Bathinda, May 31
Following the call for Bharat Bandh by the SAD-BJP government, the city observed a complete shutdown. The bandh was called to protest against the steep hike of `7.50 in the price of petrol.

Leaving the commuters at the recieving end, the private bus operators and transporters remained off the roads to extend their support to the call for bandh. All the commercial establishments, including shops and markets in the city, remained closed for the day.

Some shops on Ajit Road, Amrik Singh Road, Bhagu Road, Namdev Nagar, Bhatti Road and Bibiwala Road opened late in the evening.

Even the supply of LPG cylinders dipped in the city. Sukhminder Singh Laddi, an LPG distributor, said the vehicles carrying gas cylinders could not move out of the bottling plant due to traffic jam.

“Since the buses and other vehicles remained off the road, even the fuel consumption in the city declined by 20 percent,” he added.

“All the government departments remained operative with buses for BSNL and refinery moving as per schedule,” said transporter Surinder Bansal, whose buses run in various commercial establishments.

Another operator, Pirthi Singh Jalal, added that since most of the villagers were aware of the bandh, they chose to remain indoors.

“Not many people suffered as they were informed about bandh well in advance. In fact, near many villages, the villagers themselves blocked roads and restricted the public transport system,” he added.

Registering a protest separately, the CPI and CPM workers blocked the traffic on the bridge over Sirhind Canal near Thermal Colony. Starting at 10 am, the protestors sat in the scorching sun till 12:30 pm blocking the traffic on the entire GT Road.

It proved to be a harrowing time for the commuters who got caught in the traffic jams in the sweltering hot summer day. Long queues of vehicles blocked the entire GT Road.

The district general secretary of CPI, Jagjit Singh Joga said SAD-BJP government’s protest against fuel hike was not justified.

“If the Centre is levying taxes and surcharge on fuel, at least the state government should slash down the state taxes. SAD-BJP coalition has no right to cry hoarse over things that it can control.”

“State government has earned `300 crores from the revised rates of fuel in the state so far. Instead of blaming the Centre, the state government should take an initiative and waive off VAT, cess, duty and other local taxes,” he said.

Joga added that the Left parties were demanding that all taxes be lifted from fuel instead of rolling back its prices. If the Centre as well as state government withdraw all the taxes, prices of petrol would tumble down to `37 per litre.

Bathinda, May 31
The call for Bharat Bandh, made by the National Democratic Alliance to protest against the hike in the petrol price across the country, today affected many services in the city.

Fearing getting caught in the protests and jams, people, especially in the rural areas, preferred to drop the idea of travelling to the nearby cities.

There was one section of the society, the patients, which was affected by the bandh call in a big way. Due to bandh, a majority of the patients from the villages avoided coming to the cities to get themselves examined at the Civil Hospital and the private clinics or nursing homes.

According to information, there was almost a 50 per cent fall in the number of patients visiting the Civil Hospital and the Women and Children Hospital in the city.

Even the private hospitals and private practitioners registered a drop of almost 60 per cent in the number of patients visiting them for consultation on normal days.

As many as 850 patients visit the Out Patient Departments (OPDs) at the Civil Hospital on other days. This number decreased to a mere 450 today. On the other hand, the local Women and Children Hospital today also witnessed about 50 per cent less number of patients at its OPDs.

Orthopeadic surgeons, Dr Vijay Mittal and Dr Dheeraj Goyal, medical specialist Dr Parminder Bansal, psychiatrist Dr Nidhi Gupta (all posted at Civil Hospital), and a child specialist at Women and Children Hospital, Dr Anjali, said the number of patients at their OPDs was almost half as compared to other days.

When contacted, some private doctors in the city also told TNS that the number of patients in their respective OPDs today decreased by as much as 60 per cent.

Dr Bharat Bhushan Jindal, Dr Gaurav Jain and Dr Kailash Goyal confirmed the decrease on the numbers due to bandh.

Bathinda, May 31
At a meeting held at the district administrative complex here today to observe the ‘World No Tobacco Day’, the district administration and the health authorities launched an awareness campaign to make the district smoke-free.

As part of the campaign, the district health authorities distributed 300 posters among the members of the NGOs and officials of various government departments to display the same in the premises of their offices and at other public places. These posters have been provided by the local Max Hospital authorities, carrying the message ‘No smoking zone’ and ‘Use of tobacco and tobacco products is a crime’.

