B A T H I N D A    E D I T I O N

Collector orders Army to vacate school land
Fazilka, July 10
In a significant decision, the Fazilka Collector has ordered the Army authorities to vacate 4.4 acres of Old Islamia High School prime land situated adjacent to the Deputy Commission's office on Abohar road here which was leased to the Army 59 years ago by the Municipal Council. The market value of the land is estimated to be around Rs 25 crore.

Parents, staff protest against Adarsh School
Bathinda, July 10
The Adarsh School in Chauke village has once again come into the limelight and that too for the wrong reasons.

Police tries to disperse the protesters who were agitating against the school authorities. A Tribune photograph

Another prisoner dies in Faridkot jail, family cries foul
Faridkot, July 10
An inmate of the Faridkot Central Jail, a 30-year-old convict in a murder case, died today. The deceased, Manjeet Singh, was undergoing life imprisonment after he was held guilty by the court in a murder case in Misriwala village of Faridkot district.

Sathi welcomes SC decision to cleanse politics
Moga, July 10
Senior Congress leader and former legislator Vijay Sathi has welcomed the decision of the Supreme Court to strike down Section 8 (4) of the Representation of People Act, which will pave a way for disqualification of the parliamentarians and legislators if they get punishment of two or more years in jail by the judicial courts.

Mittal fails to impress BJP workers
Muktsar, July 10
Health Minister Madan Mohan Mittal, who had come to Muktsar this evening to address the party workers and boost their morale, failed to give any satisfactory reply to their queries.

Abohar hospital gets facelift ahead of minister’s visit
Abohar, July 10
The maiden visit by Health Minister Madan Mohan Mittal to Fazilka district tomorrow might not be instrumental in filling the vacancies of doctors and paramedical staff at the 150-bedded Nehru Memorial Civil Hospital here but has given facelift to the complex that was inaugurated in May by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal.

Collector orders Army to vacate school land
Praful Chander Nagpal

Fazilka, July 10
In a significant decision, the Fazilka Collector has ordered the Army authorities to vacate 4.4 acres of Old Islamia High School prime land situated adjacent to the Deputy Commission's office on Abohar road here which was leased to the Army 59 years ago by the Municipal Council. The market value of the land is estimated to be around Rs 25 crore. The land was leased to the Army through a Municipal Committee resolution number 54 dated June 7, 1952, for setting up of an Army supply point, at the negligible rate of only Rs 40 per year. The collector's rate of this land is Rs 2,700 per square feet.

The Municipal Council and the Army authorities had been at loggerheads over the possession of this prime piece of land for long.

In his six-page orders Additional Deputy Commissioner (General), Fazilka, exercising the powers of collector under the Punjab Public Premises (Eviction and Rent Recovery) Act has asked the respondents, Secretary, Ministry of Defence, New Delhi, Defence Estate Officer, Bathinda Circle and Station Commander, Infantry Brigade, to evacuate the land and pay rent and penalty to the tune of Rs 55,000 per acre per month from August 1, 2012 till the handing over of the possession to the Municipal Council as the Army authorities did not pay even the nominal rent since 1992.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Army offered to leave the possession twice on May 21, 2007 and July 31, 2007 but when the representatives of the Municipal Council went to take possession, it was refused citing one reason or the other.

The Municipal Council authorities filed a petition before the collector in March 2013 seeking eviction of its land. In the orders, it has been mentioned that there is an apprehension of encroachment on this land as a piece of 5-6 kanals has already been encroached upon by some persons.

It is pertinent to say here that Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal had laid the foundation stone of the District Administrative Complex (DAC) on the first anniversary of the district headquarters status for Fazilka on July 27, 2012. It is stated that some part of the land under the possession of the Army was also to be inducted in the DAC but the project did not take off.

The situation is that there is a symbolic possession of the Army on the land as it has pitched a tent there. The supply point has already been shifted but the Army is yet to vacate the land. 

Parents, staff protest against Adarsh School
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, July 10
The Adarsh School in Chauke village has once again come into the limelight and that too for the wrong reasons. Parents, students and staff members of the school, accompanied by the villagers, launched a protest against the management of the school which is being run under the private-public partnership. The protestors blocked the road near the village bus stand.

The protestors pointed out that the school was on the verge of closure since the building in which the school was being run was a rented one. Due to non-payment of rent for a long time, the owner of the building has been trying hard to get the building vacated.

Teachers who are also protesting against the school management said they had not been paid the salaries for the past six to seven months. They also argued that the future of the students was in limbo.

