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In poll season, police has its task cut out
Unions flay use of water cannon by police on agitating teachers; Cong
supports stir
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High Court directs BDA to refund bidders’ money
NRHM union plans agitation
Better bathinda Garbage Collection
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In poll season, police has its task cut out
Bathinda, February 2 All the entry points to the city were sealed today following reports of teachers assembling in large numbers since early this morning. A major chunk of the police force was deployed to keep an eye on the teachers' protest on Mansa Road, Dabwali Road, Mall Road, Grain Market and to secure the high- rise water tanks. Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Gurmeet Kingra said two policemen received injuries while trying to stop the teachers from coming towards the railway lines near the grain market. Police said the protesters flouted the magistrate's orders for which 30 to 40 teachers, including women, were arrested. A case will be registered against them, the police said. After receiving a tip-off from the CID wing, the policemen were put on duty in the wee hours today after some protesters climbed atop a water tank. "Hardly any work gets done whenever there is a protest, especially when the teachers or the unemployed linesmen take to the streets. Even those policemen who are on leave are asked to join duty to tackle the protesters," said a senior police official pleading anonymity. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Gurpreet Bhullar said the police came to know about the gathering of the teachers in the wee hours. "We managed to prevent the entry of around 700 to 800 teachers into the city. They were driven out and barred from blocking traffic," Bhullar said. He pointed out that apart from using water cannon, the police also tried to convince the teachers not to carry out the protest. Women police personnel were also deployed to tackle the protest. About the sudden increase in the number of protests by teachers ahead of the elections, the SSP said the police was only performing its duty. "It is not for the first time that the teachers are protesting in the city and we know how to tackle them. Our prime concern is the safety and security of the people and to ensure the smooth flow of traffic on the roads for which a special vigil is being maintained despite the chilling weather," Bhullar said. It is learnt that special orders were given to the police late in the evening today to frustrate the plans of the protesting teachers. The police was in the process of recording the names and addresses of the arrested teachers to register a case against them till late in the evening. |
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Unions flay use of water cannon by police on agitating teachers; Cong
supports stir
Bathinda, February 2 After the talks between the senior police officials and leaders of the protesting teachers' unions failed, the teachers got ready to take out the rally and were intercepted by a huge posse of policemen who tried to get hold of them and packed them into police vans. The police also used water cannon to disperse the protestors. Resham Singh, state president of the Democratic Teachers' Front, said, "We deride the police for being ruthless with the teachers who are asking for the timely release of their salaries, reinstatement of their jobs and compensation according to their pay grade. Instead of listening to their problems and arriving at a conclusion, the state government is using force against these teachers." District president of the 7654 Teachers Union, Shapinder Singh Brar, also condemned the police action. "This is a clear violation of the democratic rights of the citizens of this country. The Constitution of India gives all the citizens the right to express but the Bathinda police and the district administration are taking away these rights of the people. I met the protestors who managed to escape from the protest site and promised them full support from our union." Devinder Singh, state president of the B.Ed Teachers' Front, Punjab, derided the state government and the police for having dual standards. "If a political leader stages protest or takes out a rally, the police give them protection. But if the same is done by the teachers and the other employees of the government, water cannons and canes are used against them," he said. The issue also took on a political hue after the Congress party accused the state government of using force against the teachers. General secretary of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) and former Bathinda MLA, Harmandar Singh Jassi, said, "The SAD-BJP government should make it clear as to what it wants. While on the one hand, it says that it wants to make the state an education hub, on the other, it is lathicharging teachers after taking away their jobs." Extending their support to the teachers sitting on a dharna below the water tank at Gol Diggi and those sitting atop it, workers of the district Congress committee arranged for food for the protesting teachers. factfile
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High Court directs BDA to refund bidders’ money
