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Dy CM’s dengue remark invites Cong ire
Four killed, one hurt in road mishaps
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Police register computer theft case in ESI dispensary after 8 months
Fire brigade gears up for emergencies on Diwali
Another inmate dies in Central Jail, officials say death caused by disease
BBA students given training opportunity
World cup Kabaddi
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Dy CM’s dengue remark invites Cong ire
MLA Bholath Sukhpal Singh Khaira said this in a press statement released here today. Objecting to fun being made of dengue affected patients in Bathinda, which has the second highest number of confirmed cases in the state after Ludhiana, Khaira said that an unconditional apology should be tendered. On October 19, Sukhbir Badal was in the city to oversee arrangements for the World Cup Kabaddi. "While interacting with the people, he asked the Senior Superintendnet of Police to 'arrest' dengue and asked the Deputy Commissioner if he had been affected by dengue," said Khaira. Local Congress leaders including Bathinda MLA Harminder Singh Jassi have largely chosen to remain silent on the issue. But Khaira pointed out that instead of showing solidarity and coming to the rescue of dengue affected people in the state, Badal ridiculed and feigned ignorance about the spread of dengue in Punjab. When quizzed about the measures the state government has taken to tackle dengue, the Deputy Chief Minister asked the SSP Bathinda, who was seated besides him, if he had seen dengue and that he should arrest dengue at the
earliest. "Similarly, he chided the Deputy Commissioner publicly asking him whether he has been affected by dengue. Besides being irresponsible, the Deputy Chief Minister in a way also denigrated these officials," Khaira said. He pointed out that a large number of people have been identified as suffering from dengue during the current season and a majority of these are from Bathinda, represented by the Badals. Earlier, the present SAD-BJP government had miserably failed to check the spread of cancer in Punjab. It is a shame that while the Badals have been making lofty claims regarding development in the state, their home districts are worst affected by dengue and cancer. Khaira said that Badal should focus on controlling dengue by pulling up the Health Department. "Presently, private hospitals such as the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital in Ludhiana are full of dengue patients and if the Deputy Chief Minister is unaware of dengue, he must take time out to visit the DMC in Ludhiana to assess the seriousness of the situation," he added. He urged Sukhbir to take time off from his kabbadi campaign, to visit those affected by dengue and offer government aid. Despite repeated attempts, Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal could not be contacted for his comments. |
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Four killed, one hurt in road mishaps
Bathinda, October 25 While Avtar and Bikramjit died on the spot, Simratjit was seriously injured and was rushed to a hospital. The brothers had come from Sangria, near Dabwali, to meet Avtar. They were returning from the Bhucho Mandi side after meeting some relatives. Their motorbike was hit by a speeding mini-bus in front of the cantonment police station. While volunteers of an NGO, Sahara Jan Sewa and passersby, helped in shifting the injured, policemen from the cantonment police station failed to extend any helping hand to the victims. The volunteers of the non-governmental organisations pressed their vehicles into service as the police remained a mute spectator. Neither Bathinda Senior Superintendent of Police Sukhchain Singh Gill picked up his cell phone nor the cantonment SHO Jaskaran Singh answered calls made to him. In another accident that took place on the Bathinda-Dabwali road, two unidentified boys, who appeared to be in their early twenties, were killed on the spot near the Mashana village. They were hit by an unidentified vehicle. Their identity could not be ascertained till the filing of this report. |
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Chemists cash in on Diwali boom, turn to selling crackers
Bathinda, October 25 "This is the time of the year when one can make the most out of the business. It just requires a little more hard work and extra efforts. But the returns are favourable," said Vijay, a cracker seller in the city. Trader Yogesh Kumar, who has put up a stall at the local truck union premises near the multipurpose stadium, said that it is during the Diwali that he turns to selling crackers. "I sell electronic gadgets including air-conditioners. Since at this time, the sale of ACs is not appreciable, I sell crackers bought in bulk," added Yogesh, who has been selling crackers in wholesale for the last four years. He added that though the sale of crackers last year was favourable, this year, the business has not been good enough. This year, the