The protestors demanded that a new building be constructed for the school at the earliest and demanded that all the 800 students be given the facilities that they should get under the public-private partnership (PPP) model.

Intensifying their agitation, the protestors climbed atop a water tank in the village and threatened that if their demands were not fulfilled, they would jump off the tank.

Interestingly, this is not the first time that the school has been in the news. Last year too, the parents of schools students had protested against the 
school management for fleecing them. 

Another prisoner dies in Faridkot jail, family cries foul
Tribune News Service

Faridkot, July 10
An inmate of the Faridkot Central Jail, a 30-year-old convict in a murder case, died today. The deceased, Manjeet Singh, was undergoing life imprisonment after he was held guilty by the court in a murder case in Misriwala village of Faridkot district.

While the family members of the deceased blamed the jail authorities for the death, accusing them of providing inadequate medical facilities, the jail authorities claimed that Manjeet Singh was suffering from a liver disease after he contracted Hepatitis-C. After his condition worsened, he was shifted to the Civil Hospital in Faridkot yesterday but he died there, said jail superintendent JP Singh.

The body of the deceased was handed over to the family and a judicial inquiry has been ordered. 

Sathi welcomes SC decision to cleanse politics

Moga, July 10
Senior Congress leader and former legislator Vijay Sathi has welcomed the decision of the Supreme Court to strike down Section 8 (4) of the Representation of People Act, which will pave a way for disqualification of the parliamentarians and legislators if they get punishment of two or more years in jail by the judicial courts.

He said the apex court judgment would help to cleanse the politics from criminalisation. The lawmakers should ideally be of high moral character, must have clean reputation, and be honest, sincere and dedicated to the service of the people.

Sathi said this judgment is also a wake-up call for all the political parties to develop a consensus on the issue of corruption, which has off-late penetrated deep in the politics. “It’s the right time for all of us to turn away from corrupt practices of using money and muscle power in the elections to protect the criminalisation of politics,” he said. — TNS

Mittal fails to impress BJP workers
Archit Watts/TNS

Muktsar, July 10
Health Minister Madan Mohan Mittal, who had come to Muktsar this evening to address the party workers and boost their morale, failed to give any satisfactory reply to their queries.

Mittal had come to the canal rest-house, where replying to the queries of BJP workers, he said if the doctors posted in Muktsar district were professional, then he would like to transfer them to his own area.

He said this when some BJP workers from Malout praised the functioning of the doctors posted at Civil Hospital, Malout. Not only this, when some saffron party workers raised the issue of inadequate health staff at Chak Sherewala village, Mittal failed to give any satisfactory reply to them.

Thereafter some BJP workers present at the meeting, sought a reply from the minister regarding the private practice by government doctors, but the minister could not give any appropriate reply to them.

Meanwhile, when a woman raised a query regarding an alleged scam of ASHA workers' salary, the Health Minister said in a 'candid' reply, “I don't carry all the files with me during the tour.”

When a delegation of blood donors said they were not getting refreshments after donating blood, Mittal said, “You people don’t go to donate blood after informing the authorities concerned. So, spend some money from your own pockets on refreshments.”

When the media persons asked him the reason for not giving a serious reply to any of the queries raised by his party workers, he refused to comment. On the other hand, the party workers, who had come with high hopes of finding a solution to their problems, had to return with a grim face. A senior leader of the district BJP team even said that the visit of the minister was arranged to boost the morale of party workers, but it had failed to achieve its purpose.

Neither the BJP nor the officials of the Public Relations Department issued any press release regarding his visit. 

Abohar hospital gets facelift ahead of minister’s visit
Our Correspondent

Abohar, July 10
The maiden visit by Health Minister Madan Mohan Mittal to Fazilka district tomorrow might not be instrumental in filling the vacancies of doctors and paramedical staff at the 150-bedded Nehru Memorial Civil Hospital here but has given facelift to the complex that was inaugurated in May by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal.

The Deputy CM had initially shown reluctance in inaugurating the OPD block and other buildings as the date did not suit the Health Minister but later proceeded with the schedule. The leaders of the ruling alliance as well as the Congress had informed Sukhbir Badal of the shortcomings in the hospital but they have not been addressed so far. Rather, the ultrasound machine and some other important equipment have become non-functional.

But because of the visit of the minister, the walls of the hospital were given a fresh coat of paint, broken doors were repaired and new dust bins placed in corridor.