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Kin block road as patient dies at Civil Hospital
Bheema, accomplices dealt in drugs, involved in heinous crimes: Police
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Kites to raise awareness on 108 ambulance
Ruckus by SGPC member’s son
Three cases of theft reported in last 24 hours
PSEB Engineers Assn up in arms
Entrepreneurship development programme held
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Kin block road as patient dies at Civil Hospital
Bathinda, January 13 The deceased, Baldev Singh, a resident of Guru Nanakpura, was a granthi at Gurdwara Hajirattan and died in the hospital at around 3 pm. He had been admitted to the hospital yesterday in the afternoon in a serious condition. His family members along with some other local residents blocked the Bathinda-Mansa road for around half an hour after Baldev was declared dead. However, the blockade was lifted soon after ASP City Patil Ketan Baliram arrived with a team of policemen. Patil managed to get the dharna lifted after assuring the protesters that the matter would be looked into. Later, the ASP said the police had little to do with the case as the matter was related to the medical fraternity. “A board of doctors has been formed who would submit a detailed report about the reason behind the granthi’s death,” Patil said. The doctor attending to the patient, Ramandeep Goyal, said the patient had symptoms of pneumonia and respiratory problems. He had come to her around four days ago and she had asked him to get admitted to the hospital due to his serious condition. "The patient, however, declined to get admitted as he did not have family members who could take care of him in the hospital. I gave him a prescription slip to purchase some medicines from the Jan Aushadhi Kendra where medicines could be bought at a subsidised rate. He was also given free medicines from the Civil Hospital,” Dr Ramandeep Goyal said. She said initially, the patient was ready to get admitted to the hospital when he first arrived but later retracted. “His chances of survival could have increased had he been admitted to the hospital on time,” the doctor said. She said the patient got some injections administered from some private doctor and his condition deteriorated. “He was again brought back to the hospital after his condition became serious. We tried our best to treat him but failed,” Dr Ramandeep Goyal said. Senior Medical Officer (SMO) Dr Satish Goyal said a board of doctors comprising Dr Viveshwar, Parminder Bansal and Dr Vijay Mittal has been formed which would look into the reasons behind the death of the patient. Civil Surgeon Dr Ajay Sahni said he was on leave but was aware of the incident. He said the patient was earlier advised to get himself admitted to the Civil Hospital but he failed to do so. Thereafter, his condition deteriorated and he could not be saved, Dr Sahni said. |
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Bheema, accomplices dealt in drugs, involved in heinous crimes: Police
Bathinda, January 13 Three members of the gang were arrested within 24 hours of the incident. The injured police inspector is undergoing treatment at a private hospital in the city. His condition is now stated to be out of danger. SSP Ravcharan Singh Brar said three assailants, including the kingpin Bheem Singh Bheema of Parasram Nagar, Nishant alias Bhalu and Anil Kumar of Partap Nagar, were arrested by the police while their accomplices Vipin of Partap Nagar and Shama of Mehna Chowk were at large and would be arrested soon. A case under Sections 307, 394, 341 and 34 of the IPC has been registered against the accused persons at the Canal Colony police station. The SSP said a special police team was investigating the money involved in the sale of drugs and the area from where the members brought drugs, including smack. He said the team was trying to gather more details about the drug trade that the gang was involved in. Brar said the assailants did not know that their victim was a police inspector. It was found after the arrest of the accused persons that they were members of a gang of looters involved in all kinds of heinous crimes, including robbery, snatching, theft, rape and other crimes. More than 10 different cases were registered against Bheema and his accomplices at the Kotwali and the Canal Colony police stations, he said. He pointed out that both the legs of Bheema were fractured during an attack on him by some other gang members. He recently got up from the bed and revived his criminal activities. The SSP said special investigation was being initiated to reach the depth of their illegal drug trade. "We have got some details in the case but we are still working on it," the SSP said. The police said inspector Karamjit had gone to meet some of his friends in the locality where some female orchestra dancers also reside. |
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Kites to raise awareness on 108 ambulance
Bathinda, January 13 Kites carrying a message — Kisi vi medical emergency vich dial 108 Ambulance (Dial 108 in case of any medical emergency) — were meant to be distributed among the public on the eve of Lohri. However, the package containing the kites did not arrive in Bathinda on time. The Bathinda cluster now hopes to get the package by Monday and would start distributing the kites by Tuesday. Every cluster is being provided with kites as per the population it covers. Big clusters like Ludhiana and Jalandhar have been provided with around 1000 kites each. "Kites are a good way of conveying the message to every section of society. Since the lovers of kites are from all walks of life, it was decided that it be used as a medium to convey our message," said the 108 ambulance in-charge. Earlier, Kapurthala and Amritsar cluster in-charges had distributed free kites by marking stamp of the 108 ambulance on them. Fact file
