Bathinda, July 8
Stalking a married woman cost a boy dear. Bathinda SSP Gurpreet Bhullar said the boy, whose body was found floating in a canal in Muktsar on Sunday morning, had been stalking Pawandeep Kaur even after her marriage.

Though the girl was married to a driver 11 months ago, the boy, Jagmeet Singh Rimpa, had been ‘harassing’ her for the past three to four years. The boy and the girl were classmates at a Mehma Sarkari village school.

The girl, despite being married to Simarjeet Singh, a resident of Adarsh Nagar, was continuously being chased by the boy. When her husband came to know about this, he intervened but to no avail. Simarjeet asked his wife to call Jagmeet Singh at their residence in Adarsh Nagar on July 4. “As the boy entered the house at around 10 pm, Simarjeet and the woman’s cousin, Swaranjit Singh, tied his legs and hands,” said, SI Harnek Singh, in-charge, Killi Nihal Singhwala police post.

The police came to know about the truth after an interaction with a number of villagers, relatives and close friends of the deceased.

“We got to know about the past ‘relationship’ of the boy and the woman and zeroed in on the couple. After initial interrogation, the accused admitted their crime and were arrested,” said the police post in-charge.

He said after beating up the boy severly, his head was dipped in a container of water for some time by the accused. When the boy died, the accused took the body to a canal in Muktsar. They also bring his bike with them and threw it, along the body, into the canal. A case has been registered against Simarjeet Singh, Pawandeep Kaur and Swaranjeet Singh. They have been sent to the jail after they were produced in a court.

The cause of crime Pawandeep Kaur, who was married to Simarjeet Singh, a resident of Adarsh Nagar, was continuously being chased by Jagmeet Singh When her husband Simarjeet came to know about this, he asked his wife to call Jagmeet Singh at their residence in Adarsh Nagar on July 4 As the boy entered the house at around 10 pm, Simarjeet and the woman’s cousin, Swaranjit Singh, pounced on him and tied his legs and hands After beating up the boy severly, his head was dipped in a container of water for some time. When he died, the accused threw the body into a canal in Muktsar.

Bathinda, July 8
Union Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda announced a bi-weekly Shatabdi Express between Bathinda-Delhi in his maiden rail budget speech today. The Railway Minister has fulfilled a long-pending demand of the residents as this would give a fillip to the development of the Malwa region.

In 2002, the Shatabdi Express was started from Bathinda to Delhi by the then Railway Minister Nitish Kumar. It used to run five days a week but due to few passengers, it was discontinued within in a month. Later, with the opening of national projects in the city, the rail connectivity to Delhi became a major requirement.The residents have been demanding the Shatabdi Express between Delhi and Bathinda for the past many years.

The need for the train was felt as the city has the Guru Gobind Singh Refinery, National Fertilizers Limited (NFL), a Central university, Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant (GNDTP) and many more projects where people from distant areas come for work. Even the last year, the residents were hopeful of the announcement but the then Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal announced a Shatabdi train for Sangrur instead of Bathinda.

Strict action against vendors

The Railway Minister has stated that strict action will be taken against the vendors selling substandard food at railway stations. At the Bathinda railway station, most of the vendors overcharge and sell substandard food.

No word on upgrading security at city rly station

The Railway Minister has announced to recruit 1,500 RPF and 4,000 women security personnel but has said nothing on upgrading security at the city railway station. There are no metal detectors and security personnel at the entry and exit points of the railway station. Even the CCTV cameras are lying defunct for long.

Rail link to Takht Damdama Sahib

Sadananda Gowda has not said anything on the rail link connecting Takht Damdama Sahib with the Rama rail project. The project was announced last year but the work on it is yet to start.

Meanwhile, Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal said the voice of Bathinda was heard after a decade as the railway Minister announced the New Delhi – Bathinda Shatabdi Express. Harsimrat said, “I am thankful to Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda for not only acceding to my request for the bi-weekly Shatabdi Express from Bathinda to Delhi but also for the announcement of four new trains for Punjab.”

Bathinda, July 8
Though the residents are quite happy with the announcement of a bi-weekly Shatabdi Express from Bathinda to Delhi in the railway budget, they demanded better connectivity between Bathinda, Ludhiana and Amritsar.

Though Bathinda is one of the largest railway junctions of the country, it is not connected with some major cities of the state. Due to which, the people of the area suffer a lot.

Dr TS Nagpal said he was extremely thankful to the Railway Minister for the announcement. However, he said there was a lot to be done to improve the condition of the Bathinda railway station. There is need to provide better hygiene at the railway station and in trains.

