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Protest bid by teachers foiled
Congress decries sangat darshan
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Arrest of Powercom JE depicts consumers’ plight
AAP emulating our govt’s schemes in Delhi, says Badal
Punjabi film director pens lyrics for his next venture
Two minors raped in Jhumba village
One arrested with illegal weapon
Rally against drug menace
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Protest bid by teachers foiled
Bathinda, January 5 "We got the information that the teachers were getting together to stage a protest in the city and block traffic. Working on the tip-off, we went to the spot and rounded up the teachers. We let them off at around 4 pm after they assured us that they would not assemble and block traffic or stage a protest in the city," said DSP Gurmit Singh Kingra. Speaking to Bathinda Tribune, Jagnam Singh, a member of the union, claimed that the union had planned the protest before the news of the Chief Minister of Punjab, Parkash Singh Badal holding a sangat darshan in the city, was announced. "Abiding by our plan to launch a state-level protest against the government, the members of the union were reaching the city when suddenly police personnel came and arrested us and took us away. One of the policemen also slapped our district president Gurpreet Singh," he stated. He also argued that the police action was uncalled for since the teachers hadn't even started their protest. "The police told us that instead of assembling in the city and staging a protest, the union should have resorted to sending a deputation of teachers to meet the CM at his sangat darshan. But when we asked the police to let us do so, they didn't listen to us," he added. Explaining the demands of the union, Singh stated that the government should regularise the temporary staff of the aided schools and also resume offering scholarship and uniforms to the students of these schools. Elaborating on the union's plan of action, Singh said, "Taking cognisance of the treatment meted out to us today, we have planned to stage a protest at places where the CM, the Deputy CM or the Member of Parliament will hold sangat darshans." Meanwhile, a deputation of the Punjab Aided School Teacher & Other Employees Union, Bathinda, met the CM during his sangat darshan in the city today. "After we submitted our memorandum of demands, the CM promised that he will look into the matter. A meeting of a deputation of teachers has also been fixed with him for January 8," said Maan Singh, president of the union. Stating the demands of the union, Maan Singh said, "We are demanding that the government should either begin the recruitment process to bring in more teachers for these schools or merge them with its government schools as has been done in Haryana and Rajasthan." "There are 484 aided schools in Punjab. While earlier, these schools had 10,000 staff members, now only 4,000 are left. The teaching and non-teaching staff members retire every year while no new recruitment is being done. Our salaries are also never released on time," he added. |
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Congress decries sangat darshan
Bathinda, January 5 Alleging that not many people turned up at the sangat darshan held by the Chief Minister of Punjab, Parkash Singh Badal, in the city today, Jassi stated that a thin crowd indicated the fact that the public had lost trust in the SAD-BJP government in the state. He also targeted the CM for not announcing grants for any development work in the city and stated that this had infuriated the people. He also alleged that while the members of the public were not being allowed to meet the CM, those close to the SAD-BJP leaders were the only ones getting an audience with him. Jassi challenged the CM to visit the backward areas of the city if he really wanted to listen to the problems of the people and address them. He added that only during such visits would the CM realise that a majority of people in the city are bereft of basic facilities while the state government is busy making tall claims about putting the district on the path of development. |
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Arrest of Powercom JE depicts consumers’ plight
Bathinda, January 5 The consumers said they should not be held responsible for any damage or tampering of the meters, which are installed outside their houses. People said the villagers harbouring a grudge against someone break the meter and then the authorities impose a heavy penalty or register cases against the meter owner. Dev Raj, a Junior Engineer (JE), was arrested yesterday by Vigilance sleuths for demanding Rs 15,000 from a farmer in Chaoke village. The meter of the farmer, Gurdev Singh, got dismantled after the wall on which the meter was installed, was hit by a tractor-trailer last month. Despite informing the Powercom officials that his meter has been damaged accidentally, the authorities refused to listen. The farmer was told that either a case will be registered against him or he will have to pay heavy penalty. Gurdev's