Bathinda, December 19
A Punjab Police ASI (assistant sub-inspector) fell into the trap set by the Vigilance Bureau while he was accepting Rs 4,000 as bribe from a power-theft case accused.

The complainant, Sanjiv Kumar, told the vigilance officials that he was found stealing power by the enforcement staff of the Powercom and a case was registered against him at Police Station Anti Power Theft Punjab State Power Corporation Limited, Bathinda. The case was registered under the section 135 of the Electricity Act.

The matter was investigated by Punjab Police ASI Sukhpal Singh.

Sanjiv added that despite furnishing the receipts of fine paid by him following power theft, the ASI called him to the police station and demanded Rs 5,000 to wind up the case. The ASI refused to relent even after the complainant informed him that he had already paid Rs 9,000 compounding fees and showed him the receipts.

Sanjiv added that although the ASI was asking for Rs 5,000, he settled for Rs 4,000. He assured the ASI of giving the money on Wednesday. The complainant went to the ASI with sleuths from the vigilance bureau and got him arrested.

The matter was brought to the notice of the Vigilance SSP Sukhdev Chahal and a team headed by DSP Janak Singh arrested the accused red-handed.

A case under the sections 7, 13 (2) 88 of the Prevention of the Corruption Act has been registered against the accused at Bathinda. Vigilance officials said the accused would be produced in court and is likely to be sent to judicial remand. 

Fact file

The Punjab Police ASI Sukhpal Singh was caught red-handed while accepting the graft of `4,000.

A case under the Prevention of the Corruption Act has been registered against the accused. The Vigilance officials said the accused would be produced in the court and his judicial remand would be sought.

In the past two months, this was the second trap laid by the Vigilance Bureau for corrupt police officials.

Earlier, on November 7 the Vigilance Bureau had arrested ASI Jaswant Singh for demanding `25,000 from an NRI from Gurdaspur in lieu of returning his documents which were seized during a road accident despite the fact that a compromise had been reached with the accident victim.

Sources in the police department said senior police officials have passed on stringent warnings to all the SHOs and investigation officials at various police stations not to accept even `100 or else they would find themselves behind bars.

Vigilance Bureau officials said more corrupt officials were on their radar and were likely to be trapped soon.

Bathinda, December 19
The ongoing symptom-based cancer survey in the district has thrown challenges at the surveyors who have to encounter quarrelsome villagers and hostile city dwellers.

"People, especially villagers, are tough nuts to crack. When we visited a village near Kot Shamir, a woman started shouting at us. She had lost some close relative to cancer and was not comfortable discussing the ailment," said one of the auxiliary nursing midwife (ANM) on duty.

While ANMs have the experience of field work, the nursing college students are finding it more difficult to conduct the survey.

Learning lessons the tough way, some young surveyors have started circumventing the issue by not asking any direct query related to cancer.

"We were not aware of the right way to approach people. Initially, we bombarded people with questions as per the questionnaire given to us. Our straight-forward manner was considered rude by respondents. Now, we become friendly before asking questions related to the disease," revealed a student of the Bhai Moni Nursing College.

At other places, the surveyors have decided to avoid asking questions. They only ask if anyone in a household was suffering from cancer or not without going into the details about the symptoms of the ailment.

In cities, cases have come to the fore where some people living in palatial houses and bungalows do not allow the surveyors to enter, let alone providing them with details being sought under the survey.

"In Model Town Phase-I, we kept standing outside a house for more than 15 minutes. We rang the bell and raised our voices to call the occupants but no one responded. Later, a servant came out and said that memsahib says come later, on some other day. We told him the importance of the survey, but he seemed not interested," said another surveyor.

As per the questionnaire format given to the surveyors, they are supposed to record cancer deaths as well as the kind of cancer the deceased was suffering from.

Most of the people, who had cancer deaths in their house, refuse to talk on the issue.

"We understand the loss that such families have faced, but we need data so that more cancer deaths could be prevented," said an ANM conducting the survey in Parasram Nagar.

She, however, added that at some houses where there was no woman, female surveyors avoided going in. "Most of us have been deputed individually at different places. However, we get together in groups of two and conduct survey of the areas allocated to both the surveyors. In this way, we get a company and feel safe too," added another surveyor.

Meanwhile, District Health Officer Dr Raghubir Singh Randhawa said almost 75 per cent of the population in the district had been covered under the survey. "We hope to complete the work soon," he said.

With the ANMs (auxiliary nursing midwives) going on strike today with the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) employees, the pace of the survey has slowed down. 

