming a surgeon, the staff of the hospital said, “Hardly a slip goes without mentioning the prescription of a particular brand, which is supplied to the RCMS by his kin.”

Civil Surgeon ID Goyal said he was aware of the facts, adding, “I have received various complaints of such nature. Moreover, the higher authorities have also taken a notice of the huge difference in the monthly revenue of the Jan Aushadhi and the RCMS.” He added, “Worried over the issue, I have decided to issue a strict warning to all doctors. Anybody found indulging in the malpractice will face action.”

Meanwhile, the doctors in question refuted the allegations, saying, “The medicines at the Jan Aushadhi are cheaper but with the passage of time, patients have become immune to those salts which were available at the store. We have to prescribe fresh salts and combinations, which prove more effective in curing patients.”

Abohar, June 12
Deputy Commissioner KK Yadav along with an army of officials of different departments toured various villages of this sub-division sharing border with Sriganganagar district of Rajasthan to personally see their problems connected with shortage of drinking water.

Yadav, while talking to the TNS said he visited eight villages of this sub-division to sort out the problems being faced by the people on account of shortage of drinking water after he read the news that residents of this area buy water from Rajasthan, that appeared in The Tribune some time back.

A few days ago, The Tribune had reported that a number of villages of Punjab, falling in this region, facing scarcity of water due to less water supply from the waterworks, minor and distributaries for drinking purpose, had been fulfilling their requirements by bringing water from the waterworks located in the villages of neighbouring Rajasthan state and Gang canal flowing in this area. These residents had been paying Rs 400-Rs 700 per tanker of water.

While admitting the fact that people of this area had bought drinking water from neighbouring Rajasthan a few weeks ago, he said he had decided to set up two additional storage tanks in waterworks located at villages Shergarh and Bhatti Sadiq so that the residents could get enough water as per their demands even during the closures of canals and distributaries feeding the same waterworks.

Besides, he would write to the state government to release enough funds for de-silting of the Abohar canal, which had been supplying water for agriculture and drinking purposes in this area. The quality and quantity of water supplied to the residents for drinking purpose was also checked and it was found sufficient as of today.

The villages, which were visited by Yadav and officials of irrigation, public health, rural development and panchayat, horticulture and health departments, included Gumjal, Shere wala, Panniwala, Malan, Bhanger Khera, Dhingawali, Waryam Khera, Shergarh, Giddarnwali and Bhatti Sadiq.

Yadav said people also demanded that more link road must be developed in their area so that they could have more accessibility of the villages located in close vicinity of each other.

They also demanded that drains must be constructed in the village to drain out the waste water in a proper way. He also listened to the grievances of residents of these villages. He also inspected the building of model school at Giddarnwali village.

Abohar, June 12
“Have you been supplying such kind of water to the rural consumers,” DC Kamal Kishore Yadav asked the officials of the Public Health Department upon finding a thick green stinking layer on the floor bed of a rural water works during the day-long visit to a dozen villages of Abohar and Balluana segments on Saturday.

The officials concerned who felt upset tried to play down the gravity of the situation by quipping that the water will pass through the process of chlorination. However, a few public representatives were found whispering, “eho hamara jeevana (we live under such condition).” They told the media later that bleaching agents had always been short in supply and some times sand-filtered canal water was supplied to the domestic consumers.

When the department had taken up desilting of the tanks, none remembers. Most of the water storage tanks were found almost empty. Water was insufficient for the birds even who were flying down to meet the challenge from the heat. The villagers confirmed that they had to pay Rs 500-600 for each tanker of raw water during suspension of supply in the sub-canals here.

The same was filtered by using the century old method of rotating piece of alum in the basket full of raw water, they said.

Balluana MLA Gurtej Singh Ghuriana told the media that several proposals had been discussed with the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal to ensure water supply in each village of the sub-division.

The DC informed that Rs 90-crore Sutlej Action Plan has been submitted to the state government to renovate the water supply system in the region. A separate project report for providing Rs 9 crore to extend the sewerage disposal channel in Abohar to link it with the drain has also been prepared.

Notably, the previous government led by Capt Amarinder Singh had sanctioned Rs 3 crore for constructing 3 km long channel to help farmers grow vegetables but they have been plugging off the outlets during rains.

Sriganganagar/Abohar, June 12
Having “dumped” the Malwa region in high incidence of cancer by supplying highly contaminated water through its canal system, the Punjab government is now grabbing the share of Rajasthan farmers and diverting supply of contaminated water continuously, the Rajasthan unit of Bhartiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) alleged today.

