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Rains bring smiles; inundate city areas
Railways finds new way of tackling cleanliness issue
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New DC holds first sangat darshan
Lack of patrolling leads to rise in crime
Roads outside ex-Mayor’s house recarpeted
Two booked for kidnapping sisters
Punished by Sikh temporal seat, ‘tankhayias’ cry foul
Dowry cases registered
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Rains bring smiles; inundate city areas
Bathinda, July 2 While the morning started on a rather sunny note, the weather changed for the better at around 9.30 am when the sky was seen overcast. Rains lashed the region at 10 am.
As per the record maintained by the Agricultural-Meteorological Department of Punjab Agricultural University, Regional Centre, Bathinda, the city and its adjoining areas received 13.3 mm rainfall in a short span of 30 minutes. In June alone, the city had received 23.8 mm pre-monsoon rainfall. The rainfall also caused the mercury to drop. From 36.2 degree Celsius on Tuesday, the maximum temperature fell to 33.4 degree Celsius today. There wasn’t, however, much change in the minimum temperature, which was recorded at 28 degree Celsius today. Dr Rajkumar of PAU Regional Centre said the rainfall had marked the arrival of monsoon in the area. The area was expected to be in the grip of full monsoon by the weekend, he added. As per the forecast, the region may have reason to cheer on Thursday as well with a fresh spell of rainfall expected. Water-logging comes back to haunt residents
A constant feature accompanying the monsoon is water logging that was back today to haunt city residents as well as the Municipal Corporation. Areas such as Ajit Road, Powerhouse Road, places near the Administrative Complex, Civil Lines, Parasram Nagar, Namdev Marg, Prajapat Colony, Green Avenue, Nai Basti, Balla Ram Nagar, Kamla Nehru Colony, Kothe Amarpura and Sirki Bazar witnessed water-logging for hours. Talking to Bathinda Tribune, Municipal Corporation Commissioner Dalwinderjit Singh said, “We have identified 10 critical points in the city where pumps have been installed to drain out rainwater to avoid water-logging. These are automatic pumps and are switched on as soon as it starts raining. These include Sirki Bazar, Parasram Nagar, Powerhouse Road, Aggarwal Colony and Sanjay Nagar among other areas.” “As for some areas of the city like Sirki Bazar, the topography of the area is to be blamed for water-logging. Even if it rains for a short while, the low-lying areas experience water-logging. Our manpower is constantly working to mitigate the problem of water-logging,” he added. Farmers rejoice
The rainfall brought smiles on the faces of farmers it is good not only for the paddy and cotton crops, it also reduces the requirement for irrigation in the fields, thereby preserving the underground water. Chief agricultural officer Rajinder Singh Brar said, “The onset of monsoon augurs well for the farmers as rainfall is good for the paddy and cotton crops. Due to rains, the saturation level increases and the rate of evaporation decreases, which causes the water in the paddy fields to stand for a longer time. This not only saves the time and money of the farmers but also reduces the demand for underground water.” |
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Railways finds new way of tackling cleanliness issue
Bathinda, July 2 It has been seen that loads of garbage are being dumped on the platforms due to expiry of the contract with a private firm hired for the purpose. The contract expired on May 31 and the department has not yet roped in another firm to find a permanent solution to the problem. Railway officials have hired 10-15 workers on daily wages to clean the station. But that is not enough, as earlier, 57 workers were deployed for the same task. Railway officials say they can only hire limited persons due to financial constraints. The responsibility for maintaining cleanliness was with the Railways staff till 2007, but later, the work was assigned to the commercial branch when the Railways awarded the cleaning work to a private firm. The new move will not only address the hygiene problem, it will also generate revenue for the department. Railway Police Force (RPF) and traveling ticket examiner (TTE) have been given the authority to issue challans. At present, RPF and TTE have issued more than 50 challans in past one month. This new move was implemented on June 2. The deputy station superintendent (DSS) said they were facing the cleanliness problem at the station due to which they had started issuing challans to the passengers or the vendors littering garbage on the platform or in trains. RPF official Harbans Singh said mostly they issue 2-3 challans every day. The fine for throwing garbage may be up to Rs 500. TTE in-charge Subedar Ram said with this new move, the railway authorities would improve the hygiene condition at the railway station.
