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Govt hospitals to spend less on drugs this fiscal
3 killed, 15 hurt in road mishaps
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DGSE directive to leave govt schools busy for entire month
Pvt company employee gets Rs 3.25 lakh as compensation for losing limb on job
18-yr-old girl shot dead in accidental fire
PTU campus to undergo revamp
Allegations levelled against DEO: Headmaster suspended
Polio drive for migratory population concludes
NRI booked for cheating woman
Protesters block
railway track, want villages near GGS refinery relocated
Felicitation ceremony for players at St. Xavier’s
Liquor vends to remain shut on April 16
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Govt hospitals to spend less on drugs this fiscal
Bathinda, April 9 In a letter issued to all the civil surgeons, the managing director, Punjab Health System Corporation (PHSC), Hussan Lal, stated that since the government was providing hospitals with medicines and other consumables since January 1 this year, the requirement to buy medicines locally had lessened. In addition, the PHSC had allowed diverting five per cent funds from other sources to meet the expenditure on drugs. The health department's move has drawn mixed reactions from doctors. "It is true that the government is supplying drugs, but the lab expenses eat away the major portion of the allocated funds. From this month onwards, 25 per cent of the collected user charges will be used for the purpose of buying drugs. We can ascertain the advantage or disadvantage of the facility only at the end of the month," said officials at the local Civil Hospital. While the government has revised the user charges, the move to slash down the drug expenses allocation has not gone down well with medicos. The number of patients visiting the OPD at the local Civil Hospital in a month is around 16,000 to 17,000, including old and new patients. The hospital collects around Rs 8 lakh as user charges from the patients. The government reasons that from now onwards, hospitals can spend more to improve their other essential services like sanitation, security, bio-medical waste management and repair of equipment, building and other facilities as the drug needs have been taken care of. The president of the PCMS Association, Dr Hardeep Singh, said "The hospitals are indeed receiving adequate supply of drugs and have reduced the expenses incurred on buying medicines from the user charges. But the government should ensure that a system is in place to maintain the quantum of medicines received. How would the hospitals cope up if the supply of drugs goes off track for even a single month?" However, doctors are sceptical about the supply of drugs from headquarters running smoothly. "So far, we have got just one time supply of medicines, which is in abundance. Having funds available locally helps in buying medicines as per requirements. For instance, a women and children hospital needs different kinds of drugs than a civil hospital," reasoned one of the doctors. He added that the PHSC should seek requisitions for specific drugs from each hospital and supply the stock accordingly. "There is nothing like it if we are supplied drugs regularly as per our needs. Then, we can very well adjust in the allocated budget of 25 per cent," added another doctor. |
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3 killed, 15 hurt in road mishaps
Bathinda, April 9 Volunteers of the Malwa Sahara Club, an NGO, rushed the injured to a hospital. Jagsir Singh (20), who was driving the tractor, Pooja Sharma and Gurmeet Kaur, both residents of Rampura, Sukhjinder Kaur, Karanveer Kaur and an unidentified woman sustained injuries in the accident. While others were relieved from the hospital after getting first aid, the condition of the tractor driver is said to be unstable. In another mishap, one Renu, a mother of a 13-years-old and the wife of Surinder Kumar, a resident of Namdev Nagar, was riding pillion on a bike when it was hit by a speeding oil tanker near the Police Lines on Monday morning. The mishap proved fatal for her. The child and the man too received injuries in the accident. In a separate accident, Sonu (15), a resident of Mati Das Nagar, got crushed under a speeding truck near the Bathinda-Mansa underbridge on Monday morning. In yet another incident, an unidentified vehicle rammed into a teenager, Balkaur Singh of Bhucho Mandi, who was riding a bike and going towards the Mandi. He was rushed to a hospital where doctors declared him dead. Volunteers of Sahara Jan Sewa, an NGO, said they picked up seven injured persons following road accidents from different places of the city today. President of the NGO Vijay Goyal said two persons on a motorbike collided with a road divider on the Mall road and received serious injuries. They were identified as Pappu and Prem Kumar, both residents of Faridkot. A couple, SP Bansal and Veena Devi of Saraba Nagar, was riding on a scooter when a car hit them on the Mall road. Volunteers of the NGO shifted them to the Civil Hospital. Two persons were injured when a truck hit a motorcycle on the Barnala road. The injured were hospitalised and identified as Gurnaib Singh and Jasvir Singh of the Bibiwala road. A cyclist, Ramesh Dutt, was hit by a motorcycle on the Mall road and sustained injuries. He was admitted to the emergency ward of the Civil Hospital. |
