Bathinda, October 13
Early rush of people this time during Dasehra kept the policemen on their toes. An uncontrollable rush was witnessed today as early as 3.30 pm at various sites where the festival was being celebrated in the city.

Policemen said that much before the arrival of the VIPs, a large number of people had occupied their seats beside the parking areas which made them difficult to accommodate the special guests.

Traffic remain blocked in the heart of the city at Hanuman Chowk and Fauji Chowk with people thronging the Dussehra ground of Mata Sita ji Degree College on Guru Kashi Marg.

A posse of policemen was deployed at the main entrance of the college under the supervision of the SHO, Cantonment police station, Paramjit Doad. "We were not expecting such a huge rush at this hour as earlier, we used to witness the rush after 5.30 pm only," Doad said.

He added that the movement of VIP vehicles had not yet begun but people had already made the movement of vehicular traffic difficult.

Varinder Kaur, a lecturer on duty at the college, while admitting to the early rush of people, said, "People might have assumed that the three effigies would be set on fire early this time."

She said the organisers have taken all the measures to cope with the early rush with special arrangements being made for the arrival of special guests and the parking area.

The chief organiser of Dasehra at the college, advocate Rajan Garg said people turn up in large numbers to wish everyone while watching the burning of the effigies.

"We wish people behaved in a more civilised manner during such gatherings, do not honk unnecessarily and drive carefully on the city roads," Rajan added.

Bathinda, October 13
The backlit tower installed at Mall Road, at the intersection point opposite Bahia Fort, is obstructing the view of traffic plying on the road.

Not only does the backlit tower pose a threat to the safety of traffic, it is also in violation of the state advertisement policy that lays emphasis on ensuring that the display of ads should not be driven by the revenue imperative. Rather, it should be driven by the city's development imperative.

While moving on Mall Road, if a motorist wants to take U-turn near KK Medical Laboratory, the traffic coming from the opposite side is not clearly visible.

"Even if one tries to gaze intently to ensure that no vehicle is coming from the opposite side, one loses consistency in driving the vehicle. The Municipal Corporation should have at least taken into account the heavy volume of traffic on the road before allowing such a huge tower to come up," said Manu Gupta, a resident of Nai Basti.

As per the policy, huge ads are to be discouraged in urban freeways. It lays emphasis on using street furniture such as bus shelters, metro shelters, public toilets and public garbage bins etc for advertisement purposes.

The Municipal Corporation Bathinda (MCB) is already using the bus shelters for the ad purposes by handing it over on build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis to various commercial ventures in the city.

The policy considers an ad to be a traffic hazard if it distracts the driver at a critical time such as while driving through the intersections. It is also considered to be a hazard if it is situated at a place where it demands the driver's concentration due to road conditions such as merging or diverging lanes and intersections.

Meanwhile, assistant municipal commissioner, Kamal Kant Goyal said he has been informed about the ad obstructing the traffic view. "I will check it personally and the necessary steps will be taken on Monday. We strictly go by the guidelines laid down under the policy, which does not allow any compromise on road safety in the name of earning revenue," he said.

Bathinda, October 13
Two farmers landed in the police net for trying a make a fast bucks by selling counterfeit currency for half the price of the original currency. The accused had purchased fake currency notes worth Rs 4,500 by giving Rs 1,000 to an unidentified person from Dabwali in neighbouring Haryana.

The accused, Hakam Singh of Shekhpura and Balaur Singh of Bhagi Wandar villages in Bathinda, had sold fake currency of Rs 100 denomination, worth Rs 400, for Rs 200 to a prospective buyer in Bathinda city.

Investigating Officer (IO) in the case, Sub-inspector Kashmir Singh said the duo came in contact with a man from Dabwali at a photographer's shop in Talwandi Sabo.

Despite being aware of the illegality, they purchased fake currency to the tune of Rs 4,500 in the denomination of Rs 1,000, Rs 500 and Rs 100. They purchased two Rs 1,000 notes, four Rs 500 notes and five Rs 100 notes.

The shop belongs to the brother of the second accused, Balaur Singh.

The IO said the accused were produced in the court of the duty magistrate Gurpreet Singh and a police remand was obtained for further investigation.

"An in-depth questioning would be done in this regard from the accused tonight," the IO said.

Cops at the Thermal police station said initial questioning revealed that the accused seemed to have tried their hand in the illegal trade for the first time.

They were planning to use the fake currency to purchase liquor from vends during the night. Their attempt to sell the currency openly to unidentified persons landed them in trouble and a tip- off led to their arrest.

Policemen pounced upon the accused near Kohinoor Palace adjoining Barnala bypass where the duo was trying to sell off the fake currency. The accused, during the preliminary investigation, admitted to having purchased more fake currency once they managed to sell of the first lot of the fake currency.

