Bathinda, January 9
Pensioners in rural pockets will now be disbursed pensions at their doorsteps through mobile ATMs. Aimed at weeding out the bogus pensioners and expediting the system of pension disbursal, the scheme would be launched in the district within a week.

District Social Security Officer Harpal Singh said, “Bathinda district is being covered under the second phase of project. This Electronic Biometric Transfer (EBT) scheme is already running successfully in Mansa, Muktsar and Ludhiana.”

Harpal Singh said the scheme would be started within a week. It would take around two months to cover all the rural beneficiaries and after two months, they would be able to draw their pension through the new system. It would cover the beneficiaries of old-age pension, widow pension, pension for disabled and dependent pension.

Presently, the urban beneficiaries are paid through their bank accounts, while the rural beneficiaries are paid through panchayats. Panchayats pay cash at the village level.

“The rural pension disbursal system was riddled with problems and complaints to deal with which the social security department introduced the EBT system. The government has reached an agreement with the ICICI Bank under which the bank will take thumb-impression of the rural beneficiaries and open their bank accounts. The bank accounts would be opened on zero balance,” he said.

After the new bank accounts are opened, all the beneficiaries will be issued smart cards. The bank deployed banking correspondent would go to the villages, at a common place, carrying small mobile ATM machines from which the beneficiaries could withdraw their pensions. One banking correspondent will be deployed for every 700 pensioners. The department is yet to finalise the schedule for the disbursal.

The beneficiaries would be able to access their account using thumb impression and could withdraw his or her pension. “This system will enable us to identify bogus pensioners and minimise the pension distribution time,” said Harpal Singh.

Presently, there are 66,977 rural beneficiaries of old-age pension, widow pension, pension for disabled and dependant pension. At the meeting convened in this context today, officials of the ICICI Bank as well as Child Development Project Officers (CDPOs) and Block Development Project Officers (BDPOs) were present.

Bathinda, January 9
While doctors and patients at various government hospitals seek grant for cleanliness and upgrade of basic infrastructure and workers, the state government, however, has spent Rs 37.22 lakh to purchase 80 LED display screens to be installed in government hospitals across the state and offices of the Health Minister and Health Directors in Chandigarh.

Officials of the Health Department claim that the LEDs are meant to spread awareness among people about health-related issues.

"Recorded videos of the Health Department on cleanliness and health care will be shown on these LEDs in government hospitals," said a senior doctor.

The officials of the Health Department, however, fail to reveal the advantages of installing six such screens in the Chandigarh offices of Health Minister, Punjab State Health and Family Welfare office, headquarter of the Punjab Health System Corporation, Mohali, Director Health and Family Welfare Punjab, Director Health Services Punjab and office of National Rural Health Mission, Sector 38, Chandigarh.

Headquarter

• Office of Health Minister, Punjab, in Chandigarh; Office of Punjab State Health and Family Welfare, Punjab, in Chandigarh; Office of Punjab State Health Corporation in Mohali-III
• Office of Director, Health and Family Welfare, Punjab, in Chandigarh, Office of Director, Health Services, Punjab, Chandigarh.
• NRHM-Sector-38, Chandigarh

Bathinda

• Civil Hospital Bathinda-1
• Sub-Divisional Hospital Rampura Phool-1
• Sub -Divisional Hospital Talwandi Sabo-1
• Sub-Divisional Hospital Ghudda-1
• Woman and Children Hospital Bathinda-1

Amritsar

• Civil Hospital Amritsar-1
• Sub-Divisional Hospital Ajnala-1
• Sub-Divisional Hospital-Baba Bakala-1

Barnala

• Civil Hospital Barnala-2
• CHC Tapa-1

Faridkot

• Civil Hospital Faridkot-1
• Sub-Divisional Hospital Kotkapura-1
• Fatehgarh Sahib
• Civil Hospital Fatehgarh Sahib-1
• Sub-Divisional Hospital Mandi Gobindgarh-1

Ferozepur

• Civil Hospital Ferozepur-2
• Sub-Divisional Hospital Fazilka-1
• Sub-Divisional Hospital Zira-1
• Sub-Divisional Hospital Abohar-1

Gurdaspur

• Civil Hospital Gurdaspur-2
• Sub-Divisional Hospital Batala-1
• Sub-Divisional Hospital Pathankot-1

Hoshiarpur

• Civil Hospital Hoshiarpur-2
• Sub-Divisional Hospital Garhshankar-1
• Sub-Divisional Hospital Mukerian-1
• Sub-Divisional Hospital Dasuya-1

Jalandhar

• Civil Hospital Jalandhar-1
• Sub-Divisional Hospital-Phillaur-1
• Sub-Divisional Hospital Nakodar-1

Kapurthala

• Civil Hospital Kapurthala-2
• Sub-Divisional Hospital Phagwara-1
• Sub-Divisional Hospital Sultanpur Lodhi-1
• Sub-Divisional Hospital Bholath-1

