The structure could not bear the downpour on Saturday. Since there was no other place to drain out the rainwater, the PWD (B&R) officials started releasing it on the land adjacent to the bridge. Gradually, the water seeped into the wall resulting in its collapse
— Lt-Gen BS Dhaliwal, Technical adviser to Chief Minister

Bathinda, June 16
Paddy growers are all smiles with the advanced monsoon. Downpour in the region during the past few days has brought down the input costs of paddy as farmers would not have to depend on diesel and power to pump out groundwater in order to prepare their fields for paddy transplantation. The process requires an ample amount of water.

In Bathinda district, the area under paddy has reduced to nearly one lakh hectare this year against 1.7 lakh hectare during the previous year. However, it remains the largest cultivated crop in the district.

The advanced monsoon has also intensified the process of paddy transplantation. "The process of transplantation has gained momentum in the nearby areas following favourable weather conditions. But this has also led to shortage of labour. Farmers are frequenting railway stations to engage migrant labourers from UP and Bihar for paddy transplantation," said Haakam Singh, a resident of Bir Talab.

Meanwhile, labourers have accelerated the process of sowing to earn more in lesser time. Sowing would be done within the next one week or so as farmers were all geared up to finish the work at the earliest in view of the prevailing favourable weather conditions.

Chief Agriculture Officer Rajinder Brar said so far, transplantation had been done on 15 to 20 per cent of the total area to come under paddy cultivation in Bathinda and the remaining area would be covered within the next one week. "Paddy transplantation picked up with the second spell of rain," Brar said.

Denying shortage of labour in Bathinda, the official said this time, many paddy farmers took up the direct sowing method. Nearly 10,000 acre would be brought under direct sowing wherein machines are used to sow paddy plants, he added.

So far, transplantation has been done on 15 to 20 per cent of the total area to come under paddy cultivation in Bathinda. The remaining area would be covered within the next one week. Paddy transplantation gained momentum with the second spell of rain.
— Rajinder Singh Brar, Chief Agriculture officer

Bathinda, June 16
Agitated over the accumulated rainwater not being drained out of the Sirki Bazaar, shopkeepers today blocked the traffic on the Multania bridge.

Members of the Sirki Bazaar Association blocked the road traffic for an hour in protest against the Municipal Corporation, Bathinda (MCB) for its alleged inability to drain out the rainwater and sewerage water.

“The rain on Saturday not only led to flooding of the entire market, but even choked up the sewer. Consequently, the sewer started overflowing and sewerage water got mixed with the rainwater. We face this problem every year and raise our voice against the government. MCB officials keep on making claims of repairing and cleaning the sewer system, but to no avail,” regretted Ghanshyam Dass, a shopkeeper.

The protesting shopkeepers raised slogans against the MCB and the district administration. The dharna was lifted only after MCB officials prevailed upon them and promised that the accumulated water would start receding in the next three hours and by the evening, its level would reduce considerably.

The MCB is facing problem in managing the rainwater due to non-completion of the sewer main rising line, which runs beneath railway tracks, towards Sanjay Nagar. The line is being executed by the Railways. The slow progress on the part of the Railways has led to delay in completion of laying a sewer in the area.

Assistant municipal commissioner Kamal Kant Goyal said the newly laid sewers as well as the old repaired sewer in the Sirki Bazaar were functioning properly.

“Till the water in the Ganesha Basti and other areas does not recede, the Sirki Bazaar will remain clogged. All the sewer lines are interconnected,” he said, adding that the work on laying the sewer main rising line was on. “We have already laid the base using ash and now, the Railways engineers are working on it,” he said.

The rainwater had started receding in the market by the evening.

Meanwhile, the main road of Hans Nagar area caved in following downpour thereby disrupting the movement of vehicular traffic. Residents of Hans Nagar said the MCB had laid a sewer line at the site a few weeks ago and covered it with mud. The Saturday downpour washed away the mud resulting in a wide crack in the road.

Bathinda, June 16
Inundated RUBs on the Mansa road and at Paras Ram Nagar in the city have raised questions over the feasibility of such structures meant to facilitate the movement of traffic on road.

Not only that these RUBs cause great inconvenience to the commuters during the monsoon, crossing the stretch is a risky affair too.

An RUB has been proposed for Amarpura Basti too.

The Paras Ram Nagar RUB, which was commissioned in 2007, was constructed after residents of the area held a long agitation as they considered themselves disconnected from the main city. The Railway Ministry constructed a railway over bridge (ROB) on the Mal Godam road near Veer Colony as well as an RUB to address their concern.

“The first three years of maintaining the RUB were horrible. We were handed over the bridge after an year of construction but were not given any proper details of the channels, gulleys and drains from which rainwater could be drained out,” confided officials of the Municipal Corporation, Bathinda (MCB). It was gradually after employing hit and trial methods and a lot of experimenting that the MCB officials managed to tackle the problem of inundation of the RUB during the monsoon.

