Bathinda, March 29
Making a significant announcement, with regard to the transfers of the government school teachers, Punjab Education Minister, Sikendar Singh Maluka, said today the transfers of the teachers this year would be made as per their wishes, but after that the transferred teachers would have to work at their place of postings for at least three years.

Maluka also said the process for transferring government school teachers would be completed by May-end. After that, no transfers would be executed.

The rationalisation of the posts of teachers of all streams would also be made in order to post the surplus teachers to those schools, where their services are required. Besides, all the teachers, who were on deputation in the government schools, would be sent back to their original place of posting as their deputations had been cancelled, he added.

Interacting with the media persons here today, the Education Minister said he had also taken a major decision, with regard to sanctioning of ex-India leave to teachers. He said no teacher would be given ex-India leave for more than three months for going abroad.

He said in case any teacher wanted to go on an ex-India leave for years together, he would have to resign as the state could not afford such a long leave at the cost of studies of students.

With regard to teachers’ vacant posts in all streams in the schools, Maluka said there were 15 per cent posts vacant in the government schools.

He said the government would now recruit teachers on regular basis. He also said the government had already selected 8,000 teachers but they could not be appointed due to a stay by the court. He said as and when the stay is vacated, the government would appoint them.

Maluka said he would also emphasise providing proper infrastructure, furniture and electricity, etc, to the schools. He also said the Centre had provided `1,100 crore under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) to Punjab though the state government had demanded `1,600 crore. He termed the amount of `1,100 crore as insufficient to meet the requirements.

The Education Minister also said the state government would set up one Adarsh School in every Assembly constituency during its current term. He said the government would also introduce one period in a week for the class XI and XII students to educate them about the ill-effects of drugs. He said a policy was being made for the private schools so that they could not “loot” the students.

He also said the government would give recognition to those Elementary Teacher Training (ETT) institutions that would fulfill government’s conditions, including 60 per cent admissions as per the merit list prepared by the government.

He also said the salary of the computer teachers was being released now for two months, while the salary for the remaining months would be released later.

Bathinda, March 29
The residents of street number 3 B, Bibiwala Road, have approached the Chief Minister of Punjab against construction of a hospital in the residential area.

In their representation sent to the CM, Deputy Commissioner, local MLA and the Municipal Councilor, area residents have alleged that the building is being constructed to house a multi-specialty hospital.

The lane, where the hospital is coming up, is narrow and blind on one side. “The street has a single entry and exit point. Our children are already falling short of a place to play. In absence of a park nearby our children play on this street. With coming up of hospital our and our children’s safety and that of our children would be at stake,” pointed out the area residents.

While the front side of hospital has around 10 feet wide lane, the rear lane is barely six feet wide.

Residents also reasoned that the hospital will bring in a continuous flow of vehicles that will cause traffic hazards, nuisance and chaos.

“Moreover, there is no place to park vehicles. A hospital means there would be ambulances and open space is required for transferring the patients from ambulances to the hospital,” added another resident.

Since the beginning of the construction of the building, neighbours have been registering their protest in one way or another.

Initially they did not allow trucks carrying sand and gravel to be unloaded. “To lay the phone cables, street made of inter-locked tiles was dug up. Now, these tiles have been replaced, but with a single shower the tiles would cave in,” pointed out another irate person.

It is learnt that even the Municipal Corporation Bathinda (MCB) served notices to the owner of this place on February 15 under the section 270 of the Punjabi Municipal Act for demolition of the building. The corporation had passed the map of this building as a residential site, whereas it has come up in the form of a three-storey commercial venture.

When contacted, Dr Sanjay Garg from Delhi Hospital agreed that the building belonged to him. He, however, added, “The building was built a few years ago and now we are just renovating it. But we do not plan to shift in it due to the kind of response it has evoked from the public, especially the area residents. We might shelve the idea completely,” he said.

When contacted, Municipal Councilor, Harmandar Singh, said, “I have received the complaint and I’m pursuing the matter at the corporation level.”

Bathinda, March 29
Following the decision of the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA), the Bathinda District Cricket Association (BDCA) would organise a selection trial of U-18 players for participating in the PCA training camp.

The trial would be organised at the Police Public School, Police Lines, in Bathinda on April 1.

Honorary general secretary of BDCA, OD Sharma, who has been appointed as the convenor by the PCA for this trial, said players from seven districts comprising Ferozepur, Faridkot, Muktsar, Mansa, Barnala, Sangrur and Bathinda would take part the selection trial.

Sharma added that each district would nominate a maximum of five players for the trial. Out of the 35 players, 15 players in various categories will be selected for the camp.

Sharma said the PCA has nominated a selection committee to conduct the trial and to select 15 players. The panel comprising Arun Wadhawan of Bathinda as the chairman, Pradeep Kumar of Faridkot, Pushpinder Singh of Muktsar, Gurpreet Singh of Mansa and OD Sharma of Bathinda.

