B A T H I N D A    E D I T I O N

Staff shortage hampers work at DTO’s office
Driving licences not made for the past three weeks
Bathinda, May 10
The functioning of the office of district transport officer (DTO) here has been adversely affected due to shortage of staff. The situation has reached a point where thousands of candidates, who have applied for driving licences through the Suvidha Centre in the past few weeks, have not been delivered the same even as they have been making repeated rounds of the centre.

2 armymen seriously hurt in mine blast
Bathinda, May 10
In a mine blast, that accidentally took place in the ammunition depot in the military cantonment area here yesterday, two army personnel sustained serious injuries, due to which they were shifted to the military hospital at Chandi Mandir in Chandigarh from the local military hospital, for treatment.

Day of demonstrations
PRTC workers hold gate rally
Bathinda, May 10
In support of their demands and against the PRTC management, the PRTC employees held a gate rally at the workshop of the main bus stand here today. They were led by the joint action committee of four employee organisations of the Bathinda PRTC depot owing allegiance to INTUC, SC/BC, Karamchari Dal and CITU.

A vendor selling watermelons in Bathinda on a hot Tuesday afternoon. Tribune photo: Pawan Sharma

TSU burns effigy of state govt
Bathinda, May 10
Members of the Technical Services Union (TSU) of the city sub-division and sub-urban sub-division of the Powercom burnt an effigy of the Punjab government and held a rally against the non-acceptance of their demands at the city sub-division office in Sirki Bazar here today.

Sewerage board staff stage dharna
Bathinda, May 10
Under the banner of the PWD Field and Workshop Workers Union (Branch Sewerage Board, Bathinda), workers of the Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board (PWSSB) staged a dharna in favour of their demands at the PWSSB divisional office here today.

Cancer in village Health Dept collects water samples Abohar, May 10 Alarmed over the high incidence of cancer allegedly due to consumption of contaminated water for the past few years, a team of the Health Department today visited village Dangarkhera, located 10 kilometres from Abohar, to collect the samples of water. Health Department staff taking water samples from a handpump at village Dangarkhera near Abohar on Tuesday. Photo by writer

Police announce Rs 50000 award for murder accused
Muktsar, May 10
The district police have announced a reward of Rs 50,000 to trace Ram Sewak, an accused in the murder of seven members of a family at Burj Sindhwan in Malout, in 2001.

SC Commission invites principal secy for discussion
Bathinda, May 10
Vice-chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes Raj Kumar Verka has asked the Principal Secretary, Education, Punjab, on May 13 to attend a discussion regarding injustice allegedly done to the Valmiki Mazhabi Sikh community.

Staff shortage hampers work at DTO’s office
Driving licences not made for the past three weeks
Chander Parkash
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, May 10
The functioning of the office of district transport officer (DTO) here has been adversely affected due to shortage of staff. The situation has reached a point where thousands of candidates, who have applied for driving licences through the Suvidha Centre in the past few weeks, have not been delivered the same even as they have been making repeated rounds of the centre.

The situation has arisen even as Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal has been leaving no stone unturned to introduce administrative reforms to bring efficiency in the functioning of state government offices.

It is learnt that on any working day, about 200 driving licences are prepared and issued to applicants. However, for the past three weeks or so, the authorities concerned had failed to prepare and subsequently issue driving licence to any applicant.

Sources said the office of DTO was working with skeletal staff. Besides, DTO Amandeep Bansal had been given an additional charge of the Deputy Director, Local Bodies, Punjab. He had also been tasked to oversee the ongoing procurement of wheat in a section of grain markets and purchase centres of the Bathinda district.

Bansal said Gurinder Pal Singh, the additional district transport officer (ADTO) who had been tasked to sign the driving licences before it were delivered to applicants, had been undergoing treatment for the past over a month.

He said he had written to the state transport commissioner to deploy an additional officer till the local ADTO was undergoing treatment. He added that whenever a special officer was deployed for the purpose of preparing licences, the backlog would be cleared within two days or so.

However, the DTO added that the registration of new vehicles had been going on smoothly.

2 armymen seriously hurt in mine blast
Sushil Goyal
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, May 10
In a mine blast, that accidentally took place in the ammunition depot in the military cantonment area here yesterday, two army personnel sustained serious injuries, due to which they were shifted to the military hospital at Chandi Mandir in Chandigarh from the local military hospital, for treatment.

Talking to TNS over the phone tonight, senior superintendent of police (SSP) Sukhchain Singh Gill said the mishap took place when they were shifting the 'overaged' mines from here to send them to Rajasthan for defusing them there.

He said the injured military personnel Naik Nand Lal and Lance Naik Harwinder Pawan Kumar were from the 3 Dogra Regiment.

Meanwhile, the SHO of Cantonment police station Jaskaran Singh said that though the incident had taken place the previous day, they received the information from the military authorities in this regard today.

The SHO said they had initiated proceedings in this case.

Day of demonstrations
PRTC workers hold gate rally
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, May 10
In support of their demands and against the PRTC management, the PRTC employees held a gate rally at the workshop of the main bus stand here today. They were led by the joint action committee of four employee organisations of the Bathinda PRTC depot owing allegiance to INTUC, SC/BC, Karamchari Dal and CITU.

