Bathinda, December 31
In the year gone by, the district police took an appreciable step, despite being in the eye of a storm many a time. It launched its official website (www.bathindapolice.com) for the quick redressal of public grievances and also to help police to get feedback to improve its functioning in the coming years.

In his message, Bathinda SSP Sukhchain Singh Gill says, "The website not only provides useful information, but will also prove to be a step forward in bringing the police and public closer.”

The website contains data, which is not only related to the working of the police force, but can also be used for various purposes. It has a Google map of the city along with its history and details about its geography and economy. It also provides the facility to check the status of one's passport application.

Claiming to be with the public always, the Bathinda police has incorporated all important telephone numbers of all police officials dealing with the public including the SSP, SPs, DSPs, SHOs, MHCs and in-charges of various units in the district.

Another important feature of the website is that you can get direct information from the police stations like details of the daily crime diary, FIRs, etc. RTI forms and CPRC forms, can also be downloaded without any cost. To make one aware of the functioning of the district police, the website provides an annual comparative crime chart, mentioning details of 2009 and 2010.

The police website gives lot of tips on child safety, community safety, cyber crime, fire safety, safety at school, safety tips during vacations, sexual harassment, safe banking, vehicle safety and women's safety.

The website pays homage to the martyrs of the Bathinda police by listing their names along with the dates of their martyrdom.

It also cautions people on buying second-hand mobile sets and vehicles, mentioning that these may have been involved in some crime. People have been advised to check with the police before buying these.

Hari Ke (Ferozepur), Dec 31
Even as the staff deployed to protection and conserve wildlife at this, one of the famous sanctuaries of the world, has notched up achievements by nabbing elements indulging in encroachment upon its land, felling forests, illegal fishing and hunting of migratory birds, the current year is seen to be ending on a disappointing note for them.

What has generated a wave of resentment and disappointment among the staff members of the wildlife department including the Divisional Forest Officer (Wildlife), Ferozepur, Sanjeev Tiwari is the fact that they have failed to get support from other agencies of the state government including the police in curbing the activities of such unscrupulous elements, who pose a threat to this Ramsar site.

The wildlife officials have managed to catch a number of boats, fishing nets, tractor-trailer, big boats and vehicles from the accused.

A number of cases have been registered against the accused and subsequently they have been sent to jail during the current year.

"However, a case was registered at the Makhu police station on December 10 against some unscrupulous elements, involved in attacking the wildlife staff members apart from indulging in illegal fishing. The police authorities concerned have failed to arrest them so far," pointed out Tiwari.

"This kind of treatment by the police authorities has demoralised the staff members, who have been braving odds, including threat to their lives, to protect the sanctuary without armed guards," he claimed.

"I have brought this matter to the notice of the state wildlife department authorities and the district police,” he disclosed, adding that the accused were not being arrested by police under pressure from some quarters.

Police sources said a case was registered against Mela Singh, Manohar Lal alias Bittu, Mukhtiar Singh and Dharam Singh on the complaint of Chinda Masih, an employee of the wildlife department. These accused have not been arrested so far.

Ferozepur Senior Superintendent of Police Kaustab Sharma, when contacted, while denying any laxity on the part of the police, said that the law would take its own course and an inquiry was being conducted in the case. The SSP assured that proper action would be taken after getting the details of the case.

Bathinda, December 31
Mobile healthcare vans have been proving to be a boon for the rural masses in 40 villages of Bathinda, Mansa and Muktsar districts.

As many as 35,000 persons, including women, have been examined by the medical teams moving with these eight mobile vans, from July 17 to November this year.

The vans are being run by the Ranbaxy Community Health Care Society under a public-private partnership project 'Ranbaxy Sanjeevan Swasthya Seva' of the Ranbaxy Laboratories and the Punjab Government.

These mobile vans have been providing healthcare services in five villages each in eight blocks, namely, Talwandi Sabo, Sangat and Bhagta in Bathinda district, Budhlada and Sardulgarh in Mansa district, and Doda, Lambi and Malout in Muktsar district.

