Bathinda, July 20
In protest against the rampant corruption in the country, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarathi Parishad (ABVP) will stage demonstrations on July 27 at all district headquarters in the country.

Besides, the ABVP will also begin a nationwide campaign from Nagpur on August 9 (Quit India Movement Day) to compel those accused of coruption and holding political posts to quit.

State secretary of the ABVP, Punjab, Ashutosh Tiwari said here today that lakhs of ABVP workers and activists throughout the country would take part in the 27 July programme.

He said that on that day, they would hold demonstrations in front of the offices of the Deputy Commissioners to send a strong message to the UPA government against corruption.

Tiwari further said that on August 15, when Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh would hoist Tri-colour in Delhi, the ABVP activists and workers would take out a foot-march at the same time throughout the country to create awareness among the masses against the Congress-led UPA government, allegedly involved in scams.

He also asked the Punjab government to hold elections to the students unions in the colleges and universities as it had not been held in the last 25 years. He said the ABVP representatives had met Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal about one and a half years ago in Chandigarh in this regard, but to no avail.

Tiwari also announced in that case their demand, regarding elections to the students unions, was not accepted then they would gherao the MLAs and MPs in their respective areas to ask them why they were contesting elections if they were not in favour of elections to the students union.

He said the ABVP was not opposing the setting up of private universities in the state, but it wanted that the government should ensure that such universities should not function like business establishments. Rather, they should work for the welfare of students, Tiwari added.

Speaking on behalf of the 'Youth Against Corruption', a wing of the ABVP, Ashutosh said the youths, associated with the organisation, were in favour of corruption-free India. This was the reason why they were fighting against corruption and preparing the countrymen to fight against corrupt practices.

He said the organisation also wanted that ‘Prevention of Bribery in Private Sectors/NGO Sector Bill 2011’ should be discussed in Parliament and passed to make the country free from corruption. He said the organisation also wanted that the Government of India should immediately implement anti-corruption treaty of the United Nations (UN).

Bathinda, July 20
Though the Punjab Cabinet approved filling up of 3669 vacant posts of medical officer besides para-medical staff in the Health Department yesterday, it is not known whether the SAD-BJP government will be able to fill up these vacant posts during its current tenure due to the lengthy recruitment process.

Several people to whom this reporter met here had different views on the issue. Some of them termed it as a political stunt before the ensuing Assembly elections while others of the view that the government was serious in this direction.

But till now, how serious the government was towards filling up vacant posts in the Health Department in a big way could be easily assessed from the vacant posts of different categories in Bathinda district alone.

As per the information, there are 160 sanctioned posts of medical officers (MO) in Bathinda district, of which more than 40 are still vacant. The vacant posts of the MO at various places include four in the sub-divisional hospital at Rampura, three in women and children's hospital at Bathinda, one in Bathinda Police Lines dispensary, one in TB Clinic at Bathinda, besides hospitals and health centres situated at Natheha, Kotshameer, Virk Kalan, Chak Attar Singh Wala, Dayalpur Mirza, Dhapali and Phul civil dispensary.

Likewise, there are 13 sanctioned posts of dental surgeons in the district, of which nine have been lying vacant for long. These posts are vacant at Women and Children's Hospital at Bathinda, Sangat, Nathana, Ballianwali, Bhagta, Krarwala, Maur and Raman.

There are two posts of radiologist in the district. One is lying vacant in the Women and Children's Hospital at Bathinda while on the second post at the Civil Hospital, Bathinda, no radiologist has been working for the past several months as the radiologist, posted there, is said to be absent from duty. Likewise, there are ten sanctioned posts of radiographers in the hospitals and health centres, of which five have been lying vacant so far at TB Hospital at Bathinda, Bhagta, Ballianwali, Sangat and Rampura.

Besides these vacant posts, 36 posts of staff nurse, out of 128, have also been lying vacant in Ballianwali, Nathana, Goniana, Talwandi Sabo, Maur, Bathinda civil hospital, and Women and Children Hospital at Bathinda etc.

Out of 60 posts of laboratory technician, about 30 are still vacant in the hospitals and health centres in the district at Bathinda Civil Hospital, TB Hospital at Bathinda, Rampura, Maur, Raman, Sangat, Nathana and Ballianwali etc.

Such a large number of vacant posts in different categories have reportedly been making an adverse effect on the healthcare services in the urban as well as rural areas of the district, despite the fact that the district is considered as the hub of political activities of the ruling Badal family.

Bathinda, July 20
Due to the strike by the PRTC drivers, conductors and workers, working on contract basis, about 90 buses of the PRTC depot, Bathinda, today remained off the road while about 75 buses plied on their routes.

Traffic Manager at the PRTC depot, Bathinda, Jaswinder Chehal said today that the 76 buses of Bathinda depot that plied on the routes included 44 buses of the kilometer scheme.

He said about 90 buses that remained off the road included about 20 buses which were under repair in the workshop.

President of the PRTC Employees Union (INTUC), Bathinda depot Ganda Singh Dhaliwal said the contractual employees had been working as employees of the contractors for the past five to 10 years while their demand was regularisation of their services under the PRTC management.

Dhaliwal said they were demanding that their services should be regularised on the pattern of Haryana, according to which after the completion of three years in service, every contractual employee was to be made permanent.

He claimed that about 90 per cent contractual employees were on strike. He said even the Chief Minister had assured them about the regularisation of services of contractual employees, but to no avail so far.

Moga, July 20
The House meeting of the Moga Municipal Council was disrupted for a couple of hours on Wednesday following a scuffle between a municipal councillor and the employees of the local body. The employees, who were protesting against vice-president Anil Bansal outside the meeting hall, turned violent when a councilor Balbir Singh indulged in a verbal duel with them.

