Fact file
More than 70 per cent of the colonies declared illegal in Bathinda district have water supply and sewage connections, street lights and proper roads.
The Bathinda Development Authority (BDA) had sent a letter to the Barnala district administration requesting that the registry of land deeds in all notified illegal colonies be stopped. The district administration reverted asking that the khasra number of these areas be provided and also demanded that the controversial areas be specified in every khasra. But an answer was still awaited.

Additional divisional railway manager, Ambala division, Pramod Kumar, during his visit to the Bathinda railway station on Monday. Tribune photo: Pawan Sharma

Bathinda, November 26
The additional divisional railway manager (ADRM), Ambala division, Pramod Kumar today conducted a surprise checking of the Bathinda railway station.

His visit was a precursor to the visit of the General Manager, Northern Railway, which is expected in January or February next year.

The ADRM conducted a detailed inspection was reportedly unhappy over the hygiene at the railway station. He visited the loading-unloading site where at times grains sealed in gunny bags spill thereby creating a mess. He directed the officials to get the area cleaned immediately.

The ADRM laid emphasis on amenities for passengers and cleanliness and directed the local officials to bring improvements in different spheres. He visited other departments and gave directions for the required improvements.

The department of electronics apprised him about the problems that they were facing.

Station superintendent Pradeep Sharma took up other issues of the railway station with the ADRM, who promised to look into them.

Bathinda, November 26
ADC (Development) Mohammad Tayyab today convened a meeting of various committees constituted for the inaugural ceremony of the third edition of the World Cup Kabaddi to be held at the multi-purpose sports stadium on December 1.

ADC Rajiv Prashar, SDM Ramvir, assistant municipal commissioner Kamal Kant Goyal, District Development and Panchayat Officer Rajinder Batra and officials of the event organising company, the Wiz Craft, were also present at the meeting.

All the committees were directed to present their final plans at the earliest so that arrangements could be finalised.

The committees were formed to look after the medical needs during the function besides decoration, transportation, give duties to officials of various departments, safety measures and others.

Necessary directions were given to the members of different committees, including reception and protocol, refreshment, venue, transport, media, accommodation, barricading, finance and others.

Bathinda, November 26
A 30" by 15" tent pitched outside the Mini-secretariat is the house for a number of teachers of the Sarv Sikhya Abhiyan in the state. They are sitting on a chain hunger strike for a month seeking salaries and cancellation of retrenchment orders of 900 of them. In between, these teachers take out rallies, clean roads to mark their protest while men go topless and try to gherao ministers of the Punjab Government.

Not very far away from them, preparations for the World Cup Kabbadi are in full swing. While protesters sleep on the floor thinking about the benefits of their education qualifications, with some of them even being M.Phil and PhD.

Such protests apart from political rallies and whirl-wind tours of Member Parliament Harsimrat Kaur Badal are held regularly here in this political capital of Punjab.

Celebrations and demonstrations virtually go side by side in this district that is shown immense interest by the Badal family.

A joyous procession of participants of the Virasat Mela where artistes attired in traditional clothes and young girls and boys danced merrily was hardly over yesterday when protesting teachers of the Sarv Sikhya Abhayan took to the same roads.

"We are specifically carrying brooms to clean the roads. We would be left to adopt cleaning roads as a vocation as the government was spending money on festivals and music nights and political functions instead of paying our salaries," said Satinder Singh Kang, Tarn Taran district president of the SSA teachers.

He along with other teachers alleged that they were supposed to receive Rs 3,500 per month as salary under the Centre-funded scheme. However, the state government was giving them Rs 2,000 - Rs 2,500 only.

Further, the immediate confrontation took place when the government relieved 900 teachers from duty. Under the SSA, slum or poor children in the age group of 6-14 years are provided education. The government relieved the teachers from those areas where the number of students fell less than 10.

Though an understanding was reached with the government regarding acceptance of their demands, but the dharnas will continue till the demands were implemented.

Not only the SSA but teachers from aided schools along with unaided staff of the schools, linesmen union, farmers union and action committees of various incidents like the Shruti Kidnapping case and others reach Bathinda to take on the government.

A tactical game of chess also goes on between the government and the protesting groups. Both try to outsmart each other.

