Bathinda, December 1
The Work for the preparation of smart card driving licences today began at the Suwidha Center, situated on the Mini-secretariat here, when the Suwidha staff started getting signatures of the new applicants (seekers of permanent driving licences) on the signature pad along with clicking their photographs for getting the same printed on the smart card from the smart card printing laboratory, situated in the office of the District Transport Officer (DTO) here.

However, after the submission of their documents (application forms) at the Suwidha Centre, the applicants will reportedly get their smart card driving licences from the Suwidha Centre with in three to four working days.

According to information, the smart card driving licence facility will be available for permanent driving licence, at the time of renewal of driving licence and the duplicate driving licence.

After the submission of applications by the applicants for driving licences at the Suwidha Centre and their signatures on the signature pad, besides clicking of photograph, the Suwidha staff will give token with due date to every applicant. Then after processing the form, the Suwidha staff will send it to the office of the DTO for completion of paper work by it. Then the DTO office will send the form to the smart card printing laboratory for printing the details on the smart card that contains a chip which will have the complete data, regarding details of the applicant (name, address, type of driving licence etc) and the validity date of the licence.

In charge of the Bathinda team of the Smart Chip Limited Company, Vicky Kumar said the printing contract had been given to their company for the entire state by the state government. He said however, the printing of smart card driving licences was not started yet at Mansa, Fazilka, Pathankot, Ferozepur and Faridkot districts though the printing of smart card registration of vehicles (Registration certificates) had already started in the entire state. The printer of the laboratory could print driving licences from 350 to 400 in eight hours.

In charge of the Suwidha Centre Jaswinder Singh told this reporter that the Suwidha Centre and the Printing Laboratory had the same software ‘Sarathi Software’.

So when the Suwidha staff would upload entries of the driving licence’s applicant on the software the same would automatically reach to the printing laboratory.

After getting the complete file of the applicant from the DTO’s office, the printing laboratory would print the smart card and would hand over the same to the office of the DTO that would return it to the Suwidha Centre for handing over the same to the applicant.

Bathinda, December 1
The bayonet (a knife fixed on the front portion of a gun) has gone missing from the statue of Victoria Cross winner Jamadar (naib subedar) Nand Singh that is installed at the Fauji Chowk here.

No one knows since when the bayonet has been missing. The government apathy towards this martyr, who had been decorated with the highest honour awarded to the World War II warriors under the British rule, has been subjected to such desecration on earlier occasions also.

Despite strict instructions of the district administration, people do not hesitate from cluttering the rotary with publicity material of both social and political as well as festoons.

District administration officials said they had been repeatedly removing such publicity material, but to no avail.

“The offenders should be booked for defacing the public property. Only registration of a case would teach them a lesson,” said an ex-serviceman.

Colonel (retd) JS Mann, who has met Nand Singh’s wife at Uri, said the statue had been displayed in public to imbibe the spirit of bravery and sacrifice for the nation. “It is sad to see that some miscreants have removed the steel blade of the bayonet. It seems that the blade was repeatedly hit with bricks and then removed,” he added.

Col Mann said the saddest part was that political parties and social organisations too act irresponsibly. He demanded that the statue and its surroundings should be treated as sacred places deserving the highest respect and be maintained to the best of the standards.

“We expect the district administration to ensure that the security of the statue and the bayonet must be repaired or replaced immediately,” he said.

Another ex-serviceman added that the bayonet plays an important role in combat. It is an essential tool of self-defence for an Army man after he has exhausted the entire ammunition.

The deputy director of the Sainik Welfare Board, Colonel (retd) SS Mann, was not available for comments.

Bathinda, December 1
The loss to the Punjabi music industry with the death of Kuldip Manak has spun condolences pouring in from various quarters on the virtual world.

Since Wednesday, the Internet has been abuzz with people from different areas mourning the death of Kuldip Manak.

The singer breathed his last at the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH), Ludhiana, yesterday. He died of liver cirrhosis.

His fans started commenting on his Facebook homepage since 4 pm. While many sought confirmation of the news that he was dead, others sent condolence messages to the family for their irreparable loss.

One of his fans Chahal Balpreet commented, “Hun gaane sunan da jee ni karda (now, I don’t feel like listening to songs).”

Famous singer Jazzy B’s tweet was amongst the first of celebrities to confirm Manak’s death. “Jazzy B RIP ustad kuldeep manak ji. True maharaja of folk music is gone, but will b with us long as we live by his music. Waheguru ji waheguru ji,” Jazzy B tweeted. He visited Manak’s village on Wednesday night to oversee the arrangements for his last rituals to be conducted at Jalal village in Bathinda district tomorrow.

Sukhshinder Shinda, Amrinder Gill, Gippy Grewal, Diljit Singh Dosanjh, Rana Ranbir, Yuvraj Singh and Sharry Mann were among other celebrities who wrote comments on the Internet on Manak’s death.

