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Diesel price hike adds fuel to public anger
Farmers took out a protest march on bullock carts against the hike in the price of diesel at Rama in Bathinda district on Friday. A Tribune photograph
Housewives say move on LPG will burden the middle class
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Short supply of alcometer hampers drive against drunk driving
Bathinda police has purchased two new alcometers and has clamped down on cases of drunken driving in the city by initiating special campaigns. Tribune file photo
Number of Beds to double in year
Two men booked for looting motorcycle
Solid waste management plant
Hindi Diwas celebrated
Dist admn to hold photography contest
Four cloth merchants injured
Woman crushed to death on Barnala road
Badal reviews jogging park Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal takes stock of the jogging park in Bathinda on Friday. A Tribune photograph
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Diesel price hike adds fuel to public anger
Bathinda, September 14
Transporters, school van operators, vegetable sellers, housewives and others in Bathinda said the resultant inflation would break the back of the common man who is already overburdened. Apart from the hike in the price of diesel, the phased reduction of subsidy on the LPG too would affect them greatly, the residents said. TNS interacted with people from various walks of life, who while expressing their helplessness, said the state and the central governments have failed to initiate steps to curb the rising inflation. Those transporting vegetables, fruits and other edibles from the nearby villages and other places said the hike in the price of diesel would affect the prices of these items, which are already skyrocketing. "The cost of seasonal fruits like apple, banana and guava has already risen and is ranging between Rs 40 to Rs 100. Vegetables too have become very costly," said Bikram Gill, a local resident. A housewife, Sheetal Dixit, said it has become quite difficult to keep one's pot boiling these days as kitchen expenses have shot up. "I have told my husband, a school teacher, to manage additional income by doing some extra work or else, there is no way we can meet our daily expenses," Sheetal said. President of the school bus union, Devinderpal Singh said parents argue with them while paying Rs 300 per child per month. Now, with the rise in the price of diesel, the parents would oppose the extra charges. The transporters will not be able to maintain the quality of school buses and may have to find other ways to meet their daily expenses, Devinderpal said. A city-based transporter, Pirthipal Jalal, said with one litre of diesel, buses run for 3.5 kilometers and by increasing the price of diesel by Rs 5 per litre, the cost would increase by Rs 1.5 per kilometer. "Most people using daily public transport in our state belong to the poor category and they are already paying an exorbitant sum for travelling in a bus. Transporters will have no other option but to demand an increase in bus fare," he said. Pirthi said a meeting of transporters will be convened in a day or two to chalk out a strategy to oppose the price hike. He said members of various Bhartiya Kisan Unions have also been told to extend a helping hand in the protest against the diesel price hike. Another transporter, Baltej Singh said transporters are already reeling under severe crisis and will not be able to bear the expenses because of the increase in the price of diesel. Patron of the Arthiya Association Sabzi Mandi, Mahinder Kumar said the cost of fruits and vegetables would increase by at least 10 to 20 per cent. "With the price of diesel increasing by Rs 5, the truckers would increase their rate by more than Rs 1.5 per kilometer. The edibles brought from Shimla, Jammu and Delhi would become costlier and put extra burden on the people," said Mahinder. Meanwhile, state vice-president of BKU (Lakhowal) Ramkaran Singh Rama, along with some farmers, today protested in Rama against the diesel price hike by taking out a march on bullock-carts. The farmers said they would come out on roads in protest as the hike would lead to more problems for the agriculture sector which is already under stress.