Now, while the PWD (B&R) Department is crying hoarse that the MCB is not taking over the maintenance of the Mansa RUB, it is allegedly finding it difficult to drain out the rainwater accumulated there.

Sources said the structure was not checked for its water retention and draining capacity yet and hence, the MCB did not overtake it. “There is 200 metre of slope on both the sides and even a layman knows that water will settle only in a low-lying area. Keeping this in view, the officials executing the project should have ensured that there was adequate place for water to ebb away,” rued the MCB officials.

While officials of the Railways' Ferozepur division said the state government was responsible for maintaining the structure, the state government officials begged to differ.

“First, the Railways does not sanction over bridges and under bridges in time as per the requirements and by the time these projects are sanctioned, the population and volume of traffic have already increased, while the dimensions of bridges remain the same,” confided a senior Central Works Division official.

“As per the rules, every under bridge should have at least two pumping machines fitted to its both the sides and they should work round the clock during rains. Delhi has such pumping machines at the rail underpasses, which are very successful,” said Chandigarh-based Navdip Asija, a research scholar with the IIT Delhi.

Bathinda, June 16
The residents of Paras Ram Nagar today protested against the hike in the price of petrol. Led by former municipal councillor Vijay Kumar, the protesters raised slogans against the Central Government for raising the fuel price for the 17th time in last nine years. “The Centre's policies are a threat to the common man's survival.

The middle class is the worst hit. The time is not far when the only gifts to be exchanged during weddings will be petrol and diesel,” said Vijay Kumar, who attired as a bridegroom to drive home his point.

The protester rainsed slogans against Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and AICC president Sonia Gandhi while demanding a roll back of the hike in the fuel price.

Sanjiv Kumar, Surinder, Gurdarshan, Bhupinder, Bikramjit , Satnam, Kumar, Vicky and others were among the protesters. — TNS

The Centre's policies are a threat to the common man's survival. The middle class is the worst hit. The time is not far when the only gifts to be exchanged during weddings will be petrol and diesel.
— Vijay Kumar, former municipal councillor

Bathinda, June 16
The land records of 285 villages out of the 292 in the district, have been computerized under the state government's project of computerizing land records.

In a press statement issued here, Deputy Commissioner Kamal Kishore Yadav stated that a copy of the record is available across the counter at the Fard Kendra for Rs 20 each.

Yadav said Bathinda would soon be a district with all its land records on the web as a special team has been dedicated to complete this task to facilitate the population in the rural areas. Services have been provided at Fard Kendras in Bathinda, Rampura, Talwandi Sabo, Sangat, Maur, Nathana, Bhagta Bhaika, Goniana and Ballianwali.

Yadav claimed that at Fard Kendras, people, especially the farmers, were availing the facility of computerized jamabandi (revenue record of land) not only within a short span of time but also in a hassle-free and transparent way. He said that now, people can get computerized jamabandi with ease by depositing a meagre fee of Rs 20. He said besides the district headquarters, these centres were set up at the sub-division level at Rampura Phul, Talwandi Sabo, Bhagta Bhai Ka, Sangat, Nathana, Maur, Goniana and Balliawali.

He added that the Fard Kendra at the district headquarter received as many as 2,277 applications in the month of May. The DC also said that 14,659 pages of computerized record have been provided against 2,271 applications. He said that in May, 3,214 persons applied at Rampura Phul and 17,417 copies have been provided to dispose of all the applications.

The Fard Kendra at Talwandi Sabo received 2,338 applications out of which 2,323 applicants got 12,037 copies of jamabandi while the Fard Kendra at Bhagta Bhaika received 816 applications and provided 2,932 copies of computerized land record. Similarly, the Fard Kendra at Sangat received 845 applications, Nathana 1,854, Goniana 1,077, Ballianwali 735 while Maur received 1,184 applications in the month of May.

Bathinda, June 16
Overcharging a customer has cost the officials of the District Transport Office (DTO) dear as the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has directed it to refund an amount of Rs 8,935 along with interest to a resident. The Forum also imposed a penalty of Rs 2,000 on the DTO office.

Varinder Sharma, a resident of Ganpati Enclave, lodged a complaint with the Forum through his counsel Sanjay Goyal. The counsel for the DTO was OP Vinocha. The case was decided after hearing the arguments of both the parties by the president of Forum Vikramjit Soni and the members, Amarjeet Paul and Sukhwinder Kaur.

The complainant said he had purchased a Toyota Innova from Bathinda and applied for registration after completing all the formalities. He deposited Rs 75, 755 for road tax and a registration certificate was issued for the vehicle.

The complainant allege that the DTO officials illegally charged Rs 75,555 from him as road tax as the price of the vehicle was 11, 05, 391.83 while Rs 1,38, 173 was charged as value added tax (VAT) and Rs 13, 817 as the cess on VAT.

The total cost of the vehicle (Rs 12,57, 383. 21), including the tax, was paid by the complainant to the SUV seller.