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Ruckus by SGPC member’s son
Bathinda, January 13 Prabhjot is undergoing treatment at the Civil Hospital since last evening. Today, he accused some policemen, including an IPS officer, of thrashing him at the hospital and police station. The police said Prabhjot denied giving blood samples and shouted at the top of his voice in the hospital on Wednesday as he was under the influence of liquor at that time. Earlier on Wednesday, Prabhjot along with two others did not stop the vehicle they were travelling in when they were signalled at a police naka on the Bibiwala road. Later, they entered into an altercation with the police, reportedly in an inebriated condition. A case under various sections of the IPC was registered against Prabhjot Singh and his friends Shaminder and Ramandeep who were the other two occupants of the car. Prabhjot was accused of quarrelling with and abusing the policemen. His father, an SGPC member and a lawyer, Sukhdev Bahia said the matter had already been brought into the notice of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal who assured to do the needful. Bahia has demanded a fair inquiry into the incident. SSP Ravcharan Brar said the statements of the youth had been recorded by the police at the Civil Hospital today and further action would be initiated as per the law. |
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RTI revelation
Bathinda, January 13 A query under the Right to Information (RTI) Act revealed not even a single shop has been checked or raided in the city to check the blatant use of plastic bags. Sonu Maheshwari from the Naujawan Welfare Society had sought information from the MCB on measures taken to control the usage of plastic bags. The information received under the RTI Act reveals that from September 1, 2011, to December 2012, no action was taken against the shopkeepers who used plastic bags. During this period, thousands of shops, vegetable vendors, karyana store keepers etc went unchecked. "However, action was taken against the polythene bag manufacturers. But the procedure bore no fruit," Sonu said. From September 1, 2011, to December 8, 2012, raids were conducted at the shops of 17 polythene bag dealers. During these raids, 52 kg of banned polythene was recovered from two shops and the owners of these shops were slapped with a fine of Rs 2,000 each. However, nothing incriminating was found from the other shops. Sonu claimed that to save its grace, the MCB conducted raid on 10 shops together in December 2012, after getting his RTI application. From three shops, 50 kg of polythene bags were recovered. He said the department was not committed towards implementing the ban completely. "Everyday, plastic bags choke sewers, animals get choked to death due to plastic and several open areas are getting polluted due to indiscriminate use of plastic," Maheshwari added. Taking a cue from the neighboring states, the Punjab Government had on May 1, 2011, banned the use of plastic bags below 30 microns thickness. Due to lack of monitoring and policing, plastic bags continue to be used openly and with impunity. As per the Punjab Plastic Bags (Manufacture, Usage and Disposal) Control Act, the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) is supposed to control the manufacturing of such bags. However, when these bags come to the market for circulation and distribution, the municipal commissioner is supposed to keep a check on it. Meanwhile, both the departments have been passing the buck to each other. With municipal authorities too taking a lenient view of the violation, it seems there is nothing that could deter people from openly circulating and using the plastic bags. The Ban
The Punjab Plastic Bag (Manufacture, Usage and Disposal) Control Act prohibits the manufacture, disposal and usage of polythene bags from virgin plastic of thickness not less than 30 micron and size not less than 8 X 12 inches and of a colour other than the specified colour. |
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Three cases of theft reported in last 24 hours
Bathinda, January 13 Cases in this connection have been registered at various police stations in Bathinda. While two incidents of theft were reported in areas under the Thermal police station, one incident was reported at the Civil Lines police station. In a complaint to the police, Baljinder Singh, a resident of Kothe Amarpura on Joganand Road, said his tractor, worth nearly Rs 2 lakhs, was stolen on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday. He said the tractor, bearing the registration number PB-11R-6173, was parked opposite his residence in a covered plot. A case under sections 457 and 380 of the IPC has been registered in this regard at the Thermal police station. Another case was registered at the Thermal police station under similar sections of the IPC on the complaint of Santosh Rani of GGS Nagar, Bathinda. She complained that four LPG cylinders belonging to HP, an inverter including its battery, colour television, clothes, Rs 4,000 in cash and a bicycle were stolen from her house. The total cost of the stolen material is estimated to be nearly Rs 22,000. In another incident of theft reported at Civil Lines police station, Iqbal Singh of Baba Farid Nagar complained that his bike, which he claimed was worth nearly Rs 30,000, was stolen from the district court complex. A case under section 379 of the IPC has been registered in this connection. In the incidents of assault and loot, an employee of the Punjab