Bathinda, December 19
Harnek Singh Sethi (55), a victim of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, has been forced to spend his nights under open sky after his adopted son not only showed him the door but also pocketed the compensation amount of Rs 2 lakh which the government had provided him with.

A 1984 anti-Sikh riots’ victim Harnek Singh now spends cold nights under the open sky. Photo by writer

Harnek sleeps in the front yard of a room situated at the entrance of Nehru Park, which is surrounded by the official residences of DC, SSP, DIG, IG and other senior government officials.

Covering himself with blanket he talks to himself till he sleeps. His talking in sleep may leave one surprised as he mumbles on about the 1984 and 1947 riots.

"Whenever he feels that someone is present around him, he becomes conscious and stops talking. He seems to be quite upset," said a vendor outside the Nehru Park.

"He hurls abuses and shouts at the rioters for putting his shop on fire and disturbing his peace," the vendor said.

He also added that he had got to know the old man well as he talks about the years gone by. He remembers the 1947 riots as he talks about his parents who shifted to Malerkotla from Pakistan and then settled in Delhi. But the family was again uprooted in 1984.

Interacting with TNS, Harnek recalled the harrowing times his family had to go through during the 1947 and 1984 riots and how he lost everything after he was thrown out of his house by his adopted son in Bathinda.

He said life was smooth before riots broke out in Delhi and his shop was first ransacked and then gutted by some rioters.

"I was residing with my wife and younger brothers in Delhi and earning by selling clothes at a small shop near Palam village, not far away from the airport. We used to sell clothes at Tilak Nagar, Moti Nagar, Ramesh Nagar and Lawrance Road," he said.

He added that after the riots, he moved to Bathinda where he revived his business and managed to make the ends meet.

"Everything was going quite well before I was given Rs 2 lakhs as compensation by MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal at a function in Bathinda in January 2012. I had adopted my nephew as my son who took away the money from me and threw me out of my house at Danga Peerit Colony near Model Town Phase-1," Harnek said.

He added that the quarter allotted to him was later cancelled by PUDA (now BDA) as he failed to pay the monthly installment of few hundred rupees. His adopted son has now moved to Delhi, he added.

Harnek refused to take any help from NGO Sahara Jan Sewa to relocate him to an old age home but he accepted a quilt to brave the biting cold. He said he was now earning Rs 100 to Rs 200 per day by working at the local vegetable market. "I spend the money on food and liquor to spend the chilling nights", he said.

He added that someone on Bhagu road owes him Rs 4,000 and after recovering the money he would move to Ludhiana to seek shelter from his relatives. 

55-year-old Harnek Singh Sethi, a victim of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, says his life was smooth before the riots broke out in Delhi and his shop was first ransacked and then gutted by some rioters.

His adopted son threw him out of the house after pocketing the compensation amount of `2 lakh which the government had provided him with.

Now, Harnek spends his nights under the open sky in the front yard of a room situated at the entrance of Nehru Park, which is surrounded by the official residences of DC, SSP, DIG, IG and other senior government officials.

Bathinda, December 19
Under its Farmer Advisory Service Scheme, the PAU Regional Research Station, Bathinda, has decided to promote cultivation of high-value vegetables like sweet pepper, tomato and cucumber in winter using the low-tunnel technology system of farming.

Protected cultivation of high-value vegetable crops being practised at a village under the Farmer Advisory Service Scheme of the PAU Regional Research Station, Bathinda. A Tribune photograph

An awareness programme has also been launched by agriculture experts to make the farmers aware of the technology. Field demonstrations are being conducted for these crops at various selected villages under the rural development fund scheme.

Farm Advisory Service Scheme in-charge Jatinder Brar said the low-tunnel technology system was quite an effective technique for the production of tomato, sweet pepper, chilly, cucumber, summer squash and bottle gourd in winter. He added that by using this system of cultivation the production will be of better quality and higher in quantity.

The summer season vegetables, which cannot be grown in winter using the traditional agricultural methods, can now be grown in winter by using protected cultivation techniques like low-tunnel technology and net or poly houses.

Taking about the cost of the technique, Brar said to establish the system for one acre of land, Rs 15,000 needed to be spent on poly sheets and wire.

The material, once installed, can be used for two-three years. Using the system, progressive farmers grow vegetables on raised beds or ridges which help in saving irrigation water as well as the underground water.

Most of the underground water is saline and sodic in nature particularly in the south-west region of Punjab. This type of water has less harmful effect on crops and could be used in this system of cultivation, Brar added.

