Bathinda, December 14
The regularization of the illegal colonies in the state has evoked a mixed response in Bathinda where there are around 135 illegal colonies.

While the developers and residents of these colonies have heaved a sigh of relief, the declaration has not gone down well with the various government offices involved in raising a well-planned city.

Over the last ten years, the number of colonies has mushroomed in the city in a bid to provide housing solution for the burgeoning population, which has witnessed a heavy influx due to the arrival of the migrants. As per the master plan report of Bathinda, out of a total increase of 58,214 persons in the population of Bathinda city during 1991-2001, an increase of 14,757 was due to migration from states other than Punjab.

Most of the unauthorised colonies have been developed in a small chalk of lands. The list of illegal colonies available with the Bathinda Development Authority (BDA) mentions such colonies situated in a mere four to five kanals or even lesser area of the land.

"In most of the cases, the developers were well aware that they were setting up an illegal venture. In order to bank on this populist move, the government has taken the decision at a time when it is about to bow out of the office," observed a BDA official.

The officials added that the very failure of the government agencies to cater to the needs of urbanization and increasing population encourages the mushrooming of illegal colonies. Of the 130 illegal colonies situated in and around the city, most are being regularized through court proceedings in the wake of a government notification issued in this regard in 2010.

"The regularization will set a wrong example for other developers who are eager to set up another illegal venture without paying the requisite fees or getting the structures passed with specified guidelines and rules. Added to this, everyone now knows that when governments are about to exit, they shower such facilities "generously" on people," added another.

Meanwhile, the chief administrator, BDA, Uma Shankar Gupta said that his office has not received any kind of notification yet. "Even we have read it in the news. But we haven't got any official intimation yet," he said.

Bathinda, December 14
The pharmacists and the medical laboratory technicians are still on the warpath in the district to get their demands accepted. The pharmacists are on mass leave and the laboratory technicians on pen-down strike from December 12 in the hospitals and health centres, adversely affecting the health services.

However, the patients have been facing inconvenience for three consecutive days as they were not getting medicines from the dispensaries. Besides, they were also unable to get their tests conducted at the laboratories.

The pharmacists and the laboratory technicians today staged separate dharnas in front of the new OPD block here and raised slogans against the state government and in favour of their demands.

Due to the mass leave by the pharmacists, medicines were not distributed among the patients from the dispensaries in the OPD of the Civil Hospital here and in other parts of the district while the laboratory tests were also not conducted due to the pen-down strike by the laboratory technicians.

The SMO of the local Civil Hospital Dr Satish Goyal expressed his inability in running the biochemistry and haematology laboratories, saying he had no staff to manage the work at these laboratories. He said, however, the services at the blood bank here are not affected as three laboratory technicians from the local Max hospital have been performing duties, one each in the morning, evening and night shifts.

The SMO also said that the ECG tests in the OPD block could not be conducted as the machine was under lock, whose keys were with the pharmacists. He said, however, in case of any emergency, they could get the test conducted at the ECG machine, installed in the emergency wing of the hospital.

District president of the Pharmacists Association Ravinder Goyal and district general secretary of the Medical Laboratory Technicians Association Resham Singh Jalal said they would continue their agitation till the acceptance of their demands, including a hike in the grade pay.

Goyal said that on December 15, the pharmacists from various parts of the district would burn the effigy of the state government outside the Mini-secretariat here.

They would also hold demonstration and take out a protest march from the Civil Hospital to the Mini-secretariat.

Bathinda, December 14
The winter as always creates problems for the railway passengers.

This year though, while taking passengers to their respective destinations, the railway has elaborate arrangements to provide medical attention to the needy round-the-year in general and during the harsh weather conditions in particular.

"The bonafide passengers — who travel with tickets, are eligible for medical attention from the railway," said a senior railway official of the Ambala Division. "And the railway make all efforts to ensure best-possible medical aid to passengers at stations and also on trains," the official added.

