Shekhpura (Bathinda), Feb 2
This village in Bathinda district has witnessed dozens of its residents fall prey to different forms of cancer in the last decade.

While no one can come back from the dead, what is of greater concern is the helplessness of those who are battling this deadly disease for many years now. Most of them have given up hope and have started praying for the dusk to set in their lives.

The kin of such cancer patients, crippled by heavy debts, incurred for ensuring proper treatment of their loved ones, want an answer from the state health authorities and the politicians, who made several promises to rid the area of the scourge, but later forgot.

The village of Shekhpura is located on the Talwandi Sabo-Maur road in Bathinda district, nearly 42 kms from the district headquarters.

During a visit to the village today, it was observed that a large number of people in the village were suffering from this deadly disease. Most of the patients were suffering from cancer of the mouth and oesophagus (food pipe) while there were others who complained of cancer in liver, lungs and breast.

Shockingly, this reporter could hardly find a street in the village, where people could say that no house had a cancer patient.

Many people showed thick files containing documents (medical reports) stating that they had undergone treatment at the government-run specialized oncology hospital at Bikaner (Rajasthan) and the CMC at Ludhiana.

Some of them informed that in the absence of government attention and poor economic condition, many patients in the village had resorted to ‘black magic’ presuming that it was a cheaper alternative to the expensive medical treatment for the disease.

Lamenting their fate, villagers alleged that hardly any medical assistance/awareness campaign was launched for them in the village, barring a few occasions. They alleged that the cases recommended for medical aid remained a distant dream and many of the patients died waiting for government assistance.

One Karamjeet Singh, whose paternal uncle and cousin had died of cancer, said the family had come under huge debt. To meet the medical expenses, they had to mortgage their agricultural land.

“Just one year after marriage, my cousin died of liver cancer in February last. The family was yet to recover from the shock when her father too lost his life due to cancer of the food pipe,” he informed.

Narrating his plight, Gurmail Singh alias Mela, who was also suffering from cancer of the food pipe said, “The disease has ruined me. I have spent so much on medical expenses that I have nothing left to marry off my son. My magnanimous kin have taken up the responsibility of marrying him off.”

It was a touching moment when a cancer patient, Roop Singh, who was suffering from severe pain in his abdomen, said, “I wish this miserable life ends soon as it is beyond my capacity to get it treated.”

Meanwhile, the president of the Pendu Vikas Bhalai Club, Sukhwinder Singh said that during a recent visit to the village, Member of Parliament from Bathinda, Harisimrat Kaur Badal had assured of providing financial and medical assistance to the patients in the village affected by cancer.

“Moved by the sad plight of the villagers, she asked us to submit the documents related to the cancer patients after which she would take up the matter at the highest level to provide the help needed at the earliest possible. Accordingly, we are preparing a list by visiting door to door to collect information.”

Bathinda, February 2
Due to the alleged indifferent attitude of the Badal government towards their demands, thousands of Nambardars under the banner of Punjab Nambardaran Union are up in arms against the state government these days.

This situation has reportedly compelled them to organise a state-level rally and demonstration on February 10 at Lambi (Muktsar), the Assembly constituency of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.

General secretary of the union Mohinder Singh Jahangir today said over 33,000 Nambardars in the state were in a state of desperation as the Badal government did not fulfil the promise it made to them during the previous Assembly elections that their monthly honorarium would be enhanced.

He said that these days, they were holding protest rallies at district level across the state while on February 10, a state-level rally would be held at Lambi, in which thousands of Nambardars from various parts of the state would participate. He said the rally would be a historic one. In case the government issued a notification regarding implementation of their demands before February 10, they would extend thanks to the government at the rally otherwise they would hold a demonstration there, he added.

President of the union Gurmeet Singh Lohgarh said four years had passed since the Badal government came to power but their demands were yet to be fulfilled. During meetings held in the past years, except for false promises the Nambardars got nothing from the government, he added.

As part of their agitation, a large number of Nambardars today also held a protest rally at the Tehsil Complex here. President of the union Lohgarh, general secretary Mohinder Singh Jahangir, secretary Jaspal Singh, district president Harbhajan Singh and district general secretary Balwinder Singh Kotshameer were among those who took part in the rally.

