Bathinda, May 11
Authorities of the Central University, Punjab are now all set to begin the session with makeshift arrangements in the 37-acre wide premises of a closed spinning mill located near the Industrial Growth Centre in Bathinda.

It may be mentioned that the final building will come up at Ghudda village, where after the acquisition, a chunk of more than 500 acres has been allocated for the purpose.

Teams from various departments and state universities have visited Bathinda and its periphery to check the feasibility of some shortlisted locations and checked the feasibility of the infrastructure. After all the surveys, the spinning mill has finally been selected.

During a recent meeting, the vice-chancellor of the university, Dr Jai Rup Singh, told The Tribune that he was impressed with the structure and soon work would start to give it a facelift according to the requirements of the university.

In a fresh development, a team comprising officials from the Central Public Works Department today landed and had a tour of the complex.

During the visit, Vice-Chancellor Dr Jai Rup Singh, Mayor of the Bathinda Municipal Corporation (BMC) Baljeet Singh Birbehman, executive officer of the BMC, Kamal Kant along with the staff of the water supply, sewerage and electricity boards were present there.

During the two-hour long visit, the CPWD officials and the VC chalked out priorities and instructed the local staff to make all possible arrangements.

Sources in the team informed that the existing building was liked by all and it was decided that the administrative block of the spinning mill would be used for the same purpose by the university. It was decided that the administrative block will be renovated first. The VC’s office would be established in the Managing Director’s office.

As no official wanted to be quoted, seeking anonymity, some of them said that in the list of priorities, they have considered basic amenities like sewerage, water, electricity etc.

There was some discussion over the fitting of the air-conditioners and carpet and the PSEB officials have asked them to provide the load requirement for which the electricity wing of the CPWD is to prepare the details.

When contacted, the Mayor and the EO said the BMC would begin its job from Tuesday.

About the plan to begin the first academic session, the Vice-Chancellor had earlier stated that they were keen to start it as soon as possible. The university would be “no vacation university,” he had added and informed that the focus of the Central University initially would be on environmental studies because of pollution problems in Bathinda and adjoining areas.

Bathinda, May 11
Jeenu Grover of the MSD Senior Secondary Public School in Bathinda has done the entire Malwa region proud by securing second place in the state with 96 per cent marks in Class VIII exams of the Punjab School Education Board.

Jeenu’s father Shyam Lal Grover is a patwari and the family stays at Goniana Mandi. Jeenu wants to be an IAS officer. “It is a dream to join the IAS and I am confident of cracking it,” Jeenu said.

His father gave credit to Jeenu’s mother Kulwant Grover. He added, “My wife is an MA, BEd and she teaches Geenu. I only support family financially. My two daughters are graduates and they also assist Jeenu in his studies. He never took tuitions. I am very proud of him.”

Deepali Goyal, another Class VIII student from MSD Sr Sec School, has stood 12th in Class VIII board.

Meanwhile, Prabhjot Kaur Mangat of Fatehgarh Sahib district has stood first with 773 marks out of 800 while the third position went to Amit Ranjan of Springdales Public Senior Secondary School, Sangrur, who secured 764 marks.

Moga, May 11
The SAD president and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal has said that the Congress would face a crushing defeat by the SAD-BJP alliance in the state, which would help forming the NDA Government at Centre.

He was addressing a series of public rallies in favour of Bibi Paramjit Kaur Gulshan, the party candidate from Faridkot constituency at Nihalsinghwala, Baghapurana and Dharamkot in the Moga district on Monday.

He claimed that huge crowd in NDA rally at Ludhiana on Sunday was the biggest ever show of strength in the history of Punjab politics that had belied the tall claims of the Congress.

Coming down heavily on the UPA government for meting out a step motherly treatment to the Punjab's peasantry, he falsified the fake claims of the Congress for having taken unprecedented welfare measures for the farming community.

The junior Badal said that Punjab farmers had been exploited by the successive Congress governments during its long tenure of more than four decades at the Centre.

He said that the Congress party had no political agenda to face the electorate during the elections except for criticising the SAD-BJP alliance on one count or another. Adding, "We are committed for development of the state and the welfare of its people because we are in the government with the mandate of the people", he said, "We are confident that the people of Punjab will once again give SAD-BJP a clear mandate for the installation of NDA government at the Centre".

He said that UPA leadership grossly ignored the interests of the state due to its vested interests.

He said that UPA government never bothered to take any initiative for the development of the state. "What is the fun of achieving high growth rate of 8-9 per cent as claimed by Congress party when you cannot provide the basic amenities to our citizens in terms of drinking water, sewerage, housing, healthcare facilities and education", asked Badal.

