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BJP workers leave ceremony in a huff
Number of beds doubled at spl natal care unit
Dhobi Bazaar cleared of illegal vends
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A mosquito-breeding ground right under the nose of Health Dept
Congress to stage protest
Panels formed for Mohan Singh Mela
NGO comes to aid of needy students
Theft reported at govt school in dist
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BJP workers leave ceremony in a huff
Bathinda, November 17 To thank the government for the newly introduced industrial policy, the traders’ body had organised a function at Sirki Bazar gaushala wherein Singla was to be honored. The BJP Bathinda (Urban) president Parminder Goel was among the chief invitees to the event. However, Goel was miffed at not finding his picture on the flex banners put up at the venue. The banners carried pictures of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal, Bathinda MP Harsimrat Badal and BJP state president Kamal Sharma. Goel and his supporters boycotted the function, raised slogans against the Beopar Mandal president Rajinder Raju and left the venue. Talking to TNS, Goel said while inviting him to the function, the Beopar Mandal president Rajinder Raju had claimed that his (Goel’s) pictures would be on the banners. “My supporters were excited about seeing my photograph and turned up at the venue. However, when they could not spot it, they registered their discontentment by boycotting the function. I had to stand by my supporters and hence, I too left the spot,” he said. Goel was keen to add that there were no differences with the Shiromani Akali Dal or the Beopar Mandal. He said it was a stray incident. Meanwhile, the Beopar Mandal, Bathinda, and different associations, including those of commission agents, grocers and general merchants, honoured Singla for the pro-trader industrial policy announced by the state government. The traders said the new policy was useful for grocers and small merchants. “The government has imposed VAT only at one point of sale, which is at the producers’ end. VAT being applicable only on MRP has reduced the tax burden of general traders. Now, they need not maintain detailed records of transactions,” said the traders. Singla said the single point tax would end red tape and the inconvenience that the traders were put to. With the new system, the interference of government officials in working of small traders and retailers had reduced to a great extent, he added. Om Prakash Sharma, Rajinder Raju, Jeevan Goyal, Pramod Jain, Ashok Kumar, Som Prakash, Ravi Bansal, Prem Garg and Satish Babbu were among those present. |
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Number of beds doubled at spl natal care unit
Bathinda, November 17 Started in November last year, as many as 831 babies, who were born with complications and needed special care, have been treated here so far. Keeping in view the number of cases being treated here, the six-bed facility was upgraded to a 12-bed unit around 15 days ago. However, the government has failed to provide requisite staff despite an increase in the number of beds. The unit has only one paediatrician, five staff nurses and no Class-IV employee. "While starting the unit, 10 staff nurses were posted here. However, with the passage of time, five of them were transferred. Three were sent to GNM School of Nursing," confided one of the staff members. Without any Class-IV employee posted for assistance, the nurses find their duty during night hours difficult. "We cannot leave the unit unattended come what may. In case there is a need, we have to first call up someone from the other department to keep an eye on the children. Now with the increase in the number of beds, we have around 10 children undergoing treatment, which has increased the burden of work," added another employee. Paediatrician Dr Satish Jindal is the only one available for emergency calls as well as for the OPD. Earlier, the Health Department had plans to have six beds for the post natal care unit and six for the paediatric care unit. However, keeping in view the need to accommodate more babies, the department went ahead with adding six beds to the natal care unit. The six-bed facility introduced earlier was a Rs 50-lakh project that had four phototherapy units, six radiant warmers and four infusion pumps meant for administering accurate dosage of medicines. Bathinda is the second district in the state to have this unit besides the one at Faridkot. Patients from places as far as all tehsils of Bathinda district and Gidderbaha are treated here. |
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Dhobi Bazaar cleared of illegal vends
Bathinda, November 17 The MCB authorities also got the makeshift vends at the Dhobi Bazaar removed. Being the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev, the area around Gurdwara Qila Mubarak remained crowded throughout the day. Devotees passed through the city markets to reach the gurdwara to pay obeisance on the pious occasion. “Utter chaos prevails during every festive occasion and visitors to the market have to rub shoulders with each other even as the road is wide enough,” said Sushil Kumar, the owner of a sweet shop in the market. He alleged that a section of shopkeepers unauthorisedly allowed some roadside vends to come up outside their shops in lieu of some consideration, which led to congestion in the market. The matter, he said, was brought to the notice of the MCB authorities and the traffic police. Traffic policemen reached Dhobi Bazaar in the afternoon and impounded four vehicles, including one SUV and two cars. “Our senior officers ordered us to visit the market to remove encroachments after some shopkeepers raised a hue and cry over counters being extended onto the road by some shop owners,” City traffic in-charge Bharpur Singh said. Around 50 such extended counters were removed from the market. “The superintendent and inspector of the corporation also warned the shopkeepers against allowing vendors to set their shops on the roadside and in front of their shops,” Bharpur said. Meanwhile, shopkeepers heaved a sigh of relief after the authorities removed the encroachments and haphazardly parked vehicles.
