B A T H I N D A    E D I T I O N

Probe indicts woman clerk
Moga, August 25
The District Magistrate of Moga, Arshdip Singh Thind, who is also the chairman of the district Red Cross Society, has decided to issue show-cause notices to a woman employee of the society and a contractor of the computer centre run by it after a magisterial probe found that they were responsible for causing financial losses to the society.

Mechanic dies in bore well as earth caves in
Abohar, August 25
A mechanic trapped in a bore well in Gumjal, a remote village of Abohar sub-division, died while his colleague had to be hospitalised . Eyewitnesses said a farmer had availed of the services of mechanics, Gian Prasad and Pawan Kumar, to remove the fault in the electric motor fitted beneath the bore well in his fields.

Unfulfilled demands
Teachers stay off work in protest
Ferozepur, August 25
The teachers belonging to various universities, government and private colleges of Punjab abstained from work after attending the first two periods today as in protest against the non-fulfillment of their long pending demands.

Body donated for medical research
Moga, August 25
The family members of a septuagenarian woman have set an example by donating her body for medical research at Charik village in Moga district on Saturday. The body was donated as per the will of Bachni Devi (75), wife of Raj Kumar, hailing from Badhni Kalan village, who died on Saturday morning.

Probe indicts woman clerk
Kulwinder Sandhu
Tribune News Service

Moga, August 25
The District Magistrate of Moga, Arshdip Singh Thind, who is also the chairman of the district Red Cross Society, has decided to issue show-cause notices to a woman employee of the society and a contractor of the computer centre run by it after a magisterial probe found that they were responsible for causing financial losses to the society.

Thind confirmed that the magisterial probe conducted by the Additional Deputy Commissioner Joram Beda has recommended the suspension of the woman employee and departmental action against her. “I will be issuing her a show-cause notice before awarding any punishment so that she can get a chance to explain her position,” he said.

As per the details available, one Mukesh Kumar was given a computer training centre of the Red Cross Society on lease in 2006-07, initially at a sum of Rs 40,000 per year but only Rs 31,750 was deposited in the accounts of the Red Cross Society in four instalments during the first year, leaving a balance of Rs 8,250 against him.

As per the terms and conditions of the contract, he was supposed to deposit the whole amount of the previous year pending against him before entering into a fresh agreement for the next year.

But in the year 2007-08, the contract was renewed at Rs 44,000 per year but only Rs 25,000 was deposited in the accounts of the society leaving another balance of Rs 19,000 against him.

Similarly, in 2008-09, he deposited Rs 42,000 against the contract money of Rs 50,000.

This continued for the years 2009-10 and 2010-11 as well.

As such, the district Red Cross Society suffered a total loss of Rs 1,07,900 due to these financial irregularities.

During the investigations, it had come to light that a woman employee of the society, before the renewal of the annual contract of the computer centre, used to give the noting of ‘no dues’ on the file for each corresponding year thus misleading the senior authorities over the renewal of the contract.

Mukesh Kumar has given a statement that he used to pay the whole amount as per the instalments in cash to the woman clerk but he never knew that the money was not being deposited in the accounts.

Meanwhile, it was learnt that a senior Akali leader of the area was trying to protect the woman employee from departmental action.

Mechanic dies in bore well as earth caves in
Our Correspondent

Abohar, August 25
A mechanic trapped in a bore well in Gumjal, a remote village of Abohar sub-division, died while his colleague had to be hospitalised . Eyewitnesses said a farmer had availed of the services of mechanics, Gian Prasad and Pawan Kumar, to remove the fault in the electric motor fitted beneath the bore well in his fields.

The mechanics were trapped after the sandy soil caved in.

The village panchayat informed the civil and police administration at Abohar and the district headquarters at Fazilka. They told the media that it took about 90 minutes for the officials to reach there.

The panchayat also sought help from the Army at Sadhuwali as Gumjal is located close to the inter-state border.

Later, Deputy Commissioner Dr Basant Garg also visited the village.

Villagers said Pawan Kumar was trapped in the middle of the bore well.

Efforts were made to rescue him by throwing a heavy rope along with an oxygen cylinder. However, it took more than two hours to drag out Gian Parkash. Both were shifted to the district hospital at Sriganganagar but Gian Parkash had died by then.

Congress Legislative Party leader and local MLA Sunil Jakhar, who also reached the village, urged the state government to grant compensation to the family of the deceased. 

Unfulfilled demands
Teachers stay off work in protest
Our Correspondent

Ferozepur, August 25
The teachers belonging to various universities, government and private colleges of Punjab abstained from work after attending the first two periods today as in protest against the non-fulfillment of their long pending demands.

The call for the strike was given by Punjab Federation of University and College Teachers Organisation (PFUCTO).

At a rally organised today at the local RSD College, JR Prashar, state president of PCCTU, said while the state government has already paid around 70 per cent of the arrears arising out of revised pay-scales to its employees, no arrears have been released for the teachers of the Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU), Amritsar, and the Punjabi University, Patiala, besides the government and aided colleges of Punjab.

“This despite the fact that the union government will be reimbursing eight per cent of the arrears in two or three instalments and a letter to that effect has already been received by the state government,” he said.

Gurtej Singh, district president, PCCTU, said the other demands of the teachers included enhancement of retirement age as per the recommendation of the UGC, funding of higher education by the government, filling up of the vacancies in colleges, providing security of service for the unaided staff and implementation of the pension-cum-gratuity scheme for aided colleges already approved by the state cabinet on December 11, 2001.

Body donated for medical research
Tribune News Service

Moga, August 25
The family members of a septuagenarian woman have set an example by donating her body for medical research at Charik village in Moga district on Saturday. The body was donated as per the will of Bachni Devi (75), wife of Raj Kumar, hailing from Badhni Kalan village, who died on Saturday morning.

As per the will, her family members sent the body to the government medical college and hospital at Amritsar.

Hundreds of people gathered in the village to pay her floral tributes when the ambulance came to transport her body to the medical college.

“Although it is a sad moment for us but we are happy that she has set an example by donating her body,” said Gurcharan Singh, a villager.

“We are proud of her and everyone should learn a lesson from her to serve society,” said Kuldip Singh, a family member.