Bathinda, August 31
The Municipal Corporation, Bathinda (MCB), has levied cess on nine items under Section 7 of the Punjab Prohibition of Cow Slaughter Act 1955 (15 to 1956) to collect funds for housing and taking care of stray cattle.

The corporation has invited objections to the rates fixed, till September 30. Cess has been levied on oil tankers passing through or visiting the city, beer, English and country-made liquor, power, cement, marriage palaces and sale of two wheelers and four wheelers.

With the move, the MCB expects to collect around Rs 9 crore per month. The amount will be used to house and feed cattle at four pounds in the city. Further, it is expected to bring great relief from the menace of stray cattle, which is increasingly proving fatal for commuters.

The collected funds will also help construct a new cattle pound on 10 acres owned by the Shree Gaushala Committee in the Lal Singh Basti area. “Taking in a new batch of stray cattle is not a problem. The problem is of arranging funds to feed them and medicines to look after their health,” confided one of the members of the team running a cattle pound on the Dabwali road.

At the same time, the corporation has also invited tenders for the job of making the free of stray cattle and ensuring no stray animal enters the city limits. Those interested may send quotations for the job till October 21. The terms and conditions are available at the office of health officer at the MCB office.

“Villagers abandon non-productive animals in the city leaving the poor creatures to fend for themselves. These hungry animals pose risk to the traffic and have been cause of many fatal accidents,” said Sadhu Ram Kusla, general secretary of the Shree Gaushala Committee.

The MCB will levy cess on nine items in order to collect funds for housing and taking care of stray cattle at four pounds in the city. The collected money will also help construct a new cattle pound in Lal Singh Basti area. The move aims at getting rid of the menace of stray cattle that has reached alarming proportions in the city.

Bathinda, August 31
The state government has started creating fund for treatment of cancer and drug addiction by levying cess on the income of panchayati raj institutions, urban local bodies, government and semi-government agencies and improvement trusts.

The Rural Development and Panchayat Officer has already issued a letter to the Zila Parishad and other development and panchayat offices directing that two per cent of the income generated by leasing out shamlat land (common village land) be deposited in the name of the board formed under the Punjab State Cancer and Drug Addiction Treatment Infrastructure Fund 2013.

The letter dated August 20 states that the cess so levied will be treated as ‘fit charge’.

The government and semi-government agencies, urban local bodies and improvement trusts have been directed to deposit two per cent of the income from auction or sale of immoveable properties in the account dedicated for the fund. Societies and trusts will have to deposit the collected charge twice a year.

The state’s PSUs, boards, corporations, apex cooperative bodies, urban local institutions, improvement trusts and panchayati raj institutions will be allowed to contribute more to the fund apart from the fixed two per cent.

Further, the agencies taking tenders of laying roads, bridges and flyovers above Rs 50 crore will have to pay one per cent amount to the board. Such agencies include Public Works Department, Mandi Board, Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB) and Punjab Roads and Bridges Development Board.

The principal secretary, health and family welfare, Vinnie Mahajan, who is also the member secretary of the Punjab State Cancer and Drug Addiction Treatment Infrastructure Board, said the funds have already started pouring in and the further work has started. She added that funds have to be used to create and upgrade infrastructure for treatment and rehabilitation of cancer patients and to de-addict addicts; to create awareness about and prevention, detection and treatment of cancer through any means; to create awareness about harmful effects of drugs and drug addiction; and for welfare of patients afflicted with cancer and drug addiction in the state.

Bathinda, August 31
The three-day 59th District-level School Sports Championship concluded here today. A concluding ceremony was hosted at the MHR Senior Secondary School. The chief guest on the occasion was Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sarup Chand Singla.

The championship was organised under the supervision of District Education Officer (Secondary) Harkanwaljeet Kaur and Assistant Education Officer (Physical Education) Pavittar Kaur.

The concluding ceremony was conducted under the presidentship of the chairperson of the Zila Parishad, Gurpreet Singh Maluka. Students securing the first, second and third positions in various sporting events were honoured during the ceremony.

In the netball Under-14 category for boys, Bathinda Zone 1 stood first while the second place went to Goniana Mandi. In the Under-14 category for girls, Bathinda Zone 1 stood first while Bathinda zone 2 stood second. In the netball Under-17 category for boys, Goniana Mandi and Bathinda zone 2 stood first and second, respectively. In the Under-17 category for girls, the first place went to Bathinda Zone 1 while the second place to Bathinda zone 2.

In the Under-19 category for boys, the first place was bagged by Bathinda Zone 1 and the second by Bathinda zone 2. In the Under-19 category for girls, the first place went to Bathinda Zone 1 and the second to Bathinda zone 2.

In the kabaddi Under -14 category for boys, Maur Mandi won the first place while Talwandi Sabo took the second position. In the Under-14 category for girls, Maur Mandi won the first place while the second place was secured by Talwandi Sabo.

In judo Under-17 category for boys, Goniana Mandi won the first place while Bathinda Zone 2 won the second place. In the Under-17 category for girls, Goniana Mandi bagged the first position while Bhucho Mandi secured the second position.

