Bathinda, November 8
With work on the Guru Gobind Singh Refinery nearing its completion and its workforce leaving, a short-lived boom in the city is now fast receding.

Nearly 32,000 employees of the refinery, hailing from various states of India as well as abroad, had made Bathinda their abode to complete the Rs 20,000-crore project. Now, more than 50 per cent of them have left the city after completing their respective projects in the refinery.

Earlier, with refinery workforce making inroads into the city, the rents in residential areas of the city besides cab fares went north. Grocery stores, garment and meat shops, and liquor vends also registered increased sales.

There were nearly 120 contractors working in different units of the Rs 20,000-crore refinery at Phulokhari village on the Dabwali road. With several projects nearing completion, it is expected that 2,000 to 3,000 staff members of the refinery may be left behind to run the project.

Sources in the refinery said 25 out of the 40 units were almost complete and rest would be completed soon. They added that now, employees were giving final touches to their projects and only operational staff would be left behind.

Many of the employees living in rented accommodation of the city have been shifted to the recently-built township near the refinery. As many as 350 dwellings have been built for the workers at the township, which also houses schools and dispensaries. The shifting of employees to permanent houses has also affected the house rent and business in the city.

People have now put up 'To-Let' boards outside their houses in Model Town, Phases I, II and III where most refinery officials had been staying. The residents of these localities are now forced to demand reduced house rent as a large number of houses are available on rent.

"Earlier, we had people from South India besides foreigners, particularly from China, hiring accommodations due to which the rent had increased," said Manjit Singh of Model Town, Phase-III.

"A two room set along with attached bathroom, kitchen and backyard on the first floor was rented out for Rs 8,500 to a family from Chennai. But now, people are not ready to pay that much rent for the accommodation," said Jeet Singh of Model Town, Phase-III.

Kewal Krishan, a local property dealer, said house rents had decreased by 10 per cent.

Property dealers in the city said annual contract amount of agricultural land had also shot up as private companies hired the land to make colonies for labourers in the vicinity of the refinery. But, things are making a turnaround now.

Nona, a taxi driver ferrying refinery officials, said his business had reduced to a great extent in view of the families leaving the city.

Bathinda, November 8
The work, relating to distribution of medicines among patients, today remained paralysed in the Civil Hospitals, sub-division hospitals and the community health centres (CHCs) of the district due to the mass casual leave, taken by the pharmacists, on the call of the Sangharash Committee of the Punjab State Pharmacists Association in support of their demands.

The pharmacists would also go on mass casual leave tomorrow to take part in a state-level dharna at the office of the Director, Health Services, Punjab, at Chandigarh. The demands of the pharmacists include the pay-scale of Rs 10,300-34,800 with the grade pay of Rs 4,200 in place of the current grade pay of Rs 3,200, re-designate the post of pharmacist as pharmacy officer, make grade-1 pharmacist the District Pharmacy Officer and Grade-II pharmacist, Chief Pharmacy Officer, filling of 50 per cent posts of drug inspector from pharmacists, right to practice after ten years of regular service.

The pharmacists staged a dharna under the leadership of the district president of the association, Ravinder Goyal, on the premises of the Civil Hospital, here.

“There were 130 pharmacists in the district. Of them about 120 went on mass casual leave today. The remaining pharmacists would also go on mass casual leave tomorrow as due to different reasons, they could not join the agitation. With their mass casual leave, not only the distribution of medicines but also emergency services in the hospitals got affected. The pharmacists also performed emergency duties in shifts,” said Goyal.

He warned of intensifying the agitation if their demands are not met soon.

Bathinda, November 8
The city's oldest landmark, Gole Diggi market, is battling parking woes, lack of maintenance and cleanliness.

The area around the market gets choked up due to lack of adequate space. "The Red Cross market situated opposite the Gole Diggi was actually marked as the parking space for the market. As per our agreement with the then local body, it was decided that this area be developed to house vehicles of visitors and shop owners of the place," said Gurdas Garg, president of the Gole Market Association.

Despite the agreement, the Red Cross Society erected a market on the land allotted for parking space of the Gole Diggi. In absence of a dedicated parking space, the owners of shops in the market as well as visitors park their vehicles around the market thereby creating chaos.

Garg added that negotiations were on with the Municipal Corporation, Bathinda (BMC), to get another piece of its land to use as parking lot.

Over the years, this important trading centre has lost its sheen and significance. The market was built in 1960. It was built over a circular water tank that was fed by water channel from the Bathinda branch of the Sirhind feeder.

The market has a total of five floors, including two floors in the basement.

The three floors other than the basement have 32 shops each with 22 of them in the outer rim. There are a total of 120 shops in the market, of which 35 (30 per cent) shops belong to the BMC.

