Bathinda, August 17
Finding it difficult to manage the affairs of the Red Cross-run de-addiction centre, the district administration has written to the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS), requesting it to take over the project before the construction of its building begins.

Reeling under the shortage of funds for long, the centre is being funded by the Guru Gobind Singh Refinery. However, in the month of May, the state government requested the BFUHS to take over the centre, which is due to get a complete facelift with the construction of a new building and an increase in indoor patients' intake. It was decided that the BFUHS will run this centre.

However, facing the problem of shortage of funds, the district administration has now written to the BFUHS to take over the project (paying salaries of the staff) at an early stage even before the construction of the new building commences. The site marked for the new 100 bedded de-addiction centre lies opposite the residence of the civil surgeon inside the Civil Hospital premises.

Deputy Commissioner Kamal Kishore Yadav said the request has been forwarded to the BFUHS, which has further sent the file to the principal secretary, Health, Government of Punjab, seeking her permission.

Vice-chancellor, BFUHS, Dr SS Gill said tenders have already been floated for the building the construction of which will start soon. "We are waiting for the government's approval to take over the project. The matter is pending at the level of the principal secretary," he added.

However, principal secretary, Health, Vinni Mahajan said all permissions have been granted from her office and that work on the construction of the new facility will begin soon.

Meanwhile, to pay the salaries of the employees of the centre, who have not been paid since April, the administration has requested Guru Gobind Singh Refinery to pay Rs 5 lakhs for this year.

The refinery had been donating Rs 20,000 per month from the year 2009 to 2011 to meet the expenses of the project. It was also being funded by the Society for Service to Voluntary Agencies (North), Punjab. However, in the year 2012, the Society withdrew its grant and the Guru Gobind Singh Refinery stepped in, donating Rs 5 lakhs annually. The last grant for the centre was received till March 31 this year.

With the BFUHS taking over the project, the problem of irregular funding is expected to be solved in the form of regularised funding. Employees are looking forward to the transition with the hope of getting their dues cleared on a regular basis.

Bathinda, August 17
Persistent showers today rained misery for the poor in four different localities of Bathinda with the roof of five houses collapsing and nine persons receiving injuries.

Volunteers of the NGO, Sahara Jan Sewa, extended a helping hand to the injured and helped them in shifting them to the hospital in their ambulance.

President of Sahara Jan Sewa, Vijay Goyal, said with the showers not relenting, people residing in houses built with non-metallic roofs are spending anxious moments.

A rickshaw-puller, Bhinder Singh (45) and Vicky, were sitting in their single room house in street number 3 of Amarpura Basti when its roof came down all of a sudden. The duo received cuts and bruises and were being treated for fractures at the Civil Hospital. Three persons in street number one on Multania road were busy spreading soil on their rooftop when the roof caved in and they received injuries. They were also taken to a hospital by the volunteers of the NGO.

Four persons in a house in Harbans Nagar also received injuries when the roof of the house they were sitting in caved in due to the rains. Bittu, Raju, Jagsir Singh and Gora were constructing a house when they fell off from the roof and collided with a machine installed on the ground floor. While Raju broke his leg, others were also injured and were undergoing treatment at Civil Hospital.

Joginder Singh, who lives near the bus stand on GT Road, said all the rooms of his house were built with cement and good quality bricks but they too were under the threat of collapsing. He alleged that their neighbour made basements in their house after which the boundary walls developed wide chinks. "The cracks are developing day by day and have now reached the rooftop. We have pressed masons into service to fill the gaps but due to the rains, the material for the renovation and labour charges have become costly which has burned a hole in my pocket," Joginder said. As per the weather experts at the PAU Regional Centre, 14.2 mm of rainfall was experienced today while 45.59 mm of rainfall was experienced during the last three days.

Jagtar Singh, a progressive farmer at Mehma Sarja village, said as per the barometer installed in their farm, 146 mm of rainfall has so far been recorded during the last three days with 100 mm of rainfall being recorded in just 24 hours.

Weather experts said the rains would continue for the next one or two days.

Bathinda, August 17
Incessant rains have increased the prices of fruits and vegetables in and around Bathinda manifold during the last few days. Traders said the fear of damage to the fruits and vegetables has increased their prices. No vegetable is available for less than Rs 40 per kg these days and the sellers claim that there is a possibility of further rise in prices in view of waterlogging and scarcity of place to store the perishable edibles that have little shelf life.

