Bathinda, September 26
Due to the complete strike by the staff of the local Suwidha Centre at the Mini-secretariat here today in support of their demands, including regularisation of services, hundreds of visitors had to face great inconvenience and disappointment as they were forced to return to their respective destinations without getting their work done. A large number of them had come from different parts of the district.

As the Suwidha centre remained locked, people returned after reading a notice pasted on its gate, 'The public is hereby informed that due to the strike, the district Suwidha Centre, Bathinda, will remain closed today, i.e. September 26, 2011'.

Many of the visitors expressed great resentment against the administration, saying it should have made arrangements in advance as the closure of the centre was in its knowledge. They also resented the manner in which the centre had been closed today without informing the public in advance.

Deputy Commissioner KK Yadav said the administration could not make alternative arrangements to run the centre as it did not have trained personnel to perform the duties in the absence of the Suwidha Centre staff. He said work at the centre could not be performed today as the staff had gone to Chandigarh to submit a memorandum, relating to their demands, to the authorities concerned.

The affected persons had visited the centre today to submit the application forms for getting their work done or receive the documents, prepared by the offices in response to the applications, filed by them earlier in connection with their work.

I have come here after travelling 100 kms to receive my birth certificate as I was born in Hakamwala vilage in Bathinda. But I am now forced to go back now empty-handed. Sudhir Kumar, salesman, Moga

I had come to collect the copy of the Tehsildar’s order about partition of land but to no avail. It must be ensured that work at the centre does not suffer despite the strike by the staff there. Kuldip Singh, Agriculturist, Bathinda

I had come to receive my driving licence. I had deposited the papers on August 19. Now, I find the gate locked. Such strikes should not be allowed as it causes inconvenience to people. Suresh Kumar Singla,  Cotton trader, Bathinda

I had come to collect my birth certificate but failed to collect it as the strike by the employees is on. The money that I spent on the bus fare has all gone waste and I shall have to come back again later. Gurbachan Singh, Ex-serviceman, Bhucho Khurd

Bathinda, September 26
Utter chaos prevailed today on the city roads during the visit of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.

The CM along with his ministers, local politicians and bureaucrats visited the Civil Hospital and the administrative complex for inauguration of the recently constructed buildings. The politicians reached the venues in vehicles fitted with red beacons and escort gypsies.

Though massive security arrangements were made for the CM and the politicians, the commuters remained at the receiving end as the entire police force was deployed around the venues where the CM visited.

While a large number of traffic policemen were deployed on the route taken by the chief minister's convoy, commuters were seen flouting rules on the other roads in the city.

The gun-toting and baton wielding security men trailing behind the CM's vehicles were seen using abusive language near Gurudwara Haji Rattan while asking the commuters to move aside from the CM's convoy.

"The road is too narrow and two-wheelers are left with no space to park their vehicles. The security officials scared the bikers and cyclists using sticks and guns,” said Pawan Kumar.

Another resident, Dinesh Kumar, who was on his way to the Civil Hospital, said a policeman sitting beside the driver’s seat in a Gypsy ordered him to stop using threatening language.

"The angry policeman even threatened to hit their bike with the Gypsy. I got scared and got off my bike,” Dinesh said.

Area residents said the policemen were deployed on all the roads since early morning. The roads were spruced up and water was also sprinkled and no vehicle was allowed to park alongside the CM's route.

SSP Sukhchain Singh Gill could not be contacted for comments despite repeated attempts.

DIG Paramjit Singh Grewal when apprised of the 'bullying' by the cops said that policemen deployed in CM's security might have used abusive language and threatened commuters.

Bathinda, September 26
Railway passengers today heaved a sigh of relief as the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) resumed e-ticket booking today.

E-ticket booking had been closed since August 22. “Suspension of these services translated into harassment for general public and wastage of time. I had to go all the way to the railway station to get it cancelled. Due to the long queue, I wasted nearly half of my day,” said Vatsal, a resident of Model Town phase I.

Students from other states live in the city for coaching in medical and non-medical streams. In order to save time and fuel, they register online and hence, had to face the problem.

“I had to go to Jaipur to collect my documents. A day before, I decided to get an e-ticket, but could not. Later, I learned that this service has been suspended for many days past,” said Abhibav Kumar, a student of Plus two non-medical.