The accused have been booked for possessing counterfeit currency notes, buying and selling the same under sections 489-a, 489-b, 489-c and 489-d of the IPC. Legal experts said the accused may get a jail term ranging from one year to 10 years or even life term for the offence depending upon their court trial and proof available with the police and the eyewitnesses.

Bathinda, October 13
The potholed stretch of GT Road, leading from the bus stand towards the ITI Chowk, has become a commuter's nightmare.

Due to waterlogging near the Valmiki Chowk, the premix carpeting laid has got damaged near the turn leading towards Sabji Mandi, making it difficult to drive on it.

The stretch has been damaged because of the machines being pressed into service for de-silting the arterial sewer opposite Government Rajindra College.

Besides, the road also promises a bumpy ride on the patch opposite the Civil Hospital.

At Fauji Chowk, due to the overflowing sewer and construction activity being carried out at the roundabout, the road has got damaged.

The XEN, Central Works Division, Gurmukh Singh said the department has floated tenders for laying the road at a cost of Rs 7 crore. Both the sides of the road will be laid from bus stand section to the Dabwali road.

The work on the other side of the road, leading from the bus stand to Rose Garden and ahead, will be done in a later phase.

The central works division will lay the road and no work would be carried out on the sewer lines.

Bathinda, October 13
A deputation of the Maths Teachers Association, Punjab, met the Additional Director General, School Education, Parampal Kaur Maluka, and submitted a memorandum demanding that the hour-long maths and science remedial classes being held in the government schools be scrapped.

The Director-General School Education, Punjab, had passed orders for conducting maths and science remedial classes for Class IX students who are slow learners. As per the orders, the teachers were to take out an extra hour either before or after the school hours to conduct remedial classes for at least 10 per cent of the total students. The remedial classes are to be held for 25 days each for maths and science from October 1 to December 6.

During the meeting the teachers explained that the reason behind students of Class IX being slow learners in maths and science was the fact that there are no posts of maths teachers in government schools up to Class VIII. In such a scenario, science teachers and in some schools any other subject teachers, are conducting maths classes as well.

The teachers demanded that the Education Department should recruit at least one maths teacher for middle and high schools. They added that the education department should release grant for the construction of a maths ab in every Government Senior Secondary School under the Rashtriya Madhyamik Siksha Abhiyaan (RMSA).

Pointing out that the maths teachers were given additional work by the school authorities, the teachers demanded that this practice be stopped with immediate effect and that the maths teachers who have been given duties of booth level officials be relieved from such duties.

They said in order to make EDUSAT lectures a success and improve their quality, maths and science teachers be asked for their views. Arguing that the classes were disrupted every year in the beginning of the session because of the non-availability of books, the teachers said the Education Department should provide maths text books before the beginning of the session.

Their other demands include release of arrears of salaries according to the new pay commission and release of salaries for the month of October without any delay.

Bathinda, October 13
A fancy dress competition for the primary section was organised at Saint Paul’s High School, Bathinda. Participants regaled the audience with their innovative presentations.

George C Masih was the chief guest on the occasion. He exhorted the parents to inculcate the characters of those personalities in the hearts and minds of their children, whom their children represented on the stage.

Principal Anal Lawrence advised the children to compete with themselves only in order to inculcate a positive attitude in them. The programme organiser, R Lawrence, told the parents that all the children were the winners.

The function concluded with some song and dance performances performed by the staff of both Saint Paul’s and Radiant School followed by a vote of thanks by the vice-principal, Ahilya Tewari.

In Group I, Waris Brar grabbed the first place while Akshita Pahuja was adjudged second. Kevin Singla, Marileen Silhon, Bhavya Goyal, Armaan Jot Kaur and Loveleen Saddal were given the consolation prizes.

In Group II, Mehakmeen Kaur was adjudged the best while the second place went to G Sandhya.The consolation prizes were given to Agamjot Singh, Bikramjeet Singh, Amandeep Kaur, Ananya Sharma and Mankirat Kaur.

Bathinda, October 13
Surjit Pattar, renowned for his work in the field of academics and literature, was honoured during a function held at the Teachers’ Home on Saturday evening here. The event was organised by Malwa Sahitya Sabha in association with Lok Sang under the supervision of Surinder Singh Gill and Lakhvir Singh.

Prof Parminder Singh Tangar from Punjabi University, Jaito campus, conducted the stage and apprised everyone of the contributions of Surjit Pattar.

Expressing his gratitude towards the organisers for honouring him, Pattar related stories from his childhood and told them about his journey. His younger son, Manraj Pattar rendered some of his father’s creations. He sang ‘Ajj Mere kolo kanch da gilas tutteya’ and others.

Also present on the occasion were Shubhprem Singh Brar, Dr Rajinderpal Singh Brar, Dr Paramjit Singh Romana, Dr Labh Singh, Dr Gurmel Singh Mauji, Dr Ajitpal Singh, Gurdev Singh and others.