Bathinda, February 3
The dharna by the teachers employed under the Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS) and Alternative Innovative Education (AIE) schemes, today acquired political overtones as PPP chief Manpreet Badal and Harminder Singh Jassi met the protesters and accused the state government of not heeding to the demands of the teachers.

On Sunday morning, as many as 11 teachers had climbed atop a water tank located near Gol Diggi, in the heart of the city. The situation looked a little tense in the evening as a large posse of police personnel, a fire tender and police vans were stationed near the water tank.

Addressing the protesters today, chief of the People’s Party of Punjab, Manpreet Badal, said, “The SAD-BJP alliance has done everything to curb the democratic rights of the people. Apart from taking their jobs and not heeding their demands, now the government is meting out condemnable treatment to the teachers who have been fighting for their rights.”

He added that instead of solving the problems of the teachers, the government was rubbing them the wrong way by using water cannons and by filing cases against them. The PPP chief also told the teachers to not give up under the pressure of the state government and assured them the support of his party.

After sending food for the protesting teachers on Sunday night, general secretary of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee Harminder Singh Jassi today visited the teachers and extended his party’s support to them.

Bathinda, February 3
Comedian-turned-politician Bhagwant Mann, leader of the People’s Party of Punjab (PPP), was at his best today tickling the funny bone of the voters and asking for votes in the name of change.

Taking a dig at the Badals and asking for votes from the elderly, Mann spoke on topics ranging from drug abuse to female feticide and from unemployment to the alleged monopoly of the Badal family over the state’s transport sector.

Asking for equal opportunities of education for the poor, Mann said the children in rural areas too can become officers provided they get schools, teachers and books that can be of aid to them.

Taking a dig at the statements of Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal on ruling the state, Mann said, “The Badal father-son duo does not work in sync. At one stage, the senior Badal says ‘Raj Nahin Sewa’ and within 15 minutes, Sukhbir adds 25 saal raj karanage.”

Known for his jokes and sense of humour, Mann imitated former president of Lok Bhalai Party Balwant Singh Ramoowalia who has joined SAD after merging his party into it.

Drawing a contrast with the government employees not being paid salaries and perks on time against the four helicopters that the Punjab government owns, Mann said the hard-earned money of the people was finding its way down the drain.

Coming down on the problem of drug addiction in Punjab, he alleged that the owners of red-beacon cars were facilitating the sale and peddling of drugs. “Punjab government’s major source of income is from the jugnis and liquor. Imagine that last year, Punjabis drank 8.5 crore bottles per day and now, the government has increased the target to ensure that no one should sleep without a bottle of liquor at night,” he added.

Motivating the elderly to vote for the PPP, who he claimed had always stamped their vote on the symbol of scale, Mann said it was only Guru Nanak’s scale that weighed “Tera, Tera”. “Badals’ scale only weighs Mera, Mera,” he said sending people into peals of laughter. 

Bathinda, February 3
Jumping on to the bandwagon of drug abuse in Punjab, the People’s Party of Punjab’s (PPP) Putt Bachao Muhim — Save Sons Campaign — reached Bathinda today.

PPP president Manpreet Badal and leader Bhagwant Maan addressed the gathering at Bhana Mal Trust to garner support for the party in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Speaking to media later, Badal said the Putt Bachao Muhim has been launched to save the sons of Punjab from the vicious cycle of drug abuse. He added that by March 1, the party will come out with an elaborate report on drug addiction in Punjab covering all its aspects. “A twenty-five member committee of the party has been formed. It has been given the standard proforma. Members of the committee will visit each and every district where the entire trail of drugs will be followed,” said Manpreet. The report will focus on the sale of drugs, its sellers and the people supporting it. Manpreet said the people of Punjab have lost their faith in the SAD-BJP government. “This report would be kept in the public domain for the people to decide the future course of action. We will release it at Chandigarh on March 1,” he said.

Besides the 25-member committee, support has been sought from apolitical NGOs, senior doctors and retired police officials who can provide their valuable inputs in making the report more authentic. For the Bathinda district, the team will conduct a survey on February 22 and 23.

Speaking about the strategy for the Lok Sabha elections, Badal said the PPP will contest election from all the 13 Lok Sabha seats and will not have any alliance. He said the strongest party candidate will be roped in for Bathinda to ensure that the sitting Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal is defeated.

