Bathinda, September 30
The socio-economic census in Bathinda district has been delayed by ten days due to the lack of software that will tabulate the data. This is for the first time that the Government of India (GoI) is conducting a complex exercise of counting people on the basis of their religion and socio-economic factors.

Supposed to begin from September 20, the project is expected to take off from October 3 now. Sources said the exercise is yet to begin not only in Bathinda but also in others districts of the state. A government trained enumerator and an IT professional would be surveying the areas. For every block (a unit of 150 houses), an enumerator has been designated. There are a total of 616 enumerators and an equal number of IT professionals. Ten per cent of these are reserve enumerators, whose help can be sought in case of an emergency. There is a supervisor designated for every six enumerators.

For IT related work, the government has tied up with a Kerala-based company that has sent its trained professionals. "There was delay in training the enumerators, who are government employees. But since not all government employees are computer savvy or computer literate, the company decided to designate IT professionals for it," said the sources in the district administration.

An enumerator and an IT professional will visit each household to conduct the census, verify the data of the earlier census and enter fresh data regarding the religion and socio-economic status of the people being surveyed. At the end of day, the data collected will be uploaded on the civic body's server, which is connected to the National Informatics Centre.

Bathinda, September 30
Shri Ram Vriddh Ashram, the home for the elderly in city, has become a favourite hang-out for the senior citizens who meet here, share their ideas and play chess over cups of tea and binge snacks. While the home itself has seven elderly living in it, more than 40 people come daily to its daycare center.

Charanjit Singh, a retired officer from the thermal power plant, meets his friends daily. "We feel at home here. We have even constituted a small informal chess club and host friendly matches. It is not just about meeting the oldies, but about sharing a wavelength in an area with such serene surroundings," he said pointing towards the large banyan tree situated in the lush green lawns of the ashram.

Like Charanjit, Harminder Singh Gabbi from Adarsh Nagar and RD Sharma from the Housefed Colony come here daily. "All these people are part of the daycare centre being run here. Apart from the visiting senior citizens, we have seven elderly living here. These include three women and four men," said the president of ashram, Dr Shiv Dutt.

For the last 22 years, the ashram is being run for the benefit of the elderly who find solace, while spending the twilight years of their lives.

Dr Shiv Dutt says that seldom has someone come here due to poverty.

"It is all mater of having emotional relationship with children. The families of senior citizens living here do not visit them even during the festivals. They have evolved a family of their own and share the joys and sorrows of each other," he said.

An elderly, not wanting to be named, said the decision to come here was her own. "And I have not repented even a single day of my life. I have left behind the past and now have got many other things to do. Every time anyone passes away, we remember that the next time, it could be us," she said.

In some cases, children come to fetch their parents after a period of 10 to 15 days. Such families have had happy re-unions and stronger bonds.

"It is just a matter of realization," Dutt said.

Bathinda, September 30
With the country observing the Senior Citizens Day on October 1, the occasion calls for introspection and stock-taking. A generation that has served the cause of society and has been a witness to change in social, economic and political arenas, tends to view things from a wide angle. Bathinda Tribune spoke to some leading senior citizens of the city who have devoted the autumn of their lives working for the betterment of society. 

Jagmohan Kaushal: Founder, Teachers' Home, Bathinda; age 73 years

Experiential repertoire: Has been working for the cause of education since the age of 19. He was the member of the core team that established the Teachers' Home, which hosted intellectuals like Prof Yash Pal and Vandana Shiva. For last 11 years, he is publishing 'Sahi Buniyad', a magazine for the teachers.

Interests: Loves to read, write and analyse things.

Recipe for happiness: Follow your heart and the world will follow you. Work hard irrespective of the age factor. The only way to remain young forever young is to remain absorbed in work and not worry about what others think of you.

City then and now: The city has grown in terms of infrastructure we have new swanky buildings, malls and shops. But we have lost the essence of education. We murdered education with its commercialization.

Wish list: I am yet to fulfil my eternal wish. I want quality education be made accessible to all. Every child has the right to study, learn and grow up as a person. Things like Right to Education are mere formalities. How would a person know he has these rights unless and until he is educated?

