Bathinda, April 17
The residents of Mati Dass Nagar, street No. 11, woke up to the frantic cries of a family today as a man killed his 18-year-old daughter in a fit of rage.

The incident took place at around 6:30 am at the house of Rashpal Singh alias Buta. Allegedly a drug addict and an unemployed Rashpal often used to pick up fight with his wife Sukhpal Kaur over trivial issues.

Today, the couple had an altercation over the issue of lack of source of income in the family. Rashpal Singh started thrashing his wife and his daughter Manpreet Kaur intervened. She picked up a hockey stick to retaliate at which Rashpal first beat her up with a baton and then repeatedly delivered hammer blows on her head.

Rashpal also attacked his wife while his son Gurpreet Singh (15) fled to a neighbour's place saving his life.

The neighbours called up volunteers of the Sahara Welfare Society, an NGO, who rushed a critically-injured Manpreet to the Civil Hospital where she was declared dead on arrival.

The accused, Rashpal Singh, and his wife Sukhpal Kaur too sustained injuries in the incident. They were admitted to the Civil Hospital and are undergoing treatment.

Sukhpal Kaur told police that she had asked Buta Singh to behave responsibly and work so that the family could have a decent life. Rashpal Singh asked his daughter to accompany him to gurdwara, but she refused to go along. At this, Rashpal picked up a fight with Sukhpal Kaur and enraged over being asked to work, he took this drastic step.

DSP (City) Gurmeet Singh Kingra and Cantonment police station SHO Paramjit Singh Doad too reached the spot.

Doad said on the statement of Sukhpal Kaur, Rashpal Singh has been booked for murder.

However, he was not arrested till evening as he was undergoing treatment at the hospital.

Manpreet Kaur, the deceased, had recently appeared for her class XII examinations. Her brother Gurpreet Singh is a student of class X.

Bathinda, April 17
For the current financial year, the Punjab Government announced in its budget an outlay of Rs 50 crore to continue the Mai Bhago Vidya Scheme wherein bicycles are provided to girl students of classes XI and XII.

However, the ambitious project of the Badal Government has proved to be rimless in Bathinda district. While as many as 5,166 bicycles were distributed in the district in the financial year 2011-12, none of the girl students in the district was provided with bicycle in 2012-13.

According to the information received from the District Education Office (Secondary Education), Bathinda, the Department of Social Security, Women & Child Development had directed the office to send the number of beneficiaries from the district for the financial year 2011-12.

"We sent across the demand and the bicycles were issued in two lots of 4,459 and 707 units," sources said, adding: "For the financial year 2012-13, the department did not sought any requisition and hence, no cycle was issued nor distributed."

The District Education Office (Senior Secondary) also confirmed that no bicycle was distributed in the district in 2012.

Highly-placed sources in the Department of Social Security, Women & Child Development also confirmed that district education offices were not asked to send its demand for cycles for the financial year 2012-13.

The government had initiated the scheme to encourage girls to continue their studies. Free bicycles were to be distributed among those girl students of classes XI and XII, who had to commute to other villages to pursue their studies.

This is not the first instance when the scheme has come under scanner. Earlier, the scheme was plagued by rumours that the state government was not able to pay the manufacturer of bicycles as it was grapping with financial crunch.

Besides, there were also reports of cycles being made of sub-standard material.

Some teachers told Bathinda Tribune that although the cycles under the scheme were meant for girl students, their family members (father or brothers) used them too. "We remember parents of girls who were not given bicycles under the scheme sought an explanation as to why their children were left out," said a teacher of a government school in Lehra Mohabbat.

Bathinda, April 17
The station superintendent's ante-room houses some of the rare photos of the Bathinda-Ambala division of the Railways. A treat for the engineers as well as the common man, the small gallery showcases 34 photographs, while a set of another 20 awaits a bigger room.

The brainchild of a former area traffic manager (ATM), SP Bhatia, who is now posted as ATM (coaching) at Ferozepur, the gallery not only has photos of the Bathinda-Ambala division, but also an old railway chart mentioning the Delhi-Bathinda-Lahore route of the Punjab Mail.

An interesting picture is that of a rail line that was especially laid in the bed of the present Sirhind Canal when it was being constructed in 1884. The 54-km railway line from Doraha to Nalagarh quarries was laid to transport material for construction of the canal but was closed soon after the work was completed.

Other interesting photos include ice slabs being laid in the Frontier Mail at Bayana junction in 1932. "The ice slabs were laid under coaches and then fans were run in order to create AC-like cooling effect," said station superintendent Pradeep Sharma, who is looking after the gallery after Bhatia's transfer.

