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Cancer-prone dist fifth on list of relief recipients
Cotton cultivation month sees max poisoning incidents: Study
Wheat growers anxious as temperature sees a sudden rise
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Signs of summer mark presence
PNB extends helping hand to special kids
project Paryavaran Mitra
Jewellers protest tax rise, to meet Bathinda MP
Students get cheques under govt plan
Motorcyclists injured in mishap
Youth run over by train, dies
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Cancer-prone dist fifth on list of relief recipients
Bathinda, March 19 According to information, the Cancer Control Cell, Punjab, has received 156 complete applications from the cancer patients of Bathinda district for releasing the relief to the hospitals and cancer institutions from where they have been getting treatment. For these 156 cases, an amount of `1.63 crore has been released by the government till March 12 last. Amritsar district is placed at number one on the list with its all 267 cases being approved and the relief to the tune of `3.41 crore released. Ludhiana district with 226 approved cases is placed at number two on the list of number of recipients of the relief under the scheme while Ferozepur with 192 approved cases is on number three and Gurdaspur with 183 approved cases on number four. However, Bathinda district health authorities had conducted a door-to-door survey of the cancer patients, dead or alive both, in the district in December 2009 for the period from the year 2001 to 2009. The survey detected a total of 2,733 (1,090 males and 1,643 females) cancer cases in the district. Of these, there were over 2,200 patients alive at that time. These patients were suffering from cancer of various organs/parts of the body, including breast, cervix, uterus, prostate, spinal, liver, mouth, stomach, brain etc. After that, no such survey has been conducted so far. It is a matter of concern that while the number of living cancer patients in December 2009 was over 2,200, quite a small number of patients (223) applied for receiving the relief from the CM’s Cancer Relief Fund Scheme from July 2011 to the mid of March 2012. A health official believed either most of the cancer patients were unaware of the scheme or they were facing difficulties in completing the formalities to receive the relief. It is learnt that till March 12 this year, an amount of `22 crore has been released to 2,076 cases belonging to all the districts of the state while 52 cases were still pending for government's approval. chief minister’s cancer relief fund scheme
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Cotton cultivation month sees max poisoning incidents: Study
This is a part of the findings of a research paper on 'Poisoning Trends In Bathinda region' by Dr Vishal Garg, associate professor, Department of Forensic Medicine, Adesh Institute of Medical Sciences and Research. The research paper published in the Journal of Indian Academy of Forensic Medicine Vol. 32 Issue III highlights the study conducted over the period of two years, from April 2007 to March 2009. Of the 784 medico-legal cases admitted to hospitals during these two years, 12 per cent were of poisoning. The most common manner of poisoning was suicide attempts (65.3%), the majority being male victims (74.2%). "The maximum cases of accidental poisoning were reported in the month of August (51.5%) due to cotton cultivation in this region. Poisoning was found to be more common among males at a whopping 80%. This is perhaps due to the fact that more men are into the field of agriculture than the women (20%). Of the affected males, the maximum numbers of cases were in the age group of 21-30 years (43.2%) followed by those in the age group of 11-20 years (21.1 per cent)," said Dr Vishal. Poisoning was found more common in rural area (54%) as compared to the urban area (43%), which is attributed to the intensive and unsafe use of chemicals in agricultural practices as well as non-availability of quality health care near rural pockets which could otherwise save victims, Dr Vishal added. Out of all poisoning cases, the maximum casualties were reported due to agricultural and domestic use of chemicals. Easy availability of deadly chemicals, lack of expertise on ways to handle them, delay in hospitalisation