The senior vice-president of the party Jathedar Tota Singh, chief parliamentary secretary Sheetal Singh, youth Akali leader Barjinder Singh Brar and many other local leaders addressed the gatherings.

Moga, May 11
The Punjab Police has set-up 137 inter-state and 72 intra-state nakas to check the entry of anti-social elements and any cross-constituency movements from out side or within the state in the nine remaining parliamentary constituencies where the Lok Sabha elections were being held in second phase on May 13. The bridges on Sutlej and Beas rivers were also being sealed effectively.

In a press release emailed to The Tribune, K.K. Attri DGP of Punjab has stated that more than 53,000 state police personnel and 165 companies of para-military forces and state armed police forces had been deployed on election duty. He said that the constituencies of Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Khadoor Sahib had been declared hypersensitive while Faridkot and Ludhiana had been declared sensitive.

The DGP revealed that 1,099 and 2,548 polling stations had been identified as hypersensitive and sensitive, respectively. The state police had decided to keep a strict vigil on all clusters of critical polling booths declared by election observers and returning officers and would deploy additional force on these clusters.

For patrolling, the state had been divided into 1,072 route zones and effective communication had been established between the patrolling parties to ensure quick response in case of any emergency, he said.

In order to meet any emergent situation, three companies had been kept reserved and ready to be sent to places directed by the DGP, one company each had been reserve at the disposal of IG's at the zonal level, two companies each at the disposal of DIG's at the range level, one company each at district headquarters, besides, one platoon each at sub-divisional headquarters through out the state.

While stating that the state police was keeping a strict vigil to check any sale, production and storage of drugs/liquor and other intoxicants, Attri said that Punjab had an unparalleled record of peaceful elections during the past few decades and claimed that the well informed and good natured Punjabis would keep this unique record intact during these Lok Sabha elections also.

The DGP had also urged the police personnel to perform their duties impartially, efficiently, objectively and transparently to ensure smooth, fair and peaceful elections in the state.

Another senior official of the state police revealed that 25 companies of CRPF, 35 companies of BSF, 20 companies of RPF, 20 companies of CISF, 15 companies of Maharashtra Police, 20 companies of Madhya Pradesh Police, 25 companies of Gujarat Police, 2 companies of ITBPF and 3 companies of Bihar Police had been deployed on poll duty.

Bathinda, May 11
Taking an ‘extra’ precautionary measure to foil the Congress announced gherao, the SSP today sealed the roads leading to his residence by deputing huge number of cops and installing barricades. However, the Congress activists did not turn up to lodge their protest as per their announcement.

It may be mentioned that Raninder Singh, the Congress candidate for the Bathinda Lok Sabha seat and son of former chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, during his press-meet on Saturday, had announced to gherao the SSP on Monday, if their demand regarding registration of a criminal case against some accused SAD (B) leaders was not met.

On Sunday, following a protest of Congress workers outside the Sadar police station here, an attempt to murder case was registered against the chairman of the SAD-affiliated Block Samiti, Vir Bahadur Singh. Satisfied, the Congress workers had deferred their move for Monday.

When contacted in the morning, the SSP, Ashish Chaudhary, was not aware about the gherao being deferred. He said, “I have taken a preventive step to avoid any untoward situation.”

Later, he instructed for removing the barricades and ordered the deputed cops to go back to their duties.

A senior officer from the civil administration said, “If the police chief is so ‘frightened’ by a simple call of gherao, then what about us, who are gheraoed regularly by farmers, teachers, doctors and other unemployed staff.”

Bathinda, May 11
Roads of the city get packed in afternoons after schools get over which forces schoolchildren travelling in vans and rickshaws to get stuck for almost an hour daily. Chaos has become a routine affair in the heart of the city and kids are the worst affected.

Shopkeepers staying near Hanuman Chowk today told TNS that long traffic jams are a regular story. Earlier, these jams were because of dharnas and protesters blocking the roads. The situation worsens because there is no traffic signal at Hanuman Chowk and there is only one policeman who controls traffic in afternoon.

Seeing the situation locals feel that there should be at least four cops to ensure that no jam takes place. The traffic worsens when MSD School gets over.

The school being at Hanuman Chowk gives way to clogged up traffic during afternoon. Many children come on bicycles and uncontrolled traffic poses a big threat to their safety.

Children have to keep sitting inside their school vans in the scorching temperature which hovers around 40 degrees Celsius.

It gets dangerous especially for children who use rickshaws and autos for going to school.

