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Prez to attend Nanhi Chhaan meet on Nov 9
Sharanjit of Gurdaspur wins gold in 800m
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‘Raising IIT cut-off will help check rat race in education’
CPO scheme yet to gain momentum
Health awareness campaign in twin districts
Health staff educated about hotline to prevent femicide
BKU activists booked for interrupting paddy procurement
MC employee assaulted
Job opportunities in various sectors
Orthopaedic surgery gets new hope in Mansa
Subcommittee to meet today
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Prez to attend Nanhi Chhaan meet on Nov 9
Talwandi Sabo (Bathinda), October 21 It was disclosed that women with achievements in various fields were being shortlisted for being honoured on that day. Speaking about the issues to be covered under Nanhi Chhaan, Harsimrat said the sphere of the drive was big but to achieve the target, she needed lots of support from both the people and the government. She added that about 1.4 lakh saplings had been distributed from the Takht Damdama Sahib at Talwandi Sabo under the scheme. About the initiatives taken to check cancer in the region, Harsimrat Badal said that recently, 20 camps were held in Mansa district where about 1923 women were examined for breast cancer. Out of them, 486 underwent mammography while 64 were suspected cases. Out of them, three cases were detected positive, while the reports of some were still awaited. “We have been collecting details of all cancer patients to chalk out a strategy to provide monetary help and treatment,” she said. When asked about the status of various projects in Talwandi Sabo, for which the Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister, had laid the foundation stones about a year ago, Harsimrat put the ball in the Centre’s court saying it did not release funds for the projects and due to the scarcity of funds, some of the projects, initiated with the hope of receiving grants under the Gurta Gaddi Divas celebrations plan, could not see the light of the day. She maintained that out of the total Rs 185 crore promised for the development of Anandpur Sahib and Talwandi Sabo, the union government released only Rs 85 crore and the state government was still waiting to receive the installment for the remaining Rs 100 crore. Replying to a query related to the much-hyped flying academy proposed near Talwandi Sabo, she said, “With the best intentions, we completed the formalities and announced it in public but the union government sat over the file and we have not even received a reply from there till date.” Reacting over the speculations that former chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh may become the president of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC), Harsimrat said, “The SAD (B) is strong enough to take the Congress leaders to task. So his induction does not make any difference to us.” |
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Sharanjit of Gurdaspur wins gold in 800m
Talwandi Sabo (Bathinda), October 21 Earlier, taking salute from as many as 2000 participants dressed in colorful attire, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, MP, Bathinda, declared the state-level games open. In her inaugural speech, Harsimrat said she would ask her husband Sukhbir Badal, the deputy CM of Punjab, who also holds the sports portfolio, to announce a cash incentive of Rs 5 lakh to players and teams who secure ranks. The incentive would be over and above the prizes being provided to the overall first three districts holding positions which amounts to Rs 37,500 for first position, Rs 25,000 for second and Rs 12,500 for third position. Sharing her experience, Harsimrat said despite being ambitious, she could not move further than the school level competitions. She encouraged youth to participate in sports and adopt sports as a career. She appreciated the steps being taken by the government for development and promotion of sports in the state. She also informed that the state government was coming with a new sports policy with an aim to establish supremacy of Punjab in sports. She expressed satisfaction over other schemes run by the Punjab Sports Department, especially the implementation of Panchyat Yuva Krida aur Khel Abhian (PYKKA) scheme for the creation of sports infrastructure at village and block level. Harsimrat said the non-plan budget of the state sports department had been increased from Rs 9 crore to Rs 25 crore, while the plan budget was revised from about Rs 8 crore to Rs 32 crore. Pargat Singh, Director Sports, Punjab, welcomed the chief guest and other distinguished guests on the occasion. He informed that with the department’s efforts, the young generation was being encouraged to join sports and to sustain the results, the state government was coming up with financial incentives. |
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CPI leader flays UPA policy on battling terror