Ludhiana

• Civil Hospital Ludhiana-1
• Sub-Divisional Hospital Samrala-1
• Sub-Divisional Hospital Khanna-1
• Sub-Divisional Hospital Raikot-1
• Sub-Divisional Hospital Jagraon-1

Mansa

• Civil Hospital Mansa-1
• Sub-Divisional Hospital Sardulgarh-1
• Sub-Divisional Hospital Budhlada-1

SAS Nagar (Mohali)

• Civil Hospital SAS Nagar-1
• Sub-Divisional Hospital Kharar-1
• Sub-Divisional Hospital Dera Bassi-1

Moga

Civil Hospital Moga-2

Muktsar

• Civil Hospital Muktsar-1
• Sub-Divisional Hospital Malout-1
• Sub-Divisional Hospital Gidderbaha-1

SBS Nagar

• Civil Hospital SBS Nagar-2
• Sub-Divisional Hospital Balachaur-1

Patiala

• Civil Hospital Patiala-1
• Sub-Divisional Hospital-Rajpura-1
• Sub-Divisional Hospital Nabha-1
• Sub-Divisional Hospital Samana-1

Ropar

• Civil Hospital Ropar-2
• Sub-Divisional Hospital Anandpur Sahib-1

Sangrur

• Civil Hospital Sangrur-2
• Sub-Divisional Hospital Malerkotla-1
• Sub-Divisional Hospital Sunam-1
• Sub-Divisional Hospital Dhuri-1
• Sub-Divisional Hospital Munak-1

Tarn Taran

• Civil Hospital Tarn Taran-2
• Sub Divisional Hospital Patti-1
• Sub-Divisional Hospital Khadoor Sahib-1

Bathinda, January 9
The strike by the Contract PRTC Workers Union (Azad) is costing the Bathinda depot of the PRTC dear. The depot is incurring losses estimated to be in lakhs.

The Bathinda depot earns around Rs 11 lakh as daily collection from its buses. Since the day its employees went on strike, i.e. January 8, the income has climbed down by around 50 per cent. There are 920 buses being run under the PRTC. Of this, around 50 per cent remained off the road causing inconvenience to the commuters.

Members of the union said nearly one and half month ago, they had informed the PRTC officials about the strike and hence, the PRTC itself was responsible for the losses and inconvenience that people were now facing.

The PRTC contractual employees are holding protest against the PRTC management and the state government for allegedly forcing them to work in total violation of the labour laws. They are demanding regularisation of the contractual staff.

"We are paid on the basis of kilometres. The contractual drivers and conductors are working beyond 16 hours, yet their shift is not considered as per the labour laws. It is due to these inhuman conditions that accidents occur wherein the drivers, conductors and passengers are killed. The recent incidence of bus falling in Sirhind canal was due to the exhausted employees running buses putting even passengers at risk," said Jasmer Singh, union's president.

Nearly one and half month ago we had given everyone in writing from judiciary to the PRTC high officials.

The PRTC has nine depots in Punjab, including Bathinda, Barnala, Sangrur, Budhlada, Patiala, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Kapurthala and Faridkot. At these depots, around 1,700 contractual employees and 500 regular employees work. The contractual employees were employed in 2003.

A driver is paid Rs 1.05 paise per km, while a conductor is paid 82 paise per km. "At this rate, a driver earns around Rs 9,000 per month and the conductor Rs 8,000 per month. These salaries are lesser than the Deputy Commissioner rates fixed for each person to sustain his livelihood in the times of inflation," said Jasmer.

Bathinda, January 9
With over 1,200 persons turning up at the Suvidha Centre everyday, the common man has termed the facilities at the centre as farce and declared it as ‘Duvidha’ (dilemma) Centre.

The residents of the area alleged that the workers at the centre usually remain absent. They also alleged that out of turn work and lack of coordination has lead to chaos at the centre.

They said out of 37 counters, only few have serpentine queues while the other counters remain empty. Workers at the empty counters never intervene to ease the rush.

A person visiting the centre has to wait in a long queue after which a token is given and he is directed to join a queue. "What is the fun of forcing people to stand in serpentine queues if he is again directed to join another queue? Instead, people should be made clear where to stand before joining the queue,” said Lakhwinder of Lehra Dhurkot village.

"The tall claims of the SAD-BJP, especially the Deputy Chief Minister of providing facilities at Suvidha Centre, has fallen flat as the common man continues to suffer,” said Surjit Singh, who has been making rounds of the centre to renew his driving licence.

He said every minute detail should be printed on the files or forms purchased by people outside the Suvidha Centre.

Lakhwinder, Surjit, Bhupinder, Makhan, Rohit and Rahul were among those applicants who were fuming at the authorities while shuttling from one queue to the other at the centre.

They said, "There is hardly any difference between the old system of working and the one after the introduction of Suvidha Centre."

At around 12.30 pm, Lakhwinder along with 20 others standing in serpentine queues since 10 am, were irritated at the slow pace of 
functioning. "The continuous harassment of people is the only reason why agents are flourishing. These agents pocket huge amounts of money to get someone's work done," said Gurpreet Singh.