Sharma said preparations for ensuring the success of the trial were on full swing. The three coaches of Bathinda, namely, Ravi Kohli, Satya Bhushan and Ranjit Bhola, have been deputed to make all the arrangements.

The selected players will attend the coaching camp at PCA from May 7 to May 21. 

Bathinda, March 29
This Saturday, will you dare your friends, neighbours and acquaintances to save the planet? Wondering what this is all about?

‘Dare the world to save the planet’ and ‘I will if you will’ are the slogans for the Earth Hour-2012. These are a few simple challenges that will give the people across the globe a chance to participate in the world’s single largest campaign for the planet, the Earth Hour.

The campaign, an act of turning off the unnecessary lights for an hour at 8:30 pm on March 31, 2012, is a way of demonstrating a united pledge for a better future of the planet.

The Earth Hour is an annual event, organised by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and is observed on the last Saturday of March across the globe.

The campaign persuades individuals, households and businesses to turn off the non-essential lights for an hour to raise awareness about the need to take action on climate change.

The Earth Hour started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia, when 2.2 million homes and businesses switched off the unnecessary lights for an hour to take a stand against climate change.

Within a year, the Earth Hour became a mass movement of global sustainability with the participation of more than 50 million people across 35 countries.

By March 2011, the Earth Hour campaign had participation of as many as 4,400 cities across 88 countries. This made the campaign the world’s largest global climate change initiative.

In an interview, while talking about the initiative, Andy Ridley, The Earth Hour’s executive director and co-founder had said, “The Earth Hour demonstrates the determination of the world’s citizens for a better (and a) healthier world. It brings together cities, communities, businesses and individuals on the journey to positive action on climate change. The Earth Hour is an opportunity for the global community to speak in unison on the issue of climate change.”

India has also been making its mark by successfully observing the Earth Hour in the past years. The Earth Hour 2011 was flagged off by the Delhi Chief Minister, Sheila Dixit, and Earth Hour 2011 ambassador and Bollywood actress Vidya Balan in the presence of Jim Leape, Director General, WWF International.

According to reports, by switching off unnecessary lights during the Earth Hour 2011, Delhi alone saved 300 MW of electricity.

So, will you switch off the lights for an hour and dare others to do the same? 

Bathinda, March 29
A patwari, nambardar and naib tehsildar landed in soup for allegedly preparing a fake residence proof of Bathinda for a resident of Dabwali to get dealership of a petrol pump of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL).

A case under Sections 420, 465, 468, 471 and 120-B of the IPC has been registered against patwari Rajinder Singh of Gehri Buttar village, Nambardar Manjit Singh of Doomwali village in Bathinda and Dabwali residents Gursimran Singh and his father Manjit Singh.

Bathinda police in its daily crime report stated that the accused got a five years old residence proof of Doomwali village in connivance with the tehsildar of Sangat Mandi in May, 2010 while they were actually residing in Dabwali. The case is registered at Dyalpura police station after investigation carried out by the EOW (Economic Offences Wing) of Punjab police. No arrests have been made so far.

Complainant Bal Bahadur of Hamirgarh village near Bhagta Bhaika said he had applied for the petrol pump under the Hamara Pump Category after an advertisement appeared in a newspaper in April 2010.

It was stated that the company would offer district-wise dealership under this category and the residence proof of the respective district was necessary to apply.

Ajaib Singh, brother of the complainant while talking to Bathinda Tribune said Gursimran Singh, a resident of Dabwali, also applied after getting a residence proof of a Bathinda village despite the fact that his name was in the voters' list of Dabwali. He got his name removed from the ration card of Dabwali and got it registered in another ration card procured from Bathinda.

"We came to know about the fake residence proof when the petrol pump was allotted to the accused in first merit list," he said. He added that 4 kanal 4 marla land was purchased by the accused near the bus stand of Hamirgarh village of Bathinda. The land was registered under serial number 271 with residence proof of Haryana and got the intkaal done under serial number 4318 from naib teshidar of Bhagta Bhaika. After few days, the same land was again registered with a residence proof of a Bathinda village under serial number 316 and intkaal done under serial number 4322.

Ajaib Singh said the accused then prepared the fake residence proof with the help of some revenue officials of Sangat Mandi. The officials gave him residence certificate of past five years without verifying the voter card, voter list or enquiring about the residence of relatives of the accused.

When the matter was brought into the notice of the naib tehsildar and the patwari, they got the residence certificate cancelled and a copy of cancelled certificate was obtained by complainant under the Right to Information Act. Subsequently the allotment to the accused was cancelled and Bal Bahadur managed to get the dealership. When contacted, Bathinda Tehsildar Avtar Singh Makkar, said it was the rule of the Punjab Government that those having land in Punjab could get the domicile. "The Dabwali residents are having their land in Doomwali village of Bathinda and may procure the domicile," he said.