and deficient emergency facilities in hospital set-ups in rural area together contributed to fatalities. The study recommended that there should be registered centres authorised by the government to provide free services regarding spray of pesticides in fields to save crops and using insecticides to preserve food grains at home with all safety measures. Availability of deadly chemicals to anyone in the open market should be constrained. Retailers should not sell the product until there is a prior approval for use of such chemicals by authorised centres. The retailers should also maintain the proper records of their sales. Dr Vishal strongly advised that various household products and medicines should be kept under supervision of elderly, physically and mentally healthy person and away from the reach of children and youths. He also advised setting up of a toxicological lab at the level of community health centres and teaching medical institutes, in order to analyse prevailing poisons like common pesticides, insecticides and drugs. He also recommended that hospitals be equipped with the facilities required for immediate management, including antidotes and resuscitation. "In case of poisoning, earlier the medical care better the survival rate," he added. About suicides…
Suicidal attempts (65.3%) constituted the major part of the study than accidental cases (33%). The maximum incidences of poisoning
cases took place at home (64.2%). Out of all suicidal/ attempts, 47% occurred at home and out of total accidental cases, 18% occurred in fields. At home, most of the suicidal attempts and accidental cases occurred when victims were alone. Intake of celphos tablets (used to preserve stored grains for longer periods) was the leading cause of poisoning (36.8 %) followed by intake of insecticides (31.6 %) by persons with farming background. Dr Vishal suggested that educational counselling should be carried out among all groups of people to make them understand the meaning of valuable life and discourage them from taking the extreme step. Fact file
A research paper on ‘Poisoning trends in Bathinda region’ presented by Dr Vishal Garg, associate professor, Department of Forensic Medicine, Adesh Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (AIMSR), was published in the Journal of Indian Academy of Forensic Medicine, Vol. 32, Issue III, highlights the study conducted over a period of two years, from April 2007 to March 2009. |
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Wheat growers anxious as temperature sees a sudden rise
The cotton belt usually witnesses late sowing of wheat. The late sown varieties are affected more by sudden change in temperature. The wheat crop is presently in the milky stage wherein the grains are softer. The agriculture experts say that if the temperature remains consistent for the next one week, the yield per acre would fall by 15 to 20 per cent. The Punjab Agriculture University (PAU) experts recommend wheat sowing from last week of October to first week of November. But in Bathinda district, the wheat is sown till late January. In few pockets this year, the farmers ended up sowing wheat as late as till February end. And many of these are irrigating newly-sown crop for the first time. Farmer Jagtar Singh Brar from Goniana Mandi said the last two days registered substantial variation in the temperature. "Though the weather experts have predicted normal temperature in the next few days, we would end up losing 15 to 20 per cent yield per acre if the high temperature persists," he said. Brar added that the wheat ripens slowly in normal temperature till April 13. A sudden rise in the temperature will lead to early maturing of grains that may shrivel and weigh less. "The potato crop was on the verge of meeting a similar fate when December was unusually hot. But later, cold saved us," added Brar, who also sows potatoes. During the recently conducted Kisan Mela, farmers had brought samples of their produce wherein the frost-affected wheat crop did not have any trace of growing grains. In the district, the wheat crop in Sangat block has been worst hit by frost. This season, wheat has been sown on 2.53 lakh hectares, 2,000 hectares more than the last year. The district civil supplies department targets to procure 7 lakh metric tonnes of wheat this season, which was 7.46 lakh metric tonnes last season.