In the mobile vans, the OPD services, cancer detection services, laboratory test services and health education services are being provided by the doctors and the staff.

The project manager Dr Indu Bushan Aggarwal said here today that since the launching of the healthcare mobile vans, the mobile teams (each comprising a male and a female doctor and two auxiliary nurse midwives, besides a tests laboratory) had got 
conducted PAP smear tests free of cost on 678 women for early detection of cervix cancer.

However, no woman had been found suffering from cervix cancer. Dr Aggarwal also said that about 1200 women had been examined and given tips on detection of breast cancer.

Of them, only one woman from Bhagta block had been found suffering from breast cancer through the fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) test. Besides, about 1100 persons had been examined for oral cancer, but no one had been found suffering from this form of cancer.

In the laboratories of these mobile vans, several types of tests, like pregnancy, HB, blood grouping, urine and blood sugar, had also been conducted free of cost on more than 2600 patients till November, the project manager added. 

Abohar, December 31
The formula reportedly offered by the Punjab CM to buy peace in Abohar and Fazilka sub-divisions that had been spearheading agitations over the demand for the district status besides pressing for sanctioning the family court at the sub-divisional headquarters for the moment, has been rejected by the NGOs here.

Arhtia Association president Pramil Kalani revealed that the CM’s office, through the senior district officers and political functionaries conveyed that the court of the Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) can be sanctioned at Fazilka, if the Bar Associations in Abohar and Jalalabad gave their consent and give up the agitations.

The proposal was discussed during a meeting here that was presided over by the Deputy Commissioner KK Yadav.

Among those present were representatives of the local Bar Association and leading NGOs. They were told that the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had expressed his inability in bifurcating the Ferozepur district on technical ground but was inclined to offer relief to the sub-divisions concerned by other viable means.

Notably, the Bar Association had observed strike and blocked vehicular traffic by staging dharna at the Malout Road Chowk on NH-10 last week. The SAD legislator Gurtej Singh Ghuriana, who pursued the protesters to lift the dharna, had later taken up the issue with the CM, sources said. He had supported the demand for sanctioning Family Disputes Redressal Court at Abohar arguing that it would not be convenient for the litigants to visit the district headquarters as it is located about 150 kms away from the remote villages of the Abohar sub-division.

The political advisers to the CM had reportedly evolved the formula asserting that the litigants from Abohar and Jalalabad towns will have to traverse only 30 km each to reach Fazilka to attend the ADC court.

While rejecting the formula, the NGOs here said that Abohar has got the largest population, the maximum number of cases and certainly better infrastructure compared to other sub-divisions in the district. So, nothing short of district status would be accepted. The DC has reportedly assured that he would convey their feelings to the CM, sources added. 

Fazilka, December 31
There is a considerable low yield of vitamin rich, nutritious and sweet kinnow this year in one of the biggest kinnow producing belt. However, the market is now likely to get flooded with quality kinnow during this peak season due to more than one reason.

As per the survey conducted by this correspondent, the Punjab Agriculture University (PAU), kinnow cultivators and horticulturists are of the view that there is a drop of about 30-40 per cent yield this year. The peak season of kinnow is going to start from January.

"The yield this year has declined to around seven tonnes per acre as compared to 10 tonnes per acre last year," said pioneer kinnow cultivator Prem Babbar, awarded the kinnow king title by the PAU, Ludhiana.

The interaction with kinnow growers and others in some kinnow producing villages like Karnikhera, Penchanwali, Ghallu, Pattrewala, Roopanwali, Tahliwala Jattan, Khippanwali, revealed that at present, kinnow plants had been bearing only a few fruits on their branches.

Three-time state award winner and the kinnow producing Periwal family head Sushil Periwal said though there is no drop in fruit in their fields but there is only 60 per cent production of kinnow in some areas as compared to last year.

As per in-charge, Krishi Vigyan Kendra (Ferozepur), Harminder Singh Gill, the reason for the low yield is unfavourable climatic conditions in the period from January to June 2010.

Gill maintained that the nutritious value of the kinnow would not be affected. He said the reasons and the final view of the low yield would be found out after a meeting of the PAU experts, horticulturists and farmer being held in the PAU campus on January 17.

