Bathinda, April 8
The staff of the Municipal Corporation Bathinda (MCB) held a dharna at the corporation complex and raised slogans against Municipal Commissioner Uma Shankar Gupta here today.

The issue of availing of leave by a junior engineer of the MCB sparked off a controversy and protest that subsided in the afternoon after Mayor Baljit Singh Birbehman held a round of talks with the agitating employees and Commissioner Gupta.

Junior engineer Jagan Nath, deputed in the civil engineering wing, said he had availed leave on March 25. “On March 24, I telephonically sought a leave from the assistant commissioner and later informed about it to my immediate senior, SDO Sandeep Gupta. I sent a written application, through my colleague, to the office,” he claimed.

Jagan Nath said despite having informed the officials concerned, Commissioner Uma Shankar Gupta directed the accounts department to deduct one day’s salary (that of March 25) from Jagan Nath’s account as he was absent from duty without prior information. Jagan Nath objected to this and said under the Municipal Services Rule, his appointing authority was the director, local bodies, Punjab. “The Commissioner had no authority to deduct my salary,” he claimed.

Irate over the deduction, Jagan Nath got in touch with members of the local unions. They thronged the office of the MCB at Mal Godam Road today and raised slogans against the Commissioner at 1 pm. The members of Municipal Workers’ Union, Safai Sewak Union and Council of Diploma Engineers Association raised slogans against the Commissioner. They demanded refund of the deducted salary as well as an apology from the Commissioner.

Commissioner Uma Shankar Gupta objected to the congregation and asked the municipal workers not to shun work during the office hours. Gupta said he had not approved any leave of Jagan Nath till date. “I had served a show-cause notice seeking explanation from him for remaining absent from duty without prior information. Disciplinary action was to be taken against him after getting the reply. However, instead of tendering a reply, which we are yet to receive, he went and called in the members of various unions to raise slogans,” said Gupta.

Late in the afternoon, Mayor Baljit Singh Birbehman arranged a meeting between the two and settled the matter.

The Mayor said that instead of roping in the unions to stage protest, Jagan Nath should have directly approached him. “Had he not been satisfied after meeting me, he could have involved the unions in the matter. As of now, the matter has been sorted out,” he said.

Bathinda, April 8
Applicants for 226 plots in the phase 4 and phase 5 of the Bathinda Development Authority (BDA) have demanded a CBI inquiry into the sale of application forms and accused the BDA of collecting money worth Rs 253.74 crore from people.

In a representation sent to the Prime Minister, the convener of the Sangharsh Committee, BDA Enclave phase 4 and 5, Surinderpal Singh Brar and co-convener Sukhchain Brar, demanded that the entire issue beginning from inviting applications to not holding draws properly due to a court case should be investigated.

“Responding to a query under the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the BDA has accepted that 10,908 persons had applied for the plots. The BDA had collected Rs 253.74 crore from the applicants as earnest money. However, it did not have the possession of the plots,” Surinderpal Singh Brar said.

Though the scheme was floated on October 21 2011, the BDA has not given possession of the plots till date.

“We have collected information under the RTI Act and it states that the money collected from the applicants has been deposited in various banks at the interest rates of 9.77 per cent and 9.95 per cent. In a way, the BDA is earning interest on the hard-earned money of the applicants,” members of the Sangharsh Committee said.

Sukhchain Brar said the BDA had earned Rs 57.26 lakh from the sale of brochures only. When the applicants demanded refund of the earnest money, they were given principal amount only.

“When the BDA has earned interest on the collected money, why is it not passing the same to the applicants who have received their earnest money?” they asked.

Meanwhile, BDA chief administrator APS Virk said after taking due permission from the court, the department had conducted draws for the plots.

“Since a large number of people had applied for it, we sought permission from the court to hold a draw for the convenience of the applicants. The possession of the plots will be given only after the Punjab and Haryana High Court clears the subjudice matter,” he said.

Bathinda, April 8
The family of a victim, who died in a road accident, has sought compensation to the tune of Rs 43 lakh. Two months ago, the accident between a Tata Sumo and a Maruti had taken place on Rori Road near Talwandi Sabo.

The family has moved an application under Section 140 of the Motor Vehicle Act at the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Bathinda.

Jaspal Kaur, the 35-year-old widow of Chhaiber Singh (43), stated that her husband and five relatives, including two women, a man and a ten-year-old child, all from Gobindpura village, were returning to the village from a marriage in a Maruti car on February 3. Chhaiber Singh was driving the vehicle, which was hit by a speeding Tata Sumo driven by Manpreet Singh, a resident of Tibbi Hari Singh village in Mansa district.