Fact file
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Signs of summer mark presence
Bathinda, March 19 Winter that virtually overstayed in the region has finally retreated as the mercury has been hovering well over the 30 degrees Celsius mark for the last three days. The relatively long span of winter that delayed the spring from blooming in the region and even prevented the summer from making a timely arrival, sprung a surprise in the end too by its sudden departure. “All of sudden, the heat is palpable,” said the locals who experienced the first signs of summer today when mercury shot up considerably. The temperature recorded at the 2.30 pm today was 33.6 degrees Celsius, as per the agri-met department of the Punjab Agriculture University (PAU) regional centre, Bathinda. The day’s low was 17 degrees Celsius. The mercury started reaching near 30 degrees Celsius mark around Saturday during which the minimum temperature was ranging around 15 degrees Celsius. The rise in temperature could be termed as sudden as in the last week, the mercury was hovering around 25 degrees Celsius mark, said the weathermen. The maximum temperature on Sunday was 32.2 degrees Celsius while the minimum temperature recorded in the morning yesterday was 14 degrees Celsius. |
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PNB extends helping hand to special kids
Bathinda, March 19 Wives of the bank officials presented the freezer to the school. Principal of the school, staff members and the students were present on the occasion. The principal of the school said defying challenges, these students were learning to read and write like normal kids. |
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project Paryavaran Mitra
Bathinda, March 19 Addressing the students, the principal said, "Any student, teacher or individual who pledges to take steps towards conservation of the environment and pledges to identify and arrive at solutions of the environment-related issues can be a Paryavaran Mitra." The NGC is a programme under the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests and has as many as 1,20,000 schools across India under the aegis of the NGC School Eco Clubs. These Eco Clubs focus on activities that spread awareness about environment among the students. Each Eco Club, in turn, has 30 to 50 NGC students also known as the NGC cadets. The five core areas that these clubs focus on are conservation of bio-diversity, water and energy, management of waste, planning of land use and management of resources. The clubs also emphasise on locale-specific issues. Some of the most popular activities of the NGC are water harvesting, plantation, composting bio-degradable waste and faunal surveys. These clubs promote discipline and responsibility towards the environment and are provided with an annual grant of Rs 2,500. The Paryavaran Mitra programme aims at transforming students into Paryavaran Mitras by seeking their participation in curricular and co-curricular activities, and projects. These activities make the student an agent for sustainability. Through various activities are organised under the programme, the students will become aware, attain information and knowledge about issues pertaining to sustainability and have a better understanding of their environment. The hands-on experience will also help them in building skills and thereafter, participate in action projects and imbibe and spread awareness about leading a sustainable way of life. The schools enrolled with either the NGC, the Punjab State Council for Science and Technology, the Centre for Environment Education or any of the other nodal agencies of the programme, also have to celebrate the World Environment Day (June 5), World Water Day (March 22), World Wetland Day (February 2), World Earth Day (April 22) and many other days that significantly represent the environment. |
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Farmers demand separate budget
Bathinda, March 19 The demands, among others, include implementation of Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations for fixing minimum support price (MSP) of the crops and compensation of `5 lakh and a job to the families of the farmers and agriculture workers, who had committed suicides due to debt and financial hardships. The protesters also submitted a memorandum to the Bathinda Tehsildar, Avtar Singh Makkar, to forward the same to the Prime Minister through the state government. Makkar assured them that their memorandum would be forwarded to the authorities concerned and would be sent it to the Prime Minister. Their main demands include writing off the entire debt of the farmers and agriculture workers, issuance of crop loans without interest to poor farmers, stoppage of deduction in the subsidies on diesel, fertilizer and pesticides, 50 per cent subsidy on agricultural machinery to financially weak farmers, scrapping of Land Acquisition Act and cancellation of the draft of a new Act for acquiring land, 50 per cent subsidy on all commodities being distributed through the public distribution system (PDS), survey of below poverty line (BPL) families every year, and stoppage of privatisation of public sector undertakings. Speaking on the occasion, Shingara Singh Mann said the Union and state governments were not fulfilling the demands of the farmers and agriculture workers due to which they had been compelled to organise dharnas. He added that the farmers and agriculture workers were facing financial hardships due to which many of them had been forced to commit suicides. He said every one knew that now agriculture was not a profitable occupation. Despite this, the farmers were filling the country’s food bowl, he said. Mann said they wanted the Union government to make arrangements at its own level for getting the crops of the farmers insured. Besides, it should also compensate the agriculture workers, living in the villages and affected by natural calamities. He also said the farmers wanted the presentation of a separate budget for agriculture in Parliament and the state assemblies. Others present on the occasion were senior vice-president of the BKU (Ugrahan), Jhanda Singh Jethuke, district senior vice-president of the union, Mothu Singh Kotra, district general secretary of the union Jagjit Singh Bhunder and state president of Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union, Jora Singh
Nasrali.
