Bathinda, March 3
After the renovation of the building of ‘Red Cross Jagat Parkash Sarai’ (inn), situated on the premises of the local Civil Hospital, the Bathinda Deputy Commissioner Kamal Kishore Yadav today inaugurated it. Earlier, the bhog of ‘Sukhmani Sahib’s Path’ and ‘Kirtan’ were performed.

The sarai has been made functional after a gap of about 15 years to accommodate the patients’ attendants, who don’t find suitable place in the city to spend the night. For the past 15 years, the building of the sarai was being used for office purposes by the health authorities. The sarai’s foundation stone was laid on January 30, 1981 and it was constructed the same year by the District Red Cross Society (DRCS) at a cost of about `1.17 lakh with 50 per cent financial assistance provided by the Lala Jagat Parkash Trust, Bathinda.

Civil Surgeon Dr Iqbal Singh, deputy medical commissioner Dr Vinod Garg, assistant civil surgeon Dr Sat Pal, senior medical officer (SMO) of Civil Hospital Dr Satish Goyal, District Family Welfare Officer Dr Kundan Kumar, District TB Officer Dr Ashok Monga and officiating SMO of Women and Children Hospital Dr Satish Jindal were also present during the inauguration.

Vikram Singh, secretary of an NGO, Sri Guru Amardass Samaj Sewa Sanstha, Gurdwara Shaheed Bhai Mati Dass Nagar, Bathinda, that has renovated the building and will run the sarai, said the NGO had kept 20 beds in three rooms of the sarai so far while another 10 beds would be provided later.

He said as maintenance charges, an amount of `10 for bed and `10 for bedding would be taken from the attendant. He said they would also appoint a caretaker and a safai sewak. He said the sarai also had toilets and bathrooms. A special room had also been arranged, he added.

It may be mentioned here that it was being demanded for a long time that the sarai should be made functional. The Civil Surgeon Dr Iqbal Singh took the initiative now and got it started.

For more than eight years the trust kept the sarai in a running condition, but in October 1990 an office-bearer of the trust handed over the maintenance of the sarai to the DRCS.

Later, the DRCS also handed it over to the Civil Hospital authorities who instead of running it started using the building for official purposes.

Bathinda, March 3
Expressing concern over a spurt in road accidents in Bathinda, members of the Communist Party of India (CPI), Bathinda City, demanded proper implementation of traffic rules to avoid untoward incidents.

During the annual conference of Bathinda city unit of the party held at CPI office situated at Arya Samaj Chowk today, members of CPI, Bathinda city, criticised the poor traffic management in the city resulting in the death of many persons and emphasised the need for stringent traffic regulation.

Kaka Singh, Gurdev Kaur and Binder Pal Garg presided over the conference. District secretary of party Jagjit Singh Joga was also present at the meeting.

Welcoming the new traffic rules passed by the Union Cabinet, CPI workers said strict rules and their proper implementation would serve as a deterrent to the traffic rules violators.

At the conference, CPI workers also criticised the government’s step concerning the gradual withdrawal of subsidy from essential items, including fuel.

The party members threatened to launch an agitation against the central government’s alleged anti-people policies and rise in the prices of essential commodities.

Over 70 workers of the CPI from across the Bathinda city participated in the annual meeting that decided to constitute committees in all the wards of Bathinda to monitor status of basic amenities, including water, sewerage, power, cleanliness etc.

Earlier, a 15-member penal elected Ram Lal Garg as city secretary of the CPI Bathinda unit. After being elected, talking to Bathinda Tribune, Garg said streamlining of traffic system was the need of the hour rather the much-needed step as the city had been losing precious lives everyday.

The newly-elected city secretary also said chaotic traffic had also been causing inconvenience to everyone, particularly senior citizens and women, besides leading to traffic jams.

He further added that to evaluate the policies of Congress and BJP that had been encouraging corruption and unemployment in the country, a five-day convention of communists would be held at Patna from March 27.

Later, the CPI members felicitated their senior workers, including Swarn Singh, Darshan Singh, Ram Singh and Balwinder Singh for their relentless service to trade union and the party.

Bathinda, march 3
Anu Sachdeva of the zonal office Bathinda clinched the table tennis women’s championship in the Zonal Sports Meet of the State Bank of Patiala (SBoP).

She defeated Nirmal Jeet Kaur in the final of the all-zonal office Bathinda contest in the above-45 category at the sports meet which began at the Civil Lines Club in Bathinda today.

In the battle for carrom title, Sunita Ahuja of Retail Asset and Small and Medium Enterprises Centralised Credit Cell (RASMECCC), Bathinda, won the opening encounter in the women’s group while the Hukum Chand of Sriganganagar won the opening match in men’s group.

Akram of RASMECCC Bathinda emerged winner in the opening match in men’s badminton.

Over 200 employees of the SBoP from the two states, Punjab and Rajasthan, are taking part in the two-day sports carnival, said Rakesh Jain and Lajpat Rai Goyal, secretary and vice-president, respectively, of the sports panel of SBoP.

Rakesh added that employees of nearly 150 branches of the SBoP falling in the Bathinda zone are participating in the sports meet.

Bankers from Bathinda, Mansa, Faridkot, Muktsar, Moga, Sriganganagar, Ferozepur, Hanumangarh, Pillianbangan, Suratgarh, Anupgarh, Sangaria and others districts are vying for top honours in badminton, carrom, table tennis and musical chairs and others games during the sports meet.

Earlier, senior officials of the bank, including deputy general manager Vinod Kochhar, SK Bhalla, Suresh Kumar, SK Jain, Lachman Singh, Rakesh Jain, Lajpat Rai Goyal, SS Brar, DK Dhawan, Rajinder Garg, Ravi Narula, Bhushan Singla, Neera Sachdeva and others inaugurated the sports meet.

Member of the Central Sports Committee of the bank, Narinder Bansal, Karn Singla and others were also present during the inaugural function.

The closing ceremony-cum-prize distribution function would be held on March 4.

Bathinda, march 3
Education Department of the Punjabi University Regional Centre hosted its 11th Annual Athletic Meet here today.

Students of the B.Ed and M.Ed courses participates in the 100, 200, 400, and 800 metre races. The meet also included field events like long jump, shotput and discus throw. The meet had some interesting events like lemon-spoon race and three-legged race.

Dr Navjeet Singh Johal inaugurated the meet by setting the pigeons free. Addressing the students, he asked them to show sportsmanship and perform to the best of their abilities.

In the 100m boys category, Balvinder Singh stood first and Rekha Rani got the first place in the girls category. Amrik Singh and Anita Kumari won the shotput contest in the boys and girls category, respectively.

M.Ed student Balwinder Kumar was felicitated at the meet for winning two silver medals at the annual athletic meet held at the Punjabi University. Amrik Singh and Rekha Rani were adjudged the best male and female athletes, respectively.

In-charge of the Education Department, Dr Surjeet Singh Puar proposed a vote of thanks to all the guests. Amarveer Singh, coordinator of the athletic meet, congratulated all the winners and the participants.

Also present on the occasion were Vijay Kumar Sharma, S Avtar Singh, Prem Singh, Prabhjot Kaur, Manpreet Kaur, Mandeep Kaur, Manpreet Kaur, Satnam Singh, Dr Jeet Singh Joshi, Dr Balwinder Kaur and Dr Boota Singh Brar.