Bathinda, January 2
In the light of the ensuing assembly elections, the District Education Officer (Secondary) has issued instructions to the principals of government schools asking them to ensure that the school buildings and boundary walls are not defaced due to the campaigning by political leaders.

Acting as per the instructions of the state election commission, DEO Harbans Singh Sandhu has directed that the buildings of government schools, boundary walls and cycles (being distributed to the students) should not be used for political campaigning and should not carry the pictures of any politician.

If any political party defaces these structures overnight, the advertisements or other promotional material should be whitewashed the next morning on a priority basis.

If the same happens with the boundary wall of the school, then it will amount to a violation of the election code of conduct. For any kind of delay in taking the aforesaid steps, the school principals would be held responsible and disciplinary action would be taken against them.

The school principals have been warned that any violation of the orders could invite the ire of the district election officer who would write against them to the government for action.

At the district level, Parmeshar Singh has been designated as the in-charge. All the schools have been directed to report to him on a daily basis about any such incident.

Parmeshar Singh said that he has not received any complaint so far. "Anyone found defacing the buildings would be booked for defacing the public property. The respective schools would report to us and we will report the entire matter to the election office," he said.

Sources in the state election office stated that the instructions were issued after the incident, in which 300 cycles were delivered for the school students in Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal's constituency, came to light. "To curb the menace of the government machinery being used for political campaigning, these orders have been issued. It would save a lot of school buildings that get disfigured in the mayhem caused by this large-scale exercise of democratic right," said the election officials.

Bathinda, January 2
The staff at the Bathinda Central Jail today recovered 14,000 tablets used as sedatives. These tablets were smuggled inside the jail premises with the help of an outsider.

The case of tablets with medicinal properties used as drugs and continuously being smuggled inside the jail premises has been reportedly going on for a long time and has been detected by the jail authorities during a special checking drive.

Jail superintendent Prem Kumar said that the relatives of an inmate handed over a bag in which the tablets were concealed in a pocket.

The tablets were recovered during checking by the security officials.

The accused has been identified and the police station concerned has been informed about the incident. Jail authorities said that earlier too, a large number of such incidents had been reported but there seemed to be no respite from the problem.

Many inmates inside the jail and those carrying drugs for them from outside have been held in the past but hardly any stringent action has been initiated in this regard.

Jail authorities said that drugs are seized and people are held every now and then. Since the hard-core criminals and drug addicts lodged in the jail are unable to live without the drugs, their relatives offer it. They devise ways to smuggle the intoxicants inside the jail premises using all means. Jail authorities remain on the tenterhooks every time the inmates are allowed to meet their relatives.

Food stuffed with narcotics and other goods too laced with the sedatives have been detected during the meeting of inmates with their relatives in the jail.

The officials said that they are under constant pressure to check the flow of drugs inside the jail. There are many influential people who visit the jail to meet someone with food items and if checked thoroughly, they threaten to use their political connections to teach the jail authorities a lesson.

Villagers and the illiterate people too enter into heated arguments whenever the jail authorities try to thoroughly examine the food items, clothing and other things handed over by them to the jail inmates.

Jail officials said that earlier, drugs were recovered from refined oil packets, toothpaste, tea bags, battery cells, capsicum and even from the eggs. People seal things like battery cell, toothpaste and capsicum using adhesives and once such things enter inside the jail premises, these are broken open by the inmates.

Bathinda, January 2
There is good news for the postal savings bank account holders in Bathinda as their wait for withdrawing money through the automated teller machine (ATM) would soon be over. And if all goes as per the plans, it may materialise before the end of March 2012.

It may be mentioned that in its bid to modernise its facilities and make its services more customer-friendly, the Department of Posts (DoP) had decided to open ATMs in all the head post offices across the country.

According to the DoP plans, March 31 has been set as the deadline under the first phase for installing ATMs at many head post offices, sources said and added, "The Head Post office in Bathinda would be covered under the first phase."

As far as the progress so far at meeting the deadline is concerned, the Bathinda postal division had been asked to send a detailed proposal for installing the ATM at its head post office. Sources said that the place has been earmarked at the post office.

The division had to send the proposal in this regard twice. "Earlier, the division proposed to install the ATM inside the campus of the head post office," sources said, adding that the proposal was turned down by the higher authorities concerned and the division was asked to send a fresh proposal with ATM installation area outside the campus or the boundary wall of the post office.

"The fresh proposal with the gate of the ATM building facing the main road outside the post office campus has been sent to the department concerned," a senior postal staff in Bathinda confirmed, saying that the assessment of the proposal is being awaited.

Senior officials of the postal department said that in the initial period, only savings bank account holders of the post offices would be eligible for using the ATM.

Expressing hope, senior officials of the postal department here, said, "Later, the automated teller machine may work as one-stop counter for all money transactions, from postal savings to depositing postal insurance premium, money transfer, sending money order etc."

Bathinda, January 2
Six people including three women and five unidentified people have been booked by the police for beating up two cops. The cops had gone to pacify two factions of a village who had been quarreling with each other following their children's fight.

"The policemen were on duty at the Nathana police station and had gone to attend a distress call in the nearby Sema village. Since there was no back-up, no other cop could rush to help these policemen," said the Investigating Officer (IO) in the case, ASI Gurdarshan Singh.

The IO said that the cops including ASI Sadhu Singh and head constable Dilbag Singh received injuries in the melee on New Year eve. They had been undergoing treatment at a local hospital.

He said that all the attackers were residents of Sema village and had been quarrelling with each other over a trivial issue since afternoon.

The IO said that a villager complained that two parties were fighting with each other and had been creating a ruckus in the village.

The police officials rushed to the spot to pacify both the parties but got sandwiched between the volleys of abuse and attack from both the sides.