The protesters also took out a protest march from the Tehsil Complex to the Mini-secretariat here raising slogans in support of their demands, including enhancement in monthly honorarium. They also refused to accept the proposed amendment in the Rules relating to the appointment of Nambardar and the proposed introduction of score system for such appointments.

The protesters also submitted a memorandum to the district administration here.

Ferozepur, February 2
DGP (Prisons), Punjab, Anil Kaushik pointed out that the recovery of mobile phones, narcotics, intoxicants and other illegal material from the premises of the Central Jail here during a raid conducted by the district civil and police authorities recently was a serious matter.

Kaushik, who carried out the inspection, said recovery of such material had caused serious concern to the state jail authorities. Such things could not have entered the jail premises without the connivance of those manning jail security, he opined.

“The district police authorities have been investigating the matter and if the connivance of any jail official is found, strict action would be taken against him,” claimed Kaushik.

He added that he could not get any information in this connection from the district police chief today as he could not meet him.

To strengthen the security and prevent recurrence of such things in the jail premises, close circuit TV cameras had been fitted in a number of jails of the state. Besides, frequency jammer had been fitted in the high security jail of Nabha and in the coming months, all jails of Punjab would be have this facility. Efforts were on to take effective steps to ensure the security of those who were deployed to manage the jail affairs and provide medical care to the inmates.

The shortcomings in different jails, whenever noticed, were being removed. He, however, expressed satisfaction over the arrangements made for inmates of the local Central Jail by its administration.

To a question, he said out of eight deaths of inmates, that occurred in the local Central Jail premises in the recent past, the death of seven inmates were natural and the report in connection with the death of remaining one inmate was awaited.

Activists of the Punjab Jail Guards association, who held a demonstration in front of the jail premises here a few days ago to lodge protest against the suspension of three jail officials, did not present any memorandum to Kaushik despite the fact that they had announced they would do so on January 31.

Bathinda, February 2
To curb the delay in distribution of ‘Dak’ in the city, especially the speed post, the Postal Department has started working on a strategy. Though the proposal is in its early stage, it is learnt that the senior postal officials want to abolish the City post office’s pin code (151005) and merge the delivery zone (City) with the delivery zone (Head post office).

If the proposal gets approved, all localities under the City post office would come under the pin code 151001, which is that of the Head post office.

Sources in the Postal Department informed that the matter of delayed delivery was brought into the notice of the Postmaster General, Punjab, Ranju Prasad, when she visited the city recently. She observed that sorting and delivery of ‘Dak’ was going on at a snail’s pace at the post offices in the city.

On finding that the process not only delayed the ‘Dak’ delivery but also rendered all nine postmen deputed at the City post office idle till they received ‘Dak’ from the Head post office, Ranju directed the divisional officials to utilise the manpower to their best and asked for drafting a proposal to merge the delivery zone (City) with the Headquarter zone.

Confirming the facts, Superintendent, Post Offices, Bathinda division, Makhan Lal, said, “Going through the number of Dak and the complaints about its late delivery to the residents, we have been working on drafting a proposal to bring the delivery zone (City) under the delivery zone (Head post office).”

Meanwhile, activists of the All India Postal Employees Union (Bathinda division) have come out to scuttle the move to close the delivery zone (City).

“The proposal will adversely affect the system as collecting ‘Dak’ from the Head post office and delivering it in the city areas will add to the dead mileage of postmen. As a result, the delivery will be further delayed. Surprisingly, when the delivery zone was created in 1983, there were 23 municipal wards, which are now 50 and the population has increased manifold. But the authorities want to abolish the delivery zone instead of addressing the actual problem. If the department passes the proposal without consulting us, we will be forced to stage protests,” said divisional secretary of the union Makhan Lal.

Bathinda, February 2
Observing that the region was facing an acute shortage of water in the villages located at the tail-end of the canals and distributaries, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Rainfed Area Authority, JS Samra, who is also a member of the Planning Commission, today, advocated tapping the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Guarantee Act (MNREGA) for the cause.

