Bathinda, August 22
Nearly 900 complaints relating to the police in Bathinda, Mansa and Muktsar districts were heard by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Bathinda Zone, Nirmal Singh Dhillon, at a public hearing, here today.

The IG said the maximum number of complaints related to trivial issues concerning the family, land, court cases and also against the policemen.

He said nearly 400 complaints were received from Mansa and Muktsar districts while around 500 complaints were from Bathinda district. "I will not call it a day till all the complaints are redressed. Most of them have been marked to the officials concerned who will be responsible for satisfying the complainants of their respective areas," the IG said.

SHOs, DSPs and SSPs from all the three districts were present and were busy noting down the complaints of their respective areas.

The IG accompanied by DIG Parmod Ban, Bathinda SSP Dr Sukhchain Singh Gill and Muktsar SSP Indermohan Singh said the aim behind holding the 'durbar' was to provide people with an open platform to discuss their problems.

"I have full faith in my team of police officials and they all are doing well. Our aim is to put people at ease," Dhillon said. People meeting the IG with their complaints started arriving early in the morning and most of them were those who had failed to get justice despite making rounds of the police stations for the last many years.

Kuldeep Singh, a complainant from Muktsar, said he has been running from pillar to post for the last four years to get a case registered against the policemen who failed to act against people involved in the suicide case of his 28-year-old son.

"The IG initially marked the inquiry to the DIG but after I expressed my dissatisfaction, the inquiry was marked to the SSP Mansa who would look into the matter," Kuldeep Singh said.

Kuldeep Singh regretted that the complaint papers and inquiry reports that he was carrying, nearly four kg in weight, had not been of much help. He has so far spent more than Rs 40,000 pleading his case but had received only lip sympathy.

"Let us see what the SSP Mansa does now or else, I will have to start visiting the police officers again," he said and alleged that some senior policemen were shielding the accused involved in the case of his son's suicide. He demanded action against those policemen.

Another petitioner, Sukhdev Singh from Muktsar, who was physically challenged, was brought before the IG on the shoulders of his nephew Mandhir Singh. Sukhdev Singh said he had been making rounds of the police stations and meeting senior police officials for the last two years but to no avail.

Sukhdev Singh is fighting a land dispute case. He claimed that a portion of his land had been encroached upon by some influential persons, allegedly enjoying police protection.

Unable to walk, Sukhdev Singh said his nephew carries him on his back to the police stations and helps him in fighting the case.

Hari Singh of Beroke Kalan village in Mansa failed to control his emotions and shouted at the top of his voice against the police officials. Hari Singh was upset as his daughter had failed to get a chunk of land which was duly in her name. He said his son-in-law died in an accident in 2004 but the policemen were yet to restore the land to her daughter despite umpteen enquiries during the last eight years.

He said some influential people were harassing him and he had been forced to visit the police stations.

Hari Singh was pacified by the police officials with an assurance of all possible help. He was given a glass of water to calm down and the IG assigned the task of pacifying the complainant to his subordinates. The IG also asked the elderly complainant to meet him if he failed to get justice.

Some newly-married women from Muktsar, Bathinda and Mansa were seen in tears, alleging harassment by their husbands and in-laws.

Bathinda, August 22
The teacher unions of the district today held a protest against the proposed sale of Government Elementary School land located at Mall Road to pave the way for a multi-level parking project in the city.

The representatives of various teacher unions gathered at Teachers' Home where they criticized Punjab government for selling off the "temples of learning" to generate revenue.

The protesting teachers gathered at Teachers' Home from where they took out a procession that culminated in front of the Government Elementary School, Mall Road.

The agitating teachers said grants worth crores are being given to educational programmes like Sarv Shiksha Abhiyaan (SSA) and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyaan (RMSA) but they are being wrongly used. Neck-deep in loans worth Rs 87,000 crores, the state government is now imposing additional taxes on the people, the teachers said.

"Crores are being spent on foreign visits of the dignitaries and on buying new cars but the government has no money to pay salaries to the teachers on time. Most of the teachers, posted in different government schools, do not get salaries on time and are unable to support their families in the best possible way," the union members said.

Teachers said the rally was meant to save the Government Elementary School from being sold as well as to raise their voice for the rights of teachers. They demanded that the promotions of all the teachers should be time-bound and appointments should be made regular. "The state government's policies, and not teachers, should be held responsible for the poor results of students," they said.

They also demanded that the provisions of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, which are against the teaching community, should be done away with.

Terming the rationalization policy as "anti-teacher", they said teachers should be deployed in different schools as per the number of children. Also, the teacher-taught ratio should be improved in the schools.

"The policies framed under the SSA and RMSA should benefit everybody in the long run. Teachers recruited under these projects should be regularized and grants given should be used honestly," they demanded.

A strong transfer policy and non-interference by the politicians in transfers was also demanded.

Teachers also demanded the revoking of ban imposed on teachers against writing for different publications and appointment in education department as per merit. Teachers should not be given non-academic work and should not be called during the holidays for school work, the union members said.

Prominent among those present on the occasion were Paramjit Singh Jeeda, Darshan Singh Maur, Gagan Grover, Gurpreet Singh, Babu Singh, Iqbal Singh and others.

union Speak
Teachers recruited under the SSA and RMSA projects should be regularised and the grants given should be used honestly. Also, the ban imposed on writing for different publications should be revoked. —teachers staging protest in bathinda

Bathinda, August 22
The impact of the two-day strike called by the bank employees and officers was observed today even in Bathinda. The officials have gone on strike following a call given by the United Forum of Bank Unions.