Chhaiber died on the spot, his brother Angrez Singh lost his memory in the accident and a child, Sukhpreet Kaur, too received serious injuries. Both Angrez and Sukhpreet are still under treatment at a private hospital in Bathinda.

The complainant alleged that the Tata Sumo was driven rashly. A case under the IPC was registered against the driver at the Talwandi Sabo police station.

The woman pleaded that her husband was in good health and physique and he was earning Rs 2.4 lakh per year, including salary from a private company and a self-owned dairy farm. The compensation demanded include Rs 34 lakh as loss of earnings by her husband, Rs 8 lakh by way of loss of care and the Rs 1 lakh spent on cremation and bhog ceremonies.

Chhaiber Singh is survived by his wife and three minor children, including two sons aged 16 and 15 years and a 13-year-old daughter.

The woman said her husband was the only breadwinner of the family and she was now left with no other source of income to meet the everyday expenses of the family.

The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal has summoned the respondent and the next hearing has been fixed for May 30.

Bathinda, April 8
Suspense, suspects, police action and a rally — the mass protest organised in the city today by teacher unions from across the state had all the makings of a potboiler movie.

Like the day when the farmers had announced to stage a protest in Bathinda, today also the city was turned into a fortress to avoid conglomeration of teachers from other districts in Bathinda to participate in the protest.

(Left) Members of various farmer and teacher unions take out a protest march against the state government’s policies in Bathinda on Monday; members of the unemployed linemen union and their family members sit on dharna at the children’s park in support of their demands. Tribune photos: Pawan Sharma

Bathinda, April 8
Family members of a 15-year-old boy, who was allegedly murdered in December last year, today launched a protest against the Government Railway Police (GRP) for not registering a murder case and instead initiating inquest proceedings under Section 174 of the CrPc.

The family members accompanied by some residents of the area and railway employees took out a protest march from Gopal Nagar to the District Administrative Complex. They demanded registration of a murder case and arrest of the accused.

Mohan Lal, father of the deceased, has written a complaint to the Prime Minister, Railway Minister, IGP Railways and Bathinda SSP. He said he was running a tea stall at the railway station. His son Sanju, a student of Class VIII, was found murdered near the railway tracks in December.

The complainant said Sanju accompanied him to the railway station on the fateful evening. Sanju took permission for 15 to 20 minutes to visit a nearby place. When Sanju did not return, he called him up on his cell phone. Sanju replied that he was injured and was lying near the railway over bridge adjoining the washing lines of the railway station.

The family members rushed to rescue Sanju, who was shifted to the Civil Hospital. He was referred to Max Hospital from where he was further referred to Ludhiana but he died on his way to Ludhiana.

Railway police station in-charge Kuljeet Singh said there was not an iota of truth in the allegations of the family members as their child died after being hit by a speeding train. “It was an accidental death as nobody spotted anyone hitting the child at the busy place where he was found lying injured. The family is making a hue and cry over the child’s death for monetary gains only,” the incharge said.

He claimed that no such clue was found in the post-mortem report which suggests them to register a murder case under Section 302 of the IPC.

Bathinda, April 8
A group of students protested outside the Baba Farid Group of Institutions (BFGI) here today. They were demanding that the 13 students who were suspended for indiscipline should be reinstated.

Speaking to Bathinda Tribune, managing director of BFGI, Gurmeet Singh Dhaliwal, said, "A couple of students had clashed following which 13 students were suspended on February 28. Since the parents of some of the suspended students did not join the inquiry, it got delayed and the action to be taken against the students is yet to be decided."

"Meanwhile, the examinations started and we allowed two students to sit for the examination but changed their centres. We are planning to rusticate two-three students who have been caught creating trouble often and will change the centres of the others so that their career is not ruined and peace is maintained on the BFGI campus," he added.

Dhaliwal also said that after the students created a ruckus outside the campus and blocked the traffic, they were called in to arrive at an amicable solution after discussions with the management. "We have asked them and their parents to come and meet us so that we can chalk out our plan of action," he further added.

The students, however, argued that the suspended students had been sitting at home for more than a month now and the management had not taken any decision.

"The management uses pressure tactics on us. The students were suspended more than a month back and the college is yet to take action. Now we hear that it is planning to rusticate some of them. This is not justified," said one of the students present at the protest site.

Another student said, "We had been contacting the college management but did not get any reply. We were left with no other option to attract the attention of the management. They forced us to stage a protest today."

