Bathinda, July 7
The cash-starved Municipal Corporation Bathinda (MCB) has created new avenues of revenue generation wherein it is banking on introducing licence fees for even those commercial establishments that earlier did not fall under its purview.

All commercial activities in the city cannot be completed without getting a licence for the same from the corporation’s licence department. Under the Municipal Corporation Act 1976, Section 343, the corporation has revised the old rates and made licences mandatory for new establishments.

As per the new rules, even barbers, dealers of all kinds of eatables, carpenters, blacksmiths and those engaged in any other kind of commercial activity is permitted to work in the city only on licence.

Taking advantage of the increasing economic activity and subsequent opening of banks, the corporation has imposed licence fees of `1,000 yearly on the banks too. All kind of industries will have to seek licence categorized as per the capacity (horse power) motors installed in them. The fees would be finalised at the general house meeting, to be convened on Monday, July 9.

The issues of transferring the present MCB office land in Civil Station area, approving residential-cum-commercial scheme on the land of pond at the backside of DAV College and extending the limit of city are expected to raise storm in the house.

SCB’s move of dislocating itself in the Civil Station area is being viewed as yet another effort to sell off prime government property located in the city.

The agenda has been brought up for consideration of the house wherein it has been mentioned that the land be transferred in the name of PUDA and Bathinda Development Authority (BDA) would be entrusted with the task of getting a new building built for MCB.

Besides this, there is also a proposal to increase municipal limits wherein area would be increased from 698.5 sq km to 75 sq km. While the corporation authorities are claiming that it is being done to collect more house tax from those living on the periphery, politically, the proposal is being seen as a move to include politically developed private townships in MC limit and provide them basic amenities.

The Congress workers had even registered their protest against delimitation, which was last done in 2008, but the objections have not been included in the agenda presented.

MCB plans to transfer the shyamlat land of pond behind DAV College to the Improvement Trust for developing residential-cum-commercial area. The MCB house had earlier objected to this move stating that the pond serves as storm water outlet for around 25,000 households situated on Bhatti Road and surrounding areas and covering it up is not feasible.

Finding a solution, the Improvement Trust sought a report from the executive engineer, Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board (PWSSB) which states that a deep tank can be built on one acre of land to collect this water, which could later be pumped out into the main disposal. Passing this agenda would mean 11 acres of land would be made available for developing housing and commercial sites.

Five CCTV cameras to be installed in the city

n Five CCTV cameras will be installed in the city to check cases of drunken driving under the comprehensive mobility plan of corporation as well as the district police. A broadband connection is being taken to facilitate these CCTV cameras that are being installed at various places. `11,015 will be spent on these cameras every month.

Names of markets to be changed

n There is also a proposal to change the names of some markets in the city. If passed, Kikkar Bazar would be called Bhagwan Mahavir Marg in MCB’s records. The name of the bazaar was changed around 35-40 years ago but the change was not introduced in the records.

n Similar is the case with Dhobi Bazar that was re-named Dr Radhakrishnan Marg around 35-40 years ago but the changes were not made in the corporation records. 

Rough estimate cost of buildings revised

n Rates of rough cost estimate, submitted by the people at the time of seeking sanction of building plans, have been revised in tandem with the increased cost of labour in the market. Though these rates were revised just 15 days ago, MCB has decided to increase the same again.

n Estimate for construction of ground floor and basement has been fixed at `650 per sq yard, increasing it from the earlier cost of `225 per sq yard. Similarly, rates of the first floor and above have been fixed at `600 per sq.

Universities, marriage palaces to shell out `25,000 per month for garbage collection

n User charges for the services of garbage collection, provided by JITF Urban Waste Management Bathinda, have been fixed for the commercial establishments. The units of hotels, restaurants, universities and marriage palaces would be heftily charged for garbage collection.

n Hotels will have to pay according to the number of rooms. Restaurant and sweet shops will pay as per the availability of air-conditioning in them, marriage palaces would pay as per the area they cover, education institutes would pay `250 per month irrespective of the area and universities will pay `25,000 per month.

Bathinda, July 7
The unmanned railway crossings falling under Ambala division would soon be closed or manned in order to mitigate the accident threat these crossings pose.

Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), Ambala division, PK Sanghi said here today. Sanghi was here to convene a meeting with the deputy commissioners of Bathinda, Faridkot and Mansa under whom most of the unmanned railway crossings of the division fall.

“Twenty crossings have been identified as most vulnerable, and would be closed at the earliest. The deputy commissioners have been directed to coordinate with the area population such as villages, where these railway crossings are located so that arrangements for alternate routes are done before the closure of these crossings. This would ensure that public is not being harassed,” he said.

At a later stage, 59 railway crossings would be closed or manned as per requirement. Till 2015, all the unmanned railway crossings would be closed in the division.

Talking about the recent raid that the sales tax department had conducted at the railway station, he said the sales tax officers demanded record of last five years.

“We do not have such kind of record keeping that we can give five-year-old data. It is very complicated to manage such huge data and I think none of the divisions in Punjab, including Ferozepur, Ambala and Delhi divisions, would be having such extensive record. At the most we can give only a month-old data on sales tax evasion at the railway station,” he added.

Few months ago the railway had suspended an employee deployed in the Tatkal division at railway station for malpractices. The DRM also said CCTV cameras would be installed at all registration counters to check such malpractices. Today, however, he said there were not enough funds to install these cameras at the Bathinda railway station.

DC Faridkot, who is also the officiating DC of Bathinda, Ravi Bhagat and DC Mansa, Amit Dhaka were also present with DRM Sanghi.

Bathinda, July 7
The Kotwali police have booked a resident of Veer Colony and his father for demanding dowry.