Locals say that there is no control on traffic in the city at certain spots like Hanuman chowk, Dhobi Bazar, Mall road and nearby area.

Savita, a city resident says, “My 11-year-old daughter comes back late from the school. At times around an hour late and she says that it is because of traffic jams at various places. It is so hot these days and children suffer unnecessarily, which can have an effect on their health. They are too small to bear the scorching sun for such a long time.”

Bathinda being an old city has narrow roads and streets, which worsen the traffic problem, says Sohan Singh, a shopkeeper.

“The cops should be present during heavy traffic hours to control the situation,” Sohan added.

Bathinda, May 11
The Government Senior Secondary School, Deon, has come out with its first school magazine called ‘The Shine’.

Sources said this was the only government school in Bathinda to bring out a school magazine. The magazine has an English name and its principal Joginder Singh Mann says he wanted to give a different name to a government school magazine.

“Government schools in Punjab do not take such initiative and that is the reason why children from government schools lack exposure. This is our first such endeavour and we would make efforts to make the magazine better every year,” Mann added.

School sources said children in the rural areas suffer from domestic violence and witness problems like female foeticide in their homes and drug addiction.

Teachers said it looks as if the children put all their experience into bringing out the magazine.

“We had asked every student to write something for the magazine and we had passed instructions that no one should cheat. Children contributed a lot of write-ups in English, Punjabi and Hindi. We carried write-ups of 30 children in our magazine. The magazine is in Punjabi, English and Hindi,” the principal added happily.

He said that the school is a platform where students recognise their talent. If the right kind of exposure is given to the students then the results are remarkable.

Sources also said that there are hardly any government schools in big cities that bring out a magazine and this is the only school in Bathinda which has brought out a school magazine which is a routine affair in private and convent schools.

“When children go to colleges, they feel small in front of children who come from private and convent schools because government schools lack extra-curricular activities that develop a child’s personality. I do not want my children to feel lagging behind in anything and that is why I have taken this initiative to promote their talent and recognise their potential,” Mann said.

Bathinda, May 11
India has scores of poor children who are capable of achieving something but lack the wherewithals to do so. There are big talks by celebrities and politicians stating that if each one of us adopts a child for education, we can make a big difference in their lives. But all such talk is mostly limited to semantics.

However, there are some, who get motivation from lectures delivered by noted personalities and have vowed to make a difference.

Rajvinder Singh, who has been residing in the US for the past 10 years is now in Bathinda and has adopted 30 poor girls from a government school in Gidderbaha. These girls are studying in classes XI to XII.

His NGO, Sadhna-Ek Koshish, got registered this year. The NGO has appointed six teachers who look after the daily needs of these girls, their education, nutrition and other needs.

Rajvinder, while talking to TNS today, said there were two girls who played basketball at the national level but did not have the kit needed for playing the game. He provided them whatever was needed and encouraged them to play.

He says that he would not give any cash to the parents of the girls he has adopted but instead would fund their school, college and higher education, adding that he would also bear the expenses related to their wedding.

Rajvinder has adopted those girls who secure 70 per cent and above.

He says he was motivated by Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Badal who said at a gathering that one should make an endeavour to fund the education of a child. Rajvinder wishes that all those who can afford should come forward and adopt a child to uplift the condition of poor children, who are capable but cannot get good education for being poor.

Bathinda, May 11
Fifteen days before his marriage, a youth hanged himself to death at his brother’s house located in Paras Ram Nagar here this morning.

According to information, a native of Kanpur (UP), Pappu (28), whose marriage was scheduled for May 25, had been living in Bathinda for three months, ended his life by hanging himself from a ceiling fan.

Today, finding something unusual, his neighbours peeped into the house through a window and found him hanging. He was brought down and rushed to the local Civil Hospital where doctors declared him brought dead.

Following the information, the police at Canal Police Post visited the mortuary of the hospital. They did not find any suicide note, police sources said.

Brother of the deceased, Deep Chand, said that he was apparently undergoing some sort of depression and was quiet for the past one week.

He added that Pappu himself was distributing his wedding cards but had never disclosed to anyone the reason for his mental depression.

When contacted, the police said that after registering a case under section 174 of the CrPC, inquest proceedings had been started.

Hanumangarh/Abohar, May 11
Not only the NGOs but educational institutions have also started responding to the call given by the District Collector Naveen Jain to save the birds and cattle in this hottest region of Rajasthan.

As the mercury reportedly soared above 40 degree Celsius resulting in melting of carpeted roads, besides, forcing the people to avoid moving in the afternoon all over the district, the DC and deputy CMO Dr Arun Kumar Chamdia advised last week that fresh water pots should be placed near the trees for thirsty birds besides filling roads side tanks with fresh water for the stray cattle.

