Bathinda, February 28
Within 30 days, your cellphone may be a TV too! Besides watching cricket matches live on your mobile, you may also be able to enjoy daily soap operas and films on cellphones. Most importantly, your near and dear one may be seen live on your palm whenever you will call them.

The tiny telephones are all set to take big leap in Bathinda as the telecom major Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) would launch the 'much-awaited' 3-G service here by the end of March.

"The process to launch the 3-G service in Bathinda is about to reach the last leg" said Vinod Parkash General Manager BSNL Bathinda, while talking to the media here on Saturday.

Parkash added most of the work concerning commissioning of the service had been completed and the BSNL would launch it in Bathinda by the March end.

"Besides making video calls on mobile, the BSNL customers will also access to high-speed internet," the GM said, adding that with the 3-G service, the handset could turned into a TV, provided there is a content provider.

It may be mentioned that Bathinda would be the second district in Punjab, after Jalandhar, having the 3-G service. Mansa may be second district in Malwa to have the facility, sources said.

The GM said that the BSNL has also decided to give more emphasis on providing data services in rural areas. He said that the company had started new Broadband Rural USO 99 and Rural USO 150 plans. He elaborated that there would be no security deposit, installation and registration charges for the first 31 customers in each DSLAM in rural exchanges. He said further benefits were also in the offing like Rs 4,500 discount on PC cost on PC bundling scheme.

He also said that the company had reduced the tariff for landline and WLL services up to 50 per cent. Talking about the India Golden Plan 50, the GM said that the pre-paid customers would make local and STD calls on any network at 50 paise. He also said that the company had dropped the facility of 95. 

He, however, said that STD facility (0 dialling) with dynamic locking is being provided to all customers by default with whom the 95 facility was available except in those cases where customers expresses their unwillingness in writing to take the '0' facility. The STD or '0' facility would be provided without taking additional security deposit, he added.

Senior officials of BSNL, including DGM Pradeep Kumar, DGM (finance) J.P. Prajapat, DET (marketing) R.S. Shethi, PRO P.C. Bansal and others were present at the press meet. 

Moga, February 28
Union Minister for Panchayati Raj, Mani Shankar Aiyer, has announced that if voted to power once again in the coming Lok Sabha elections, the Congress-led government will remove all the bureaucratic hurdles in releasing of grants to the panchayats to ensure speedy development at the grassroot level.

He was addressing a gathering of the panchayat representatives organised by the Rajiv Gandhi Panchayati Raj organisation, a frontal organization of the Congress, at Dharamkot in Moga district on Saturday.

While asking the representatives of panchayats to shed their 'primitive outlook' with participatory approach for development, he said that the village panchayats should formulate grassroot policies for carrying out development works on their own.

Adding that there was no dearth of funds for rural development through the panchayats, he said that the union government has reserved a sum of Rs 1.20 lakh crore for this purpose during the next financial year.

Criticising the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, he said that the people of Punjab need to teach him and his family a lesson by exercising their right to franchise in favour of the Congress in the coming Lok Sabha elections.

Mohinder Singh Kaypee, president of the PPCC, said the SAD-BJP had killed the principles of democracy in the elections of panchayats and local bodies held in the state, last year. He claimed that 47 people were killed and more than 7000 injured in the poll related violence of the panchayats and local bodies.

The chairman of the state-unit of Rajiv Gandhi Panchayati Raj Organisation Jagtar Singh Burj, local representative of this frontal organisation Hardip Singh 'Fauji', former MLA Vijay Sathi, former MP Kewal Singh, former ministers Joginder Singh Mann, Upinder Sharma and many other party leaders addressed the gathering.

However, none of the Congress MLAs of the area and other senior party leaders of the state, including Captain Amarinder Singh and Bibi Rajinder Kaur Bhattal who were expected to come, did not turn up at the rally, which turned out to be a political show. 

Bathinda, February 28
In a gruesome murder, some unidentified persons killed a 25-year-old boy by damaging his face and genitals by repeatedly striking him with bricks and stones at village Kotfatta in the district.

Sources in the village informed that the youth, Jagsir Singh alias Sira, ran a battery shop. He was reportedly having an illicit relationship with women from the same village.

In the early hours, today, a ragpicker found the body lying in the bushes at a nearby brick kiln. He informed the villagers, who identified the deceased.

SSP Bathinda Ashish Chaudhay reached the spot and directed SP (D) Ajay Maluja to investigate the case.

Confirming all details, Maluja said, "In the preliminary investigations, we found clues of the case being connected with sexual exploitation and honour kiling. As the character of the deceased was controversial, even after daylong exercise, we could not find the killer."

He added that a case of murder had been registered at the Kotfatta police station against unidentified persons.

Bathinda, February 28
The much talked about 'Parho Punjab' project, which is being run by the government, would be tested on March 2. Post tests to ascertain whether the project achieved its aim or not would be conducted from March 2 to March 13.

The project was started in all government schools on August 1 last year.

According to sources in the education department of the city, there are about 55,000 children being taught under this project in Bathinda alone.

But, of late, the project is facing extreme crunch of teachers who used to take 'Parho Punjab' classes. Primary teachers, who used to take 'Parho Punjab' classes, have been put on duty for the Punjab Board exams.

“It was ordered that Parho Punjab classes will take place daily in all primary schools but the condition schools are facing because of exam duties is tough and classes are being conducted by just one to two teachers for around 150 to 200 kids. Because of this, the structure has been badly affected," Harpal Singh, a district coordinator for the project, said.

The sources also stated that alternate arrangements were being done to at least get the post tests conducted properly. "The planning for exam duties should have taken place atleast four months in advance. Actually, when no teacher is available, primary teachers are called," a primary teacher added.

According to the record given by some teachers, the teachers put on secondary classes exam duties are as follows: in Badyala's govt school there were five teachers and three are put on duty. There are around 170 kids in this school.

In Jeond out of five teachers, two are put on duty, in Kararwala out of five teachers, one is on long leave and two are put on duty, in Burjgil out of five, four are on duty, in Jainda out of three, one is on duty, in Phulewala out of four, two are on duty, in Burjsehma out of three one is on medical leave and one is on duty, in Mari out of three, one is a BMP with Parho Punjab and one is on duty, in Bhai Bhagta out of five, three are put on duty and in Burjemansa out of four teachers two are put on exam duty.

"A block master trainer had come to conduct training camp for teachers but there was just one teacher for the camp. With just two days to go for post tests, it seems difficult that kids would do well in these tests and then the government would send letters to teachers that they do not do their work properly," Jagseer Sahota added.

Krishan Kumar, Director General, Education, Punjab, told The Tribune that the matter was already with the Board and some alternate arrangement had been planned. Substitutes would be put on duty for conducting the tests, he added.

Bathinda, February 28
The Punjab State Aided School Teachers and Other Employees Union today condemned the lathicharge on peacefully protesting teachers in Chandigarh on Friday.

In a press release issued here today, Shri Kant Sharma, joint secretary of the union, stated that their repeated representations had failed to receive any response from the state government. 

They have decided to organise a protest rally in Bathinda on March 2 to press for their demands and thereafter would sit on fast unto death, he added.