Bathinda, February 3
Cancer can be defeated with an iron will, a positive bent of mind and healthy eating habits, feel the people who have survived cancer and are now leading healthy lives.

Sixty-six-year-old Subhash Chander Thukral from Bathinda, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2011, is cured now. It was his ability to grasp the complexity of problem, his knowledge about the disease and the will to survive that made him overcome surgery and 25 rounds of radiation therapies.

“Today, I am fully cured, hale and hearty. On learning about the prostate cancer, I did not give up. I googled, read literature on the subject and talked to the other cancer survivors. Having a supportive doctor also helped a lot,” said Thukral, a retired Haryana government employee.

Unlike Thukral, 54-year-old Gurjant Singh from Jassi Pau Wali village did have the privilege to know more about his illness through books. Detected with throat cancer, he complained to his family about difficulty in swallowing food. Starting with the local doctors, within a few days, he reached the Max Hospital where a biopsy confirmed cancer. Since then, Gurjant has undergone 33 rounds of radiation therapy only to emerge a winner. Though he is unable to make out the taste of things he eats, there are no complains about leading life. “I was among the fortunate ones whose problem was diagnosed at an early age and have been treated,” said a jovial Gurjant.

For 58-year-Surinder Kaur, a city resident, fighting the disease was easy with her supportive family and an equally helpful positive frame of mind. Suffering from sudden weight loss and loss of appetite, Surinder approached Adesh Hospital where she was diagnosed with cervix cancer.

“My daughter-in-law cried on learning about my suffering. But I asserted that I was not going to die. When everyone has to die some day, why should we die every moment? I lived my life to the full praying to the Almighty to give me strength. My children have been my biggest support,” added Surinder who has undergone 35 radiation therapies that includes three rounds of internal radiation.

Lakha Singh from Kallo village in Mansa district suffered from prostate cancer and was operated upon in July 2012. He has undergone 25 radiation therapies. He felt that the key to surviving cancer lay in not considering the disease as a problem but an opportunity to be brave. “A healthy mind and strong will with family’s support can move the mountains and overcome even cancer,” he added. All these cancer survivors were present at a meet held at Max Hospital, Bathinda today.

Bathinda, February 3
Central University of Punjab, Bathinda, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Punjab Biotechnology Incubator (PBTI), Mohali, here today.

The MoU aims at mutual cooperation to promote high-end research and academic programmes in the areas of biological sciences, chemical and pharmaceutical sciences, environmental sciences and other areas of mutual interest.

Under the agreement, the CUP will recognise the PBTI as an accredited centre for pursuing research for facilitating doctoral research for the students of the institute in several designated areas at the university.

Speaking on the occasion, Vice-Chancellor Dr Jai Rup Singh said the MOU will provide a platform to the young scientists from the PBTI to work on sophisticated instruments available with the CUPB.

Bathinda, February 3
The problem of garbage strewn on the streets, especially in the slum areas of the city, has become a cause of concern. While the Municipal Corporation Bathinda (MCB) claims to have deputed 703 employees for sweeping the streets and cleaning the open drains, an army of garbage collectors employed by a private firm has been deployed to collect waste door-to-door. Though the collection of garbage and subsequent payment in the form of user charges is going on smoothly, the issue of cleaning the streets and the open drains still remains a bone of contention between the MCB employees and the private firm hired for the task. Bathinda Tribune spoke to a cross-section of the residents asking for a possible solution to the problem.

The garbage collector visits our area daily but the streets and roads are not cleaned every day. As a result, garbage piles up on the roads and in case a strong wind is blowing, gets strewn around. The MCB should ask its own employees to be consistent in their work.

Kulwinder Singh, Guru Gobind Singh Nagar

The employees meant to clean the streets do not visit regularly. The open plots and uncovered drains in the city add to the woes of the people. There should be strict guidelines and instructions for cleaning the drains regularly. As for the garbage lying in the vacant plots, it is not the owner who is in wrong but the neighbours who dump the waste there. There should be some mechanism in place to check the violators so that the city is able to get a clean look.

Rupinder Singh Brar, Jujhar Singh Nagar

Not only the people deployed for collecting the garbage, the general public also should be made accountable. When we go to foreign countries, we do not dare to litter garbage on the streets. In our own city, we act irresponsibly as there is no policing. People should be issued challans and strict action should be taken against those found dumping garbage in places other than the designated ones. The dog owners should be directed to ensure that their pets do not defecate in the open and in case they do, the owner should collect the waste and dispose it of.

