Bathinda, June 28
A 32-year-old head constable was killed and an ASI received serious injuries after the car they were travelling in collided with a speeding train near Jassi Baghwali village here today. The railway traffic remained suspended for over an hour following the mishap.

The accident occurred at around 2.15 pm when ASI Mukhtiar Singh and head constable Surinderpal Singh of the Sangat police station were going towards Bandi village in a Maruti Alto car with the ASI at the wheel.

The policemen were assigned an inquiry concerning a land dispute in the village.

On Jassi Baghwali-Bandi road, while they were trying to cross the C-21, an unmanned railway crossing on the Bathinda-Hanumangarh railway line, a train coming from Dabwali towards Bathinda hit with the car.

While the ASI fell off the car, the head constable got sandwiched between the train and the car.

The Sangat police station in-charge, Sandeep Bhati, said the policemen were on duty and were on way to investigate a case. "We have no idea how the accident happened and it is being probed," the SHO said.

The SHO rushed to the spot and shifted the injured ASI to the Civil Hospital from where he was referred to the Max Superspeciality.

The ASI received a serious spinal cord injury besides fractures in an arm and a leg.

The police said the doctors stated that the ASI was out of danger but will take a long time to recover completely.

The deceased head constable was a resident of Lohara village in Muktsar district. He had two children, including a 15-year-old boy and an eight-year-old daughter.

ASI Mukhtiar Singh lives in a rented accommodation in Bathinda.

It is pertinent to mention here that a large number of road deaths are reported in the past on the unmanned railway crossing as the approaching train is not usually spotted by the passersby.

Pali Mashana, a volunteer of the Sangat Sahara, said despite umpteen requests and representations to the district administration and railway officials, nothing was done to convert the unmanned crossing into a manned one.

Bathinda, June 28
As the date of panchayat elections nears, the Zila Parishad office is increasingly being inundated with applications by government officials seeking exemption from poll duty.

The first election rehearsal was conducted on June 26 and the final rehearsal will be held on June 29 for the election scheduled for July 3.

Till now, the office has received more than 1000 applications seeking exemption from election duty on one ground or the other. Not entirely unexpected, a fairly large number of the applicants are women.

Speaking to Bathinda Tribune, Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development) Mohammad Tayyab said, “We have received a large number of applications from expectant ladies. Their applications are being approved on the spot. Couples who have young children at home have also filed applications. We are exempting the females from duties in such cases. A number of feeding mothers have also submitted applications.”

Most of the male applicants have cited medical grounds for seeking exemption from poll duty. The department is, however, in a dilemma regarding such cases. “The applications which are accompanied by a medical certificate issued by a recognised medical practitioner cannot be turned down or challenged, as if something untoward happens, the department will be held responsible,” said Tayyab.

Some of the applicants have also cited chronic illness, injury due to road accidents or damage done by the recent natural calamity in Uttarakhand.

Zila Parishad officials are spending a lot of time on verifying the authenticity of the reasons cited in leave applications and as per confirmed sources, less than half the total number of applications received till now have been forwarded for approval.

“Approximately 400 applications have been approved till now and we are still receiving more applications. In some of the cases it is difficult to figure out if the reason listed in the application is genuine or not. Strict action will be taken against those who have feigned illness or have listed a false reason for getting exemption from election duty,” Tayyab said.

The district administration has regularly been directing the heads of all the departments (HODs) to make sure the employees in their department are available for poll duties.

Bathinda, June 28
The residents of Bathinda and its adjoining areas can heave a sigh of relief if the forecast released by the Indian Meteorological department comes true.

After playing truant for close to two weeks, the rain gods are all set to smile over the region. As per the forecast issued by the Indian Meteorological Department for the next four days, the region is expected to experience thunderstorm accompanied by rain.

The forecast also promises that the rainfall will bring down the maximum and minimum temperature. While the maximum temperature is expected to be around 38 degree Celsius over the next four days, the minimum is expected to hover around 27 degree Celsius.

The residents will, however, not get relief from the humid weather as the maximum relative humidity is expected to be recorded between 55 and 65 per cent while the minimum relative humidity is expected to be between 25 and 30 per cent. 

Bathinda, June 28
A budding kabaddi player lost his life in a road accident on the Bathinda-Barnala road here yesterday.