numerous requests about the meter being damaged inadvertently fell on deaf ears and the JE concerned refused to listen to the farmer's claims. The JE then asked Gurdev to settle the issue by paying him a bribe of Rs 15,000. The farmer, while expressing his inability to arrange for the money, coaxed the JE to accept Rs 10,000 for the installation of a new meter to avoid penalty and the police case. The JE, however, landed in the Vigilance net after a formal complaint by the farmer. Powercom officials said 40 to 50 cases are received every month from Bathinda and Mansa. Sandeep Singh, a resident of Akalia Khurd village, who refused to entertain the officials and did not offer them bribe, said the power connection of his house had been snapped in a similar manner on December 29. Officials of the department failed to find seals in the meter of Sandeep's house. The meter is installed outside the house. "The meter was working properly and I have no idea how the seals went missing as nobody ever opened the meter box once it was installed outside our house," Sandeep said. He pointed out that the electricity bill amounting to Rs 3,500 to Rs 4,000 was being paid regularly during the summer and Rs 500 to Rs 1,500 during the winters ever since the meter was installed outside his house two years ago. He said despite taking up the matter with the senior officials, there was no respite and ultimately his power connection was snapped and a penalty of Rs 20,000 was imposed on him. "Now, we are forced to use generator and battery-run inverter for electricity in the house," Sandeep said. "A case is now pending in the district courts to settle the dispute but it will surely go a long way and there seems to be no imminent respite," Sandeep said. He added that some villagers advised him to settle the issue with a bribe of Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 but he did not think it appropriate.. Expressing similar views, Bhupinder Singh of Faridkot said if an electric meter develops snag or is damaged, the Powercom officials term it as tampering. They refuse to listen despite requests and impose heavy penalty and even recommend registration of a case, he said. Bhupinder said there are villages where meters have still not been installed outside the houses. The possibility of electricity theft there is more. But the meters, installed outside, are prone to damage by anyone. "Personal enmity also lead to the damage of meters and the Powercom imposes a heavy penalty despite the fact that a person is not responsible for the meters installed outside," Bhupinder added. SSP Vigilance Sukhdev Chahal, while not ruling out the possibility of more such cases, urged the consumers to contact him if any of the Powercom officials harass them unnecessarily. Superintending Engineer, Powercom, Inderjit Garg, while denying allegations of misuse of power, said that if a meter is found tampered with, it is the responsibility of the consumer, even if the meter is installed outside his house. "Nobody else would tamper with the meter except for the consumer itself. There are many cases where meters have been found to be tampered with," Garg said. He denied disconnecting power connection without any preliminary investigation. He added that a meter is first taken to the laboratory and a notice is sent to the consumer in whose presence the meter is to be examined. If the consumer fails to turn up after serving the first notice, a second notice is served and the meter is opened in the lab after serving the third notice. "If it is found to have been tampered with, then the power connection is disconnected and a penalty is imposed as per a set standard," he said. The SE said that earlier, the Punjab Electricity Regulatory Commission had declared that the meters installed outside the houses was not the responsibility of the consumer. But the decision was withdrawn six months ago. |
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AAP emulating our govt’s schemes in Delhi, says Badal
Bathinda, January 5 Interacting with media persons, he said sangat darshan is a flagship programme of his government and it was an integral part of the state's governance as it enabled the government to redress the problems of the people besides judging the performance of the officials. "We have virtually brought the government at the doorsteps of the people, thereby bridging the gap between the executive and the people. That is why, it is been emulated by the AAP in the form of mass contact programmes," said Badal. Answering a query on the virtual revolt in the Congress following the revamping of the PPCC set-up, he said it was an internal matter of that party. However, he said that following the results of the general elections, the Congress would figure only in history books. Answering another query, the Chief Minister said the matter pertaining to the PIMS institute in Jalandhar would be resolved within
a week. The CM was accompanied by Chief Parliamentary Secretary (CPS) Sarup Chand Singla, Director, Local Government, Priyank Bharti, Deputy Commissioner KK Yadav and local BJP chief Parminder Goyal.
