Bathinda, January 23
The Punjab Depot Holders Association today held a protest against the Punjab government as part of their ongoing state-wide campaign.

The depot holders are protesting the government’s move to hand over the Public Distribution System (PDS) to the inspectors deputed with the Department of Food Supplies instead of the depots. They also demand a fixed source of income as the government’s move has rendered them ‘jobless’.

Addressing the gathering, state president of the association, Gurjinder Singh Sidhu, condemned the move of the government that has left 26,000 depot holders and their families sans any means of livelihood.

Depot holders have been on strike since December 2 for an indefinite period. District president of the union, Santokh Singh, said the depot holders and the poor, who got their supply of ration through the PDS, had become a victim of political tussle.

“Under the Food Security Bill, 67 per cent population is entitled to wheat at Rs 2 per kg, which the Punjab government said it would provide at Re 1 per kg. The Punjab Congress informed the Central government that the SAD-BJP government was trying to show its populist face on the basis of subsidised food that the Centre gave,” he said.

The Central Government then withheld the supply of ration. Though the ration for December and January has been allocated, it is yet to be released and has not reached the ration depots.

Members of the Association said the Minister for Food and Supplies, Adesh Pratap Kairon, has been working in an arbitrary manner, closing down the depots that have been working since 1955 in the state. “If the government is hell bent on closing down the depots, it should have a rehabilitation policy for us. We should be assigned some other work and be given a fixed monthly salary,” they demanded.

They added that no other state in North India has closed its PDS centres so far and Punjab has earned the dubious distinction of being the first one to take such a step. As per the plan, around 1,200 inspectors will replace 26,000 depots for the PDS. The agitating depot holders submitted a memorandum to the Tehsildar. Tomorrow, a dharna will be held at Mansa.

Bathinda, January 23
Delhi to Bathinda as well as the Lehra Mohabbat area will soon have passenger and goods trains running on electrical tracks, replacing the diesel engines. The project will be completed within a period of three years.

General Manager of the Central Organisation for Electrification of Railways (CORE), Jagdev Kalia, said this during a visit to railway station here today. He inspected the Delhi-Bathinda railway track.

Kalia said the price of diesel was skyrocketing day by day. Since diesel is used in the railways in abundance, the railways gave the nod to electrification project.

Under the project, the Delhi-Bathinda railway track is being electrified. Also, the Bathinda to Lehra Mohabbat thermal plant railway track will also be electrified. Around Rs 230 crore will be spent on the project.

The tenders are expected to be floated within the next two months and it will be completed in three years.

The railways will save Rs 100 crore spent on diesel for this section.

He said the Talwandi Sabo rail link would not be included as of now.

Bathinda, January 23
Handwriting competitions were held at different schools in the city today marking celebrations of the International Handwriting Day.

Saras Calligraphy, an institute that teaches good handwriting, held handwriting competitions at The Millennium School and Police DAV School.

Students from the Class III to X participated in the competition at Police Public School. Students were divided into three categories. First category included students from classes III to V wherein Kirandeep Kaur stood first and Irwin and Kritika bagged second and third places, respectively.

The second category included students from classes VI to VIII. In this category, Chetna, Pawandeep Kaur and Shikha Nagpal secures first, second and third place, respectively.

In the third category, students of classes IX and X participated. Agam Ravjeet, Neha Goyal and Hasanpreet Kaur secured first, second and third places, respectively.

At The Millennium School, class III students Mannat Arora, Heena Ali and Paru secured first, second and third places, respectively. From class IV, Pooja Kumari, Sehaj and Nimita Singla secured first, second and third places, respectively. Class V students Parisha Grover, Bhawna and Sashika Bansal secured first, second and third places, respectively.

The day was also observed at the Government Senior Secondary School Maiserkhana. In Punjabi writing, Jasvir Kaur of class IX secured first place followed by Lovedeep of class XII. In Hindi writing, Bholi Devi, Gian Kaur and Jasvir kaur secured first, second and third places, respectively. In English writing Gagandeep Kaur, Beant Kaur and Banto Devi secured first, second and third places, respectively. — TNS

Bathinda, January 23
Not even a single beneficiary has been able to derive any advantage under the state government’s prestigious Atta-Dal Scheme in which the blue ration card holders were to get wheat at Re 1 per kg, say depot holders. The deadlock between fair price shop or ration depot holders and the state government has created a difficult situation for the BPL families who are dependent on the Public Distribution System (PDS) for their monthly ration.

Not only the blue card holders but also those belonging to the Scheduled Castes, below poverty line (BPL) families and very poor families are also not getting any ration from the depots enlisted under the Public Distribution System (PDS) in Punjab. They haven’t received ration in December 2013 and January 2014.

Launched on December 1, 2013 with tall claims of covering 30 lakh blue card holders in the state, the scheme currently is enrolling and identifying the beneficiaries. In Bathinda district, 97,437 applications for the scheme have been found eligible for getting the benefit of the scheme, while 80 per cent of these have been linked with the UIDAI numbers.

Work on further pruning the ineligible beneficiaries is going on.