On cancellation of the residence proof after a hue and cry by the complainant, he said there were six different categories under which one could apply for domicile and the categories of applicants might be changed after the complaints were made. None of the accused could be contacted.

Bathinda, March 29
There seems to be no respite from the rising fatal road accidents in Bathinda. In yet another mishap a resident of Kotshamir was killed in an accident on the GT Road, Bathinda. A case under Sections 304-A and 279 of the IPC has been registered in this connection against Kamaljeet Singh of Beniwala village in Mansa at the Kotfatta police station.

The complainant Raj Singh of Kotshamir said that he was going Katar Singhwala from Kotshamir along with his nephew Jagseer Singh on two separate bicycles when a speeding car driven by Kamaljeet Singh hit the bicycle of Jagseer. He died on the spot. No arrests have been made so far.

Bathinda, March 29
An Osho film festival is being organised by a local Charitable Trust, Osho Prem Dhyan Mandir and Spiritual Research Institute, from 6 pm to 9 pm on March 31 at a hotel near railway station here.

In this festival, documentary films, relating to Osho, will be screened, according to the chairman of the organisation Swami Prem Shakshi.

Sakshi said the documentary films, including ‘Yug Purush Osho’ will be shown without any fee.

Bathinda, March 29
Aiming to eradicate ignorance towards the nature, the Baba Farid Group of Institutions has started a movement ‘Live Green: Step Towards Better Living’.

An open discussion on the theme was organised by the BFGI today.

While Dr Pardeep Kaura, Deputy Director (Academics) anchored the discussion, environmentalist and eco-activist Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal, Ashok Kumar Kalsi, SE of Punjab Pollution Control Board, Sant Daya Singh, XEN DK Singla and. Balbir Singh Baling, former chairman, Bar Council, Chandigarh, participated in the discussion.

While answering the questions asked by the audience, Sant Seehewal said, “We are facing water scarcity these days, as the ground water level has gone down. But, this can be changed. The flow of polluted water in the free-flowing natural rivers has blocked the recharging process. Whatever work we have done in cleaning up the Kali Bein rivulet, it was for the welfare of mankind. No other work can be more sacred than this. It is said in the Bani that it is better to save a creature than to take bath in 68 holy places of pilgrimage.”

Gurmeet Singh Dhaliwal, Managing Director of the BFGI, took the opportunity to announce that the BFGI had formed an awareness campaigning team of dedicated members working towards the promotion of the BFGI’s campaign, Live Green.

These teams have been visiting different schools, colleges and neighbouring areas to spread the awareness about the optimum use of non-renewable resources.

“The BFGI teams are also visiting and associating with colleges, NGOs, schools, clubs, private, government, and other organisations, so that we can work towards making the world greener,” he said.

Ashok Kumar Kalsi requested the gathering to summit written complaints, if they wanted appropriate actions to be taken to solve the problems related to the environment. He also spoke about the environmental laws.

At the end of the event, Gurmeet Singh, Director (Public Relations) gave proposed a vote of thanks to all the dignitaries for their participation in the discussion. 

Bathinda, March 29
Prof ML Arora was unanimously elected the president of the DAV College Retired Teachers Association, Bathinda, for the third time in a row. In a meeting of the association held today, other office-bearers were also chosen for the year 2012-13.

While Prof YR Handa and Prof RK Aggarwal were chosen the vice-presidents, Prof Rajnish Kumar was chosen the general secretary, Prof VK Agarwal was chosen as treasurer and Prof NK Gossain was named the press secretary. Prof AK Gupta was chosen the cultural secretary and Prof GD Doda was named convenor (grievances).

Thanking the members of the association, the newly elected office-bearers promised to make efforts to find solutions to the problems being faced by the retirees.

An early meeting with the DAV College Managing Committee, New Delhi and DPI Colleges (Punjab), Chandigarh, has been sought to sort out the pending issues of the retired college teachers especially the payment of arrears on account of the revision of grades with effect from January 1, 2006, enhanced gratuity and leave encashment.

The retirees regretted that on the one hand they were not getting any pension, on the other, the authorities concerned had not released their due payments for a long time, causing them a lot of harassment.

Bathinda, March 29
The district unit of the Kisan Morcha of the BJP at its meeting here today urged the Union Government to announce Rs 1800 per quintal as minimum support price (MSP) of the wheat.

The meeting said at present the MSP of wheat was just Rs 1280 per quintal which was a cruel joke to farmers. The farmer leaders said the expenditure on producing one quintal of wheat was Rs 1300 now, so the MSP of the wheat, Rs 1280 per quintal, was injustice to them. The meeting was attended among others by Rajnish Bedi, Majorpal Singh and Jaswant Singh Sukhladhi.