Bathinda, June 15
Despite increasing the operational area of the city bus service, the project continues to run into losses. For every `13 earned per km, PEPSU Road Transport Corporation (PRTC) spends `24.

Ten buses under the city bus service cover an area of 235 kms daily, running in 15 kms within the municipal limits. Before increasing the operational area, these buses were earning `12 per km. The area was increased in order to compensate for the losses the service was incurring.

PRTC senior officials said problems were cropping up due to the hurried and unplanned launch of the service. The service was launched hurriedly on the directions of the Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab, Sukbir Badal on April 13 to coincide with Baisakhi.

The fund-starved Municipal Corporation Bathinda had bought these ten buses for `3.52 crore and another `6.83 lakh were spent on its insurance. When the locales did not adapt to the new service, PRTC tried to iron out problems by providing adequate number of drivers, conductors and even fix the routes.

On May 18, PRTC started two shifts of the bus service to cater from morning till evening.

Also in the month of May, three routes were extended on the demand of people as well as for better economic health of buses. Bathinda-NFL route was extended to Goniana Mandi, Bathinda-Adesh Medical College route was extended to Bhucho Mandi chowk and the Bathinda-Giani Zail Singh Engineering College route has been extended to Sangat junction.

People were largely unaware of the timings and stoppage of this service, which proved to be a deterrent in its popularity.

Now, flex boards have been installed at 30 places in the city mentioning the time and other details of each bus. Cheap fares and greater ease has started giving competition to the fares of rickshawpullers and auto rickshaws.

“Despite this, the facility has not managed to get the kind of response that was anticipated. Situation may improve when trans-railway line area is also included in its ambit,” added another official.

Bathinda, June 15
Purnima Hembram, a BA (Part I) students of the Malwa College in Bathinda, has brought laurels for the city. Purnima won the gold medal in heptathlon, a sporting competition comprising seven events, by securing 4979 points.

This Junior Asia (U-30) athletics competition was held in Colombo in Sri Lanka from June 9 to June 12.

This is not the first time Purnima has tasted success by displaying her sporting prowess. Purnima has already won the distinction of being the Junior National Champion and the All India Inter University Champion. She won silver medal in the 100 meter hurdles race in the All India Inter-University Championship.

President of the District Athletics Association KPS Brara, college principal Dr CL Singla, Prof NK Gossain, director of the Malwa College of physical Education Darshan Singh congratulated the athlete on her latest achievement.

Bathinda, June 15
The Civil Lines police have booked one Ashok, the director of an immigration consultant firm, for committing fraud. In her complaint to the police, Tripta Devi of Maur Mandi, stated the accused had taken `10 lakh for sending her daughter to Birmingham, the UK, and another 
`4.5 lakh for getting her admitted to a university in the United Kingdom. Allegedly, the fee was not deposited at the varsity. 

Bathinda, June 15
Four from district have made it to the combined merit list of Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC).

A dentist from Lehra Mohabbat, Dr Harpreet Singh, has cracked the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) exams in his first attempt and secured 20th place in the general category.

An alumnus of Guru Harkrishan Public School Bathinda, Dr Harpreet Singh aspires to join Indian Foreign Services (IFS) and has already cleared the prelims of Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). His main subjects for PPSC were botany and zoology.

“I wanted to be a civil servant since my school days. After completing BDS from Baba Farid University of Health Sciences with distinction, I joined a coaching institute at Delhi to prepare for the civil services,” said Dr Harpreet.

Institute’s former teacher and topper of IAS 2008 batch, Dr Adapa Karthik remained his source of inspiration. A former IPS officer, Dr Karthik left scholarships of Cambridge and Harvard to serve the country and has also remained posted in Punjab as the SDM in areas of Muktsar and Ropar.

Twenty six-year-old Dr Harpreet says he studied 10 to 11 hours daily and read a lot. “I had joined a library in Delhi. I used to enter it at 8:30 am and leave at 8 pm, the time for it to close,” he said.

Dr Harpreet’s father Lakhwinder Singh is assistant superintending engineer at Guru Hargobind Thermal Plant Lehra Mohabbat, while his mother Jaswinder Kaur is an English lecturer at government school village Balianwali. His younger sister is an engineering graduate.

Besides Dr Harpreet, Harveer Kaur made the city proud by bagging the 28th place on the merit list. Married to a lawyer in Chandigarh, Harveer has attained her childhood dream.

Punam Garg from Bhagta Bhai Ka achieved 57th rank, while Navreet Kaur Dhillon earned 108th rank in the combined merit list.

Bathinda, June 15
The electrical wing of the PWD has suspended the passenger lift service at the Mini-secretariat, Bathinda, leading to great inconvenience to the elderly staff and others, especially those who can’t climb stairs easily to reach the first, second or third storey of the building.

The lift service has been suspended on account of the shortage of funds for making payment to the lift operators.

The two passenger lifts, which were serving the staff as well as the visitors, have not been working for nearly two weeks now as their functioning was stopped by the electrical wing after receiving a letter from the Chief Engineer (Electrical) of the PWD in this regard.

