Bathinda, October 3
Utter chaos prevails in the city due to the rise in the number of vehicles and the lack of parking space, especially in the busy market places and on the main roads.

While the traffic police officials claim that they have been issuing tickets (challan) for wrong parking, residents say the problem is increasing and altercations and accidents have become commonplace.

"Hundreds of commuters get stuck in the traffic jam everyday in view of the wrong parking on the Guru Kashi Marg where the private and nationalized banks are situated by the roadside," said Jeet Singh, a resident of the area.

He said a large number of customers turn up for their routine work at the banks but have no place to park their vehicles. The commuters end up fighting with each other over the parking space.

"The situation worsens after the school hours as children in school buses or on two-wheelers and in cars too get stuck up in the traffic jam," said Joginder Singh Jugnu, a resident of Guru Kashi Marg.

He said the local traffic policemen have been informed umpteen times but nothing has been done in this regard.

Traffic moves at a snail's pace on the road in view of the heavy trucks which move towards the newly-built refinery on the Dabwali road. The movement of the buses from the bus stand also add to the chaos in the stretch till the fauji Chowk from where the buses head towards the bypass. Traffic coming from the Powerhouse road that has to take a right turn also has to face problems despite the presence of the cops and the traffic lights just because of the chaotic flow of vehicles.

City traffic in-charge Jagdish Kumar, when contacted, said the number of challans that the traffic policemen are issuing to the people outside the banks is surprisingly high. "But even then, people park their vehicles in a haphazard manner and create hindrances in the smooth flow of traffic," he said.

The bank officials are also not cooperative as they have been instructed many times to deploy someone so that the parking could be streamlined outside their banks.

"Either the banks should be shifted to some other place or they must find a place to park the vehicles of their customers. Or else, the situation may worsen and major accidents may take place anytime," he said.

Bathinda, October 3
Carrying forward the legacy of the eminent playwright Bhai Gursharan Singh-- Bhaaji for the thousands associated with him-- author Attarjit Singh is running Bhaaji's publication house, Balraj Sahni Yadgari Prakashan (Balraj Sahni Memorial Publications).

Attrajit Singh runs a mobile library that has covered 1750 educational institutes in Punjab so far. Tribune photo: Pawan Sharma

"The publication house started in Amritsar under the name of Balraj Sahni Yadgari Gharelu Pustkala. Later, its books reached all parts of the state. During a meeting with Bhaaji in 2005, I requested if I could look after the publication house and he readily agreed," says the 72-year-old Attarjit Singh, a celebrated writer and the pioneer of Dalit literature.

Since 2005, Attarjit Singh has been running this publication house and has published 70 to 80 books on a no profit, no loss basis. "Bhaaji always wanted literature to be accessible to all. To live up to his dreams, we are publishing books at genuine rates and encouraging new entrants into the literary field," adds Attarjit who has written seven to nine novels, five books for children and several short stories. His books for children are priced at a mere Rs 5.

He also runs a mobile library that has covered 1750 educational institutes in Punjab so far. The mobile library was started in April 2002 as part of the project started by the Punjabi Sahit Sabha, Delhi.

In 2004, Attarjit Singh started his own mobile library and used his own investments to the tune of Rs 12 lakh for the project. He bought a vehicle for Rs 4.14 lakh and spent the rest on books bought from different publishers.

"Till date, I have not been able to recover the Rs 12 lakhs invested. But then, investments in education and literacy are never commercial ventures," says Attarjit Singh, who visits various schools and colleges in the cities as well as the hinterland and speaks to the students.

While with children, he expresses concern over the growing depiction of the Sikh character as a trouble maker, womaniser and alcoholic in the mass media and guides the kids over this wrong portrayal.

Reminiscing about the old days of societal concerns, Attarjit said, "The upper caste-lower caste divide has been bridged. But in the process of narrowing this gap, we have left deep crevices that are impossible to fill. I may sound self-contradictory, but the old times when untouchability was a major issue, were better. People from the upper castes had sympathy towards the lower castes. Today, though people of all sects rub shoulders, yet issues like caste-based reservation are acting as splinters in the relationship," he says.

Bathinda, October 3
The arrival of paddy in the market is late by over a week as compared to last year. Till date, just 3280 MT of paddy has arrived in the grain markets of the district, whereas last year, the figure was 20350 MT, on the corresponding day.

