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Deadline for ROB extended again
Addiction to cough syrup on the rise
minor’s rape |
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Mercury crosses 46° mark
Vigilance committees to keep tab on bonded labour
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Deadline for ROB extended again
Bathinda, May 29 A letter has been shot to the Bathinda Development Authority (BDA) in this regard by the contractor requesting for extension of the deadline till September 30 in view of the work pending on the part of railways. The completion of the much-hyped ROB will ease the flow of traffic with vehicular traffic being diverted from Dabwali and Mansa to Malout without entering Bathinda city.
The vehicles coming from Mansa and Dabwali can be diverted from near the PTU Giani Zail Singh Campus on Dabwali road to Ladli Dhee Chowk. The traffic can directly reach Malout road without entering the city areas. Taking this 6.5 km stretch, commuters can reach Malout road from Dabwali or Mansa road in record time by crossing the ROB constructed on the Bathinda-Sri Ganganagar railway line. The Rs 60 crore project comprises construction of a 6.5 km stretch, including a bridge on the canal besides the ROB. Officials of the Bathinda Development Authority (BDA) said the alliance of the BJP-led government at the Centre with the SAD in Punjab is likely to result in the project being expedited. Efforts are being made to bring the issue of delay on the part of railways to the notice of Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal. Earlier, the authorities had accused the railways of delaying the project on frivolous grounds. Site contractor Baldev Singh, of the BDA, accused the railways of delaying the project. Workers at the site said light poles, drainage spouts, crash barriers and expansion joints are being fixed on the ROB and the project is likely to be delayed due to the slow pace of construction by the railways due to technical reasons. Chief Administrator, BDA, Varinder Sharma, said he is likely to visit the site of the ROB in a day or two to review the pace of construction. "There is no point in delaying the project and the authorities have been directed to expedite the work in view of the people's demand for the last two years. The completion of the project will ease traffic problems in the city to a great extent," Sharma said. Delay mars project
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Addiction to cough syrup on the rise
Bathinda, May 29 The AC market, city railway station, roof of the bus stand, canteens of colleges and vacant plots bear a testimony to this. Even toilets at the District Court Complex paint a similar picture. Though cough syrups have been classified under Schedule H of the Drug Act, they are being sold without the prescription of a qualified doctor. Police sources said drug addicts often indulge in petty crime. The addiction is on the rise among schoolchildren. Some of the chemists in the city earn a living from the lucrative trade of cough syrups. They sell these in alleged connivance with the policemen. A student at a de-addiction centre in the city said he started taking a regular dose of cough syrups to increase concentration. Later, it became a habit. An official at the de-addiction centre said that in many cases, people get addicted to cough syrups due to the lack of knowledge about it. "These days, parents work outside their houses and there is no one to stop and tell these youngsters about the ill-effects of cough syrups," the official said. It may be mentioned that despite the tall claims of the police and the Health Department, the sale of cough syrups continue unabated as a large number of medical shops are selling banned drugs without the prescription of a qualified doctor. |
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Protesters arrested outside IG office
Farmer and worker unions come out in support of victim's family Sukhmeet Bhasin Tribune News Service
Bathinda, May 29 Family members of the girl and activists of the BKU Ekta Ugrahan have been coming here for the last three days to stage a protest outside the office of the IGP as an expression of solidarity towards the family members of the victim. Today, more than a dozen unions came out in support of the girl's family and a joint deputation of these unions went to meet the Deputy Commissioner. But the Deputy Commissioner was not present and they submitted their charter of demands to the tehsildar. The unions which have announced their support for the victim's family are the ETT, DTF, Lok Morcha Punjab, TSU, PSU, SMA/RAMSA, Naujawan Bharat Sabha, TET Pass Union and the EGS, among others. The leaders of the union stated that three accused, in Gidhar village of Muktsar district, kidnapped the girl while she was going to school and later raped her in January this year. They also alleged that despite four months having passed, the police are not arresting the main accused, who is roaming freely, due to political pressure. When the BKU workers and the family members of the victim come to demand justice, they are arrested by the police, they alleged and said that even in Shruti case, the police did not listen to the victim's parents at first and the police bowed only after all the organization came out in their support. Bhai Roop Chand Langar Sewa Society, which has locked horns with the SGPC over the ownership of 161 acres of land at Bhai Rupa village, also extended its support to the farmers and workers' unions fighting to get justice for the minor Dalit girl. It is worth mentioning that the BKU Ekta Ugrahan leaders had given a call that each day, their workers will protest outside the IGP office and court arrest. For the last four days, groups have been protesting against the police demanding justice for the minor Dalit girl. It is pertinent to mention that the three accused gang-raped the minor girl in Gidhar village of Muktsar district on January 24. Police, however, have arrested two of the accused and presented them before a court but the third accused, Gurlal Singh, is still absconding. The police have not arrested him despite him being declared a proclaimed offender by the court.