There are also pictures of overloaded trains arriving from Pakistan at the time of India-Pakistan partition, elephants performing the shunting work of bogies, an undated picture of Mahatama Gandhi alighting at a railway station and others.

Sharma said there was an urgent need to conserve the Railways heritage that speaks the journey of technology in Indian Railways and the affiliation the railway men had with the engines they worked on. "I still remember that the last steam engine was phased out from Bathinda in 1996. A number of families in the railway colonies did not cook food that evening," he added.

Talking to TNS, SP Bhatia said the need of the hour was to conserve the history of each division of the Railways. "Last year, I discovered an abandoned weighbridge in the yard of the Bathinda railway station. It was constructed by the Hodgson and Stead, Manchester, England, and imported in 1906. Then, such weighbridges were not present at any other place in North India. Huge consignments were weighed on the weighbridge. It clearly implies that Bathinda was the hub of exports through which goods were sent from Delhi to Lahore and further," added Bhatia, who is an honorary member of the Road Rollers Association (RRA), England.

Even the building of the railway station itself comprising different offices, dates back to the British era, he added.

Bhatia said the Ambala division has been requested to provide some funds for expanding the gallery.

Station superintendent Pradeep Sharma added that the photo gallery was open for the students who could visit the place during working hours.

"We want to popularise it so that children and grown-ups could know the glorious past of the Bathinda railway station," he added.

Bathinda, April 17
The towering glory of the district, the Bathinda Fort, is the only historical fort of Punjab to have remained occupied most of the time in its history since the 6th century BC.

It has remained inhabited by one ruler or the other.

A conservationist with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Chandigarh circle, Akshit Kumar, said due to its strategic location of being on the trade route to Multan, the Fort has always remained occupied. "It was a mud fort in the 6th century BC and was later built up by the emperors who ruled over the areas under which the Fort fell," he said while talking to TNS.

In the name of artifacts, the Fort only has cannons displayed prominently. These heavy guns date back to the era of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, though the structures do not carry any date or mark to substantiate this.

"On the basis of features of the canons, we have concluded that these date back to the 18th century. However, there are no other extraordinary features to relate with these canons," Akshit added.

However, renowned historian Subhash Parihar adds that the present structure is from Islamic or the Sultanate period that was between the 13th and the 14th century.

"Bathinda was indeed an important trade centre on the route of Bathinda - Abohar - Multan and was situated on the fringe of the Thar Desert. However, in 1399, King Timur attacked and plundered the towns on the trade route. Later, the desert area also expanded and the Bathinda route was abandoned by traders. It was of no use to the Mughal kings," said Dr Parihar. Later, the present GT Road replaced the important trade route of which Bathinda was a part.

Though visitors to the Fort feel a need to have a guide, the ASI officials argue that no one has ever applied for a licence to become a guide. "We feel that the history of the Fort as mentioned on the boards installed there is not enough. There are so many hearsays attached to the Fort that we yearn to know the facts," said Bhupinder Kaur, a resident of Sangrur visiting the Fort. Even Dr Parihar feels that the Fort complex has little to offer in the terms of knowledge on its history.

Bathinda, April 17
The Director General of School Education (DGSE) has issued a directive to the heads of all the government high and senior secondary schools regarding the exhibition of the projects by the students chosen for the Inspire Awards.

The DGSE has directed that the school heads should make sure that the models and projects to be displayed at the exhibition are made by the students themselves and not bought from the market.

As per the directive, an exhibition will be organised at the Teachers' Home in Bathinda for the students of class VI-X. While the students of class VI to VIII will display their projects related to science and maths from May 2-4, the students of IX and X will exhibit their projects from May 6-8.

Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE) is a programme run by the Ministry of Science & Technology, Department of Science & Technology, Government of India.

The programme has five components covering an entire range of education and research from class VI to post-graduate stage of academics. The first component of the programme is the Inspire Award which recognises the talent among students at very early.

Under the scheme, a one-time award of Rs 5,000 is given to the students, who would utilise about 50 per cent of the amount for making a science project/model and the remaining 50 per cent towards the cost of bringing the project/model to the district-level exhibition centre for display.

Bathinda, April 17
The members of the Sangharsh Committee, Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant (GNDTP), went on strike today protesting against the non-fulfillment of their long pending demands.

Addressing the rally, the Sangharsh Committee leaders Gursewak Singh, Prakash Singh, Malkit Singh and others demanded that the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) should give mobile phone allowance and one special increment to the class IV employees besides other facilities the way Punjab government gives to its own employees.