His first EP (extended play), Teri Khatir Heere, was released by HMV. In 1978, his first LP (long play) record was released, including songs Tere Tilley Ton, Chheti Kar Sarwan Bachaa and Ghar Mukiave Dee Naara.

His other albums included Saahibaan Da Tarla, Ichharan Dhaahaan Mardee and Saahibaan Bani Bhraawaan Dee.

Bathinda, December 1
The Bharat bandh call, given by trade organisations against the Central government’s decision to allow 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail outlets, today virtually evoked no response in the city. However, some persons were seen requesting the shopkeepers to close their shops near the Sadbhawna Chowk, but many of them not obliged them.

The district unit of the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) had also extended its support to the ‘Bharat bandh’ call yesterday, but even its own activists had also not taken part in the bandh in a big way.

When contacted about no response to the bandh by the shopkeepers in the city, district president of the BJP Gulshan Wadhwa said that the BJP had only extended support to the bandh. As the bandh call was not given by it, so its senior leaders had not participated in getting the shops closed.

Meanwhile, members and activists of the BJP today took out a protest march against the decision of the Central government to allow 51 percent FDI in multi-brand retail outlets under the leadership of district president Gulshan Wadhwa. The protesters also carried placards and banners opposing the FDI. They started the march from the Fire Brigade Chowk that passed through the Dhobi bazar and Post Office Bazar, and culminated at the Fire Brigade Chowk.

Among those who took part in the protest included Tarsem Chand Goyal, Gurinder Pal Kaur Mangat. Mohan Lal Garg, Ramesh Garg, Ashok Ballianwali and Harjaspal Jaura (all BJP leaders).

Bathinda, December 1
An AIDS awareness rally was held on the occasion of the World AIDS Day here today.

The rally organised by the district health authorities started from near the local Government Rajindra College and passed through the bus stand chowk, the Power House road, the Post Office road and the Mini- secretariat road before culminating near the government college.

Civil Surgeon Dr Iqbal Singh flagged off the rally that was attended by about 300 students from various schools and institutions. He also released balloons carrying slogans related to AIDS awareness.

NCC cadets also took out an AIDS awareness rally from the Red Cross Bhawan to the main bus stand here. They also carried placards that read ‘Know AIDS-No AIDS’.

Senior cadet Balram Sharma said the NCC cadets wanted that no person should die of AIDS, so they were out today to spread awareness against the disease.

A seminar on AIDS awareness was also organised at the Civil Hospital here, which was presided over by Dr Iqbal Singh. An epidemiologist Dr Nisha Goyal, a counsellor at the Integrated Counselling and Testing Centre (ICTC), Bathinda, Kanwaljit Kaur and the in-charge of the Anti-Retroviral Therapy Centre at Civil Hospital, Bathinda, Dr Kasturi Lal, spoke on the occasion. The students of ANM Training School, Bathinda, presented poems on AIDS.

Community AIDS educator Narinder Kumar Bassi distributed bookmarks and metallic red ribbons among the passengers, railway employees and others at the local railway station in the morning to spread awareness.

An AIDS awareness poster was also released by the area in-charge of the SAD for Bathinda (Urban) Assembly constituency Sarup Chand Singla at the SSD Senior Secondary School here.

A workshop on AIDS awareness was also organised at Government Senior Secondary School at Bhokhra village. Besides, a seminar on AIDS awareness was also organised on the campus of the National Disaster Response Force here.

Meanwhile, local residents lit candles on the premises of the local railway station this evening to mark the World AIDS Day.

Bathinda, December 1
Despite meetings with the top government functionaries as the matter regarding acceptance of demand of the Punjab State Ministerial Services Union (PSMSU) hike in the grade pay of clerks, assistants and superintendents, could not be resolved so far, the ministerial staff’s (clerical cadre) mass casual leave agitation today entered its seventh day (all working days), leading to a great inconvenience to people in the government offices. District general secretary of the PSMSU Kewal Bansal said the three-member cabinet sub-committee would hold a meeting tomorrow at Chandigarh with the leaders of the association regarding implementation of their demand. He said after that the matter would be taken up at the cabinet meeting, to be held on December 3.

Bansal said after the decision of the cabinet on their demand, the state body of the union would decide as to whether the ministerial staff should join duties from Monday or continue the agitation. He said the ball was now in the court of the state government as to whether it wanted them to end the strike or not.

Meanwhile, despite on mass casual leave a large number of members of the ministerial staff union today visited the Mini-secretariat here and held a rally there. They also raised slogans against the state government and in favour of their demand. Later, they took out a protest march from the Min-secretariat to Tehsil office and returned to the Mini-secretariat passing through the court complex road and the main road.

District president Sukhpal Singh Sidhu said the bureaucracy on behalf of the government had held two meetings at Chandigarh the previous day with the union leaders.

During the meetings the government’s response remained positive and the government appealed to the union to withdraw the mass casual leave agitation, but the union leaders declined to do so till the acceptance of their demand, he added.

