Bathinda, July 18
As many as 132 cases of Hepatitis-B and C were detected during the blood tests in six months (January 2011 to June 2011) at the Blood Bank of the Civil Hospital here. Of these as many as 103 were found to be suffering from Hepatitis-C.

However, six persons were also detected to be suffering from HIV during this period. Besides, two persons were kept in the category of doubtful cases for HIV and referred for further examination.

According to information, the local blood bank tested 4968 units of blood in these six months, which were donated by donors at camps voluntarily or were given by the persons to the blood bank as replacement for the blood supplied.

It may be recalled that in 2010, as many as 197 cases of Hepatitis-B and C had been detected during the blood tests at the local blood bank. However, of these 197 cases, 139 were found to be suffering from Hepatitis-C. During tests at the blood bank the same year, three persons were found to be suffering from HIV whereas three were considered as doubtful cases.

When contacted, Blood Transfusion Officer (BTO) at the Blood Bank here, Dr Inderdeep Singh Sra said the number of Hepatitis-C cases was more as compared to Hepatitis-B because the virus of Hepatitis-C remains dormant and is carried by the patient for many years.

In contrast, the symptoms and signs of Hepatitis-B appears in 15 to 20 days. He also said that the Hepatitis-C virus grew slowly due to which it took many years to shape into a full blast case.

Dr Sra said the root of infection in Hepatitis-B and C cases was the same, namely, the use of contaminated syringes and needles, administration of contaminated blood, and from mother to child.

He further said that the patient suffering from Hepatitis-C lived for about 15 years but if the patient received treatment at an early stage, then chances of his being cured were high. If the patient is diagnosed and treated at a later stage, then the life of the patient could be prolonged by five to 10 years, he added.

He said the prevalence of Hepatitis-B in Punjab was 0.5 per cent while in the case of Hepatitis-C, it was two per cent.

Officiating Civil Surgeon Dr Raghubir Singh Randhawa appealed to the people to insist on using sterilised syringes and needles by the medical practitioners during their treatment.

Dr Randhawa also said that people should avoid injections and opt for it only if needed. He said the patients should also receive treatment from qualified doctors to protect themselves from the deadly diseases, especially Hepatitis-C.

Fazilka, July 18
A Punjab police head constable Balbir Singh (38) was allegedly shot dead by an assailant after a verbal duel.

The firing incident took place near village Bakainwala on Sunday in the evening. Notably, a one-year-old child Vikram had a miraculous escape as he sustained a minor fire-arm injury on his leg in the incident.

As per the FIR lodged with Sadar Police (Fazilka) by Suman Rani, the wife of the deceased head constable, their family members including her sister Chindepal Kaur, her husband Sukhdev Singh and their kids Gurpreet Singh and Vikram, were returning to village 1C Badi of Sriganganagar district after meeting their parents at village Ojhanwali of Fazilka sub-division.

They were travelling in a car, which accidentally hit a cultivator attached to a tractor and got punctured near village Bakainwala. Following the accident, the occupants of the tractor and farmer Hirdayjit Singh had an altercation. Hirdayjit Singh reportedly left the scene.

Balbir Singh informed the Khuian Sarwar police station about the accident where he was posted. He also informed the members of his family members to arrange another vehicle for them.

Meanwhile, Hirdayjit Singh along with his another companion Santokh Singh reached the site.

Hirdayjit Singh allegedly fired upon Balbir Singh with his .315 bore rifle injuring him seriously.

As he fired on Balbir Singh, the police party from Khuian Sarwar reached the scene and nabbed him.

Balbir Singh was rushed to the Civil Hospital (Abohar) from where he was referred to the Government Medical College, Faridkot. He succumbed to his injury on the way at night. Sadar police (Fazilka) have registered a case under Section 302, 34 of the IPC against Hirdayjit Sing and his companion Santokh Singh

Bathinda, July 18
The non-bailable warrants issued against Giani Balwant Singh Nandgarh, Jathedar, Takht Damdama Sahib (Talwandi Sabo) and other leaders of the Sikh community by a court of the judicial magistrate, Tohana (Haryana), is likely to snowball into a major controversy.

Nandgarh said he would not appear in the court of the judicial magistrate, Tohana, which issued non-bailable warrants against him and other leaders of the Sikh community on the complaint filed by a disciple of the Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda, headed by Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh.

He added that as per the Sikh tenets, no Jathedar (priest) of any Takht of Sikhism is supposed to appear in 'duniavi adalats' (worldly courts).

He added that no Jathedar of any Takht had appeared in any worldly court so far.