rates of crackers have increased. A pack of Cock brand crackers that was priced at Rs 5 last year is now being sold at Rs 10. Similarly, a pack of sparklers (phuljhari), which cost Rs 30 earlier, is now being sold for Rs 35. These are the two most sought after crackers amongst the kids. "Cracker manufacturing is a labour intensive industry. Everywhere, labour costs have increased due to inflation. Consequently, the rates of crackers have increased," said Mohit Garg, a chemist, who has been selling crackers for the last six years. He too added that the sale of crackers has evoked lukewarm response this season. The sales are expected to get an impetus tomorrow morning on the occasion of Diwali. Around 70 to 80 wholesale dealers have put up their stalls at the local truck union premises, which is a site designated by the district administration. Earlier, these stalls were supposed to come up at the Government Girls' Senior Secondary School, Mall road. However, the venue was cancelled after the school administration objected saying the cracker traders deface school property every year. |
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in the line of duty
Bathinda, October 25 In a scenario when government duties could be done away with just a call from political bosses and bureaucrats, the people working on the night of Diwali stand true to their commitment towards their jobs. In the last one week, there has been hectic lobbying to shun duties allotted to the respective employees. "Everyone wants to celebrate Diwali but someone has to work," added a cop. Bathinda Tribune spoke to a cross-section of these helpers. The medics
The doctors, nurses and paramedics on duty at the Civil Hospital emergency will surely miss their families. "But then at the hospital too, we are like families. It is just that we will be away from our families but together as one unit," said Dr Manish Goyal, a surgeon at the local Civil Hospital. This is for the first time Goyal would be working on the occasion of Diwali. "Earlier, while posted at Talwandi Sabo, three years ago, I had attended an emergency on the festive night," he said. Dr Manish Goyal will also miss his father's birthday celebrations. "I did not find it proper to get my night duty changed by using someone's influence," he added. An orthopaedic surgeon at the local Civil Hospital Dr Vijay Mittal said he would perform duty on Diwali as on that night, burn cases might land at the hospital. "I would skip the family function. But doctors are supposed to serve humanity in every possible way," he reasons. Karamjit Kaur, a staff nurse in the medical ward of the local Civil Hospital, whose marriage was solemnised just four months ago, would skip her first Diwali with her in-laws and husband. "Earlier, my husband and I had planned to go to our native village near Fazilka on Diwali. Now, I would be at the hospital," she said. Another staff nurse at the local Women and Children Hospital, Swaran Kaur, whose duty will be in the labour room on Diwali night, said she would celebrate her Diwali with patients though she would miss her family, including an 11-year-old son. She said two years ago, she had performed duty on Diwali night. "The government should announce special incentives for those who perform duties on Diwali night," she suggested. Strong firemen…
With the city ready to burst crackers, firemen have an important role to play. Already a notice has been circulated amidst the firemen directing them not to leave the station from October 23 till 27 when all others would be busy in celebrating Diwali. Though the office has rotational shifts, however, anybody can be called anytime at the time of crisis. Therefore, the entire team of 33 firemen would remain on high alert on Diwali night. The control room will be controlled by each staff member for an hour. Assistant Divisional Fire Officer (ADFO), Baldev Singh, who has been serving for the last 39 years said, "Loss due to fire is considered as national loss. So, we can be called anywhere for additional services by other stations too. For rescue operations, we even get calls from adjoining states such as Haryana and Rajasthan." He added that the firemen cannot afford to take leave on Diwali. "Usually, we distribute gifts and sweets to our relatives a day before the festival," he added. For fireman Harmandeep Singh, it is the first Diwali after his marriage and he could not celebrate the festival with his wife and parents. "My family knows my commitment towards the job. After all, it is our duty to be alert every time," he said. Jaskaran Singh, who is from a village near Dabwali, said, "My family is in the village and I will miss them a lot. Now, even my family does not ask me to come on festival as they have become habituated to celebrating the day without me." He has been working with the department for 24 years. Another employee, Gurdit Singh from village Ajit Gill near Jaito Mandi, said that he has so far, he has attended only one Diwali with his family in the last three years. Men in khakhi..