Besides, challan books, along with receipt books will be given to the government departments for issuing challans to the persons, smoking at public places. Each government department will form a task force for the purpose.

Presiding over the meeting, the DC, Kamal Kishore Yadav, said creation of awareness against the use of tobacco products and smoking was not enough as it also required effective enforcement of the Tobacco Control Act through health department and various other departments. He said the plan would be implemented in June by deputing government officers. He also assured the health authorities full support of the NGOs and the administration in this direction.

Yadav also said passive smokers should prevent the smokers from smoking at public places.

He said even 10 per cent active smokers could affect the health of 90 per cent non-smokers adversely. He also asked the media persons to play a vital role for creating awareness among masses, telling them the ill-effects of tobacco and smoking.

Civil Surgeon, Dr Ajay Sahni, said smoking and use of tobacco were the main causes behind the cancer to various organs of the body. He added that 40 per cent of the cancer deaths were due to the use of tobacco products and smoking.

Expressing his views on the issue, district health officer (DHO), Dr Raghubir Singh Randhawa, said the authorities could demarcate areas for smoking so that smokers could not smoke at public places. He said the smoking could be checked with the help of all, including the common masses, the police, the administration and the NGOs.

Dr Randhawa said the health department had made a plan to make Bathinda district smoke-free. He said they had already written to various departments to create awareness. Besides, the health authorities had checked various places but they had not found any ‘Hukka Bar’ anywhere in the district, he added.

Among others who were present at the meeting included deputy medical superintendent of the Max Hospital, Bathinda Dr Neeraj Bishnoi, secretary of district Red Cross Society JR Goyal, secretary of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Bathinda , Dr RK Madaan, and members of the NGOs.

Bathinda, May 31
The Excise and Taxation Department today detected sales tax evasion during a surprise checking of goods in Lalgarh-Guwahati Express. The operation was led by the Joint Director, Enforcement Taxation Faridkot and Ferozepur, Captain YS Matta.

Matta, while talking to the media later, accused the railway authorities of non-cooperation during such operations.

He alleged that the railway officials never informed his department officials which led to evasion of sales tax. He said 266 goods were found without any valid sales tax documents during the nightlong operation at the railway station. Three assistant taxation commissioners, including Jaswinder Singh, Madan Mohan and Pawan Garg, four ETOs including SS Manshahia, Rishi Kumar, Malwinder Singh Dhillon and Rakesh Malhotra were also present during the checking.

Matta said the railway authorities misbehaved with their team and did not allow them to take possession of the goods. He said the railway authorities asked his officials to first take permission of the DRM (Divisional Railway Manager) or any other senior railway official. He said such behaviour was leading to evasion of tax worth lakhs and the Punjab government was failing to fill its empty coffers.

The excise officials said there was no VAT or bill number attached with the goods in the train. They said sales tax, to the tune of many lakh, was being evaded with the help of local agents.

Meanwhile, station superintendent, Pradeep Kumar, refuted all the allegations and said the railway authorities always extend support to the officials conducting surprise checking.

Bathinda, May 31
The district education department is in fix on replying to a query of Lok Sabha MP Piyush Goyal on the issue of donations demanded by private schools.

In the Lok Sabha meeting held on March 20, BJP MP from Maharashtra, Piyush Goyal, posed a question pertaining to the donations taken by private schools.

Taking up the matter with the Ministry of Human Resources and Development, Government of India, Goyal has asked five questions.

The HRD ministry has marked these questions to the states which have in turn directed education department officials to answer these five questions at the earliest possible.

At the district level, principals and in-charge of government schools have been asked to visit private schools lying in their jurisdiction and pose the same five questions and get their answers. These principals and in-charges have further deputed two to three teams for collecting data.

Sources confirmed that not even a single school in the district has agreed to seeking donations in lieu of admissions. Meanwhile, the district education officer (secondary) Balwinder Singh Aulakh was not available for comment.

"It is a very tricky situation. No school would ever accept that it charges donation for admitting children. It is like asking a thief to certify if he has committed a crime or not, despite the fact that a thief can’t leave his habit of stealing," said a government school principal in Bathinda city.