Bathinda, December 1
The Malwa Heritage Foundation would be organising Virasat Mela on December 10 and 11.

While presiding over a meeting held today to make arrangements for the mela, Deputy Commissioner Kamal Kishore Yadav said non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and youth clubs would be involved in making the mela a huge success. He said Bathinda SDM Sandip Rishi has been designated as the in-charge of the mela.

The DC gave directions to the officials present at the meeting that the heritage village Jaipalgarh be cleaned, flags be erected, proper arrangements be made for water and electricity, security, media coverage and barricading. He also instructed the officials that medical teams be designated, recovery vans be deployed, guest houses be booked and the event be widely publicised.

During the meeting, chief organiser of the mela Harinder Singh Khalsa highlighted the history and achievements of the Virasat Mela. He said for the first time, the mela was held in 2004 to promote and conserve the Punjabi culture. Since then, the event has been an annual affair.

Khalsa said cultural programmes and rural games would be the main attractions of the event. He added that the teams of bhangra and giddha that won first position at the inter-university youth festival would be presenting their skills at the event.

Renowned actor Saroop Parinda too addressed the officers present.

Bathinda, December 1
The 17th art festival began at the Teachers’ Home today. An initiative of the Sobha Singh Memorial Chitarkala Societ. The festival will continue for four days. On the first day today, the painting competitions of school students were held. In group A from classes I to VII, Shivam from the Army Public School secured first palce, Varinder Singh from Baba Farid School and Mansha from Army Public School shared second places and Tarandeep Singh from St Convent School, Sakshi from Lord Rama School and Sargam from St Joseph School shared the third place.

Consolation prizes were awarded to Nitika Katyal from St Joseph School, Chinmay Paliwal from Millennium School, Arshdeep Kaur from Sant Baba Bhag Singh School, Simran Thakur from Lord Rama School and Baljeet Kaur from MGD School for deaf and dumb School.

In the group B for classes 8th to 10th, Garima Sood from St Joseph School secured first place, Ishika from Lord Rama School and Binder Singh from Government School Alampur Mandran (Mansa) shared the second place. Bawanpreet Sandhu from Baba Farid School, Surinder Singh from Government High School DIkh village and Maninderpal Singh from Lord Rama School shared the third place. Consolation prizes were awarded to Pooja Gupta from Lord Rama School, Aiman Verma from St Joseph Convent School, Rupinder Singh Government School village Dikh, Jasveer Singh from Government School Bathinda, Lovepreet Singh from Sr Dasmesh School Talwandi Sabo, Nilam Kumari from Army School Bathinda and Veerpal Kaur from MGD deaf and dumb school.

In the group C Sandeep Singh from Unique Art and Craft Bathinda was placed first, Deepti Singla from Giani Zail Singh Engineering College and Ramandeep Kaut from GNDK Girls' College Bathinda shared the second place. Third prizes went to Anil Singh from Giani Zail Singh Engineering College and Nathu Singh from Government School Akkanwal (Mansa).

Consolation prizes were awarded to Amrita from Baba Farid College, Navchandanpreet from GNDK College, Gagandeep Singh from Police Public School, Jaspreet Kaur from Adarsh School Bathinda, Malkeet Singh from Shahid Bhagat Singh ITI Faridkot, Priyanka Gupta from Giani Zail Singh Engineering College and Sudiksha Dhawan from the same engineering college.

An open canvas contest for the arts teachers was also held wherein Surinder from Government High School village Dikh, Gurpreet Kaur from Millennium School and Paramjit Singh from Dasmesh School Talwandi Sabo secures first, second and third places respectively.

Bathinda, December 1
The DAV College, Bathinda, under the Political Science Association in collaboration with Department of Political Science organised an extension lecture on Decline in Political System: The Indian Perspective.

While speaking on the occasion, eminent scholar and Dean (Colleges), Punjabi University (Patiala) Dr Jamsheed Ali Khan delivered the lecture.

In his lecture, full of witticism, D. Khan dwelt on the working of Indian political system and felt that while theoretically it was the best system for largest democracy of the world at the same time it has proved a failure in practical terms.

Giving an example of the malfunctioning of system, he said that an honest person like Dr Manmohan Singh cannot win the election while Phoolan Devi and so many others with criminal background enter the Parliament.

“This is the paradox of incredible India,” expressing concern pointed out Dr Khan, head, Political Science Department. Ram Labhaya welcomed the chief guest Dr JA Khan along with his colleague Dr Hardev Singh and other faculty members and introduced the subject of the lecture. He also threw light on the life and achievements of Dr Khan.

Principal Dr JS Anand proposed the vote of thanks and honored Dr Khan with a memento and a shawl. Paramjit Kaur and Deepika Sharma delivered the vote of thanks.

Bathinda, December 1
A labourer Ramesh Sharma was killed in a road accident. In his complaint to the civil lines police station, Sukhdev Singh, owner of a shop at Vishwakarma market near Barnala bypass, stated that on November 27 Ramesh worked at his shop.