Bathinda, January 17
To build confidence among the masses that the Assembly elections would be held in the district in a peaceful manner, the district administration held a flag march in the city.

Deputy Commissioner (DC) Kamal Kishore Yadav and Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Sukhchain Singh Gill led the flag march, comprising paramilitary forces and the police personnel.

The march started from the local Police Lines and passed through various localities of the city, including the Civil Hospital area, Model Town area, Power House road, Bibi Wala Chowk, Rose Garden, Teen Koni and the Hanuman Chowk.

According to information available, two companies of the Border Security Force (BSF), one company of the Madhya Pradesh Armed Police, three SPs, an ASP, three DSPs and five SHOs along with policemen took part in the flag march. Each company of the paramilitary forces comprises 120 jawans. The police and paramilitary forces were aboard about two dozen vehicles, including tempo and gypsy.

DC Kamal Kishore Yadav said in the light of the Election Commission of India's (ECI) instructions, flag marches were being taken out in the cities and the villages to create confidence among the masses that the elections would be free and fair. He said they had asked the ECI to provide 10 companies of paramilitary forces, of which seven had already arrived in the district.

On the day of polling, these companies would man the polling booths while on other days they would patrol the cities and villages, the DC said, adding that as Rampura Phul and Talwandi Sabo Assembly constituencies were sensitive, so more forces would be deployed there.

The DC also said the administration had also asked all the mobile phone companies to ensure proper service to the emergency phone number of the police control room (100) so that people do not face any problem while dialling this number from their mobile phones.

SSP Sukhchain Singh Gill said in the 10 companies, which they had demanded from the ECI, four were from the Madhya Pradesh Armed Police, three from the BSF and three from the Andhra Pradesh Police.

He said on the day of polling, about 2,600 security personnel would be deployed at polling stations while about 2,900 would perform security and patrolling duties outside the polling stations.

Bathinda, January 17
In connection with violation of instructions of the Election Commission of India (ECI), the district election officer Kamal Kishore Yadav today issued four notices to M/s Jai Laxmi Flex Printers, Bathinda.

According to Yadav, the copies of election material, got printed by Sikendar Singh Maluka (SAD candidate from Rampura Phul), Harminder Singh Jassi (Congress candidate from Bathinda – Urban), Surjit Singh Sohi (CPI candidate from Bathinda – Rural) and Harmesh Bansal, an independent candidate, were sent to his office on January 13 by this printer.

Among other discrepancies, the flexes did not bear the name of the printer. Besides, the printed material did not mention the number of copies printed by the printer.

The printer has been asked to give his reply with in 24 hours.

In case he fails to reply in the stipulated period, legal proceedings will be initiated against the printer under the Representation of the People’s Act-1951, Yadav said.

Bathinda, January 17
The process of dispatching postal ballot papers to the voters of Bathinda began today as Returning Officers (RO) of different constituencies started booking the same through the registry at the Head Post Office, Bathinda.

The Bathinda postal department making elaborate arrangements for ensuring registry of the "all-important" documents opened five special counters besides deploying over six postal staff, especially for the purpose today and tomorrow.

As per the sources, altogether 3,912 articles would be booked at the Head Post Office, Bathinda in two days starting from Tuesday to be sent to the voters of the area belonging to the different armed forces.

It may be mentioned that with the withdrawal of Under Postage Certificate (UPC) by the Department of Post in March 2011, the postal ballot papers are now being sent through registry.

When the UPC system was in operation, the postal department was not responsible for delivery of the articles. While with registry, the department would be responsible for booking and delivery of the articles.

"For booking the articles, the postal department today made extra arrangements and opened five counters," sources said, adding that over six postal staff, including one responsible for supervising the entire two-day process, have been deployed by the department.

The registry of postal ballot papers started around 3 pm today, sources in the postal department said adding that work continued till the evening. “All the articles booked today have been dispatched,” sources in the postal department said in the evening.

Registry of postal ballot papers would also be carried out at the post office concerned between 9 am and 3 pm on January 18, sources said.

One envelope being sent through registry is weighing more than 20 gram and subject to the postal ticket worth Rs 27, sources said. The envelope bears the name of the respective voters and their constituency with written in bold letters "On India Government Service".

Bathinda, January 17
Bathinda and its adjoining areas are witnessing a tremendous increase in the setting up of interlocking tile industry for the past around four years. However, the mushrooming growth of these factories has adversely affected the quality of the pavers owing to ignorant manufacturers, supervision staff and government departments making purchases.

At present, as many as 25 factories are manufacturing interlocking tiles in Bathinda district. These tiles are used indiscriminately at various government and also private places in the city. Pavers are specified according to the volume of traffic in the area but due to lack of knowledge on the part of agencies implementing the projects, these are being laid without following the proper guidelines.

The Akali-BJP Government released grants to the tune of crores of rupees to cleanse the slums and to strengthen the roads in Malwa belt by laying these tiles.

As per the guidelines laid by the Bureau of Indian Standards the thickness of the cannot be less than 50 mm but even then some of the factories are manufacturing these pavers below the specified thickness. Even as it is recommended that tiles be constructed by using the vibration method, these are being constructed using pressure technology.

