Bathinda, March 26
Residents of the Burj Mehma village and the surrounding villages today intensified their agitation against the setting up of the Common Bio-Medical Waste Treatment and Disposal Plant in their village.

The Burj Mehma villagers and the owner of the disposal plant have been at loggerheads since the inception of the plant.

While the villagers opine that they would not allow the plant to start at any cost, the owner of the plant, which is a private venture, said he would set up the plant soon as he has got all the No Objection Certificates (NOCs) and that he is doing nothing illegal.

Plant owner Bir Bahadur, who is also the chairman of the Bathinda Block Samiti, said, “I am not doing anything illegal and have all the requisite NOCs to set up plant. I have assured the villagers that the plant will not cause pollution of air or water.”

He added that there were five such plants already functioning successfully in Punjab and Chandigarh.

Gurmeet Singh, block general secretary of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugrahan), however, said a visit to a plant in Mohali was facilitated by the plant owner a few days ago. But after visiting the plant, the farmers still expressed their concerns over the emission of air and water pollution.

He said the farmers today burnt the effigy of Punjab Government for its failure to come up with a solution and get the plant shifted to some other place.

Gurmeet said they had already held talks with the villagers who were opposing the setting up of the plant in the village.

He said the villagers from Talwandi, Maur, Nathana, Bathinda and Rampura blocks also participated in the protest today

He added that the earlier meetings held between the villagers, officials of the district administration and the local police officials, failed to find a solution to the problem.

Bathinda, March 26
“Our vision for the Punjabi University Regional Centre, Bathinda, is that it should be best in the area,” said Dr Jaspal Singh, Vice-chancellor, Punjabi University, Patiala.

He was speaking at the inaugural session of the two-day national conference on “Contemporary Concerns of Punjabi Language, Literature and Culture”. The conference is being organised at the University’s Regional Centre in Bathinda to mark the golden jubilee celebrations of the Punjabi University.

Elaborating on his vision, Dr Singh said, “I request the senior members of the Regional Centre administration to prepare a practical proposal and bring it to Patiala either next week or within the next 2-3 days. I request them to make a proposal that will include the works needed to be done for the development of the Regional Centre.”

Talking about what he meant by a practical proposal, he said, “The Centre needs an auditorium so that functions like these are not organised in a tent, a canteen and a proper bus facility for the students. The proposal should list out the needs of the Centre, according to priority. The auditorium should be planned in such a way that it is not used only twice or thrice a year but at least once a month. Only then will it serve the purpose.”

“Although Punjabi University has drawn up its annual budget, I promise to add to the budget to ensure the development of this Centre. I assure you that the University will release funds for the development of the Centre without fail. There will be no shortage of funds once the development plan is finalised. But the funds must be used and divided among various development works judiciously. The real expense is not incurred while erecting the walls of an auditorium, but when the other works like sound-proofing, acoustics, false ceiling, seating arrangements etc, start. So we will have to plan and use the funds accordingly,” he further added.

“It has been brought to our attention that the students coming to study at the Regional Centre face problems while travelling to and from the Centre. We will look into this matter as well and do whatever we can to help solve the problem,” he promised.

Requesting the Centre authorities to draw up the plan within the next couple of days, he said, “The earlier the plan is drawn, sooner the work will start for the maintenance, upkeep and betterment of this Centre and make it the best within the next two years. If the Centre authorities will take 4-5 steps forward, the University will also take a few steps.” 

Bathinda, March 26
About 80 per cent posts of the medical officer (dental) have been lying vacant in the Bathinda district, affecting the dental healthcare services adversely in the hospitals and health centres.

Besides, the post of the District Dental Health Officer (DDHO) has also been lying vacant in the office of Civil Surgeon here for the past 18 months. This vacancy was created on October 1, 2010 when the then DDHO Dr JL Singla retired on September 30, 2010.

As per information, there are 19 posts of dental doctor in the district, of which 15 have been lying vacant for different number of years. However, the four dental doctors have been working in the Civil Hospital, Bathinda, Civil Hospital, Rampura Phul, Primary Health Centre, Goniana, and Primary Health Centre, Talwandi Sabo.

The posts of dental doctor are vacant at Children Hospital, Bathinda; School Health Clinic, Bathinda; Raman, Maur, Ballianwali, Nathana, Sangat, Bhagta, Krarwala, Bhucho Mandi, Mehraj, Urban Healthcare Centres at Janta Nagar, Dhobiana Basti, Lal Singh Basti, and Paras Ram Nagar, all in Bathinda.

