Bathinda, March 23
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has started renovating the eastern gate of the Bathinda Fort towards Gurdwara Qila Mubarak. The work would be completed within the next two months.

The gate had crumbled down around three years ago following incessant rains.

To begin with, debris was removed from the entire flight of steps. Later, barbed wires and iron angles were installed. The work on restoring the side walls is under way. "We will then erect the gate, which collapsed due to rains," said the conservation assistant of the ASI for the Fort, MC Sharma.

He said old drawings and draughts were being taken into consideration to ensure that the gate was identical to the original after renovation. "The ASI, Chandigarh circle, has all drawings of the Fort, which are being religiously followed for the restoration work," Sharma said.

The Lakhori or Nanakshahi brick (small-sized brick used in old buildings) are being used. The old bricks that have been salvaged from the crumbled structure have been cleaned, sprinkled with water and are being used along with the new ones.

Though the gate will be restored completely by the next two months, it will not be thrown open to the public as the ASI does not have enough staff to man all the entries to the Fort. The ramp that starts from the base of the gurdwara will continue to be the only access point to the Fort.

Sharma said there were plans to restore the collapsed exterior walls of the Fort also.

After the eastern gate is restored, the ones on the south and west sides of the Fort would also be taken up. Earlier, all the four gates were used to enter the Fort. However, the ASI plugged all the gates except for one on the main entrance.

The state and central governments have together undertaken the restoration work.

The Fort's present structure has marks of Patiala rulers, who largely re-constructed it and initiated repairs after the monument became part of their kingdom in the 18th century.

Bathinda, March 23
A policeman, Gurdeep Singh, was beaten up for preventing inebriated hooligans from entering the examination centre.

The incident took place at the Government Senior Secondary School in Mehma Sarja where Gurdeep Singh was deployed to ensure that the exams are conducted smoothly.

Jaskaran Singh from village Mehma Sarkari and Modi from village Mehma Sarja, tried to enter the examination centre on March 22. Both the men were in an inebriated state. When Gurdeep Singh tried to stop them for entering the examination centre, they beat him up and tore his uniform. A case has been registered against the accused. No arrests have been made so far. — TNS

Bathinda, March 23
Activities of the incoming and the outgoing traffic would soon be under close watch. The Bathinda police is coming up with its e-surveillance project wherein a total of 15 CCTV cameras will be installed at the identified locations in the city.

Bathinda Senior Superintendent of Police Ravcharan Singh Brar said 10 cameras would be in place by the mid of April.

The police has identified important spots where it will hold preventive and detective policing. "We aim at achieving multifarious objectives by installing CCTV cameras, which will be the police's eye," said Brar.

The department has prepared the blue print of the project with the engineers and experts working in the surveillance equipment sector.

Keeping in view the common problem of lack of maintenance faced while using CCTV cameras, the police has decided to depute a dedicated wing to look after the e-surveillance project. Its headquarters will be located adjacent to the office of the SSP.

A dedicated and trained staff will manage the entire project and will coordinate with the CIA staff besides sharing with them the information received through the surveillance system.

Primarily, the cameras will be installed to monitor the movement of traffic entering and leaving the city.

"The project is not exclusively for traffic surveillance. Instead, traffic management is just one of its functions," Brar added.

A DSP (Detective)-rank officer will be the in-charge of the project. Currently, the DSP (D) Gurmeet Singh Kingra has been deputed on the job. He will hold special training sessions for the members of the staff assigned with the project.

The district police has also decided to send a request to the Punjab Police Academy, Phillaur, to send experts and sensitise officers to the project.

Bathinda, March 23
The 350 garbage collectors working under the JITF Urban Waste Management went on strike today in protest against late payment of their salaries and lack of maintenance of records pertaining to deductions of provident fund (PF) and medical benefit.

The garbage collectors today held a protest at the Blue Fox, a property of the Municipal Corporation, Bathinda (MCB), near the Rose Garden.

The president of the union, Sanjay, said the workers were not being given salaries on time. "The festival of Holi is round the corner and our salaries are still unpaid," he said.

He added that for the past one and a half years, deductions of PF and medical benefit was being made their salaries but they were unaware as to how much amount has been deducted and how would they get it back.