Police, Sultan Singh, a resident of Bhagu Road, said Ranbir Rai alias Kaka and five to six unidentified youths entered his house, beat him up and tried to loot the costly material lying there. The cop said the incident took place on the evening of January 11. Police have arrested the accused and a case under sections 458, 324, 395, 148 and 149 of the IPC has been registered in this connection at the Civil Lines police station. In another incident of loot, Parkash Singh, a resident of Bandi village, said Chamkaur Singh, along with some unidentified persons, chased him in a Mahindra Scorpio car and took away a mobile phone and Rs 20,000 in cash from him. A case under sections 382, 341, 427, 323 and 149 of the IPC has been registered against the accused at the Sangat police station. In the case of assault, police have registered a case against three persons for beating up a resident of Haryana, damaging a bus and threatening him with dire consequences. Police have booked Bheem Singh, Amritpal and Balour Singh of Malkana village and some unidentified persons under sections 323, 341, 427, 506, 148 and 149 of the IPC at the Rama police station. In another incident of assault, police have booked six persons for beating up a resident of Rama Mandi. In a complaint to the police, Subhash Kumar alleged that Mohan Lal, Mandeep Singh, Rajat Singla, Gurpreet Singh, Bikkar Singh and Sandeep Kumar had beaten him over an old dispute. A case under sections 341, 323, 148, 149 and 506 of the IPC has been registered at the Rama police station. A woman from Kothe Maha Singhwale, Mehraj, lost her life after she was hit by an unidentified Mahindra Bolero jeep while she was walking on the road along with her husband. In a complaint to the police, her husband Chamkaur Singh said the accident took place near the village gurudwara. A case under sections 304-A and 279 of the IPC has been registered against unidentified persons at the Rampura city police station. |
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PSEB Engineers Assn up in arms
Bathinda, January 13 The engineers said the decision undermines the autonomy of the power companies, which is against the concept of creating corporate entities, granting it full freedom to run its affairs to provide efficient service to the consumers. To represent the state government's point of view, two government nominees, including the secretary, power, and the secretary, finance, have been inducted in the board of directors of both the companies. Therefore, sending any issue to the state government for taking a decision is just a ploy of the management to stall the implementation of the proposals for improving the consumer service, the Association said. The PSEB Engineers' Association also criticised the alleged lopsided policy of the PSPCL management in not creating adequate infrastructure for strengthening the transmission and distribution (T&D) system to ensure quality supply and service to the consumers. "5000 MW of generation is likely to be added in the state in the next couple of years and matching sub-transmission, transmission and distribution and other infrastructure is required to be created on war footing, for evacuating the additional generation. The additional power will not reach the general public in case adequate transmission and distribution system is not created immediately," said engineer Baldev Singh Sra. Sanjeev Sood, also an engineer, added that the already existing T&D system is excessively overloaded and obsolete, which needs immediate augmentation and upgrade. But due to inadequate organizational structure, the work is being delayed. The quality of supervision of transmission works is suffering because of excess workload on the engineers and huge span control. This shall seriously affect the quality and reliability of supply to the consumers of the state, the Association said. They alleged that the maintenance and upkeep of existing grid substations has also been ignored. The SDOs are manning 30-35 grid substations against the norm of 6-7 grids, which leads to poor supervision and maintenance of the grid substations. As the new grids are being added each year, their maintenance assumes utmost importance for providing quality supply to consumers. The Association alleged that the management, by delaying the creation of an IT organisation has on the one hand, affected IT implementation, which is essentially required to provide online services to the consumers like release of new connections and extension in load, billing, change of defective meters and on the other, affected the availability of meters causing loss of revenue and harassment to the consumers. The PSEB Engineers' Association said there had been virtually no progress in the execution of 1320 MW Mukerian Thermal Power Project under the state sector, which is essential to maintain a healthy mix of own generation for optimising the cost of power in the state. Even the tried and proven functional re-organisation models are not being implemented across the state to reduce losses, handle the shortage of staff and improve the consumer service in the distribution sector. They said these measures have already been discussed with Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal during a meeting held on October 5, 2012 wherein the Chief Minister had instructed the management to implement these measures at the earliest during the lean period before the onset of summer and the beginning of paddy sowing period. However, the PSPCL management has failed to implement these even after rigorous persuasion by the Association and the delay is bound to affect the quality of power to consumers in the days ahead, the Association maintained. What the association says...