Samra was here to hold a meeting with the district officials of various departments including water supply, sewerage, sanitation, irrigation and agriculture. During the meeting, which was aimed at taking an account of the schemes sponsored by the Centre, Samra invited feedback and suggestions from the officials.

Among others, Bathinda DC S. Karuna Raju and OSD to the Deputy CM, Moneesh Kumar, were also present in the meeting.

Reviewing the poor condition of the irrigation system in the area, the CEO said the MNREGA had been instrumental in resolving the local problems in various departments so it should be exploited to resolve the problems related to the supply of drinking water as well as water for irrigation. "Like in irrigation at the tail-end of the canal, the repair can be done at the local level under the scheme," he asked the officials.

He stressed upon the need for more investment in activities related to water supply as the region, once considered an arid zone, had witnessed fertility that brought the land here at par with those in other parts of Punjab.

When asked about the implementation of different Central schemes in the district, he expressed his satisfaction and added, "It is not only the feedback that would be conveyed to the authorities concerned for allocation of funds but also some good suggestions that we have received about the future of the schemes."

It was learnt that Samra had visited some villages of the district to get a first-hand account of the implementation of the schemes.

Barnala, February 2
In a landmark decision, the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum (DCRF) today made it mandatory for the Powercom to give power connection for tubewells within two months of receipt of demand notice as per the rules.

The decision comes after a farmer of Barnala district had filed a petition with the DCRF, Barnala, as the Powercom had allegedly not given the connection for tubewell to him after taking the requisite fees.

As per the reports, Govind Singh of Joshila Nagar in Barnala had deposited a fee of Rs 1,700 each with the Powercom for getting power connection for two tubewells for irrigating his land.

The complainant, after getting a demand notice from Powercom, deposited Rs 17,880 each on June 25, 2007, deposited the money with the Powercom but the latter didn't give the power connection to the farmer even after taking the requisite fee from him. Fed up with the attitude of the Powercom, Govind Singh lodged a complaint with the Forum on December 8, 2010.

Taking the complaint seriously, the Forum summoned the Powercom authorities and after hearing the counsels of the two parties, the Forum president Sanjeev Sharma, member J.Sidhu and Ravinderjeet Kaur directed the Powercom to give the power connection to the complainant within 30 days of this judgment.

The Forum also directed the Powercom to give a interest at the rate of 9 per cent on the amount deposited by the complainant for the connections and compensate him further by paying an amount of Rs 5,000.

Bathinda, February 2
The accredited social health activists (ASHA) of the Health Department today held a rally in support of their demands on the premises of the Civil Hospital here. They also submitted a memorandum in this regard to assistant civil surgeon Dr Charanjit Garg to forward the same to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.

Their demands include regularisation of services of the ASHA workers, preparation of seniority list, issuance of special kits for treatment of patients, issuance of work cards for recording the works, enhancement in incentives, free treatment facility to the ASHA workers and their families in government hospitals. — TNS

Hari Ke (Ferozepur), Feb 2
Nearly 200 students from different schools and colleges of Amritsar, Tarn Taran districts and Phagwara town of Kapurthala district visited the Hari Ke wetland today.

They were shown a documentary made on the Hari Ke wetland wildlife sanctuary at a function held in connection with the ‘International Wetland Day’ by the department of wildlife (Punjab). Two more functions on February 3-4 will be organised here to create awareness among the people about the importance of wildlife and forest conservation. A seminar for using hyacinths, which have grown in the wetland, for employment generation, would be held on February 4.

Sources said the International Wetland Day function was organised here to generate awareness among the residents. It could help in checking the activities of those, who had been indulging in poaching, illegal felling of trees and fishing, which had become rampant in the past few years as those who were involved in it, were enjoying the active patronage of a section of politicians. Sanjeev Tiwari, Divisional Forest Officer (Wildlife), Ferozepur, while addressing the students and villagers, said efforts were being made by officials of the department to protect flora and fauna, wildlife and forest in the wetland.