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Housewives say move on LPG will burden the middle class
Bathinda, September 14 "The hike is unrealistic. It is unfortunate that on the one hand, the Centre claims an abnormally high rate of growth in the economy and on the other, it is burdening the common man with such unbearable rise in the prices of petroleum products. It is contrary to its stand of showing concern for the 'Aam Aadmi'," said a local businessman, Vanish Garg. Similarly, a housewife, Manju Girdhar, said, "The move to restrict the supply of domestic LPG cylinders to just six in a year will not only upset the kitchen budget, but also force the housewives to use electricity for cooking purposes, which is already rarely available. The UPA government's recent decision has overburdened the middle class." Demanding an immediate rollback in the prices of diesel, an agriculturist, Gurnam Singh, said, "The hike is a fatal blow to the agriculture sector as the farming is no longer a profitable venture due to the massive hike in agricultural inputs. The diesel price hike will further enhance the cost of agricultural inputs making the life of the farmers miserable." Similarly, an industrialist, Sanjeev Kumar, said, "The increase in the price of diesel will result in hike in transportation and freight charges thereby considerably impacting the consumer market with a corresponding rise in the price of essential commodities. This anti-people stance only shows the country's economic planners lack vision." A student, Maulik Verma, said, "The decision shows the Central Government is not bothered about inflation. It will break the back of the commoners and result in disaster for the UPA in the 2014 parliamentary elections." |
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Short supply of alcometer hampers drive against drunk driving
Bathinda, September 14 "Speeding and drunk driving are two of the main contributing factors for the road accidents," revealed the first ever global status report of the World Health Organization (WHO) on road safety, in April 2011. But in Punjab, despite the fact that liquor shops dot almost all the highways, information procured under the RTI from the Bathinda police hints that drunk driving is 'not at all' an issue to worry about. Under Section 185 of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988, the Bathinda police had issued challans to only nine persons in the period from April 1, 2008 to As per the provisions of Section 185 of the Motor Vehicle Act, if a person driving a motor vehicle has alcohol exceeding 30 mg per 100 ml of blood detected in a test by a breath analyzer, he is liable for punishment for the first offence with imprisonment for a term which may extend up to six months, or with fine which may extend to Rs 2,000, or both. For a second or subsequent offence, if committed within three years of the commission of the previous similar offence, the imprisonment may extend to two years, or fine which may extend to Rs 3,000, or both. With 17 persons dying every hour in road accidents in 2011, India has the status of being a world leader in road accidents. But Punjab also has the enviable record of the highest number of such fatalities, with an average 10 deaths every day. In Punjab 3,613 people died in 2011 as compared to 3,400 in 2010, revealed the data from the Transport Research Wing (TRW) of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. And most of these accidents were due to rash driving, speeding and drunk driving. "We are worried. The roads are getting better and people are driving at high speed while there are deficiencies in traffic engineering," said Vijay Goyal, chairman, Sahara Jan Seva, a voluntary organization in Bathinda. However, Kuldeep Singh Chahal, Asistant Superintendent of Police, and traffic in-charge of the Bathinda police, said the noose has been tightened around drunk driving in the last four months. If earlier, the traffic police in Bathinda had no alcometer to check drunk driving, now the police have purchased two new meters and every week, there is a special campaign to check drunk driving, said the ASP. In the last five months, the traffic police issued challans to 20-25 persons every month for drunk driving and six of the drunk driving accused were even convicted by the courts and sent to jail, said Kuldeep Chahal. While one alcometer costs about Rs 40,000, two alcometers lying with the highway police were not functional for a long time, revealed sources in the police. But the police is not giving up anytime soon. Fact file
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Number of Beds to double in year
Bathinda, September 14 The senior medical officer (SMO) of the Women and Children Hospital, Dr BS Gill, said that five hospitals in the state have been selected under the Mother and Child Hospital (MCH) scheme of the Central Government. Besides Bathinda, hospitals at Patiala, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Amritsar have been selected under the scheme. At present, the local Women and Children Hospital's is a 50-bed facility, which will increase to 100-bed after the construction of a new building, he says. As per the information available, the new building for accommodating another 50 beds will be constructed in front of the existing building of the Women and Children Hospital here. The new building will be linked with the existing building through a corridor so that patients do not face any inconvenience. The new building will be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 10 crore, for which a tender has already been invited by the Punjab Health Systems Corporation (PHSC). The construction work will begin after the allotment of tender. Sources in the PHSC said the work on the new building might start during the next month while the period to complete the construction has been fixed at nine months. Besides wards to accommodate patients, the new building will have eight special rooms with bathroom facility, a pre-labour room, a labour room, three OPD rooms for doctors, a common toilet block etc. Keeping in view the safety of patients, other provisions will also be made in the new building. An elevator will also be installed to facilitate pregnant woman in visiting different wards in the multi-storey building. Special fire safety arrangements will also be made in the new block. It may be mentioned that local residents had been demanding up-gradation of the hospital (from 50-bed to 100 bed) for the past many years as this hospital caters to the needs of entire district. Women & children hospital