Punjab Police officials too would remain busy keeping an eye on the city. "While we are on the job 24 hours a day, but Diwali is one occasion when we feel like being at home. With the passage of time, our families have grown immune to our absence. They understand our compulsions," said a cop deployed at the Kotwali police station. None of the cops were ready to go on record but maintained that they have to remain available for the people round the clock. "In times of festivities like Diwali, we have to be over cautious in the event of any fire. Incidence like fire not only involves dousing the flames, but also managing the crowd and quarantining the entire affected area," said another. But all these pray for an uneventful Diwali to pass by. |
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Police register computer theft case in ESI dispensary after 8 months
Bathinda, October 25 A formal complaint was lodged by Jagdish Kaur at that time. She is deployed as a multi-purpose health worker in the dispensary. Investigating officer in the case, head constable Gurcharan Singh said the matter got delayed as the officials of the dispensary failed to fix responsibility as to who is in-charge of the computers. The dispensary officials including class III employee Jagdish Kaur and Dr Paramjit Kaur, however, said that the matter got delayed by the policemen who were reminded of the complaint umpteen times but they tactfully delayed the registration of the case over one pretext or the other. In her complaint to the police, Jagdish Kaur said she was deployed to administer polio drops outside the city and she detected the broken locks of the dispensary doors and the missing computers on March 30. Besides informing the police, she also brought the matter to the notice of her seniors. The computers were worth Rs 35,000. While talking to TNS today, she said the policemen recorded her statements yesterday despite the fact that the theft took place eight months ago. She added that besides informing the police, the matter has also been brought to the notice of her seniors through letters. Two computers were purchased for the ESI dispensary last year which were looked after by the
employees deployed at the dispensary. The complainant stated that the computers were stolen after some unscrupulous elements broke the locks of the dispensary's door. A case under sections 457 and 380 of the IPC has been registered in this regard at the canal police station against unidentified people. Police officials claimed that efforts are on to nab the thieves behind the incident. Fact file
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Road blockade irks commuters
Traffic moved at a snail’s pace for the entire day today in the main markets and areas surrounding the bus stand. Unchecked encroachments added to chaos, which led to heated arguments among the commuters and shopkeepers. Even the pedestrians were unable to cross the road in view of the serpentine queues. People in a hurry cursed the agitators and also fumed at the district administration and the police, who remained mute spectators and failed to initiate any action to streamline the traffic flow. “I was supposed to collect the report of the blood samples of my wife from a laboratory but the traffic has become irritatingly slow due to the protest by the Farad Kendra employees,” rued Mohit, a resident of Power House Road. He said the alternate routes and streets too got choked as heavy vehicles too got caught up in the melee. Joginderpal, a resident of the bus stand area, said, “I am unable to bear continuous honking by the heavy vehicles as I am recovering from dengue fever. The district administration and the police must initiate some action to stop everyday agitations,” he said. “Stringent action must be initiated against those who make mockery of the rules and law once they start raising slogans against the government. Such protests fell on deaf ears but put the muters and the residents of the area to inconvenience,” said another Rahul Brar, who came from Patiala to meet his ailing relatives in a hospital on the Mall road. No senior administrative official or the police officer could be contacted for his comments on the traffic logjam in the city today. |
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Fire brigade gears up for emergencies on Diwali