The bank employees held a demonstration outside the Union Bank of India and demanded that their demands be heeded by the government.

The employees are protesting against the deregulation and liberalization of the banking sector. District president of the union, NK Bansal said instead of recruiting permanent staff, jobs are outsourced to contract employees. These employees are exploited and paid a paltry amount as wages without any guarantee of job stability. The office-berrers of the union, including secretary Pawan Jindal, KK Singla, Gulshan Oberoi, Sunit Ahuja and Dulip Kumar, addressed the gathering during the protest.

Meanwhile, people visiting the banks in the city found themselves at the receiving end. Those who had come from the nearby villages said they were not aware of the strike and had to go back.

Bathinda, August 22
The lawyers of the Bathinda Bar Association will observe strike tomorrow. Responding to the state-wide call against the establishment of evening courts, lawyers have decided to observe strike at Bathinda, Phool and Talwandi Sabo courts.

An 11-member committee has been constituted to ensure that the strike is observed. The members of the committee include Sunil Kumar Pratapi, Manpret Singh Brar, Surinderpal Singh Khokhar, Sukhdarshan Sharma, Surinder Kumar Sharma, Jasdeep Singh Walia, Harpal Singh Khara, Harpal Singh Brar, Amritpal Singh, Gurpreet Singh Sidhu and Hemraj Garg.

President of the committee Ranjit Singh Jalal and secretary Gurwinder Singh Mann would be attending the state-level meeting convened at Moga to discuss the future course of action.

Bathinda, August 22
A training programme was held for juvenile and child welfare officers deployed at various police stations.

District and Sessions Judge-cum-chairman of the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) SK Aggarwal apprised the officers about the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2000.

Civil Judge (senior division)-cum-DLSA secretary Kanwaljt Singh, assistant district attorney Surinder Sachdeva, a member of the Juvenile Board Dr Shiv Dutt Gupta, advocates Shilpa Gupta, Dr Raj Kumar Garga, Gurminderpal Kaur Dhillon and others participated in the event.

Aggarwal said while dealing with juvenile criminals (below 18 years of age), special care had to be taken such as they cannot be handcuffed. In such cases, separate Juvenile Board is constituted in every district and a juvenile cannot be presented before a regular court.

He emphasised upon the need for having a separate spectrum of thoughts for such cases. "The juvenile officers, advocates and the media should take caution while dealing with juvenile cases so that children do not develop into fully-fledged criminals," he said.

While speaking on the occasion, Kanwaljit Singh said under Section 63 of the Juvenile Justice Act, the police officers should be exclusively designated and not be given any other work. He also gave detailed information about the Juvenile Justice Act and the Juvenile Justice Rules 2007.

The officers who participated in the programme were given certificates.

Bathinda, August 22
A live phone-in programme concerning Lok Adalat and free legal aid would be broadcast by the Bathinda station of the All India Radio (AIR) on August 23 at 5 pm.

The programme titled "Lok Adalat ate muft kanooni sahayata" would see District and Sessions Judge SK Aggarwal and Civil Judge, senior division-cum-CJM Kanwaljit Singh replying to the queries made by listeners.

Those having queries, suggestions and complaints can call on the AIR studio’s phone number 0164-2240331 and directly speak to the guests at the programme to be anchored by station director Rajiv K Arora. —TNS

Bathinda, August 22
Under the Revised National TB Control Programme (RNTCP), an awareness programme was held today at BK Public School situated on the Parinda Road.

Communication facilitator Gagan Goyal made the students and school staff aware about tuberculosis (TB) under the guidance of District TB Officer Dr Ashok Monga.

Goyal said with DOTS (directly observed treatment, short course), TB could be fully cured. Precautions could also prevent people from falling prey to the disease.

The students and the school staff were informed about the symptoms, precautions and treatment of the dreaded disease.

People were urged to get their sputum examined immediately in case anyone discovers the symptoms of TB like cough for more than two weeks, blood in sputum, loss of appetite, loss of weight, pain in chest etc.

Goyal said the sputum examination was done free of cost at government hospitals.

A TB patient should not leave the treatment midway, he added. Goyal said in the coming days, the government was going to provide DOT Plus treatment, which would be helpful for the defaulter TB patients.

Bathinda, August 22
To reignite the passion for reading, the Public Library plans to launch a campaign for donating books to different public libraries.

The president of the Rashtravadi Granthalaya Sabha, Punjab, and the organiser of the Sahib-e-Kamal Guru Gobind Singh Public Library, Niranjan Singh Premi, said a new library campaign was being held in the state to reignite the passion for books.

Under the first phase, five libraries of Mansa, Bathinda and Moga were being given books worth Rs 50, 000. The campaign would be started on August 25 from the heritage village, Jaipalgarh, at a special ceremony.

Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sarup Chand Singla and Punjab Vidhan Sabha's library committee member and MLA Darshan Singh Kotfatta would preside over the function.

Artists of the Malwa Art Council, Bathinda, and the Malwa Dance Academy would present a special programme, "Ek Shaam Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh De Naam". The programme will depict Bhagat Singh and his family's contribution towards Indian freedom struggle. — TNS