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Two men booked for looting motorcycle
Bathinda, September 14 The police has registered a case under Sections 382 and 34 of the IPC at the Canal Colony police station. Motorcycle stolen
A resident of Talwandi Sabo has reported that his motorbike, which was parked outside the Mini-secretariat, has been stolen. The bike owner, Pardeep Kumar, said his bike was worth nearly Rs 33,000. The police has registered a case under Section 379 of the Indian Penal Code
(IPC) at the Civil Lines police station. Car stolen
In another theft incident, Sanjeev Walia of the Mall Road complained that his Hyundai Verna car, 2007 model, was stolen by some unidentified persons from outside his house. The police has registered a case under Section 379 of the IPC at the Kotwali police station. Material stolen from house
Cash and jewellery worth nearly Rs 7,000 have reportedly been stolen from a house in the Railway Colony here. In his complaint to the police, one Maharaj Singh stated that jewellery and Rs 2,000 in cash were stolen from his house by some unidentified person. The police has registered a case under Sections 457 and 380 of the IPC at the Canal Colony police station in
Bathinda. Ear-rings snatched
A case of snatching has been reported from Hajura Kapura Colony. A woman, Avtar
Kaur, stated in her police complaint that she was sitting in her house-cum-shop when two unidentified boys snatched her ear-rings and fled from the scene. The police has registered a case under Sections 382 and 34 of the IPC at the Thermal police station. |
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Jassi seeks CBI probe in Mandi Khurd land deal
Tribune News Service
Bathinda, September 14 Jassi alleged that there had been irregularities in the execution of the project and demanded that the purchase of land for the plant in village Mandi Khurd should be investigated by the CBI instead of the state vigilance department. He alleged that the irregularities in the land purchase deal was worth Rs 8 crore and said it was only the tip of the iceberg as scams in the SAD-BJP government had started surfacing. The former Congress MLA termed as ridiculous the decision to get the charges against state minister Gulzar Singh Ranike investigated by the Vigilance Bureau because it is under the Punjab Government. He said Ranike should take the responsibility and resign from his ministerial post, adding that the state government was only indulging in financial irregularities in the name of development. Also present on the occasion were president of the District Congress Committee Ashok Kumar and press secretary Rupinder Bindra, among others.
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Hindi Diwas celebrated
Bathinda, September 14 Other events like Hindi writing competition for class I to V, Hindi essay writing competition for class VI to IX, were also held to mark the occasion. Khushmeet Kaur (Nursery), Palwinder Singh and Karanveer Singh (LKG ), Anmol Sharma and Harman Sharma (UKG), were the winners in the Hindi poem recitation competition. School principal Dhawan Kumar, senior coordinator Veerpal Kaur and junior coordinator Narinder Kaur awarded the winners. The principal called upon the students to make united efforts for the progress and promotion of Hindi so that the unity of the country can be strengthened. He informed the students that Hindi was officially recognised as the national language on September 14,1949. |
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Dist admn to hold photography contest
Bathinda, September 14 In a press release issued here today, DC KK Yadav said the five categories are: (a) Historical, cultural, business places and developmental projects (b). Natural pictures (c) Portrait (d). Action photography and (5) offbeat pictures. In the offbeat category, any individual or group may participate. Those participating in the competition should portray the picture of Bathinda and its culture. Those declared first in each category would get a prize of Rs 10,000. The participants can send their details to the regional office of Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration (MGSIPA) at second floor, room number 306, District
Administration Complex. The registration could be done with the office assistant Pawan Kumar from September 17 to September 27. |
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Four cloth merchants injured
Bathinda, September 14 The injured have been identified as the car driver Gurpreet Singh (32) of
Sangrur, Harpal Singh (32) of Sunam, Himanshu (26) and Vaibhav (24). The tractor driver, Harvinder of
Maisarkhana, also sustained injuries in the mishap. The injured were rushed to the Civil Hospital by volunteers of the Sahara Jan
Sewa, a local NGO. The NGO president, Vijay Goyal, said the injured men in the car were cloth merchants who were taking cloth from Bathinda to
Sunam. |
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Woman crushed to death on Barnala road
Bathinda, September 14 As per volunteers of the Naujawan Welfare Society, two trucks were moving parallel on the Barnala road, leaving no space for any other vehicle. One of the trucks overran the woman, identified as Shashi (30), who was riding on a scooter towards her home after purchasing some household items. The woman's husband is working with a private company. Both the truck drivers fled from the spot after the mishap. The police said a case would be registered in this connection against the truck drivers. |
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Just as people were coming to grips with the fresh taxes and power hike in Punjab, the decision of the Central Government to increase the price of diesel by Rs 5 per litre has come as a major blow for the residents, farmers and traders, who fear that the move will have a cascading effect and create economic hardship for them.
Bathinda, September 14
Bathinda, September 14