The maximum increase has been witnessed in the prices of seasonal vegetables like pumpkin, cauliflower and others which are grown in and around the vicinity. While the prices of fruits are almost similar, they have not been affected much by the rains. Kala, a shopkeeper on Ajit Road, said frequent rains have also affected the quality of fruits and vegetables.

The per kg price of peas has increased from Rs 80 per kg to Rs 120 per kg during the last few days. Onion prices witnessed an increased from Rs 60 per kg to Rs 65 per kg in just one day. The per kg price of bitter gourd has increased from Rs 25 to Rs 40. Pumpkin, available for Rs 25 per kg, is now being sold for Rs 40 per kg.

The price of ridge gourd, which was Rs 40 per kg last week, has now shot up to Rs 50 per kg. Tomato prices have increased from Rs 40 per kg to Rs 50 per kg.

The cost of ladyfinger has increased by Rs 10-- from Rs 40 per kg to Rs 50 per kg.

Brinjal prices too have increased from Rs 30 per kg to Rs 40 per kg. The price of cauliflower has increased from Rs 60 per kg to Rs 90 per kg. The price of capsicum, however, dived from Rs 80 per kg to Rs 60 per kg. Potato and garlic prices remained the same, at Rs 15 per kg and Rs 60 per kg, respectively.

The fruit sellers on Power House Road said fruit prices which have remained almost stable. Apple was still being sold at Rs 70 per kg, guava for Rs 40 per kg, banana for Rs 50 per dozen and pomegranate for Rs 150 per kg.

Bathinda, August 17
The stretch of Bibiwala Road near the DAV College has become a commuter's nightmare. The condition of the stretch has gone from bad to worse with each passing day.

While earlier, people used to fall on the potholed road, now the stretch has become impossible for the vehicles to ply on. Traffic now moves in a single lane causing frequent chaos and traffic jams. The situation worsens during the monsoon as both the lanes get flooded and the vehicles have to navigate in the rain water.

Assistant Municipal Commissioner Kamal Kant Goyal said the work on laying the wide sewer from the stretch towards the ICICI Bank chowk will be taken up only after the monsoon is over. "A 12 feet deep trench will have to be dug up for laying the pipes. We don't want the trench to be dug up during the monsoon as it will get flooded with rain water and will not be visible. It may result in accident," he said. Goyal added that once started, the work will not take more than 20 days to be completed.

Meanwhile, the project of cleaning the arterial sewer in the city has come to a standstill due to the monsoon. A private company, Bali Boy India from Panchkula, which has been de-silting the arterial sewer, will resume its functioning after the monsoon. With the work coming to a stop, people in Bathinda have failed to get a respite from the choked sewer this year too.

The Municipal Corporation Bathinda (MCB) had charted out the plan for de-silting the sewer at the beginning of this year, but could not succeed in completing it.

Bathinda, August 17
Punjabi writers and thinkers should be proud of their linguistic lineage since the Punjabi language was created by the learned people. This was stated by renowned Punjabi writer Kuldeep Singh Dheer while addressing a gathering of students and staff at the Punjabi University’s regional centre here today during the ongoing translation orientation programme.

He emphasised that it was the onslaught of the English language which was taking the present generation away from their mother tongue. “There is no problem with letting your children learn English, but the medium of education must be Punjabi,” he said.

Dheer is also known for his translation of books on technical subjects from English to Punjabi. “The way the government honours persons for their outstanding performances in several fields, it should also do the same for those who are contributing towards writing on technical subjects,” he said.

Attacking the Indian mindset and the importance that the Indians give to English, he said it was high time we released ourselves from the shackles of English language. He also added that at present only five per cent of Indians must be perfect in the language but all want to be masters of it.

He further said if we wanted our present generation to come closer to its roots and culture, we need to understand the importance of our own culture and languages over that of English.

Regional Centre head Buta Singh Brar welcomed the guests. Also present were Anoop Singh Virk, Prof Paramjeet Singh Romana and Ravinder Singh Sidhu. 

Bathinda, August 17
Baba Farid College of Engineering and Technology (BFCET), Bathinda, honoured 220 students of BTech, who have scored more than 80 per cent marks in the university examination during 2012-2013. In the PTU examinations held in December, as many as 104 students of BTech scored more than 80 per cent marks and in the examination held in April, 114 students of BTech scored more than 80 per cent marks and 41 students scored more than 85 per cent marks.

Dr Buta Singh, Dean (academics), Punjab Technical University, Kapurthala was the chief guest on the occasion.

He gave away cash awards to the students and congratulated them for the outstanding achievements.