Bathinda, February 2 A local doctor, Dr Gajendra Shekhawat, had filed a petition in the High Court against the BDA, Punjab Urban and Development Authority (PUDA) and the Secretary, Local Department, in the case of encroachments around the land allotted for the 2420 square yards hospital built at a cost of Rs 8.66 crore in June 2011. Dr Shekhawat had claimed that at the time of allotment, the BDA authorities had shown that the area is going be fully developed as a posh locality. Convinced with the claims of the BDA, he bought the land at the rate of Rs 35,000 per square yard against a reserved price of Rs 11,140 per square yard at the auction. However, while taking possession of the land, it was found that the area has been encroached upon by slum dwellers. As per the allotment letter issued to him, it is mandatory to build a hospital within three years from the date of the allotment letter being issued. He demanded that the time for constructing the hospital should be extended till the encroachment is removed and thereafter, three years be granted to complete the construction. After the arguments, in its orders passed on January 27, the court stated that the petitioner Dr Shekhawat may accept the amount in question without any interest and the authorities may refund it without insisting on any deduction. Chief Administrator, BDA, Varinder Kumar Sharma has been directed to call the petitioner Dr Shekhawat and resolve the issue before the next date of hearing on February 28. Meanwhile, Sharma said he is yet to receive a copy of the orders. "We will get the matter legally examined and solve it before the stipulated time-frame fixed by the court," he said. |
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NRHM union plans agitation
Bathinda, February 2 A number of times, the government made announcements about regularising the services of the agitating NRHM employees, but did nothing to implement the announcements made, he said. Pamphlets were distributed in Mati Dass Nagar, in the area opposite the Police Lines, bus stand, Ajit Road and the railway road. The employees said the government pays them only Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 per month. They are also not given any additional benefits as is the case with the other employees of the same cadre. Starting from Bathinda, the campaign would be run across the state. The announcement regarding the stir, however, is sure to cause consternation in the administrative circles as the officials already have their hands full with the teachers’ stir going on in the area. |
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Better bathinda Garbage Collection The city has been the first in the state to hire a private company to collect and dispose of garbage. It is also fast heading towards setting up a solid waste treatment plant. Bathinda Tribune takes a peep into the scenario and the problems that confront it Megha Mann Tribune News Service
Bathinda, February 2 The city was also the first to be chosen for setting up a solid waste treatment plant, where JITF Urban Infrastructure Limited was the successful bidder. The company has the experience of running similar models in eight other states of the country. Before JITF forayed into garbage collection, hygiene in the entire city was in the hands of the municipal workers whose strength fell woefully short in dealing with 120 tonnes of garbage produced daily. Now, with a combined army of the JITF employees and municipal workers, the situation has improved a lot. Despite having succeeded in collecting garbage from the residential areas and industrial units, hygiene in the city still remains a big issue. This is how garbage collection begins
To ensure that the city is clean, the entire crew works in two shifts. Garbage dumped overnight and in the morning is collected before 11 am while the rest is collected before 2 pm. However, the change has not come overnight. Before handing over the task of garbage collection to the JITF, the MCB had to confront anti-incumbency and the feeling of alienation that was rampant among the MCB workers. When the project was taken over, the apprehension of losing their jobs to a private company, made the MCB sanitation workers go on a strike and garbage was to be seen everywhere in the city. Now, the same situation persists in Jalandhar and Amritsar where MC employees oppose the entry of the private company. There are 54 secondary points in the city where door-to-door collectors dump the waste along with the MC employees who clean the streets and the open drains. “We are not supposed to collect the ‘malba’ from vacant plots and have to pick garbage from secondary points only. Though it can be done on special request, we are yet to get such an exclusive request,” said the in-charge of the JITF project, Sunil Singh. The cleanliness brigade and the statistics
The MCB has a brigade of 703 employees who are permanent and another batch of 138 daily wagers too. Besides, seasonal labourers are hired in times of urgency. All these employees are deputed for sweeping the streets and cleaning the open drains that run in the heart of the city as well as in slum areas. The JITF has 355 garbage collectors and 19 drivers. They work with 18 small vehicles, eight big compactor vehicles and eight tractor-trolleys. Of the 355 garbage collectors, 242 are those who have a rickshaw and collect garbage door-to- door from 46,000 households in the city. There are a total of 52,000 units that generate garbage in the city. These include 46,000 households and 6,000 commercial establishments. All of them pay user charges as per the area of their establishment. The mathematics
behind the garbage
