Bathinda, October 17
The work on the Rattangarh Kanakwal railway station and two pipelines meant for evacuating the products of the Guru Gobind Singh Refinery here has been completed. Raman Mandi has been developed as the marketing terminal of the petroleum-finished products.

The pipelines have been laid from Raman Mandi to Phoos Mandi in Bathinda and from Raman Mandi to Bahadurgarh, in Haryana, near Delhi, for the transportation of the finished petroleum products.

Sources in the refinery said that work on both the projects has been completed. While the Raman Mandi-Phoos Mandi pipeline is 30 kms long, its pipes, which are 10 inches in diameter, would carry 1.37 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) of fuel, mainly petrol and diesel.

Similarly, the pipeline from Raman Mandi to Bahadurgarh in Haryana is 250 km long.

The pipes, with a diameter of 18 inches, would transport 4.71 MMTPA of fuel to Bahadurgarh. The pipeline would pass through areas like Sardulgarh, Julana, Meham, Hansi, Rohtak, Sampla and Bahadurgarh.

Also, the Rattangarh Kanakwal village railway station, around 5 kms from Raman towards Sirsa, has been upgraded as the railway entry of the refinery from where the finished products would be transported through the Bathinda-Sirsa railway line.

Talking to TNS, Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), Bikaner Division, Shyam Sunder Gupta said that while the refinery has invested in the infrastructure upgrade of the project, the railways is managing all the technical aspects of this special facility.

"More than 95 per cent of the work at the railway station has been competed. Presently, work on the signals is going on. We expect the project to be over by the end of October," he added.

The station will largely handle loading and unloading of the petroleum products.

It is learnt that the railway authorities too are looking forward to the early commissioning of the Guru Gobind Singh refinery at Bathinda as the transportation freight is expected to buoy its economic health. 

n The HPCL, on the other hand, will market the liquid products while the HMEL will market the solid products.

Fact file

n 41 boys and 5 girls, whose land has been acquired by the Punjab government in Gobindpura village of Mansa district, arrived on Monday to undergo physical tests for recruitment at the Police Lines, Bathinda.

n A special drive has been launched to recruit candidates on the orders of the Punjab Government after strong protests by the residents of Gobindpura over the land acquisition.

n Apart from showing educational certificates, age proof, residence proof, the candidates are running from pillar to post to get their land records as well to ascertain that they actually belong to those families who agreed to sell their land without protests. 

Bathinda, October 17
For a poor patient, getting platelets according to the requirement can be an uphill task. This is because the cost of preparation of one unit of single donor plasma (SDP) is Rs 6,500 at the Civil Hospital here. It includes Rs 6,300 as the cost of the kit and Rs 200 as the processing charge.

So, the poor patient has to remain satisfied with the facility for the platelet rich plasma (PRP) as its cost of preparation is just Rs 60 per unit at the Civil Hospital here.

From one unit of the SDP, the patient gets 40,000 to 60,000 platelets while from one unit of the PRP, the patient gets only 5,000 to 7,000 platelets.

The data, relating to the preparation of the SDP units and the PRP units in the last one month (from September 16 October 16) at the Blood Bank of the Civil Hospital here, also reveals that the SDP facility has been availed of only by a small number of patients as compared to the number of patients who availed of the PRP facility.

According to information available, the Blood Bank has prepared about 130 SDP units in the last one month whereas it has prepared about 1450 PRP units during the same period.

In these circumstances, one can easily assess the fate of the poor patients, who are unable to avail of the SDP facility due to its high cost despite the fact that they need this facility, being provided at the government hospital here. Some patients were also of the view that the government should further subsidise the rate of the SDP kit so that even poor patients could get benefit.

It may be recalled that the Apheresis machine, installed in January last year at the Blood Bank here, is used for preparing SDP units, as it separates blood components, like platelets, red blood cells and plasma. Five to six units of the SDP can reportedly be prepared by the staff with this machine daily.

On the other hand, the cryofuge machine prepares 12 units of the PRP at one time at the hospital. Its processing time is between two to three hours. In the case of the Apheresis machine, it takes 45 to 80 minutes for preparing a SDP unit, but the entire process may take two hours.

According to a doctor, the donor from whose body the platelets are extracted, should take rest for at least 10 minutes and drink liquid in sufficient quantity.

However, the quantity of the platelets in the body of the donor gets restored in 48 to 72 hours while the life of the platelets is three to five days as these are kept in a special machine at a temperature of 22-23 degree Celsius.

The dengue fever that has spread in the city on a large scale has made it difficult for the Blood Bank to meet the needs and it had to face the shortage of PRP bags twice. The authorities had to bring the PRP bags from Mansa and Barnala Civil Hospitals to meet the demand.

Besides, the Blood Bank has also been facing a shortage of laboratory technicians to prepare the SDP units as there are only two trained technicians for the purpose. 

