Bathinda, July 3
More than 511 persons were killed and 419 injured in accidents in Bathinda in the past three years. As many as 677 cases pertaining to road accident have been registered with the city police from 2011 to 2013.

The main reason behind the spurt in accidents is traffic violations like wrong parking and overspeeding.

Moreover, public transporters do not care about the traffic rules as they stop their vehicles in the middle of the road, resulting in congestion during the peak hours.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said there were many factor involved in the rise in road accidents. Everyone is in hurry and want to reach his destination quickly.

He said the driving test should be made compulsory while issuing driving licences for heavy vehicles and even time should be fixed for heavy vehicles.

The SSP said he had directed police officials to rope in students for traffic policing for an hour everyday as this would improve traffic sense among the residents.

Vijay Goyal, president, Sahara Jan Sewa, said, “It is unfortunate that human errors are causing causalities. Not only the government, people should also avoid rash and drunken driving.”

The authorities should sternly deal with violators and an exemplary punishments should be given to them for the violation of traffic norms.”

Paramjit Singh, traffic in-charge, said overspeeding was the cause for a majority of road accidents.

Only 1,200 penalised for overspeeding in 2013

In 2013, of the nine lakh challans issued by the traffic police for the violation of traffic rules in Punjab, only 1,200 were issued for overspeeding.

Alcometers remain unused

Just before the Lok Sabha elections in April, the district police had received the latest equipment, including speed radars and alcometers. But due to some known reasons, the police are yet to use them.

Absence of boards indicating speed limit

The Bathinda Municipal Corporation has failed to install boards indicating speed limit, which can prove beneficial in inculcating traffic sense among the residents.

India fails to follow UN guidelines

The UN General Assembly has already declared to observe this decade (2011-2020) as the Decade of Action for Road Safety. The goal of the UN is to stabilise and reduce deaths in road mishaps around the world. However, few efforts are being made in India to realise the objectives set by the UN. 

Bathinda, July 3
Four persons were killed and seven injured in various road accidents in the city in the past 24 hours.

In a tragic incident, Richa Sharma (20), a resident of Harbans Nagar, was crushed to death by a trolley near the ITI roundabout on the Mansa Road overbridge. Her mother Suma Deva also sustained injuries. They were on their Activa scooter when the accident took place. Richa died on the spot. Suma Devi is under treatment at the Civil Hospital. Richa was a student of BA part 1 at Government Rajindra College.

In another accident, Hoshiar Singh (51), a storekeeper, was crushed to death by a tractor-trailer. He was on his scooter. After hitting him, the tractor-trailer rammed into a police booth. The deceased was returning to his work from bank when the accident took place.

Meanwhile, a motorcyclist died after his bike hit a pole on the Bathinda-Badal road around 8 pm last night. The deceased has been identified as Jagsir Singh (55), a resident of Sanjay Nagar.

An unidentified vehicle also crushed a man to death on the Bathinda-Barnala road last night at around 10.30 pm.

A girl was injured after her scooter skided near Arya Samaj Chowk. The injured has been identified as Simranjit Kaur (23), a resident of Dhobiana Basti. She was rushed to the Civil Hospital for treatment.

In another incident, two cyclists were injured as they were hit by a car near the fish market at Mall Road last night at 10.40 pm. The car driver managed to flee after hitting the cyclists. The injured have been identified as Bahadur Singh and Nilesh Kumar.

In another incident, a cyclist was seriously injured following a collision with a motorcycle at Hanuman Chowk last night. The victim, Raju, was admitted to a hospital by the Sahara Jan Sewa volunteers.

A man was injured when a trolley hit him while alighting from an auto-rickshaw at the city bus stand. Meanwhile, a bus hit a man at Barnala the bypass. The injured, Amar (55) was admitted to a hospital. 

Bathinda, July 3
A 40-year-old man was sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for possessing 20 vials of Rexcof, each of 100 ml, 350 capsules of Parvonspas and intoxicant powder.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Jasjit Singh Bhinder announced the sentence on city resident Sukhdev Singh after convicting him in a 2012 drugs case. Sukhdev Singh has also been asked to pay a fine of Rs1 lakh.

The court turned down Sukhdev’s plea for leniency on the ground that he is poor, the only wage earner in the family and his parents are too old to earn a living.

“Taking into account the facts and the circumstances of the case and heavy recovery of drugs, no leniency is to be shown towards the convict,” the court said.

Sukhdev Singh was arrested on December 11, 2012 near the grain market during a police patrolling.

The court announced him guilty under Section 22 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substance Act, 1985 Act. 

Bathinda, July 3
The Bathinda Municipal Corporation has deputed its officials to prevent waterlogging in the city.

It has deputed 25 MCB officials have been asked to monitor flood-prone areas in the city. Three officials will receive complaints at the flood control room. The MCB has also decided to take a disciplinary action against the employees if they go on an unapproved leave during the monsoon season.

Moreover, four drivers have been deputed at the flood control room to help the officials reach the areas where pumps have been installed to drain out excessive water. The officials have been asked to reach the critical points in the city and switch on the pumps to drain out rainwater. To proper functioning of the pumps, the officials have been asked to check them and submit a certificate regarding their working condition to the MCB. All the officials have been directed to keep their cell phones on throughout the monsoon season so that they could be contacted in case of any emergency. Several committees, including senior officials of various government departments, have been constituted to submit reports on the waterlogging-prone areas.