Moga, October 21 He was addressing a gathering of the party workers here on Wednesday on the death anniversary of comrade Nachattar Singh Gill, a former party leader, who was killed by the terrorists 21 years back at Badhni Kalan in the Moga district. He said instead of dealing with the root-cause of terrorism, the UPA government was adopting
a soft corner on this issue only to benefit the capitalist class of the society. There were socio-economic dimensions to the problem of
terrorism because it was prevailing mostly in the regions that were remote, backward and
neglected and where feudal and semi-feudal exploitation was rampant, he stated. Bardhan said, “Whether it is the Central or state governments, they have to address the socio-economic problems that give rise to the emergence of terrorism in certain areas and they should not deal with it as a mere law and order problem.” The CPI leader while lambasting the union government on the issue of development said price rise has broken all the previous records, increased the graph of unemployment and created insecurity among the working class during the past few years. He said the unemployment graph in Punjab has crossed the 65-lakh mark and each year at least 5 lakh youths were being added to the figures of unemployment in the state. Referring to the Tuesday's incident of Gurgaon, Bardhan said it was a result of frustration prevailing among the working (labour) class. He said the capitalist class was exploiting them, which was giving rise to the socio-economic problems in the country. Expressing his concern over the privatisation of transport system, he said the capitalists enjoying the backing of various political parties and governments were exploiting the workers by introducing contract system and reducing the wages at a time when the prices of essential commodities were at its peak and still increasing day-by-day. Bardhan further alleged that Punjab has failed to implement the NREGA scheme introduced by the union government and the state's bureaucracy was solely responsible for it. “We have decided to hold a public rally on coming November 17 in the state to press upon the state government to implement the employment scheme effectively,” he added. The office-bearers and workers of various organisations affiliated with the CPI including the trade unions and students' organisations gathered here to pay tributes to the deceased comrade on his death anniversary. |
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Commemoration Day observed
Bathinda, October 21 DIG, Faridkot Range, Jitendra Jain lauded the sacrifices of the martyrs and paid homage to them by laying wreaths on a memorial in the Police Lines. He said out of the 776 cops, 54 belonged to the Punjab police. Other serving as well as retired police and paramilitary forces’ officials also paid tributes to the martyrs. A large number of families of policemen were also present. A police contingent carried out a march past and paid homage to the martyrs by reversing arms. A two-minute silence was observed to pay respect to the martyrs. Deputy Commissioner Rahul Tewari, who also participated in the observance, said, “This day gives us an opportunity to remember the martyrs who laid their lives so that we all could live in peace.” SSP Ashish Chaudhary commended the Punjab Police for its exemplary role in wiping out the decade-long militancy in the state. Senior police officials urged the younger generations to inculcate the spirit of patriotism and nationalism. After the ceremony, kin of martyrs approached DIG Jitendra Jain and SSP Ashish Chaudhary seeking redressal to their grievances. Most of them complained about delay in pensions and allotment of tubewell connections. Expressing concern, senior cops immediately instructed the officers concerned to sort out the issues. Among others, Paramjeet Kaur of Jeond village narrated her woes to the senior officials. Her application mentioned that her husband Jaspal Singh, a home guard jawan, was killed in 1992. She was battling blood cancer and her only daughter was studying in a school for deaf and dumb here. She complained that school authorities had been repeatedly asking her to deposit the monthly school fee, which she was not able to pay. The DIG immediately asked officers to issue an aid of Rs 10,000 to her and also to ensure free education for the girl. |
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‘Raising IIT cut-off will help check rat race in education’
