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Sirhind Canal closure brings water woes for city residents
Odds apart, show has to go on, feels circus owner
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14-yr-old girl ends life in Beant Nagar
City lad wins laurels at GK Olympiad
Per acre yield of wheat down by 5-20 pc: Farmers
Singing sensation adds another feather to his cap
Road race leaves students injured
Sewage treatment plant ready
NRHM union flays police
lathi-charge
URMU ready for union poll
11 arrested with drugs by police
Cycle rally for traffic awareness
Lone AIR station in Malwa region turns 22 years old
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Sirhind Canal closure brings water woes for city residents
Bathinda, April 20 Those residing in higher areas, which face water shortage during normal days as well, are the worst hit. Areas like Patel Nagar, Pujjan Wala Mohalla, Guru Nanak Pura area, old Thana area, Teliyan Wala Mohalla and others are facing acute water shortage. Though many in the city are yet to start judicious use of water, the Housefed Residents' Welfare Association has taken the lead by distributing pamphlets exhorting people to make judicious use of water in the wake of closing down of the Sirhind canal. An area resident, Manminder Singh, said that residents of other colonies should also initiate steps to conserve water. “If everybody makes an effort in this direction, all can have access to clean drinking water in summers,” he added. In areas such as Aggarwal Colony, Namdev Nagar, Ganesh Basti and others, people are resorting to electric motors to pump out ground water in order to meet with their daily water needs. 'Tullu' pumps are also being put to use to ensure that water reaches overhead water tanks as supply of water from the Municipal Corporation lacks enough pressure. With growing awareness about harmful effects of consuming contaminated water, city residents have started using water treated by reverse osmosis (RO) plants. Many families have become dependent on the RO water treatment plants installed in different wards of the city. "Though we have an RO system at home but we have started bringing water from a plant installed in our ward. The reason is that our RO system is connected to the overhead water tank and since we do not get adequate water supply, the water tank has become almost empty. It is left with mostly muck and silt settled at its bottom. Not taking chances with health, we have started getting supply from the RO plant in our ward," said Palwinder Kaur, a home maker residing in the Model Town, Phase III. Meanwhile, municipal commissioner Uma Shankar Gupta said as per the schedule, the Sirhind canal was to get water on April 24 following which the water supply in the city would become normal. |
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Odds apart, show has to go on, feels circus owner
Bathinda, April 20 For every single act in an item, the circus has two-three performers. This is to ensure continuity in the absence of artistes falling ill or going home on leave. Besides, the circus also has a 250-strong support staff which shows 'unbelievable' alacrity in dismantling the nets and rolling them off the stage within minutes. The support staff also lowers and pulls the ropes while the artistes perform aerial acts. Sanjiv Kumar, a co-owner of the circus, says there is no clowning around about the fact that circus, once the biggest and cheapest mode of more than two hours of non-stop entertainment, is dying a slow death. "Most of the circuses have closed down. Ours is also on a hand-to-mouth existence," he added. "When our father fell ill, we were pulled out of the school to run the circus. Circus is all that we have been doing for decades," adds Kumar, who owns the circus along with his brother Dilip Kumar. Talking about the opposition that the circus faces from various societies for ethical treatment of animals, he says, "Earlier, we had 26 elephants and now we are left with only three. We try to abide by all the norms so that animal activists don't get a chance to raise a voice against us. We have kept the birds in a big enclosure." Merely moving the show from one place to another costs the owners close to Rs 10 lakh. And the owners consider it best not to have their own trucks. "Owning trucks means an additional expenditure on drivers, cleaners and the maintenance of vehicles. It would cost us more than what we pay as rent," adds the circus owner. "The salaries of the artistes vary from Rs 12,000 to Rs 35,000 depending on the items that they present and their seniority. We give provident fund, bonus, an insurance cover of Rs 10 lakh to the artistes and Rs 6 lakh to the helpers. The Kerala Government is the only government that gives pension. We too give pension of Rs 3,000 to our old artistes. We will run it till the time we can since this is what we learnt when we were young," he adds.
