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Dainik express stopped in its tracks
Too little, too late: PWSSB finalises de-silting plan
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Don’t bring Hotel Accommodation Policy Act: Hoteliers
‘New test format won’t dilute IITs’ excellence’
Mid-day meal workers hold rally
Man found dead near pond
Govt school staff to update voters’ list
Tributes paid to Army’s war heroes
Goods stolen from shop on Multania road
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Dainik express stopped in its tracks
Bathinda, June 30 Many passengers entered into heated arguments with the protesters for blocking the railway tracks and delaying their journey. Railway officials and Government Railway Police intervened to pacify both the parties and the journey of the train was resumed. The area residents gathered at the railway tracks and protested against the railway authorities and demanded construction of a railway overbridge on the tracks to bring respite from the irritating wait. “Whenever a train passes by, the authorities pull down the barriers to stop the flow of the road traffic. This leads to utter chaos as long queues of vehicles can be witnessed waiting on either sides of the barriers,” said Ram Lal, a local resident. He added that the wait becomes unbearable due to the scorching heat. Elderly and children are the worst hit, he added. Another resident, Manoj Kumar, alleged that the authorities had the habit of pulling down the barriers much ahead of the timing of the trains. “We have to wait for more than half hour for the train to pass and the barriers to be lifted to restore the flow of road traffic,” said another resident Shanti Devi. Residents opined that the railway employee, deployed at the crossing, first got instructions to bring down the barrier at 8.30 am. At 8.35 am, he got another phone call asking him to lift the barriers as the train was yet to start its journey. Those waiting at the railway crossing got upset as the barrier had been pulled down although no train was to pass by. Station superintendent, Punjab Police officials from Canal Colony police station and railway police reached the spot and lifted the dharna after assurance by the senior railway officials to sort out the problem. Rresidents Ashok Kumar, Gurpreet Singh, Meghraj, Rocky, Rajvir, Parminder, Harnek, Sony Sharma, Happy, Harjinder Singh and others demanded construction of an overbridge so that the commuters got rid of the everyday trouble.
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Too little, too late: PWSSB finalises de-silting plan
Bathinda, June 30 Rain water from Lal Singh Basti, Amarpura Basti and Sanguana Basti area would be emptied into Sanguana Basti disposal, which would be unable to hold so much water. “Ultimately, in case of heavy rains, water would spill over creating problem for the residents of Sanguana Basti,” observed Nachhattar Singh, resident of street number 1, Sanguana Basti. The sewerage board has also decided that sewer on Multania road would be joined with the Thandi Sarak sewer. However, the Thandi Sarak sewer system has already outlived its life and as per the board’s own report would not be able to support huge amount of water. It is pertinent to mention here that during a review meeting held with the district administration and municipal corporation on June 29, the sewerage board was unable to present a plan to save the city from rain water accumulation. Owing to the rocky terrain and lack of separate storm water pipes, Bathinda is prone to water logging problem, which may take gigantic proportions this time owing to the delay in the planning of the water disposal. Ten teams have been formulated to work on Bhatti Road, Ajit Road, Bibiwala Road, Nai Basti, Veer Colony, Sirki Bazar, Jogi Nagar and Pratap Nagar. In all these areas, sewer would be de-silted manually on priority basis. Masks and ropes have been provided to the workers at these places. At Mall Road and Chandsar Basti main area, three machines would be installed to pump out rain water. The 20 HP (horse power) motor at Paras Ram Nagar would be shifted to the Sanguana Basti disposal by July 5 for pumping water. Also, a generator would be taken on rent to ensure that the pumping goes on round the clock even in times of a power shutdown. The sewer drain in Sirki Bazaar, near gaushala, would be joined with the main disposal at Mansa road. The disposal on Mansa road is equipped with two heavy duty motors and would get one more 2 HP motor as well as a generator on rent to run these motors round the clock. The two pumping motors on Sanjay Nagar disposal have outlived their lives and hence need to be changed. The sewerage board has decided to purchase new motors by July 15. Similarly, Janta Nagar disposal has two heavy duty motors and a diesel engine to run them. A generator would be taken on rent for providing power backup to these motors. The new sewer laid at Amarpura Basti, for which no disposal could be decided, would be joined with the old one by July 10. |
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Don’t bring Hotel Accommodation Policy Act: Hoteliers
Bathinda, June 30 Maintaining that the industry was already reeling under crisis due to the unusual burden of various forms of taxes, district president of the association, Satish Arora, accused the state government for its failure to promote tourism in Bathinda and surrounding areas. Addressing media at a city hotel, he said the tall claims of the state government to bring respite to the hotel industry fell flat as bureaucrats failed to implement the policies of the state government. “The ministers make promises, give statements and announce to release grants but nothing is done,” Arora said. He said the members of the association recently met Punjab Tourism Minister, Sarvan Singh Phillaur and brought their problems to his notice. “We urged him not to bring the Act as it would break the back of the industry which is already reeling under heavy taxes and other expenses,” he added. He pointed out that the revenue of the hotel industry had reduced to a mere 40 per cent due to increasing competition. He said although the customer base was the same, the rising number of hotels and resorts was decreasing the revenue of every hotel. Arora said a detailed plan to promote tourism around Bathinda was also discussed with the minister. He added that the association also demanded that the tourists returning from Amritsar be made aware of tourist destinations in Wagah, Bathinda, and Talwandi Sabo through sign boards, literature and advertisements. He also demanded for a tourist information center to be set up for quick redressal of the queries of the tourists. Other hoteliers of the city, including the general secretary of the association, Anil Thakur, and finance secretary, Ramesh Sardana, said the state government should promote Maghi Mela at Muktsar, Baisakhi Mela at Talwandi Sabo and Virasat Mela in Bathinda to attract tourists.
