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18 pvt schools in district to be shut
Fee waiver for girl students of classes IX to XII withdrawn
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Railways close ticket booking counter in Pratap Nagar
Guru Tegh Bahadur Nagar residents want mobile tower in their area removed
Shopkeeper ends life in Parasram Nagar
Illegal refilling of LPG goes on unabated
Eight in fray for District Bar Assn elections
Seminar on career guidance held at Malwa College
NGOs meet ADC to discuss Anna’s yatra plan
CPS Singla distributes tricycles
Preeti Jhangiani to
promote ‘Bikkar Bai Sentimental’ in city
Singer-turned-actors face dual competition: Amrinder Gill
Bhucho resident booked for rash driving
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18 pvt schools in district to be shut
Bathinda, April 1 Some of the basic facilities that schools should provide to its students under the RTE Act include separate toilets for girls and boys, potable water, a building of its own, a library and one teacher for every 30 students. Failing to meet the requirements, 18 private schools in the district are facing closure. These include Shivalik Public School (Rampura), Baba Ajit Singh Public School (Khyaliwala), Adarsh Model School (Rampura), Guru Nanak Public School (Laleana), Adarsh Public School (Shekhpura), Gurukul Arya Model School (Gopal Nagar), Shaheed Bhagat Singh Memorial Public School (Gyana), Hargobind Public School (Bachuana), Dashmesh Public School (Bhagta), Bhai Jagta Ji Public School (Chak Ram Singhwala), Bahia Public School (Poohla), Baba Bandhawa Public School (Sema), Khalsa Public School (Bhucho), Baba Chau Singh Public School (Bhai Bakhtaur), SSD Public School (Rama Mandi), Andaaz Public School (Rampura), DS Public School (Chak Bakhtu) and Baba Fateh Public School (Chak Fateh Singh Wala). Sources said while some of these schools were being run from a one-room structure many did not have facilities of toilets and drinking water. The owners of many of these schools protested against the closure saying many government schools also lacked the basic facilities that have been mandated under the RTE Act. While speaking to Bathinda Tribune, the District Education Officer (Elementary Education) Harkanwaljit Kaur, said, "The orders for the closure of the private schools have been sent as the deadline for meeting the RTE Act guidelines has passed. Most of the schools which have been closed were the ones that were being run from rented buildings. The RTE Act mandates that the building should be registered in the name of the school. Interestingly, some school heads had approached us themselves asking for the schools to be closed since it was getting tough for them to meet the benchmarks." As far as government schools were concerned, she said, "We are looking into the matter and are compiling information regarding the schools which have failed to meet the RTE guidelines. The deadline for some of the guidelines, such as the eligibility of teachers, can be met by 2015. We are in the process of making all the schools meet the RTE benchmarks." Official speak
The orders for the closure of the private schools have been sent as the deadline for meeting the RTE Act guidelines has passed. Most of the schools which have been closed were the ones that were being run from rented buildings. The RTE Act mandates that the building should be registered in the name of the school. Interestingly, some school heads had approached us themselves asking for the schools to be closed since it was getting tough for them to meet the RTE
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Fee waiver for girl students of classes IX to XII withdrawn Nikhila Pant Dhawan Tribune News Service
Bathinda, April 1 Balram Singh, a resident of Kheta Singh Basti who had reached the Government Senior Secondary School on the Mall Road to get his daughters admitted to classes six and X was shocked to hear that he will have to pay for the admission of his elder daughter. "Last year, the students taking admission in the class X had to pay only Rs 2. But this year, they are charging us Rs 30 every month apart from the annual fund. I work at a brick kiln. How will I bear the cost," he asked. The principal of the school, Mandeep Kaur, maintained that the parents were paying for the admissions. "We have implemented the orders received from the District Education Office. Teachers of the school adopt students whose parents genuinely cannot afford the fee. The teachers pay the fee of such students." Beena Devi, a Parasram Nagar resident who works as a domestic maid, said, "At the time when the state government announced that it was mulling making higher education free for girls, it has withdrawn its free education scheme for higher secondary students." Meanwhile, the opinion of