Bathinda, February 9
The second phase of the Census 2011, also called the Population Enumeration phase, began here today with enumerators collecting information from the first citizen of the city, Mayor Baljeet Singh Birbehman.

To start with the decadal exercise, enumerators collected a number of characteristics about the Mayor’s personal household in the presence of the councillors and staff of the Municipal Corporation, Bathinda. Speaking after his enumeration, the Mayor appealed to the people to take part in the Census and cooperate with the staff on duty, terming it as an important task.

A team of Census officials then visited Deputy Commissioner S. Karuna Raju and also enumerated him as part of the exercise. The Census team presented a special jacket and tie, bearing the logo of the Census 2011, to the DC that he sported with pride.

“I appeal to all to cooperate with the Census team by providing accurate details,” said the Deputy Commissioner.

Principal Census officer for the city and adjoining areas like the NFL Colony and the Thermal Colony, Ravi Bhagat said the Census would determine the socio-economic health of the country, so people must cooperate in the process.

Bhagat said the second phase that started today would be conducted simultaneously all over the country till February 28. The entire exercise that included the revision round would be completed by March 5, he added. It is learnt that there are a total of 495 blocks in the city to be covered by the same number of enumerators under 75 supervisors.

The first phase called House Listing and Housing Census was conducted between April and September, 2010.

The proforma of the Population Enumeration bears 29 questions related to marital status, age at the time of marriage, religion, literacy, economic status, migration, etc.

The Census staff informed that the Population Enumeration would also cover the migrant population, including the pavement dwellers. They added that it was perhaps for the first time that the third gender would be categorised as ‘others’ in the column number three. This time, there would be a separate code for separated and divorced persons.

Bathinda, February 9
Giving a clarion call to the teachers to make their adolescent students aware about deadly HIV/AIDS, Community AIDS Educator Narinder Kumar Bassi today said as per a sentinel survey of those in 15-49 years of age group, there were 23 lakh HIV positive cases in India nowadays. Of these, 40 per cent were women. Keeping in view that AIDS was incurable, there is a dire need to check it from spreading further, he added.

Bassi informed that globally, every 12 seconds a person contracts HIV and every 16 seconds, another person dies due to AIDS. He said there were 3.35 crore HIV positive cases in the world, of which about 1.50 crore were orphans.

He also asked the teachers to spread awareness among students against visiting quacks for treatment as many of the latter used unsterilised syringes or used the same syringe on more than one patient.

Bassi called upon the teachers to disseminate information among the students that HIV/AIDS spread through blood transfusion, sharing of syringes, unprotected sex and from parent to child. However, it did not spread by sharing meals with an HIV positive person or shaking hand with him or her. He appealed to the society to refrain from subjecting an HIV positive person to discrimination.

He also asked them to publicise in a big way that an HIV-positive couple can give birth to a non-HIV child by adopting medical measures before and after the birth of the child.

Bassi was conducting a training workshop for nodal officers, which the State Institute of Science Education, Punjab, and the Education Department had organised under the Kishor Sikhiya (Adolescent education) programme, at the Teachers’ Home here today. In the programme, about 95 teachers from 50 schools of the district took part.

On the occasion, ‘Savdhaan’ (Caution), a film on HIV produced by the UNAIDS and the Border Security Force (BSF), was also screened. The teachers were urged to show the film to their students as the film was clean enough to be seen by them.

Bassi also spoke on life skills (discipline and attitude etc), environment, female foeticide and drugs.

Dr Gurdeep Singh Sidhu, assistant district science supervisor, spoke on population and sustainable development, environment education and decline in sex ratio in Punjab.

Bathinda, February 9
To provide rural artisans with an opportunity to showcase and sell their works, a national handicrafts mela titled SARAS is being organised by the Union Ministry of Rural Development at the Rajindra College here from February 11 to 22.

SARAS stands for the sale of articles of rural artisans' society. The 12-day fair would attract artisans, self-help-groups and NGOs from across the country helping them to put on display the culture, art, craft and heritage of India.

Besides, a number of cultural activities showcasing the diverse Indian culture would be held, informed the organisers. They estimate the total expenditure on the fair at nearly Rs 30 lakh. Of this, the Union ministry would be spending Rs 20 lakh while the district administration will bear the remaining cost.