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New DC holds first sangat darshan
Bathinda, July 2 As many as 54 cases were presented for hearing during the programme. After hearing the complaints, the DC marked them to the departments concerned. The maximum number of complaints was marked to the Municipal Corporation Bathinda (MCB) Commissioner, Dalwinderjit Singh. While Pritpal Singh complained against the problems being faced by the residents of the Multania Road area due to the poor condition of roads, advocate Mahesh Kumar complained regarding the inadequate street lighting and fogging. Other complaints marked to the corporation ranged from handling and proper disposal of waste in the city, relaying of the road and footpath from ITI Chowk to Patiala Fatak, relaying of streets in Lal Singh Basti and sanitation problem in Model Town among other cases. The DC assured the complainants that the officials would be directed to settle the issues and to be ready with answers during the next sangat darshan programmes. “In case, the complaints are not resolved, the officials will be answerable for the delay,” he said. To make the programmes more effective, he directed the officials to set aside an hour for registration of cases to be heard during the sangat darshan programmes. Officials absent
Several officials, including Maur SDM Paramdeep Singh, Rampura SDM Sakattar Singh Bal, Talwandi Sabo SDM Rakesh Kumar and ADC Sonali Giri were absent at the programme. Domestic violence victim demands property share
Karamjit Kaur, a resident of Jeewan Singh Wala village in Talwandi Sabo, came all the way to present her case at the programme. Accompanied by her 10-year-old daughter, Karamjit accused her husband of beating her up and asking for dowry even after 13 years of marriage. She told the DC that she had approached the village panchayat, went to the police station, filed a complaint with the Talwandi Sabo SDM and registered a complaint with the women’s police station, but got no relief in the case. “I have a 10-year-old daughter and a seven-year-old son. My husband beats me up in front of them and throws me out of the house in the middle of the night. My husband wants separation. I want the DC to direct my husband to give me a share in the property to help me make both ends meet,” she said. Her complaint was marked to the Police Department. MC officials accused
of corruption
TS Sandhu (77), a retired sub-divisional officer (SDO), PSEB, accused the MCB of encroaching upon his land at Azad Nagar, located between Barnala bypass and GT Road. He argued that the map of the plot had been passed by the MCB but now the civic body was forcibly trying to take away 10 feet of the front portion of his plot for the 20-feet-wide road outside his plot. Stating that while he had been running from pillar to post to get a hearing in the matter, the MCB went ahead and demolished the boundary wall of his plot to take away the 10 feet land. He argued that in case the MCB wanted to take away a part of his land, it should compensate him for the land and not forcibly take it away. He told the DC to put the corrupt officials behind bars. Elderly man afraid
of losing house
Kewal Kishan Verma, a resident of Birla Mill Road, complained against the corporation officials of aiding a person, who was getting Verma’s house registered in his own name. He accused MCB officials of corruption and requested the DC to transfer the corrupt officials. His complaint was marked to the SDM Bathinda. Reduce collector rate further
A representation of the shopkeepers of Bank Bazar requested the DC to reduce the collector rates of the area a little more. They argued that while the collector rates in some parts of the city had been reduced by a greater percentage, the reduction in the rate of Bank Bazar had not been to the satisfaction of the shopkeepers. The DC assured them that their request would be pondered upon and suitable action would be taken. |
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Lack of patrolling leads to rise in crime
Bathinda, July 2 As many as 13 theft cases have been registered in the city in the past one month. Residents of a house owned by Ashok Kumar in Guru Ki Nagari, near police lines, are clueless about the thieves who entered their house on the night of June 29 and June 30 and made way with their cash and gold worth lakhs of rupees. There are confirmed reports about the totally collapsed beat system. Vivek Sharma, a resident of Birla Mill Colony, last week lost his motorcycle parked outside his residence. In the recent past, incidents from different parts of the city, have underlined a faulty police patrolling. MM Behl, convener of the joint action committee on welfare issues said, “When policemen forget to patrol their beats, criminals always make hay. The job of a policeman is to visit his area regularly, which keeps crime under check.” The Tribune team visited all main areas of the city and found no police official on night patrolling at around 10.30 pm. No police official was present at Hanuman Chowk , Bibiwala Chowk and Rose Garden Chowk. The residents said there was no police patrolling for the past some days. Earlier, they use to patrol on Tavera or PCR motorcycle round the clock here. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) , Gurpreet Singh Bhullar, said the police officials concerned used to stand at one point, where they were not visible to the public. I have held a meeting with the PCR and the traffic officials yesterday and had made some changes in their beats in the city. Due to lapse in night patrolling by police officials, the crime graph has increased in the city in last few days. Two days ago, residents of Aggarwal Colony nabbed two robbers. The police reached the spot after an hour. Daily one or more cases of car or motorcycle theft are reported in the city but the police have remained unsuccessfully in arresting the culprits in most of the cases. The residents have expressed concern over the rising cases of theft and burglaries. Gulshan Kumar a resident of Model Town said the police should lay stress in arresting the culprits. The residents alleged that majority of theft cases remained unsolved and the role of the police was limited only to register the FIRs. Investigations moved at a snail’s pace as police officials remained busy with other commitments such as VIP duties, added the residents.