The dental doctors’ posts in Children Hospital and School Health Clinic in Bathinda, have been lying vacant since November 2008.

The dental doctors’ post at Raman is vacant since April 1999, Maur since 1995, Ballianwali since 1996, Nathana since June 2003, Sangat since June 1999, Bhagta since June 1996, Krarwala since 1986, Bhucho Mandi and Mehraj since September 2005.

Sources in the Civil Hospital here told this reporter that due to the vacant posts of dental doctor for a long time in the district, the dental healthcare services, especially in the rural areas, have been affected adversely as the villagers have to come to urban health centres for their dental treatment.

It is also learnt that dental doctors have been selected recently by the government for posting them in various parts of the state. However, the doctors in the Civil Hospital here are of the view that though there are 15 posts of dental doctor vacant in the district, it will hardly get five to six dental doctors from the selected doctors. So even after the posting of some new dental doctors in the district, half of the vacant posts will still remain vacant. 

Bathinda, March 26
Nearly 700 aspirants from across the state displayed their sporting skills and potential on the first day of two-day trial for the admission in Government Sports School, Ghudda, in Bathinda district.

The two-day trial began at the Multi-purpose Stadium here today for the selection of budding sportspersons and giving them admission in class VI of the residential school.

“The selected children would be given admission in class VI,” said Dr Gurdeep Singh Sidhu, principal of the school, adding that they would also be given nutritious meals, sports kits, uniforms, medical facility and other required facilities free-of-cost at the school.

The selection trial aimed at picking up talent in eight sports, including soccer, hockey, volleyball, basketball, athletics, kabaddi, wrestling and boxing.

“Altogether 45 students would be selected,” the principal said.

He also added that the Director (Sports), Punjab, has sent a 16-member selection panel comprising specialised coaches to select the potential players.

“There are eight games and two coaches for each sport have been assigned the job to identify the talents in their respective sports,” Dr Sidhu said. The principal said any student born after January 1, 2000 could take part in the trial.

On Day I, students contested in events like 30 m race, 10X6 shuttle race, long jump and vertical jump.

Bathinda, March 26
The local Radcliffe School celebrated its second annual day fest on Sunday. The music and dance extravaganza included many performances.

District Education Officer (Bathinda) S. Khusbir Singh was the chief guest on the occasion while the other guest of honour was Dr Rupinder Kohli, a renowned educationist and associate vice-president of the Radcliffe Foundation.

The chief guest inaugurated the new “state-of-the-art” building. The ceremony was followed by the annual day fest comprising various performances.

The function commenced with the lighting of the ceremonial lamp. Saket Kumar, the music teacher, played on the guitar and paid tribute to the national heroes.

The tiny-tots enthralled all by dancing to the tunes of "Choti si asha". Deputy Manager Jogesh Sahu presented the annual report.

The most riveting performance was the folk dance of Punjab, bhangra.

Prizes were given away to the students for their academic excellence and their achievements in the games and sports by the principal of the school. Deepti Sharma, coordinator, Radcliffe School, proposed the vote of thanks.

Bathinda, March 26
Punjabi University Regional Centre is organising a two-day national conference on the ‘Contemporary Concerns of the Punjabi Language, Literature and Culture’ on the occasion of the golden jubilee celebrations of the Punjabi University (PU).

The inaugural session on Day-I of the conference was presided over by the Vice-Chancellor of the Punjabi University, Dr Jaspal Singh. Dr JS Garewal, Vice-Chancellor of the Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, was the chief guest on the occasion. While the stage coordination was done by Dr Jagroop Singh, the inaugural function was coordinated by Dr Jeet Singh Joshi.

Focussing on why the Punjabi language was suffering a setback, Dr Jaswinder Singh, dean, alumni affairs, said, “The children these days can manage to speak only in broken Punjabi. The focus is on learning and talking in English these days. Every language is important and to make sure that children know their mother tongue well, they need to be taught the script as well.”

Eminent critic of the Punjabi literature, Dr Jagbeer Singh emphasised the role of market and multinational companies on the changing nature of the Punjabi language, literature and culture. “Market and multi-national companies are changing the way the society is evolving and the way we think. The new generation is learning the language of technology. This is, no doubt, taking them towards the global success, but if we wish to see our children successfully take forward the Punjabi language, culture and literature, we should ensure that they go back to the roots of our culture. Only then will they understand the true message of Gurbani,” he said.