Bathinda, October 17
Potato has less fat content and it should be roasted before eating and golden mushroom has more protein and calcium than apple. These views were aired by the farmers during a district level farmers training camp at Kheti Bhawan on Dabwali road.

A visitor enquires about a variety of potato at the Kisan Mela in Bathinda on Monday. A Tribune photo

Besides healthy and economical vegetables and fruits the farmers also tried to create awareness about benefits of allied work like Emu farming. Farmers were seen counseling at different stalls during the mela.

Farmer Jagtar Singh Sidhu from Mehma Sarja village said Kufri Suriya variety of potato has maximum anti-oxidants which are good to fight with various ailments in human body.

People in Northern Ireland had been eating roasted potato but people here consider it a rich source of fat which is not true. He added that potato is usually consumed with tikki, samosa or other spicy edibles which helps in putting weight. But if someone consumes roasted potato either in the oven or on fire it is healthy.

Dharminder Kumar and Pawan Gupta, having mushroom farms in Solan said mushroom is a rich source of protein which has more protein than an apple. It also has more calcium than an apple.

“We are selling a powder and sewian (vermicelli) made by mushroom. We have brought 1000 packets of both sewian and powder made from mushroom and we are now left with only one packet of powder and two packets of sewian”, said Pawan Gupta.

Another Dr. Naresh Mangla said he had been promoting Emu farming in the area. Owner of 130 Emu birds at Manna village, Mangla said every body part of Emu bird is useful including its skin, eggs, nails, fat and oil.

“At present there is no place where oil or other things could be extracted but with the rising population of the Australian bird we may soon get the same in state,” he said.

He added that unlike bodies of other birds or animals, oil in bodies of Emu lies separately, which could be extracted manually. “But requires expertise to extract and store the same,” he said.

Farmers Bhupinder Sidhu and others said there are still bereft of fertility map which could enable farmers to know about soil fertility of their land to use fertilisers judiciously. 

Bathinda, October 17
A large number of employees of Farad Kendras in various parts of the state resumed their agitation with enthusiasm here today. They took out a protest march from the Railway Station to the Mini-secretariat here and started an indefinite dharna outside the Mini-secretariat in support of their demand, regularisation of their services.

Besides dharna, six protesting employees from Ludhiana and Hoshiarpur also sat on fast-unto-death here today. They are Satinder Kaur, Inderjit Kaur, Avtar Singh and Mukesh Kumar (all from Ludhiana), and Sahil Mehta and Pawan Kumar (both from Hoshiarpur). They took a pledge that they would not break their fast till their demand was accepted.

On October 14, the local police had foiled their agitation by arresting almost all senior state-level leaders of the 'Computerised Land Records Employees' Welfare Association, Punjab. The police compelled the remaining protesters to vacate the tent and leave the dharna site outside the Mini-secretariat where they had been staging a sit-in since September 26. Later, the tent was removed.

Along with the state-level leaders, more then 100 other protesters had also been arrested here on October 13. They are in judicial custody at present. Among those behind bars are the 28 protesters who had climbed atop an overhead water tank on October 13 and climbed down late in the evening after an assurance from the administration.

It is recalled that 13 employees of various Farad Kendras had earlier observed fast-unto-death from September 30 to October 6. They had suspended their fast after a meeting between their association leaders and the senior bureaucrats of the state was fixed for October 11.

The protesting employees of various Farad Kendras today gathered near the Railway Station here to resume their agitation despite the fact that they were virtually leaderless as almost all state-level leaders of their association, including state president Harpreet Singh, vice-president Gagandeep Singh, general secretary Devinderpal Singh and media advisor Gurpreet Singh, were still in jail.

A leader of the protesters Kush Verma said 136 of their colleagues were in jail and all were in high spirits. They were also observing fast for an indefinite period in the jail, he claimed.

Bathinda, October 17
The pen-down strike by Panchayat Secretaries and the Gram Sewaks in the district entered its eighth day today. They are seeking enhancement in their pay-scale and grade pay.

District president of the Panchayat Secretary Union Nachhattar Singh Dhaliwal said besides the pen-down strike, Panchayat Secretaries and Gram Sewaks were also staging dharnas in their respective blocks.

Dhaliwal said on October 19, the union would stage dharnas and submit memorandums to the deputy directors of the Rural Development and Panchayats at its divisional headquarters in Jalandhar, Patiala and Ropar while the Ferozepur Division's dharna would be staged at Lambi in front of the office of Block Development and Panchayat Officer.

Bathinda, October 17
Not leaving any stone unturned to appease voters and continue their hold over Bathinda constituency, the SAD-BJP government today inaugurated fourteen Sanjh centers in district - the maximum ever in state.

An initiative to provide twenty services to people on single window as well as to increase police-public interaction, the Sanjh project has been initiated on three levels.

At district level it is being run under SSP named as Community Policing and Resource Center (CPRC), at sub-division level it is under DSP official and named sub-division police community resource center and at police station level it works under concerned SHO ans is named police out reach centers.