Bathinda, October 21 Sibal had on Monday, after a meeting with the IIT council, said the qualifying marks for IIT were not enough and should be increased from 60 per cent. The decision is expected to take form in 2011. The decision would also curtail the expansion of coaching system in India due to which several coaching institutes are thriving by giving false hopes to impracticable aspirants. Arun Jee, principal of the Delhi Public School, Bathinda, stated that every year, almost three-four lakh students appeared for the IIT entrance tests. The seat-student ratio for the IITs at present is 1:54 and the seat-student ratio of any world class institute like the MIT in the US is 1:10. This ratio at the IITs also has to be brought down. “Practically speaking, this decision when executed would cut down the undue competition created due to more students appearing. It becomes an unnecessary rat race for students that need to be controlled. Students do not take school education seriously and pay more attention to coaching institutes. At least, with the implementation of this step, children will be bound to attend schools. At the moment, children are just acquiring bookish knowledge whereas practical knowledge is needed more to be successful,” Arun Jee added. With students who would be turning towards schools rather than coaching institutes, the quality of education provided would also matter and teachers who used to instigate students to stay at home and take tuitions from them would now have to provide quality teaching to students in school only. “There are teachers who do not teach well at school and ask students to take tuitions from them at home. Following this there were many students who could not do well in boards and competitive exams also. Atleast, now students would concentrate more on school education which would improve their performance in board exams. Following the coaching trend, several students opt for dummy admissions which will now come down. In Bathinda, around 85 per cent students opt for dummy admissions after Class X,” said Abhishek Sharma, who runs a coaching institute here. Kamal Chahal, a maths teacher, said that this step would inculcate interest in all subjects among the students which is limited only to maths and science now. Karan and Shruti, who are taking coaching at Harbhajan Institute, said there were several students who do not fare well in Boards but get through in competitive exams, this decision definitely underestimates such students. |
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CPO scheme yet to gain momentum
Bathinda, October 21 According to the information received, ever since its inauguration, which took place on August 31, the official register of the community police office shows that only about 52 entries have been made. Ironically, the nature of complaints received shows that most of them related to petty issues like missing of driving licences etc. Sources in Kotwali police station, where the CPO office has been set up, informed that the in-charge of the community police office is hardly present as he has to attend court proceedings in cases registered during his tenure at various police posts in the past. The other two officials prefer to sit in the reader’s room at the Kotwali police station and allegedly note down already registered cases, which are later entered in the register as assisted case. At the time of the inauguration, the police had said that the CPO would lend all possible guidance in all matters related to police. It was also said that the CPO would regularly visit markets, meet public and NGOs to understand their problems and expectations from the police. The CPO was also to inform his senior officials from time to time about sensitive issues having a bearing on the police. According to information available, the CPO has held only one meeting with the shopkeepers, who informed him about the traffic problem in the city markets. Except for that, the CPO has hardly been able to hold any meeting with the traders or residents to get feedback about the working of the police or their expectations. The office had acquired fresh infrastructure but in keeping with the nature of offices dealing with general public, the early shine has shown signs of wearing off. According to information available, the CPO office is under the direct control of the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP). The CPO has been submitting monthly reports to the SSP and marks a copy of the same to the DIG also. The CPO is not supposed to register a case but to help the victim in getting the case registered. Raising objection over this, some cops of the district said, “Instead of setting up this office, it would have been better if the SHO already working had been imparted some special training in dealing with such complainants.” DIG Faridkot range Jitendra Jain said, “Though the functioning of the office is yet to gain momentum but the objective behind launching it was quite appreciable. Till now, we have received no complaint against the CPO but we will keep tab to check its functioning.” |
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Students go on rampage over free passes