teachers remained divided on the issue. Ranjot Singh, a teacher at the Government Senior Secondary School, Lehra Mohabbat, said, "By making education free for girls, the state government had aimed at improving the sex-ratio and making girls self-dependent. Although many may oppose the latest decision, but if we look at it from the government's point of view, we will realise that government schools are in dire need of funds. And this decision will help in improving the infrastructure at government schools." Rajinder Kaur, the headmistress of the Government High School, Phooli, and Government Girls High School, Nathana, also favoured the government's decision. "The girls and their parents will start taking the education system seriously when they will pay for it. Besides, the infrastructure at government schools would also improve," she added. Jagsir Sahota of the ETT Teachers Union said the government had shown its true colours by going back on its promise. "When elections were around, the government had promised free education for girls. The government withdrawing the fee waiver would prove detrimental to girls' education," he said. He added that various unions were planning to protest against the government's decision. Fact file
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Railways close ticket booking counter in Pratap Nagar
Bathinda, April 1 The counter was operating for the past six years and used to remain open from 4 am to 11 pm. The counter, situated in the trans railway line area, used to witness heavy rush and more than 1,000 tickets were sold on an average everyday. Located at an easily accessible place, women, children and elderly could easily bought tickets from here and did not need to go all the way to the railway station. “Over the past six years, we had grown used to getting tickets issued from here. It is difficult to go off to the counter at the cloth market,” said Nirbhay Singh, a resident of Paras Ram Nagar. Another ticket counter in the city is located at the cloth market, which will be closed down on December 31, 2013. A new counter has been allotted at the Gole Diggi Market, which is yet to become functional. Consequently, the Pratap Nagar counter was a big relief for people living in the tarns railway line areas. The Ministry of Railways had introduced a scheme to issue unreserved tickets through the Computerised Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS). These counters charged Re 1 more than the actual fare on each ticket and had been doing brisk business giving profit to the railways. Owner of the counter, Sandeep Bansal said when the scheme was introduced the counters owners were not informed that it had been allotted for a period of six years only. “We were not aware of the stipulation of six years. It was the first counter opened in the Ambala division, which was closed down on March 29,” he said. It is pertinent to mention here that during the railway budget, Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal had mentioned that more counters would be opened to make the tickets easily accessible to people. However, people demanded that the ministry should not close down the old ones. The Scheme
The Ministry of Railways had introduced a scheme to issue unreserved tickets through the Computerised Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS). These counters charged Re 1 more than the actual fare on each ticket and had been doing brisk business earning profit to the Railways. |
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Guru Tegh Bahadur Nagar residents want mobile tower in their area removed
Bathinda, April 1 In a representation given to Mayor Baljit Singh Bir Behman, area residents NK Gosain, Dr Mohit Gargi, Vivek Rattanpal, Shamlal Bansal, Raj Devinder Singh and others stated that already there was a high incidence of cancer in Malwa due to various reasons. "The mobile towers expose us to harmful radiations," they said. The residents stated that the owner of the house where the tower has been installed for the past around six years does not stay there. "For monthly earning of few thousands, the owner of the house is putting our lives at risk," they said demanding removal of the mobile tower. It may be mentioned here that this is not the first time when people have stood against installation of mobile towers. Earlier, residents of the Street No 2 of Nai Basti had protested against the mobile tower installed in their area. The area residents had blamed the mobile tower for the high incidence of cancer in the street where six cases of cancer have been reported. Similarly, there was uproar in the Street No. 2 A of the Phase II, Vishal Nagar, as people had objected to the installation of mobile tower in the residential area. However, since the tower was installed atop the house of a ruling SAD member's