At Bathinda today, one sub-division level center at Talwandi Sabo and 13 police out reach centers at police station level were inaugurated.

Sources in the district police said that 14 are the highest number of Sanjh centers ever inaugurated in state so far.

Now, only six police stations are remaining where these centers are to be established including the women police station, newly carved Nandgarh police station and four others. "These six have been left out because they do not have their own buildings," added the police officials.

These centers would be established in all 27 police districts, 114 sub-divisions and 359 police stations in the state. Of the 359, 115 have been commissioned at cost of Rs 30 crores and rest would be done within current financial year.

With Sanjh centers, FIRs registered across the state would be available online. Also process of obtaining various certificates (permission to hold functions and use of loudspeakers and passport verification) have been simplified. Sanjh centers will provide instant feedback on inquiries, free legal aid and counseling services.

Bathinda, October 17
The district administration today formed committees to look after the arrangements of the World Kabaddi Cup that is scheduled to begin on November 1. In a press statement issued here today deputy commission K K Yadav stated that 13 committees have been formed to oversee the arrangements.

These include protocol and reception commitment, venue committee, traffic management committee, security arrangements committee, cultural committee, stage management committee, decoration and decoration cleanliness committee and others.

Officials were directed to ensure that the opening ceremony should be a gala event and that none of the players and audiences faces any kind of difficulty.

He added that the committees will also see make arrangements for the semi final matches that Bathinda will host.

Prominent among others present at the meeting were SSP Dr Sukhchain Singh Gill, ADC Bhupinder Singh Rai, ADC (development) Dr Abhinav Trikha, IAS (trainee) Amit Kumar, SDM Bathinda Sandeep Rishi, commissioner of the Bathinda Municipal Corporation Uma Shankar Gupta, SDM Rampura Sukhdev Singh and SDM Talwandi Sabo Gurmeet Singh.

Bathinda, October 17
The Government Polytechnic College, Bathinda, has won the inter-polytechnic zonal games. The Punjab Technical Institutes' Sports (PTIS) had organised the games.

For the sports meet, Punjab was divided into four zones. The local college was grouped in the Zone C that had participants from Mansa, Barnala, Sangrur, Patiala and Fatehgarh Sahib besides Bathinda.

The local college's basketball team defeated the Guru Gobind Singh Polytechnic College, Talwandi Sabo, in the finals. Similarly, the badminton team of the college defeated the BBS Polytechnic College, Fatehgarh Sahib.

During the zonal cricket tourney held at Barnala, the college defeated the Polytechnic College, Barnala, by seven wickets and lifted the zonal trophy.

College principal Yadvinder Singh congratulated the players and their coaches. The sports officer of the college, Amarjit Singh, said the winning team would now participate in the state games to be held on November 3 and 4.

Bathinda, October 17
The Punjab Draughtsmen Association has threatened to go on a five-day pen-down strike once again. The decision was taken at a district-level meeting of the draughtsman cadre from different departments, boards and corporations held today. President of the association Baljit Singh Virk chaired the meeting.

In a press statement issued here, convener Rupinder Singh Gondara and general secretary Kuldeep Singh stated that on the call of the state body, the members of the association from Bathinda and Mansa districts would observe the strike from October 19 to October 23.
They said earlier, Darbara Singh Guru, Principal Secretary to the CM, had agreed to fulfill the demands of the union. “Despite assurances, none of the demands had been fulfilled. This is the second time that we are observing a pen-down strike. It is not the government but the people who will be at the receiving end due to stalling of technical work in government offices,” they said.

They claimed that the strike would hit various developmental works of the government as they were the ones who prepare the estimates and float tenders for new projects.

They threatened to intensify the stir if their demands were not met.

Bathinda, October 17
Six students of the Sharp Brains Abacus Center won prizes in the National Abacus Competition organised by the Challengers Abacus Education at Chandigarh recently. The winners were Vishwas Goyal, who secured first position in the first term B category; Munish Kumar who topped in the first term C category; Aastha who got second position in the fourth term C category; Ishita Garg who stood runner-up the in Level-II first term; Muskan Goyal who stood third in the Level-II second term; and Devyansh Garg who stood runner-up in the Level-II third term.

Sanjeev Goyal, director of the Challengers Abacus Education, said 9,307 students participated in the contest from all over the country. A total of 48 prizes were declared in different categories, and students from the Sharp Brains, Bathinda, got six of them.

Bathinda, October 17
Deputy Commissioner Kamal Kishore Yadav today made an appeal to the people saying that there was no need to worry if the platelet count of a patient reduces during fever as these reduce not only in case of dengue fever but also in case of other viral fevers.

The DC and Civil Surgeon Dr Iqbal Singh said with complete rest, consumption of more liquid and requisite medicine, a patient suffering from dengue recovers in seven to eight days. They also appealed to doctors to encourage the morale of dengue patients during treatment.