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DGSE directive to leave govt schools busy for entire month
Bathinda, April 9 As part of this month's guidance calendar, all the schools were directed to form guidance committees and clubs. From April 1-4, teachers of various subjects were directed to help the students of classes 10 and 12 to choose subjects according to their interests. On April 9, the teachers were to deliver talks on cleanliness and health. While inter-house speech and cultural activity competitions are to be organised in schools on April 11, science teachers will explain career options for science students on April 12. On April 19, mathematics teachers have to make the students aware about career options related to the subject. Teachers of science and geography have been directed to apprise the students of careers related to the two subjects on April 22, which is celebrated as the World Earth Day. A district-level career counselling conference is scheduled for April 25. Apart from the guidance calendar, a number of extra-curricular activities are also lined up. April 8 was marked for conducting role-play activities at school level. While the cluster-level role play activity will be held on April 11, the district-level activity will be held on April 18. On April 12, English handwriting competitions are to be conducted at the school level. The competition will be held at the cluster level on April 16. The date for the district-level competition is yet to be announced. The date for conducting baseline evaluation test in schools will also be announced soon. Every Wednesday is marked for distributing medicines under the Weekly Iron and Folic Supplementation (WIFS) programme. "We have been handed over a 'chock-a-block' calendar. In April, teachers and school heads are busy with admissions and don't care to take out time or instruct the staff to conduct so many activities," said a government school teacher requesting anonymity. |
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Pvt company employee gets Rs 3.25 lakh as compensation for losing limb on job
Bathinda, April 9 The decision in the case was pronounced by the open court of the Employees' Compensation Commissioner, Gulshan Kumar. Though the decision was pronounced in August last year, the complainant got the orders executed after filing the case for execution and got the payment last month. It is learnt that Hargobind Singh Gaggi of Gehri Buttar village had filed a complaint against the Malwa Power Private Limted, Gulabewala in Muktsar district, and Shiv Kumar, a contractor of the company. Gaggi said his right hand got injured while working on a machine in a village near Sangat Mandi. The hand had to be amputated from the wrist as it had got badly crushed in the machine. The incident occurred when he was cutting cotton sticks on the machine. The complainant was 20 years old then and was drawing Rs 4,500 per month. He sought a compensation of Rs 8 lakh from the company. He had stated that since the accident occurred while he was on the job, the company should pay him compensation. In its reply, the company officials stated that they never employed Gaggi and he worked under the supervision of the contractor engaged by the company. They added that the work at Gurthari village was carried out by the contractor, who had further hired people for various tasks. In a separate statement, the contractor stated that the accident occurred due to the negligence of the complainant as he was under the influence of drugs. The employee was declared 60 per cent disabled by the doctors who said he got permanently disabled due to the accident. The complainant's counsel, Sukhdarshan Sharma, said the person who had appeared on behalf of the company owner earlier claimed that Shiv Kumar was the contractor but in the affidavit, it was stated that Shiv Kumar was just an employee of M/s Rakesh Kumar and Associates. Sukhdarshan said the opposite party failed to substantiate the fact that the employee was under the influence of liquor when the incident took place. Fact file
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18-yr-old girl shot dead in accidental fire
Bathinda, April 9 The body was handed over to the girl's family after the post-mortem. As per the information, ASM Varinder Kumar was trying to clean his .32 bore pistol at around 9 am at his official accommodation provided by the railways. The bullet hit the girl, who was standing in a nearby room, in the head. She was rushed to the Civil Hospital where she was declared dead. Reetati was a student of class XII at the local Bharatiya Model School. She had participated in a national- level badminton tournament. The girl was getting ready for school as she was to be honoured for her achievement in sports. Gurlal Singh, a constable from the railway police post, Rampura, said SHO Kuljeet Singh came from Bathinda to look into the matter. "Initial investigations revealed that it was a case of accidental firing. If something else comes out during the investigations, then further action would be initiated," Gurlal said. Family members said the ASM has three children — two sons and a daughter. One son is pursuing an engineering course in Deon village in Bathinda while the other is studying in Delhi.