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A mosquito-breeding ground right under the nose of Health Dept
Bathinda, November 17 The road leading from the hospital to the Max Superspeciality Hospital has water-filled potholes providing perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes. "It is ironical that while the Health Department is checking accumulation of water in various parts of the city, it failed to take notice of the problem right close to its own establishment," said Ranjit Singh from Bhucho, who visited the hospital. No damaged sewer line could be spotted on the road. "The water collected seems to have been discharged from the under-construction 50-bed Women and Children Hospital. The Punjab Health Systems Corporation (PHSC) officials should ask the contractor concerned to ensure that no water from the construction site finds its way on to the road," added Pawan Kumar from Nai Basti attending a patient. When contacted, Civil Surgeon Dr Ajay Sahni said he would look into the situation tomorrow. "We will get oil sprayed in the stagnant water to prevent breeding of mosquitoes. Action will be taken immediately," he said. Meanwhile, the Health Department had sent blood samples of 33 suspected dengue cases for conducting the confirmatory test. Of these, 10 tested positive for the disease. With this, the total number of dengue cases reported from the district has risen to 136.
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Congress to stage protest
Bathinda, November 17 The local Congress unit feels that the entire government machinery is pressed into service at the disposal of SAD leaders whenever they visit any district of Punjab to address the people, said Bindra. The residents of Bathinda bear the brunt of this the most as during a visit by any member of the Badal family to Bathinda, the workforce of the government departments is put at their disposal. Bindra said the aim of the dharna would be to make the people aware of the anti-people stance adopted by the state government and the loot of the common man who is forced to pay hefty power bills, property tax, lack of basic medical facilities, absence of education and road infrastructure, among other problems. The Congress leader said that thousands of people die in road accidents every year and even then the state government is increasing its revenue by setting up more liquor vends, that too on GT road in the state.
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Panels formed for Mohan Singh Mela
Bathinda, November 17 The volunteers of Prof Mohan Singh Mela Memorial Foundation and Youth Clubs Organization convened a meeting at the heritage village Jaipalgarh today where the arrangements for Prof Mohan Singh Mela scheduled for November 22-23 were discussed. The organisers, Jasvir Singh Grewal and Jagmohan Singh Makkar, stated that the chief patron of the mela would be Education Minister Sikandar Singh Maluka. The chairman of the committee will be the Bathinda MLA Sarup Chand Singla while the president of the welcome committee would be MLA (Bathinda rural) Darshan Singh Kotfatta. The coordinators for the fair include Sardool Singh Grewal, Sadhu Ram Kusla, Jaswinder Singh Jassa, Inderjit Singh, Ramneek Walai, Narinder Pal and others. They will assist in organising the event in an integrated manner. Sub-committees have been set up to look after different aspects like welcome, publications, propaganda and felicitation, lodging and boarding, first aid, security, pandal, exhibition, hospitality committee, cleanliness, stalls, light and sound and parking to ensure that the cultural event is held in a smooth manner. Prominent among those present at the meeting were Chamkaur Singh Mann, Bant Singh, Gurcharan Singh, Bant Singh Dhillon, Rajinder Jindu, Iqbal Singh, Mahinder Pal Singh, Amandeep Walia, Surinder Singh Sidhu, Kuldeep Bangi and Gursewak Nandgarh, among others.