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Records lying in open at DEO office an eye-opener
Sukhmeet Bhasin Tribune News Service
Bathinda, May 29 The carelessness has come to light as records of the department have been lying in the open in the corridors of the department at the mini-secretariat in Bathinda.A visit to the DEO office on Thursday revealed the extent of official apathy towards work. For the sake of comfort, air-conditioners have been installed in the office and wood work is going on in the rooms. But the officials, instead of keeping the important records safely in some other room, have dumped it in an open corridor. It has raised serious queries about fixing responsibility if any important file goes missing from here as a large number of people use this corridor. Even the suggestion box, which had been installed on the wall outside the DEO office to invite suggestions from the public, have been lying in poor condition and it seems they have not been cleaned and used for a long time. A notice board installed there to give important information is also in a state of neglect as the last notice pasted on it was in 2012. It has not been used after that. Officials of the Education Department said renovation of the room was going on due to which the records have been kept in the corridor as a short-term measure. After a few days, it will be shifted to the storeroom, the officials added. District Education Officier (DEO) Secondary Harkanwaljit Kaur while talking to Bathinda Tribune admitted that the record material havebeen kept in the corridor as work in rooms is in progress.
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Bathinda players bag 7 gold medals in tae kwon do meet at Jalandhar
Bathinda, May 29 A total of 49 players from Bathinda participated in the championship, winning 12 gold, 7 silver and 6 bronze medals. Players who won gold medals are Shubra, Farman, Gurneet, Tisha, Giyanish, Hasrat, Sana Grover, Vekant, Divanshu , Ishpreet Kaur, Gaveshwar and Prisha. Players who won the silver are Tisha, Nitesh, Divashu, Gurneet, Ishpreet, Hasrat and Ishisma. The bronze medal winners are Purav Garg, Harsimar, Astha, Sana Grover and Gaveshwar. President of Bathinda Tawkeondo Sangh Ravinder Singh Mann, vice-president Dr Gurjit Singh and secretary MP Shukla today honoured the players at the Acrocity Energy Centre in the city. It may be mentioned that players who have won a gold medal have qualified for the national championship and will now participate in the national championship to be held at Kurukshetra in Haryana from July 4. |
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Mercury crosses 46° mark
Bathinda, May 29 Soaring mercury in the region forced the residents to remain inside. The increasing heat has also started affecting business as the markets wear a deserted look during the daytime, with people preferring to visit the centrally air-conditioned malls. In the evening, a huge rush is witnessedat the kiosks selling watermelon and fruit juice. Respite from the heat wave is unlikely for the residents as the temperature is set to climb higher in the next 10-15 days. But there is a possibility of cloudy weather prevailing in isolated areas of the region in the next 24 hours. As per the agri-met department of the PAU regional station, Bathinda, the maximum temperature on Thursday was recorded at 46.3 degree Celsius and the minimum at 26.3 degree Celsius. Meanwhile, president of the NGO, Sahara Welfare Society, Vijay Goyal said as the heat had started taking its toll on people, they have started a "Garami toh bachao rahat" drive. Under this, workers of the NGO are providing cold drinking water to the commuters and the needy. It is worth mentioning that so far, more than three persons have died due to the heat wave and many others have been hospitalised due to stomach infection. |
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Vigilance committees to keep tab on bonded labour
Bathinda, May 29 An official spokesperson said the committees had been constituted under the sub-section (1) of the Section 13 of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976. The district vigilance committee will have a chairman and 10 members. The deputy commissioners, Bathinda, will be the chairman of the district-level committee, while Gurdev Singh, Bhola Singh, Shobha Singh, Paramjit Singh, Jaspal Kaur, district development and panchayat officer (DDPO), district welfare officer (DWO), deputy economic and statistics adviser (DESA) and the lead district manager (LDM), State Bank of Patiala, Bathinda, are included in the panel. The spokesperson said for the Bathinda subdivision, the SDM, Bathinda, will be the chairman of the committee while Charanjit Singh, Patang Singh, Jaswant Singh, Raj Rani, Ramesh Kumar, block development and panchayat officer (BDPO), Bathinda, child development project officer (CDPO), Sangat, child development project officer (CDPO), Nathana, tehsildar, Bathinda, and the district manager (DM), Cooperative Bank Limited, Bathinda, have been made its members. Similarly, the Talwandi Sabo vigilance committee will include the SDM, Talwandi Sabo, Bawa Singh, Harphool Singh, Chuhar Singh. Asha Rani, Master Karan Singh, block development panchayat officer (BDPO), tehsil welfare officer (TWO), child development project officer (CDPO), tehsildar, and the manager, State Bank of Patiala, Talwandi Sabo, will be members of the committee. He added that a vigilance committee for Rampura Phool subdivision had also been constituted under the chairmanship of the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM), Rampura. Other members of the vigilance committee are Jaswinder Kaur, Beant Singh, Darshan Singh, Gurtej Singh, Mohinder Singh Baheniwal, block development and panchayat Officer (BDPO), Rampura, block development and panchayat Officer (BDPO), Phul, tehsil welfare officer (TWO), Rampura Phul, tehsildar, Rampura Phul and the manager, State Bank of Patiala, Rampura
Phul. |
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IERTs seek pay scale of regular teachers
Bathinda, May 29 They said they were not being provided any benefit by the state government. They said they should be given the pay scale of a regular teacher. The teachers said they should be given summer and winter holidays as per the norms. They pledged to continue their strike till their demands were met. The protesters said they were recruited by Punjab Government and all formalities, including medical check-up, were completed as per the state government norms. The inclusive education resource teachers said they taught deaf, dumb and physically handicapped students, which was a tough task so they should be given the scale of a regular teacher. |
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