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Govt yet to clear Kabaddi Cup bills
Residents hope Harsimrat will deliver as Union minister
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Amarinder should replace Bajwa as PPCC chief, say Cong leaders
SAD, BJP workers celebrate Modi-led govt at Centre
Property tax: Local Bodies official to seek feedback from residents today
One killed as oil tanker catches fire
Chheharta sewerage work stopped midway
Royals beat Net Vibes in cricket tournament
City lad bags medal in boxing meet
Toppers honoured for good performance
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Govt yet to clear Kabaddi Cup bills
Out of the 12 men’s teams and eight women’s teams, six men’s teams had stayed at hotels in the city. These included the Sepal, Comfort Inn, Krishna Continental, Bahia Resort, Best Western Stella and Country Inn. Talking about the outstanding bills, the president of the Bathinda Hotel, Restaurants and Resorts Association, Satish Arora, said while booking the hotels, the organisers had said that the state government was not cash-strapped and had the promised the hotel owners that the bills will be cleared soon. But even six months after the tournament, the owners are running from one official to the other to get the payment. He complained that due to the non-payment of bills, the owners of the hotels concerned were facing a under shortage of funds and were unable to pay the vendors supplying them with goods. The hotel owners gave the state government 15-day time to clear their bills. The hotel owners argued that if they fail to pay taxes on time, the government levies fine on them. But the same government doesn’t care about a six-month delay in clearing the bills. They also added that during the earlier three editions of the kabaddi tournament, the hotel owners had to go through the same drill and the government had paid up only after the hotel owners had announced they would hold protests. Last year too, the hotel owners had to announce a protest against the state government for not footing the bills that it ran up for hosting the guests and players at various hotels in the city during the third edition of the tournament. Last time, the outstanding bills had left bills to the tune of Rs 81 lakh outstanding for several months. Arora added that they had been intimated that the money would be released soon, but the hotel owners were worried about the slow pace of the procedure. “If need be, we will go and apply pressure on the district administration to expedite the process and clear the bills at the earliest,” said Satish Arora. |
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Residents hope Harsimrat will deliver as Union minister
Bathinda, May 26 When Bathinda Tribune spoke to a cross-section of the people from her constituency, they were of the view that although the second-time MP from Bathinda had got a Cabinet berth, she will have to deliver to show that she means business. President of the Bathinda Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Raman Watts, said, “Earlier, the MP used to complain that the Congress-led Central government did not support the policies of the SAD-BJP government in Punjab. Now, the BJP, the alliance partner of SAD, has formed a government at the Centre and hence, the people of Punjab are looking at the MP to bring in some supportive policies. Earlier, she was an active member of the opposition in Parliament, taking up issues pertaining to Punjab. Now that she is part of the Union Cabinet, she will have to deliver on her promises.” Head of the Department of English at Punjabi University Regional Centre in Bathinda and noted educationistist Prof Paramjit Singh Romana said the portfolio that the MP had got could work well for the people of Punjab. “With the food processing portfolio in her kitty, the Bathinda MP could work for the welfare of the farmers of the state by bringing food processing units to the state. Apart from helping the farmers, the industry would also generate jobs. The Bathinda MP will have to be proactive now,” he said. Crop diversification is another major area where the new Union cabinet minister can do something, said industrialist Rajinder Mittal. He stated that the minister now had to pass the test of converting aspirations into reality. “Punjab has been the food bowl of the nation and now is the time to support the farmers of the state. The minister could now look at crop diversification programme to get rid of the wheat-rice cycle and save the depletion of groundwater," he said. |
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Amarinder should replace Bajwa as PPCC chief, say Cong leaders
Bathinda, May 26 During the meeting, Inderjeet Singh Grewal, Dr Satpal Bhateja, Tehal Singh Sidhu, Ranjit Singh Garewal, Sanjeev Babli, Surjit Singh, Ashok Kumar Gupta and others argued that Captain was better equipped to face the challenges that the party was facing in the state. They added that under Bajwa’s weak leadership, the Congress party had lost five of the eight constituencies from where the Congress leaders had been chosen as MPs during the last Lok Sabha elections. They further added that the party needed a strong support system to perform well in the assembly byelections on several seats and also the municipal corporation elections. Taking a dig at Bajwa for losing the Lok Sabha election, the leaders stated that Captain Amarinder Singh had managed to wrest the Amritsar seat by a record margin defeating the senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley and had proven that the people supported him and his leadership qualities. |