They had emphasised that all such pots and tanks should be completely dried and refilled with potable water once in a week to check the growth of mosquitoes since the region had been suffering of dengue and other diseases around the rainy season.

The students in the Adarsh Vidya Mandir were today found bringing water pots from their homes which were placed under the trees as hundred of birds are found taking shelter there before the sunrise and in the evening again.

Other institutions are also coming forward to take similar measures to save the birds, sources said. Roadside water tanks are also being cleaned and refilled.

Abohar, May 11
Concerned over sky-rocketing graph of air pollution due to use of diesel-run vehicles by more than 50 educational institutions, besides, hundreds of private operators in the region, colorfully dressed kids in the LRS DAV Senior Secondary Model School here preferred to give "Save environment" call through rhymes during the 37th annual prize distribution function of the institution.

Some of the parents while welcoming the idea complained that the transport authorities have turned blind eye on the smoke discharged by the jeeps used by most of the schools to ferry the kids.

The physicians had reportedly confirmed the kid suffered of respiratory problems only because of the ugly transport system. Even when the kids voted for the CNG buses during the presentation of rhymes, the administration was yet to initiate a move for CNG filling station here, some of the parents pointed out.

The chief guest Amit Dhaka, SDM, inspired the students to set high goals and try to achieve the same for a bright career.

He exhorted the parents and teachers to involve more and more students in sports also.

Anand Aggarwal national director and Dr KC Chauhan member of Avantika an NGO and school chairman Dev Mittar Ahuja joined the chief guest in lighting the lamp.

Avantika sponsored Sarla Chopra Memorial Awards for some principals and teachers of the DAV Schools besides other educationists and outstanding students. Folk dance presentation by the students virtually stole the show.

Sriganganagar/Abohar, May 11
Mother's Day was celebrated by an NGO Mahaluxmi Education Environmental Resource Assistance (Meera) in the community hall of Purani Abadi in Sriganganagar last evening.

Luxmi Kant Sharma chairman of the NGO revealed that he had founded the organisation as a tribute to his mother Meera Devi to provide free education to children from poor economic background, besides, imparting training to needy women from rural areas in sewing and embroidery to ensure them two square meals.

NGO secretary Meera Sharma released a poster on women empowerment. No responsibility is greater than being a parent. Children expect their parents to be responsible individuals. Whether the women are working or non-working, they tend to be exceptional women in their motherhood, she mentioned.

Neelam Bawlia, Poonam Sharma, Priyanka Goklaney, Saroj Verma, Kiran Gaur and Simrat Arora spoke about the unparallel role of mother in the Indian society and exhorted to develop high moral values besides respect for the Indian culture and heritage.

Bathinda, May 11
The deputy commissioner, Bathinda, Rahul Tewari, who is the returning officer for Bathinda Lok Sabha seat, and SSP Ashish Chaudhary, both have landed in soup on the much controversial issue of Lelewala firing incident where former SAD minister Bikram Singh Majithia and Congress MLA from Talwandi Sabo Jeet Mohinder Singh Sidhu were booked for a murder bid. The Election Commission of India (ECI), taking exception to the incident, has asked both of them to file their explanations by Tuesday.

As per the information received, both the officers have received the fax copy from the ECI in the late evening. Majithia is the brother-in-law of deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and Sidhu is a close confidant of former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh.

According to the highly-placed sources in the administration, three questions have been raised in the letter: Why the registration of the FIR was delayed for a couple of hours after the crime was alleged; How could it be allowed that some protesters kept the observer and polling party under hostage; and despite checking, why Bikram Singh Majithia could not be traced?

Confirming the facts, the SSP, Bathinda, Ashish Chaudhary said, “I have received the letter and within the framed time, we will submit our reply.”

It may be mentioned that the firing incident took place on May 7, when the polling was going on at the polling station located in the village Lelewala (Bathinda). The Congressmen had accused Majithia of opening several rounds from an AK-47 rifle.

After hours-long protest led by Jeet Mohinder Sidhu, the Congress MLA from Talwandi Sabo, a case was registered against Majithia.

During the protest, agitators did not allow the polling party to come outside the polling station and they were confined for couple of hours in a bus.

On the next day, the police entered a cross-version of a SAD (B) polling agent, Simarjeet Singh, who alleged that Sidhu opened fire at him when he objected to the vote-buying practice of Sidhu.

On the basis of his statement, the Talwandi Sabo police booked Jeet Mohinder Sidhu under the same sections of the IPC (307 and others).