To collect funds for the purpose, the administration has planned to allot about 15 stalls for commercial purposes and arrange entertainment activities like swings. Besides, a visitor will have to shell out Rs 10 for entry ticket. Free entry is permissible to students.

Different groups from 25 states have confirmed to set up 185 stalls to exhibit handicraft, bamboo work, carpets, wooden furniture, food products, etc. Besides, special emphasis is being paid to homemade food products and space had also been provided for organising a food festival.

Evenings would be marked with cultural programmes to be performed by artistes from different states.

Though the fair would start on February 11, it would be formally inaugurated the next day by Chief Parliament Secretary Jagdeep Singh Nakai and presided over by Divisional Commissioner (Faridkot) Raminder Singh.

ADC (Development) C. Sibin said, “Almost everything has been chalked out and the preparations are in the final stage.”

Fazilka, February 9
Congress party leaders and workers could not present a united face today in Fazilka before leaving to attend the Congress rally at Ferozepur. The differences amongst the faction-ridden Congress here have come to the fore as the party leaders here went to attend the rally of the PPCC president Amarinder Singh in separate groups.

Splinter groups of party workers were separately led by former Congress MLA Mohinder Rinwa and other keen aspirants for the Congress party ticket including former PPCC secretary and three-time Congress councillor Davinder Sachdeva and former PPCC general secretary Jaspinder Singh Jakhar, who had unsuccessfully contested the previous assembly elections, Captain MS Bedi considered close to Captain Amarinder Singh, Youth leader Atul Nagpal, member, Task Force, Union Food Processing Ministry.

Yet another group of aspirants belonging to the Rai Sikh community including Sukhjit Singh and Dr Harjit Singh Shahri also attended the rally with their own groups. The Rai Sikh community members consider themselves to be in a dominating position following the delimitation of the constituency as a big chunk of Rai Sikh votes have been added to the constituency.

"The maximum number of party workers followed my cavalcade as more than 200 vehicles including buses were arranged for ferrying the party workers," claimed Sachdeva.

Notably, the race for getting the Congress ticket and display of political strength by the aspirants has accelerated with the assembly elections approaching.

Ferozepur, February 9
Even as the police authorities have been trying to find out the persons involved in supplying mobile phones sets, narcotics, Indian currency and intoxicants, which were recovered from a section of the inmates of the local Central Jail on January 27, seven more mobile phone sets along with three battery chargers were recovered late last night from the place..

Seven mobile sets and three battery chargers were recovered from new barracks, number two, three and eight of the jail when a search was carried out by officials including Paramjit Singh and Mukhtiar Singh, Deputy Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent of Jail, respectively, under the supervision of LS Jakhar, Superintendent, Jail.

Official sources said the mobile phone sets were recovered from a ‘khadda’ (earmarked place) of the inmates, Raj Kumar and Baljinder Singh, in possession of Gurbachan Singh and Deepak.

The rest of the mobile phone sets were found abandoned. All the mobile phone sets were carrying SIM cards.

This is the second incident of the recovery of illegal and prohibited articles from the inmates of the Central Jail, where Pakistan-based smugglers and weapon couriers, who made unsuccessful attempts to revive militancy in Punjab, were also lodged. Earlier, on January 27, in a joint raid conducted by Deputy Commissioner KK Yadav and SSP Kaustab Sharma, nine mobile phones, heroin and smack running into hundreds of grams, opium, Rs 4000 in Indian currency, four mobile set chargers, nine modified mobile set chargers and a large quantity of intoxicants were recovered from the inmates and from different places of the local jail. About three officials including Suraj Parkash, assistant superintendent of jail, Des Raj and Emi Chand (both head constables) were placed under suspension for their alleged negligence.

Even DGP (Prisons), Punjab, Anil Kaushik, who visited this jail a few days ago, dubbed the matter as serious. Jakhar said a letter had been written to the police authorities to take action in this connection. He said the authorities had been urged to find out whether the inmates had used the mobile phones for carrying out anti-national and anti-social activities while in jail.

“We have also requested to find out from the call details of all the mobile phone sets whether any jail official is involved in the crime or not. We have also requested the police authorities to take action against those persons, in whose names the SIM have been issued by different telecom companies and who supplied the SIM cards further to the jail inmates,” Jakhar disclosed.