This they feared will 
damage crops besides spreading the epidemic. Addressing media at Sriganganagar, Satya Narain Godara, district president of the BKS, said Himachal Pradesh too was drawing more water than its share.

Some senior functionaries of the organisation led by Gurbalpal Singh Sandhu, former chairman of the Gang Canal project, visited the head works and Gang (Bikaner) canal area in Punjab during past five days and also contacted the chief engineer and additional chief engineer of Pong Dam.

They said Rajasthan was being released its 49 per cent share in the dam water but a major part of it was being grabbed by Punjab and Himachal that had constructed many sub-canals on the way without taking Rajasthan into confidence. This, they said, was blunt violation of the tri-partite agreement.

The BKS demanded that Punjab should no more be allowed to control the headworks in its area, it should be transferred to Rajasthan to check infringement of rights of the farming community that had by and large migrated from Punjab to Rajasthan under pressing circumstances.

Bathinda, June 12
Aiming at making  Bathinda more resilient to disasters, Mayor Baljit Singh Bir Behman joined the launch of a ‘Global Campaign on Making Cities Resilient: My city is Getting Ready.’

The campaign was launched by Minister of Urban Development Jaipal Reddy along with Minister of State for Home Affairs Mullapally Ramchandran at the Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on Tuesday. The two-year  campaign was launched by the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction with a call to make South Asian cities ready to face challenges of urban risk management with effective governance and planning.

The Mayor attended the seminar and workshop regarding the campaign and also signed a Certificate of Commitment to Disaster Resilience.

He also informed Jaipal Reddy about the various problems facing Bathinda especially inadequate drainage system leading to storm water accumulation during the rainy season. The minister assured that necessary steps would be taken in this regard.

The two-day conference was attended by the mayors of major cities of South Asian region. The 10-point checklist –essentials for making cities resilient would be put up in the Mayor’s office soon. — TNS

Bathinda, June 12
“With things getting adverse, circus, which was once called a traditional as well as major source of entertainment, is now moving towards its death bed in the country,” rued director of the Western Circus Vinod Kumar here today.

Narrating his experience, Vinod Kumar said earlier, circus used to be a crowd-puller, but now it was rare to have a house-full show. Besides rapid emergence of multiplex culture, strict laws in the country were also responsible for people losing interest in circus, he added.

“The authorities concerned forced us to surrender animals (lion, tiger, panther, bear and monkey), which were the main attraction of a circus. Now, people ask whether we have a lion show. When we say no, they immediately drop the idea of seeing the circus,” rued Vinod Kumar.

The director said, “Now, we have to pay rent in lakhs to set up a pandal for a month. Earlier, it came for free. Though the tickets rates have also been revised manifold, still we are not earning profit. It is for this very fact that no one is ready to invest in circus. Moreover, many old and reputed circuses have closed down in the recent past.”

Urging the state as well as the union government to pay heed towards the deterioration of circuses, Vinod Kumar said, “The governments should take steps to save the traditional source of entertainment by lending a helping hand. Except the exemption of entertainment tax, there is nothing to keep the circus industry alive.”

He claimed that Kerala was the only state in the country where retired circus staff used to get a pension of Rs 500 per month. If all states or the union government offer such a social security, there was a hope that young artistes would join circus.

Talking about the Western Circus, he said it was 17-year-old A-grade circus with a seating capacity of 2,500. He mentioned that 250 people were on the staff of his circus that included artistes and caretakers of animals.

He informed that despite all odds, the Western Circus was running three shows of various daring as well as funny performances. The circus is on near the railway overbridge at Multania road.

Ferozepur, June 12
The labour department of the state has launched a massive drive to prevent the child labour, under which, a special checking was being conducted at brick kilns, dhabas, restaurants and factories, claimed Jaskiran Singh (ADC) while presiding over a workshop organised by the administration to spread awareness about curbing child labour.

The ADC said the workshop was part of week-long programme envisaged to sensitise the people about the need to prevent child labour.

On the occasion, Sucha Singh, Assistant Labour Commissioner, BN Chadha, DFSC, Ashok Handa, DPRO, besides presidents of the brick kiln associations from Ferozepur, Abohar, Fazilka, Jalalabad and Zira spoke on the issue regarding child labour and the collective measures which need to be undertaken for the same.

He said till date, 21 children below 14 years of age have been recovered working at various establishments like tea shop, dhaba, who were then handed over back to their parents and the parents were further guided to send them to the school.

He added that child labour was not only a legal offence but also a social stigma, which needs to be eradicated from the society as soon as possible.

Sucha Singh said in case any child under 14 years is found working, the department would initiate action under child labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986, and the erring employer can be sent to jail for three months or penalty of Rs 10,000 to 20,000 can also be imposed.