An agent authorised by the Railway, Sandeep Kumar, living in Pratap Nagar area, said the railways had wrongly suspended the services.

“Railway does not earn any margin while selling tickets directly from its counters. At the same time, it earns Rs 20 for every ticket for AC class and Rs 10 for every ticket of non-AC category,” he said.

Officials at the Ferozepur railway division said they were also aware of the problem and have been persuading the IRCTC to resume services. “Its a breather for not only passengers but for the agents and travel portals as well. Much business was lost due to the closure. Around three lakh tickets are booked online everyday in Punjab itself,” he said.

Bathinda railway station superintendent SN Rai said the suspension has had no impact on the normal booking at railway station. “Our problem was accommodating the defence personnel. Now, we have a separate counter in the cantonment for them,” he said.

Bathinda, September 26
Exactly a year after he tried to rape a four-year-old girl in his neighborhood, a resident of Namdev Nagar was awarded five years of rigorous imprisonment today.

The court of District and Sessions Judge SK Aggarwal awarded the sentence to 60-year-old Hardev Singh, a tailor by profession, who tried to rape the minor girl, his neighbour, on September 26, 2010.

He was caught trying to rape the child and the girl's family members and residents of the area had thrashed him, painted his face black and paraded him in full public view. The girl's father has a shop of electronics goods in the fish market, Bathinda.

On the day of the incident, when the complainant came home after paying obeisance at the gurudwara, he asked his wife about the whereabouts of their four-year-old daughter.

He then went out to locate his daughter at around 9:15 am.

Along with another neighbor, when he reached the house of the accused Hardev Singh, they found him molesting the child and trying to rape her. The child was crying out of fear. They told the police that had they not reached in time, the accused would have raped the child.

The accused was tried under sections 376, 354 and 511 of the IPC. He was convicted under section 376 and 511 of the IPC.

The court sentenced him to five years of imprisonment and a fine of Rs 500 and in case of default in the payment of fine, he would undergo a further five months of imprisonment.

Bathinda, September 26
Family members of a 25-year-old youth, who allegedly became the victim of honour killing two and a half months ago, today sat on dharna for an indefinite period near the district administrative complex demanding the arrest of the accused.

Family members of the deceased Gurjant Singh, allegedly murdered by the relatives of a married woman, for having relations with her, alleged that police is not arresting the accused despite registering a case.

The family members alleged they would sit on an indefinite dharna till their demands are met and all the accused are arrested.

Narrating their tale, relatives of the deceased and the villagers supporting the dharna from Badiana village near Rampura said Gurjant was in love with the woman since school days.

When the woman's relatives came to know about their relationship, they got her married within a few days. The boy and the girl, however, continued their relationship despite the girl's marriage in a village near Mansa. They left together for Kharar near Mohali a few months ago and stayed together for some time in a rented accommodation.

The boy, however, came back to his village one evening and was beaten up by the woman's relatives. Gurjant, however, managed to escape. Later, a villager contacted him and offered to help in reaching a compromise with the girl's family members. He allegedly called Gurjant to his house in the village and murdered him with the help of the girl's family members. His body was found from a canal near Bathinda in July.

DSP Parminder Singh who investigated the case said that 11 family members of the woman have already been arrested. He added that the family is now demanding the arrest of four more people. Meanwhile, villagers want compensation for the family as the boy was the only brother of four sisters.

Bathinda, September 26
"Every leader has applauded but never gave me food to eat," lamented Preetam Singh Gujral, famous among the residents of the city as a Ram Leela artist. The octogenarian has seen many phases of the transformation of the country.

At a very young age, he started performing on the stage, when people did not gain acceptance for pursuing a vocation in music or dance and these were held in low esteem. Noticing his talent, he was awarded a job in the Railways where which he worked for 42 years.

About how his passion for dance sprouted, he explained, "Before the job, I worked as a helper at the house of the manager of Jagdish Ashram, where Bhupindra flour mill is located these days. When nobody was at home, I used to wear the clothes of the manager's daughter and dance in front of the mirror for several hours. It was then that I recognised my inborn talent."

