Bathinda, August 14
For the four-and-a-half years old Arsh, freedom means leading a normal life away from confinement in Bathinda Central Jail where he spent the last 22 months of his childhood for no fault of his.

The son of a couple lodged in the jail under the NDPS Act for the last 22 months, Arsh is now staying with the family of his caretaker Radhae Shyam Bansal on Power House road.

His parents, Surinder Kaur and Avtar Singh, residents of village Malkana, were arrested for drug peddling and are lodged as undertrials in the jail.

When the inspection judge from the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice KC Puri visited Bathinda jail in March, he saw Arsh and spoke about his future. "It was suggested that the child be taken away by a caretaker, as per the provisions of law. I consulted my family and was keen to bring the child and look after him," says Bansal, a yoga teacher and an employee with the PWD department.

He then filed an application in the court of the civil judge, senior division, Harinder Kaur Sidhu that made him the caretaker.

Arsh was taken away from his parents in jail on July 25 and since then, he has been living as a family member at Bansal's home.

Arsh has found a playmate in Bansal's grandson, Vansh, who is a few months younger to him.

"The two refuse to eat or even take bath without each other," says Bansal's wife Pushpa, a retired teacher who dots on Arsh like grandmothers do. Vansh's mother Neetu now has more work to do, getting both the children ready for school and serving them meals together.

A lucky Arsh happened to find the good samaritans. The management of Dasmesh Public School did not charge even a single penny for his admission and the child studies there free of cost.

School president Ravinder Mann called up Bansal expressing his desire to help Arsh by offering him free education and Arsh is now a student of LKG in the school.

Arsh is now leading a normal life. He has met his mother twice since July 25 and refuses to go to jail for further meetings. Ask him why and he replies with a twinkle in his eyes, "Because I have to play with Vansh."

After all, playing with a mate is what he has missed all these years.

Bathinda, August 14
On Independence Day, there is another section of society in Bathinda that is awake to life and freedom. These are the intravenous drug users who have kicked the habit after undergoing treatment at the methadone centre located on the premises of the Civil Hospital here and are hoping for a new dawn in their lives.

Having abused their bodies and made their families wallow in misery, these youngsters at the methadone centre are now on the path to sobriety.

Over 80 people are enrolled at the centre of whom 57 come regularly. Started on February 16, the methadone centre mostly has intravenous drug users undergoing one-year treatment. Despite all odds, the team at the centre ensures that every patient gets his daily dose of medicine.

"The methadone centre came to my rescue when I had lost all hope. I have started a new life and everyday, I thank the Almighty for helping me come out of this cesspool," said 30-year-old Karam Singh from Bhai Mati Dass Nagar, the first patient to get enrolled with the methadone centre, a project of the UNODC.

Now a peer educator, Karam Singh proved to be of immense help in bringing more addicts and informing the team at the centre about the whereabouts of others.

While it took Karam Singh eight days to completely give up the use of intravenous (IV) drugs, Ranjit Singh from Jassi Pau Wali was strong enough to give up IV drugs from day one. "Since then, there has been no looking back. There are four of us from Jassi Pau Wali who come together everyday to get our dose of methadone," he says.

Shunning drugs has not only helped these youngsters regain their health, it has also brought great relief for their families.

"Earlier, I could not get up without my regular dose of smack. Today, I am the same person who looks after the farm and animals at my village. I work hard and my family has started respecting me again. I have no words to express the way I feel for my parents, my wife and children," added another addict who is now on the path of recovery.

Karam Singh and the other patients like him have now come a long way from hunting filthy isolated places for their regular dose of injections to now making themselves available for their families. Some of them have even taken up the jobs they had left due to addiction and life seems to be back on track for them. "Families are the biggest support system these patients need to bid goodbye to drugs completely. In fact, even as doctors, we cannot treat a person who does not have enough family supports to fall back on at the time of treatment," says the in-charge of the methadone centre Dr Nidhi Gupta.

Dr Gupta added that even in the worst of cases, wherein there is no hope for recovery, patients have fallen in line and now live a normal life. "A miracle has happened and we wish others too can experience it. We have got the kind of freedom we hadn't even dreamt of," said Karam Singh.

(Names of patients have been changed to protect their identity).

Bathinda, August 14
Police have booked eight persons, including a woman, for snatching the revolver of a forest range officer and stealing trees from the forest area last night.

Those booked by the police have been accused of stealing Tahli (Dalbergia sissoo) trees which the cost of which is estimated to be between Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000.

A complaint was lodged with the police by the forest range officer, Tejinder Singh. He complained that a man, identified as Buta Singh, his two sons, three to four unidentified men and a woman, entered into heated arguments with him when he tried to enquire about the trees being loaded by them on to a tractor trolley.

Tejinder Singh said the accused has a saw mill and he suspected that the stolen trees were being taken to his mill. The forest range officer added that the accused Buta Singh was earlier also accused in a case of tree theft in the Talwandi Sabo area. A penalty of Rs 30,000 to Rs 35,000 was also imposed on him in another case, the complainant said.

Suspecting that they were stealing the trees from the forest area, the officer stopped them and asked them to explain from where they had got the trees. Ignoring the queries posed by the officer, the accused argued with him and entered into a verbal duel with him.

The officer said the accused manhandled him and snatched away his revolver. The forest officer said it was his personal revolver and he used to carry it while patrolling the area to keep a close watch over the activities of unscrupulous elements.

The complainant said he is the only range officer looking after the Budhlada and Mansa areas whereas there should be two forest range officers for the area.