The ban imposed on the hybrid varieties coupled with the prolonged rainy season has delayed the arrival of the crop. Last year, the first heap of paddy in the grain market had arrived on September 27, while this year, the season has started on October 1.

Last year, the PAU 201 and some other hybrid varieties introduced by the private players in the market were of poor quality. The grain of crop had high damage content and was broken.

While this paddy was procured and stocked in the rice mills, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) did not pick up the stock for milling. "As per the FCI rules, the damage content is permissible up to three per cent, whereas these hybrid varieties have seven per cent as damage content.”

When the paddy stocks started choking the rice mills, the millers raised an alert, following which the government imposed a strict ban on planting these varieties," said Mohan Singh Dhillon, former president of the Bathinda-Rampura Phul unit of the Rice Millers Association, Punjab. The experts added that the prolonged monsoon also added to the delay as the crop got soaked.

Meanwhile, the stand-off between the procuring agency officials ended today. Government agencies are expected to begin their procurement from tomorrow onwards. Today, only the private players and Pungrain procured, which included 595 MT of the private players and 30 MT of the Pungrain.

DC KK Yadav today visited the grain market. In his presence, Pungrain procured three heaps of paddy. There are 176 procuring centres in the district that include 28 kucha and rest as pucca centres. District Mandi Officer Gursewak Singh said that Pungrain procured paddy at the MSP of Rs 1,110.

Bathinda, October 3
Six sites have been designated in the city for the sale of crackers ahead of Dussehra and Diwali. The sale as well as storage of crackers is allowed at these designated sites only. Anyone found violating the orders would be booked under section 188 of the IPC.

The list of sites identified include the stadium at the thermal colony, Government Senior Secondary School, Paras Ram Nagar, Khalsa Senior Secondary School, ITI (Boys) near the Patiala railway crossing, Government Senior Secondary School (Girls) and the Des Raj Senior Secondary School.

The administration has already passed instructions to the head of these institutes directing them that to abide by the orders. The district officials said that checking the sale of crackers on sites other than the designated ones, would be the responsibility of the SHOs of these areas.

Also, the shopkeepers have been directed neither to sell nor store crackers in the residential areas or in localities other than the specified ones. Such sale and storage raises security concerns as these shopkeepers neither have enough instruments to extinguish fire nor have buildings with adequate fire exit routes.

Meanwhile, ban has been imposed on lighting crackers within a 500 metre radius of the fuel storage tanks and the army ammunition depot situated in the Phoos Mandi area.

District Magistrate KK Yadav stated that under section 144 of the IPC, use of crackers during Dussehra and Diwali has been banned in specific areas. A complete ban has been imposed on the use of those fire crackers that burst while in air. Villagers of Phoos Mandi can celebrate Diwali only by lighting lamps.

The order for Phoos Mandi has been passed keeping in view the inflammable nature of the fuel and the possible threat it can pose to the population living nearby.

These orders would be in effect till November 10.

Bathinda October 3
Due to the ongoing rift between state-run telecom company BSNL and the private telecom companies, because of non-payment of carriage charges by the latter, it has become well nigh impossible for the people to even connect with the fire brigade or the police helpline.

The emergency services have got stuck in the city which perhaps could lead to a major trouble for the residents.

The emergency numbers of neither the fire services nor the police control room are receiving the same amount of calls as they were receiving before the problem took place.

Sub-Fire Officer, Bathinda, Jaswinder Singh said they have been receiving less number of calls since the dispute between BSNL and private companies started.

On being asked if they have done something to lessen the problems faced by the residents, he said, "Till now, no alternative has been provided by the department to receive the emergency calls from the residents. If the number does not get connected, people have to come on their own to get the service."

"There have been just two or three calls since September 29," he added.

The same is the case with the helpline of the police department. The users of private companies cannot call even the police for help.

When the police control room (PCR) was asked about the emergency calls, the operator said, "We get more than 250 calls daily. However, due to the ongoing problem in the last three days, the calls have reduced to only 30-40."

Earlier, the users could not connect from the BSNL landline phone to any other mobile or landline number. But the connectivity between the numbers of the private companies and the BSNL numbers was intact. But now, the clients of private telecom companies can't even connect to the BSNL landline or mobile phones from their mobiles.