All the staff members of the fire station will remain vigilant and to avoid any negligence, everybody in the office has been directed not to leave the station on October 26-27. Even a staff member, not on duty on these two days, can be called anytime by the officials. However, the Assistant Divisional Fire Officer (ADFO), Baldev Singh suggested that in case of an emergency, the residents should call on the landline numbers of the fire-station rather than the emergency number 101, as they can get connected to the fire-stations of the adjoining cities due to network errors in the transmitters. "The residents prefer to call us on the landline numbers as sometimes, the number 101 of the adjoining fire stations gets connected due to network problems. This can create a lot of confusion and inconvenience to the public," he said. "Once a woman of the Model Town area got connected to the emergency number of the Kotkapura fire-station. She insisted that they come to her rescue and the controller got confused as there is no Model Town in Kotkapura. However, by the time the confusion got cleared, the house had been damaged by fire." Due to the ongoing tussle between the BSNL and private companies, the emergency services or helpline numbers have also got disconnected. But now, they can be connected from a private company's mobile numbers, while the barring of calls from the numbers of other private companies is still going on. However, if the emergency number 101 gets mired into connection errors, on how would the private mobile company's users call the BSNL landline in case of an emergency? On being asked, the ADFO replied, "It is a problem for us too. However, we are helpless. The telecom companies should arrive at some settlement as people get harassed a lot." Last year, the number of calls that the watch-room of the fire station received was 379. However, at the time of Diwali, the average calls are 10-12. The ADFO said, "Earlier, people were ignorant of the ill-effects of noise and air pollution and we used to get many calls. However, the number of calls has decreased as the residents have become more aware due to the anti-pollution drives." Fact File
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Another inmate dies in Central Jail, officials say death caused by disease
Bathinda, October 25 Before that an inmate had tried to commit suicide by cutting his veins using a shaving blade in the jail premises. The inmate, who died today, has been identified as Amrit pal. He was booked under Sections 307, 323 and 324 of the IPC at Mansa. As per the jail authorities, Amritpal was suffering from some deadly disease. He hails from Gharangna village of Mansa and his family members have been informed about his death. He was brought to the jail in July, this year. The authorities said he was regularly diagnosed by the doctors in the jail and civil hospital. He was rushed to the hospital as his condition deteriorated where he was declared dead by the doctors. The jail authorities said the jail is overcrowded as inmates are lodged here beyond its capacity. Earlier Deaths
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BBA students given training opportunity
Bathinda, October 25 Soni Goyal, Director, My Career Experts, along with his team held selection procedure with an aptitude test followed by interview. My Career is in the field of MBA/ MCA test preparation (CAT, MAT, GRE and GMAT etc), career counselling, psychometric testing, personality development programmers, faculty development programs, corporate training, soft skill development, placement consulting, systems and management consulting. |
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World cup Kabaddi
Bathinda, October 25 Yadav said committees have also been constituted for the November 18 semi-final matches to be held at the multipurpose stadium in Bathinda. Representatives from the reception and protocol committee, refreshment committee, transport committee, media committee, cultural and entertainment committee, budgetary committee, stage management committee, barricading committee, lodging arrangement and invitation committee were also present on the occasion. Prominent among others present at the meeting included Punjab Kabaddi Association president Sikandar Singh Maluka, SSP Sukhchain Singh Gill, ADC Bhupinder Singh, ADC (Development) Dr Abhinav Trikha, IAS under- trainee Amit Kumar, SDM Sandeep Rishi, Bathinda Municipal Corporation Commissioner Uma Shankar Gupta and others. Meanwhile, a press statement issued here today stated that Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal would lay the foundation stone of Institute for Advanced Cancer Diagnostic, Treatment and Research Center. Deputy Commissioner
KK Yadav said the centre is coming up at the industrial growth centre on the Bathinda-Mansa road near the Central University of Punjab (CUP). He said the institute would detect cancer cases on the initial stage thereby bringing much needed relief to the cancer affected patients. Besides, being a research center, it would also have 50-bedded hospital. After laying the foundation stone, the CM would also address public. |
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Bathinda, October 25
Bathinda, October 25
Bathinda October 25