Another reason for the less availability of kinnow in the local market is the premature picking of kinnow from the plants and its transportation to distant parts of the country, like the southern states and to Bangladesh.

Experts maintained that there are two reasons for premature picking. First, there are fewer crops of orange and Malta in their respective belts of production. The second factor is the mushrooming of waxing plants to about 30 in numbers in the Fazilka and Abohar areas, which are major quality kinnow producing belts of the state.

The waxing of kinnow enhances its shelf life. The kinnow orchard contractors and owners, in an attempt to earn good money, pick the kinnow prematurely even when they were not ripe.

As per the official figures, even as the area under kinnow cultivation in Ferozepur district has enhanced from 19950 hectares to about 21000 hectares, the yield has declined.

The decline in the yield has resulted in considerable rise in kinnow price. The wholesale price during the corresponding period last year was around Rs 13-14 per kg and now it is up to Rs 20 per kg.

Prem Babbar said that after a prolonged spell of cold and foggy weather, the kinnow becomes sweeter in the month of January when the total soluble sweet (TSS) content is maximum.

He apprehended that by the time about 80 per cent of the low yield crop would be sold in the distant market, it may not be available in abundance and of good quality in the local market.

He claimed that adverse climatic factor may not be the major reason for a drop in the yield as some plants have been bearing good fruit and others bearing less fruit. It is a matter of research, which should be conducted by the PAU experts.

Notably, Dr Monika Gupta of the horticulture department of the PAU, officially visited the Fazilka area last week in the light of low yield to study on the spot reasons. She said the factors for the low yield were being probed.

Bathinda, December 31
A former communist party MLA, Hardev Singh Arshi, lodged a complaint with the Kotwali police that some unidentified person attempted to break into his house in Tagore Nagar, on Thursday.

In his complaint, Arshi alleged that some unidentified person stole a domestic LPG cylinder lying on the roof of his house. A ventilator of his house was also found displaced. Arshi asked the police to take immediate action. However, till today, the case was not registered.

Speaking to the media, Arshi flayed the functioning of the police, saying, "Most cops remain busy with VIP duties and forget the common man.” — TNS

Fazilka, December 31
History of sorts was created in this border town when believers in Islam could offer Namaz (prayer) in a mosque that had been shut down since 1947 when the country was partitioned on communal lines stained with bloodshed.

For hundreds of members of the Muslim community living in this town and surrounding villages, the last day of the year 2010 ushered in a new era when Ved Parkash, a dairy farmer, consented to vacate a piece of land with a building, said to be a mosque during the pre-partition days, for them to offer prayers.

“The brothers from Hindu, Sikh and Christian communities could not have given a better new year gift to the members of Muslim community, which they have done today by handing over the building of the old mosque to them to practice their faith,” claimed, Mohamad Usman Rehmani Ludhianavi, chairman, Religious Committee, Punjab Wakf Board.

Ludhianavi, also Naib Shahi Imam of Punjab, along with Nadeem Anwar Khan, Fazil Din Bhatti, both members of the Punjab Wakf Board and Zulfiqar Ali, Chief Executive officer (CEO), Punjab Wakf Board were present on the occasion when the mosque was reopened for prayers today.

“About 1,000 members of the Muslim community today offered Namaz in reopened mosque thanks to the large heartedness shown by Ved Parkash, who has set a unique and rare example of universal brotherhood and communal harmony,” said Ludhianavi.

Ved Parkash Kamra, who along with Satpal (Bittu) Kamra had taken this land on a 99-year lease from the Punjab Wakf Board in 1996-97, said a section of the members of the Muslim community came to him with the request to hand over that piece of land along with the building (mosque) so that they could offer their prayers.

“I immediately decided to hand over that building to them without taking any single penny. God is one and I have got respect for all religions,” said Ved Parkash, whose family migrated to India from Pakistan in 1947.

Satpal Kamra (Bittu), who along with others performed the handing over ceremony of the building at a simple function, said that for a citizen, all the religions were equal and hence, they could not say no to the request of the members of the Muslim community.