The cost of garbage collection is Rs 784 per tonne. The MCB currently pays Rs 300 per tonne while the rest has to be given through the user charges collected. From the residential pockets, the collection of user charges is around 70 per cent, whereas from the commercial establishments, it is a mere 6 to 7 per cent. Out of the 6,000 commercial establishments, only 427 pay regularly. These include marriage palaces, restaurants and hotels. JITF looks forward to getting clearance for setting up a garbage treatment plant on Mansa Road site to enable it to start power generation from the municipal waste generated. The bottlenecks
The vacant plots and building material (malba) dumped on the roadsides continue to haunt the city. As per the agreement signed with JITF, the employees of the company collect garbage from residential areas and from secondary collection places (huge bins kept at different places in the city). The MCB feels that it should get strict with people by penalising the owners of vacant plots where garbage is dumped. “Such plots stand out like an eye sore on the otherwise clean roads,” said Jagsir Singh, a resident of Ajit Road. With the introduction of property tax, it was expected that such properties would be highlighted and the owners would be penalised. However, the MCB is yet to take any effective step in this regard. The garbage collection project in the city has been adversely affected in commercial pockets where traders refuse to cooperate with the MCB. Shopkeepers at the Mall Road have their own garbage collector whose collection and disposal timings vary from that of the private company. Similarly, people living in area beyond the railway tracks have refused to pay the private garbage collector saying that the MCB already takes so many taxes from the people and it is the MCB’s moral duty to maintain hygiene. “We will pay the bills for garbage collection to the MCB, but not to a private party. After all, it’s the corporation to whom the taxes are paid,” said former municipal councillor Jagrup Singh Gill, who also raised the same issue in the General House of MCB. Treatment plant’s
case before NGT
Garbage collection is the primary component of running the solid waste treatment plant, which is proposed to come up on Mansa Road. Unhappy over the dumping of garbage of not only Bathinda, but also of 17 other urban local bodies, in their neighborhood, the residents of Mati Dass Nagar moved the National Green Tribunal (NGT) challenging the environmental clearance given to the project. Headed by Captain Mal Singh (retd), people pleaded before the NGT to get the plant shifted to a place far away from the habitation. The residents of seven colonies are directly affected due to the setting up of the plant which plans to process garbage from 18 ULBs daily and create power from it. Raising concerns over the high volume of traffic and garbage that the city will receive, people have been demanding shifting of the site that has been used for the past four decades to dump waste. The NGT’s decision is expected on February 6. Officialspeak
Collecting garbage is the primary work of the private company. Any area residents welfare committee can appoint its own employees for sweeping and garbage collection, but the primary job will remain with the JITF. We are closely monitoring the garbage collection on a daily basis and all complaints are discussed with the company officials. Soon, the city would be cleane. said Assistant Commissioner, Kamal Kant
Goyal. |
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This malai pyaz has charmed five generations of food lovers
Gurdeep Singh Mann Tribune News Service
Bathinda, February 2 48-year-old Shammi, the owner, said his grandfather started the dhaba and now his grandsons help him prepare the food and look after the business. Shammi Dhaba is situated at Railway Road in the one of the highly congested areas of the city where parking space is full. The major ingredient in malai pyaz is the onion. The dish is not only delicious but prepared in a little time. Apart from malai, the dish contains cream, dry fruits and khoya. Not just the Malai Pyaz, they also prepare Dal Makhni with a similar zeal. “Despite the rising competition and increase in number of dhabas, a considerable number of customers visit these eating joints and every dhaba has its own speciality,” Shammi said. Though Malai Pyaz is preferred with simple chapati, it becomes extremely delicious with missi roti. “The taste of people has changed over the years. With the passage of time, more competition and rising inflation has affected the quality, quantity and preparation of food,” Shammi said. Shammi’s dhaba was earlier known as Bhaaiyan (brothers) Da Dhaba, but after his grandfather separated from his brothers, the name was changed to Shammi Da Dhaba. The ever rising number of passengers at one of India’s biggest railway stations has proved a blessing in disguise for the dhabas situated in the railway station’s periphery. With the passage of time, the roads have become narrower and more and more eating joints have come up in the area. “Despite congestion, people always find a place to park their vehicles around the dhabas. The traffic police’s drive to issue challans to wrongly parked vehicles proved instrumental in streamlining traffic to a great extent,” Shammi said. It’s only the customers with four-wheelers who have to face a little trouble in parking their vehicles at the railway station. “But we still have place to accommodate 15 to 20 customers at a time,” says the dhaba owner.
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