Balbir Das: Social worker associated with the Teachers' Home for the past three decades; age 78 years

Experiential repertoire: Retired as a government teacher in 1993. Before retiring, he joined a group of dedicated persons who worked for the cause of education for the poor.

Interests: Helping people. Interests have changed over the years. earlier, literature interested him, now his only interest lies in extending the present infrastructure, suiting the needs of people who use the Teachers' Home for functions. He has a penchant for raising and designing buildings.

Recipe for happiness: Parameters of happiness change with time. What I loved yesterday, I might not love now. It lies within us. It is not happiness one should run behind, but contentment in doing things for the others.

City then and now: City has evolved into a centre of learning. But the poor-rich gap is increasing. People lack awareness about rights as well as duties. Every person, should utilize it to make others aware.

Wish list: I wish to keep working till my time is up. My desire is to educate people to believe in themselves. I want the youngsters to stand up for themselves and not look for support.

Darshan Kumar Garg: retired as deputy chief engineer, Bathinda distribution circle; age 62 years. He has been fulfilling the clothing needs of poor schoolchildren and has delivered several motivational lectures at the Bathinda Central Jail.

Experiential repertoire: He retired in 2007 after serving the PSEB for 36 years and started working for society after retirement.

Interests: Extensively reads about Swami Vivekananda and his works, besides listening to sermons by the Brahmkumaris.

Recipe for happiness: I never got the kind of happiness while in service as I am getting now. The post-retirement period has opened an entirely new vista for me, wherein I can peep into the world of the underprivileged. For me, happiness amounts to slipping socks on the feet of a poor child.

City then and now: I came here in 1979 and since then, everything has got polluted. The air we breathe, the water we drink, the soil we plant, our food and even the relationships. There has been a sharp deterioration in values.

Wish list: Light, white and bright is my aim in life. Light in terms of meditation, white in terms of being pious and bright in terms of the intelligentsia.

Harminder Singh Mokha: Associated with educational institutes in the city, he has been in social service for the last 60 years; age 76 years

Experiential repertoire: Retired as a government teacher after 38 years of service. He helps the underprivileged kids.

Interests: Reads Gurbani and spiritual literature

Recipe for happiness: Work keeps me going. I am a heart patient and I can't afford to sit and enjoy the day. I have to keep moving and make my body exercise. The key to happiness lies in good health and a fit state of mind. Take care of your health as God has given us this body to help others and remember Him.

City then and now: Bathinda was a city of sand dunes. When stormy winds blew, it came in different colours of white, red and black sand. The huge train compartments standing on the platform used to start moving on their own. The city may have come a long way but it still has miles to go.

Wish list: I wish drug addiction is wiped off. But it is not that minor a problem. To begin with, we will have to ensure that our children are strong enough to resist peer pressure that comes in the age of experimentation. Drug addicts need to be reformed and rehabilitated.

Bathinda, September 30
The newly introduced variety of wheat, PBW-621, remained the centre of attraction for the farmers who turned up in large numbers to purchase it during the Kisan Mela organised at the PAU Regional Station at the Dabwali road here today.

The PAU organises such melas twice a year wherein farmers are made aware of new varieties of crops, agricultural tools and new marketing methods. Chairman of the Punjab State Farmers Commission, GS Kalkat inaugurated the mela.

Farmers were seen standing in serpentine queues to purchase the new variety of wheat since early in the morning. Different varieties of wheat, raya, gobhi, sarson, oats and barley were also sold at the mela.

According to the director of the regional station of the PAU, VP Mittal, farmers purchased seeds worth nearly Rs 32 lakhs during the mela. Interestingly, of the total 32 lakhs, farmers spent Rs 25 lakh on the PBW-621 variety.

In view of the overwhelming response to this variety, the authorities had to take the services of the local policemen to streamline the queues of farmers.

The director of the regional station said the recently introduced variety yielded 21 quintals of wheat per acre. The variety is useful for farmers as it is also resistant to the attack of yellow and brown rust.