Fazilka, October 21 The students want to have the privilege of free students travel pass while the bus conductors want them to buy tickets. Similar disputes have occurred earlier as well. A large number of students and nearly 24 conductors gathered on the Abohar Road, Fazilka. As per the details available, Sandeep Kumar, a student, boarded on Abohar bound private bus from village Dangar Khera. On the way, the dispute arose between Sandeep Kumar and conductor Charanjit Singh. Sandeep Kumar stated that as he stepped in the bus, the conductor allegedly misbehaved with him. When the drivers notice students standing on the rural roadside bus stands, they speed away the buses from there, he added. The bus conductor Charanjit Singh said some students board the buses and try to misbehave. He said a few days back, the students had broken the windowpane of a bus. They had reported the matter to the Police Station Khui Khera. The students again tried to damage the bus today, said conductor. As the dispute persisted, more students poured in. They gathered near the truck union on Abohar road and tried to block the traffic there. Meanwhile, the police reached the site and chased them away. Thereafter, they again gathered in Malout Chowk and tried to stop the buses there too. However, police again chased them away with the sticks without resorting to lathi chare. City police in-charge, Baljit Singh, said police would not allow anyone to take the law in their hands. Investigating is on into the matter and reoccurrence of such an incident would not be allowed, he assured. |
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Health awareness campaign in twin districts
Sriganganagar/Abohar, October 21 Teams have started visiting Anganwari centres and schools to administer Vitamin A drops to kids in the age group of 0-5 years. All the schools have been asked to observe October 27 as 'Haath Dhulaai Diwas'. Official sources informed this correspondent on Wednesday that Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has asked his cabinet colleagues to go to their respective district to monitor the progress of the special campaign. Accordingly, parliamentary secretary Nana Lal Ninama, in-charge of Hanumangarh district, along with the MLA Jaideep Doodi visited the hospital run by Vivekananda Swasthya Sewa Samiti and expressed satisfaction over the health services. As per the details, the state government, under the Unicef funded scheme, had utilised a sum of Rs 15.92 crore during 2005-06 and Rs 9.62 crore during 2006-07 was provided for supply of micro-nutrients, Vitamin A iron Folic acid and de-worming tablets to the children through the departmental network. A survey had put the growth rate in Rajasthan at 22 per cent, the birth rate 29 per thousand, infant mortality rate (IMR) 67 and the maternal mortality rate (MMR) at 445. These figures were much higher when compared to the national figures. The campaign was warranted because adequate food-based vitamin A supply could not be ensured on account of the drought conditions, Patrice Engle, chief of the child development and nutrition wing of the Unicef was quoted as saying. A former principal of Gyan Jyoti Senior Secondary School in the border town Srikaranpur Janak Raj Pareek said the campaign needs to be actively supported by the NGOs also since Vitamin A is an important micronutrient for maintaining normal growth, regulating cellular proliferation and differentiation, controlling development and maintaining visual and reproductive functions. Diet surveys have shown that the intake of Vitamin A is significantly lower than the recommended daily allowance in the young children. In the border belt, in neighbouring Pakistan people are not much alert on hygiene. Teams were today spotted in Tibbi and Suratgarh areas also administering Vitamin A drops to the kids in Anganwari
centres. |
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Health staff educated about hotline to prevent femicide
Bathinda, October 21 The team held a meeting of blocks Nathana, Goniana and Bhagta at Nathana. A meeting of another three blocks Talwandi Sabo, Sangat and Balianwali was held at Talwandi Sabo. In the meetings, besides the NRHM employees, the ANMs, the ASHA workers, the senior medical officers (SMOs) of all six blocks, Bathinda civil surgeon Dr Neelam Bajaj, district programme manager (NRHM) Dr Khem Raj Bansal and district family welfare officer Dr RS Randhawa also took part. Addressing the meeting, the team members said a foolproof system had been developed to conceal the identity of the person who called up the hotline to give information regarding female foeticide. Information could be provided in four circumstances, including while taking the pregnant woman for medical termination of pregnancy (MTP), pressure on the pregnant woman by her in-laws for aborting the female foetus and even after five to seven days of the MTP. Besides female foeticide, the team also explained to the employees and other health officials some programmes of the NRHM to be implemented at the district level. |
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BKU activists booked for interrupting paddy procurement