Bathinda October 3
The three-day Zonal Youth Festival — 2011 of the Punjabi University (PU) Patiala, (Bathinda Zone) has begun at the Baba Farid College at Deon.

Over 30 colleges of the Bathinda zone have been registered in the youth festival. Bathinda Deputy Commissioner KK Yadav inaugurated the fest. Gurmeet Singh Dhaliwal, MD, Baba Farid Group of Institutes, welcomed the director of the Youth Welfare Punjabi University (Patiala) Satish Verma and all the dignitaries present at the function.

On the first day of the fest, various competitions including giddha, classical dance, group shabad, classical vocal, folk songs, quiz competition, clay modelling, rangoli, on-the-spot painting, group songs, Gazals, songs and folk orchestra were held.

Ten teams had participated in the folk dance Giddha. In Giddha, Government Rajindra College (Bathinda) bagged the first position while Mata Sahib Kaur Girls College, Damdama Sahib and Baba Farid College (Deon) secured second and third position, respectively.

The famous comedian Rana Ranbir graced the occasion. Rupinder Honda, a known Punjabi singer, enthralled all the audience by singing songs.

In Rangoli, Nirmal Kaur of the Guru Nanak Khalsa College, Abbu Jindal of the Baba Farid College, Deon and Shital Sharma of the Baba Farid Education College stood first, second and third, respectively.

In clay modelling, Monika Sharma of the Guru Nanak Girls College, Priya Garg of the Baba Farid College, Deon and Harpreet Kaur of the Government Rajindra College secured the first, second and third prizes.

In the quiz competition, Government Rajindra College (Bathinda) stood first while second position was acquired by the Baba Farid College, Deon.

Group Shabad by the Government Rajindra College, Baba Farid College, Deon, Government Barjindra College, Faridkot by getting first, second and third position, respectively.

In the classical vocal, Government Rajindra College, Government Barjindra, Baba Farid College got first, second and third position, respectively.

Bathinda, October 3
After a week-long strike, the staff of the ‘Suwidha Centre’, situated on the premises of the Mini-secretariat here, today resumed duties. The staff had started the strike on September 26 in support of their demand of regularisation of services.

However, what assurance they have actually got from the state government about their demand could not be known, but some staff members of the Suwidha Centre said the government had agreed to enhance their wages. A staff member said the rise in the wages might be 50 per cent or more.

During the strike, people visiting the centre faced many inconveniences and harassment to get their work done as many of them daily visited the centre not only from the city but also from different parts of the district.

Talking to TNS at the Suwidha Centre today, one Jasveer Singh from Mehma Sawai village said, “He had been coming to the centre for the last one week but he succeeded today in getting the rural area and caste certificate of his daughter. However, he is yet to receive the residence certificate of his daughter,” he added.

Kirpal Singh from Maur Kalan village said he failed to get the copy of the mutation though he had been asked to come on October 3 to collect the copy. He said as he could not get the copy, so he had to return disappointed.

There were some other persons, who expressed happiness over the opening of the Suwidha Centre, saying that people would not face now harassment and inconvenience which they had been facing for the past one week.

It may be mentioned here that due to the strike when the people started raising their voice and approached the Deputy Commissioner, he ordered the opening of the centre on September 30 and deputed six members of his staff to do the works of the people so that they could not face inconvenience and harassment for more days. 

Bathinda October 3
The renowned comedian of Punjab, Ranbir Rana was in the city for a guest performance in the ongoing three- day Zonal Youth Festival of the Punjabi University, Patiala. With his rib-tickling jokes, he spread a wave of joy in the crowd at the Baba Farid College (Deon).

Rana is busy in creating awareness among the youth about the Punjabi literature, culture and female foeticide nowadays. “I love the Punjabi culture. I want the youngsters not to forget the rich cultural heritage of the state. I always appeal to preserve the Punjabi culture during all my stage performances,” he said.

His script is full of humour along with a meaningful message. Also his comedies always include a satire on social evils. Expressing disappointment about the television laughter shows, he said, “All the television shows have a tinge of vulgarity in the name of laughter. They have degraded the scale of comedy. They cannot be watched with the family”"

Rana hails from Dhuri and did his Masters in Television and Theatre from the Punjabi University (Patiala). Today, he is the most sought-after artist not only in Punjab but also abroad, who is capable of doing on-the-spot comedy.