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14-yr-old girl ends life in Beant Nagar
Bathinda, April 20 The police said the girl, a student of class VII at a government school, belonged to a poor family. Her father Gurmeet Singh was a roadside vendor. She had a young brother and an elder sister. Police officials said that inquest proceedings would be initiated in this connection after recording the statements of the deceased's parents. Meanwhile, it is learnt that Rekha's parents were not at home when the incident took place. Neighbours said the girl was playing with other children just an hour ago. The body has been kept in the mortuary at the Civil Hospital for post-mortem examination and would be handed over to the deceased's relatives tomorrow. The reason behind the 14-year-old taking the extreme step has not been ascertained yet. |
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City lad wins laurels at GK Olympiad
Bathinda, April 20 The Olympiad was held by the Society of Science Education in December last year and presented by the Silverzone. Students from as many as 14 countries had participated in the Olympiad. Last year, Krishna had secured 19th Olympiad rank by scoring 95.8 marks. |
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Per acre yield of wheat down by 5-20 pc: Farmers
Bathinda, April 20 Wheat growers from nearby villages said there was a fall of five to 20 per cent in the yield this year. Ill-timed rains increased the moisture content in the crop when it was in the last stage of ripening. Farmers said an abrupt change in the season could be one of the chief reasons behind the fall in yield. The majority of farmers, who have already harvested their wheat crop, rued that decline in the per-acre production ranged from 4 to 8 quintals. Usually, 20 to 24 quintals of wheat is harvested from an acre. This season, farmers have, however, reaped even less than 20 quintal from an acre. "Excessive heat in March coupled with intermittent rains and high-velocity winds in February could have hit the production of wheat this season," said Sharanjit Sidhu, a farmer from Lehra Saunda village near Rampura. He said thundershowers and high velocity wind had flattened the standing wheat crop in many pockets of the district. "It is difficult to raise the flattened wheat crop or harvest it with combines. Such a crop could be reaped with sickle only," said Malvinder Romana, a farmer from nearby Bhucho Mandi. Confirming that farmers are lamenting low yield this season, Chief Agriculture Officer Rajinder Brar said last year, the per-acre yield was extraordinarily high. "The average yield in Bathinda district last year was 20 quintal an acre and this season, it might have reduced to some extent," Brar said. He added that so far five to seven per cent loss of yield was reported by farmers. Brar pointed out that the grains brought to the markets these days were of early-sown varieties and the picture would become clear after late-sown varieties of wheat were harvested. According to him, lesser chill last winter followed by rains in February could be the reasons for the drop in per-acre yield of wheat crop. The total area under wheat cultivation in Bathinda district is nearly 2.57 lakh hectare and 12.5 lakh metric tonne (MT) of wheat was produced last year. The state agriculture department had set a target of producing 12.70 lakh MT of wheat this season. However, officials of the department said they may fall short of meeting the target. |
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Singing sensation adds another feather to his cap
Bathinda, April 20 "Earlier, Vishal had come on the show and the top six contestants, including me, had sung the opening track of his film 'Matru Ki Bijli Ka Mandola'. The song had only a few lines and each line was sung by a different contestant. Apart from one line, I had also rendered the 'alaap' of the song. This time, I have recorded a full song for his film," said Jazim. The 22-year-old singer has also lent his voice to a song dedicated to the cause of girl child. The title of the song is 'Kisliye Bojh Hain Ladkiyan'. Ravi Besmet penned the lyrics of the song while Alaap Dudul Saikia composed the music. Talking about what made him record the song, he said, "I want to create music for social causes as well. Ravi and Alaap are friends of mine and when they conceived the song, they called me up. I was thrilled to be a part of the song." He has also sung and released two versions of a Pakistani folk song, 'Bismillah'. While one the versions has been composed by Kannu Nagi, the other has been composed by Jas Singh. Jazim has also been getting offers for playback singing from both Bollywood and Punjabi film industry. "I am in talks with some music composers and will soon come out with something interesting," he told Bathinda Tribune.