At the onset of his address, Dr JS Garewal clarified that he had a little to share on the subject of the conference and he had everyone in splits when he said, “When a scholar like Dr Jagbeer Singh says that he will end his address in five minutes, then I should take only two minutes.”

Stressing on the importance of the popularity of literature for the continuous evolution of a culture, he said, “By reading the literature of any civilisation, we can understand the history, times, society, culture and ethics of that particular civilisation. Same is the case with the Punjabi language as well. If we want the Punjabi language and culture to be known and to be popular, we should ensure that the Punjabi literature is read.

“Painting the picture of how quickly the society is changing,” Dr Jaspal Singh quoted the popular poet Basheer Badr’s sher ‘Koi haath bhi naa milaega, jo gale miloge tapak se/ Ye naye mizaazo ka daur hai, zara faaslo se mila karo.’

“I promise to focus on the positives in this conference,” he said and added, “The biggest achievement of the Punjabi community has been the fact that it managed to create a separate identity for itself on the global platform even before globalisation caught up India. This has been possible because of the innate nature and values of the Punjabi culture. Punjabis have the heart to give away happily what is rightfully theirs, they have the intent to share. They are not only brave enough to take risks and chalk out a path for themselves in the wilderness but are also the torchbearers.”

A souvenir and a novel written by Prof Jagroop Singh were also released on the occasion. All the guests were honoured by Dr Jaspal Singh and other faculty members of the Centre. Dr RK Mahajan, from the Centre's Department of Economics, proposed a vote of thanks.

Later, during the technical session, Prof Rajender Pal Brar, Prof Dhanwant Kaur, Dr Tara Singh, Dr Baldev Dhaliwal, Prof Gurnaiv Singh, Prof Surjit Singh and many other scholars presented their research papers.

Bathinda, March 26
The traffic awareness drive was launched here today by the Civil Defence Warden Service to make people aware about driving safely by taking all the safety measures.

The drive was launched at the Hanuman Chowk in the morning and was attended by many dignitaries including the Deputy Commissiioner KK Yadav and members of the organisations associated with the drive.

Under the drive, fliers would be distribued among the commuters and they would be urged to spread the message of safety while driving.

Apart from the fliers, placards will also be put on display urging commuters to drive carefully and follow the traffic rules.

“It is aimed at capturing public attention so that the number of accidents could be reduced to some extent," said Narinder Bassi, deputy divisional warden of the Civil Defence Warden Service, Bathinda.

Bathinda, March 26
Speaking on the prevalence of ‘squint’, an eye disorder among the populace, a former associate professor of the PGI, Chandigarh, Kanwar Mohan asked the people not to neglect the child with squint as it can lead to deficient vision throughout life.

He was addressing a continuing medical education (CME) programme, organised by the Bathinda Ophthalmological Society on ‘Squint’ and ‘Corneal perforations’ here last night.

Over 30 eye surgeons from Bathinda and surrounding areas took part in it. They also participated in the deliberations at the informative interactive session of the CME. Prof Mohan further said before two years of age, every child, born with squint, must have completed the treatment either with glasses or surgery. Otherwise, there would be permanent loss of vision in the squinting eye.

He added that the squint did not get corrected automatically with the growing up the child. So, the child should immediately be taken to an eye surgeon.

A former assistant professor at the PGI, Dr Ashok Sharma stressed upon prompt and correct treatment of corneal ulcer to prevent the blinding complication of perforation of cornea. He also said the use of keratoplasty (corneal transplant) and artificial glue can prevent blindness in cases of corneal perforation.

Dr Amrit Sethi, a former president of the Punjab Ophthalmological Society, expressed concern over the “mushrooming” of surrogate eye hospitals in the state where unqualified persons are performing eye surgeries. He said, however, in such hospitals, qualified eye surgeons visit only weekly or monthly. The existence of many such hospitals was already in the knowledge of the society and it was contemplating suitable action against them, he added.

Bathinda, March 26
Seven people have been booked by the police for beating up a local resident and and threatening him with a pistol. In his complaint to the police, Gurpreet Singh, a resident of the Power House Road, said he was sitting near the Ghorewala Chowk last evening when some people armed with sharp-edged weapons and firearms attacked him.

They also threatened him with dire consequences and threatened to kill him with the pistol.

A case under Sections 341, 323, 148, 149 and 25, 54, 59 of the Arms Act has been registered against Karanveer Singh of Ajit Road, Harjeet Sharma and Lovely of Jujhar Singh Nagar, Sherry of Multania road, Anku and two unidentified people.