— TNS |
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Punjabi film director pens lyrics for his next venture
Bathinda, January 5 Talking to Bathinda Tribune about the film, city-based Gill said, “Yoddha is the story of the fight of a common man against the corrupt system. The film’s story targets the highly corrupt political big wigs, the way the police work in tandem with politicians and how the common man is at the receiving end of the nexus.” ‘Yoddha’ will be directed by Mandeep Beniwal and produced by Kuljinder Sidhu. The duo had earlier worked together to make the much-talked about film, ‘Sadda Haq’, which managed to see the light of the day after the director-producer duo took the fight against the ban on the film to the Supreme Court of India and won the case. In this film too, Kuljinder will be seen as the lead actor. When asked if he was also worried about the fact that his film might also provoke people to protest, Gill said, “I have written a safe and commercially viable film. It is against the system and the political set-up and speaks on behalf of the common man. I won’t say that it is too safe to make an impact. In fact, as a writer, I want my film to move the category of audience it is targeting. That’s what art is meant for - to mirror what happens in the society.” While expressing his views on the Censor Board, Gill said, “The work of the Censor Board is to stop objectionable content from reaching a public platform. While in reality, the Censor Board often gives a green flag to offensive content and edits films which are perfectly fine,” he said. “I must also add that the public also lacks the sensibility to appreciate a work of art or a form of media as their own voice. Instead of blindly following what the leaders and others have to say, they should use their own discretion to see whether a film is in their favour or not,” he added. Apart from ‘Yoddha’, Gill is also busy working on ‘Sarhad: 1947’, a Punjabi film which is based on the partition and will feature renowned Bollywood and Punjabi actor Jimmy Sheirgill. “I will be doing the screenplay, dialogues and songs of ‘Sarhad: 1947’. The shoot for the film is also scheduled to begin in February,” he said. “After I get free from these films, I have plans to make a feature film of my own as direction is also my passion. The film will be based on the novel written by renowned Punjabi writer Baldev Singh Sadaknama, ‘Kalri Dharti’ (The Barren Land’),” he added. Gill recently released the DVD of the short film, ‘Sutta Naag’, which is based on the short story by Ram Sarup ‘Ankhi’. The film was screened at the Punjabi International Film Festival in Toronto and at the Maa Boli Punjabi Film Festival in Vancouver, apart from being screened in eight cities in Australia and Oakland. |
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Jostle your way through narrow bylanes to relish mouth watering paneer samosa
Gurdeep Singh Mann Tribune News Service
Bathinda, January 5 Making samosas, pakoras and tea for the past 20 years behind the new bus stand, people from various walks of life visit his shop. One has to jostle his way to pass through the slim bylanes around the bus stand and there is hardly any space outside Mangal’s modest shop. While most of the customers with rural background prefer to sit around to have the taste of paneer samosa, others simply ask for a packing. Selling the paneer samosa for Rs 15 per piece, Mangal is also famous around the bus stand for his special pakoras. With a number of eateries coming up in the city, Mangal said his customer base was also changing with the passage of time. “Earlier, people from all walks of life used to visit and relish the dishes. At that time, a major chunk of my customers was from the middle and lower middle class,” Mangal said. He added that now, most of the people visiting his shop comprised of villagers and urbanites residing or working nearby. Being close to the bus stand, the court complex and district administration complex, government servants and lawyers too enjoy his samosas. Apart from the paneer samosa, Mangal is also proficient in making mirch pakora, aloo pakora and bread pakora. He said with the passage of time, the quantity of food items had increased manifold, whereas the quality is going down. The reason, he says is the ever rising inflation. “Earlier, I used to stuff the samosa with cashew nuts and almonds, but now the same is used only on special orders,” Mangal said. “Now, I focus upon mixing green chili, ginger, coriander leaves and other ingredients to be filled in the hard dough,” he added. With two servants at his rented shop, Mangal has seen the time when he was the only samosa seller in the market.
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Two minors raped in Jhumba village
Bathinda, January 5 The 13-year-old, a student of class VIII, had come from Bajakhana village to meet her maternal uncle in Jhumba a few days ago following her school holidays. The 17-year-old girl, a student of class XII, was the daughter of the minor girl's maternal uncle. Investigating officer in the case Roop Singh said the youths have been identified as Lakhvir Singh, Pali and Babbu, all residents of Jhumba village. While the girls belong to the Jatt community, the youths belong to the SC category. The girls informed their relatives that they were taken into a secluded room of the village situated under a mobile tower last night where the accused raped them. A case has been registered in this connection at the Nandgarh police station. The accused youth are at large. |
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One arrested with illegal weapon
Bathinda, January 5 Apart from the illegal 315 bore pistol, a live cartridge was also recovered from the accused, the police said. A case in this connection has been registered. In another case, the police have nabbed Sukhchain Singh, a resident of Maur Mandi, for possessing banned medicinal drugs. The accused was found carrying the drugs without having any doctor’s prescription or authorisation. The police officials said a thief was also arrested with cash stolen from a religious place at Maur and two motorcycles.
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Sangrur beat Bathinda to win hockey tournament
Bathinda, January 5 While Bathinda grabbed the second place, the third place went to Fatehgarh Saheb in this under-17 hockey championship. With both the teams’ score cards carrying two each at halftime, the match was poised to go either way. In the second half, Sangrur players showed commendable alacrity and coordination and scored three goals
in succession. Bathinda lost the chance to tilt the balance after its players failed miserably in turning two penalty corners into goals and lost to Sangrur. Bathinda’s Ramandeep Singh was named the best scorer of the tourney. Fatehrgarh Saheb’s Gurbaaz Singh was adjudged the best goalkeeper while Bathinda’s Manvir Singh was named the best half and Sangrur’s Karan was given the title of the best forward. |
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Rally against drug menace
Bathinda, January 5 Brar said the students were administered a pledge to fight against drugs and anyone consuming them should be made aware of the disadvantages of this slow poison. The students were also encouraged to take part in such rallies and to spread awareness against the drug menace. The students were also made aware about solutions and to counter eve-teasing. |
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