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‘New test format won’t dilute IITs’ excellence’
Bathinda, June 30 To break the ensuing tussle between the various IITs and the Human Resource Development Ministry, the IIT council held a meeting on June 27 and the ministry suggested changes in its original proposal. It was decided that the board examination marks would not count for IIT entrance. Instead, the top 20 per cent scorers in board examinations will be eligible to take the main (multiple-choice) IIT entrance exam. The 50,000 best scorers will then move on to the advanced exam, which will be conducted by the IITs. Experts believe that this can be seen as a slight respite for the IITs who have been stressing on conducting the advanced test themselves and were against the idea of relying on board marks. Educationists are divided over the results of the suggestions made by the HRD ministry and the IITs resistance against the proposal. “The autonomy with which the IITs conduct their admission process is the secret behind their success. If the autonomy is taken away from the IITs, it would take little time for these institutes to become like any other engineering institute producing unemployable graduates. The HRD Ministry has done a good job by listening to the changes that the IITs wanted in the proposal,” said the manager of a coaching institute on Ajit Road, on the condition of anonymity. Rajesh Gupta’s both sons are preparing for IIT entrance. Gupta, who teaches mechanical engineering at the PTU Giani Zail Singh Campus in Bathinda, maintains that there is little that the change in the format of the admission test would change in the quality of education at the IITs. “The whole hue and cry made by the IITs over considering board exam results for the entrance test for the engineering institutes was unfounded. For those who manage to crack the IIT entrance exam, it is not a big deal to figure in the top 20 percentile scorers of board exams. More than it being a question of diluting the autonomy or the quality of education at these premier institutes, the tussle was of a political nature,” he said. And then there are those who think that in an area like Bathinda, where dummy admissions in schools are almost a norm, the weightage given to board exams would bring the focus back on the schools. “If board exam results are taken into consideration in the IIT entrance test, students, parents and teachers would start paying more attention to the school education as well. Till now, those preparing for the IIT focussed only on physics, chemistry and maths. Many IITians go on to become MBAs. What is the use of studying engineering and then going and taking up finance?” reasoned Abhinav Gupta of Vidyamandir Classes and ELINA Education. “The fault lies with the pressure that is created on the student to become an engineer. If more attention is paid to all the subjects in school, a child would be a in a better position to understand what he/she wants to pursue and that may not necessarily be engineering,” he added.
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Mid-day meal workers hold rally
Bathinda, June 30 The mid-day meal workers have been agitating for some months now, demanding a hike in their salaries, incentives, promotion as per seniority and implementation of granted notifications. Asking for their salaries to be revised as per the minimum wages standard, Lakhwinder Kaur, one of the protesting mid-day meal worker, said, "A daily wager is paid at Rs 170 per day which totals up to more than Rs 5,000 a month. The mid-day meal workers are paid a meagre sum of Rs 1,000 per month. Does the government think we work less than a daily wager?" she asked. Elaborating on the woes of the mid-day meal workers, she added, "Apart from being given such low wages, we are not paid for the holidays. Also, there is no provision of compensation to be paid in case any worker gets hurt while preparing meal. That's why we are demanding a hike in our salaries and also insurance cover for all the mid-day meal workers." The ASHA workers are also asking for a hike in their salaries and asking for their pay be increased to at least the minimum wages. Talking about the workload of the ASHA workers, Sukhbir Singh said, "The ASHA workers are responsible for the pre and the post-natal care of the women in the villages assigned to them. From the time a woman conceives to the time the child is above ten years of age, the ASHA workers tell the woman how to take care of herself and her child." "It is their responsibility to convince the expectant woman to deliver at the health centre and to maintain a record of the vaccination schedule of both the mother and the child. There is so much work that they do throughout the year and all that they get in return of this a paltry sum of Rs 500-600 per month. This is lower that what a daily wager gets," he added. The ASHA workers too, are demanding for a hike in their salaries and the benefits enjoyed by the regular employees of the health department of the state of Punjab.