Simarjeet Singh Gill, Baba Farid Nagar

Though the collection of garbage is satisfactory in the city, a lot needs to be done to curb the dumping of garbage in the vacant plots. A large part of my ward has residential areas from where garbage is collected timely. Though the streets are swept clean regularly on special requests, the MCB should ensure that its employees work without anyone having to put in a request. Initially, there were issues with the user charges for garbage collection, but these have been resolved.

Master Harmandar Singh, former municipal councillor

The garbage collectors should come twice a day as not everybody is available at home in the morning. People who leave for work early face more problems as the garbage collectors do not come in the evening. At Bharat Nagar, we have our own sweepers as the MCB employees do not serve the area. The area adjacent to the marriage palaces are the worst affected as garbage dumped outside these palaces are often not lifted on time.

Iqbal Singh Dhillon, municipal councillor

Though the cleaning of streets is satisfactory in our area, the MCB needs to improve the system of collecting garbage. Garbage collectors are not regular in our area. Instead of hiring private companies, the MCB should regularise the services of its daily wager employees and deploy them to collect the garbage.

Shama Rani, former municipal councillor 

Bathinda, February 3
Max Super Speciality Hospital organised a rally on the eve of World Cancer Awareness Day where cancer survivors, government officials and students of schools and colleges walked from the hospital to the District Administrative Complex to create awareness.

Municipal Commissioner Vipul Ujjwal flagged off the rally, along with Additional Deputy Commissioner Sonali Giri, that covered a distance of 1.5 km. Around 550 students took part in the rally. The objective of the rally was to create awareness on the importance of regular screening in detecting symptoms of cancer at an early stage.

Addressing mediapersons, radiation oncologist Dr Rajesh Vashisht lauded the spirit of the cancer survivors who walked at the rally today.

Deputy Commissioner Kamal Kishore Yadav also spoke about the burden of cancer in the Malwa region. Radiation oncologist Dr Manjinder Singh Sidhu said early detection was the first step to prevent the disease.

He said at the Max Hospital, 10-15 patients were reviewed on a daily basis from different parts of Rajasthan and Punjab like Mansa, Abohar, Barnala, Malout, Faridkot, Moga, Fazalika, Sri Ganganagar, Sirsa and Dabwali.

Out of these, almost 60 per cent come at a stage when the treatment become difficult as the tumour spreads to the other parts of the body. "We wish to educate the people that cancer is a curable disease and can be prevented. But for its prevention, people need to be proactive and come for regular screening," said Dr 
Sidhu.

“We are also organising a cancer screening and prevention camp today and tomorrow at the hospital from 10 am to 3 pm where people could avail of free consultation with oncologists and get screened for various cancer tests at a discount,” he said.

Dr VP Kalra said cancer was not end of the world. If detected in the early stages like stage I and II, prognosis and survival was about 80-100 per cent as against stage III and IV when prognosis was only 30-50 per cent, he informed. 

Bathinda, February 3
State president of the ETT Teacher's Union, Jagsir Sahota, today submitted a reply to the show-cause notice, issued to him after he was found absent from the school, during a checking conducted by Chairman of Zila Parishad, Gurpeet Singh Maluka.

"I have submitted the reply to the show-cause notice and also mentioned the reason behind my absence from duty on the day the checking was conducted. I was absent from the school because I had to attend a meeting with the Chief Minister in Gidderbaha. I had applied for leave and the application was approved by the headmistress of the school," Sahota told Bathinda Tribune.

Several other members of the union accompanied Sahota to the Zila Parishad office in the city here today. 

Bathinda, February 3
Guest faculty lecturers of Government Rajindra College today travelled to Mansa to sit on a protest outside the Nehru Memorial Government College. The lecturers submitted a memorandum of demands to the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Mansa.

The DC fixed a meeting of a deputation of the lecturers with the Deputy Chief Minister to be held at Mansa on February 6. On last Saturday, the lecturers had also met Education Minister Sikander Singh Maluka.

"He assured us that our demands were valid and that the state government would soon heed to our demands. We will attend all the scheduled meetings, but will also sit on dharna and boycott classes till our demands are accepted," said Rita Aggarwal, one of the protesting lecturers. 