Among the staff members of various departments, there are some elderly or other employees who face great difficulty, due to health reasons, in climbing the stairs to 
reach their respective offices, especially on the second or third storey of the building.

One such employee, Janta Singh, Circle Superintendent of the PWD B&R, told TNS that he had been facing great difficulty in reaching his office on the third storey as he had earlier undergone a kidney transplant.

District general secretary of the Punjab State Ministerial Services Union, (PSMSU), Kewal Bansal, said not only the staff members, the common masses also, especially elderly, had been facing inconvenience in reaching the second or third storey of the building to get their work done. He said some women employees of the Mini-secretariat had also met a senior official of the administration to convey their problem as the lifts had not been functioning since the beginning of this month.

Sources in the PWD told this reporter these lifts were being operated by the lift operators, who were hired on contract basis. They had been getting the monthly wages as per the DC rates.

The sources said the Chief Engineer (Electrical) had, through a letter, informed the local electrical wing of the PWD that as no funds had been provided by the government for this purpose, so, the lift operators should be removed from work till further orders. In the light of this letter, the electrical wing removed both the lift operators after May 31.

It is also learnt that the local electrical wing of the PWD had informed the Deputy Commissioner in this regard.

When contacted, Deputy Commissioner Kamal Kishore Yadav said the lifts were part of the Mini-secretariat and arrangements were being made to make both the lifts operational.

He further said the Operation and Maintenance Society was arranging for lift operators so that the staff and the people visiting the Mini-secretariat do not face any inconvenience. Both lifts would start functioning from Monday, the DC added.

Bathinda, June 15
A constable was found lying dead at the De-Addiction Centre, situated on the premises of the Civil Hospital in Bathinda.

The hospital employees found him dead in the morning. DSP city and the Kotwali in-charge visited the hospital. The volunteers of the city-based NGO Sahara Jan Sewa arrived on the scene and took the body inside the Civil Hospital for getting the postmortem conducted.

The deceased has been identified as constable Ajmer Singh. According to information, Ajmer was a resident of the Paras Ram Nagar and was posted at the De-addiction Centre for the past five years. Ajmer was to retire from service in September 2012.

Volunteers from the NGO told Tribune News Service that the deceased had and was suffering from hypertension.

His colleagues, Gurmail Singh and Gurjant Singh, said they had dinner together at around 9 pm and Ajmer left for a walk at around 10:30 pm and did not come back the whole night.

In the morning, a sweeper at the hospital informed that Ajmer Singh was lying outside the Out Patient Department (OPD).

Doctors at the hospital said said Ajmer had died of cardiac arrest. Police have initiated inquest proceedings under section 174 of the CrPc.

Ajmer Singh is survived by his wife and children. 

Bathinda, June 15
In the wake of the impending monsoon and the fear of dengue fever, the Municipal Corporation Bathinda (MCB) has appealed to the residents to take preventive measures for keeping the disease at bay.

In a press statement issued here today, Municipal Commissioner Uma Shankar Gupta stated that dengue spreads from mosquito that breeds in clean and stagnant water.

Simple measures like the destruction of the breeding ground of these mosquitoes can save many lives.

Last year, dengue had taken the district in its grip. Bathinda had the second largest number of dengue patients in the state after Ludhiana.

Taking lessons from the past, the corporation has appealed to the people not to wait for the government departments to act and take initiative on their own to ensure their better health.

People have been appealed not to allow water to stagnate on rooftops, in desert coolers, in utensils, in disposed earthen ware or tyres and to keep the water tanks covered.

Water in the coolers should be changed every week. Those who fix the punctures of tyres have been asked to change water in the tanks near their shops daily.

Since the mosquito causing dengue bites only during the day, people have been appealed to use mosquito repellants and nets to save themselves from mosquito bites.

Those involved in new constructions have been directed by the Municipal Corporation not to allow water to stagnate around these buildings.

Bathinda, June 15
Thrashing Barnala by an inning and 25 runs, Bathinda stormed into the Inter Zonal Cricket Tournament (U-22) for Plate group.

On the second day of the two-day match that concluded at the Police Public School here on Friday, Bathinda bowlers prevailing over the Barnala batsmen bowled them out at the score of 115 runs, altogether 25 runs short from saving the inning defeat.

Earlier, resuming its second inning at the overnight score of 19 for one, Barnala bundled out at the score of 115 runs. The only batsman from Barnala who gave some resistance to Bathinda's bowlers was Harinder Pal, who scored 23 runs.

For Bathinda, Sukhmander took five wickets at the cost of 37 runs while Sukhminder Junior took four wickets by giving 33 runs. 

Bathinda, June 15
The admissions process for 20 different programmes in science, engineering, humanities and social sciences is on and the last date for online submission of forms for the entrance test for different programmes is June 22.

The all-India online entrance test shall be conducted on July 7 at 16 centres, including Bathinda, Chandigarh, Shimla and Noida. The candidates who have appeared in their qualifying examinations and are awaiting their results are also eligible to appear in the entrance test. They can submit their results on or before the date of the interview.

The details of various courses, the admission rules and the syllabus for the entrance test are available on the university website www.centralunipunjab.com or www.cup.oc.in — TNS