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SAD, BJP workers celebrate Modi-led govt at Centre
Bathinda, May 26 BJP workers also carried out a rally from the Fire Bridge Chowk and covered various parts of the city. Parminder
Goyal, president, BJP (Bathinda Urban), said, “They are celebrating as the whole country is happy with Narendra Modi becoming the Prime Minister.” Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leaders also celebrated the oath taken by Harsimrat Kaur Badal as a Cabinet Minister, by distributing laddoos and bursting fire crackers at Jeet Palace. Talking to Bathinda Tribune, Baljit Singh Birbehman, SAD leader and former mayor, said it was great that an MP from the city had become the Union Minister. It will not only benefit the residents of Bathinda, but the whole state would be benefitted with her representation in the Union Cabinet. |
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Property tax: Local Bodies official to seek feedback from residents today
Bathinda, May 26 The meeting is being convened for the Municipal Corporation Bathinda (MCB) and Bathinda region and would is scheduled for 3:30 pm in afternoon. At the meeting, local bodies officials will speak to the local residents taking in their views on the issue. The move is meant to study the reasons why people opposed the property tax and how it can be tailored to meet the expectations of people. Meanwhile, the local bodies department has extended the last date for paying property tax without penalty to June 30. While 32,876 residential and commercial units having already paid their property tax, the rest would be allowed to pay it by June 30. Assistant Municipal Commissioner Kamal Kant Goyal said that Rs 6.16 crore has been collected as property tax in the last financial year from April 1, 2013 to March 31, 2014. The government had earlier fixed March 31 as the last date for paying property tax. However, the same could not be extended further due to the enforcement of model code of conduct in the wake of general elections. The property tax has been replaced by the house tax this year with a projected growth of 30 per cent. The state government had introduced the property tax on April 1, 2013 in the cities. The Municipal Corporation Bathinda has 90,000 units including 65,000 buildings and vacant plots. These buildings include 10,000 commercial, 450 industrial, 55,000 residential properties while the rest are vacant properties. In the past one year, the local body has extended the last date for paying taxes without penalty many times. In order to educate and gear up people to pay this tax, the MCB has held a seminar at its main office in November last year and also held seminars ward-wise. However, people shy away from paying the taxes on time. It is pertinent to mention here that the corporation has been banking heavily on the property tax collections to improve its economic condition. This is projected as a major source of income for the ongoing fiscal year. For this financial year, the Municipal Corporation Bathinda (MCB) has set a target of collecting Rs 1,00,00,000 crore from property tax, which is an increase of 10 per cent over what was colected last year. The property tax issue had created a controversy during the Lok Sabha elections when many people opposed it. |
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PCR bikes in rundown condition
Bathinda, May 26 As the motorcycles have not been maintained properly after being inducted into the police force, the condition is that sometimes even the police personnel have to get fuel from their own pockets. PCR officials, while talking to Bathinda Tribune, said they get only two litres of petrol for a day, while the PCR motorcycle are being used round-the-clock in two shifts of 12-hour each. They also stated that most of the time, they had to get the oil tank refilled from their own pocket as all the bikes lack mileage as they have not been maintained properly. A PCR personnel, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that those motorbikes were not in a condition to chase any criminal, as they can stop anywhere. Also, in some of the motorbikes, even the brakes are not functional. It is pertinent to mention that the state government had provided Bajaj Pulsar 150 cc mobikes to the Police Department. Some of the policemen regretted that though the government had provided them with efficient mobikes but there were no funds for maintenance and junior police officials had to spend from their own pockets to maintain the vehicles. Many policemen in the city are seen using their private motorcycles instead of the government vehicles. |
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One killed as oil tanker catches fire
Bathinda, May 26 As per information, the tanker had filled oil from Indian Oil depot in Jassi Pau Wali village and was heading towards Abohar. But after coming out of the depot, the tanker went to an open space near the Jassi Pau Wali Chowk and told a worker at a nearby welding shop to do some welding on the tanker. As the worker started welding, the tanker suddenly caught fire and a blast occurred. The worker, Jagga Singh, a resident of Jassi Pau Wali village, was burnt badly in the fire and died on way to the hospital. Makhan Singh, a driver of the oil tanker, was injured seriously during the incident. The injured driver was rushed to the Civil Hospital, Bathinda, where he is undergoing treatment. The oil tanker belonged to Sukhdev Transport Company, Kotkapura. Three fire brigade trucks reached the spot from Bathinda and Jassi Pau Wali and doused the flames. |