The court had issued non-bailable warrants against Nandgarh on the complaint of Gurmail Singh, a resident of Chandpura village in October 2007. Gurmail Singh had alleged in his complaint that Jathedar Nandgarh and other leaders of the Sikh community delivered speeches that hurt the sentiments of the disciples of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect.

As per the reports, the court of the judicial magistrate issued non-bailable warrants against 15 persons including Jathedar Nandgarh. The court of the judicial magistrate had also directed the Jakhal police authorities to bring all the 15 persons before the court on October 14, 2011.

The refusal of Jathedar Nandgarh to appear in the court of the judicial magistrate might be taken as a challenge to the judicial system.

Nandgarh said that spreading Sikhism did not mean that he or other leaders of the Sikh community were hurting the sentiments of Dera followers. He said that to protect Sikh religion from the repeated attacks of so-called worldly Gurus was not a sin.

Nandgarh said government agencies concerned must tell why no action was taken against Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh, the head of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect, for his involvement in giving arms training to his followers in his premises located near Sirsa.

He asked why the Dera chief was being given "VVIP" treatment despite the fact that he had been facing trials in different cases pertaining to commission of heinous crimes by him. Nandgarh said he had decided not to appear in any court in the capacity of Jathedar of the Takht. It was up to the Sikh Panth to deal with the situation, he added.

Bathinda, July 18
Congress MLA from Bathinda Harminder Singh Jassi today announced that the party would not allow the setting up of a solid waste management plant (SWMP) in the Bathinda Municipal Corporation (BMC) limits, near several localities including Housefed Colony, Nachhattar Nagar, Bhai Mati Dass Nagar, on the Bathinda-Mansa road. He said the plant was being set up at a cost of over Rs 200 crores.

He said after the setting up of the SWMP, the solid waste from 18 municipal councils of the region would be brought here in hundreds of trucks and other vehicles daily.

This solid waste would not only pollute the air in a big way but would also make the life of the residents of this city miserable. Besides, it would also lead to several types of diseases in the city. After the management of the solid waste, the remains would be dumped in Mandi Khurd village, he added.

Jassi said he would raise the issue in the ensuing session of the Punjab Assembly while the Congress party would stall the proceedings of the Assembly, if the demand was not accepted.

Besides, the Congress would also submit a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner to forward the same to the Chief Minister to stall the proposal for this plant. Otherwise, the party would be compelled to stage dharnas and take to agitation, he added.

With regard to shifting of the local bus stand to the Bibi Wala Chowk area, Jassi said as there was no need now to shift the bus stand from the existing site, the Congress opposed this move of the government.

He said the state government should complete the ring road soon to lessen the burden of traffic. He also said the Congress party, after coming to power, would construct houses for the hutment dwellers in the city.

Bathinda, July 18
After attaining the top position among the girls in the IIT-JEE (2011) and overall 12th rank in this examination, Sumegha Garg from Bathinda has now added another feather to her cap by winning a gold medal at the 42nd International Physics Olympiad (IPhO), which concluded in Bangkok yesterday.

This was confirmed by Dr Vijay Singh, National Coordinator of the Science Olympiad, when this reporter contacted him over the phone in this regard today.

In this IPhO, more than 390 students from 84 countries, including five from India, took part. Sumegha, who won a gold medal at the IPhO, remained the topper in the girls' category while she secured the 11th position among more than 390 students, who took part in the IPhO.

Talking to TNS here today, her father, Devinder Pal Garg, Additional Superintending Engineer, Thermal Plant, Bathinda, said his daughter had been trained at the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education, Mumbai, to take part in the International Physics Olympiad for over a month.

Garg gave the credit for his daughter's feat to her teachers at the RB DAV Senior Secondary School, Bathinda, from where she had passed her 10+2 (non-medical) examinations.

Abohar, July 18
The Ministry of Food Processing Industries and Nitcon would jointly organise a six-week entrepreneurs development camp here from July 26.

Sub-divisional Magistrate (SDM) Jasdeep Singh Aulakh informed that the applications from the interested youth would be screened at the Block Development and Panchayat Office office here till July 22. — OC

Abohar, July 18
Frustrated over poor gains during the burglaries, miscreants set stocks partly ablaze before leaving some shops, located in the main bazaar here last night.

Notably, burglaries have remained unchecked for the past few years and there had been no major arrests by the police in this connection, the shopkeepers resented.

The shops targeted last night included Vinod Truck House, Abohar Book Centra, Ganesh Sewing Centre, Praveen Footwear and a mobile shop. Stationary, syllabi books and other goods were found burnt even as the miscreants took away thousands of rupees from the cash counters. There had been no patrolling by the police, the shopkeepers regretted in a letter sent to the authorities in the evening.