Bathinda, June 12
The district office of the labour commission held a seminar to observe the World Day Against Child Labour at a hotel here today.

Besides district officials, assistant district attorney (Legal services) Rakesh Soni, president of the Brick Kiln Association Paramjeet Singh Sandhu, president of the Hotel and Restaurant Association Satish Arora, social thinkers Prof. Joshi and NK Jeet and social activist Raj Gupta were prominent among those who shared their views. They stressed upon a need for awareness and determination among common man to eradicate the menace.

In absence of this, no law could prove fruitful, they said. — TNS

Abohar, June 12
Some trains running on the Bathinda-Abohar-Sriganganagar section will be affected due to the work related with mega engineering block between June 13 and June 19, Lalit Bohra, CPRO of the North Western Railway informed today.

As per an e-mail received here, some important work is to be carried out between Panjkosi and Hindumalkot railway stations that fall on Abohar-Sriganganagar track.

This will affect the trains that are scheduled to run between 7.30 am to 11.30 am. Accordingly, 1SHB Bathinda-Sriganganagar train will be run from Bathinda to Abohar only and remain suspended on Abohar-Sriganganagar track on June 13, 16 and 19.

The 336 Sriganganagar-Ambala will also not be available between Abohar to Sriganganagar whereas the 4525 Ambala -Sriganganagar Intercity Express will be running late by ten minutes on these days.

Ferozepur, June 12
A local businessman, Ashwinder Grover, was arrested by the Nawashahar police in connection with suicide allegedly committed by a girl, namely Anuradha, a resident of Mohalla Fatehnagar in Nawashahar.

The police had lodged a case against him under section 306 of the IPC on the basis of the statement of Raj Kumar, the father of the deceased.

As per information, the father of the deceased told the police that her daughter had met Ashwinder of Ferozpur when she had gone to Dera Beas with the family. Thereafter, she remained constantly in touch with Ashwinder and the duo allegedly developed liking for each other, said Raj Kumar.

He, further, said that for the last few days, her daughter had been telling him that a boy was allegedly pressurising her to marry. Raj Kumar said that perturbed over the entire episode, her daughter set herself on fire and committed suicide.

On the other side, Ashwinder brushed off all the allegations levied against him stating that he was a happily married man and had nothing to do with any girl. Meanwhile, the police started investigations into the matter to ascertain the veracity of the facts.

Sriganganagar/Abohar, June 12
Anguished over the “dilly-dallying” in nabbing the instructor, who had allegedly prepared and circulated an obscene clipping of a girl student belonging to a reputed family, during coaching at a computer centre in the border town Gharsana, the members of the National Students Union of India organised a rally and marched in a procession to submit a memorandum to the sub-divisional authorities today.

The members led by the NSUI district general secretary Vikram Tanwar and secretary Sohan Bishnoi resented that belated raids were conducted by the police in the border town Gharsana to unearth the scandal but there was no follow-up. — OC

Ferozepur, June 12
Around 200 students drawn from various colleges of the state got job offers by different multinational companies (MNC), which participated in two-day mega job fest titled ‘Dream 2010’ organised from June 11-12 by the local Shaheed Bhagat Singh College of Engineering and Technology (SBSCET).

TS Sidhu, principal of the college, said all the five governmental engineering colleges of Punjab participated in the job fest. Besides, there was healthy participation from some private institutes as well.

He said the placement exercise was expected to complete by tonight.

Bathinda, June 12
The Baba Farid group of institutions arranged a placement drive by the HCL Comnet for BCA final year students in its campus not only for the students of the group but also for the students of while region.

The placement drive was open for all students who have appeared for their BCA final year exams and the result is awaited. The students from various places participated in the drive. Out of these students 72 were shortlisted and 27 of those students were from the Baba Farid Group of Institutions.

HCL cleared that today students have the degrees but they lack in various skills which are required by the corporate and for that they appreciated the Career Development Programme initiatives, regularly conducted by the group for all the students of Malwa region to make the students more employable. The package offered by the company is 1.80 lakh per annum.

Sriganganagar/Abohar, June 12
Three persons, including a woman and her six-year-old child, were killed as a truck ferrying brick kiln workers overturned near RD 931 of a sub-canal outside village Daduka in Vijaynagar segment early Saturday morning. Nine more workers including four women sustained injuries.

As per details, the brick kiln workers were using the truck to visit Vijaynagar when it overturned while negotiating a turn. In another mishap near Gharsana town, one Jetha Ram of village 10RJM was crushed to death by an unidentified truck.