Bathinda, January 23
As many as 8,000 voters and 700 students of schools and colleges will participate in the rally on National Voters’ Day being held here on January 25. The chief guest at the event will be District Election Officer-cum-Deputy Commissioner Kamal Kishore Yadav.

The Deputy Commissioner said the participants had been divided into six groups. Four groups would walk from different spots in the city to the Multipurpose Stadium while one group each would participate in the tableaux and cycle rally.

In the sector 1 rally, students of Giani Zail Singh Engineering College, Government Rajindra College, Punjabi University Regional Centre and Police Public School will assemble in the grounds of Police Public School. Starting from the school, the group will reach Hanuman Chowk via Balmiki Chowk, Bhagu Road, 100 Feet Road, Power House Road, State Bank of Patiala (Traffic Lights chowk) and further move towards the stadium. ASP Alka Meena will flag off this group.

The sector 2 rally will include students of Government Senior Secondary School, Paras Ram Nagar, SSD Girls College, MHR School and Arya Girls School and assemble in the grounds of MHR School. The group will move towards Mall Road, Arya Samaj Chowk, Court Road, Fauji Chowk, Krishna Continental Hotel and will assemblr at the stadium. BDA Chief Administrator Varinder Sharma will flag off this team.

In sector 3 rally, students of Khalsa Senior Secondary School and Des Raj School will assemble in the grounds of Des Raj School. Starting from the school, the group will move towards Sirki Bazar, Bank Bazar, Arya Samaj Chowk, Fire Brigade Chowk, Mall Road and reach the stadium. The Tehsildar, Bathinda, will flag off the rally.

In the sector 4 rally, students of Government Polytechnic College, DAV College, Dasmesh Public School and Guru Nanak Dev School will assemble in the grounds of DAV College.

Starting from the college, this group will move towards 100-Feet Road, Ghode Wala Chowk, Ajit Road, Fauji Chowk, Krishna Continental and will assemble at the stadium. Assistant Municipal Commissioner Kamal Kant Goyal will flag off this team.

Besides, a tableaux has been prepared to observe the National Voters’ Day that will emphasise on the importance of voting. A cycle rally will accompany the tableaux. Students of Government Girls School Mall Road and SSD Girls College will cycle ahead of the tableaux dressed in white.

Municipal Commissioner Vipul Ujwal will flag off the tableaux. The tableaux and the cycle rally will start from Rose Garden and move towards Tinkoni, Amrik Singh Road, Hospital Bazar, Sadbhawana Chowk, Dhobi Bazar, Mall Road and will culminate at the stadium.

The overall in-charge of the event would be ADC (D) Sonali Giri. All the rallies will reach the stadium at around 10:30 am where a function would be held. The programme will conclude with the oath-taking ceremony, wherein the Deputy Commissioner will administer the oath. 

Bathinda, January 23
Guest faculty members of the Government Rajindra College, who have been on strike against the state government, today blocked the traffic on the GT Road demanding salary as was promised to them in December 2011. They blocked the traffic for about half an hour. The lecturers have been demanding a minimum pay of Rs 10,000 per month with 10 per cent hike every year.

Faculty members squatted on the road blocking traffic that was diverted from the backside of the District Administrative Complex.

SHO Jagdish Sharma reached the spot and assured them of a meeting with the tehsildar. The lecturers handed over a memorandum to the Tehsildar. 

Bathinda, January 23
Sahara Jan Sewa, an NGO, raised a temporary shelter for the vagabonds, who spend nights under the open skies in the biting cold. The initiative was taken by NGO president Vijay Goyal. Goyal said a city businessman had offered financial support to erect the temporary shelter alongside the footpath besides the railway road.

NGO volunteers said as many as 100 people, including elderly, children and women, would be accommodated in this shelter. “At least they will get some respite from the cold and rain during the winter. We are planning to erect more such shelters in front of the office of the Municipal Corporation,” Goyal said. 

Bathinda, January 23
The CIA staff arrested three persons who had taken to crime after being rendered jobless. SSP Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said the police recovered 1.60 quintals of copper stolen from the electricity transformers of villages in Bathinda and Muktsar districts.

The police nabbed three, while two managed to fled the scene. The police got a tip-off that Hardeep Singh alias Baba from Hamirgarh village had formed a group that stole transformers from the fields in Bathinda and Muktsar. They extracted copper and used to sell it to scrap dealers Vinod Kumar of Paras Ram Nagar, Chhinda Singh of Jeeda village and Hardeep Singh.

Accused Gurjant Singh from Phulo Mitthi village fled while Harjit Singh of Khemuana village is yet to be arrested.

The police said Gurjant and Hardeep used to work with private contractors in the power sector. Ever since the contractor’s term came to an end, Gurjant and Hardeep were rendered jobless and took up stealing transformers, extracting copper and selling it.

The gang had stolen transformers from the fields of villages in Muktsar district, including Chhappianwali, Karampatti, Faraksar Their, Husanpur, Dhanewala, Jandwala, Dhunnewala, Kothe Kehar Singh Wale, Doda, Kothe Sukhna Abbal village Chhateana, Bhunder and Bathinda’s Gobindpura and Bhagi Vander.