“I am a product of the stage and still love to perform on the stage only. I am still attached to my roots and whenever I am called to any festival, I am there to serve my audience,” said Rana. In his message to the youth, he said, “There are no short-cuts in life. One has to do a lot of struggle to achieve something. The Punjab youth have a potential but all they need is good teachers, who can give them the right direction.” 

Bathinda, October 3
A one-day adult literacy advocacy camp was held at the local block resource centre. Principals from 50 schools participated in the workshop on the adult literacy and HIV AIDS.

During the workshop, the director of the state Science Education Board (Chandigarh) Dr Anand Gupta and resource person Dr Rajesh Jain gave information about the two subjects.

They encouraged the principals present to educate the students of the IXth and XIIth standard about the changes in their bodies and other social changes they undergo during the teenage.

“This would clear many misconceptions and children would not look for alternatives. The teachers can be the best friends at this stage when children are confused,” they said.

State awardee Narinder Bassi spoke about the HIV/AIDS and need to educate children on the sexual issues.

He said instead of being overcautious with students while discussing sex related issues, the teachers should act normally and motivate the students to be vocal about their problems.

Bathinda, October 3
Hundreds of students from Sharp Brains Rampura Phul and Bhuco Mandi centres participated in the national-level abacus competition.

The Challengers Abacus Education organised an event at Chandigarh. Director, Sharp Brains, Ranjiv Goyal said students solved 100 sums in seven to eight minutes including addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and decimals.

In the competition, a total of 9,307 students from Punjab, Haryana, Himach Pardesh, JK, Chandigarh, New Delhi, Gujrat, UP, Uttranchal and Maharashtra participated. 

Bathinda, October 3
Following the call of the state body, the milk plant workers of the Bathinda and Mansa districts held a rally at the Milkfed plant in Bathinda, today. The speakers said even after selling 10 acres of land of the plant, the milk plant administration is still showing the plant to be running in losses.

President of the Milk Plant Employees Union Amarjit Singh said the plant management is trying to suppress genuine demands of the workers.

He condemned the rude behaviour of the senior officials of the plant and officials from the office of the registrar of the cooperative societies.

They demanded that the government should immediately release 40 per cent balance of the Vth Pay Commission applicable from January 1, 2006 to March 31, 2010.

They also demanded the regularisation of temporary workers besides filling up all the vacant posts in the department.

The workers further said the payment of arrears of dearness allowance payable from July 1 2005 onwards should also be made.

During the meeting convened today, members of the union Jagraj Singh Kanakwal, BK Mittal, Harbans Singh Naruana and Prem Chand Saini said if their demands are not fulfilled, they would protest wearing black badges on October 10 while on October 13 the workers of five plants each would protest.

“If the government still does not yield to our demands, we would resort to holding massive rally at Chandigarh headquarters,” the protesters warned.

Bathinda, October 3
Diksha Gulati has won a gold medal in the sixth ‘Youth Women Boxing Championship’ held at the Punjabi University, Patiala. A resident of Paras Ram Nagar, Diksha had given a tough competition to her opponents during the boxing matches at the Punjabi University.

The boxer was welcomed by the area residents and local politicians in the city today. Relatives of the boxer said that she had earlier also won medals at national, state and district-level competitions. She was working hard for the past few months for these competitions.

Mother of the boxer Kiran Gulati said her daughter was practising at NIS (National Institute of Sports), Patiala and shifted to the NIS, Hisar two years ago. A former student of Kendriya Vidyalaya No. 1, Bathinda Cantt, Diksha had continued her studies through correspondence. 

Bathinda October 3
In the 57th Punjab Games, the Delhi Public School, Bathinda, hadsdone well. A total of 246 students had participated in the zonal-level competitions in various events such as cricket, basket-ball, football, tennis, judo, swimming and ball-badminton. The 24 teams of the school participated, out of which, 22 secured gold medals and seven secured silver medals.

Also, the school’s performance at the district-level was encouraging as 15 teams participated. School principal Arunjee has congratulated the coach S. Sankar and asked the students to keep up good work.