The deceased has been identified as Jaspreet Singh (20), a resident of Chak Ram Singhwala village.

The boy was on his way to Bhattiwala village in Muktsar to a get photograph of his uncle who died recently. The photograph was to be used for the bhog ceremony held in the memory of his uncle at Chak Ram Singhwala village. Jaspreet had played kabaddi matches upto the district level, said Harmandar Singh, one of his cousins.

Meanwhile, Lovepreet Singh, the deceased’s another cousin and a resident of Bhattiwala village, who got injured in the accident, is undergoing treatment at a private hospital is stated to be in coma.

Assistant Sub-inspector Mohan Singh (ASI) said the player and his cousin were on a bike and were hit by a speeding Mahindra Bolero, which was on way to Ludhiana from Bathinda.

The kabaddi player was driving the bike while his cousin was riding pillion. Both the boys fell off the road and received serious head injuries.

The ASI said the cause of the accident could not be ascertained as nobody had put on record how the accident took place. The accused driver of the car, Sewak Singh of Jeond village, has been booked under Sections 304-A, 279, 337, 338 and 427 of the IPC at the Cantonment police station. — TNS

Bathinda, June 28
The Municipal Corporation, Bathinda (MCB) has decided to handle on its own the project of building a multi-level parking on the site of the Fire Brigade in the city.

Earlier, the MCB had asked the Darashaw Consultants, a private company, to prepare a six-storey plan wherein some area was to be earmarked for commercial activity. The company was responsible for making project feasibility reports and arranging for a company to construct the multi-level parking without burdening the MCB with extra expenditure.

Now, the MCB will have to deal with all these issues. To begin with there is no in-house architect or consultant and the MCB will have to again look for an architect to design the project.

The MCB will now annul the agreement it had entered into with the Darashaw Consultant after taking permission from the general house. The corporation will, however, have to pay Rs 6 lakh as consultation charges to the company.

Municipal commissioner Uma Shankar Gupta said the MCB would now start working on the project. The corporation will now work on a multi-storey shopping complex along with a parking facility. The project will be run on no profit, no loss basis.

Not only that the Darashaw Consultants has been shown way out, the project too has come to a naught. In the past five years since there were whispers about the project in the corporation corridors, the MCB has miserably failed in coming up with the project that was expected to bring relief from the traffic congestion in the city. 

Bathinda, June 28
An extension lecture by author and critic Prof Abdul Bismillah was organised at the Central University of Punjab by the Official Language Implementation Committee today. Prof RG Saini formally welcomed the speaker and Dr Rajinder Kumar introduced the speaker.

In his lecture, Prof Bismillah dwell on the state of Hindi as the national language, a language of communication and a language of literature. He expressed concern over the dividing standards being applied to certain languages on the basis of religion and creed.

He voiced his satisfaction at the present state of Hindi language and gave its credit to the media and globalisation. He also spoke about the involvement of literature in society.

Prof P Ramarao, Dean, Academic Affairs, felicitated the speaker after the lecture and Prof AK Jain proposed a vote of thanks. The lecture was followed by an informal discussion during which the students and faculty members interacted with the speaker.

The Official Language Implementation Committee organises various activities related to Hindi language and literature at the Central University of Punjab. The Hindi workshop, Hindi Day and Hindi Fortnight have already been organised by the committee.

Prof Bismillah has authored several novels, short stories, a drama, several books of poetry and criticism out of which his novels "Jheeni Jheeni Veeni Chadariya", "Mukhda Kya Dekhein", "Samar Shesh Hai", short story collections "Atithi Devo Bhav", "Rain Basera" and poetry anthologies "Wali Mohammad", "Chhote Buton Ka Bayan" are worth a mention.

Bathinda, June 28
Observing deficiency in the service provided by Aviva Life Insurance Company India Limited, Mall Road, Bathinda, the District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum has directed the company to repay Rs 60,000 to a Malout resident.

A complaint was filed against the company by Gurdial Singh, who made Malout branch of Punjab & Sind Bank, Aviva Life Insurance Company Limited, The Mall, Bathinda, and Aviva Life Insurance Company India Limited, Gurgaon, a party in the case.

