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Health scheme for children in limbo
Railway staff misuse space to park vehicles
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City colleges observe environment day
Two booked for murder
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Health scheme for children in limbo
Bathinda, June 5 The counselling for the recruitment of doctors and para-medical staff of mobile health teams (MHTs) would be held from June 17 to June 20 whereas the process for the appointment of specialist doctors and staff, that would treat patients in every district, is yet to begin. Two mobile health teams, consisting of two AYUSH doctors, a male and a female, a staff nurse and a pharmacist in each team were to be recruited in all 118 health blocks of Punjab. The counselling of students who had cleared the exam held by Baba Farid University of Health and Science (BFUHS) on behalf of the state government would be held from June 17 to June 20. Besides, the construction of the DEIC buildings is yet to begin. The Central Government had approved the funds for the construction of these centres at five districts in February 2013, including Bathinda, Hoshiarpur, Ropar, Tarn Taran and Ludhiana at a cost of Rs 1.76 crores to focus on children in the age-group of 0-18 years. An area of 2200 square feet was to be given for each DEIC building that includes the anthropology department, dental clinic, laboratory, psychiatrist, room, occupational therapy room, speech therapist's room, pantry, counselling centre, audiologist's room, nutrition-cum- pharmacy immunisation department, optometrist's room and specialist doctors' examination room besides a 50 square feet area for the children to play. The children in the age-group of 0-18 years could be given treatment for 30 identified diseases under the RBSK programme. A similar programme, known as the School Health Programme of the NRHM, was also the Central Government's initiative, but that covers only five identified diseases to treat the children in the 5-18 year age-group. The DEIC centre under the RBSK programme was focused on improving the quality of life of children with focus on early detection of birth defects, diseases, deficiencies and disabilities (4Ds) where the children in the age-group of 0-18 years will have access to public health facilities free of cost. The state government had thus failed to begin the process of recruitment of the DEIC staff including medical professionals (paediatrician, medical officer and a dentist), a physiotherapist, an audiologist and speech therapist, a psychologist, an optometrist, a special educator-cum-social worker, two lab technicians and a dental technician manager and a data entry operator. The DEIC staff was prescribed the role of providing health services to referred children for confirmation of diagnosis and treatment. This involved screening of children at the DEIC, visiting all newborns delivered at the District Hospital, ensuring that every child born sick or pre-term or with low birth weight or any birth defect, gets follow-up treatment at the DEIC. The DEIC covers more than 30 diseases falling under the categories of defects at birth, deficiencies, childhood diseases, developmental delay and disability Mission Director, NRHM, Hussan Lal said, "An amount of Rs 474 crore has been given by the Central Government for the RBSK project and the counselling for the recruitment of 516 doctors and other staff would be held from June 17 to June 20. The project implementation plan for construction of buildings will take some time. The tenders have been cleared for centres in five districts and it will soon be operational. A pilot project under the RBSK was started at Mohali and Muktsar for which we trained some AYUSH and homeopathic doctors. After the recruitment of these 516 doctors, we would give them training." HRD manager, National Health Mission, Punjab, Deepshikha said, "The counselling process will be held as scheduled. The process for recruitment of specialist doctors and staff for the DEIC is in the pipeline." The scheme
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Railway staff misuse space to park vehicles
Bathinda, June 5 Rather than using the parking lot to park their motorcycles, the staff members have started using the empty space behind the ticket reservation counter to park their motorcycles and other two-wheelers. It is pertinent to mention here that the Bathinda railway junction has two huge parking areas - one opposite the ticket reservation counter and another on the empty piece of land adjacent to the railway station. Instead of showing regard for the rule about parking at the designated places, those who come to the station to see off other passengers have even begun using the space outside the ATM on the premises of the railway station for parking their vehicles despite the fact that the railway authorities had put up a 'No Parking' board there. It was only after the RPF personnel intervened and led a crackdown on those parking their vehicles outside the ATM that the practice discontinued. In the past, instances have come to light where the parking lots of the railway station were used by vehicle lifters for parking the stolen vehicles to keep them away from the prying eyes of the police looking into the case. Speaking to Bathinda Tribune, station superintendent Pradeep Sharma said, "I have also noticed that the staff has begun using the area for parking their vehicles. Soon, I will issue an official letter barring the staff members from turning the area into an unauthorised parking lot. There are designated areas for parking the vehicles and the staff, like the members of the pblic, should use the same." Wall to be brought down
The station superintendent also disclosed that the wall, which had been built to bifurcate the passageways to be used by passengers taking the stairs to the platforms and to alight from them, will be brought down in a couple of days. "The other side of the wall is not used by the passengers and is rather used as a public urinal, thereby adding to the sanitation problem at the station. We had sought permission to bring it down and have received the nod for the same. The wall will be demolished soon," he said. |
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Rape case: Farmers refuse to relent