Mohammad Ramzan Naimi, district imam, said, “ Instead of the Shatabdi Express, the minister could have announced normal long-route express trains . At present, there are only two trains-Punjab Mail and the Inter-City Express. But, both the trains remain crowded. This train was discontinued in 2002 due to the absence of passengers. It will meet the same fate this time."

“The Shatabdi Express has come as a relief but the government should also provide better rail connectivity to Ludhiana and Amritsar,” said Komal Sharma, a housewife.

Harjinder Johal, a businessman, said we welcome the decision of starting the Shatabdi Express but the government has already burdened the people with the rail fare hike. This was a pre- planned strategy of the NDA government. So, we cannot term it as a pro-people budget.

Bathinda, July 8
After losing property worth crores in a fire at his shop in the cloth market on Mall Road on July 4, Radhe Shyam sought compensation from the Punjab Government.

Radhe Shyam blamed the Fire Department for the loss as, according to him, it failed to extinguish the fire. He demanded, at least, Rs 10 lakh in compensation.

“My shop was burnt in front of me in a few hours due to the incapability of fire fighters. What is the fun of paying Rs 1.5 to Rs 2 lakh as tax to the government if it failed to provide even the basic facilities,” Radhe Shyam said.

He said prominent leaders of the area had been visiting him but nobody said anything about compensation. “All they are assuring a meeting with the Chief Minister,” he said.

He said after suffering losses to the tune of Rs 2 crore, he had been forced to pay for the removal of the charred remains.

Cloth Market Association president Satpal Goyal said,” We will extend all possible help to Radhe Shyam and might soon move the District Courts in this regard.” He blamed the Fire Department for the failure to extinguish the fire. Municipal Corporation Commissioner Dalwinder Singh said he had visited to the Fire Department office after the incident. “They need to purchase new equipment and fire tenders. We have already sent a proposal for approval regard this,” he said.

He, however, added that the amount required for the purchase of fire tenders was exorbitant.

“I also came to know about the problems faced by fire-fighters. Onlookers and wrongly parked vehicles created a lot of problem during the fire incident at the shop. We will focus on the utilisation of the available resources,” he said.

A team of the MC and the Power Department had visited the shop to ascertain the cause of the fire but they failed to find out the reason as the shop was completely gutted, the Municipal Commissioner said.

Quotes:
“My shop was burnt in front of me in a few hours due to the incapability of fire fighters. What is the fun of paying Rs 1.5 to Rs 2 lakh as tax to the government if it failed to provide even the basic facilities,” Radhe Shyam, owner of the shop.

As per the Fire Department, the fire at the cloth shop is the second major incident in the last four months. A total of 163 fire calls were received during this period. Most of the incidents reported in the city took place in kitchens, bushes and dry agricultural fields. Fire Officer Jaswinder Singh denied any negligence in dousing flames at Radhe Shyam’s shop The Fire Officer said there were no identified fire-prone areas in the district but they had identified the most traffic-prone areas where it was quite difficult for fire tenders to pass.

Bathinda, July 8
With every passing year, students seeking admission in Government Rajindra College here are facing a tough competition as the number of forms received by the college authorities for most of the courses exceeds the number of seats available.

Students are making a beeline for admission in BA (part 1). For 792 seats, of which 72 seats are for the students belonging to rural areas, the college has received 2,979 applications. Last year, the college had received 2,400 forms for the course.

As many as 767 aspirants have submitted forms for admission to BCom (132 seats). The college had received 600 applications for the course last year. While the college has 80 seats for students belonging to urban areas and eight seats for students belonging to rural areas in BCA, it has received 362 applications. Last year, the number stood at 200.

The college has received 221 applications for 110 seats in BSc (medical). It had received only 50 applications for the course last year. Similar is the case with the BSc (bio-tech). For 44 seats, 84 students have applied.

The college has received 733 applications for admission to in BSc (non-medical), which has 132 seats. As many as 320 students had applied for the the course last year.

Principal Vijay Goyal said, “This year, we introduced the online admission process and set up help desks for the students who can’t to use internet. We faced minor glitches in putting the procedure in place but the response has been overwhelming.”

Mansa, July 8
A pompous show that followed with the intimation of the Punjab Chief Minister's visit to the Khyala drug de-addiction centre has now been exposed with the hospital lying empty without patients. Around five new patients were admitted just a day before the Chief Minister's visit.

The ten-bed Khyala de-addiction centre had only two patients whereas eight had left the hospital. Manoj Kumar, a psychiatrist, was transferred to Gurdaspur by the Chief Minister after the people complained to him about the doctor recommending medicines from private medicine shops despite the availability of these medicines in the hospital.

However, the only psychiatrist in Mansa district, Dr Harpal Singh Sran, has been given the charge to treat the patients.