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Road race leaves students injured
Bathinda, April 20 The Scorpio then hit another Skoda moving in the opposite lane and halted at some distance towards the road leading to the official residence of the deputy commissioner. The incident, that occurred at around 1.30 pm, lead to chaos on the road for over an hour. Bystanders said the Scorpio, bearing the registration number of Moga, went out of control after an unidentified Skoda sped past it after swerving dangerously on the road. The commuters said the unidentified Skoda and the Scorpio were racing against each other from near Liberty Chowk. They said both the vehicles were about to collide with each other near the Chowk as well. While the driver of Skoda, that swerved abruptly, managed to flee along with his vehicle, the Scorpio went out of control and overturned in the opposite lane, hitting the scooter and another Skoda car. The driver of Scorpio escaped unhurt. Two women and children were travelling in the Skoda that had the registration number of Ludhiana. They were on way to Dabwali from Ludhiana. According to the cops at the police post in District Courts, appropriate action would be taken in the matter after conducting a thorough investigation. The college students, who were on the scooter, were said to have suffered injuries in the accident and one of them was admitted to the Civil Hospital. He was later referred to a private hospital. Police said the statements of the injured were being recorded and a case would be registered in the matter accordingly. |
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Sewage treatment plant ready
Bathinda, April 20 The municipal commissioner also visited the site located opposite Bhai Mati Dass Nagar where the municipal solid waste is being dumped. He directed the JITF Urban Waste Management officials, the company that is managing the site, to ensure that a boundary wall is constructed around the site and plantation is carried out as per the orders of the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB). Gupta came across several shortcomings in the sewer laying project being implemented in the areas beyond the railway lines, including Paras Ram Nagar and Pratap Nagar. The officials were asked to overcome the smaller problems so that people have access to clean drains and proper sewer system. He expressed dissatisfaction over the pace of laying roads in some areas and directed the officials to expedite the work by removing the lacunae so that the residents can get some relief.
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NRHM union flays police
lathi-charge
Bathinda, April 20 In a press statement issued here today, the president of the NRHM Employees Association, Dr Inderjit Rana said it is the right of an employee to protest peacefully. But the government was resorting to muscle power to dispel the protesters, he alleged. SSA and RMSA Association president Talwinder Singh said when the workers were staging a peaceful dharna at Kharar in Mohali, the police first impounded the vehicles of the protesters, took them in police custody and then threatened the rickshaw-pullers carrying the loudspeakers who fled fearing police wrath. They also condemned the police action.
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URMU ready for union poll
Bathinda, April 20 The members of the union said that in the last five years, only one railway union was recognized, which had a monopoly, and alleged its leaders used to be hand-in-glove with railway officials. URMU leaders apprehended that some other unions may try to use unfair means during the elections. They appealed to the administration to set up polling booths at the railway station to ensure transparent and peaceful elections. They also opposed the setting up of polling booths at the railway club. |
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11 arrested with drugs by police
Bathinda, April 20 ASI Sukhpal Singh of Cantonment police station arrested Binder Singh with 4 kg poppy husk. In another incident, the Thermal police arrested Jaswinder Kaur with 2 kg poppy husk while the Nehianwala police arrested Ved Parkash with 1900 habit-forming tablets. ASI Gurjant Singh of Rampura city police station arrested Raja Singh with 10 kg poppy husk, Rampura city police arrested Suresh Kumar with 5 kg poppy husk, ASI Jaskaran Singh of Kotfatta police station arrested Dinesh Kumar with 5 kg poppy husk, Rama police arrested Surjeet Singh with 500 grams of intoxicating powder while Rama police arrested Jagtar Singh with 10 kg poppy husk. Saleem Seepa, a resident of Rajasthan, was arrested with one kg opium at Sadar police station. All the accused arrested by the cops have been booked under various sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act at different police stations of the district.