The garbage collectors are also not paid any allowance to get their vehicles repaired. Most of the times, they have to spend from their own pockets and the bills given to the company are not reimbursed. MCB sweepers would also be joining the strike from Tuesday onwards if the demands of the garbage collectors were not met, said Sanjay.

Bathinda, March 23
The Director, Defence Services Welfare, Brigadier (retd) Manjit Singh met war veterans and veer naris at a function held at the District Defence Services Welfare (DDSW) office here today.

On his arrival here, brig Manjit Singh was accorded a warm welcome by Cdr. Baljinder Virk (retd), DDSW Officer, Bathinda, Col. Kuldeep Singh (retd), Lt. Col. S.S. Mann (retd), ex-servicemen and their dependents. He is on a two-day visit to Bathinda and Muktsar and is accompanied by his wife, Sunit Kaur.

While interacting with the veer naris and the amputated and physically handicapped soldiers, the Director took note of their grievances and assured that he would look into them and get them redressed promptly.

He informed them of the different schemes introduced by the state government for their welfare and rehabilitation. The monthly pension has been doubled to Rs 2,000 per month from Rs 1,000 per month while the war jagir has been hiked from Rs 5,000 per annum to Rs10,000 per annum. Besides, the state has decided to give a 20 per cent rise in monthly allowance to the gallantry award winners and the amount declared by the government would be released soon.

Brig Singh distributed cash incentives, walking aids and wheelchairs, purchased from the Flag Day fund, to the elderly and physically handicapped soldiers and their widows. Later, he visited the Sainik Vocational Training Centre (SVCT). — TNS

Bathinda, March 23
To observe the martyrdom day of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru, a series of events were organised in the city by various NGOs and the Bathinda Association of NGOs (BANGO) today.

The Asra Welfare Society organised a blood donation camp in the Kikar Bazar in the morning wherein 42 units of blood were collected. More than 300 persons attended the eye check-up camp held at the Public Library.

In the evening, the Pariwar Welfare Society organised a motorcycle rally which started from Ganesha Basti and culminated at Shaheed Bhagat Singh Chowk.

The Shaheed Jarnail Singh Memorial Society held a candlelight march, which also culminated at the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Chowk. Rallies were also organised by the Sahara Jan Sewa and the Sewa Bharti Society.

Another NGO, the Bathinda Vikas Manch, distributed literature related to the life and thoughts of Bhagat Singh.

Bathinda, March 23
The 16th zonal cultural show of the State Bank of Patiala was organised in Bathinda on Friday evening. More than 500 SBoP employees and their family members attended the show.

The show was inaugurated by the deputy general manager, SP Shrimali, who is also the president of the zonal cultural committee (ZCC). The DGM, ZCC secretary Narinder Kumar Bansal, ZCC vice-president DK Dhawan, AGM-II AK Kamra, AGM-I Lachman Singh, AGM-III PC Singla and ZCC members lighted the ceremonial lamp.

The evening started with a "bhajan" presented by Suresh Kumari, an SBoP employee.

This was followed by a dance performance ‘Chak Dhoom Dhoom’ presented by the children. Anil Kumar from Faridkot, Rohan Sain from Phul, Mohinder Singh of Gurusar Mandhir, ASD Matta from Mehraj and Jatin Singla regaled the audience with their songs.

A choreography performance, presented by Shikha and Lata, daughter and wife of SBoP employees, got a huge round of applause.

The children of some SBoP employees performed to the tune of the Bollywood song ‘Radha Teri Chunri’. A mime presentation by Balli and his party from the Faridkot branch was also applauded. The evening came to end with ‘Teeyan Teej Deeyan’, a giddha performance presented by the female staff members. 

Bathinda, March 23
The Factory Department and the Punjab Industrial Safety Council held a two-day safety training programme at the Guru Gobind Singh Refinery. Representatives of 40 industrial houses of the district participated in the safety programme. Deputy Director, Factories, MP Beri said over 100 representatives of various units participated in the training module.

Vice-president, operations, HMEL, Krishan Tuteja inaugurated the training programme. General Manager, NFL, SC Singla was the chief guest on the second day. Prominent among those present were HMEL vice-president, operations, Krishan Tuteja, manager HR Ravi Yadav and assistant director, chemicals, Punjab, Vishal Singla. — TNS