Bathinda, July 13
Peeved over the mounting number of complaints against irregular collection of household garbage in the city, the JITF Urban Waste Management has roped in a new company for the task.

For the past one month, the city has been facing the problem of irregular garbage collection. “Even if the garbage was collected from households, it was not dumped at the disposal site on Mansa road on time,” said the JITF officials.

JITF had sublet the task of garbage collection. In view of repeated complaints and failure to deliver as per public need, the JITF has now roped in Freight Next company for collecting garbage.

Beginning early this month, the new company has started the garbage collection and it is expected that things would soon settle down. It has sought time till July 30 to synchronise collection of garbage and dumping it at the disposal sites.

The project in-charge for Bathinda cluster, Bijendra Raghav confirmed that a new company had been given the task, but refused to comment further.

The company at the helm may have changed but the employees deputed to collect garbage will continue to do so for the new company. JITF Urban Waste Management will retain these employees.

“The management of resources available for garbage collection was a major problem. There were 13 big vehicles to ferry the garbage from the city to the disposal site. However, for the last one month, eight of these were out of order thereby affecting the garbage collection in city,” revealed JITF officials.

While the JITF was paying Rs 450 per tonne of garbage to the earlier company, it would pay Rs 600 to the new company.

“We get Rs 300 per tonne from the Municipal Corporation. Since this is a 25-year-long contract on public private partnership (PPP) mode, we cannot buy back and run away from the project,” the JITF officials added.

The company hopes to earn from the composting and dry fuel, which would be produced from the garbage treatment plant.

Meanwhile, the plant is still waiting for nod from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), Government of India.

As per the ministry, 500 metre area around the dumping centre should be a no-construction zone, while green belt is to be developed in 15 metre area beyond the boundary wall of the plant.

Municipal Commissioner Uma Shankar Gupta said green belt would be developed as per the rule, but 500 metre area cannot be declared as a no-construction zone as the area is densely populated.

“The clause of declaring 500 metre area as a no-construction zone is obligatory and not mandatory. The Ludhiana Municipal Corporation's plant has been cleared in densely populated area. We are pursuing our case along the same lines and have already submitted a consolidated reply,” Gupta said. He added that the project would be cleared this month.

Bathinda, July 13
As many as 11 tuberculosis (TB) patients were found to be positive for HIV in the past six months in Bathinda district. These patients have been sent to the integrated counselling and testing centre (ICTC), Bathinda, for HIV tests by the District TB Centre.

As TB and the HIV are closely inter-linked, the TB patients are tested for HIV and vicer-versa.

According to information, from January 2012 to June 2012, as many as 677 TB cases were sent to the ICTC, Bathinda, by the district TB centre for HIV tests. Of these, 11 were detected as HIV positive cases. Likewise, during these six months, the ICTC, Bathinda sent 128 HIV cases to the district TB centre for tests, of which three were detected as tuberculosis cases.

Talking to the Bathinda Tribune, District TB Officer, Dr Ashok Monga, said as HIV and TB were inter-linked diseases, a district level TB and HIV Coordination Committee had been working on this in the district. He said this committee reviewed such cases at a meeting held after periodically.

Dr Monga also asked the people not to hesitate from getting themselves examined for HIV or TB if they were patients of either of the two diseases.

Meanwhile, from January 2012 to June 2012, as many as 5,384 persons were examined for TB, of which 1,155 were detected as TB cases.

Among these 1,155 cases, 420 were new sputum positive cases (pulmonary TB) while the remaining cases were either re-treatment cases or extra-pulmonary cases (TB other than that of the lungs).

All the new sputum positive cases have been put on directly observed treatment short course (DOTS) under the revised national TB control programme (RNTCP). These patients are being given TB medicine free of cost.

All the 5,384 cases were examined at the district TB centre, treatment units at Rampura and Talwandi Sabo, and the 13 designated microscopy centres in the district.

Bathinda, July 13
The 850 safai sewaks under the Municipal Corporation Bathinda (MCB) will go on strike on July 16 demanding recruitment of at least 1,500 more workers for the task, as well as to mark their protest against the municipal councillors who had accused the sweepers of having a lackadaisical attitude.

At the recently-convened House meeting of the corporation, councillors like Mithu Ram Gupta, Darbara Singh and Nirmal Sandhu had come down heavily on the sweepers alleging that they drew government salaries but did not do their work with dedication.