Another principal added that the entire exercise was futile and result would be naught. "It would not be surprising that not even a single private school in whole country would confess to taking donation. Moreover, the government employees and even education department have no right to monitor these private schools, leave alone the question of taking action against them," she said.

Teachers opined that the rot can’t be stemmed unless and until industrial houses are barred from entering into education sector and setting up new vistas.

"Donation charging schools don't give a receipt of donation taken and parents are happily obliging. When there is no one to complain, who will come out with truth," the education department officials said.

Bathinda, May 31
Kotwali police has arrested two persons for indulging in gambling at public place near the Gol Diggi area. Police has recovered Rs 2,150 from the possession. The accused were booked under Sections 13-A, 3, 67 of the Gambling Act. The case has been registered on the complaint of head constable Roshan Lal.

Bathinda, May 31
Two youngsters lost their lives in an accident involving a truck and a motorcycle. The accident occurred on Mansa-Bathinda road near the village Bhai Bakhtaur. A speeding oil tanker crushed the two youngsters identified as Satnam and Dheera, both 25 years old and residents of Bhai Bakhtaur village.

The volunteers of the NGO Sahara Jan Sewa rushed them to a nearby hospital where the doctors declared them dead.

The truck driver fled from the spot after the accident and the vehicle was impounded by policemen from Kotfatta police station.

The bodies were handed over to the members of the family of victim after the the post mortem. A case has been registered in this connection against the truck driver.

Bathinda, May 31
To make the healthcare services more accessible, the Max Super Speciality Hospital has launched a free Tele-consultancy facility in Bathinda for the people of Bathinda and the neighbouring regions. People can avail this service at any hour of the day. With this new service, Max Healthcare aims to reach out to the patients at a broader level.

In a press note issued here today, it has been stated that the Tele-consultation means obtaining the professional opinion of a healthcare provider, who is not physically present at the location where the patient is.

Dr Mahesh Inder Singh, Regional Director, Max Healthcare, commenting on the new initiative said, "Max Hospital is known for its tertiary and quaternary care and we at Max are positive that this new initiative will contribute extensively in improving the quality of healthcare for the people of this region.”

He added that emergency could arise anytime and hence, the Tele-consultancy facility was an innovative programme “where anyone can call our emergency physicians and get Tele-consultation for free”. He said the programme was one of its kind, launched for the first time in the entire Punjab region and is available 24X7.

Bathinda, May 31
Sewerage Worker Union has demanded new recruitments of sewer men keeping in view just handful of 117 sewer men in city. The sewer men were last recruited in 1985.

After 1985, not even a single sewer man has been recruited, while the city has grown by more than five times. The members of Sewerage Worker Union met Assistant Commissioner Kamal Kant and apprised him of the shortage of staff. They demanded better working conditions and security for sewer men in wake of death of four people in last one week.

President of the union, Nem Chand said after 1985 many new areas came up. These included Janta Nagar, Arjun Nagar, Gopal Nagar, Jogi Nagarm Alam Basti, Pratap Nagar, Parasram Nagar, Surkhpeer Road, Gatta Factory, Naruana Road, Lal Singh Basti, Amarpura Basti, Deep Nagar, Sanjay Nagar, Awa Basti's back portion, Bangi Nagar, Harbans Nagar, Model town phase 1, 2 and 3, Guru Ki Nagri, Basant Vihar, Aggarwal Colony, Pukhraj Colony, Kanhaiya Nagar, Bharat Nagar, Patel Nagar, Kamla Nehru Colony, Chandsar Basti, Baba Farid Nagar, Balla Ram Nagar, Hazura Kapura Basti, Prajapat Colony, Shakti Nagar and Shiv Colony.

The union members demanded that every sewer man be given half lire mustard oil and eight cakes of soap every month. They said that relative of a sewer man, who dies while performing duty, should be immediately given job on sympathetic ground.

"The temporary sewer men are poorly paid and hence should be given salaries timely by the fifth date of every month," union members said.

Bathinda, May 31
Dr Muneesh Gupta, a surgeon at the local civil hospital, conducted an operation on a local resident Usha Rani on May 29 by a laparoscope for gallstones, measuring 24 mm and 21 mm.

Dr Gupta said as the operation was performed successfully so the patient was discharged the very next day. Besides, no bed rest was advised to her, he added.

Dr Gupta said if the operation had been conducted by open method surgery then the patient had to stay on bed for three days. — TNS