Bathinda, December 19
A 70-year-old epileptic patient from Budhlada, whose shoulders got damaged, has been successfully treated at the Bathinda Civil Hospital. Kanta Devi from Budhlada had come to orthopaedician Dr Ajay Gupta with a damaged left shoulder and a dislocated right shoulder.

Kanta Devi with Dr Ajay Gupta at the Civil Hospital in Bathinda on Wednesday. photo: BHupinder dhillon

A patient of epilepsy, Kanta Devi suffered an epilepsy attack when she was alone at home. “Due to fits, she jerked her arms so forcefully that both the shoulders got damaged. She was in acute pain,” said Dr Gupta.

Kanta Devi’s maternal grandson Vikas Garg said she was taken to different hospitals of Bathinda and Mansa but in vain. “She was in acute pain. We then came to the Civil Hospital, where she was operated upon 11 days ago,” he said.

Dr Gupta added that the left humeral head of Kanta’s shoulder had broken to pieces and had to be removed. A plate was fixed in its place. Kanta is expected to get back to her routine within a month.

Kanta is also a diabetic, which increased her chances of contracting infection and going into silent cardiac arrest. “We had to monitor her diabetes closely for the surgery to be successful,” he said.

Such fractures and shoulder dislocations are common in epileptic patients. “When such patient suffer an epileptic attack, they stretch their arms forcefully which results in injury. As Kanta Devi is an elderly lady, she suffered little injury. In case of young epileptic patients, the chances of getting serious injuries are higher as they have higher energy levels," he said.

Dr Gupta advised that epileptic patients should not be left alone as the fits can cause more damage when patient is left unattended.

Bathinda, December 19
Air Marshal Arup Raha, AVSM, VM , AOC-in-C of Western Air Command, IAF, accompanied by his wife Lily Raha, president of the Air Force Wives Welfare Association (Regional), arrived on a two-day visit to the Air Force Station in Bhisiana on Tuesday.

Air Marshal Arup Raha, AVSM, VM , AOC-in-C of Western Air Command, IAF, inspects the guard of honour at the Air Force Station in Bhisiana on Tuesday; his wife Lily Raha (below) meets children at a welfare institution . a tribune photograph

They were received by Air Cmde V Gaur VM, Air Officer Commanding and his wife Sonali Gaur, president of AFWWA(L).

During the visit, Air Marshal was briefed on all the activities being undertaken at the base and was apprised of the infrastructural facilities being created.

The Air Marshal evinced keen interest in the recently-inducted operational equipment and various facilities upgraded at the base. He also interacted with the personnel at different levels and exhorted them to maintain full operational preparedness to meet any future challenges.

Lily Raha visited various welfare institutions, Station Museum and AFWWA(L) facilities of the station.

Bathinda, December 19
A 28-year-old youth lost his life in a road accident on Barnala road. The deceased has been identified as Mohammad Tayyab who was riding a bike and was hit by a speeding vehicle.

By the time the volunteers of Naujawan Welfare Society reached the accident site, Tayyab had died.

The NGO volunteers said a truck crushed the youth under its wheels. They added that the driver of the truck could not be nabbed.

The body of the youth was taken to the Civil Hospital in Bathinda for post- mortem examination. The police was recording the statement of eyewitnesses to register a case. 

Bathinda, december 19
The owners of buses, vans and other vehicles, used for ferrying students of schools and colleges, have been directed to get vehicle fitness certificates and pay their remaining taxes.

In a press statement issued here, district transport officer (DTO) Bhupinder Singh stated that those who do not have vehicle fitness certificate were liable to face action.

He stated that owners of most of the vehicles ferrying school and college students neither have the fitness certificate nor have they paid the taxes. Those found violating the orders will face action under the Motor Vehicles Act.

He added that the heads and principals of schools and colleges will be held responsible for using vehicles without the certificate.

The vehicle owners, who have applied for high security number plates, have been asked to collect their plates within a week. People have been directed to get high number security plates installed as per the directions of the Supreme Court.

Bathinda, december 19
District magistrate Kamal Kishore Yadav has banned the use, sale and storage of China-made string used to fly kites. In his orders, Yadav stated that on the occasion of Basant Panchami a large number of people use China-made string to fly kites. This string poses danger to birds, animals and people.

Many a times, birds get caught in the string and are cut to death.

At times people walking on the roads also get injured by the string, he added.

The orders will be implemented from December 17 to January 16. — TNS

Bathinda, december 19
A team from the office of the Director General of School Education (DGSE) conducted a survey of the Edusat labs in Bathinda district. The survey was conducted from December 17 to December 19.

The teams were formed under deputy state project director Rajiv Sharma. Edusat coordinator Amardeep Singh said the system was benefitting students in remote areas.