Bathinda, October 20
Firing over a petty issue in Khemuana village created panic among the villagers last night.

As per the details available, two groups who held a grudges against each other entered into a scuffle and one of the groups fired in the air after being intimidated by the other.

Tension mounted in the village following the firing incident and the villagers brought the matter into the notice of the police.

Officials from the Nehianwala police station reached the spot and brought the situation under control.

A case has been registered against the persons who tried to vitiate the atmosphere in the village.

It is learnt that a village resident, Rajinder Singh, and one Jagdev Singh were at conflict over some issue.

As per Rajinder Singh, two youths of the village called him up and asked him to come out of his residence to meet them.

As soon as he reached near a dharmshala in the village, some youths 
from his rival group allegedly dragged him into the dharamshala and beat him up.

In his statement to the police, Rajinder said he escaped from the clutches of the youths after climbing the rooftop of the dharamshala and reached his uncle’s house.

The police officials investigating the case said Rajinder Singh fired gunshots in the air after the boys abused Rajinder near his residence.

The policemen said a case under various sections of the IPC has been registered against the youths who created panic in the village. 

Bathinda, October 20
The police has booked seven persons for allegedly raping a class VIII student at gunpoint. A case has been registered under Sections 363, 366, 376 and 161 of the IPC at the Bhagta police station.

The girl is undergoing treatment at the Bathinda Civil Hospital. In her statement to the police, the girl said she was abducted on October 14 when she was returning home. The girl also accused the boys of demanding money and gold from her and threatening to upload her objectionable pictures on the Internet if she did not agree.

The family members of the girl said the police tried to suppress the case under the influence of the accused and the case was registered only after the intervention of senior police functionaries.

Bathinda, October 20
The state government will be recovering the wrongly-paid benefits to its employees working in different departments. Letters have been issued to various departments to start the procedure on the basis of documents and payment history of employees, which are available with the respective departments.

As per the government letter, the cases in which wrongly-paid benefits were noticed and recovery ordered or made but the employee concerned moved the court, following which the recovery was either stopped or refunded in compliance with the orders of the High Court, and if such cases have already attained finality, may not be reopened.

However, in cases where the employee concerned approached the court and has obtained a judicial verdict in his or her favour, but the same is yet to be implemented, suitable judicial proceedings such as an appeal or review would be instituted as per the law.

The necessary recovery would also be made in the cases wherein wrongly-paid benefits were noticed but the recovery was not made in view of the guidelines issued by the government.

The recovery would also be made in the cases wherein wrongly-paid benefit has either already been found or was located after the date of issue of guidelines by the government to the departments.

Giving relief to the people on the verge of retirement or who are employed in the lower-rung services (Group D) wherein they have availed of wrongly-paid benefits, the recovery would be waived with the approval of the department of finance.

The orders follow a judgment by the Supreme Court.

Bathinda, October 20
The sale of English liquor in Bathinda has dropped by 20 to 30 per cent during the Navratras.

Liquor vend owners said Navratras influenced their sale more this year as compared to the last year. However, there was hardly any effect on the sale of country-made liquor, which is mostly consumed by the poor strata.

A visit to the eating joints selling non-vegetarian food items near the railway station and Fauji chowk revealed that they also registered lower sales in view of the Navratras.

A worker at a liquor vend near Fauji chowk said the daily revenue of the vend fell to Rs 30,000 to Rs 35,000. On any other day, they would sell liquor bottles worth Rs 40,000 to Rs 45,000.

A liquor contractor, Harish, said there were 56 liquor vends in the city. They have to sell at least 1.4 lakh liquor boxes in a year. As per an estimate, liquor to the tune of nearly Rs 18 lakh to Rs 20 lakh per day is sold at the liquor vends in the city.

"People observing fast during the nine holy nights (Navratras) completely abstain from consuming non-vegetarian food and liquor. As a result, the sales of these two items fall every year. But this year, the dip in sales is more pronounced — by over 25 per cent," Harish said.

He said the government deducts tax on the sale of liquor. Further, they have to deposit security with the government.