"Passengers may contact any rail staff as all are supposed to help or guide passengers," ATM, Bathinda, SP Singh Bhatia said, adding that all the stations have been provided with first-aid box and many staff have also been trained to give the first aid to any ill passenger.

"For these, on-duty deputy station superintendents at Bathinda station or station master (SM), assistant station master (ASM) at other stations could be approached," the ATM said adding that at the Bathinda station, the office of the deputy station superintendent is situated at the platform number 5."

"The railway aims at providing best possible medical aid available at the particular time to the passengers," the ATM said.

He added that the first aid box comprising bandages, including essential medicines like anti-pyretics and anti-biotics is available with all the station.

He further said that if the required railway doctor could also be called to attend the ill passenger. "Wheelchair, stretchers etc are also available at the office of the Deputy SS at the Bathinda station," the ATM said.

Railway sources said that if a passenger feel uneasy or falls ill while travelling in passenger or express trains, the guard, who carries the first-aid box, could be approached. The TTE, who travels with the reserved coaches could also be approached, sources added.

If a passenger falls ill while travelling, the railway official concerned at the next station is informed to make arrangements in advance for treating the passenger, railway 
sources said. "If the rail staff travelling with the train is informed about the illness of any passenger with the coach and berth numbr well in time, the rail official at the next station is informed to ensure medical attention to the passenger," added railway sources.

Sometimes, a critically ill passenger is detrained to provide proper treatment or get the passenger admitted in hospital.

Sources in the railway said that the NGOs in Bathinda always join hands with railway to provide medical aid to the needy passengers.

Bathinda, December 14
Following a call by the joint action committee of the teaching and non-teaching staff working in 140 government aided colleges of the state, the staff of the DAV College Bathinda staged a in dharna for the second consecutive day. The agitating employees will block traffic on the main road on December 15 to press for the acceptance of their demands.

The dharna is part of their 72-hour education bandh programme being observed in the entire state. Addressing the agitating employees, Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers Union (PCCTU), Bathinda secretary Varesh Gupta said step-motherly treatment was being meted out to them.

He criticized the SAD-BJP government for not acceding to the genuine demands of the employees, which include implementation of pension and gratuity scheme with effect from April 1999, payment of arrears to the teaching and non-teaching staff from January 1, 2006, implementation of scheme for non-teaching employees, security of service for unaided staff, house rent allowance for rural colleges, lifting ban on recruitment and 65 years as retirement age for teachers as per the latest guidelines of the University Grants Commission (UGC).

PCCTU Bathinda president Beant Kaur warned the government that if their demands are not accepted, the agitation would be further intensified. District president of non-teaching employees union Sat Pal Sharma said that on December 15, the employees will block traffic on the main road.

Earlier, on December 13, the employees held a candle march and raised slogans against the Punjab government for not adhering to their demands. Teachers from BAS Girls' College, Goniana Mandi, and SSD Girls College, Bathinda, also participated in the march.

Bathinda, December 14
In the era of wireless when mobile telephony is giving a blow to the hitherto base of communication — the basic phone or the landline service of the state-owned BSNL — its data service is serving as a rescuer for the 'king' of voice services as the broadband is proving to be a saviour to the BSNL landline service.

Sources in the BSNL said that people now are oriented more towards wireless services so mobile is proving to be a hit. "But in the data service category, the robust wire line facility of BSNL is still not finding a match in Bathinda telecom district," sources said, adding that subscribers seeking speed while surfing prefer wire line facility to wireless and so turn to the telecom major BSNL.

The BSNL which has been facing disconnection of landline services is finding subscribers for broadband services which in turn save the landline. "The broadband service of the BSNL is available to the subscribers of the landline services," sources in the BSNL said.

A senior official of the BSNL here claimed that in the broadband category, the BSNL service was unmatched and popular in the Bathinda secondary switching area (SSA) which includes Mansa district.

It may be mentioned here that private operators are also providing 'effective' broadband services under the wire line category in Bathinda.

Explaining how the broadband service is helping the base phone in the area from disconnection, the BSNL sources said that the number of new broadband customers was now exceeding the number of new landline connection.