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Roads outside ex-Mayor’s house recarpeted
Bathinda, July 2 Sources said officials had laid the road in a hurry as earlier, when Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal held a sangat darshan programme in Talwandi Sabo constituency, he stayed at the former Mayor’s house for 2-3 days. As the Talwandi Sabo byelection is likely to be held in September, the district administration has hurriedly laid all the roads leading to the former Mayor’s house. During the campaigning for the Talwandi Sabo byelection, the Chief Minister is expected to stay at Baljit Singh’s house. It seems the administration took the step because once the monsoon arrives, it will be difficult to construct the road. The administration has ignored the need to repair the potholes on the main road near Rose Garden, Bibiwala Road and Lal Singh Basti Road, which are in a shambles and cry for attention. The bad condition of the roads has resulted in many accidents. Residents of the area also question the claims of the Badal family of transforming the city into California. They just want the government to just focus on providing basic amenities in the city. Rajdeep Singh, a resident of Model Town area, said the administration worked only for the Chief Minister and politicians, hardly caring for the common man. Municipal Corporation Bathinda (MCB) Commissioner Dalwinderjit Singh said due to the election code of conduct, the work of laying roads was delayed. Now, the arrival of monsoon will further delayed the work, he added.
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Two booked for kidnapping sisters
Bathinda, July 2 As per information, Manoj Kumar, a resident of Lal Singh Basti had told the police that on June 26, his sister Menakshi (22) and Payal (19) got missing. Later, he came to know that the alleged accused Satish Mandal and his friend Ashok have kidnapped his sisters. Investigating officer Balwinder Singh said the police had registered a case under Section 363 and 34 of the Indian Panel Code. They have also arrested accused Satish Mandal, he added. He said the interrogation was going on.
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GKU students make diesel scooter
Bathinda, July 2 “The scooter has an engine of 110 cc (cubic centimetres) and gains a speed of up to 80 kmph in short span of time. The average mileage can be registered at 60 kmph,” said Verma. Dr NS Malhi, Vice-Chancellor, GKU, congratulated the students and lauded the efforts of the faculty for developing such technical attitude among the students. Sukhraj Singh Sidhu, Managing Director of the college said, “ Every student should learn from this project. The students doing excellent research will be awarded scholarships.”
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Punished by Sikh temporal seat, ‘tankhayias’ cry foul
Bathinda, July 2 On Sunday the Hukamnama or edict was issued by Jathedar Balwant Singh Nandgar, the Chief of Takht Damdama Sahib, Talwandi Sabo, holding guilty the two Sikhs for religious misconduct by trying to possess and handing over the local Gurdwara to Bhucho-based Dera Rumiana. The edict was handed over by ‘panj pyaras’ (five beloved Sikhs) that reached the gurudwara on Sunday morning. Gurchet Singh Dhillon, president of committee of local gurdwara and another Kuldip Singh Bhucho have been held guilty of religious misconduct by trying to hand over the possesssion of the gurdwara to a Bhucho-based Dera Rumiana. The duo had allegedly claimed their possession over the Gurdwara Shri Arjun Dev situated at Barnala Road in Bathinda and had done agreement with Dera Rumiana. However, Nandgarh, besides holding ‘tankhayia’ to Gurchet Singh Dhillong and Kuldip Singh had claimed to form a committee of the gurdwara in the next meeting. Both the ‘tankhayias’ were ordered to serve for half-an-hour at Akal Takh, Talwandi Sabo, for a week and torn down the agreement done with Dera Rumiana at Akal Takh Talwandi Sabo. Gurchet Singh Dhillon, said, “We respect the Takht Damdama Sahib and its chief, but we were not heard by the chief at Talwandi Sabo when we went there to meet them. The members at the Takht Damdama Sahib asked us to sign a plain paper, if we want to meet the Jathedar Balwant Singh Nandgarh. The five beloved Sikhs had found everything fine in the working of the Gurdwara Committee. But there are few miscreants who want to take over the possession of our gurdwara. The gurdwara land is registered in the name of Gurchet Singh Dhillon and the same had been found by District Magistrate earlier in its investigation.”
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Bathinda, July 2 In another case, the women police station has booked two residents of Moga for demanding and harassing their wives for dowry. In a complaint, victim Harmanpreet Kaur, a resident of Nehiawala village, has stated that her husband Inderpal Singh had been harassing and beating her up. — TNS
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Bathinda, July 2
The roads near the house of former Mayor Baljit Singh Birbehman, who is also a close aid of Chief Minister Parkash Singh
Badal, were recarpeted two-three days ago just before the arrival of monsoon even though it is not considered technically right to lay roads just before the monsoon season.
Sources said officials had laid the road in a hurry as earlier, when Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal held a sangat darshan programme in Talwandi Sabo constituency, he stayed at the former Mayor’s house for 2-3 days.