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Cycle rally for traffic awareness
Bathinda, April 20 The students presented a dance performance, and through a humorous skit, sent across a thought-provoking message — life is precious and it should be protected. Addressing the students, the chief guest appreciated the school’s gesture. Principal of the school, Father Eulalio Fernandes, presented a memento to Meena. — TNS
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Lone AIR station in Malwa region turns 22 years old
Bathinda, April 20 With the announcers and presenters being outsourced, the radio station is also a means of exhibiting talent for the youngsters and has seen many graduate from being announcers to professionals. "It was the backward tag and the non-existent electronic media that brought the radio station as well as Doordarshan Kendra to Bathinda. The Patiala AIR station was commissioned after Bathinda, while the Jalandhar station had existed before," said the programme director and officiating station director Rajeev Arora, who is the oldest employee working at the radio station. Like all the organizations of its time, LRS Bathinda has had its own share of vicissitudes, facing threat at the time of terrorism when the station started operating. As per the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the radio stations were asked to ensure that 70 per cent programmes had community participation (recorded in the field), while the rest of the 30 per cent were to be produced in the studio. This was a target that the LRS Bathinda could not meet initially as terrorism made it difficult to work in the field till late. "We used to get threatening letters dictating to us to hold certain kinds of programmes. But then, every government employee as well as the common man felt intimidated at that time," reminisces Arora adding that the phase, when Patiala station director ML Manchanda was kidnapped and killed in the early 1990s, was among the difficult days. The radio station today has a list of programmes intelligently tailored keeping in view the listening habits of the people. Starting from 6 am to 10 am, the urban listeners, who are on way to their place of work or are getting ready, are targeted The afternoon is dedicated to home-makers in Ghar Parivar (1 pm to 2 pm), while the phone-in programme Sham Suhani (6 pm to 7 pm) is its most popular show. The programme Kisan Vani (for farming community) and Yuva Vani (7 pm to 8 pm) are the programmes that the AIR is laying emphasis on. For Kisan Vani, the radio gets funds from the Ministry of Agriculture. In the months to come, extensive work would be done to technically upgrade the radio station. Under the 11th Five Year Plan, the LRS would be upgraded to an FM station for which civil work has been completed and work on the machinery is going on. With the FM upgrade, listeners can enjoy stereophonic sound. The Bathinda LRS covers an area of 50 km radius covering Bathinda, Mansa, Muktsar, Faridkot, Barnala and Hisar area of
Haryana.
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The summers have started pinching. City residents are facing shortage of water due to closure of the Sirhind canal.
With majority of areas getting rationed water supply, people are forced to get up as early as 4 am to collect water that trickles down from taps.
With as many as 60-70 performers, more than 50 animals and 20 birds, the Great Bombay Circus has set up shop in the city after more than 50 years. The last time the circus had come to Bathinda was in 1962.
A 14-year-old girl committed suicide at her home in Beant Nagar here today.
The incident came to light in the evening when some children tried to locate the girl,
Rekha. Cantonment station house officer Paramjit Doad said the deceased's brother and local residents broke open the door of her house only to find her lying on the floor. She was rushed to the Civil Hospital where doctors declared her dead.
Bathinda, April 20
Two luxury vehicles reportedly racing against each other near Government Rajindra College resulted in injuries to two college students.
The students, who were on a scooter, were waiting for their turn to cross the road in front of the gate of the college stadium, when a speeding Scorpio rammed into them after colliding with a traffic canopy.
The Uttar Railways Mazdoor Union (URMU) held a rally today ahead of the elections of railway unions, scheduled from April 25 to April 27.
Addressing a gathering of the railway employees, the URMU leaders called upon the gathering to vote for the union that will safeguard their interests. They promised that jobs would be given to the children of every railway employee.
Bathinda, April 20