The opposite parties were supposed to get the road tax or registration fee on the actual value (Rs 11, 05,391.83) of the vehicle excluding the VAT and the cess. But they advertently charged Rs 75,755 by calculating the amount on the total value (Rs 12, 57,383.21) of the vehicle.

By doing this, the complainant said they overcharged Rs 9,119.48 extra from him. The complainant allege that he kept making rounds of the DTO office and brought the matter to the notice of senior functionaries to refund the extra amount but to no avail.

While the complainant was upset, the DTO officials refused to budge. He finally moved an application before the Forum seeking refund of extra amount along with interest, cost and compensation.

A notice was sent to the opposite party that pleaded that the Forum did not have the jurisdiction to try and decide the complaint as under the provisions of the Motor Vehicle Act, there are special provisions for claiming the refund of the excess amount.

The complainant should have approached the office of the DTO or State Transport Commissioner (STC). Since the money has been credited into the account of Punjab Government due to miscalculation, the complainant should go through all the formalities and the process of refund may take six to eight 8 weeks for sanctioning the refund under the provisions of the Motor Vehicle Act.

The opposite party also pleaded that the refund of excess amount shall be paid as and when the funds are received from the Treasury Office, Bathinda. The opposite party stated that it was the complainant who miscalculated the amount and deposited the same in the DTO office.

The Forum, while dismissing the claims of the opposite party, stated that some official must have wrongly calculated the amount as road tax or registration fee for the vehicle and the complainant paid the same.

The Forum observed that the complainant deposited Rs 75,755 instead of Rs 66, 820 and the extra amount of Rs 8,935 should be refunded by the opposite party and not Rs 9,119. 48 as per the complainant's claim. The Forum observe that the DTO office did not calculate the amount correctly which forced the complainant to knock its door. 

Bathinda, June 16
The entrance test for admission to post-graduate courses at Central University of Punjab (CUP) was organized on June 15 and 16. In a press statement issued here, the registrar, CUP, Jagdev Kartar Singh stated that applications were invited for admission to M.Sc, MA, MPharm, MTech and LLM programme. Candidates appearing for these examinations had been issued roll numbers to be downloaded from the website www.cucet2013.co.in.

The entrance examination was conducted by the Central University of Rajasthan on behalf of ten newly established Central Universities at 59 different centres spread across the country. A total of 13,000 applications were received from across the country for admission to various courses. Almost 300 candidates appeared at the Bathinda centre entrance exam on June 15-16. The entrance exam is being held in three phases. The first phase consisted of undergraduate courses, the test for which was held on June 2. The test for post-graduate courses was conducted on June 14-15, while that for research programmes will be held on July 14.

Bathinda, June 16
Fifteen per cent of the total babies born in Bathinda have low birth weight (LBW). An increasing number of premature and low birth weight infants are the leading cause for high infant mortality and neonatal mortality rates in Bathinda. Compared to a baby with normal weight, infant mortality rate is about 12 times higher in case of a baby weighing less than 2.5 kg.

Weight at birth is a strong indicator not only of the mother's health and nutritional status but also of the new-born baby's chances of survival, growth, long-term health and development, stated neonatologist and child specialist Dr Gaurav Garg and Dr Neeraj Ahuja, in a press statement issued here today.

They said that while low birth weight (LBW) infants constituted only 14 per cent of total live births in Bathinda, they accounted for 60-80 per cent of the total neonatal deaths.

The trends indicated lower weight of baby girls than boys. Also, first born infants were lighter than subsequent infants and twins weigh less than single born, the doctors pointed out.

Babies born with a birth weight of less than 2.5 kg are low birth weight babies (LBWB), those with birth weight less than 1.5 kg are very low birth weight babies (VLBW) and those with a weight of less than 1 kg are extremely low birth weight (ELBW).

Commenting on receiving case of LBW child, Dr Garg and Dr Ahuja said that recently there was a baby weighing barely 900 gm. After the premature delivery, when the family observed that the child was suffering from respiratory distress, they approached Max Hospital.

"When taken to the hospital, the baby had low platelet count and was in shock (poor pulse rate and pale body colour). The baby's survival was critical as his lungs, digestive system, brain and other vital organs were underdeveloped. The infant was immediately put on a ventilator and certain specialized procedures such as incubation and invasive blood pressure monitoring were performed to improve the functioning of body organs. As part of his treatment, he was advised some antibiotics, given platelets and kept on oxygen support," they said.

"After 1.5 months of dedicated medical treatment, the baby accepted full breast feed and started gaining weight. When he was discharged from the hospital, he weighed 1.6 kg."

The doctors explained that low birth weight stemmed primarily from poor maternal health and nutrition --- poor nutritional intake before conception, short stature (mostly due to under-nutrition and infections during childhood) and poor nutrition during pregnancy. It was imperative for women to maintain a healthy nutritional status during all stages of life. For women of child-bearing age, good nutrition was important for preparing the body for the demands of pregnancy, the doctors asserted.