Parkash Singh Badal had visited the Khyala de-addiction centre on July 6 but interestingly, a day before the Chief Minister's visit to Khyala block in Mansa, about five patients, including four prisoners, were quickly admitted as drug addicts to a de-addiction centre. Besides, a television, drip stands and bed sheets were arranged for the patients being attended to. For the prisoners, it was a day to relax as the police allowed them to lie without their hands in chains. The complete ten bed de-addiction centre was cleaned and made tidy with coolers provided for the patients.

At the drug de-addiction centre, the inmates are charged Rs 200 per head on a daily basis and are given free medicines and food. Around 200 patients used to visit this de-addiction centre daily for medicines but the hospital is running short of it.

The authorities, however, claimed that two patients had been admitted for more than 20 days while three patients, including two prisoners, had been admitted only for the last few days. But just a day before the CM's visit, a Bathinda-based resident and four prisoners were also admitted to the centre.

Surjit Singh, the father of the drug addict, said, "We are coming here for the last few days but are always told that the medicines are not available. We had to purchase it from outside. The medicine is too costly. We had purchased it for Rs 150 per ten tablets."

Senior Medical Officer, Khyala Community Health Centre, Dr Jagjiwan Singh said, "A number of patients had been discharged by Dr Manoj before he left for his place of posting. Now, Dr Harpal Singh Sran has been posted here to treat the patients. We had only two patients in the hospital while around 200 patients visit here daily to receive medicines to kick the drugs." 

Bathinda, July 8
The Bathinda Municipal Corporation (BMC) may be penalised as the Central government is planning to introduce the new motor vehicles bill under which there may be a clause specifying the standards of maintenance for roads and the agencies concerned will be held responsible for failure to comply with the norms.

The condition of roads in the city is deplorable, including the main GT Road, with huge potholes, posing a serious threat to the lives of commuters.

The road near Rose Garden, Bibi Wala Road and Lal Singh Basti Road are in a shambles and cry for attention.

The poor condition of the roads has resulted in many accidents.

It becomes difficult for vehicles to cross over the protruding manholes. Many four-wheelers are damaged when their bonnets or chasses hit manholes.

Manholes can be found on Bibi Wala Road, Power House Road, GT Road, Amrik Singh Road and other areas in the city.

City resident Ramneek Singh said there was no use of electing representatives of people as they can’t even provide basic amenities to the people.

He claimed politicians had repeatedly claimed to turn the city into California. But the reality is that people don’t even get basic amenities, he added.

Another resident Hardeep Singh said the administration was hardly concerned about the needs of the people.

Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari has said that a strict law, on the lines of the United Kingdom, would be tabled in Parliament soon.

A BMC official said the work on repair of roads was on. The work was delayed due to the code of conduct for Lok Sabha elections but now all the roads would be covered one by one, he added.

Fact file The condition of roads in the city is deplorable, including the main GT Road, with huge potholes, posing a serious threat to the lives of commuters The poor condition of the roads has resulted in many accidents

Bathinda, July 8
Baba Farid College of Management & Technology (BFCMT) organised a five-day faculty development programme (FDP) by the National Institute of Technical Teachers Training and Research (NITTTR) on communication skills. The programme was attended by 20 faculty members.

Dr MP Poonia delivered the inaugural address. In his speech, he laid stress upon the importance of effective communication skills in today's world of business. He also mentioned that only theoretical and practical knowledge is not sufficient to achieve success and discussed ways to leverage effectiveness in the professional world by improving reading, listening, written and oral communication skills.

Dr Manish Bansal, director principal, BFCMT, said, "Effective communication skills play a major role in the growth of an individual and its importance can't be disregarded in the professional world. In today's world of business, good communication skills are complementary along with conceptual and theoretical knowledge. We have a vision to make all the students employable and industry-ready by providing the latest inputs through our experienced faculty members."

Gurmeet Singh Dhaliwal, chairman, Baba Farid Group of Institutions, while conveying his gratitude to the NITTTR, said, "It is a matter of pride that we are arranging such sessions with one of the leading institutes to provide a knowledge sharing platform to our faculty members. Recognising its importance and eventually its positive impact on the students, we would keep organising this kind of sessions in future." — TNS

Bathinda, July 8
Goods worth around Rs 1.1 lakh were stolen from a house at Talwandi Sabo.

Complainant Kartar Singh, a resident of Bhagwanpur village, said some unidentified persons stole away a 5 gm gold bracelet, a chain, 30 gm gold tops, a 12 gm gold bangle and Rs 500 cash from his house on the night of July 6.

He said the family members found the jewellery missing when they woke up the next morning.

The police have registered a case under Sections 457 and 380 of the Indian Penal Code at the Talwandi Sabo police station.