— TNS Fact file
The girl’s father was trying to clean his .32 bore pistol when the bullet hit the girl, who was standing in a nearby room, in the head. She was rushed to the Civil Hospital where she was declared dead. |
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PTU campus to undergo revamp
Bathinda, April 9 The most ambitious of these projects is the construction of a research and development (R&D) centre. The vice-chancellor of the Punjab Technical University (PTU) has already announced a grant of Rs 10 crore for the centre which will house hi-tech equipment for instrumentation. "This will help the students pursuing higher studies conduct X-ray refraction, soil testing, etc. We will soon prepare a list of the important equipment that are required in the campus and finalise a rough estimate of the cost," said campus director Dr Jasbir Singh Hundal. To ensure accommodation for outstation students of PTUGZS, two hostels for boys and girls are being constructed. The girls' hostel, the estimated cost of which is Rs 5.03 crore, will have 160 seats. The hostel is expected to be completed within the next five-six months. A slightly bigger project, the boys' hostel will be equipped to house 500 students. The project is expected to cost Rs 5 Rs 15 crore. "The plan for the same has been cleared by the building watch committee and the finance committee of the Punjab Technical University. The plan is to be sent for the approval of the board of directors (BOG)," said campus director Dr Jasbir Singh Hundal. The quarters for class IV employees which have been lying vacant for some time now are also to be turned into PG rooms to house students pursuing post-graduate programmes at the PTUGZS Campus. "In addition, the renovation of as many as 35 quarters and construction of a mess and a common room will cost us nearly Rs 70 lakh. The Public Works Department (Buildings & Roads) has already floated the tenders for the same. We are expecting that this project will also be completed within five-six months," said registrar, Prof GS Bath. The building watch and finance committees have also cleared the plan for a student centre. The student centre will have an open air theatre, a canteen and the offices of all the extra-curricular departments. Rs 11 lakh is also to be spent on constructing a porch outside the principal's office. Also in the pipeline is the construction of an auditorium and an administrative block. "We had sent the plan for the two structures to the building watch committee. We have been asked to make a few changes to the plan and send it again," said Prof Bath. While the maps for the buildings are being prepared by the architecture department, other allied procedures are being undertaken by the civil engineering department of the campus. Fact file
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Allegations levelled against DEO: Headmaster suspended
Bathinda, April 9 Singh went around the city on Monday accusing the DEO of “calling him to her office without any purpose and wasting his time.” He also alleged that the DEO asked him for material and other favours. Evidently infuriated by the incident, the DEO told Bathinda Tribune that the man did all this to settle scores with her after she refused to sign the experience letter of his wife. “He is known for producing fake certificates and when he asked me to sign his wife’s experience letter, I told him that I will check the records before doing so. He also carries a fake document certifying that he is hearing impaired.” “He used foul language and told me that he will not let me enter his school. He also said that he wasn’t scared of anyone in the system. He misbehaved with me in front of everyone. I immediately sent a complaint to the office of the Director General of School Education and the Superintendent of Police,” she added. The DEO also pointed that his claim that she had been calling him to her office for the past five-six months are destined to fall flat as she took the charge of DEO only a month back. “He has been suspended and his headquarters have been changed to Ferozepur. The inquiry into the case will take a day or two after which further action will be taken against him,” she said. ROW OVER school head’s REMARKS He is known for producing fake certificates and when he asked me to sign his wife’s experience letter, I told him that I will check the records before doing so. He also carries a fake document certifying that he is hearing impaired. He has been suspended and his headquarters have been changed to Ferozepur. The inquiry into the case will take a day or two after which further action will be taken against him. He used foul language and told me that he will not let me enter his school. He also said that he wasn’t scared of anyone in the system. I immediately sent a complaint to the office of the Director General of School Education and the Superintendent of Police — AMARJIT KAUR KOTFATTA, DISTRICT EDUCATION OFFICER