Further, it is mandatory to cure the cement concrete for at least 10-15 days in completely wet conditions, but some factories are using chemicals and do not cure at all or cure it by splashing water for a day or so.

Since the Bathinda and Mansa districts were lagging behind in development works, the Bathinda Development Authority (BDA) was formed to meet the urgent need of development here.

The streets were not clean and tidy, so the government deemed it proper to allot some power to the erstwhile PUDA (Punjab Urban Development Authority), which is now, the BDA.

So that the government achieved its goal, the BDA, the PWD (B&R) and the Mandi Board floated several tenders of crores of rupees for providing and laying the interlocking pavers. The workload was so huge that the existing factories could not supply the desired quantity of interlocking pavers. So, the need of setting up new factories arose and now, there is a huge production of interlocking pavers.

But the irony is that the staff is not adequate and hence, there is no proper supervision.

According to Indian Standard (IS) Code 15658, 2006, the interlocking pavers have to be manufactured by compressing through vibration but most of the factories situated surrounding areas of Bathinda are using pressure technology and not the vibration method.

This correspondent visited a section of factories but there was no provision for curing the interlocking pavers. Most of the factories manufacturing the tiles by vibration used more chemical than what is required, to achieve an early strength. This deteriorates the quality of the pavers.

Bathinda, January 17
Tuesday proved to be one of the coldest days of this winter in the city as mercury failed to rise above the 12 degrees Celsius mark in the afternoon.

The second lowest maximum temperature recorded of the season so far.

The lowest maximum temperature of the current winter was 11.4 degrees Celsius, recorded on January 6.

The day's low was 6.6 degrees Celsius at 7.30 am, nearly 4 degrees lower than yesterday, as per the agri-met department of the PAU regional station, Bathinda.

The overcast prevailing since Sunday continued today to prevent the mercury from crossing the 12.2 degrees Celsius causing chill to intensify in Bathinda and its nearby places.

The wind speed today was also high in comparison to the last few days. The cold waves kept on sweeping the city at the speed of 4 km per hour. Moreover, improvement in the weather conditions is unlikely in the next few days as though sun may appear tomorrow or day after tomorrow, fog may also return, as per the information emanated from the weather room.

Weathermen predicted on Tuesday that weather would mainly remain dry after Wednesday with the chances of fall in the night temperature.

The sun is likely to be bright only on Thursday causing abatement in cold day.

However, foggy conditions are likely to prevail in many parts in the region in the next two to three days.

Bathinda, January 17
With an aim to spread its agitation throughout the state, in place of confining it to the Bathinda city, the Unemployed Linemen Union Punjab today ended its 44-day-old dharna outside the Mini-secretariat here. The union members had ended their chain-hunger strike last evening here.

The union had started its dharna and chain hunger strike on December 5 last year to compel the state government to accept its demand, recruitment of 4,000 unemployed linemen in the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL).

The union members today got the tent removed, inside which they had been observing the chain-hunger strike and holding dharna for the last 44 days. According to a union leader, Jatinder Singh Jhaloor, the union decided to end the dharna as confining the agitation to only Bathinda had borne no fruits so far.

State advisor of the union, Soma Singh Bharro, said the union had now decided to intensify its agitation in all the districts of the state. As part of this programme, the union would burn the effigies of the state government at all district headquarters on January 21 and 22. Besides, it would hold a massive rally at Lambi on January 27 to send a signal to the people that this government is not serious towards their demand. He said in this rally, besides the linemen, their family members would also take part.

Bharro said earlier they had planned to meet the Advocate General, Punjab on January 17 in connection to getting the special leave petition (SLP) rectified. They, however, cancelled the programme as the union was of the view that there was no use of the meeting considering the PSPCL had not rectified it so far although they had met the PSPCL authorities and the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal in this regard in the past.

The SLP was filed on December 16 by the PSPCL to get vacated the stay, granted by the High Court on the recruitment of unemployed linemen in the PSPCL. The union leaders said the SLP was filed with some “defects”, which needed to be rectified.

Bharro said they would also oppose the SAD-BJP alliance candidates in all the Assembly constituencies as the Badal government had failed to fulfill its promise of recruitment of a;; the 5,000 linemen in the PSPCL. He said they would also expose the government for its “anti-people” policies.

Bathinda, January 17
The district health authorities here today held a meeting for providing information to the pathologists, radiologists, oncologists and the representatives of health institutions, where cancer patients are diagnosed and treated, that registration of the cancer patients is now mandatory under the National Cancer Registry Programme.

The meeting was presided over by Civil Surgeon, Bathinda Dr Iqbal Singh. Others who were present at the meeting included assistant director, Dr Rakesh Gupta, who is looking after the cancer control programme in the state and the nodal officer for the cancer control programme in Bathinda district, Dr Raghubir Singh Randhawa.

Dr Iqbal Singh said the health authorities had already identified two pathologists from two local laboratories for the purpose. Besides, the local Max Hospital and the Adesh Hospital were also registered with the National Cancer Registry. Whenever a cancer patient visited them, they registered him/her online, he added.