Police officials said a case under sections 382, 353, 186, 355, 379, 148 and 149 of the IPC has been registered against the accused at the Maur police station.

Police said the accused had appeared before the police and efforts would be made to recover the revolver snatched from the forest official besides the stolen trees.

Bathinda, August 14
While the country celebrates the Independence Day, the shopper in you can live out the dream of shopping till you drop. And what's more, you can show your patriotic spirit in the process too!

Yes, that's true. Apparel brands, supermarkets, a construction firm and automobile brands are offering special Democracy Discounts. Automobile manufacturer Honda is offering benefits of up to Rs 40,000 including an insurance cover at the rate of Re 1 apart from offering a free TV or window AC on the purchase of one of its cars. Similar discounts are also being offered by Hyundai and Skoda.

While supermarket Big Bazaar launched its 'Mehengai Pe Halla Bol' campaign for the time period August 10 to August 15, Reliance Digital has also chosen the same days to offer happiness discounts on almost all its fast-moving consumer goods.

FMCG firm Panasonic has also dished out 'Relive the Freedom of 1947' offer and is offering some of its goods at a down payment of Rs 1,947 and the rest in easy monthly installments.

While the concept of Democracy Discounts has been quite popular in almost all the major cities, Bathinda has also warmed up to it this year. Not only are the stores offering discounts to celebrate the Independence Day, those interested in investing in property are also being offered a lucrative deal.

A source at a construction firm which is offering discounts on the booking of its villas and apartments as part of its 'Janmashtami and Independence Day Offer', said, "Ever since we advertised about the special discount, we've received many queries. There are many others which offer such discounts. We thought we should also try it out."

Although 'Sale' posters shriek at the buyers from almost all apparel brand windows these days, many brands have gone ahead and replaced the clearance sale with the 'Freedom from price tags' sale. No points for guessing that these are also being offered only around Independence Day.

Bathinda, August 14
A legal aid clinic has been opened at the Bathinda Central Jail to facilitate the inmates there.

District and Sessions Judge S K Aggarwal inaugurated the clinic today. While addressing a seminar held on the occasion, Aggarwal said the legal cell would extend free services to the convicts as well as the undertrials lodged in the jail.

To run the clinic, nine jail inmates, including six men, would be roped in.

"These inmates would be trained as paralegal volunteers and deployed at the centre. Also amongst the advocates empanelled with the legal services, six would be enrolled to provide services at the legal clinic, for legal services at district courts, High Court and the Supreme Court," Aggarwal said.

Secretary of the District Legal Services Authority Kanwaljit Singh said the clinic would put an end to the legal woes of the inmates by providing them with a legal solution.

Further, village-level legal aid clinics would also be opened. These clinics would be run by advocates and paralegal volunteers so that villagers need not approach lawyers in cities if they require legal advice on some matter.

Seven such clinics have already been opened in Bathinda.

Prominent among others present on the occasion included superintendent Rajmahinder Singh Dhaliwal, deputy superintendent Manjit Singh and assistant district attorney Surinder Sachdeva.

Bathinda, August 14
Tree plantations and cultural programmes marked the Independence Day celebrations at educational institutions in the city today.

The St. Xavier's Senior Secondary School celebrated the occasion with tree plantation. The chief guest, a retired principal of Kendriya Vidyalaya, TD Garg, flanked by principal Fr Eulalio Fernandes and manager Father Menino Gomes planted a sapling. Students presented a cultural programme dedicated to the martyrs who laid their lives for their motherland. A rangoli competition was held with 'India, the land of colours' as its theme.

Principal Fr Eulalio Fernandes declared that the houses in the school had been renamed. The Red house has been renamed as Ruby. The Yellow house has been rechristened as Topaz, the Green House is now Emerald and the Blue house gets a new name, Sapphire.

NSS volunteers of the PTUGZS Campus, polytechnic wing, Bathinda, planted over 100 saplings on the campus today. The director, PTUGZS Campus, Dr JS Hundal, administered the entire activity. The principal, PTUGZS Campus, polytechnic wing, Darshan Singh Sidhul, and head of mechanical engineering department, Charanjeet Singh, inaugurated the plantation ceremony.

Programme officers of the NSS polytechnic wing Surinder Singh Khela and Tejinder Singh were lauded for successfully organising the event. Reetipal Singh and Pritpal Singh Aulakh, in-charge, Horticulture, facilitated the entire affair.

At the DAV Senior Secondary School, students wore badges resembling the Tricolour. Various contests, including group song, fancy dress and collage making, were held on the occasion.

Principal Dr S Bhullar urged the students to maintain the spirit of patriotism.

At the Police Public School, an inter-house patriotic group song competition was held to mark the day. NCC cadets presented the NCC Anthem. Principal Monika Singh gave a message of peace and brotherhood.

Bachpan, a play school, organising a function at the Cantonment. An Army Band performed on the occasion.

Bathinda, August 14
The police has arrested one Angrez Singh of Talwandi Sabo and recovered a kg of opium from his possession.

The accused has been booked under Sections 8, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act at the Talwandi Sabo police station. Following a tip-off, ASI Avtar Singh nabbed the accused near Gurusar Jaga village and seized the contraband.

In another incident, the police arrested a resident of Gehri Bhagi village with seven kg of poppy husk.

The accused, Baljinder Singh, was arrested from near Bagha village. The police said the accused was trying to sell the contraband to drug addicts and was caught red-handed.

A case under the NDPS Act has been registered against the accused at the Rama police station and efforts were on to enquire about the other people involved in the trade. The police said the accused would be produced in a court and his remand would be sought.