The complainant had alleged that he had purchased an insurance policy from the company in August 2008 after being allured by some officials of the company and Punjab & Sind Bank. The complainant deposited the first half-yearly premium of Rs 15,000 to the bank. The bank assured that complainant would get policy documents soon, but no documents were provided to him. The complainant stated that he deposited the six premiums and paid Rs 90,000.

Later, he received a cheque of Rs 30,000 in December, 2011, and a letter regarding the status of the policy from the insurance firm. The letter informed that complainant’s policy was changed into auto foreclosure on the ground that its surrender value was less than first year’s premium and in such circumstances, the policy was auto foreclosed.

Later, the bank officials assured that the remaining pending amount, along with the policy documents, would be returned to him, but they failed to do so, the complainant stated . The complainant then moved the forum, seeking refund of the remaining Rs 60,000 along with interest, cost and compensation.

A representative of the bank appeared before the forum and filed a written statement, after which, nobody represented the bank and the forum continued ex-parte proceedings against it.

The bank representative pleaded that the bank had a tie-up arrangement with Aviva Life Insurance Company India Limited, without bank’s liability for any commitment. It also pleaded that the tie-up between the insurance company and the bank had expired and the bank had never assured the complainant about the delivery of the policy documents and the company sent the documents to their their customers directly and the insurance premium was deposited directly to the insurance company.

The company in a separate statement pleaded before the forum that the complainant himself showed interest in purchasing the life insurance plan. The opposite parties pleaded that they had sent a letter on December 15, 2011 to the complainant along with Rs 30,000 cheque , mentioned that the renewal premium was due on August 11, 2011, but complainant did not pay the renewal premium till September 10, 2011 and due to which, the policy was changed into auto foreclosure.

The forum observed that the company had failed to put on record any statement how it refunded Rs 30,000 as the investment fund might increase or decrease as per the performance of the financial markets. The forum observed that the opposite parties were duty bound to send a complete detailed statement to the complainant to show the price of his units as per the performance of the financial markets.

The forum also observed that the complainant had deposited or invested Rs 90,000 with the intention of getting more amount in addition to the life saving plan, but instead of getting any benefit, he lost his Rs 60,000, whereas it was required that insurance companies amend their policies to make them understandable to the public at large.

The forum accepted the complaint against Aviva Life Insurance and dismissed plea against Punjab & Sind Bank. The forum has directed the firm to refund Rs 60,000 after deducting medical examination expenses, stamp duty and proportionate risk premium from the date of commencement of the policy upto December 12, 2011, when the policy was auto-foreclosed and Rs 30,000 cheque was sent to the complainant . The company has been asked to refund the amount within 45 days and in case of non-compliance of orders, the refundable amount would carry 9 per cent interest per annum from the date of the order till its realisation. 

Bathinda, June 28
A prize distribution ceremony was organised to felicitate the women who took part in the self-employment camp held by the Diamond Welfare Society in the city today. During the 21-day- long camp, the participants were taught bouquet making, stitching and sewing, embroidery, soft toys making and several other employment-based activities.

The gift items, embroidered clothes, flower bouquets and soft toys, made by the participants, were also put on display at the venue. The exhibition was inaugurated by Dr Rajsh Jindal.

Several activities and competitions were also held on the occasion. The females participated in the Miss Diamond, bridal make-up, mehendi and other competitions.

The President of the society, Veenu Goyal, said the society had been organising such camps for the past 10 years and this year more than 1,300 females participated in the camp. 

Bathinda, June 28
Students of the BSc airlines, tourism & hospitality management (ATHM), Baba Farid College (BFC), have done well in the recently declared second and fourth semester results. The results were declared by Punjabi University, Patiala. Among the second semester students, Nirmal Kaur secured 80.20 per cent marks and got the first position in the university. Harpreet Singh secured 77.90 per cent marks and bagged the second position in the university. Among the fourth semester students, Ramandeep kaur secured 76.13 per cent marks and bagged the first position while Manpreet Kaur secured the second position with 72.54 per cent marks.

The managing director of the Baba Farid Group of Institutions, Gurmeet Singh Dhaliwal, said "BSc ATHM is a professional course and ensures that after the completion of the course, students have a wide-range of job opportunities in sectors like airlines, tourism and hospitality industry."