Bathinda, July 4
A three-storey cloth shop on Mall Road was gutted in fire this morning. Material worth crores was destroyed in the fire. No loss of life has been reported.

“Costly clothes, mostly women suits and lehangas, worth Rs 2 to 3 crore have been lost in the fire,” said Satpal Singla, president of the Cloth Market Association. The shop owner, Radhe Shyam, could not disclose the exact loss. Senior police officials, including SSP Gurpreet Bhullar, DSP Gurjeet Romana, Kotwali SHO Mahesh Saini, Assistant Commissioner of the Bathinda Municipal Corporation (BMC) Kamal Kant Goyal and SDM Damanjeet Singh Mann immediately reached the spot to assess the situation.

Firemen try to douse the flames

Volunteers of Dera Sacha Sauda and shopkeepers push a fire tender in Bathinda on Friday

SSP Bhullar ordered the deployment traffic policemen, a DSP for the movement of fire tenders.The smoke emanating from the shop could be seen even five kilometers away. Eyewitnesses said the fire was first spotted by a watchman who informed a neighbouring shopkeeper at around 7.10 am. The shopkeeper failed to connect to the Fire Department helpline and informed the police.

Later, a 1984-model fire tender arrived at the shop. The old fire tender could not create enough water pressure to douse the flames.

Meanwhile, the shopkeeper could not informed over the phone as he was attending a religious function. “About 25 minutes later, the shop owner called back and got to know the tragedy. He immediately reached his shop. Only after vehement pleas, the work to douse the flames was expedited and more fire tenders from National Fertilizer Limited (NFL), teams of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and a recently purchased fire tender from Muktsar were called,” said the shopkeepers.

“The authorities at the Fire Department initially said they had no driver for the fire tender. Later, the driver they sent was not in uniform and failed to get into the fire tender twice as he was wearing slippers and a jean. He fell twice while trying to get into the vehicle,” said Cloth Market Association president Satpal Singla. Later, he failed to move it due to some some technical snag in the vehicle’s gear box.

“The fire tender with exhausted water supply was stuck in front of the shop and failed to give way to the other fire tenders. The shopkeepers, policemen and volunteers of the Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda pushed the fire tender for over 30 minutes to make way for others,” Satpal Singla said.

He said instead of fire fighters, volunteers of the dera were more helpful. More than 20 dera volunteers reached the spot within minutes. “Mismanagement on the part of the authorities, the lack of equipment to break open the shop, civil dress of fire fighters and little water pressure led to the delay in dousing the flames,” Satpal Singla alleged.

“More 45 minutes were wasted. Clothes and other belongings were destroyed in the fire, which was doused after more than six hours,” said Radhe Shyam.

“People also blocked the way of fire tenders by parking their vehicles in the middle of the road. Someone took away the terminal from the battery of a fire tender, which failed to take off,” fire officer Jaswinder Singh said.

He added that the firemen tried hard but the delay led to the loss. He said five fire tenders were used in controlling the fire. Owners of nearby shops said short-circuit could be the reason behind the fire.

Bathinda, July 4
The Fire Department is ill-equipped to handle a major fire. This was stated by shopkeepers at the cloth market on Mall Road. The Fire Department is under the Municipal Corporation of Bathinda (MCB).

The shopkeeper, Radhe Shyam, whose shop was gutted in a fire today, said despite paying huge taxes to the state government, it had failed to provide the basic equipment to the Fire Department.

Miscalculated length of water pipes, the lack of water pressure in fire tenders, outdated vehicles and the lack of coordination among the authorities led to the major loss. Helpless Radhe Shyam could not resist himself from cursing the authorities when a 1985-model fire tender was stuck in front of the shop due to a technical snag.

He said the government had no right to levy taxes as people had been left on their in such a situation. A few years ago, a major fire incident had taken place in the market, resulting in a major loss. Similar kind of incidents were reported at dry agricultural fields, Axis Bank on Mall Road and Jawahar Medicos in the past.

Defending the firemen, fire officer Jaswinder Singh said they had five fire tenders of 1985, 1995, 2008, 2010 and 2011 models at their disposal. Two small fire tenders had the capacity to retain 3,000 and 2,500 liters of water and the three big ones had the capacity of retaining 5,000 liters water, he added. “We have a staff of 29 people, including a fire officer and 18 firemen”, he said. Denying the allegations of the shopkeepers, Jaswinder said their swift action did not allow the fire to spread. “Had we been informed a bit earlier, we would have prevented the damage. We received information at 7.35 am, till then the fire had engulfed the entire shop,” he said.

He said all six drivers were immediately pressed into the service.

“The firemen were well equipped and they managed to break open the first iron shutter of the shop. The problem occurred when the flames inside met the wind from outside. Breaking of another iron gate and a glass wall became a herculean task,” he said.

He said the cause of the fire would be assessed thoroughly later.

Bathinda, July 4
Officials of the Health Department today held a meeting with the representatives of various departments to chalk out a strategy for dealing with malaria and dengue in the district. Many officials present were seen taking a nap or attending phone calls during the meeting.

Deputy Commissioner Basant Garg and Civil Surgeon Dr Tejwant Singh did not attend the meeting as the Deputy Commissioner had to go to Central University to attend a meeting with the Education Secretary. The reason of the Civil Surgeon not attending the meeting could not be known.

District Health Officier, Dr Raghbir Singh Randhawa, headed the meeting.

Dr Raghbir Singh Randhawa said, “ Last year, private hospitals termed the normal fever as dengue and started the treatment without conducting MAC-ELISA tests. He said awareness should be created among the residents that decrease in the platelet counts does not mean that the patient is suffering from dengue.”