"When a customer goes for broadband service, he automatically subscribes to a landline service. So, the broadband in turn adds a new landline customer," sources explained.

Sources, however, denied that landline customers in the area are on disconnection spree and customers seeking new landline connection were not coming. "The status of BSNL's landline in the area could be termed as stable," the sources added.

The BSNL sources, however, said that finding the exact number of new landline connection and new broadband connection might take time.

Bathinda, December 14
To ensure the filing of special leave petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court tomorrow by the state government, some state committee members of the Unemployed Linemen Union Punjab, including state president Pirmal Singh, today went to Chandigarh for meeting the Advocate General, Punjab, there.

Talking to the TNS over the phone this evening, Pirmal Singh said they could not meet the advocate-general as he was busy.

They returned from Chandigarh as they had been assured that the SLP would be filed by the state government in the Supreme Court tomorrow.

The SLP has to be filed by the state government to get the stay on the recruitment of linemen, imposed by the High Court, vacated, he added.

Pirmal said the former Transport Minister Master Mohan Lal told him over the phone today that he had talked to the advocate general in connection with filing of the SLP in the Supreme Court and he (advocate general) had told him (Mohan Lal) that necessary documents had been prepared for filing the SLP tomorrow.

Pirmal further added that Master Mohan Lal informed him this when parents of some unemployed linemen from Gurdaspur met him today.

Pirmal also said the AIG (Intelligence) today also told him over the phone that the government was in the process of preparing the SLP, which would be filed by the government tomorrow in the Supreme Court. He said as the AIG and the former minister had assured them that the SLP would be filed tomorrow they also expected that the government would not back-track from its commitment.

The unemployed linemen have been staging dharna and observing chain-hunger strike outside the Mini-secretariat here since December 5 last demanding appointment of 4,000 linemen in the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL).

It is recalled that they warned the government yesterday that in case the SLP is not filed in the Supreme Court by December 15, they would gherao the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal at the Moga rally of the Shiromani Akali Dal on December 18.

Meanwhile, the chain hunger strike and dharna by the unemployed linemen here today entered its 10th day.

Today, the unemployed linemen from three districts, Ferozepur, Fazilka and Muktsar participated in the chain hunger strike and dharna.

Bathinda, December 14
Sartaj Poonia, a student of class Vth of The Millennium School, Bathinda, has won a silver medal in the 57th National School Rifle Shooting Championship in the Under-14 category held at Pune.

The event was organized from December 6-9. Principal Beena Rao and the school coach Kanwar Yadvi der Singh described this as a great moment for the school, students and the teaching fraternity.

The school hopes Sartaj Poonia would follow into the footsteps of legendary shooters of the country like RS Rathore and Abhinav Bindra.

Bathinda, December 14
A seminar on the components of physical fitness was organised at the Malwa College of Physical Edcuation, today. National Coach (Track and field) at the National Institute of Sports, Patiala, Dr Rajinder Singh Saini delivered the keynote address.

In his speech, he stressed on the need of physical and mental fitness in the world of stiff competition. He gave important tips for enhancement of skill, speed and endurance, which are the basic components of successful performance in life. He exhorted the students to shun drugs and lead a balanced and disciplined life. Principal Darshan Singh proposed the vote of thanks. State awardee RC Sharma conducted the proceedings.

Sewak Ram Singla, chairman, Rakesh Goyal, member, College Management Committee, international athlete and president of the Bathinda District Athletic Association KPS Brar, Malwa College principal Dr CL Singla and dean Prof. NK Gosain were also present.

Bathinda, December 14
Amarjeet Kaur Hayer, teacher (Punjabi), Nanak Dev Public Senior Secondary School was given a farewell by the school principal and staff members on her retirement today.

Bhajan Singh, president, school management and secretary Hazara Singh felicitated the outgoing teacher with an award.

School principal Davinderpal Singh Bhullar said Amarjeet Kaur had served for a period of 28 years. The principal lauded the services of Amarjeet Kaur Hayer rendered by her during her service period.