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Methadone treatment changing lives of addicts
Bathinda, January 13 Thirty-six-year-old Iqvinder Singh Gill is the first patient enrolled for methadone maintenance treatment. While describing the treatment that transformed his life, Gill said, "I took intravenous drugs for about 15 years. I lost my job, respect and family. My life was as good as hell. But last year, my life took a new turn and Dr Nidhi Gupta introduced me to MMT." "Methadone is the best treatment for intravenous drug users and is hundred per cent effective. Drugs ruined my life, but MMT has given me a new birth," said 29-year-old Vipin Bajaj. He has been taking methadone for the last six months. The transporters are the worst hit by drug addiction. Ranjit Singh, a transporter who is taking the medication for the last six months, said he left transport to stay away from drugs. "With methadone, my life has come back on track. Now, I lead a respectful and smooth life," he said. Dr Nidhi Gupta, psychiatrist and in-charge of MMT in Bathinda said, "Since it is a pilot project, it is open for a very limited number of patients. It is possible that in the coming year, more number of drug users will be enrolled for MMT." Discarding the myth that methadone is another kind of addiction, Dr Nidhi Gupta said, "It is an opiate substitute but it does not mean that one will get addicted to it. It is a harm reduction strategy and improves the quality of life." MMT programme is a pilot project undertaken by the UNODC, in partnership with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi. There are only five MMT centres in India, of which two are in Punjab at Kapurthala and Bathinda. Under the MMT, intravenous drug users have to visit the hospital once a day for their liquid dose. Most patients come in the morning, take their dosage of drug and go back to their normal
life. Fact file
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Entrepreneurship development programme held
Bathinda, January 13 The objective of the programme was to develop entrepreneurial culture at the Baba Farid Group of Institutions (BFGI). Various resource persons addressed the faculty members during the
programme. While Prince Gandhi discussed the types of enterprise and entrepreneurship qualities, Vijay Arora, AGM, NITCON, shared his knowledge about the need for entrepreneurship. He informed the members about the scope of entrepreneurship. Dr Vij delivered a lecture on communication skills, RK Gupta spoke on banking schemes for self- employment and Dr Manish Bansal, deputy director (academics), BFGI, spoke on marketing research. Chariman, Baba Farid Group of Institutions, Gurmeet Singh Dhaliwal, was the chief guest at the valedictory function. Dhaliwal awarded certificates to the participants and honoured the resource persons. The BFGI chairman said that the programme had been designed for the faculty to enhance their knowledge about the entrepreneurship qualities. |
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Lohri dedicated to girl child’s cause
Bathinda, January 13 The chief guest on the occasion was the managing director of Bahia Fort, Amardeep Singh Bahia. Bhangra was presented while the Ekta Club presented songs and short plays. The organizations working towards women empowerment were honoured on the occasion. Students from various schools including Reeta Public School, Dashmesh Public School, Guru Nanak Public School and Different Convent School presented cultural programmes at the Lohri function. The festival had been observed at many places in the city a day earlier also, on Saturday. |
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