Some of the farmers at the mela failed to get the new variety of wheat in view of the heavy rush and returned empty-handed. Those who failed to get the new variety said now they would enquire into the claims made by some private companies who advertise yield upto 30 quintals per acre.

PAU officials at the mela said they also try to create awareness among the farmers about the right time for watering the fields, sowing seeds, medication and how to market the products.

"There was utter chaos and no shelter for the farmers and they were forced to stand in queues amidst the scorching heat to purchase seeds," said Ram Singh, a farmer from the Bhainibagha village in Mansa district.

Bathinda, September 30
As the state-run telecom operator BSNL withdrew its point of interconnection (POI) in Punjab, around 60,000 BSNL users of Bathinda and Mansa districts lost their connectivity with the users of private telecom companies like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and the TTSL.

These three private operators have not paid over Rs 1,800 crore as carriage charges.

The state has taken this step following similar action by states like Rajasthan and Maharashtra.

"Most homes have no landline connections these days as all members of the family keep cell phones and that too, a connection of their choice. So, inter-connection between the families has been lost. I have to make every call from my cell phone, which is consuming my battery and also increasing my billing amount," said Barkha Kaul.

"For two days, it has become difficult to contact anyone. From our BSNL landline phone, we are unable to make a call to any mobile number other than the Cell One users. My son is not in the city. I have lost contact with him as he has a Vodafone connection," said Shanti Devi.

General Manager, BSNL, Bathinda, Amit Garg, said, "According to me, it is beneficial for the BSNL. When the user of any private operator is unable to make a call to the BSNL landline and mobile phones, he has to make a call from a BSNL landline phone only. Therefore, in that case, there is no loss to the BSNL."

Bathinda, September 30
As many as 16 new dengue positive cases today came to light at the Blood Bank, situated on the premises of the Civil Hospital here, when the Mac Elisa test was conducted on 32 blood samples of suspected patients.

With the detection of these 16 new cases, the total number of dengue cases has risen to 179 this season in the Bathinda district.

Blood Transfusion Officer Dr Inderdeep Singh Sran said that all the 16 new dengue cases belong to the Bathinda city’s various localities including Prinda Gali, Arya Nagar, Saguana Basti, Guru Ki Nagri, Amarpura Basti, Qila Gate, BSNL exchange, Bhagu road and Model Town.

With the 16 new cases from the city, the total number of dengue has risen to 145 while the remaining cases were from Talwandi Sabo block (21 cases), Goniana block (six cases), sangat block (six cases), Bhagta and Nathana blocks (two cases each).

All these 179 cases have been reported in the district from July 15 onwards till now.

Bathinda, September 30
Chaos prevailed in Bathinda today. Besides the city roads, Bathinda-Dabwali and Bathinda-Mansa roads too were blocked due to the construction work and the 'Kisan Mela' organised by the PAU (Punjab Agriculture University).

Traffic moved at a snail’s pace on the Bathinda-Dabwali road and Bathinda-Mansa road, which remained blocked the whole day due to the 'Kisan Mela'.

The residents of the area rued that with the setting up of a refinery on the Dabwali road, the number of heavy vehicles passing through the city has increased manifold.

“Despite claiming development, the SAD-BJP Government has not done anything to solve the traffic problem in Bathinda,” said Joginder Singh, a local resident.

Traffic officials deployed around the venue of the Kisan Mela said, “The farmers failed to find space to park their vehicles near the PAU regional station.”

“Earlier, the department officials used to open gates of the empty fields of the nearby agricultural fields of the department but the authorities failed to adopt a proactive approach this time,” said the tariff officials.

Commuters were also fuming on the Bathinda-Mansa road where the traffic was blocked between Mati Das Nagar and the Central University of 
Punjab.

“The traffic chaos led to verbal duel among the bus drivers and the commuters who broke traffic rules to overtake each other,” said Iqwinder Gill, a resident of Mati Das Nagar.

He said the traffic police officials were found to be missing on the Bathinda-Mansa road.

Besides the construction of the under-bridge and railway crossing on the Bathinda-Mansa road aggravated the woes of he commuters as it remain blocked most of the time.