Main demands
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Labour laws not implemented properly at brick kilns, say workers
Bathinda, March 19 Later, they also took out a protest march from the Mini-secretariat to the Fauji Chowk. These workers also participated in the protest, which was organised by the leaders of CPI (ML) Liberation at Fauji Chowk where an effigy of the UPA government was burnt. The protesters termed the Union budget as “anti-poor, anti-farmer and anti-labourer”. The demands of the brick kiln workers include hike in the rate of moulding of bricks from `400 per thousand to `600 per thousand, marking of attendance of the workers in registers at brick kilns, availability of basic amenities like pure water and shelters for the workers, issuance of brick production cards, provident fund facility for all the workers and arrangements for the study of the wards of the workers at the brick kilns. Brick kiln workers from all parts of the district including Rampura Phul, Bhagta, Talwandi Sabo and Bathinda participated in the protest. State secretary of the Mazdoor Mukti Morcha (MMM), Bhagwant Singh Samao, said all successive governments had ignored the genuine demands of the workers while preparing the state budget every year. He also alleged that the brick kiln owners were not providing proper facilities to the workers at the brick kilns. Besides, labour laws were also not being implemented properly at the brick kilns, he claimed. Harwinder Singh Sema said they had submitted their memorandum to the officials of the Labour Department here earlier, but nothing had happened so far. He said due to the wrong policies of the government, the brick kiln workers were facing various types of hardships and were even facing difficulties in making their both ends meet. Others who addressed the workers were state secretary of the Lal Jhanda Bhatha Mazdoor Union (AICCTU), Gurpreet Singh Rurreke and state secretary of the CPI (ML) Liberation Rajwinder Singh
Rana.
Workers want...
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Jewellers protest tax rise, to meet Bathinda MP
Bathinda, March 19 In a meeting convened today, the Beopar Mandal president Kartar Singh Jaura, Sarafa Association president Tarsem Khurmi and Swarnkar Sangh president, Manmohan Singh Kuku said the jewellers would meet MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal and present their demands. They said the Union government has imposed central excise duty, which needs elaborate cumbersome bookkeeping. They argued that ordinary jewellers would be subjected to hardships as they run family-owned small business units. The union demanded that the excise duty on jewellery be abolished all together as the customs duty has already been quadrupled from 1 to 4 per cent giving ample revenue to the government. They said the Union government has introduced
a provision to tax large jewellery purchases at selling point. All transactions above `2 lakh done
in retail shops now need to charged one per cent extra as income tax and jewellers are bound to remit it to the government. The jewellers reasoned that at present rate, not even 60 grams of gold could be bought for `2 lakh. They have demanded abolition or a rollback of the provision. Terming increased import duty from 1 to 4 per cent as wrong, the jewellers felt that a mere two per cent increase was reasonable enough keeping in view the present gold rates. They said the industry employs more than two crore people including goldsmiths and artisans. “People in this industry are socio-economically backward skilled craftsmen and women. The product they manufacture is India’s culture. By levying such high taxes, the government aims at the closure of the industry and subsequent loss of livelihood of these people,” said Khurmi. The delegation of jewellers would meet MP Badal within this week. |
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Students get cheques under govt plan
Bathinda, march 19 The cheques, worth `3,400 and `3,900, were issued under the Government of India’s sponsored scheme, ‘Incentive to girls for secondary education’, for the scheduled caste students. He also appreciated the staff for working towards the all-round development of the students. He motivated the students to work hard for a better future. |
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Motorcyclists injured in mishap
Bathinda, March 19 The volunteers of the NGO, Sahara Welfare Society, got the injured admitted at the local Civil Hospital. In another accident, on Bathinda-Dabwali road, a jeep hit a scooter, injuring the scooterist. The injured, identified as 37-year-old Davinder Singh, sustained serious injuries and was admitted to the Civil Hospital. |
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Youth run over by train, dies
Bathinda, March 19 Volunteers of the city-based NGO, Sahara Welfare Society, who reached the spot, said that no document could be found on the body that could establish the identity of the deceased. The GRP police have registered a case and efforts are on to ascertain his identity. |
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Bathinda, March 19
Bathinda, March 19