Sources said according to the actual plan, an exquisite hotel was to be developed on the top floor of the market, while the super basement was to be developed as a party hall for the hotel that never came up.

"In a way, the market design was akin to malls. Had it been developed as per actual plan, things would have been completely different," said vice-president of the association Vineet Singla.

Four years ago, the problem of water seepage in the basement was dealt with. The super basement had developed into a pool of water that had seeped from underground. Taking advantage of the situation, few shopkeepers had even started releasing their shops' wastewater into the puddle.

The accumulated water turned the structure to look unsafe, which worried the shopkeepers. The market association then spent Rs 53 lakh on repairing and waterproofing the super basement.

"Since the BMC is also a partner in the market, it was also supposed to contribute Rs 10 lakh in the exercise. We are waiting for the amount to be released. We have been told that the matter would soon be resolved," Garg said.

Meanwhile, the building does not have dedicated staff members for its maintenance and cleanliness. Shopkeepers in the market claimed that they had written to the BMC several times demanding that sweepers be deployed to keep the market clean.

Bathinda, November 8
Two employees, an attendant and a watchman of the district library here, have been awaiting their salaries for the last four months, from July to October, as no official has been given drawing and disbursing powers so far by the Director, (Colleges), Education Department, Punjab, to draw the salaries from the treasury.

The drawing and disbursing powers are being given to an officials such as the principal of the local Government College for running the affairs of the library smoothly as the post of the district librarian has been lying vacant for eight years.

However, after the retirement of the principal of the Government College Sukhchain Rai Garg on July 31 last, these powers have not been given to anyone so far. The principal, Sukhchain Rai Garg, wrote to the Director (Colleges), Education Department, Punjab, on July 22 last that he would retire on July 31. So, the drawing and disbursing powers should be assigned to another official.

Surjit Singh, the attendant, said though their salary bill for July had been passed by the treasury, they could not receive the cheque for their salaries as the principal has retired on July 31. “We have been facing many financial problems. Even the shopkeepers have stopped giving domestic commodities to them on credit,” he said. 

Bathinda November 8
The announcement by the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) to honour the villages that celebrated a green Diwali, failed to yield result for want of awareness besides lack of proper planning.

With an aim to create awareness among villagers about the increasing pollution, the PPCB had announced to honour the villages in Bathinda, Muktsar and Mansa districts celebrating Diwali without bursting crackers. The winners were to be awarded during the Environment Awareness Month, which is to be observed from November 19 to December 18.

For the purpose, the PPCB, Bathinda, had planned to involve village panchayats, youth clubs, sports clubs and the education department. In particular, the board was to take the help of district science supervisors to further the cause. But the plan could not succeed.

Najjar Singh Manshahia, XEN, PPCB Bathinda, said, “We could not do the things in the manner they were planned. Perhaps, it is either due to lack of time or coordination among the board and others that were to be involved in the endeavour to reduce pollution on the festival of lights. However, from the next year, we would try to plan things beforehand and would surely try to create as much awareness as we can.”

Notably, the announcement of the award was made in newspapers only. No advertisement or any other channel was explored to disseminate the information about the felicitation.

The official admitted that the reason for the nil feedback could be the lack of communication.

He added, “Next year, we will take the information to the public in the best possible manner. We will try to reach the remotest village in the area. For this, we would approach both print and electronic media. Also, other methods like advertisements or announcements in the villages would also be used to sensitise the villagers about the hazards of pollution created by crackers.”

Najjar Singh added that he would try to talk to the higher officials of the board to formulate a policy to plan awards and rewards for those who celebrate the occasion in an eco-friendly manner.

Bathinda, November 8
Bhai Gursharan Singh's works were about simplicity and the village life - a major component of the Punjabi theatre. No other author has talked about the village life the way Bhai Gursharan Singh or Bhaaji, as he was fondly known as, did in his works, said veteran theatre artist and director Kewal Dhaliwal, in a tête-à-tête with TNS.

At the ongoing 12-day drama fest being held in memory of Bhai Gursharan Singh, Dhaliwal's play "Dhamal Nagare Di" was presented today. With this staging of Bhaaji's play, Dhaliwal has completed his life's cycle.

Barely out of class X in 1978 Dhaliwal had first taken to the theatre, participating in the same play of Bhaaji as a part of the crowd in the drama. "I was a part of the crowd in one of the scenes and today, I am the director of the same play. It is the hard work of Bhaaji that has brought us here," said Dhaliwal, who has extensively produced plays based on the poetries of Paash, Shiv Kumar Batalvi and Surjit Pattar.