family, the matter was allegedly brushed under the carpet. The problem is not limited to residential areas alone. Hospitals in the city are also minting money by getting mobile towers fixed atop their establishments. As per the rules, fixing mobile towers atop hospital and schools is prohibited. In Bathinda, two major hospitals on the Bibiwala Road have mobile towers installed atop their buildings for the past more than four years posing threat to the lives of patients. Meanwhile, Mayor Baljit Singh Bir Behman said the Guru Teg Bahadur Nagar residents have been assured of justice. "I have marked the inquiry to the municipal commissioner, who will further look into the matter," he said, adding that the cases where towers have been installed atop the buildings of hospitals would also be looked into. Executive Engineer of the Municipal Corporation, Bathinda (MCB), Tirath Ram said only the illegal mobile towers, which have not been given due permission, could be removed. "It is very difficult to remove the existing towers," he added. Residents said the state government should come forward to curb the radiation pollution the way Rajasthan High Court did around six months ago. In its judgment, the Rajasthan court said the mobile towers fixed atop residential areas be removed in a phased manner within six months. Fact file
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Shopkeeper ends life in Parasram Nagar
Bathinda, April 1 Someone noticed the body at around 4 pm. The iron shutter of the shop was half shut and the body of Sham Lal (47), was hanging inside. Sham Lal had three children including two daughters. The reason behind the suicide could not be established as no suicide note was recovered from the spot. The body has been shifted to the Civil Hospital for post-mortem examination. — TNS
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Illegal refilling of LPG goes on unabated
Bathinda, April 1 A cylinder blast occurred at Kotshamir village last evening is testimony to the fact that people still risk their lives to save a few pennies by illegally refilling the cylinders, especially of their vehicles. Despite the ban on extracting gas from the cylinders, roadside motor mechanics, dhaba and shop owners, food-joint owners, and owners of LPG-fitted vehicles are having tools, which are used to refill the cylinders. Though the authorities are well aware of the illegal transferring of gas yet no action has been initiated to stop the illegal practice. The police has initiated proceedings under Section 174 of the CrPc in yesterday’s incident wherein a villager lost his life and four others received serious injuries. The household belongings and a car got damaged cattle and some villagers also received burns in the incidents. The injured persons, admitted at the Civil Hospital, said the reason behind the blast could possibly be the transferring of gas into a car. Kotfatta SHO Bhupinder Singh said the villagers and the victims sympathise with the family members of the deceased and no complaint about illegal gas transfer had come to the fore so far. “The exact reason behind the cylinder blast could not be established yet and the investigations are still on,” the SHO said. He, however, did not deny transfer of gas as one of the reasons behind the blast. As per the rules, no one is allowed to refill cylinders except the authorised licensed companies and duly approved refilling plants. Some of the people involved in the practice of transferring the gas say that the illegal practice poses a serious threat to their lives as the tools used to refill gas are not approved or designed by any authorised government agency. Poorly maintained metallic rods or pipes and other gadgets are being used by the people to transfer the gas. Maggar Singh, one of the neighbours of the deceased, said the family members of the victims were going for a religious place. They had got the cylinder of the car refilled from a nearby unauthorised centre. “The young boys tried to check if the car engine is ready to run on the gas and they switched the engine on. Fire flames followed by a spark. The car was in flames that went up to 20 to 30 feet high,” Maggar said. He said deceased Harpal Singh (50) rushed to douse the flames but he came in contact with the fire. “The shreds of cylinder went up to the village street and Harpal’s leg got split apart,” Maggar said. The fire could not be doused for over an 0hour and two fire tenders were rushed to douse the flames. The villagers managed to take the cattle out from the house but they failed to save furniture, two motorbikes and dry fodder. Sources said the gadgets used to transfer the gas could be easily procured from roadside sellers or motor mechanics as there is no check on the sale of such gadgets by the government or the departments concerned.