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Man found dead near pond
Bathinda, June 30 He said the local residents said they saw a man entering into the pond after scaling the boundary wall around it. He said there are some streets of the slum areas nearby from where one could make reach the pond but the man reached near the pond after jumping over the wall. It appears that the man was heading towards the nearby railway track to commit suicide. The local residents said that the man appeared to be a resident of the area near Grain Market.
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Govt school staff to update voters’ list
Bathinda, June 30 The staff from the government schools includes four employees of the Government High School (Girls), Maur Mandi, namely, Mahinder Singh, Surinder Pal, Surinder Kaur and Devraj. Two people have been appointed from the Government High School village at Bhaini, including Balkaran Singh and Renu Bala, from the Government High School, Jhanduke, Surinder Kumar and Amarjit Singh have been deployed, from the Government High School at village Chauke Purshottam, Kulwinder Kaur and Kriti Kohli, have been appointed. Similarly, from Government High School at village Khokhar, Preetam Singh and Gurmeet Singh have been appointed, from Government High School at Mandi Kalan, Paramjit Kaur and Kirpal Kaur have been appointed, from Government High School at village Rampura, Preetam Singh, Harbhajan Kaur and Gurpreet Singh have been appointed, from Government High School Pitho Karam Singh, Rajnish Bansal and Shinder Singh have been appointed. Staff members from the schools in villages, Jeond, Kararwala, Gill Kalan, Sandoha, Nandgarh, Gosal, Ballo and Jethuke, have been appointed for revising the lists. All the listed employees have been directed to report at the office of the returning officer-cum-district transport officer. |
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Tributes paid to Army’s war heroes
Bathinda, June 30 Annie Anand, regional president of the Army Wives Welfare Association (AWWA), felicitated the veer naris of Bathinda and Mansa districts. The Corps had recently conducted a joint Indo-US military exercise in Northern Rajasthan. Troops of the Corps also took part in another exercise “Shoorveer” in the deserts of Rajasthan.
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Goods stolen from shop on Multania road
Bathinda, June 30 Suraj Bahadur roaming around his shop at night and suspected his involvement in the theft. He said he noticed the broken locks of his shop in the morning at around 7.30 am and found that the entire shop had been ransacked. Police have registered a case under sections 457 and 380 of the IPC against the accused at the Canal Colony police station. No arrests have been made by the police so far. Purse of Army man’s wife snatched
The purse of an Army man's wife was snatched by a motorcycle-borne miscreant near Fauji Chowk. In a complaint lodged with the police, Raghu P, a resident of Kerala, said he was on way to his home in the cantonment on a rickshaw when the miscreants snatched the purse of his wife. The Army jawan came to Bathinda in Punjab Mail and was heading home along with his wife and children on a rickshaw. His wife, Babita, had her hanging from her shoulder and the snatchers took it away. He said that as soon as the rickshaw crossed the Fauji Chowk, the unidentified youth snatched the purse and fled. The accused was riding a black motorcycle and the victims failed to see the face of the accused. Gold jewellery and other costly items worth over Rs 58,000 were in the purse. A case under section 356 of the IPC has been registered against the accused at the Civil Line police station. One arrested with poppy husk
Police have arrested Balvir Singh of Dhillman village of Mansa with 4.100 kg of poppy husk. The accused was carrying the contraband near the Power House Road. A case under sections 15, 61, 85 of the NDPS Act has been registered against the accused
at the Cantonment police station. A probe is on. Five booked for beating
Five persons have been booked by the police for beating up a resident of Sangat Khurd. In his complaint to the police, Banta Singh accused Kaka Singh, Lakhvir Singh, Gurjant Singh, Gurmeet Singh and Gurpreet Singh of attacking him and inflicting serious injuries upon him over an old dispute. Police have booked the accused under sections 323, 324, 341, 148, 149 and 25, 27, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act. No arrests have been made so far. Three arrested with poppy husk
Three persons have been arrested by the police for carrying 4.5 kilograms of poppy husk. The accused, Dev Raj, Bant Singh and Gurmeet Kaur were arrested during a naka laid by the police near Maur Kalan village. Police said a case under sections 15, 61, 85 of the NDPS Act has been registered against the accused at the Maur police station. |
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Passengers of the Delhi-bound Dainik Express today vent their ire on the protesters from Amarpura Basti who blocked the railway tracks near Patiala railway crossings in protest.
The Bathinda Hotel and Resorts Association today opposed the implementation of Hotel Accommodation Policy Act by the Punjab government. It said the Act would bring down the revenue generated by the hotel industry.