Harish said in a bid to meet their targets, some liquor vend owners sell their quota in bulk to private persons at a lesser price. The private parties further sell it to the consumers at different locations.

The liquor contractor said out of 56 liquor vends in the city, the one near the railway station registers the highest sale as the area is frequented by people round-the-clock.

"Many people stop consuming liquor during the Navratras," said Chunni Lal Mittal, a resident of Aggarwal Colony.

He said some persons who fail to resist the temptation for liquor resort to purchasing refined liquor to avoid its pungent odour.

The owners of liquor vends and eating joints selling non-vegetarian food items said now, they were waiting for Dussehra when they expect their sales to increase.

Bathinda, October 20
The Delhi-based Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India (BPNI) held a six-day counselling and training session at the Civil Hospital here.

Thirteen doctors, two nursing tutors and 17 staff nurses of Bathinda district were trained at the session.

The training was organized under the aegis of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), Punjab, and the BPNI, Delhi, had designed the training module. National trainers of the BPNI Ulka Jamal, Lubna Abdullah and Fareha Siddiqui held the sessions.

The chief guest on the concluding day today was civil surgeon Dr Ajay Sahni. He distributed certificates to the participants.

In his address, the civil surgeon said if the health workers succeed in making even ten mothers breastfeed their children, it would contribute greatly to their health.

He said the infant mortality rate (IMR) can be controlled to a great extent by making breastfeeding mandatory up to the age of six months. Dr Sahni said the Government of India was spending a huge sum on such schemes.

The civil surgeon said the need of hour was to motivate the mothers to breastfeed their babies, give them information and instill confidence in them so that they can start feeding their babies immediately after birth.

National trainer Ulka Jamal said the master trainers will now further train the auxiliary nursing midwives (ANM) and ASHA workers at a two-day training session.

District immunisation officer Dr Rakesh Goyal, senior medical officer Dr Raj Kumar and district family planning officer Dr Ravanjeet Kaur were also present at the training session.

Meanwhile, training sessions of ASHA workers is going on at Goniana and Talwandi Sabo.

The ASHA workers are being trained in batches with the main focus being laid on newborn care.

Bathinda, October 20
The principal secretary, Local Bodies, Suresh Kumar, has directed the Municipal Corporation Bathinda (MCB) and the municipal councils in the district to concentrate on providing basic amenities to the people.

While presiding over a meeting of the officials of the local bodies, Suresh Kumar said cleanliness, drinking water, sewerage and other basic amenities should be extended to the people in the best possible manner.

He directed the officials of the JITF Urban Waste Management that manages the municipal solid waste in the city, as well as the corporation and councils, to create awareness among the people regarding the disposal of solid waste in a proper way.

Suresh Kumar said public participation was imperative to make solid waste management successful in the cities. He directed that ward-wise awareness camps should be held periodically to sensitise the people. The JITF officials and the councillors were specifically asked to start the awareness campaign.

The principal secretary directed the officials of the municipal corporation and the Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board (PWSSB) to regularly check the supply of drinking water and change the faulty pipes and connections immediately. He also laid emphasis on regular chlorinisation and devising of ways to save the people from falling prey to a disease like dengue by maintaining clean surroundings. He said fogging should also be conducted regularly.

Deputy commissioner Kamal Kishore Yadav, municipal commissioner Uma Shankar Gupta, SDM Ramvir, assistant municipal commissioner Kamal Kant Goyal were also present at the meeting.

Bathinda, October 20
The NSS wing of the DAV College organized a voluntary blood donation camp wherein 60 units of blood were collected. The camp was held in collaboration with the Lions Club.

Principal, DAV College, Dr JS Anand, inaugurated the camp. Office-bearers of the Lions Club, Sohan Singh, Arvind Sehgal and Arvind Kumar started the voluntary blood donation followed by the staff members and students of the college. College lecturers Kusum Gupta, Parveen Bala, Anupama and Paramjit Kaur also donated blood.

Satish Vohra, Arun Sehgal, Pankaj Arora and VJ Juneja of the Lions Club were also present on the occasion.

Principal Dr JS Anand congratulated NSS officer Ram Lubhaya, Sandeep Bhatia and Kusum Gupta. — TNS