The protesters try to gherao a minister or create a scene so that their voice is heard and on the other hand, the police aims at keeping them away from the government functions.

Usually, one meeting is held about the preparations of the programme and the second special one is on how to keep protesters at bay.

"It is all about who can out-think the other," said a senior police official, adding: "Every time, protesters come out with a new strategy to obstruct the functions. Our job is to pre-empt their moves without using much force."

Bathinda, November 26
From November 29 to November 31, how about taking biodiversity lessons on a train? That is when the Science Express— Biodiversity Special— a mobile exhibition on a specially designed 16-coach AC train, will be stationed at the Bathinda railway station for three days.

To showcase threats to environment and biodiversity in India besides cutting-edge research in science and technology to combat this crisis with community and individual participation, the Biodiversity Special strives to reveal the relevance of science in meeting these challenges in everyday life.

An initiative of the department of science and technology and the ministry of environment and forests, the train will feature 10 bio-geographic zones of India and exhibits on climate change and energy conservation. There will also be a Joy of Science Lab, where the participants will get a chance to perform experiments in physics, chemistry, biology, electronics and mathematics.

The Biodiversity Special, in which the students participate in various educational activities, training programmes and perform experiments, has been running between June and December every year for the last five years. Earlier, the theme of this train was always the science subjects. But this time, on the sixth countrywide journey of this train, the theme is biodiversity.

The reason for choosing biodiversity as the new special theme for the Science Express was that the eleventh meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP 11) was held in India in Hyderabad from October 8 to 19 this year. So, the Ministry of Environment and Forests decided that it would be called Biodiversity Special, said Neeraj Kumar Pal, the project in-charge of the train.

Neeraj Kumar Pal is from the Centre for Environment Education (CEE), Lucknow. The task to make the Science Express as Biodiversity Special was entrusted to the CEE.

At the COP 11, the participating countries had agreed to increase funding in support of actions to halt the rate of loss of biodiversity.

Out of the total 16 coaches of the train, eight have been dedicated to the biodiversity exhibition, featuring 10 bio-geographic zones in the country.

This is the reason why the number of coaches for science related information has been reduced to only four this time.

"As threat to the environment is a fast emerging challenge to mankind, community and individual participation is necessary to meet this challenge. Therefore, one of the compartments of the Science Express, coach number 13, has been specially assigned for teachers' training programme," he said.

"Besides making the students and teachers aware about the threats to biodiversity, the Science Express will seek to make them aware about the efforts being put in by the government and the non-governmental organizations (NGOs)," said Neeraj Kumar.

"We hope that after their training, the students and teachers will involve the community to make them aware about the threats to biodiversity and how to combat it," he said.

Giving a bird's eye view of the bio-geographical zones of India, including trans-Himalayas, the Himalayas, the Gangetic plain, the north-east and the coastal areas, the Science Express would meet its target of touching 52 towns to educate the students by December.

Showcasing the challenges and solutions for the endangered species, agriculture, farming and biodiversity, the Science Express is meant especially for the children in the age-group of 6-12 years. But the train is open to all for viewing.

Bathinda, November 26
The Sahara Welfare Society, an NGO, conducted a random survey to study the traffic sense and habits of the people in the city and found that violations of traffic rules were galore on roads even as many precious lives have been lost to road accidents.

"Most of the violators had justification for rash and reckless driving. They claimed they were in a hurry," said the president of the NGO, Vijay Goyal.

Goyal said a team of four members of the Shaheed Ram Singh Sahara Accident Roko Society, a sister concern of the Sahara, spoke to those violating the traffic rules at 15 different places in the city.

"We came across a man teaching a 13-year-old boy how to ride a scooter. We were surprised to see that," said Goyal. Sahara volunteers told him that it was wrong as rules don't permit a person as young as 13-year-old to drive. To this, the man responded that he had no choice as the child had to go for tuitions and it was not possible to drive him to and fro the centre daily.

"For the sake of tuitions, the child's safety was being risked. The parents could have encouraged the child to ride a bicycle instead of scooter, which is very dangerous," the Sahara volunteers said.

On the Bathinda-Dabwali Road, a truck was found parked right in the middle of the road with none of the indicators flashing.

The Sahara volunteers requested the truck driver to park the vehicle aside, lest any other vehicle should ram into it.

