Bathinda, July 8
The rain on Sunday morning brought the much-needed respite from the intense heat wave conditions that had been prevailing in Bathinda and the adjoining areas for the past more than two months.

The skies opened up and many were caught unawares  by the sudden downpour. Although the downpour lasted for only about a quarter of an hour, water accumulated by the roadsides in many areas of the city. Tribune photos: Pawan Sharma

Weather experts said 3 millimetre of rain was recorded in Bathinda. The residents started feeling the heat once again in the afternoon as the sun shone bright. While the morning temperature was recorded at 27.4 degree Celsius, it increased to reach 33.2 degree Celsius mark. Weather experts said light to moderate rains are expected for next one or two days.

Bathinda, July 8
Residents of Parasram Nagar caught a man last night for trying to sell his own seven-day-old son for `5 lakh. The father had reportedly sold his daughter in lieu of money earlier.

Former MC, Vijay Kumar, husband of Municipal Councillor of ward number 43, Shama Rani, said Radhika, wife of the accused, Gulshan, brought the matter to his notice.

The woman accused her husband of planning to sell their son to someone in Jalandhar for `5 lakh.

“I was aghast to hear the complaint of the woman who was crying bitterly late last night while leveling the allegation against her husband. Her husband owns a mobile repair shop, located at the rear of thebus stand,” Vijay said.

When asked how she came to know about her husband’s plan of selling their son, she said she was informed of the plan by a that a someone whom her husband had taken into confidence.

To assure the woman of her husband’s nefarious designs, the man offered to make a call to her husband using a speakerphone. The woman heard her husband talking about selling their son for `5 lakh.

The former Municipal Councillor added that after listening to the complaint of the woman, he, along with some area residents, started locating the accused to listen to his side of the story.

“We rushed to their house from where her husband slipped away after sensing trouble. We tried to catch him near his shop but failed,” he said. He added that the area residents finally located Gulshan in the city and brought him to Parasram Nagar at around 10.30 pm.

He was questioned about the allegation levelled against him by his wife. The man initially refused of engaging in such illegal activity. He, however, admitted his mistake when the woman contacted police and a PCR arrived to enquire into the matter.

The man broke down and admitted to his mistake. He informed that he was in dire need of money and somebody had suggested that he could make fast bucks by selling his son.

Vijay Kumar said he had taken the responsibility of bearing the expenses incurred diet and treatment of the child. “In the presence of more than 200 residents of the locality, I have taken the responsibility of bearing the expenses of the child. I will fulfill the promise,” Vijay said.

He also added that Gulshan assured the gathering and also gave in writing that he would never think of selling his child.

The area residents, family members pleaded not to register a case against Gulshan for his act.

Bathinda, July 8
Geographical Information System (GIS) would be put to use for collecting imagery of properties within the city. An important scheme, which would come up for consideration before house tomorrow, is meant to make property details available at just click of a button.

If passed, Bathinda would be the second municipal body in the state, after Ludhiana, to implement this system of data collection of properties.

The city has been given a grant of `40 lakh under the Integrated Development of Urban Infrastructure and it’s mandatory to use this grant as soon as possible, lest it would lapse.

To utilise this grant, the scheme has been bifurcated into two parts.

Under the first part, Punjab Remote Sensing Center, Ludhiana, would be roped in for incorporating data into base map. In the second part of the scheme, a private agency would be hired for data collection.

Punjab Remote Sensing Centre is the only government agency expert in incorporating such kind of data. The centre would provide the satellite map of the city to the municipal corporation free of cost.

Municipal commissioner, Uma Shankar Gupta, said base map has already been prepared on which the entire scheme would be anchored.

“Once passed, it would take around an year for the entire city to be surveyed and details registered on the record,” he said.

Gupta added that it would streamline record of properties in the city and would serve as an important tool in identifying areas that are deficient in civic amenities.

Every plot owner would be provided a 17-digit unique identification number that would enable them to make online payment of their taxes.

It would also be an important tool to keep a tab over illegal constructions and encroachments in the city.

All kind of details of property, such as ownership, queries, water supply, sewerage, etc. would be available at the click of a button, which would also prove helpful in charting out new schemes and seeking government funds for the city.

Bathinda, July 8
Tension prevailed in Raman Mandi as seven cattle heads were killed and two sustained serious injuries in a train accident on the Bathinda-Hisar railway track near village Kanakwal railway station.

The incident took place on Saturday night when the herd was mowed down by a fast moving train. Kanakwal residents took the injured cows to Raman Mandi cattle pound for treatment.

Though the accident took place at 10 pm, a team of veterinary doctors and team of railway police reached the spot today morning. Irate over the delay, the villagers said they had been making frantic calls to the government vet doctors as well as police, but none of them responded.

Villagers said had the cattle got medical attention immediately after the accident, more that two cows could have been saved. They also alleged that they demanded a JCB machine from the Guru Gobind Singh Refinery officials to move the carcasses from railway track, but were not given any help. Villagers then made arrangements on their own, removed carcasses from railway tracks and buried the animals as per ritual.

SSP Dr SS Gill, SP Baldev Singh Sidhu, DSP Talwandi Sabo, Parminder Singh Bhandal and others reached the spot. Since the accident site is under the railway police, the case was entrusted to it.

Police have lodged a case on the complaint of president of the Gaushala Committee Raman, Madan Lal Lehri. Those booked have been identified as Jaskaran Singh, Ramandip Singh, Major Singh, Mongli and 25 unknown persons. They have been booked under sections 295 A, 429, 427, 120 B IPC, section 4 A, 4 B, D/8 Cow Act and 11 Animals Act.