He said students of other schools and colleges would be invited to visit the wetland in the coming days. Besides, the participation of localities would be ensured in conservation of the wetland.

Feeozepur DC KK Yadav and SSP Kaustab Sharma attended the function.

Gunbir Singh, chairperson, WWF-India, Punjab chapter, also addressed the gathering on the occasion.

Sriganganagar, February 2
Two students were crushed to death by a truck here on Wednesday.

As per the details, Ravinder Singh Bishnoi of Ridmalsar and Ravi Jat of Daulatawas (Pilibanga) were on their way to Sriganganagar from Padampur, when a truck reportedly hit the motorcycle they were travelling on and escaped.

One of their friends, who was following the motorcycle, found Ravinder Singh lying dead on the spot while Ravi Jat succumbed to his injuries on way to the hospital. A case has been registered.

Abohar, February 2
Harbans Kaur and her son Rajinder Singh, both residents of different localities of this town were arrested by the local police last evening, while trying to smuggle opium.

Mohinder Singh, husband of Harbans Kaur, had been facing two cases pertaining to the smuggling of opium.

As per the details, both mother and son were found moving under suspicious circumstances near the Abohar-Fazilka railway line near Gobindgarh village.

A police party led by Sukhdev Singh, SHO, city police station, stopped them and carried out a search in the presence of a DSP rank official and lady cops. Three and a half kilograms of opium was recovered from their possession. Police sources said both the accused had been active in smuggling of narcotics for nearly three years despite the fact that Mohinder Singh had shunned such activities after securing bail in criminal cases registered against him.

Varinder Brar, SP, Abohar, said both Harbans Kaur and Rajinder Singh had been bringing opium from various places in Haryana and Rajasthan.

The consignment of opium, which had been seized from them last evening, was brought by them from a notorious smuggler of Chautala village of Haryana. A case under the NDPS Act had been registered against them. Probe is on in the matter, Brar added.

Abohar, February2
With cotton market in the neighbouring Sriganganagar region of Rajasthan registering unprecedented upward trends, good quality Narma cotton has fetched Rs 6100 per quintal even when the average lots were purchased at Rs 5500 there.

Arhtia Association president Chandresh Jain said most of the purchases were made by the local traders to honour the deals. In Abohar, the highest price offered for the white gold by the traders was Rs 5680 while average deals were struck at Rs 5250.

Farmers from Sriganganagar region for many years preferred to sell the produce at Abohar expecting better price. However, the highest price offered here on Monday was Rs 5555. Arrivals ranged from 1500-2500 quintals per day. Experts said ginners in the west Punjab province of Pakistan too had increased cotton seed purchase in view of the ending stocks. Besides, growers also increased cotton seed price by Rs 200 per maund to Rs 4,100 per maund.

The increase in the international market is providing boost to the growers in Pakistan and India who are in the habit of following upward trend in price, they added. Meanwhile, trading at the cotton market lost momentum due to the rising prices. The cotton trade in Pakistan fell to 7,200 bales of raw cotton (170 kg each). China’s entry into the international market has put the prices on a firm footing and provided strong ground to Indian traders as the major sellers in the cotton market, experts in the trade said.

All Pakistan Textile Mills Association vice-chairman Yasin Siddiq had reportedly said in view of the cotton crop damage by devastating floods in the country, cotton importers entered the big contracts with the Indian cotton traders and placed around one million cotton bale orders.

“We imported only 200000-250000 cotton bales when the registration process adopted by Indian government took place, which put an end to imports to Pakistan,” he was quoted as saying by the media.

Fazilka, February 2
US-based Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA), Delhi, and Zamindara Farmsolutions, Fazilka, jointly organised a mega farmers' camp here today to apprise them about the use of latest cultivation techniques and how to get rid of debt.

The representative of the CSISA, Nikhil Kumar, Animesh Kumar, Ravikant, Dr Neelam, Anuradha, Agriculture Development Officers Gurmail Singh, Baldev Singh and Zamindar Farm Solutions Director Vikram Ahuja said they have decided to deliver new technologies, pest management, impact of global warming and ways to increase yield and tips on crop diversification to the farmers on computer regularly. — OC