Adapting the work of these poets for theatre was not a cakewalk for Dhaliwal. To make his drama more interesting, he deciphered every meaning of Paash's poetry. "To make the drama feel real, we hunted for the things that symbolised Paash's political thoughts," he added.

His group, Manch Rangmanch, is one of the first groups in Punjab to include rural youth from the remote areas of the state.

An alumnus of the National School of Drama (NSD), for the last 12 years, Dhaliwal has been holding a month-long annual theatre workshop in June wherein he trains people in theatre free of cost. The participants are even provided free boarding and lodging facility as well as training from the NSD teachers.

Dhaliwal describes this workshop as his way of giving back to the theatre what it gave him. He has even Pakistani students who come seeking training in theatre. "Pakistanis are born with an instinct for theatre. They have got that flair and dedication, which at times is found missing in our people. They know how to conserve their tradition and culture, which we should also learn," he added.

Calling upon the need to conserve the legacy of bhand, marassi, naqqal (a form wherein men act as women) and jangam in the form of theatre, he said no other medium can preserve such folk traditions the way theatre can.

After having staged Kaifi Azmi's "Heer Ranjha" in the form of drama, Dhaliwal is now busy working on another such script that has appealed to him.

His team that presented "Dhamak Nagare Di" had an eclectic mixture of veterans and amateurs. The experienced actors included Ved Sharma and Jatinder Kaur, who were amongst the first batch that learnt theatre from Bhaaji.

Bathinda, November 8
The Children’s Science Congress-2011 would be held on November 11 at The Millennium School. The focal theme for this year is use of land resources for prosperity, save for posterity.

The theme has further been split into six sub-themes, including know your land, functions of land, land quality, anthropogenic activity of land, sustainable use of land resources and community knowledge of the land usage.

The students of the government high, senior secondary, private, aided and unaided schools would participate in it. The Punjab State Council for Science and Technology (PSCST) has decided the theme and sub-themes.

The projects highlighting the local problems would be given priority. “The school teams can look around and pick up examples from the villages or the local community. In a way, we are also looking for help from the students to solve the local land usage problems,” said officials of the Education Department.

The teams can also include children who are not students. The proforma has been circulated in all the government schools directing them to fill up the forms as per the instructions.

Science teachers of four schools have been assigned to conduct the event, including Balwinder Singh from the Government Senior Secondary School, Gurusar Senewala village, Sanjiv Nagpal from the Government High School, Bhucho Khurd, Shivinder Singh from the Government Senior Secondary School, Balluana and Sher Singh from the Government Senior Secondary School, Ghanaiya Nagar. — TNS

Bathinda November 8
In the campus of the SSD College, an education centre for the children living in the shanties of Vishal Nagar and Parjapat Colony has been opened by the volunteers from the college under the leadership of Usha Sharma, in-charge of the Youth Club and NSS units.

In the centre, 20-25 students come to study. At the inaugural ceremony of the centre, president of the college, Nand Lal Garg, was invited as the chief guest.

The volunteers are the students of the BA (III) year including Neha, Meenu, Geetika, Meenu, Shikha and Diksha.

Usha Sharma thanked the chief guest and all other guests present. 

Bathinda, November 8
An Army man posted at Lucknow is missing from the Maur Mandi railway station for the past one week. A complaint in this regard has been lodged with the Maur railway police.

Havildar Lal Singh, a resident of Mari village near Talwandi Sabo, had come to spend leave at his village and was to leave on November 1. He had boarded a train to Bathinda from where he was to board the Guwahati Express to reach Lucknow.

The nephew of the missing person, who is also in the Army and posted at Lucknow, contacted the family members and enquired about the reason why Lal Singh did not return as scheduled.

The panicked family members searched for Lal Singh but failed to trace him even after a week. A formal complaint in this regard has been lodged at the Maur Railway Station.

The family members said they would give adequate prize money to the person who would help them in tracing the missing family member. 

Bathinda, November 8
Two persons lost their lives in separate accidents under the Thermal and Sadar police stations.

In his complaint to the police Jagtar Singh of Gill Patti village said that he was going on a two wheeler along with his father along side a canal. When they crossed the bus stand of Gill Patti village, some unidentified vehicle hit them. The complainant’s father received serious injuries and was rushed to local civil hospital where he succumbed to injuries. A case under sections 279, 337, 338 and 304-A of the IPC has been registered in this regard at Sadar Police Station.

In another incident Karnail Singh said that his son in law Inder Singh of Balla Ram Nagar was going on a scooter on Bibi Wala Road when a speeding car hit him.

Inder Singh got retired as subedar major from army and was now working as supervisor in a firm. He is survived by three children and wife.

A case under various sections of the IPC has been registered against the unknown driver of Alto Car (PB-03-NR-8800) at the Thermal police station.