A victim of the violence, ASI Sadhu Singh said that he was not in a position to share any details as he was not well and was unable to speak properly.

"I am on leave for the next few days as the villagers hauled me up in full public view and dragged me during the fight on the New Year eve," he said. He said that even the police uniform failed to deter villagers from beating him up.

A case under sections 353, 186, 323, 149 of the IPC has been registered against Sukh Singh, his wife Bholi Kaur, Bhola Singh, Biri Kaur, Gora Singh, Bhura Singh, his wife Surjeet Kaur and five other unidentified people.

No arrests have been made by the police in this regard so far.

Bathinda, January 2
Around 12, 000 voters in the Bathinda district will cast their vote using the postal ballot facility. These include 4,912 service voters (armed forces personnel), 5,000 employees from various departments and 2,000 police personnel on poll duty.

All these voters would be sent their ballots through post, while service voters have been conferred with the right of appointing proxy voters in his/her place.

The election office has made all arrangements for sending the postal ballots. District election officer, KK Yadav, said envelopes of all the voters have been duly prepared with respective addresses.

These envelopes would be dispatched on January 17 after the election office gets to know the actual number of candidates in fray. It has tied up with the postal department to send these postal ballots expeditiously. All the ballots, which are received back by 7 am on the counting day on March 4, would be included in the counting.

Election office has run awareness campaign in the Bathinda military station making service voters aware of the proxy voting option. “Members of the armed forces registered as service voters can vote either by postal ballot or by proxy.

A service voter, who opts to vote through proxy, is required to appoint a person who is a resident of the area covered by the constituency, where he/she is registered as service elector, as his proxy. The proxy should be at least 18 years of age and should not be disqualified for registration as an elector,” Yadav said.

Service voters can send request for proxy voting till January 17. After January 17, no such request would be entertained and ballots would be dispatched through post.

As soon as the request for proxy voter is received, the election office would add the name of the person to the voters’ list on whose behalf the vote is being cast. “It would be duly mentioned on the list so that officers on duty can easily identify proxy voters,” the officials said. However, election tehsildar Harphool Singh said no request for proxy voting has been received so far.

Apart from service voters, government employees on poll duty would also cast their vote through postal ballot. Around 5,000 staff has been appointed on poll duty in the district and the final list of these employees would be given to the election office by January 8. These 5,000 employees include staff from different government departments, teachers, drivers, cleaners, etc.

Besides them, around 2000 police personnel will also cast their vote through postal ballot. Senior Superintendent of Police, Dr SS Gill, said names of all the police personnel have been sent for postal ballot and more names would be added later on request.

How can a service voter appoint a proxy voter?

• The service voter, who is in field, has option to put his or her signature on Form 13F before the commanding officer of the unit and then send form to his or her proxy for affixing his or her signature before notary or first class magistrate. Thereafter, the proxy can submit the form to the returning officer concerned. When the service voter is in his native place he or she along with his or her proxy could both sign the form before notary or first class magistrate.

• The service voters fall under Bathinda (rural) assembly borough.

Bathinda, January 2
As many as 471 refractive error cases were detected under school health programme of the Health Department in eight months (April to November) in the schools of the Bathinda city. The students with the error were provided spectacles free of cost.

A total of 11,764 students were examined in 39 government and aided schools of the city in eight months. During the examination, around 3,000 students were found suffering from various diseases.

During the health check-up of the students, a rheumatic heart disease (RHD) case also came to the notice of the doctors. Besides, a cancer case was also detected. Both the cases have been referred to the PGI, Chandigarh for free treatment. It is learnt that the treatment expenditure of each of these cases is between Rs 2-3 lakhs.

It may be mentioned here that the primary school students are medically examined twice a year while the upper primary students, once a year. The students are examined by the school health staff for eye ailments, dental diseases, ear, nose and throat (ENT) diseases, RHD, congenital heart diseases (CHD), cancer and thalassaemia etc.

In every school a teacher has been appointed as nodal officer for the healthcare of the students. These teachers have been given training for the same purpose. For de-worming of the students, tablets are given to them by the health staff.

However, in the eight months, about 1.10 lakh students were examined in 635 schools of the district. During this period, around 2400 spectacles were distributed among the refractive error cases in the district. 22 RHD cases and five cases of cancer were detected and referred to the PGI for free treatment.

Bathinda, January 2
In the run-up to the elections, 14 people have been booked by the police under the NDPS Act in different police stations of the district today.

The material confiscated include smack, poppy husk, liquor and intoxicating material.

Two cases have been registered at the thermal police station, two at the Sangat, Phul, Talwandi Sabo and Rama police stations. Four cases have been registered at the Kotwali police station while three cases have been booked at the Canal Colony police station.

Of the 14 accused, six have been identified as Taran Kumar, Jagwinder Singh, Rajmahinder Singh, Amrik Singh, Magh Singh and Dalip Singh, besides an unidentified man, all residents of Bathinda. Cases under sections 22, 61, 85 of the NDPS Act and 15,61, 85 of the NDPS Act have been registered in this regard.

Bathinda, January 2
Most of the ATMs in the city remained out of order today. People were seen struggling to withdraw money from the ATMs at different locations and returned empty-handed. “I tried almost every ATM machine surrounding the main Dhobi Bazar but failed to get the money. My salary was credited in the bank today but I am unable to get it through the ATM,” said Shamil Kumar, a marketing executive, standing outside the ATM of a nationalised bank.

Bank authorities kept assuring their customers that the money would be transferred in the ATMs before noon however most of the ATMs remained out of order till evening. The bank authorities said that bank holiday and money withdrawn by large number of people during New Year led to such a situation. — TNS