Moga, July 18
A 13-year-old minor Dalit girl was allegedly sexually abused by three youths at her house in a remote village under Baghapurana sub-division of the Moga district. The medical examination of the girl, under trauma, was conducted by a gynaecologist in the district hospital here on Monday.

Dr Jyoti, the gynaecologist, said no injury marks were visible on the girl’s body. “We have taken the samples of her vaginal swab for sending it to a government laboratory for chemical examination,” she added.

SHO, Baghapurana police station, Partap Singh, under whose jurisdiction the village of the victim falls, said he had received a complaint in this connection. “We are waiting for the medical examination report and accordingly a legal action would be taken,” he pointed out. He did not rule out the possibility of seeking legal opinion in the case.

In reply to a question, the SHO said the police had already identified the youths, who hail from the same village but they were not yet taken into custody for interrogation at the time of filing the news.

As per the preliminary investigation made by the police, the girl was alone at home when the incident took place.

Ferozepur, July 18
The BSF jawans arrested a Pakistani national last night while he was making an attempt to cross over to India from the Old Mohamdi Wala border observation post (BOP) area in the Ferozepur sector.

Though the BSF authorities are tight-lipped on the development and did not respond to the phone calls made by the media, information gathered by TNS revealed that the intruder was involved in smuggling as well as espionage.

Unconfirmed sources said the intruder, aged around 25 years, was identified as Mohamad Ishfaq. He is believed to be a resident of Sadhara village falling in Ganda Singh Wala police station of Kasur district of Pakistan.

A mobile phone, a SIM card, newspapers, letters and some other incriminating documents were recovered from his possession.

The BSF authorities did not allow the sleuths of different intelligence agencies to interrogate the accused.

Sources added that the BSF did not hand over the accused to the Punjab police authorities till the filing of the news even when he was taken into custody.

Whether the accused crossed over to India through the land route or used the Sutlej to swim across to India from Pakistan could not be known. The accused was taken into custody by the jawans of the 143rd Battalion of the BSF.

Abohar, July 18
Rotary International District Governor (DG) Amjad Ali Khan administered the oath of office to the new team of the Rotary Club Abohar Midtown here. The team comprises president Manish Narang, vice-president Vipan Jagga, secretary Gaurav Munjal and finance secretary Om Parkash Trikha. Begum Firos enrolled 15 women as members of the Rotary Club on the occasion.

The DG later visited the Mahatma Gandhi Vidyalaya to donate 20 desks, sponsored by Dr Sushil Miglani and Dr Saroj Miglani. — OC

Abohar, July 18
A large number of passengers were stranded as hundreds of citizens blocked the traffic outside the municipal bus stand here for three hours.

The protesters staged a dharna on the main road braving heat in support of their demand for booking the in-laws of one Naresh Kumar alias Shunty, who was found dead yesterday under mysterious circumstances. They said Naresh had strained relations with his wife. She had been residing with her parents for the past few weeks at village Sureshwala of Fazilka sub-division.

Naresh, who reportedly faced threats from his in-laws many times, was found lying dead near a refrigerator while the TV had not been switched off in a room at his house in Jammu Basti here on Sunday.

Some marks were identified on his neck, the protesters claimed. The city police rushed to the bus stand and negotiated with the protesters through the senior councillor Vimal Thathai.

The administration agreed to form medical board to conduct the postmortem at the civil hospital here and initiate legal proceedings accordingly. The protesters dispersed after they were assured of fair probe.

Abohar, July 18
In an unprecedented action, two women staged a dharna outside the shop owned by one of their brothers here today. They alleged that their brother had duped them of lakhs of rupees.

Saroj Rani and her sister Nirmala Devi of Nohar (Rajasthan), sat on dharna attracting the attention of hundreds of citizens here. They alleged that they had deposited Rs 17 lakh with one of their brothers as he needed money to start business as commission agent at Gharsana in Sriganganagar region.

Moga, July 18
With reference to the news story, ‘Agri dept nudges farmers to opt for mechanised paddy transplantation’ that appeared in these columns on July 18, the Agriculture Department has clarified that the seeds required in mechanised paddy transplantation is 30 kilogram per hectare while the requirement is around 20 kilogram per hectare under manual transplantation.

The agriculture officer Dr Jaswinder Brar said mechanised transplantation of paddy increases production by 10 per cent and also saves water by 10 per cent by laser levelling of the field. — TNS