Preetam's speciality is that he completely transforms himself into a woman and can dance for hours. Throwing a challenge at the other dancers, he said, "Even at this age, I have the potential to dance for hours at a stretch and can beat any big dancer." He proudly said that he had also worked with Savitri, the mother of Bollywood actor Govinda.

The old man expresses his grief while narrating about his family circumstances. His family is totally dependent on his pension. Also, he has to take care of his grandchildren because due to a neurological problem, his son has lost his eye-sight and cannot help the family in financial matters. "There are a many bigwigs, who have awarded me. I was also honoured by Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru in 1961 at Hanumangarh for my dance. But now, nobody has respect for this talent."

"I have gone to many leaders and influential people but not even a single person came forward to help me," he says.

For the last 30 years, he has been working with the New Friends Ekta Dramatics Club, which organises the Ram Leela for the locals.

He is a famous artist and is at his best in the roles of Soorpanakha, Shabri and Kaikayee. He has a friendly association with this club and works here for free.

During the Navratras, he is called by Railway Dramatics Club for the Ram Leela. They pay him Rs 1000 per day. "When people need me, they keep calling me, but the moment their work is over, they throw me out like waste."

At this stage of life, all what this senior artist wants is that his art should be recognised at least before his death. "Also, the government should help me and many artists like me, who are forced to live unrecognised," his voice trails off. 

Bathinda, September 26
The residents of Bathinda today blocked the Bhagu road to protest against the plying of heavy vehicles in the residential area resulting in the increase of accidents. The protesters raised slogans against the police and district administration for their failure to stop the flow of heavy traffic from the Bhagu road. 

“The trucks disturb people in the residential areas besides causing inconvenience to the school children,” said GS Cheema, one of the protesters. Cheema demanded that the route of heavy vehicles be diverted to the other main roads of the city as schools and residential areas are situated on the Bhagu road. 

Jagdev Singh Mangat, Ajay Singla, Shyam Singh Jaura also sitting on dharna along with many children and women said they have taken up the matter with the district authorities umpteen times but to no avail. “My son was hit by a speeding truck a few days back and fortunately survived with minor injuries. There are many other children, who too met with accidents due to the heavy trucks,” said Ajay Singla, a resident of the Bhagu road.

He said the trucks have adopted the route of Bhagu road just a few months ago. Traffic police officials do not divert their route towards the residences of the Deputy Commissioner and the SSP even as the road in front of their houses is wider as compared to the Bhagu road. 

The residents said the trucks on way to Barnala, Sangrur, Ludhiana or Chandigarh from Dabwali side use the Bhagu road to reach the Barnala road. 

“Even the officials of private schools on the Bhagu road have written letters to the SSP and DC but to no avail,” said the residents. 

People sitting on dharna said they would continue their protest for an indefinite period but would not allow heavy traffic to pass through the residential area. 

“The overloaded trucks use pressure horns and do not allow any other vehicle to overtake and at times they are driven at breakneck speed,” said Shyam Singh Jaura. 

City traffic inspector Jagdish Kumar assured the protesting residents of resolving the problem after arranging a meeting of the residents with the Deputy Commissioner or the SSP within three days. 

The traffic is now diverted towards the bus stand for three days after one and a half hours of dharna. 

The route of heavy trucks is diverted towards the Bhagu road where the residential areas are situated. The police do not allow the plying of heavy vehicles in front of the residences of the Deputy Commissioner and the SSP.~ — GS Cheema

}My son sustained minor injuries. There are many other children who too received injuries in accidents after the plying of trucks began on this road. We would continue the dharna if the authorities fail to take any action in this regard.  — Ajay Singla

Bathinda, September 26
Due to improper pure drinking water facilities in the emergency wing and the surgical ward of the local Civil Hospital, the patients and their attendants are facing problems nowadays. 

Intriguingly, the hospital authorities have installed only one water cooler near the ART Centre on the ground floor of this huge building, which is also out of service for the past few days. Due to this, even the ART Centre staff procures drinking water from outside the building.

However, the building has some water coolers that have been donated through NGOs. In front of the gate of the old emergency block, a water cooler is in working condition but is not equipped with reverse osmosis (RO) system. On the ground floor near the emergency wing, there are two water coolers given by donors, but one of them is not functioning. 

