Bathinda, October 29
The defaced Fauji Chowk, a landmark of the city, poses a challenge to the district administration and pokes fun at the political leaders who make tall claims of converting the city into a hub for various activities.

The rotary has a statue of the Victoria Cross winner Naib Subedar Nand Singh who is the highest decorated Indian soldier.

He was awarded the Victoria Cross in World War II. In 1947, he was awarded the Maha Vir Chakra (posthumously), the country's second highest gallantry award, in operations against the Pakistani invaders.

In order to maintain the sanctity of the statue of this great martyr, the district magistrate has passed orders sending an appeal that no advertisements or banners may be put up in and around the rotary.

Flouting the orders of the district magistrate openly are none other than those owing affiliation to the ruling SAD-BJP government in the state.

The rotary currently dons two flexboards. In one of these boards, the SAD Bathinda constituency in-charge Sarup Chand Singla wishes Diwali and Gurpurb greetings to the residents of the city.

The second board is also meant for conveying Gurpurb wishes to the people. But the advertiser has also advertised his own work in the banner.

To put an icing on the cake, an array of photographs from the CM to that of the Bathinda Mayor dots the banner.

The Fauji Chowk is the epicentre of the city from where traffic bound for Mansa, Goniana, Ludhiana and towards the heart of the city crosses. The boards installed eclipse the view of the statue.

"It is quite unlikely that anyone would miss this defaced rotary. Everyday, motorcades of the top politicians in the city pass through, yet no one has ever taken notice of this," rued ex-serviceman Ajit Singh.

Flummoxed ex-servicemen in the city believe that this is the highest degree of insult meted out to a decorated martyr.

Bathinda, October 29
The Kabaddi World Cup is all set to give city hotels a busy time from November 1 to November 20 as Bathinda plays host to seven kabaddi teams, sports officials, foreign media and others visiting the city.

Bathinda hotels have had their share of guests, mostly from the NRI population that flock to the city during the winter to attend marriages besides corporate customers.

While the occupancy rate of the hotels is a mere 40 per cent during the lean days, most of the hotels are now packed for the event. Five to six hotels in the city have been booked for the seven teams visiting here.

Twenty rooms have been for players in Hotel Country Inn at the Mittal Mall, said the manager Kewal Krishan. Similarly, 22 rooms have been booked for the players at the Bahia Hotel, while Sepal has rooms booked for the officials.

"Every team has been allotted 12 rooms, while the coaches and assistants have been allotted different rooms. Similarly, more than 250 rooms have been booked across the city for other VIPs, media persons, sports officers and other officials coming here," said the sports department officials.

This is a bonanza time as the teams would be staying in Bathinda for the next 20 days. Last year, only a few teams had come to Bathinda and did not stay here for the whole duration of the tournament. Last year, the players stayed in hotels at Ludhiana and Jalandhar. "This time, the sports department has decided that the players would be ferried to different parts of state, wherever they play a match. And by night, all players would be brought back to Bathinda," said the officials of Bahia Hotel.

Sources said the government has allocated Rs 2,000 per person for 20 days, which is quiet less than the actual cost of the rooms per day. The average per day rent of a hotel room in Bathinda ranges from Rs 1,000 to Rs 3,000.

"The rates are less. But then, the amount is adjusted due to the high number of guests that would be arriving. It is a win-win situation,” said the president of the Bathinda Hotel, Restaurant and Resorts Association, Satish Arora.

However, some of the hotel managers felt that since this is the only boom time for business, the government should not have imposed its own rates. The hoteliers alleged that though they are keenly looking forward to minting money, but the fear of government not paying them in time looms large.

"Even last year, we got payments after six months. When cricket matches are held at the PCA Mohali, the hotels at Chandigarh and Mohali charge more than the usual rate. If we do the same, no one would pay us because this is a politically potent constituency," said the hoteliers, pleading anonymity.

Bathinda, October 29
With less crackers being burst this Diwali, the level of noise pollution registered a fall. In a statement issued here today, environmental engineer at the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB), Nazar Singh Manshahia said that on Diwali night, various zones of the city registered a decrease in pollution level as compared to last year. But it was still higher than the permissible limit.

"Using the portable decibel (DB) meter, we studied the noise level on Diwali night from 6 pm to midnight. Before that, five days earlier, on October 21, we had collected similar data to draw comparisons with an uneventful day," he said.

According to the findings, the minimum and maximum noise level in the silence zone of the city on Diwali night was 61.9 DB and 70.1 DB, respectively. On the other hand, the figures last year were 59.5 DB and 94.8. DB.

On 21 October, five days before Diwali, the minimum and maximum noise level in the zone was observed as 57.0 decibels and 63.9 decibels, respectively. In the residential zone of the city, the maximum level of noise was noted as 84.6 DB this year as compared to 105.2 DB last year. Similarly, the maximum level in the commercial zone was reduced to 84.3 DB from 104.5 DB last year.