Bathinda, July 8
Scantily clad belly dancers and girls from Ludhiana today enthralled more than 900 dealers of a pesticide company who came to attend a training programme for three newly launched pesticides. The dealers came from various districts of Punjab and Haryana.

Apart from the sizzling dance, some of the guests including the media persons, were also offered food and wine during the function.

The dancers were brought to entertain the dealers by the Israeli pesticide company-Makhteshim-Agan India--- during the launch ceremony of pesticides at a resort on the Bathinda-Barnala road.

To promote the newly launched product, the company had hired the girls from Ludhiana who were also seen managing the stage and at the entrance of the resort. The girls at the entrance were also answering various queries of the dealers.

The officials of company said the dealers were also encouraged to sell the product by informing about the advantages of using the pesticides of their company.

The officials said the one-hour entertainment show enthralled the audience who gave a big applause for the girls performing the dance.

Regional manager of the company, MS Bhati said they organized the entertainment show for the first time. "The response by the dealers present during the function was good," he said.

He said three products were launched today which include the Mainstar, Palothera and Padastalsupra. The pesticides are used for various crops and vegetables and mainly for cotton crop.

Yossi Goldshmidt, president and CEO of the company, Makhteshim-Agan, also addressed the dealers and thanked them for support.

YK Sharma, general manager (sales and marketing-north) made the dealers aware about the product.

Meanwhile, some Bharti Kisan Union (BKU) leaders like Ruldu Singh from Mansa expressed their concern over the entertainment.

He said pesticide companies should avoid entertainment using young girls at such public places as it might send a wrong message.

Bathinda, July 8
Police have booked five villagers for beating up a resident of Alike village. In his complaint to the police, Sukhdev Singh alleged that the accused Major Singh, Darshan Singh, Balvir Singh, Kala Singh and some unidentified persons, attacked him while he was sleeping in his house.

He said the accused were upset over the transfer of a piece of agricultural land in the name of his wife. The complainant was rushed to the hospital by his friends and relatives.

He remained admitted to the hospital for a few days and was treated for injuries inflicted by wooden sticks, knife and other sharp-edged weapons.

A case under sections 458, 307, 324, 323, 148 and 149 of the IPC has been registered in this connection at the Phul police station. No arrests have been made so far.

Meanwhile, in another development, police have arrested six persons for gambling at a public place and recovered Rs 1.84 lakhs. The accused were found gambling near Nar Singh Colony. The accused have been identified as Hem Raj, Mangat Ram, Diwan Chand, Sangeet Kumar, Mahesh Kumar and Hans Raj. A case under sections 13, 3, 67 of the Gambling Act has been registered against them at the Sangat police station.

Bathinda, July 8
The teachers who have qualified in the Teachers' Eligibility Test (TET) held a meeting at the Teachers' Home today wherein they discussed points to be raised during the meeting with the Chief Minister on July 15.

District president of the union, Amandeep Singh Gill, discussed the issues with members of the union. The members condemned the government for not giving them jobs despite the fact that they cleared the eligibility tests around 18 months ago.

A member of the union Jagsir Singh said as per the Right to Education Act, there are around 50,000 vacancies in government institutions, whereas there are 9000 TET qualified teachers that could be recruited. 

Bathinda, July 8
Jail authorities recovered two kilograms of opium from the possession of a visitor who came to meet a prisoner lodged in the Bathinda Central Jail. The jail superintendent lodged a complaint in this regard wherein it was stated that Kamaljit Singh of Harraipur village came to meet an inmate, Gajinder Singh alias Deer. During the checking of Kamaljit, opium was recovered from his possession. A case under sections 18, 61, 85 of the NDPS Act has been registered against the accused at the Civil Lines police station.

Bathinda, July 8
Navdeep Kaur, a BCA first batch (2009-12) student of the Punjabi University's Maur campus (Bathinda), has topped the merit list of the Punjabi University by obtaining 83.7 per cent marks. As many as 2,565 students of BCA-III had appeared in the April 2012 examinations.

Navdeep, a daughter of Jagdeep Singh who is a police officer at Talwandi Sabo, said her principal and teachers played an instrumental role in her success.

Dr DK Madaan, the principal of the Maur campus, congratulated Navdeep Kaur and her parents for her academic excellence. He and other faculty members honoured her on the campus today. On the occasion, Dr Madaan said the aim of the campus was to take the backward region on the path of success as far as higher education was concerned.

Vice-chancellor of the Punjabi University Dr Jaspal Singh and Dr Sukhdarshan Singh Khaira, Dean, Academics, Punjabi University, also congratulated Navdeep besides the principal and the teaching staff of the university's Maur campus.

Last year, Deepika Garg, a first batch (2009-11) MBA student, had secured third position in the university's merit list by obtaining 81.9 per cent marks.

Bathinda, July 8
Ashok Singla, a retired judge, has been appointed as the chairman of the permanent Lok Adalat. With his appointment, the vacancy has been filled thereby expediting the day-to-day working of the permanent Lok Adalat (public utility services).

The permanent Lok Adalat is meant to solve the grievances related to public utility services such as postal, telegraph or telephone services, transport services that carry passengers or goods by air, road or water, supply of power, light or water, system of public conservancy or sanitation, service in hospital or dispensary, insurance services and banking besides housing and finance services.

Cases pertaining to public utility services can be filed on an application on plain paper before the chairman, permanent Lok Adalat. The pecuniary jurisdiction of the permanent Lok Adalat is Rs 25,00,000.