The councillor was allegedly beaten up by the employees and disturbance was created in the House meeting. A table and window panes of a room were broken during the scuffle. The president of the Council, Barjinder Singh Brar, while expressing shock over the incident, immediately called a closed door meeting of the anguished councillor and a leader of the employees union along with some other councillors to sort out the dispute between them.

Though the employees ended the protest at the time of filing the news but no consensus was reportedly reached on the dispute. The councillor was said to be ‘adamant’ on not getting into a compromise ruing that he was manhandled and attacked by the employees.

Later, the employees union also announced that they would not do any work in ward number 13 represented by Balbir Singh, who passed verbal remarks against the Class-IV workers, alleged the employees.

Meanwhile, Brar and Bansal claimed that they would soon resolve the issue between the two parties and restore the peaceful atmosphere by mutual dialogue.

“The dispute is not in the interest of the residents of the town at a time when the state government is likely to notify it as a Municipal Corporation in the next few days,” they added.

Sriganganagar, July 20
The euphoria over restoration of the old Bikaner canal after repairing its abandoned stretch from RD 0-45 is over in less than 24 hours. The water was released yesterday from the Hussainiwala barrage in the abandoned canal that was damaged during the floods in 1988. Hans Raj Poonia, convener, Gang Canal Bachao Samiti, attended the ceremony along with other senior functionaries of the saffron party.

On their return, scores of BJP workers celebrated. However, they were shocked today as the Punjab Irrigation Department in a telegram sent to the officials here made it clear that 500 cusecs of water would be released through the repaired stretch to the Eastern canal branch that feeds Jalalabad, represented by Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal and Fazilka, represented by Transport Minister Surjit Kumar Jayani, segments of Ferozepur district. The farmers from Sriganganagar can expect water through the Gang (Bikaner) canal only when it becomes surplus.

In another development, the Rajasthan Government has indicated that no money would be released to Punjab for repairing the RD 0-45 stretch of the abandoned Bikaner canal. Even when the Punjab Irrigation Department had initially put the estimate at Rs 85 lakh, its officials yesterday said a sum of Rs 30 lakh had been spent on the task.

Taufiq Hussain Hashmi, joint secretary, Rajasthan Vidhan Sabha, while responding to the representation made by the Rajasthan Kisan Sangharsh Samiti spokesman Subhash Sehgal, today cleared in his letter (copy available with The Tribune) that there was no need to sanction budget for repair of Bikaner (Gang) canal from RD 0-45 since 2720 cusecs discharge through Ferozepur feeder was mandatory. Rs 239 lakh had already been placed at the disposal of the Punjab Government for repair of the Gang (Bikaner) canal, the work was taken up in April, this year.

Hashmi informed that the Public Accounts Committee of Rajasthan Vidhan Sabha had inspected the Indira Gandhi Canal Project in February, this year. The visit covered all canals that originate from the Ferozepur district to feed the twin districts of Sriganganagar and Hanumangarh. Efforts made by Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot have resulted in investment clearance for relining of the Indira Gandhi feeder up to RD 496 in Punjab area at a cost of Rs 952.10 crores. Ninety per cent of the budget would be provided by the Centre, the rest is to be paid by the Rajasthan Government. Hashmi said the Planning Commission has also given investment clearance to project estimated at Rs 489.16 crore for the repair of the Sirhind feeder. Punjab has signed MoU for the project. Ninety per cent of the cost would be borne by the Centre to cover the share of Rajasthan in the project.

Punjab has put forward its demand for providing budget to repair Sirhind and Indira Gandhi feeders. Re-lining has been proposed after the Rabi season during 2011-12. The Central Water Commission has cleared budget worth Rs 401.63 crore for pending re-lining work in the Indira Gandhi feeder.

Abohar, July 20
While expressing gratitude to the UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Punjab affairs in-charge Thakur Gulchain Singh Charak and PPCC president Captain Amarinder Singh for appointing him the chairperson of the Flagship Programme Monitoring Committee (FPMC), Abohar legislator Sunil Jakhar said his emphasis would be on exposing the failures of the SAD-BJP alliance government in utilising the funds provided by the UPA-led Central Government.

He said the state government had deliberately avoided passing on the benefits of scores of schemes launched and funded by the Central Government to benefit the rural folk, Scheduled Castes and economically weaker sections of the society. Funds worth billions of rupees were allegedly siphoned off to benefit political workers at the sangat darshan programmes without following the prescribed procedure.

There were instances when the grants were held up as the state government failed in submitting its demand well 
in time. — OC

Abohar, July 20
The Equal Opportunity Centre run by the Gopi Chand Arya Mahila College under the UGC scheme has come to the aid of the girls hailing from Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes in getting higher education.

The DPI (Colleges) Punjab has released a sum of Rs 3.86 lakh for the cause.

Principal Dr Neelam Arun Mittu on Wednesday gave away the cheques to 80 students during the function held to mark the opening of the new academic session.

Sriganganagar, July 20
ASI Fateh Singh, presently posted at Bhadra police station, has been arrested by the Anti- Corruption Bureau (ACB) for accepting Rs 15,000 as bribe. DSP Lakshman Sankhla, who led the ACB team, said Ashok Aggarwal of Chandigarh had complained against the ASI on Tuesday.

The money was handed over to a chemist shop owner Bhajan Lal allegedly as per the instructions from the ASI. The ACB team raided the shop and arrested ASI Fateh Singh along with Bhajan Lal and recovered the money. Search at Fateh Singh’s residence is going on, the ACB said. — OC