Moga, October 21 While revealing this to The Tribune, Nath Singh Butter, spokesman of the district administration, said the DM had also cancelled the paddy purchase made under the pressure of the BKU activists and warned that such type of incidents would not be tolerated by the administration. "The administration will deal strictly with all such incidents that interrupt the process of procurement," he said. It may be mentioned that the activists of the BKU (Ekta) held Sucha Singh, inspector of the corporation, under captivity in the grain market for a few years and forced him to purchase paddy beyond the 17 per cent permissible limit of humidity content. Meanwhile, the coordination committee of the employees of all the procurement agencies, halted the process of paddy purchase for more than half of the day on Wednesday in protest against the incident. They also met the district magistrate demanding strict action against the activists of BKU (Ekta), following which, a criminal case was registered against them. Later, in the afternoon, the procurement process began smoothly in all the grain markets of the district. The spokesman said that a total of 3,06,666 MT of paddy was purchased in this district, till Tuesday evening. Of which, 67,760 MT was purchased by Pungrain, 70,595 MT by Markfed, 69,825 MT by Punsup, 42,800 MT by Warehouse Corporation, 40,216 MT by Agro Corporation, 12,490 MT by FCI and 2,980 MT by private purchasers. |
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MC employee assaulted
Mansa, October 21 The JE said he was slapped by Rajinder Singh during a meeting because he had not favoured the councillor in awarding contracts. He further said the councilor was doing contract work of the council in the name of another contractor. He rued that no justice had been done in the case till now even though complaints were sent to all the authorities concerned. He demanded action against the councilor. Councillor Rajinder Singh, however, alleged that the JE was misbehaving with him. He said he had sought a vigilance inquiry against the JE and the JE had fought with him to disturb the inquiry. President of the Budhlada municipal council Balbir Kaur also admitted that JE Karnail Singh was slapped during a meeting and said they had written about the incident in the proceeding books of the council and informed the Deputy Commissioner and the SDM. Mansa DC Kumar Rahul said the SDM Budhlada had been asked to look into the matter and take appropriate steps. The SDM Budhlada said they have been trying to effect a compromise between the two parties. |
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Job opportunities in various sectors
Bathinda, October 21 Talking to The Tribune here today, Harpal Singh, deputy director, Employment Generation and Training, Bathinda, said that last year, over 5,000 students of various schools in this district were counselled. But this year, they fixed a target to counsel about 6,000 students, especially in rural areas, as they had shown great interest in the programmes the previous year, he added. Harpal said not only boys but girls had also participated in large numbers in the counselling programmes, during which they were told about various free training courses (welder, computer hardware, plumber, electrician, air conditioning and refrigeration), being organised by the department. He said about 210 students had been given training in these courses the previous year, of them 80 had got jobs while 40 had started their own ventures. The deputy director further said a month-long mass counselling programme was started in a local government senior secondary school the previous day. In this programme, about 900 students from three local schools took part. The remaining nine mass counselling programmes will be held in government schools at Mehma Sarja village, Multania, Goniana Mandi, Nathana, Virk Kalan, Sekhpura, Maluka, Nandgarh and Jassi Pau Wali up to November 19. |
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Orthopaedic surgery gets new hope in Mansa
Mansa, October 21 Gurvinder Singh, a patient from village Akkanwali, serving as PTI at a school at Chotian village in Sangrur district, suffered from ligament injury of the right knee in 2002. He was operated with minimally invasive technique of arthroscopy and a new ligament was created. He had complained of pain and instability in his knee before surgery. He was operated at the Civil Hospital by Dr Ajay Gupta and now after four months, he is able to walk, cycle, climb stairs and even coach his school team without any difficulty. Notably, Dr Ajay Gupta has successfully performed many other similar operations earlier as well. Similarly, sports injuries to shoulder and other joints can be treated here as Dr Gupta has especially taken training from South Korea. He said that following efforts of Dr Rupinder Singla, C- arm is now functional and all orthopaedic operations can be performed in less time and effectively. He further added that under the guidance of the civil surgeon Dr Prithpal Singh and Dr Subodh Gupta, the orthopaedic department was touching new heights. |
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Subcommittee to meet today
Chandigarh, October 21 The CM when questioned during a media interaction, said, “They should meet within a week”.
— TNS |
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