"The decrease indicates that people have become aware of the ill-effects of the use of crackers, which are the main source of noise pollution. But more needs to be done,” he said, adding that the PPCB's awareness campaign had a positive impact.

The permissible limits of noise pollution are 40, 45 and 55 DB in the silence, residential and commercial zones. — TNS

Bathinda, October 29
Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today reached the local Mittal Mall with his family members to watch the Bollywood movie Ra.One, amidst the heavy deployment of police force.

While the Deputy Chief Minister watched the movie inside the mall with his coterie, the entire police force, traffic policemen and security personnel were deployed outside the mall.

Senior police functionaries, local politicians and administrative officials accompanied Sukhbir to watch the movie.

As the VIPs watched the movie starring Shahrukh Khan and Kareena Kapoor, all the roads leading to the mall were occupied by police vehicles and the Deputy CM's security staff.

The commuters had a tough time passing through the double lane beside the mall as one lane was occupied by the vehicles of the police and the VVIPs.

Earlier during the day, Sukhbir kickstarted the boating at the lakes of the local thermal power plant.

Interacting with the media, he said that his party will come up with many few faces in the coming Vidhan Sabha elections and winning ability will be the chief factor behind distributing of the tickets.

Over the decision to fight elections from Lambi by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, he said the matter has not yet been decided by the party's core committee.

On statements released by former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh about wasteful expenditure on Kabaddi World Cup, he replied that Captain Amarinder opposes his government's every move.

The Deputy Chief Minister claimed that the Bathinda area has been developed as a textile centre for which nearly 350 acres land has been purchased.

He pointed out that nearly 7,000 people would get employment at the centre and 90 per cent of them would be females.

Sukhbir claimed that the government is also trying to make Bathinda a hub of entertainment by introducing boating clubs.

An Appu Ghar is also in the offing, the Deputy Chief Minister added.

He also claimed that former chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh has also been invited for the Kabaddi World Cup.

Bathinda, October 29
Alleging disparity in promotions awarded to the government school lecturers as principals, the lecturers have formed an action committee.

The members of the General Categories Welfare federation, Front Bathinda, SC BC Promotion Front Punjab and Principal Promotion Front Punjab have come together to raise their voice against the disparity meted out to the teachers working in the districts far away from the UT Chandigarh.

In a press statement issued here today, president, Front Bathinda Shiv Pal Nagraj, stated that the government teachers working in the districts around Chandigarh including Patiala, Mohali, Ropar and Ludhiana, have been promoted, while people working in the same capacity, recruited at the same time period, are still waiting for such orders.

The situation is pathetic in the Chief Minister’s Lambi constituency and Deputy Chief Minister’s Fazilka constituency also wherein not even a lecturer was promoted as principal while in Mansa and Bathinda only six lecturers have been promoted as principals.

They alleged that the promotions are not as per the rules. The general rule of the seniority states that the seniority is to be granted to people on the basis of cadre and not on the basis of the date of joining the department. “This has happened because in 1991, the promotion letters reached the areas away from Chandigarh late. Consequently, people from other parts of state reached headquarters at Chandigarh later than their counterparts sitting nearby,” Shiv Pal said.

The teachers have been raising the issue with the Education Minister Sewa Singh Sekhwan and other local politicians of Bathinda. They said during one of the meetings with the Chief Minister, the CM even called up the officials concerned and directed that promotions be granted within the given frame of rules.

“But not caring for the law, a total of 251 lecturers were promoted including one each from Moga, Mansa, Tarn Taran, three from Ferozepur, five each from Bathinda and Fatehgarh Sahib, seven each from Barnala and Muktsar, eight from Faridkot, nine from Kapurthala, ten from Mohali, 11 each from Ropar and Amritsar, 13 from Nawanshahr, 17 from Gurdaspur, 25 from Jalandhar, 26 from Patiala, 27 from Hoshiarpur, 29 from Sangrur and 35 from Ludhiana.

Interestingly, the lecturers promoted as principals before February 2010 included 64 per cent of the Scheduled Caste reserved candidates.

Later, on Februar 15, last year, the percentage declined to 21 per cent due to the Supreme Court’s order on the Ajit Singh Janjua case.

However, now on October 17, this year, due to the 85th amendment, the percentage of the SC candidates promoted has risen to three per cent, which should have been as per the 14 per cent quota.

The lecturers were neither promoted as per the norms of Janjua judgement in February 2009 nor as per the seniority lists in 2011.

The Action Committee demanded that the government should re-consider their decision and grant promotions as per the provisions of law.

Bathinda, October 29
The three-hour-long farmers’s dharna on various railway lines in Bathinda and the adjoining districts today irked the railway passengers today.