“ In 2011, 862 cases of dengue were reported in the district. While in 2012, only eight cases were reported, in 2013, there were 177 cases of dengue in the district,” he added.

The DHO told that door to door dengue awareness drive conducted by the Health Department and the Municipal Corporation has been completed.

He said that the MC should take care of the cleanliness in the city.

Randhawa said the state government had issued a notification after which it has become mandatory for the private hospitals to coordinate with the Health Department to curb dengue and malaria.

Bathinda, July 4
The state government has taken the construction and development of the main campus of the Central University of Punjab, (CUP) in Ghudda village, seriously. This was stated by the Principal Secretary for Higher Education, Dr Roshan Sunkaria ,during his visit to the CUP Bathinda campus today. He also visited the site earmarked for the main campus in Ghudda village.

Sunkaria visited the CUP Bathinda campus to take stock of the progress of construction work. He convened a meeting with the Deputy Commissioner, Dr Basant Garg, acting Vice-chancellor, Prof P Rama Rao, SDM, Damanjeet Singh Mann, officials of the Public Works Department and other government departments.

He said the Chief Minister, was keen to know about the development of the project.

The officials concerned told Sunkaria that the tender for laying of the entry road to the main campus had been given and the work would start from this month. Prof Ramarao explained about various blocks and facilities to be provided on the campus of the Bathinda university.

Bathinda, July 4
City residents have high hopes from the rail budget this year. Union Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda will present the budget on July 8.

Besides the introduction of new trains, safety and punctuality of trains is high on the residents’ wish list.

Bathinda, July 4
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Congress leaders have started preparing for the Municipal Corporation elections this year. The elections are likely to be held in October or November this year.

After facing a tough contest in Lok Sabha elections, SAD is not in a mood of taking any chance this time and has told its workers to be ready for the contest. SAD candidate Harsimrat Kaur Badal had trailed by more than 29,000 votes in the city. Meanwhile, ticket aspirant have start working hard to woo the voters. The Congress leadership has also started boosting the morale of its workers as they want to cash in on the anti-incumbency wave. The party has started consultation with workers for the selection of candidates.

SAD leader and former Mayor Baljit Singh Birbehman said they were ready for the elections as in his tenure the city had progressed a lot. “More than Rs 225 crore was spend by the MC for the development of the city in the past five years. A sewerage treatment plant worth Rs 40 crore was started in the city and reverse osmosis (RO) plants were commissioned in every ward of the city,” he said.

He said they would seek votes on the development plank and the work done by them in the past five years. Meanwhile, Harmander Singh Jassi, general secretary, Punjab Pardesh Congress Committee (PPCC), said they had asked the Punjab Government to hold the elections as per schedule but it was not in a mood to do so due to the fear of defeat. Jassi also stated that they have started consulting the people of the wards, as all candidates for the elections would be announced with the consultation of the people for their ward.

He said they would win the election as people were fed up with the policies of SAD.

Bathinda, July 4
Parents of Sukhvir Singh, a four-year-old deaf and dumb boy, from Ghuman Kalan village, have no words to express their gratitude towards the Nanhi Chhan initiative of the Bathinda MP and Union Food Processing Minister, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, which extended a helping hand to give new lease of life to their ailing boy.

Sukhvir had lost his capacity to hear at the age of one-and-a-half year, when he fell down from the bed and suffered internal head injury. The NGO bear all expenses incurred on treatment, including transportation and accommodation at Delhi for more than six months. The operation of Sukhvir proved to be successful.

“We had lost all the hopes. We visited doctors in Bathinda and Mansa but in vain. One of the doctors told us that Sukvir could be treated only in Delhi and the treatment would be expensive,” said Baljit Kaur, mother of the boy.

“My husband is a farmer and it was not possible for us to visit Delhi and get our son treated. During a Sangat Darshan programme, I met the Bathinda MP in our village. She assured me of all help,” she said.

Aided by the NGO, the parents took Sukhvir to Delhi where he was successfully operated upon in a private hospital. “Doctors have installed some chips in his brain to rekindle his hearing capacity. A hearing machine will be provided to Sukhvir next month. ” said Baljit.

Bathinda, July 4
Even after 20 days of issuing a fresh list of revised collector rates for various areas of the city, the office of Senior Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Damanjeet Singh Mann is yet to receive a request for the refund of the extra money paid by the residents for the registries according to the old collector rates.

As per records, as many as 200 registries were done at the tehsil office since June 16 when the Deputy Commissioner officially approved the revised collector rates and sent a signed copy of the same to the tehsil. Officials overlooked the revised rate list and charged the people as per the old rates.

When it was brought to his notice, the DC said, “All those who got the registries done as per old collector rates after June 16 may apply for the refund of stamp duty.”

Interestingly, the SDM has not received even a single request for the refund. “The department is yet to receive any request. Ever since the administration began holding meetings on the revision of collector rates, very few people had come to get for registeries.”

It is pertinent to note here that the DC had constituted a committee on June 10 to ensure the implementation of the revised collector rates. The committee, comprising several government officials and representatives of the real estate sector, had made recommendations to reduce the collector rate ranging from 15 to 70 per cent in different parts of the city.

The report of the committee was handed over to the DC on June 14 who after studying the report issued a new list of collector rates and handed it over to tehsildar Harsharanjit Singh on June 16 but the revised rates were not implemented immediately.

Although the DC has been receiving applications and correspondence for reduction in collector rates, he has made it clear that the revised list will be binding till March 31, 2015. He added that the administration had formulated a committee to seek suggestions and the same were studied to arrive at the revised list. He said the rates had been reduced from 5 to 40 per cent after taking into account the recommendations of the committee.

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