The students, however, hoped that an amicable settlement to the row would be reached at by the BFGI in the coming days. 

Bathinda, April 8
Dr Raj Kumar Goyal, former head of the department of public administration, Government Mohindra College, Patiala, joined as the registrar of Guru Kashi University, Talwandi Sabo.

Dr Goyal has an experience of 28 years as an academician. A doctorate in public administration on the subject 'Jail Administration in Punjab', he served earlier at the Government Sports College, Jalandhar and at Government Mohindra College, Patiala.

Role play activity in school

As directed by the District Education Officer (Secondary), a role play activity was organised on the occasion of World Health Day under the supervision of principal Varinder Pal Kaur in Government Secondary School, Maisarkhana.

Four schools of Maiserkhana cluster, Rai Khana, Chanarthal, Gehri Bara Singh and Maiserkhana participated in the activity. Science mistress, Simerjeet Kaur, said in addition to studies, cultural and other co-curricular activities are necessary for the development of students.

Students of Maiserkhana won the first position for their performance on the topic of de-addiction. The students of Rai Khana were adjudged second.

The principal said block-level role play activity will be held on April 11 in six blocks of the district, at Bathinda, Talwandi Sabo, Sangat Mandi, Nathana, Bhai Rupa and Mandi Kalan. She added that the district-level competition will be held on April 18 at Teachers' Home in the city.

Workshop held at SSDWIT

A three-day workshop on 'Mobile applications on Android' was organised by SSDWIT, Bathinda. As many as 170 students of Master in Computer Applications, M.Sc.(information technology) and Bachelor in Computer Applications (Part III) participated in the workshop. During the workshop, the students were taught about designing apps. They also gained knowledge about the latest technologies.

Admission at IHM

The Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition today hosted a press conference here. The first batch of students will pass out this year after the completion of their course in the month of May.

Kamal Piyush, principal of the institute, said most students of the passing out batch have already been selected by hotels. Talking about admissions, he said the last date for submission of forms is April 15. He added that admission is conducted through the joint entrance examination (JEE 2013). For the successful candidates, counselling will be held online in June. The dates for the same will be announced by the National Council for Hotel Management, he added.

Bathinda, April 8
The patients visiting the out-patient department (OPD) of the community health centres in the district were made aware of the importance of tackling high blood pressure, the theme of the World Health Day this year.

As the World Health Day this year fell on a Sunday, it was observed on Monday at various government hospitals in the district.

As part of the exercise, people were advised to control salt intake, drink plenty of fluids, eat healthy and exercise daily. Young men and elderly women form the risk group and need to be more alert, said the doctors.

However, no major function was held on the occasion as many of the staff members had gone to Chandigarh to attend a training session on propagating awareness on World Health Day. 

Bathinda, April 8
Ayurveda Medical Officer Dr Sanjiv Pathak was conferred the Ayurved Rattan Award at the Akhil Bhartiya Maha Ayurveda Sammelan held at Chandigarh today.

Dr Pathak was among the seven ayurvedic doctors conferred the award at a ceremony held at Chandigarh. Working in the government sector for the last 13 years, Dr Pathak was awarded for his work in ayurveda.

The chief guest on the occasion, principal secretary, health, Government of Punjab, Vinni Mahajan conferred the award.

President of the Chandigarh Ayurveda Council and a member of the Central Council of Indian Medicine, Vaidya Jagjit Singh said the award has been set up to encourage the ayurveda graduates in Punjab. The award will be an annual feature and will be conferred on Dhanvantri Day, which the association is yet to finalise.

Workshop held

Punjab Technical University, Giani Zail Singh Campus, Bathinda, organised a two-day image processing workshop, ‘Matlab’ in association with Techkriti 13- IIT Kanpur and i3 Indya Technologies, Noida, under the guidance of faculty coordinator Neeraj Gill, SPSJohal, Jyoti Rani, and Sukhjinder Singh.

The workshop was inaugurated by Prof Charanjit Singh, head of the department of mechanical engineering.

Bathinda, April 8
Police has registered a case against Sukhdev Singh of Kotha Guru Dyalpura for pocketing Rs 1 lakh from a widow by claiming to be the personal assistant (PA) to the Punjab Education Minister Sikandar Singh Maluka.

The accused claimed he would use his contacts to settle a land dispute in favour of the woman at the SDM office, Bathinda. In her complaint to the police, Balveer Kaur of Bajoana village, said the village Patwari became the mediator for handing over the money to the fraudster.