Lodging their protest against the allegations and demanding more recruitment in the department, the Safai Sewak Karamchari Union and Municipal Corporation Workers’ Union have joined hands.

Both the unions have formed the MC Employees Coordination Committee and would be going on strike on July 16.

After a private company was allotted the work of collecting garbage from the city households, the MC sweepers were assigned the task of sweeping the streets as well as cleaning the drains.

President of the Safai Sewak Karamchari Union, Gora Lal, said out of the total number of 890 sweepers on roll, almost 40 had either passed away or had left the city.

“A large number of sweepers are also employed in the houses of corporation officials. They either work as drivers or are deputed with different teams. And on any given day, at least 100 are on rest, on weekly off or are absent. This leaves just 550 people to work in the field. It is impossible for such a handful of workers to clean the entire city,” he said.

Objecting to sweepers being given tasks other than sweeping the city, Gora Lal said the corporation officials should first ensure that none of the sweepers work in their houses. “Those pointing fingers at us should first put their own houses in order. Our people are being forcibly assigned works other than their duties, which is unfair,” he said.

He added that while the corporation wanted the city to be spic and span, it has given only 40 wagons to 550 employees to the collect garbage in the city.

Bathinda, July 13
Dreams of going and settling abroad went sour for Shaminder Pal Singh, a resident of village Dhipali. He had married Rajvir Kaur, a resident of Sidana village, because the IELTS exam she had cleared would have ensured his passport to foreign shores.

Shaminder married Rajvir a few months ago. At the time of their marriage, Rajvir’s family claimed that she had cleared the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam and even produced a certificate to prove the same.

Shaminder’s parents agreed hoping that their son would be able to go to a foreign land on the basis of the test Rajvir had cleared. Sometime after the marriage, Rajvir allegedly took Rs 2 lakh from Shaminder’s family for applying to go abroad. Later, Shaminder’s family found out that the certificate Rajvir had produced was a fake.

On the complaint of Shaminder’s family, the Phool police have registered a case against Rajvir Kaur, her brother Rajdeep Singh, mother Amarjit Kaur and father Sukhmandar Singh.

The incidence has once again highlighted the tactics people put to use to go abroad.

Clearing IELTS is considered to be an added advantage while seeking matrimonial alliance for those who wish to migrate to the foreign shores.

Bathinda, July 13
The incident where a minor girl was publicly groped and molested by a crowd of rowdy elements in Guwahati after she gave a repartee to a lewd remark passed by an eve-teaser has not only shamed but also sent shock waves across the nation.

What many thought was commonplace in the metropolitan cities like Delhi and Mumbai happened in Guwahati, a part of North-East which is known to be female friendly.

If it can happen to a girl who belongs to a region that boasts of matriarchal societies, it can happen to any girl, in any part of India, opine women.

Although heaving a sigh of relief because of the low rate of crime against women in the city, young girls, and their concerned family members, of Bathinda aver that it is better to be safe than sorry.

“Till now, we had heard of such incidents happening in big cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. Seeing it happen in a place like Guwahati has come as a shocker. Although not many crimes against women are reported in Bathinda, I do feel unsafe venturing out alone post evening, especially in winters. You never know what may happen,” says Sukhwinder Kaur, a BA part II student of a city college.

The official website of the Bathinda Police has a section ‘Tips for Women Safety’. It mentions that in case a female has a car trouble, she should lock herself in, call the police and wait for its arrival.

When asked if she would follow the guideline, Smile Arora, who is newly-married, vehemently denied the possibility. “The city as a whole may trust the police force but women do not. As a female, if I’m stranded somewhere, I wouldn’t really trust a police personnel. Female police personnel have this nagging habit of sermonising. I would rather call up a friend or a family member and wait for them to bail me out of the situation.”

Acting deaf to lewd or sexist remarks is what other females of the city do all the time. Travelling in public transport is a female’s worst nightmare, especially after dark.

“The moment you get into a bus or an autorickshaw, men ogle at you as if you are from another planet. Even the conductors of the local buses have a nasty way of asking for fare. The Guwahati girl had the courage to retaliate to the lewd remark passed by a bystander. I would rather act deaf in such circumstances,” said Bathinda resident Surbhi Gupta, who teaches at a college in Faridkot.

Parents may want their daughters to be modern, strong and outgoing but when it comes to personal safety, acting defensive is what they teach.