He said online procedure had been adopted for early reporting of the cancer patients. He also said those diagnosing and/or treating cancer patients, had been given forms to get themselves registered.

The district health authorities after collecting information about cancer patients will send the same to the Cancer Control Cell, Chandigarh. The Cell will then send it to the Union Government.

It is also learnt that there are two types of cancer registry, one is hospital-based cancer registry, which is at the PGI, Chandigarh, while the other is population-based cancer registry, which is based at Government Medical College, Patiala.

It has also come to light that from now on, the funds from the CM’s Cancer Relief Fund will be released to only those hospitals which will sign memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Health Department, Punjab.

Bathinda, January 17
Aiming to work towards the creation of a healthy society, Baba Farid Group of Institutions (BFGI) has dedicated the year 2012 to ‘Live Green – Step Towards Better Living’.

Keeping the concept in mind, BFGI’s campaigning team visited Guru Nanak Dev Public Senior Secondary School, Bathinda, where BD Sharma, deputy director, activities, spoke to the students about the concept.

Explaining the concept, he told the students that going green evolved a better understanding of the impact of their habits and lifestyles on the environment.

Adopting a green lifestyle was not simply an effort to take better care of the earth but it also served to protect their health and to “sustain natural resources for present and future generations,” he added.

Live Green teams also visited SSD Krishna Vatika School, Bathinda, Dashmesh Public School, Goniana, Guru Nanak Senior Secondary School, Goniana and Govt High School, Behbal Khurd. Quiz competitions were held in the schools on the Live Green theme and prizes and trees for plantation were given to the winning students.

Bathinda, January 17
The students of the Mechanical Engineering Department of the Guru Ram Das Institute of Engineering and Technology, Lehra Bega (Bathinda), have formed a society, Mech Lions, to promote awareness about measures to safeguard the environment and help the needy students.

Chairman and chief patron, Harbhajan Singh, along with the principal and patron of society, HS Sandhu, presided over the inaugural ceremony. He said that such societies formed among students could bring a change in the lifestyle of people and help prevent them from taking drugs.

Chhinder Pal Singh, Satpal Singh and Daljit Singh have been appointed advisors of the society. Deepak Kamra is the general secretary and 14 students are its founder members. — TNS

Bathinda, January 17
Himalaya Parivar, a non-government organisation (NGO) working across India for over a decade now, opened its Bathinda chapter with a get-together in the city under the presidentship of Prof Rajnish Kumar.

The organisation works towards spreading awareness about the natural, physical and cultural environment of Himalayan region and aims at finding solutions to the problems faced by these areas.

In its attempt to familiarise people with the Himalayan areas, every year, from June 23 to 25, the NGO organises an expedition to Leh-Ladakh. The expedition, called the Sindhu Darshan Yatra, also includes a trip to Srinagar, Kargil, Drass, Tiger Hill, etc. The Yatra costs close to `13,000, which includes food, travel expense (from Delhi or Jammu) and accommodation charges.

Speaking to Bathinda Tribune, Himalaya Parivar’s Bathinda unit’s president, Prof Rajnish Kumar, said, “Our main aim is to familiarise the Himalayan and the Leh-Ladakh areas in Bathinda. Last year, close to 800 people from across India had taken the Sindhu Darshan Yatra. The tourists stay with the locals there and this cultural exchange paves the way for stronger ties. There are three routes of the Sindhu Darshan Yatra. One is the Srinagar-Kargil-Drass-Leh route, other is the Delhi-Manali-Rohtang Pass route and the third is to take a flight from Delhi to Leh. We want Bathinda residents to know about the Yatra and take interest in it.”

Joint secretary of the unit, Ramnik Walia, added, “The Parivar had been working in Bathinda for sometime now, but it wasn’t out in the public domain. Now we have placed it on a public platform so that more and more people get involved with the Parivar. Many Bathinda residents have already undertaken the Sindhu Darshan Yatra. The beauty of the Himalayan region is such that anyone who goes there once will plan to take the trip again.”

Elaborating on the aim of the Parivar, he said, “The main aim of the organisation is to bring the people from various parts of India closer to those from Leh-Ladakh. Many people are under the impression that Leh-Ladakh is under extensive Chinese influence, which is not the case. We are also planning to organise some programmes under which we bring people from Leh-Ladakh to other Indian cities and make them feel one with the rest of the India.”

Bathinda, January 17
Four persons, including a woman, have been booked by the police for beating a resident of Guru Nanak Nagar, Goniana Mandi.

Jagdish Kumar of Ward Number One alleged that brothers Bhola Singh and Tara Singh, both residents of Goniana Mandi, along with the wife of Tara Chand and Ramesh Kumar beat him over a trivial issue.

Jagdish alleged that he had opposed construction of an overpass following which the four accused beat him up.

Demanding immediate arrest of the accused, he alleged that the accused inflicted injuries on him without any provocation.

Investigating officer in the case, SI Jarnail Singh, said a case under the sections 324, 323 and 34 of the IPC had been registered in this connection against the four accused. No arrests have been made in this regard so far and efforts are on to nab the accused.