The committees, which were constituted by ADC (D) Sonali Giri during a meeting on June 12, are yet to start work due to delay in monsoon. “We have activated the committees and asked them to keep a check on of waterlogging in their areas,” said the ADC (D).

Bathinda, July 3
Almost a month after Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sarup Chand Singla conducted a surprise checking at the Excise and Taxation Department office and two weeks after a surprise raid at the Municipal Corporation office, no action has been taken against the officials found absent or those responsible for the discrepancy in storing records of the MCB.

Bathinda, July 3
Thieves struck at a readymade garment shop on Mall Road and stole material worth more than Rs 2.5 lakh late last night. Kotwali police station has started investigation. Pawan Jindal, the owner of the shop, said he received information this morning that the shutter of the shop had been broken. Immediately, he reached the shop and informed the police.

After the police came, we went in and found all material scattered. He said the thieves had stolen clothes and other material worth Rs 2.5 lakh.

Bathinda, July 3
It seems as if the administration has not learnt any lesson from the last years’ monsoon fury across the Malwa region, which washed away several buildings in Muktsar, Fazilka and Firozepur.

As most unsafe buildings in the district are occupied, the authorities need to act immediately to avoid any untoward incident.

The city has a number of battered buildings in densely populated areas that witness heavy commercial activities every day.

According to the Municipal Corporation rule book 1976, building regulations column 273, if a building is in a dilapidated condition or likely to fall or poses any other danger, the commissioner at any time can issue orders and if the owner ignores the orders within period specified, the commissioner shall take such steps to prevent any danger and the expense shall be recoverable from owner of the building.

At present, the main markets — Railway Road, Sadar Bazar, Sirki Bazar and Bank Bazar have more than a dozen buildings about that are 50 to 60 years old and large cracks are clearly visible. But, the problem has not yet caught the attention of the BMC officials.

As per record, in recent years, not a single building has been demolished by the BMC. According to sources, only two or three notices have been served on building owners.

The buildings of several government schools have also been declared unsafe by the Public Works Department (PWD) but no action has been taken yet due to a conflict between the Education Department and the PWD over the authority to dismantle the structures.

Earlier, the Director General of School Education (DGSE) had directed the respective schools to raze unsafe structures but the directions have not been followed so far.

The purpose of identifying unsafe structures was to dismantle them and to construct new ones before the arrival of monsoon. But, this was not done.

Advocate Gurpreet Singh said it was the duty of the BMC to issue certificates to owners of old buildings that pose danger but officials generally take pleas related to property disputes or court issues. But, this trend could be dangerous for the general public, he added.

Meanwhile, Commissioner Dalwinderjit Singh said he would check if the survey had been done, then swift action would be taken against unsafe buildings.

Bathinda, July 3
Two unidentified opened fired on a trader, Krishan Kumar (52), who is said to be a follower of Dera Sacha Sauda and a resident of Shant Nagar, last night and flee away from the spot.

As per information, on the backside of Sirki Bazaar near Desraj School, Krishan Kumar owns Jindal Departmental Store. While he along with his servant was going to his house after closing the shop at around 9.20 pm, two unidentified persons came on a motorcycle and opened fire on him near Shant Nagar street number 1.

A bullet hit Krishan kumar in its left shoulder. He was taken to the Civil Hospital for treatment. Later, he was referred to Ludhiana.

The victim’s condition is stated to be stable and the police have registered a case against the accused and their hunt is on. — TNS

Bathinda, July 3
Government Sports School, Ghudda, has decided to bar its boys of Class X from taking admission to Class XI.

Chairman of the school committee-cum-Deputy Commissioner of Bathinda, Dr Basant Garg, has announced that the boys, who passed out of Class X would not be allowed to seek admission to the first session of Class XI.

He announced that only girls would be able to pursue their senior secondary studies in the school.

The school, known to be close to the heart of the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal ever since its inception, has been in the eye of storm.

After the incident of students staging a protest in October last year, a couple of outsiders reportedly entered the school premises in January and created a ruckus and allegedly beat up a few students.

Accompanied by their parents, students, who studied in the school till Class X, today reached the District Administrative Complex to submit their memorandum of demands with the ADC.

In a letter addressed to the CM, the students argued that when they were admitted to the school, they were assured that they would be allowed to study up to Class XII in the school.

They said since their admission to the school was done on the basis of their sporting prowess, the school administration had no right to bar them from taking admission to senior secondary classes.

They argued that they had won state-level and national-level competitions in their respective games and hence, deserved an equal and fair chance.

The DC, however, said the school management had taken the decision in keeping with the capacity and infrastructure.

He advised the boys of the school to seek admission to other government schools and not waste their precious time.

District education officer (secondary) Amarjit Kaur Kotfatta said the decision had been taken keeping in mind the untoward incidents that had taken place in the school over the past couple of months.

“Boys were involved in creating ruckus in the school many times over the past few months. To maintain discipline and ensure safety of the school property and students, the school management has ruled in favour of admitting only girls in Class XI.”

The case of outsiders entering the school premises and vandalising the school canteen had snowballed and following an enquiry into the case, the school management had shown the door to the then principal, two coaches and the warden of the boys’ hostel after finding them guilty of insinuating the students.

Unlike earlier instances, wherein the trails for admission to the school were conducted at the Multipurpose Sports Stadium in the city, this time, the school management has decided to hold trials on the school premises.

In a letter issued to the principals and in-charges of all the schools, they have been asked to encourage the students, who excel in sports, to attend the trials. The trials will be held on July 7.