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Polio drive for migratory population concludes
Bathinda, April 9 Starting from Sunday, the health department focused on covering 17,611 children. At the end of the three-day drive, the department has administered polio vaccine to 20,512 children. On the first day, 9,548 (54 per cent) children were covered. On the second day, 7,095 (94.5 per cent) were covered and by third day, 20,512 children were covered. District Immunization Officer Dr Rakesh Goel said the earlier round for migratory population was held in November. All the children living in high risk areas, as specified by the World Health Organization (WHO), have been immunized. As many as 284 teams were formed to cover the children including one transit team that was stationed at Bathinda railway station. Fact file
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NRI booked for cheating woman
Bathinda, April 9 At the time of marriage, the boy's family members had stated that he had permanent residency of Canada. A month after the marriage, however, it was found that the boy did not have the permanent residency and a dispute arose. The boy's family members demanded Rs 20 lakhs to get permanent residency. They also showed the door to the girl who was living with her in-laws in Rode village of Moga district. The girl's family members brought the matter to the notice of the police and an investigation was initiated by a DSP rank officer. A case under sections 498-A, 406, 420 and 120-B of the IPC has been registered against the Navdeep Singh, his father
Jaspal, mother Lakhwinder and sister Navjot Kaur, all residents of Rode village in
Moga. No arrests have been made by the police so far. In another incident, police has registered a case against a resident of Sevewala village for demanding dowry from his wife. The complainant said she was married to Jaswinder Singh who had been harassing her for more dowry. Police has registered a case under section 498 of the IPC at the woman police station. |
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Protesters block
railway track, want villages near GGS refinery relocated
Bathinda, April 9 They blocked the tracks entering the refinery at 10 am and continued their dharna till late at night. Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Talwandi Sabo, SS Bal tried to pacify the villagers. Tehsildar Avtar Makkar, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Jagdish Bishnoi, Rama Station House Officer (SHO) Shikandar and others also met the villagers. SHO Shikandar said the protesters were adamant on their stand and were demanding that they will not lift their dharna till
the government assures that their villages would be shifted. It may be mentioned that the refinery is among the first big industry to be set up in the region with immense economic potential for the state. |
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Felicitation ceremony for players at St. Xavier’s
Bathinda, April 9 Heads of all the schools in the district have been directed to be present at the felicitation ceremony. The physical education teachers of schools have also been asked to be present at the ceremony. The schools have also been directed to compile details of all the students who bagged the first, second and third positions at national-level sporting events and send the details to the office of the
District Education Officer by April 10. |
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Gram Rozgar Sewaks hold dharna
Bathinda, April 9 Working in the district for the past four-and-a-half years, 90 sewaks were asked to leave after March 31 citing non-availability of funds to pay their remuneration. The agitating sewaks held an agitation outside the office of the Zila Parishad. State president of the Gram Rozgar Sewaks Union Varinder Singh said members of the union could go to any extent to ensure that their colleagues got their jobs back. |
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Liquor vends to remain shut on April 16
Bathinda, April 9 In his order, the District Magistrate said all vends located within the limits of the village will remain closed. No one would be allowed to sell or store liquor as well. It may be mentioned that a huge fair is held every year at Maiserkhana, near Bathinda, where devotees throng in large numbers
to pay obeisance at the famous temple located there. |
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