Co-convener of the joint action committee Balwinder Singh and other members said that on April 5 last, an agreement with the PRTC management had been signed for giving salary to the workers by the fifth of every month and pension to the pensioners by the 10th each month, but the agreement was not being implemented in letter and spirit.

President of the INTUC body Ganda Singh said they had not got salaries for April so far though these should have been given by May 5 as per the agreement.

The leaders also said there was a shortage of spare parts in the workshop due to which several buses have been rendered useless. They also demanded a grant of Rs 100 crore from the state government to improve the financial health of the PRTC. They also urged the government to curb corruption in the PRTC.

Meanwhile, they demanded posting of a regular general manager in the Bathinda depot of the PRTC. They also warned the management that if their demands were not met soon, they would be compelled to intensify their agitation.

TSU burns effigy of state govt

Bathinda, May 10
Members of the Technical Services Union (TSU) of the city sub-division and sub-urban sub-division of the Powercom burnt an effigy of the Punjab government and held a rally against the non-acceptance of their demands at the city sub-division office in Sirki Bazar here today.

They were demanding scrapping of the Electricity Act-2003, cancellation of the decision to disband sub-divisions in Bathinda, Khanna, Ludhiana, Patiala etc, regularisation of service period of the employees and leaders who had been suspended in Muktsar and terminated in Patiala, but later reinstated.

Jagjit Singh Mehta and Bodh Raj said if their demands were not met they would show black flags to the Chief Minister. — TNS

Sewerage board staff stage dharna

Bathinda, May 10
Under the banner of the PWD Field and Workshop Workers Union (Branch Sewerage Board, Bathinda), workers of the Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board (PWSSB) staged a dharna in favour of their demands at the PWSSB divisional office here today.

President of the union Babbi Ram Suras led the protest.

The protesters demanded an immediate release of arrears of 43 months of revised pay-scales, recruitment of staff against vacant posts, payment of salary on the first day of every month to the workers working in the field, issuance of pay slips to the workers etc.

Among others present included Sukhmandir Singh Dhaliwal, Hans Raj, Makhan Singh, and Jeet Ram. — TNS

Cancer in village
Health Dept collects water samples
Raj Sadosh

Abohar, May 10
Alarmed over the high incidence of cancer allegedly due to consumption of contaminated water for the past few years, a team of the Health Department today visited village Dangarkhera, located 10 kilometres from Abohar, to collect the samples of water.

At least 10 patients suffering from breast cancer at the village are still under treatment, sources said. Notably, the lab analysis of the samples drawn from different places in August last year indicated that the water supplied to hundreds of students in the government schools was not fit for consumption.

Besides, chloride contents (considered dangerous for health) were also spotted in other samples. The state government had sanctioned RO system for the Basanti Mata temple. As sufficient space was not available there, the system was installed in the Senior Secondary School while kids in the primary school get water supply from the drinking water reservoir directly. The village, connected with the Abohar-Fazilka road (NH-10) by a link road, is thronged by visitors to pay obeisance at the Basanti Mata Mandir twice a month. The Health Department team led by sanitary inspector Danu Ram took samples of drinking water from the government schools, Basanti Mata Mandir, waterworks and some houses.

Khuikhera Community Health Centre in-charge Dr Ajay Narang confirmed that water samples have also been taken from various taps and handpumps at village Choohriwala Dhanna.

The villagers at Dangarkhera revealed to the media that pond and reservoir had been cleaned about eight months back and wild growth in the pond invited mosquitoes to grow in a large number besides polluting the water used by cattle.

Police announce Rs 50000 award for murder accused
Tribune News Service

Muktsar, May 10
The district police have announced a reward of Rs 50,000 to trace Ram Sewak, an accused in the murder of seven members of a family at Burj Sindhwan in Malout, in 2001. The district police have announced the reward after it failed to find a clue about himsince 2005 even when a double bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has been issuing non-bailable warrants for him since then.

Ram Sewak, a resident of Farukkabad district of UP, was charged with the murder of seven members of a migrant family. He was also charged with raping two members of that family before their murder. A case under Sections 302 and 376 of the IPC was registered against him at police station, Malout.

Hardyal Singh, the then additional sessions judge, Faridkot, in whose court Ram Sewak was put to trial, convicted him and sentenced him to death. During the re-examination of the case in a Fast Track court, he was absolved of all charges by the same judge, who had earlier convicted and awarded him death sentence in the same case. SSP Inder Mohan Singh said all-out efforts were on to arrest him.

SC Commission invites principal secy for discussion

Bathinda, May 10
Vice-chairman of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes Raj Kumar Verka has asked the Principal Secretary, Education, Punjab, on May 13 to attend a discussion regarding injustice allegedly done to the Valmiki Mazhabi Sikh community.

A representation in this regard was earlier submitted to the Commission by Sukhchain Singh, national president of the Valmiki/Mazhabi Sikh Reservation Bachao Morcha, Punjab.

In a letter sent to the Principal Secretary by the Commission, he has been asked to attend the discussion with full facts and requisite documents pertaining to the case. — TNS