The agitating employees said if their demands are not met, they would be forced to intensify their agitation. Yesterday, the members of the Sangharsh Committee of Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant had held a gate rally against the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited.

The rally was a part of the ongoing agitation against the PSPCL with the employees demanding that benefits that have been held back since long be given to them to address their old grievance. 

Bathinda, April 17
A van carrying students of the St. Xavier's Convent School met with an accident this morning when one of the two front wheels of the vehicle came off on the Bibiwala Road near Fauji Chowk.

The van was carrying as many as 16 students. As per reports, no one was injured.

Speaking to Bathinda Tribune, principal of the school, Father Eulalio Fernandes, maintained that the vans or vehicles ferrying the school students were neither owned nor managed by the school management.

"The vehicle owners paint the name of the schools on these vans on their own. We don't own any of those vehicles. It is the responsibility of parents to check the condition of the vehicle before employing it for ferrying their wards," he said.

Meanwhile, president of the Punjab School Bus and Van Operator Association, Gurpreet Singh Happy said, "Most of the vans ferrying the students of St. Xavier's Convent School are not registered with us. And most of their vehicles are in very poor condition."

On earlier occasions also, vans of different schools in the city have been involved in mishaps, pointing towards the need to implement safety measures. However, despite all efforts, loopholes are taken advantage of by the owners of such vehicles.

Bathinda, April 17
A pension adalat is being organised for the ex-servicemen of the area on April 25-26 at the Army Cantonment, Bathinda. The pension adalat is being held under the aegis of 10 Corps.

A meeting of the co-ordination committee was held today under the chairmanship of Major General KK Chouhan, GOC 81 Sub-Area. District Defence Services Welfare Officer, Bathinda, Cdr (retd) Baljinder Virk applauded the efforts made by the Army authorities and the principal, CDA (P), Allahabad, in resolving the pension-related issues of the ex-servicemen.

He also informed that elaborate arrangements such as setting up of reception centre at the railway station and bus stand for ex-servicemen, arrangement of buses to ferry the ex-servicemen from the railway station, bus stand and entry gates of the cantonments to the pension adalat site, are being made by the Sub-Area HQ.

He appealed to the ex-servicemen that they must carry their pension pay order, discharge book and additional copies of their documents, so that every effort can be made to resolve the pension-related issues on the spot.

He added that such programmes are not only helpful for resolving long-pending issues but can also act as resource centre to disseminate pension-related information. The pension adalat is being held to sort out the problems being faced by ex-serviceman and their widows.

The ex-servicemen have been asked to collect forms from the Defence Pension Disbursing Officer (DPDO) or the District Defence Services Welfare Officer and submit the same by April 22 at the DPDO office so that necessary action could be taken to resolve their problems at the pension adalat being held here.

Bathinda, April 17
Parmod Kumar Yadav, a student of mechanical engineering at Guru Kashi University, Talwandi Sabo, bagged the best student award at the Indian Society for Technical Education (ISTE) convention held at Adesh College of Engineering & Technology, Faridkot. At this convention, as many as 50 colleges from the northern region participated.

Dr HS Randhawa, chairman, ISTE chapter of Guru Kashi University, said Parmod was selected on the basis of his collective performance in academics and co-curricular activities till the seventh semester.

A spokesman for the university said the focus is on providing an atmosphere in which students are able to excael at the varsity.

Bathinda, April 17
The Business Administration Department of the Punjab Technical University Giani Zail Singh Campus, Bathinda, organised a two-day quiz contest on 'Human values and professional ethics'.

On Day I, the contest was for the students of Masters in Business Administration (MBA) while on the second day, the competition was opened at the inter-departmental level for engineering students. The main objective of organising the contest was to make the students realise the significance of human values and test their understanding of the subject.

It is pertinent to mention here that students of all professional courses under the PTU are required to undergo a course on human values and professional ethics. Under the university's mission of 'Shiksha-Sanskara', the course content is such that it helps the students acquire the right understanding of values and ethics.

While the head of the department, Veerpal Kaur, spearheaded the contest, Dr A Gupta and Suman Bala conducted the quiz. They informed that the questions were framed to cover all the four levels of our living -- self, family, society and nature.

As many as seven teams participated in the contest, one from each department of engineering. While the team representing the computer science department bagged the first position, the team representing the electronics and mechanical engineering department bagged the second and third positions, respectively.

Campus director, Dr Jasbir Singh Hundal, said such creative efforts should be made regularly to make sure that students don't forget the basic tenets of their lives.