Chairman, BFCET, Gurmeet Singh Dhaliwal, attributed the success of the students to the dedicated and hardworking faculty.

Manish Goyal, Assistant Director (academics), congratulated all achievers and assured that BFCET will continue to excel in the field of technology to even higher levels. 

Bathinda, August 17
A family donated Rs 5,000 for Government Elementary School Lehra Saunda near Rampura in the memory of late CCI inspector Jaspal Singh.

Jaspal’s son, advocate Shahbharat Sidhu said the family had decided to donate the money for the students of the government school every year from now on.

Village Sarpanch Harmel Singh, headmistress Chhinderpal Kaur and others were also present on the occasion.

Apart from the donation, the family also gave away prizes to the first, second and third position holders in the school studying in classes VI, VII and VIII.

The family members said they would also adopt one child for a year and bear all the expenses incurred on studies for one year. 

Bathinda, August 17
The Punjab State Council for Science and Technology have asked schools of the state to celebrate the International Day for preservation of Ozone layer. The day will observed on September 16.

The schools have been asked to observe the day by involving the National Green Corps (NGCs) schools. This year’s theme is ‘A healthy atmosphere: The future we want”. Activities like lectures, competitions, exhibitions, rallies, skits, street play, etc, may be conducted by the schools.

The heads of the schools have also been asked to prepare a report of the activities taken through the NGC Schools and send the same to the PSCST office.

In the letter, the PSCST has stated that the United Natons General Assembly adopted a resolution on January 23, proclaiming September 16 as the International Day for the Preservation of Ozone Layer commemorating the date on which the Montreal Protocol on Substance that deplete the Ozone Layer was signed in 1987.

The observance is aimed at making the students aware that the depletion of the Ozone layer has been a cause of concern to the governments across the world owing to its adverse effect on human health and natural eco-systems.

India is a signatory to the Montreal Protocol and is committed to phase out ozone depletion substances (ODSs).

These ODSs are used in aerosols, refrigeration,-conditioning fire-extinguishing, foam manufacturing, as solvent in cleaning applications, etc. 

Bathinda, August 17
While incessant rains lash the city who can say no to kachoris, straight out of the kadhai onto the plate. And what can match the pleasure of enjoying it with a dollop of chhole, daal and rice?

Kachori with dal and rice? Many would wonder what kind of a combination that it but not the Bathinda’s food connoisseurs. They have been relishing the taste of this uncommon combination for not less than 60 years.

With deft hands, forty-year-old Vinod Kumar fries kachoris, picks up a hot kachori, and plates it in a minute with dal, rice, masala and a hint of lemon juice.

“We open the shop at 8 am and sell kachoris till 1 pm. I continuously fry kachoris during these hours,” he tells the Bathinda Tribune.

And to offer a plate of this rare combination to their customers, Vinod and his family – his mother, younger brother Raju and wife get up at 4 am and prepare the accompaniments.

“Our peak time begins with breakfast and ends before lunch time. I close the shop and go home after 1pm,” he says. Even for a newcomer it may not be difficult to find his quaint little shop located in Keekar Bazar Masjid Wali Gali.

Vinod has been selling the same dish for the past 25 years. Before him, his father, Om Parkash, and grandfather, Kishanchand sold it to the customers. “In all, it’s been 60 years our family has been selling the same dish to residents of this city. When my grandfather came to India from Pakistan he had no source of income and relied on his culinary skills to feed his family. I am just taking forward what he started,” says Vinod.

Vinod has managed to take a shop on rent while his father and grandfather used to set a rehri in Sadar Bazar. Still Vinod yearns for more. “For us, customer comes first and earning money is secondary. That’s the reason why we have not been able to buy a shop all these years,” he says.

“We never compromise on the quality of ingredients that we use to prepare the items. We want the customers to keep coming back, that what keeps our reputation alive,” he adds.

Bathinda, August 17
The Panchvati Welfare Society celebrated Teej festival at Panchvati Nagar. Women sang the traditional songs and danced. Married women observed fast praying for long life of their husbands.

Women came decked in the finest of clothes and jewellery. The stage convener was Gulshand Behl, Anjana Garg and Priyanka Garg.

Society members Janak Raj Garg, Bhushan Aggarwal, MM Behl, Savinder Singh, Anil Gargi, Ajay Garg, Gopal Das Sharma and others had contributed towards holding the function. — TNS

Bathinda, August 17
Volunteers of NGO Sahara Jan Sewa today observed the martyrdom day of Madan Lal Dhingra, who laid his life for the independence of the country.