XEN of the PWD, B&R department, Manjit Singh admitting to the problem, said the delay in construction of the underbridge lead to chaos on the road.

“Construction of the underbridge towards the Bathinda side got stayed following court orders and it would take a couple of months to sort out the issue,” the XEN said.

Bathinda , September 30
Under the banner of Computerised Land Records Employees Welfare Association, Punjab, 13 employees of the Punjab Land Records Society (PLRS), terming the attitude of the state government towards their demand as indifferent, today began fast-unto-death outside the Mini-secretariat here.

The employees of various Farad Kendras from various parts of the state have been staging a protest here since September 26 in support of their demand regarding regularisation of their services.

However, despite taking out a protest march and blocking the road here, no positive signal from the government had come to the protesters so far.

The employees, who have observed fast-unto-death here today, include Chetan Sharma, Satnam Singh, Pardeep Kumar, Ankush Kumar, Kush Verma, Malkiat Singh, Gurtej Singh, Gurpreet Singh, Jagsir Singh, Lucky, Amit Kumar, Harpreet Kaur and Surinder Kaur. Gagandeep Singh (Ludhiana), vice-president, Association, said they would now gherao the residence of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal at Badal village on Tuesday.

Earlier, they had announced that they would move to Badal village on Monday. He also warned the state government that in case of any mishap with any of the union leader or employee, the state government would be responsible.

He also said the employees would continue their fast-unto-death and dharna till the state government did not issue notification with regard to the regularisation of their services. He said earlier the government had made promises to them time and again but no steps had been initiated by it to regularise their services.

It may be mentioned here that due to the strike by the employees of the Farad Kendras throughout the state, computerised farads are not being issued to the people since September 26.

Bathinda, September 30
After remaining closed for three consecutive working days (September 26, 27 and 29) due to the on-going strike by the employees in support of their demand regarding regularisation of their services, the local 'Suwidha Centre' was opened today on the directions of the Deputy Commissioner Kamal Kishore Yadav.

The DC deputed Darshan Kumar, Tehsildar (under training) and six employees of his office for running the affairs of the Suwidha Centre.

The employees, after taking charge at some counters of the centre, performed the duties of the Suwidha Centre’s employees and did the work of the public which were in their range.

Meanwhile, the strike by the staff of the centre today entered its fourth consecutive working day.

As per the information available, the counters where work of the visitors were done today included delivery of driving licences, delivery of arms licences, issuance of certificates of Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes, issuance of certificates of backward and rural areas, birth and death certificates, affidavits, copies of orders of the revenue officials and new registration certificates of the vehicles.

Talking to TNS, Darshan Kumar said they provided services to over 150 persons, who had come to the centre for getting their work done.

He said though they had not received any new application from the visitors but they forwarded their applications to the offices concerned such as Food and Supply office, Civil Surgeon office, Tehsildar's office, for getting the work done directly.

Bathinda, September 30
Owing to its short supply, city residents are unable to buy Verka butter. However, its supply is reportedly regular in the Army cantonment.

Verka has more than 100 dealers in the city but butter and ghee is not available with them. Dealers say they have not been getting the supply of these products from the Verka plant itself.

Paramjit Singh, one of the dealers of Verka products in the city, said, “There has been no supply of butter or ghee for the last month. We express our helplessness when customers ask for these products.”

Ashok Kumar, another dealer, said, “We have been getting ghee packets of one litre only but there is no supply of Verka butter in the city.”

General Manager of Verka Milk Plant, Bathinda, JK Gupta said, “The situation has arisen due to festival season. We do not produce butter here and at present, it is being supplied to us by the Verka Milk Plant, Ludhiana. We send our requirement to our head office at Chandigarh, which make arrangements accordingly.”

Mohinder Singh of the Verka’s marketing department said at present, butter was being supplied only to the cantonment as they have an annual contract with the Army depot.

At present, butter is being supplied only to the cantonment as we have an annual contract with the Army depot. — Mohinder Sungh, Employee, Verka, Marketing Dept