Bathinda, June 5 The agitators, including eight children and 55 women, had come from Muktsar to stage a dharna in Bathinda, demanding justice for the girl and the release of the farmers arrested by the police during the protest. As the protesters, led by Kala Singh, Jaswant Rai, Harbans Singh Kotli, Harjit Kaur and Gurdev Kaur, moved towards the residence of the Inspector General of Police (IG), Bathinda Zone, Paramraj Singh Umranangal, they were intercepted by the police. As the police tried to dissuade them from continuing their stir, they raised slogans against the state government and the Punjab police. They were then bundled up in police vans and taken to the Thermal police station. They were released after a couple of hours. As per information, the health condition of nine-year-old Anju, daughter of one of the protesters, deteriorated because of the hot and dry weather. The child was admitted to the Civil Hospital for treatment. Speaking to Bathinda Tribune, the farmer leaders said even after 11 days, the police had failed to arrest the accused in the rape case. They added that their leaders had not been released by the police. Earlier, 14 protesters were arrested when they tried to stage a protest outside the residence of the IG in Bathinda. While six of them were released, eight are yet to be
released. |
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Village girls use their hunar for rozgaar
Bathinda, June 5 Trained under the Hunar Se Rozagaar scheme at the Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition, Bathinda—Raman, Mandeep, Sukhwinder, Mandeep and Pardeep— couldn't stop smiling when asked about the odds they had to overcome to come to the hotel to work. Raman, the most outspoken of the lot, said, "HS Jassar, an NRI from our village, made special efforts to go around and speak to the elders of the village convincing them to let us undergo the training. Apart from the institute, the credit for our progress goes to him. The elders of the village then went and visited the place where we were to be trained under the scheme and gave their nod." "Although several youngsters from the village underwent training, none of them came up for taking up a job after the training got over. We wondered what had gone wrong and went and convinced the parents to come with us and visit the hotels where their daughters would work. They came all the way to Bathinda to check out the hotel and only after they gave their nod did their daughters go for work here," said the principal of the institute, Kamal Piyush. "A majority of the villagers sent their children to the training camp since the institute offered to pay a stipend during the course of training. And after the course got over, the parents brought their children back to their fold and disallowed them from taking up work in a hotel," said Mandeep. The girls are happy that their parents allowed them to live their lives on their own terms and travel and stay away from them. "After joining the hotel, when we went back to our village, others who had undergone the training with us came asking how the work experience was and also expressed their desire to work. We are happy to have brought about a change in Jajjar, apart from helping our family financially," said Raman. "While a few of the girls in our age-group have either been married off or are earning a little by doing odd jobs like running a beauty parlour or stitching clothes, we are happy that we took the leap and tested what we could do. We gained a lot of confidence in the process," said Sukhwinder. The girls, who are engaged with the housekeeping department of the hotel, look to each other as their pillar of strength at their home away from home. "We are from the same village, went to the same school and are now working at the same place. That's something that will bind us for life," said Sukhwinder. General manager of the hotel, JS Hundal, vouched for the fact that the girls were very hardworking and gave their best in whatever work they were entrusted with. He added that while the girls were being a monthly stipend of Rs 3000 right now, after they complete their six-month training, they would be paid Rs 7,000. |
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City colleges observe environment day
Bathinda, June 5 The managing director of the college, Bhushan Kumar Goyal, principal Dr Ranjeet Kaur, programme manager Meenu Goyal, member of the college management Ramneek Walia, head of the development authority, Rakesh Narula, DK Garg, Makhan Lal, Principal, Baba Shaheed Singh Public School, Ballian, participated in the
programme. Addressing the students, the guests suggested measures to protect the environment. The students took an oath to protect the environment and promised to plant trees. The DLSA Secretary motivated the students by planting sapling in the college garden. Seminar at BFGI
The Social Welfare Department of Baba Farid Group of Institutions organised a seminar to observe the World Environment Day. The keynote speaker at the event was Gurdarshan Singh Khatra, member of the state committee, Nature Human Centric Peoples Movement (NHCPM). Students of Baba Farid Senior Secondary School also participated in the seminar. BD Sharma, deputy director, BFGI, welcomed the guests at the event. “The way we are wasting our natural resources is terrible and we’ll have to pay a big price for this in future,” Sharma added. Addressing the gathering, Khatra said, "In the name of development, we are misusing and wasting natural resource.” “The excessive use of vehicles, thermal plants and air-conditioners is responsible for the release of poisonous gases into the environment, which is harmful for our lives. We are polluting rivers and ponds. We are spoiling the environment to such an extent that our future generations would never forgive us for this,” he said. BFGI chairman Gurmeet Singh Dhaliwal appealed to the people not to waste natural resources. He requested and end to use of polythene bags and a check on noise pollution besides taking measures to minimise air and water pollution. |
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Two booked for murder
Bathinda, June 5 He alleged that Sukhmander was suspicious of Lakhwinder's relations with his wife due to which he along with Jagtar, killed his son. The accused are on the run. A case under Sections 302, 201 and 34 of the IPC has been registered against them.
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