Many passengers were seen stranded at various platforms of the railway station today. Many farmers’ unions have called the Rail Roko agitation in protest against the hike in the prices of fertilisers, forceful land acquisition at Gobindpura village and other farming related issues.

Passengers cursed the delay of trains. The protesting farmers blocked the Ferozepur-Delhi railway line for three hours. They squatted on the railway tracks and did not allow any train to pass through. As a precautionary measures, the railway authorities had stopped the trains at the railway stations in view of the prior announcement of the protest by farmers. Many trains were delayed by over three hours. “I was supposed to reach Ambala to help my daughter in filling the form for the UGC (University Grants Commission) but got late due to the dharna. Since I do not feel comfortable in the bus, I have no option but to wait here,” said Munshi Ram, a resident of Ganganagar, waiting for a train to Ambala. Cursing the railway authorities, Central Government, farmers bodies and other departments concerned for their lackadaisical attitude towards the passengers problems, the passengers said the government should take steps to curb the rising menace of protests in our country.

Station superintendent S. N. Rai admitting problems to passengers said Ambala-Ganganagar train (335), Ganganagar to Ambala (336) and Riwari to Fazilka trains were the most affected.

He said that since it was a scheduled dharna so most of the passengers were aware of the delay in the trains. 

Bathinda, October 29
Prof Mohan Singh mela committee would hold seminar and Kavi Darbar in the memory of Prof Mohan Singh on November 5 at the Teachers’ Home.

Convener of the seminar and Punjabi Sahiv Akademi's vice-president Dr Labh Singh Khiva said Dr Gurpal Singh Sandhu from the Panjab University Chandigarh would preside over the seminar.

Dr Suhindervir and Prof Navsangeet Singh would present their research papers while Dr Jit Singh Joshi would initiate discussion on the topic.

Kavi Darbar would follow the seminar wherein the internationally renowned poet Sardar Panchhi would preside over the function and Harminder Koharwala would be the chief guest on the occasion.

Convener of the Kavi Darbar Suhinderpreet Ghanaiya said the poets Balkaran Bal and Anmolpreet Ghanaiya would start the Kavi Ddarbar with the couplets from the poems of Prof Mohan Singh. Over 12 poets would be participating in this event.

From November 4 to November 6, Prof Mohan Singh Mela would be held at the grounds of the thermal plant, which would be a literary extravaganza exhibiting the nuances of Punjabi literature and culture.

Bathinda, October 29
A total of 195 cases were disposed of during the lok adalat held under the district and sessions judge SK Aggarwal wherein awards of Re 1 and Rs 49, 34, 657 were passed.

District and sessions judge SK Aggarwal said the lok adalats are held on the last Saturday of every month at Bathinda, Phool and Talwandi Sabo. Besides during the last Friday of every month, labor court is held at Bathinda.

He added that the basic aim of the lok adalats is to amicably settle the matter between the disputing parties. Besides the criminal cases, all kind of cases are addressed at the lok adalats. Even those cases, which are not pending in the courts, can be brought to the lok adalat moving an application for it.

Civil judge (senior division) Harinder Kaur Sidu said the lok adalat delivers interest justice. The cases decided in it are considered decree in the civil court and no appeal could be filed against the decree. Participants in the lok adalat included additional district judge Gurbir Singh, additional district session Sukhdev Singh, additional district judge Dilbagh Singh Jauhal, additional district judge Lachhman Singh, additional district judge HS Lekhi, chief judicial magistrate Harjit Singh, additional civil judge senior division KK Singla, civil judge junior division Karan Garg, special judicial magistrate HL Kumar, deputy district attorney RK Sharma, president Bar Association Rajan Garg, advocate LK Singla, Lalit Grg and others were also present.

Bathinda, October 29
Bathinda police has booked three people for cheating with a resident of Talwandi Sabo.

In her complaint to the police, Rajinder Kaur alleged that Baljit Kaur, her husband Kishan Singh, Satnam Singh of Talwandi Sabo, Satnam Singh of Patiala have made a false agreement and sold her land to one Hardev Singh in lieu of Rs 16. 75 lakh.

A case in this regard has been registered against the accused under Sections 420, 465, 467, 468, 471 and 34 of the IPC. No arrests have been made in this regard so far. Police is investigating the matter.

Meanwhile, the police has booked a person for threatening a resident of Doomwali village on the complaint of Balraj Singh, a resident of the same village. Balraj alleged that the accused Buta Singh had beaten him on October 27 at his village at around 5 pm.

The police officials said the reason behind the beating was old rivalry. A case in this connection has been registered against the accused under Sections 452, 324, 323, 506 and 34 of the IPC at Sangat police station.

However, no arrests have been made in this regard so far. Investigation is on in the matter.