In the Under-19 category for boys, Bathinda Zone 2 stood first while Goniana Mandi came second. In the Under-19 category for girls, Bathinda Zone 2 stood first while the second place went to Bathinda Zone 1.

In the volleyball Under-17 category for boys, Goniana Mandi bagged the first position and Mandi Kalan bagged the second place. In the Under-19 category for girls, Talwandi Sabo bagged the first place while Bathinda Zone 2 bagged the second place.

In the Under-19 boys' category, Goniana Mandi secured the first place while Bathinda zone 1 secured the second place. In the Under-14 category for boys, Bathinda Zone 1 and Bathinda Zone 2 stood first and second, respectively. In the Under-14 girls' category, Mandi Kalan and Bathinda Zone 2, stood first and second, respectively.

In kabaddi Under-17 category for boys, Maur Mandi and Talwandi Sabo stood first and second, respectively. In the Under-17 category for girls, Mandi Kalan and Talwndi Sabo stood first and second, respectively. In Under-19 boys' category, Bhagta and Maur Mandi stood first and second. In the Under-19 category for girls, Mandi Kalan and Talwandi Sabo stood first and second.

In football Under-17 category for boys, Bathinda zone 2 bagged the first position while Bathinda Zone 1 secured the second position. In the Under-17 category for girls, Bathinda zone 2 won and Bhagta came second.

Bathinda, August 31
The Bathinda branch of the Indian Paediatricians Association (IAP) today held a talk on adolescent education at the St. Joseph's School under Mission Kishore Uday (MKU) programme.

The national chapter of the IAP has started this programme under which Bathinda is among 50 districts selected in the country. Experts in the field of adolescent health, Dr Chaya Prasad from Chandigarh, Dr Satish Sharma from Rohtak, Dr Gurmeet from CMC Ludhiana and Dr Ashu Arora from Dehradun, conducted the talk.

The lectures were comprehensive about teenage (adolescent) health care programmes directed towards providing guidance in the field of family life, education, nutrition, growth development, lifestyle modification and responsibility towards society and family. A separate session was conducted for 60 girls and 60 boys.

An interactive session on various adolescent problem was held and their myths and doubts were cleared. A separate session for parents was held.

The programme was held under the leadership of president of the Association Dr Parteek Kapila, secretary Dr Sunil Garg and treasurer Dr Ashish Bajaj. Paediatricians like Dr KK Bajaj, Dr Sunil Garg, Dr JR Jain and Dr HS Narang were also present.

Bathinda, August 31
As part of the nationwide celebration of the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, an expert lecture was organised at Giani Zail Singh Punjab Technical University campus, Bathinda. Many distinguished personalities enlightened the students with their views on Swami Vivekananda and Shaheed Bhagat Singh, who are considered as youth icons by the new generation.

The chief guest at the function, vice-chancellor of the Punjab Technical University, Dr Rajneesh Arora, asked the students to work for the development of the nation by adopting the concept of 'swadeshi'.

He stressed upon the need to work for society as the students of the country have a lot of potential. Eminent speakers on the occasion included Vijay Singh, co-convenor of the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, Ajeet Jaitley, former DGM, Punjab National Bank, and engineer-turned-social activist Shashank.

They enriched the knowledge of students with examples and quotes from the lives of great personalities and asked the students to read extensive literature on the lives and teachings of the personalities.

Bathinda, August 31
How many would take the risk of offering masala dosa, idli, sambhar and uttapam to the residents of Bathinda, who are Punjabis by heart and love their shahi naan and mutton raan over everything else?

But that's exactly what Nand Lal Juice Corner did years back, before its new fine dining restaurants set foot on the city soil. The name - Nand Lal Juice Corner - is a misnomer. The shop, located right on the Gol Diggi chowk, sells much more than just juice. And in fact, it is more popular for the South Indian delicacies and fast food items than juices.

The shop, which was opened by Nand Lal in 1976, is being managed by his son, Ram Madaan now. Madaan (50) told Bathinda Tribune, "After coming to India post-partition, my father worked hard for long and finally opened this shop. He would still love to be here but he is too old to do so." Madaan, who used to deal in automobile spare parts, had to start managing the shop due to shortage of manpower.

And this 'hard work' that Madaan's father put in opening the shop is what instills a great deal of faith and confidence in him. "For years, we have been serving the residents of this city. We are known for the quality of dishes that we offer. No one can point a finger at the quality or the quantity of our servings," he said.

He also added that newer and fancier restaurants may have opened in the city, but didn't pose a stiff competition. "They are new and fancy but they are also expensive. They charge twice or thrice of our rate list. It is the aam aadmi, who cares for both taste and money, who comes to us," Madaan said.

Bathinda, August 31
A speeding truck crushed Buta Singh, who was riding a bike, to death near Bhucho Kalan on Thursday. Buta was deployed as a security guard at Adesh Medical College and Hospital.

The police has registered a case against unidentified truck driver under Sections 304-A, 279 and 427 of the IPC. — TNS