"After standing in long queues, people are told to visit another counter for verification, scanning and eye check-up," said Lakhwinder, a software developer. He had come to the centre for the renewal of his DL.

"After standing for 20 minutes in a queue I was told to get my eyesight checked at a different counter where I had to stand for another 15 minutes. After waiting at the counter again, I got a token and was further directed to get the DL verified where I waited for 20 minutes in front of a vacant seat where the employee was not present," said Lakhwinder.

Sukhwinder Singh, who also had come for the same work, said he ran from one room to another to locate the missing employee and finally found him in a room which was guarded by a peon. The peon did not allow anyone to enter the room.

After pleading, the peon allowed Lakhwinder to enter but the employee said he was told to prepare the transportation bills of the World Kabaddi Cup by the Deputy Commissioner. "After getting the licence verified, I was again told to deposit the DL scan fees of Rs 20 outside the Suvidha Centre. The person doing the scanning work demanded Rs 40 instead of the printed Rs 20 on the form," said Lakhwinder.

The DL seekers were then told to queue up to get another token for computerised photographs so that their photo can be stored as data in the computer.

"Here, the employee taking our photos failed to find an appropriate angle as visitorskept walking between the camera and the person being photographed," he said. "It took an hour to capture my image in the computer. All that the authorities require is to draw a box on the floor, on which a person could stand for the photo so that he should not be told to adjust his position every time and install a temporary, if not permanent, barricading to stop the flow of people in front of the camera," said Lakhwinder.

The camera is installed at a place where the people continue to disturb someone posing for the photograph.

After getting the picture clicked, the longest queue was for depositing fees where more than 100 persons were standing. "Many of us gave up and decided to come again tomorrow," said Surjit.

Suvidha Centre in-charge Jaswinder Singh, while admitting the delay, said, "Earlier, the computer data was saved on the local server which has now been shifted to Chandigarh. Due to the uploading of data by all the districts at one place, the computer systems have now become slow."

Suvidha Centre employees said with police tightening the noose around those driving vehicles without driving licence, the rush of people turning up to prepare the same has doubled at the centre in past few days.

Bathinda, January 9
Tableaux at the Republic Day celebrations on January 26 will wear a different look. All the departments will showcase their successful schemes through them.

Instead of adhering to the conventional tableaux presented every year, the district administration has decided to focus on the successful schemes such as Mai Bhago Scheme and Rashtriya Swastha Bima Yojana Scheme.

“The basic aim is to ensure that achievements are put across successfully before the people. We will have special tableaux on voters’ awareness keeping in view the ensuing Lok Sabha elections. Since the main emphasis of the Election Commission of India (ECI) is to ensure that the maximum number of people get enrolled and exercise their right to vote, our emphasis would be on giving a glimpse of the campaign and its importance,” said Yadav. Meanwhile, a meeting of different officials was convened today to discuss the arrangements for the Republic Day celebrations. The SSP has been asked to make arrangements for the Tricolor to be hoisted on the occasion and the band that will be played at the ceremony. The director of the Sainik Welfare Office will arrange the military band.

Ludhiana, January 9
A 30-year-old man of Maur Mandi near Bathinda was killed while his wife, two-month-old son and mother-in-law were seriously injured when their car collided head-on with a private bus on Ferozepur Road near Baddowal village here today.

Nearly 30 passengers travelling on the bus had a miraculous escape. All passengers sustained minor injuries.

The deceased has been identified as Bhagwati Prasad. According to Jasdeep Singh, emergency medical technician of 108 Ambulance, Bhagwati Prasad died on the spot. His wife Monika, mother-in-law Vrinda Devi and two-month-old son were taken to the hospital in a critical condition.

He said the trio had suffered serious head injuries and multiple fractures. Besides, the child had suffered cuts all over the body as he was tossed on to the windscreen during the accident.

The impact of the collision was so strong that the car got badly damaged. The incident took place when Bhagwati Prasad was heading back home on his Hyundai Santro car after meeting relatives in Ludhiana.

According to eyewitnesses, an overspeeding private bus collided head-on with Bhagwati's car.

The driver of the bus escaped from the spot.

The police have impounded the vehicle and have started the investigation.

Bathinda, January 9
Guru Kashi University (GKU) officials today released the varsity’s calendar for the year 2014.

Faculty members of Guru Kashi University, Talwandi Sabo, at the calendar releasing cermony in Bathinda on Thursday. A Tribune photograph

Vice-Chancellor Dr NS Malhi, while releasing the calendar 2014 said the university would start vocational education courses in near future to cater to the needs of youth of the region.

Dr Malhi said the GKU would approach the National Horticulture Mission to start a diploma in horticulture for the students from marginal farming families to build a productive entrepreneurship chain.

Managing Director S Sukhraj Singh Sidhu said the management would provide all possible support to make the varsity an educational hub of the state. Director (Planning & Development) Prof Gurbhajan Singh Gill, Registrar Satish Goswami, Dean Agriculture DR Godara, Dr Sham Singh Dhillon and Dr Bikkar Singh Sidhu were also present on the occasion.