Bathinda, April 18
The Municipal Commissioner Uma Shankar Gupta today took officials of Jindal Infrastructure urban waste management to task for not collecting garbage properly in the city.

Gupta expressed dissatisfaction over the quality and pace of work going on in the city. On request, the deadline of cent per cent garbage collection has been extended to April 30.

The company has failed to distribute bins in commercial establishments such as markets, restaurants, dhabas and eateries. At many places, the second collection bins are missing.

“Apart from this, even the complete infrastructure is not in place. The company does not have adequate number of dumpers and is facing a staff crunch,” Gupta said reviewing the entire exercise of bin distribution and garbage collection.

The company officials have been categorically told to streamline their set-up and if they jump April 30 deadline, the municipal corporation would start deducting 10 per cent penalty from the amount collected from garbage collection.

Gupta is also formulating a plan to conduct a weekly review of the working of company. He said corporation team was also working to create a daily monitoring proforma that would keep a tab on the performance.

During the meeting, it was discussed that garbage collection in other municipal bodies was worse than in Bathinda. For these local bodies, falling under the Bathinda cluster, the deadline has been extended to May 31.

It was also decided that separate supervisors for the Bathinda city and that for other cities under the cluster be appointed.

“This way, we would be able to fix responsibility in case of lapses. By tomorrow, the company shall provide me with the list of supervisors appointed,” Gupta said.

The company officials have also been directed to manage the issues due to which the project is not getting clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF). The company is to develop a green zone and fill all the pits with sand, as specified by the MoEF rules.

Bathinda, April 18
In a letter, written to the Deputy Commissioner (DC) and the District Social Security Officer (DSSO), the Principal Secretary, Department of Social Security, Punjab, has asked the DC and the DSSO to stop the payment of old-age pension and financial assistance under some social security schemes to those persons, who have been found ineligible during an investigation, conducted to find out the ineligible beneficiaries of the various social security schemes.

A source in the Social Security Department told this reporter today that the Principal Secretary had also asked the authorities to stop the payment of old-age pension or financial assistance to those beneficiaries who remained absent during investigation.

The source said old-age pension/financial assistance of ineligible beneficiaries would be stopped permanently while the absentee beneficiaries would have to apply afresh, in case they wanted to get their old-age pension/financial assistance restored.

Sources said in Bathinda district, around 3,000 beneficiaries of old-age pension or financial assistance had been found ineligible during investigation while around 2,000 beneficiaries remained absent during the investigation.

The names of about 5,000 beneficiaries, out of a total of about 96,000 beneficiaries of various social security schemes, including old-age pension, would be struck off from the list of beneficiaries. Due to this their pension or financial assistance for the month of February of this year would not be paid to them.

The Principal Secretary has also asked the DC to send a report of those employees who were responsible for sanctioning the pension of ineligible pensioners, so that action could be taken against them as well.

Bathinda, April 18
The cold weather conditions even in April have given reasons for the wheat farmers to worry. The post-Baisakhi temperature increases the ripening of the wheat grains and brings a smile on the faces of farmers.

However, this year, the wheat harvesting has been delayed and the crop arriving in the grain market has high moisture content, more than the permissible limit of 12 to 13 per cent.

"For the first time in the last over 10 years, we are seeing a cool April. The weather may be pleasant for the common man, but for us, it is akin to sounding a death knell," said farmer Jagtar Singh Brar from Goniana Mandi.

He said that as per the meteorological predictions, similar weather conditions may continue for another ten days, which means that the ripened grain too may get damaged.

"One more spell of shower or hail storm and the ripened wheat grains shall start germinating, which would cost dear to the farmers.

“Already, heavy inputs have turned farming into a loss-making venture and the freak weather is adding to our woes. All we can do in such condition is just pray," Brar said.

Meanwhile, the Chief Agriculture Officer, Dr Rajinder Singh Brar, said the cold weather is favourable for the cotton and wheat crops, provided the spell is not long and there are no showers.

He agreed that the grain markets are getting a wheat produce with high moisture content as the anxious farmers do not want to take risk.

"Farmers do not have the confidence because of the prevalent inclement cold weather and out of anxiety, they are bringing the early harvested produce to the markets. The farmers should wait for some time," he advised.

Bathinda, April 18
A delegation of the district unit (Urban) of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by its president Gulshan Wadhwa, met the Deputy Commissioner KK Yadav here and briefed him about the problems, being faced by the residents of the city these days.

The deputation told the DC about the traffic problems in the city, unauthorized parking of trucks in the residential areas, bad sanitation in some parts of the city and rise in cases of theft and snatching in the city. The DC assured that he would make all efforts to resolve them.

A press note issued here informed that the DC had stated that the number of city buses, introduced recently, would be increased. Besides, some mini-buses would also be included in the fleet of the city bus service so that even the residents, residing in narrow streets, can get the benefit.

Party leaders including district general secretary Vijay Singla, Mithu Ram Gupta, district president of Kisan Morcha Sukhdev Singh Sodhi, Vasdev Kalra, Rakesh Goyal, Rajesh Singla, Jagdev Singh and Ashok Ballianwali were also present. — TNS

Bathinda, April 18
The first reunion alumni of the 1983-84 batch was held at the MSD Senior Secondary School in Bathinda. As many as 58 alumni members, along with their family members participated in the meet.

The alumni meet was the brainchild of Ashu Bansal, Praveen Garg and Sunil, all students of the 1984 batch of the MSD School. The present vice-principal of the school, Kiram Bansal, was the chief guest and one of the teachers of the 1984 batch, Indu Mehta, was the guest of honour at the function.

The function started with the singing of the invocation, 'Aye Maalik Tere Bande Hum'.

Indu Mehta was presented with the lifetime achievement award.

Other teachers, Raj Sharma, Pushpa Sharma, Anita Sharma, Sujata Gupta, Sunita Monga, Nazar Singh, Raj Dulari, Nirmal Garg and Kiram Duggal, were also honoured on the occasion. The alumni hoped that such reunion would become a regular feature in the years ahead.

Bathinda, April 18
Under the Paryavaran Mitra project, the students and teachers of the Government School, Maiserkhana, took a paryavaran oath under the guidance of the school principal, Varinder Pal Kaur.

The aim of the 'Paryavaran Mitra' project is to transform students into friends of environment and seek their participation in curricular and co-curricular activities that make the students environment conscious. The students of the school are working on five different themes — water, waste management, energy, biodiversity and culture. The activities performed by the students in the school will be documented so that the changes can be recorded. — TNS

Bathinda, April 18
Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sarup Chand Singla and MLA from Bathinda (Rural) Assembly constituency, Darshan Singh Kotfatta, were honoured at a ward-level meeting held at the residence of municipal councillor from ward number 39, Bant Singh Sidhu, on Surkhpeer road here.

Among others present were Bathinda Mayor Baljit Singh Beer Behman, SGPC member Sukhdev Singh Bahia, vice-chairman of Punjab Arts Council, Harwinder Singh Khalsa, district press secretary of the SAD Om Parkash Sharma and president of Khalsa Diwan Singh Sabha Rajinder Singh Sidhu. — TNS

Bathinda, April 18
The canal colony police have arrested two people for allegedly siphoning off Rs 17 lakh from the ledgers of a company dealing in liquor, where the accused were working.

In his complaint to the police, Pramod Kumar from Housefed Colony stated that he deals in liquor and his head officer is at Harbans Nagar. He had hired Jatinder Kumar from Dhobiana Basti as the cashier and Krishan Kumar from Mehna Chowk to maintain the stock statements.