Deputy Medical Commissioner Dr Vinod Garg admitted that there was only one government water cooler in the building, adding that it would be repaired and made functional soon. 

Patients, their attendants and visitors to the hospital resent that the government has failed to provide even basic facilities like pure drinking water in such a big hospital. 

They believed that the government should not depend upon NGOs for providing basic facilities like drinking water. 

Fly ash produced by the thermal plant is one of the major problems. Due to this, we are prone to a number of health diseases. Allergies, eye-infections and respiratory diseases are common among others. We have raised the issue many times but to no avail. MM Behal, Resident, Panchvati Nagar

We are helpless about the air pollution, which ultimately leads to the hazardous health ailments. At times, the containers can be filled with it, if the wind blows in the direction of our colony. Driving two-wheelers and walking are near to the impossible in such conditions. We cannot even sit in our lawns. Darshan Singh, Resident, green Avenue 

The most affected are the women, who have to do cleaning of their houses for the whole day, as they never get rid of the dust because of the fly ash. The white clothes, if left outside, got darken by the evening. Worst! Even the daily helpers refuse to come for work. Gurmeet Kaur Jassi, Resident, Vishal nagar 

This ash must have entered our vitals. We are worried about our children as they are inhaling the polluted air. We remain conscious due to the pollution. Nobody has ever heard our hue and cry. Who cares? Sanjay Sharma, Resident, green Avenue

Bathinda September 26 
With the season of marriages approaching, the local Lakme Salon today unveiled the bridal trends for 2011 by demonstrating two bridal looks for a Punjabi would-be bride. 

Two models in full Punjabi attire designed by Ritu Kumar remained the cynosure at the event. Lakme Salon expert Enna Malkotia detailed about various bridal looks but laid emphasis on the Punjabi bride. She explained to the guests the trends in vogue these days. 

Keeping in mind the culture and tradition of Punjabis, Enna had transformed her models from head to toe. While readying a model, she said, “Punjabi weddings are always bright and colourful. The bride should also reflect a similar opulence and should look best on her big day.”

“The make-up and hair-do that I have given to this model not only represents the culture and tradition of Punjab but is contemporary too. We keep in mind the bride's choice and comfort as well as the bridal function before we dress her up for D-Day,” she said Kartik Sheth, chief opertating officer, Lakme Lever, said, “Exploring bridal expressions of the contemporary Indian woman is the soul of our expertise. We know that no two brides are alike and each of them takes pride in displaying her roots by the way she dresses up on her big day.”

Enna Malkotia, who has assisted American make-up artist Luan in the Meira Nair directed Monsoon Wedding and has done make-up of contestants of the Miss World 1997 at Bangalore, was in the city to display the bridal trends for 2011 at the Lakme Salon. She also works with Ritu Beri’s fashion shows as make-up artist.

About the modern brides' choice these days, she said, "Nobody wants glittery look as it appears awkward. We tend to give a contemporary look to the bride in which the natural look is maintained. They eyes make-up is darker as well as catchy. The effort behind the make-up should be to highlight beauty and not the make-up." 

She described that the make-up and hair style depends upon the age of the person, features, skin type, attire and of course personality. By quoting some examples, she explained, “Two people, whether from the same field cannot carry the same style. As PT Usha and Sania Mirza would have entirely different tastes and preferences.” 

Telling about the instruction she gives to the girls who come for their pre-bridal treatments, she said, “I ask all of them to drink a lot of water, vegetables and fresh juices, which keep their skin healthy. One should always take care of the sensitive skin because there is no pollution-free zone in our cities.”

She has done her training from Pivot Point India at New Delhi under the guidance of dermatologist Blosoom Khochar, but now she likes to impart training to the budding make-up artists. 

She said, “I like to give tips to my students about the work. I have also trained make-up artists in various airhostess academies.” 

Bathinda, September 26
Principal of Swami Vivekanand Girls’ College Raj Gupta was honoured for her commendable work in the field of NSS. 

Vice-chancellor, Punjabi University, Patiala, Dr Jaspal Singh honoured her during the golden jubilee year celebrations. Recipient of three national awards, two state awards, five Governor awards and other awards, she was the NSS programme officer from 1974 to 2003. 

She has donated blood 48 times and has been involved in other social activities.