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Eight in fray for District Bar Assn elections
Bathinda, April 1 Nine candidates today filed their nomination papers for the posts of president, vice-president, secretary, joint secretary and treasurer of the DBA. Two lawyers each are in fray for the posts of president, vice-president, secretary and joint-secretary. One lawyer has filed his nomination papers for the post of treasurer. Besides Jasbir Singh and Mohinder Singh, who are running for the post of DBA president, Shaminder Singh Sohal and Hanish Bansal are vying for the post of vice-president, Bikramjit Ahluwalia and Arvind Sharma are competing for the post of secretary, and Om Prakash and Sandeep Singh Kangar are contesting the election for the post of joint secretary. For the post of treasurer, only Manjeet Kumar Dhamija has filed his nomination papers. Returning officer JR Khattar said after the scrutiny and withdrawal of forms, Dhamija may be declared the treasurer of the DBA unopposed tomorrow. April 1 was declared as the date of filing nomination papers. Nominations could be withdrawn till 3 pm on April 2. Elections would be held on April 5 between 8 am and 4 pm, following which counting of votes would take place. While Khattar was appointed the returning officer, Manpreet Kaur Brar is the additional returning officer. Passing directions to the voters, the returning officer said only those advocates could exercise their right to franchise who had deposited their annual subscription till March 30. The names of 1,061 lawyers figure on the final list of voters. Only those voters carrying their identity cards would be allowed to cast their vote, Khattar said, adding that the candidates would not be allowed to fix more than three flexes or posters for campaigning.
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Seminar on career guidance held at Malwa College
Bathinda, April 1 Addressing the students, Electra Group managing director Parminder Singh said with the help of the fingerprints of the students, their interests and inclinations could be determined. The test could guide them in selecting the right career. The fingerprints of the students were also collected after the seminar.
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NGOs meet ADC to discuss Anna’s yatra plan
Bathinda, April 1 The ADC(D) sought the details regarding the route of the rally and the schedule for making appropriate security arrangements. Activists are expected to reach the city on April 2 evening and stay at the Thermal Plant guest house. On April 3, Anna Hazare will first address a small gathering at the guest house and will proceed to offer floral tributes to the statue of Swami Vivekananda at Rose Garden. From there, the rally will pass through Teenkoni, Amrik Singh Road, Gol Diggi and will reach Subhash Park where he will address the gathering. — TNS
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CPS Singla distributes tricycles
Bathinda, April 1 Addressing the special students, Singla asked them to be confident about themselves and their capabilities.
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Preeti Jhangiani to promote ‘Bikkar Bai Sentimental’ in city
Bathinda, April 1 Preeti plays the role of a woman who goes against her family to marry the man she loves. The starcast of the film includes artistes like Rana Ranbir, Shahbaz Khan, Sardar Sohi, Kanwalpreet and Bobby Sandhu. — TNS
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Singer-turned-actors face dual competition: Amrinder Gill
Bathinda, April 1 “Everyone wants to generate revenue and once a trend catches up, everyone follows it. The same is true with the film industry as well, be it Bollywood or the Punjabi film industry,” he added. Talking about the trend of Punjabi singers flooding the film industry, he said, “This is not a new trend. In Bollywood too has singer-actors like KL Saigal and Kishore Kumar and now Ayushmann Khurana. Surprisingly, actors are trying their hand at singing.” “Only singers with necessary acting skills do well in films. They don’t become stars only because they are popular singers. They have to try twice as hard as others as they face competition in the fields of music as well as films,” he added. While many of his contemporaries are getting breaks as singers in Bollywood, Amrinder says, right now, he does not have the time. “To be part of Bollywood, one needs to dedicate a lot of time. Although I would love to sing for Bollywood actors, I am busy with my films and albums,” he said. When asked what he thought of protest against the lyrics of some Punjabi songs, he said, “Music lovers would know well that singers across the world sing all kinds of songs. People get offended by the lyrics of Bollywood songs as well. I think a singer or a lyricist should walk the thin line of social responsibility and creative freedom.” “The singers who have been targeted by the protesters have done some really good songs too and will continue doing so in the future. We should not judge a singer by just one bad song,” he added. Talking about his film, he said ‘Daddy Cool Munde Cool’ was a full-fledged comedy film. “Veteran comedian Jaswinder Bhalla plays the role of my father while Harish Verma plays my brother. Comedy erupts when the ‘Daddy’ acts younger than his age while ‘munde’ act like fools. My character is the opposite of what I am in real life,” said Amrinder.
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Bhucho resident booked for rash driving
Bathinda, April1 Jaswinder received serious injuries and was taken to a hospital. A case under Sections 279, 337 and 427 of the IPC has been registered against the unidentified driver of the car at the Cantt police station.
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Bathinda, April 1
Bathinda, April 1
Bathinda, April 1
Bathinda, April 1