In her complaint to the Kotwali police, Nivedika, a resident of Jain Colony, Vijay Inder Nagar, Ludhiana, has stated that she was married to Vikram Garg, a resident of Veer Colony, around one-and-a-half years ago.

Saying that she had a 100 square yards of plot in her name on the Chandigarh-Ludhiana road in Ludhiana, she alleged that her in-laws used to torture her demanding the registry of the aforesaid plot be transferred in their name.

Nivedika accused her in-laws saying after she yielded to their demands and the the plot was registered in her husband’s name on July 3, she was was thrown out of the house. She also added that her husband and in-laws forcibly took her son away.

Police have booked Vikram and his father, Mohan Lal under sections 343, 323, 506 and 34 of IPC.

Bathinda, July 7
One person was killed and four were seriously injured as the lintel of a house under construction collapsed in village Chak Hira Singh Wala today afternoon. All the injured were rushed to the Bathinda Civil Hospital.

As per the available information, Buta Singh, a resident of village Chak Hira Singh Wala was getting his house constructed. The lintel of the house was laid around ten days ago and work on plastering walls of the house was going on.

Labourers were working on plastering the walls with cement when the lintel collapsed suddenly, burrying five persons under it.

The villagers got together and started removing the debris. They managed to pull out all the five persons and rushed them to the Bathinda civil hospital, where one of the labourers succumbed to his injuries.

The deceased has been identified as 34-year-old, Jagga Singh. The other four have been identified as the house owner Buta Singh, his 13-year-old son Guvinder Singh, mason Jeeva and a labourer Jaswinder Singh.

Doctors at the Civil Hospital said Jaswinder sustained serious head injuries.

Bathinda, July 7
The State Bank of India ATM, installed neatly near the ticket counter at the Bathinda railway station has been out of order for the last two days.

While the air-conditioning at the ATM had not been working for more than a week, a formal board announcing that the machine was also out of order was put up on Friday.

Since the ATM is located near the ticket counter, commuters use this particular machine throughout the day.

On Saturday, commuters could be seen rushing for the nearby ATMs, located inside and outside the railway station.

Harwinder Singh, a commuter who was at the railway station to catch a train to Delhi on Saturday, said, “Whenever I travel, I withdraw money from the SBI ATM located near the ticket counter at the Bathinda railway station. After I realised that the ATM was not working, and that there was a long queue outside the other ATM inside the station, I rushed to the other ATMs located on the Amrik Singh Road to withdraw money.”

Bathinda, July 7
To expand the area of activities under the National Social Service (NSS) scheme, the Department of Youth Services, Punjab, has decided to set up NSS units in 44 medical, para-medical and polytechnic colleges, besides ITIs in Bathinda district.

The Department of Youth Services, Punjab, decided to open new units in the light of recommendations of the Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Human Resource Development that has stressed upon expansion of the National Social Service in higher education institutions like medical and engineering colleges.

The Bathinda district office of the Department of Youth Services has collected data about the medical and para-medical colleges, polytechnic colleges and the ITIs in the district to open NSS units.

As per information available, there are 14 private medical and para-medical colleges, including dental, Ayurvedic and nursing colleges, in the district.

However, none of the colleges has a National Social Service unit on its premises.

Likewise, there are 15 government and private polytechnic colleges in the district, of which only five have NSS units. The district has 20 ITIs but none of them has an National Social Service unit.

Talking to this reporter here, the assistant director of the Youth Services, Bathinda, Dr Kamaljit Singh Sidhu, said after collecting the data about medical and para-medical colleges, polytechnic colleges and the ITIs, he had sent it to the Director, Youth Services, Punjab, for setting up of NSS units in the 44 educational institutions, which do not have NSS unit yet.

Dr Sidhu said he had also written to the Director, Youth Services, to take a decision whether the new NSS units would be run with the departmental grant in the colleges etc or the same would be run as self-financing units. He said after receiving directions in this regard, the proceedings would be initiated for establishing National Social Service units in the medical, para-medical and polytechnic colleges and ITIs in the district.

The medical, para-medical and polytechnic colleges and the ITIs where the National Social Service units are expected to be set up are situated at Bathinda, Katar Singh Wala, Kot Shamir, Dhade Talwandi Sabo, Balluana, Raman Mandi, Aklia, Maur Mandi, Nangla, Jeeda, Behman Diwana, Sheikhpura, Nathana, Bhucho and Bhagta Bhai Ka among others. 

Bathinda, July 7
The admission process for the academic session 2012-13 at the Central University of Punjab, Bathinda, received a good response.

A centralised online admission test was conducted at nine centres spread all over India today. The University had received as many as one thousand three hundred and seventy-one online applications for admission to twenty different programmes in Science, Engineering, Humanities and Social Sciences.

As many as 421 applications were for seventy five seats of M.Phil-Ph.D integrated programme in Biosciences, Environment Science and Technology, Comparative Literature, South and Central Asian Studies and Development Economics.

Due to the a large number of candidates, the one and a half hour long test was conducted in four batches beginning at 9.00 am and ending at 6.00 pm. The national character of the University was evident from the fact that large number of candidates from other states applied for admission and appeared for the online test.

Results of the entrance exam will be declared on July 12 which will be accessible at the university website.

Candidates who have qualified for the interview round, are required to bring the detailed marks cards of their qualifying exams and those candidates who have applied for M Phil-Ph D integrated programme, must present a research proposal.

Bathinda, July 7
The Civil Lines police have booked a resident of Pratap Nagar for committing fraud with a resident of village Gursar in Muktsar district.

In his complaint to the police, the complainant Harmandar Singh stated that he had entered into a deal for buying a plot for Rs 8.75 lakhs.