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NGO comes to aid of needy students
Bathinda, November 17 The chairman of the school management committee Inderjit Kaur said 27 needy students of the school were identified among whom shoes were distributed. She thanked the BVM for the help and added, "The shoes and socks mean a lot for these poor children whose parents have to toil hard to make both ends meet." DK Garg and Raja Ram Bansal said the Bathinda Vikas Manch was committed to helping more such students. The NGO has also been making efforts to take up other social causes like blood donation and saving the environment, seeking to spread social messages across all sections of society in Bathinda region.
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Dosa here reminds one of South India
Bathinda, November 17 It is one of the rare South Indian joints that depend on the spices especially brought from Tamil Nadu and not the readymade masalas found in grocery stores. Its owner, 36-year-old Govind, a native of Tamil Nadu, who came to the city of lakes 13 years ago, says "I prepare the masala with spices and condiments specially bought from Tamil Nadu. The Northern Indian spices do not give the required taste and the effect and thus lack the authentic South Indian taste." Govind came to the city with a relative in the Indian Army deployed in Bathinda Cantonment. The city embraced him with warmth and Govind returned the warmth with his culinary skills. On the menu of South Indian Dosa Corner are delicacies like paneer dosa, special dosa, plain dosa, sambar vada, onion uttapam and idli with generous toppings of chutneys and sambar. Govind's father Swaminathan helps his son in preparing dosa besides idli and vada pao. The father-son duo soaks rice and cereal overnight. They then prepare the raw material from 7 am to 12 noon and open the shop at 1 am. While Govind prepares the material, Swaminathan assists him by overseeing work with two workers at the shop situated near Ghorewala Chowk. Govind has twice shifted his 'adda' (shop) and once shifted it to Ambala for a couple of months. "But we failed to find the love of customers in Ambala and hence, came back to Bathinda. Here, once a person eats our dosa, he or she returns with more people in tow to savour the taste again," added Govind. The food corner was first set up near the Fire Brigade street adjoining the busy Dhobi Bazar and then shifted to Arya Samaj Chowk. Govind then went to Ambala only to return within a few months. He now runs the eatery at Ajit Road where mainly the students pour in. "The youngsters these days are fond of junk food like pizza and burgers which is harmful for their health. At our eatery, they are served nutritious and hygienic food," claims Govind. The novelty of his food corner, dosa, is up for grabs at Rs 40 per plate. Govind now aims at making dosa a staple food in the city. While dosa is prepared using oil and butter, the diet conscious people opt for idli, which is quite healthy and good for the health conscious people, he adds.
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Theft reported at govt school in dist
Bathinda, November 17 An LPG cylinder, sugar and other edibles were stolen from the school after breaking open the locks at the entrance of the door of the government school. Government teachers, who have lodged similar complaints earlier at other police stations of the district, reveal that the police hardly conduct any inquiry to trace the culprits on the ground that the amount involved in the theft is quite low. "Though the amount of theft is low, the frequent thefts at government schools force the authorities to register a case," said a government teacher. A lecturer at a nearby school said the thieves take advantage of the policemen's lax attitude towards the complaints registered by the teachers and carry out more thefts. "There is no night vigil and even during the day time, nobody is concerned after the school hours about people entering or exiting the school," the lecturer said. The material stolen by the thieves is usually LPG cylinder, electronic gadgets including computers, CFLs and other material. The teachers demanded that the government should think of a permanent solution. While there is hardly any theft in private schools, which have anti-theft gadgets and watchmen, there has been no such effort made by the functionaries of the education department.
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The Bathinda (Urban) unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today boycotted the ceremony organised by the Beopar Mandal to felicitate Bathinda (Urban) MLA Sarup Chand
Singla.
While the Health Department and the Municipal Corporation Bathinda (MCB) employees are aggressively working towards containing dengue cases in the city, they have not been able to check the stagnant water around the Women and Children Hospital on the premises of the Civil Hospital.