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Chheharta sewerage work stopped midway
Amritsar, May 26 The road leading from Chehharta Sahib Gurdwara to warehouse godowns was dug up to lay sewerage pipes. As the work continued even when the election campaign was in full swing, it was stopped abruptly merely four days before the election. The local residents said that the machines engaged in the work were taken away even as the work was not complete. The work had begun around four months ago and ever since the bumpy road is a problem for
the area residents and commuters. Earlier on April 12, a truck and a car had slipped on the stretch after the road had caved in following heavy rains. The residents said that as the road was not repaired where the sewerage pipes were fixed, it takes about half an hour to travel the 3.5 km stretch. The road connects dozens of villages on the side with the holy
city. Furthermore the presence of three food grain godowns had further added to the problems of the area. “Ever since the wheat procurement process started, hundreds of trucks can be seen parked outside these godowns. The parking of trucks has further narrowed the space for vehicles, which results in traffic jams,” said another resident, Baldev Kumar. The area residents demanded that the work of laying sewerage pipes should be completed at a fast pace so that the road could be paved again. A social activist from the area, Kishan Kumar, said, “In view of the pace at which the work was going on before the elections, it seemed that the work would be completed within a month. However, nobody turned up after the elections were over.” So, the wait is on. |
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Rural health pharmacists go on two-day strike
Bathinda, May 26 Pharmacists held a protest outside the office of the Zila Parishad, demanding a hike in salaries with immediate effect. The services at the dispensaries remained affected in the state following their protest. The protesters raised slogans against the SAD-BJP government and handed over a memorandum to the Zila parishad chairman in the city. Navdeep Kumar, district in-charge, Rural Health Pharmacist Union, said, “We have been working for eight years here, and are getting the lowest salaries. We have raised the issue with the authorities concerned many times, but to no avail. For the past three years, we have received no increment.” “We will refuse to sign any contract on the same salaries. Our contract will expire on May 30. Besides hike in the salaries, we are demanding regularisation of our services. We will intensify the agitation if the state government fails to meet our demands,” said
Navdeep. |
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SBoP employees protest against management
Bathinda, May 26 Addressing the protesters, secretary of the Bathinda zone of the union, DK Dhawan, central council member, MM Behl, Bhagwan Singh Makkar, Shilesh Kumar and Basant Kumar accused the bank management of pressurising the officers despite the fact that the officers were working for 9-10 hours daily, but were charge sheeted by the management over smallest of mistakes. They also alleged that the management had the habit of cancelling the approved leaves of officers without any reason and sent biased annual reports. They announced that as a mark of protest against the attitude of the bank management, the officers had begun a non-cooperation movement, wherein they would work only from 10 am to 5 pm and would not do any extra work after office hours. The officers added that similar protests were being staged across the country as per the directions of the national general secretary of the union, Pramod Sharma. |
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Royals beat Net Vibes in cricket tournament
Bathinda, May 26 After winning the toss, Royals elected to bat. Jatin scored 54 runs while Hardeep added 42 runs to the tally. The team managed to score 159 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in 20 overs. In reply, Net Vibes Technology scored 110 in 16 overs (all out). Karmaljot scored 24 runs while Parminder scored 23 runs. Jagrit led the bowling attack of Royals and took four wickets. Jatin took three wickets. Royals won the match comfortably by 42 runs. Jatin was adjudged the Man of the Match. On Monday, in the fourth match of the tournament, DLC Dhaba beat Khalsa Cranes by five wickets. Khalsa Cranes won the toss and elected to bat. The team was sent back to the pavilion in 20 overs with only 110 runs on the board. Both Ranjit and Anil scored 21 runs. Arjun and Sukhveer of the DLC Dhaba team took four and two wickets, respectively. Arjun (39) Rohit (35), helped DLC Dhaba win against Khalsa Cranes. Karanveer of Khalsa Cranes took two wicket. Man of the Match award went to Arjun of DLC Dhaba. |
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City lad bags medal in boxing meet
Bathinda, May 26 Earlier, Harjeet had also won 2 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze medals at the national-level. He has also been selected for a training camp to be organised at Hong Kong for the Commonwealth Games. Gurmeet Singh Dhaliwal, Chairman, Baba Farid Group of Institutions, congratulated Harjeet. Baljinder Singh Sidhu, principal, too, appreciated his efforts. |
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Toppers honoured for good performance
Bathinda, May 26 He also congratulated the staff for good results. Rajvir Kaur, HoD, motivated the students to work hard and ensure better results in future too. |
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Bathinda, May 26