However, the truck driver refused to oblige.

"When we threatened to call police, he immediately parked the truck on the roadside," the Sahara volunteers said.

On the Bathinda-Mansa road young motorcylists drove over speed to overtake a truck.

When stopped and asked the reason for the dangerous overtake, they replied they were in a hurry.

"Instead the boys quoted the Murphy's law which says 'anything that can go wrong, will go wrong'. They were not bothered about their lives," the Sahara workers added.

The NGO has appealed to people to refrain from overtaking, talking on mobile phone while driving and driving in an inebriated state. They also appealed all to abide by the traffic rules to ensure their as well as others' safety.

Earlier, the NGO had conducted a similar survey in March this year.

When the findings of the both the surveys were compared, it was noticed that there was no change in the attitude of people towards obeying the traffic rules.

Fact file
The NGO, Sahara Welfare Society, conducted the survey.
Earlier, the NGO had conducted a similar survey in March this year.
When the findings of the both the surveys were compared, it was noticed that there was no change in the attitude of people towards obeying the traffic rules.
The NGO has appealed to the people to refrain from overtaking, talking on mobile phone while driving and driving in an inebriated state.
It also appealed all to abide by the traffic rules to ensure their as well as others' safety.

Bathinda, November 26
The education department has planned an array of activities and facilities for the government school students in the wake of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities that will be observed on December 3 and 4.

A state-level function, Udaan, is being held at Amritsar where disabled students from all the government schools will participate in different activities.

An audiometry camp is being held for the hearing impaired children at Government Desraj Memorial School on December 10 where students with hearing problems will undergo the audiometry test.

The districts have been directed to set up a sound proof room in the school for conducting the test. The room has to be small and echo proof. Three teams will conduct the audiometry test. These teams will be headed by an ENT specialist from the Civil Hospital, Bathinda. Children have been divided into three age groups -- 0 to 6 years, 6 to 14 years and 15 to 18 years.

Hearing impaired children will then be provided behind the ear cordless digital type hearing aid by the artificial limbs manufacturing unit at Kanpur, Alimco.

Alimco is giving these aids to Sarv Shiksha Abhiyaan (SSA) at 60 per cent discount per unit.

Fact file
A state-level function, Udaan, is being held at Amritsar where disabled students from all the government schools will participate in different activities.
An audiometry camp is being held for the hearing impaired children at Government Desraj Memorial School on December 10 where students with hearing problems will undergo the audiometry test.
The districts have been directed to set up a sound proof room in the school for conducting the test. The room has to be small and echo proof. Three teams will conduct the audiometry test.
These teams will be headed by an ENT specialist from the Civil Hospital, Bathinda. Children have been divided into three age groups -- 0 to 6 years, 6 to 14 years and 15 to 18 years.

Bathinda, November 26
The students of RBDAV School won laurels at the state-level competition held at Nawanshahr by the Child Welfare Council of Punjab. School students took part in group song and paper reading competition.

In paper reading, Poorvi of class X won the second prize. The team for the group song also got the second place in the competition.

Bathinda, November 26
The students of the seventh semester of Baba Farid Engineering College have been awarded the best BTech Award 2012 for their project, "Pneumatic Robotic Arm".

The innovation centre of Baba Farid Group of Institutes had sponsored the project. The students, Manjeet Singh, Kamal Kant Sharma, Vikraj Singh, Vikram Kumar, Rohit Thakur, Saddam Hussain, Mohammad Khurshid Alam and Vikas Kumar, had prepared the project. The students said around Rs 60,000 was spent on the project. The model works using air pressure and was showcased at the Rayat Bahra Institute of Information and Technology, Railmajra, Nawanshahr, where 15th IITE Student Section Convention was held.

In the national level competitions, the project bagged the first place in overall performance in technical events as well as the best B Tech project award 2012. The project was awarded the second place in "Best presentation". Deputy Commissioner, Nawanshahr, Tanu Kashyap awarded the students for their performance.

The guide in-charge of the winning team, Rohit Goyal and assistant guide Sohan Batra, said the students had worked hard on the project. The students thanked the in-charge of the innovation cell, Ajay Sidana and principal Manish Goyal.

Students from around 200 colleges of Punjab, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh and J&K participated.