Rakesh Agarwal, a resident of Vishal Nagar, said, “Since my daughter started going for tuitions, I told her never to answer back or shout at any eve-teaser. In today’s world, no one comes forward to help. Thankfully, Bathinda is still safe for women. But in places like markets and roads, there are all kinds of people. I don’t want my daughter to be scared of anyone but it is always better to be safe than sorry.”

The rate of crime against women is low across the state and in Bathinda, it is almost negligible. We rarely come across cases of eve-teasing in the city. The notion of being unsafe in the city is more psychological than based on facts. As a precautionary measure, we have deployed PCR vans outside almost all girls’ colleges. Police patrolling is also done frequently to keep a check on any unwanted activities.” —Dr Sukhchain Singh Gill, SSP, Bathinda district

Bathinda, July 13
In-charge of the state BJP membership drive and state secretary of the party, Jeewan Gupta, today directed the district unit of the BJP Mahila Morcha to contribute in enrolling the maximum number of women as members of the BJP because they could play a vital role in disseminating the party's ideology and programme among the people, especially the women folk.

Gupta along with co-in charge of the membership drive, Dheeraj Kumar Barnala, was here today to review the on-going membership drive, being run by the Bathinda district unit (Urban) of the BJP. The drive that started from July 1 will continue till July 25. The Bathinda district (Urban) unit of the party has been given the target to enroll 15,000 new members during the current membership drive.

Gupta further said the Yuva Morcha of the BJP should also participate in enrolling the maximum number of youths in a big way. He urged the party workers and leaders to approach the people for enrolling only genuine members.

District president of the urban unit, Gulshan Wadhwa, said the district unit had achieved 50 per cent target of the enrolment, given to it by the state unit. He said he was hopeful that the enrolment of remaining 50 per cent members would be done his month. He said the main aim of the membership drive was to strengthen internal democracy in the party.

Wadhwa said after the completion of membership drive, presidents of 196 booths of Bathinda district (Urban) unit would be elected in September. Then these 196 booth presidents would elect 50 ward presidents who would elect three Mandal presidents in October. Then these Mandal presidents would elect district president in November, he added.

Among others who were present on the occasion included district in-charge of the membership drive, Gulzar Singh, district general secretary Vijay Singla, district press secretary Umesh Sharma, three Mandal presidents Ramesh Garg, Ashok Ballianwali and Rakesh Goyal, leaders of Mahila Morcha Balbir Kaur and Anju Chhabrra, and district president of Yuva Morcha Vikram Lucky.

Bathinda, July 13
Adesh University, Bathinda, would be hosting the World Hepatitis Day conference on July 28

In a press statement issued here today, president, Commonwealth Intensive Care Society (CWICS) Dr JS Bahia, who is also associate professor, department of medicine, Adesh Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (AIMSR) and organizing secretary of the conference Dr Manmeet Singh stated that the event is being held on the occasion of World Hepatitis Day.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), one out of every 12 persons is suffering from this disease. Hepatitis-B and Hepatitis-C are deadly diseases but they can be prevented and can be treated.

The theme for this year has been chosen as “This is Hepatitis — it is closer than you think.”

Bathinda, July 13
The Civil Lines police arrested two people and recovered habit-forming drugs from their possession in a car. Police intercepted a car with a Delhi number near the local stadium and recovered 585 bottles of a cough syrup. Two of the car’s occupants were arrested while the third fled. The two arrested have been identified as Amardip Singh from Guru Ki Nagri and Gurpreet Singh from Sucha Singh Wali Gali.

Meanwhile, two residents of Balahad Vinju village have been booked for duping their uncle.

In his complaint to the Civil Line police, Karam Singh said his nephews, Lakhwinder Singh and Balwinder Singh, fraudulently sold off his 2.5 marlas of land for Rs 1.56 lakh. Police have booked a case. — TNS

Bathinda, July 13
A TB awareness workshop was organsied today at the Railway Hospital, Bathinda, by the District Health Society -Revised National TB Control Programme (RNCTP) Communication facilitator of the State Health Society (RNTCP), Punjab, Gagan Goyal told the gathering about the symptoms, precautions and treatment for the disease.

He also urged the people to get their sputum examined immediately in case anyone suffered from symptoms like cough for more than two weeks, blood in sputum, loss of appetite, loss of weight, pain in chest etc. He said the sputum examination is done free of cost in the government hospitals. Goyal also asked people not to leave the treatment midway. — TNS