Bathinda, February 3
The PSEB Engineers’ Association has decided to hold protest rallies against the government’s move to raise the upper age limit from 62 to 65 years to make serving IAS officers eligible for the post of Chief Managing Director (CMD), Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), to oblige the present incumbent.

In a letter to CMDs, the Association has intimated that all the engineers of the PSPCL and the PSTCL will hold protest rallies in Bathinda, Patiala and Jalandhar for two hours, from 1 pm to 3 pm on February 6.

President of the association, Baldev Sra, said the agitation would be intensified if the proposal to change the age and experience criteria of CMDs and directors was implemented and tripartite agreement (TPA ) signed between the state government, management and all unions of the PSPCL and the PSTCL at the time of unbundling of the PSEB in 2010 was not implemented in letter and spirit.

The association, in a letter to the Chief Minister has said that the agreement was based on trust.

Bathinda, February 3
A two-day national seminar on 'Excellence in Teacher Education: Need of the 21 century' will be held from February 5.

Sarabjit Kaur Brar, convenor, said Education Minister Sikander Singh Maluka will be the chief guest during the inaugural session.

Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sarup Singla will preside over the session the next day. Eminent educationists from the region will present their papers on the occasion and express their views on a range of topics at the event.

Bathinda, February 3
The Vodafone company was directed to pay a sum of Rs 5,000 as compensation to a mobile phone user for its failure to provide uninterrupted services to a consumer.

Shamsher Singh, Chairman of the Permanent Lok Adalat (PLA), after considering all the facts and circumstances of the case, directed Vodafone to pay the compensation within 30 days of the decision of the court. Failure to pay the compensation will attract interest at the rate of 6 per cent till the payment is realised.

In his application moved under Section 22 C of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987, in the PLA, Gurwinder Mann, a resident of Ajit Road, said he did not receive mobile service for nine days due to the failure of the company to restore his connection.

Mann said he got his post-paid mobile service converted into the pre-paid by submitting all the desired documents and filing the application in the office of the Vodafone in June last year.

The complainant said he proceeded on a 10-day journey to pay obeisance at a religious place but as soon as he left home, his cell phone went out of range. The cell phone remained out of use from July 9 to July 17.

Despite making repeated requests to the company, all his pleas fell on deaf ears. “My family members remained upset during these days as I was not in touch with them,” Mann added.

He pointed out that despite the tall claims of providing uninterrupted service, the company ‘cheated’ him on the issue of providing services.

Ripudaman Goyal, the complainant’s counsel, who argued the case, said the court found deficiency in the services of the company and imposed a fine.

Bathinda, February 3
The court of Pushpinder Singh, Judicial Magistrate, First Class, announced two years of rigorous imprisonment in a cheque-bounce case and directed the opposite party to pay a compensation of Rs 50,000 equivalent to the cheque amount.

Counsel for the complainant, Sanjay Goyal, said Ashu Bansal, a resident of Ganesha Basti, had lodged a complaint under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, and other relevant provisions of law following denial of payment by Amarjit Singh of Kamla Nehru Colony.

The complainant said that the accused owed him Rs 50,000 and had promised to repay the amount in the form of a cheque.

The cheque, however, was dishonoured by the bank due to insufficient funds. Despite making repeated requests, the accused in the case failed to repay the amount following which the complainant moved the court. During the trial, the accused was held guilty of committing an offence punishable under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act. 

Bathinda, February 3
The Kotwali police booked three teachers for disturbing peace, tearing of policemen’s uniform and preventing government servants from performing their duty.

A case under Sections 353, 186, 332, 283, 148 and 149 of the IPC has been registered against Jasvir Singh Pardhan of Moga, Shamsher Singh of Ramgarh Rurki village of Mohali and Gurpreet Singh besides some unidentified teachers protesting in the city.

The complainant in the case, Inspector Mahesh Kumar said he, along with his colleagues, was present on duty in the cotton market where the protesting teachers were sitting on a dharna. The protesters started raising slogans against the Punjab Government following which they tried to break the police barricade to reach the main road to block traffic. He said despite being persuaded by the Tehsildar and the SHO, Kotwali, the teachers carried out protest and tried to disturb peace in the area. The police said all the teachers arrested in the case have been released.