He said checking in three barracks of the jail was carried out following a tipoff that some inmates had been possessing mobile phone sets.

Abohar, February 9
The Punjab Small Traders Board has decided to recommend to the state government that the present policy of forcing the traders to get the VAT number, if their annual sales exceed Rs 5 lakh, should be amended.

The Board chairman Madan Lal Kapoor said the traders should be told to pay a lump sum VAT up to the sales of Rs 25 lakh. This will help in boosting the revenue besides creating a congenial business environment.

Unfolding the agenda to be taken up during an important meeting with the Deputy Chief Minster Sukhbir Singh Badal before the beginning of the Budget session of the Vidhan Sabha, he said no entry tax should be charged on sugar, cattle and poultry feed. Even when all the political parties and consumer activists cried hoarse over the skyrocketing prices, the traders were still required by the bureaucracy to issue bills over the sale of Rs 100 even when it has virtually no significance now. The outlived laws need to be changed to fix a minimum amount of billing at Rs 500. VAT should be slashed from 12.5 to 5 per cent on brushes used for paints and from 4 to 1 per cent on pulses. — OC

Abohar, February 9
A recently born male child who had been deserted by his parents was found in the toilet chamber of a passenger train today. Some commuters informed that they had boarded the Sriganganagar-Bathinda passenger train at Kotha Pakki station. As the train halted at the Panjkosi railway station, they observed someone crying inside the toilet. On opening it in the presence of the other passengers, they found a male child wrapped in a blanket lying inside. Those who had left him there had carefully placed a piece of glass on the right side of the child to ensure that he does not fall in the toilet seat.

On reaching here, they informed the GRP men on duty and availed the services of an NGO to shift the child to a private hospital located on the Gaushala road here. Child specialist Dr SL Phutela observed that the condition of the child was normal and he was just suffering from cold. The sub-divisional administration has agreed to keep the child under observation at the hospital before initiating other proceedings.

Bathinda, February 9
Raninder Singh, son of former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, inaugurated blood donation, medical and eye check-up camps that were organised by the Bathinda Youth Cell in the memory of a social worker Harpreet Sandhu in Paras Ram Nagar here today.

At the blood donation camp, 21 units were collected while over 700 patients were examined at the medical and eye check-up camps. Free ECG and sugar tests were also conducted. Besides, medicines were also given free of cost to the patients. — TNS

Abohar, February 9
Prof Gaurav Vij of the DAV College here has brought a rare distinction to the region. He has been adjudged as the best actor of the year and would be honoured with the national award by the Punjabi Sahitya Natak Academy.

The information today sparked jubilation not only in the campus but also in the theatre fraternity.

There was tough competition as the Academy had short-listed only six plays from different states to be staged during the drama festival held recently at the Shriram Theatre in New Delhi.

Vij has been declared the best actor of the year for his performance in ‘Pyasa Kaan-The Naked Truth’ a solo play. The play had earlier been staged at the Tagore Theatre (Chandigarh), Khalsa College (Amritsar) and DAV Auditorium (Abohar).

In the play, Gaurav effectively brought alive the issues of social concern in a scintillating but soul searching solo act experimental drama spectacle. Sculpted and directed by acclaimed playwright thespian Prof Pali Bhupinder, a Moga-based playwright and director, who came in limelight at the age of 19 when he staged his maiden play ‘Iss chowk ton shehar disda hai’, the play virtually traced the perpetual change in the socio-cultural and educational structure and ideologies, while debating the inability of the masses to rise to the subsequent challenges. 'Pyasa Kaan' has also won an award in the best script category.

Gaurav, founder director of Sparsh, a theatre society at Abohar, had recently led the Panjab University contingent at the Inter University (North) Youth festival and returned with prizes.

He virtually imbibed the artistic instincts from his father Jiwan Parkash Vij who had emerged as a celebrity stage artist long back in the sixties and seventies.

He had developed the art of making the audience laugh by his mere presence on the stage. Prof Pali Bhupinder truly observed last year that Abohar will emerge as real saviour of theatre in Punjab. Gaurav’s selection for the national award is a step forward.