Bathinda, March 15
The Municipal Corporation Bathinda (MCB) aims at generating revenue of `10,904.81 lakh in the year 2012-13 and spending `7,575 lakh (60 per cent of the income) on development works in the city.

These are the highlights of the MCB budget that would be presented tomorrow. The cost of running establishments, including salaries of its employees, medical allowance, LTC (leave travelling concession) and arrears, constitutes 25 per cent of the total money to be spent in the next financial year.

In 2012-13, the MCB plans to spend another `196.40 lakh on creating new vacancies and incurring the expenses thereon. Impetus would be laid on recruiting more people in the fire brigade department, street lights division, works division and health division.

A total of 77 new posts would be created during the financial year.

Besides, a number of helping hands such as drivers, JCB machine operators, pump operators, sewer men, beldar etc would be outsourced. A total of 75 jobs would be outsourced. Further, `192.53 lakh has been earmarked as the contingency fund.

The VAT collection would be the major source of income for the MCB.

The corporation expects to collect a whopping `3,536 lakh from sale of land.

In 2011-12, the MCB sold the land in Blue Fox venture near Rose Garden to the District Improvement Trust at `82.47 crore and 12.5 acres in the Haji Rattan area on the Dablwai road to Vivek Infrastructure Private Limited Jodhpur at `30.34 crore. Of this amount, the corporation has got `3,526.54 lakh and the figure is expected to swell to `4,914.36 lakh by the end of this fiscal year. The proposed income from this deal is `3,536.36 lakh.

Water supply and sewerage would be the third highest income grosser for the corporation wherein it expects to earn `700 lakh.

The amount would be 
collected from 28,240 water supply connections and as many as 24,600 sewerage 
connections.

Meanwhile, house tax collection would remain the fourth highest source of income at `616 lakh (24 per cent more than last year), which would be collected from 7,160 units located in the city. These include 172 industrial units, 5,947 commercial units and 1,044 residential units that have been rented out.Further, land use charges would be the fifth biggest source of income through which the corporation would pocket `306 lakh. 

Bathinda, March 15
Though Bathinda’s demand for New Delhi-bound new trains, including Shatabdi Express, was not fulfilled by the Railways Minister Dinesh Trivedi, residents of the area would get a superfast train for New Delhi in the evening thrice a week if the proposal of the Railway Minster is accepted.

The Railway Minister on Wednesday proposed to increase the frequency of trains No. 12485/12486 Sriganganagar-Hazur Sahib Nanded Express from weekly to thrice a week.

The train No. 12485 runs between Hazur Sahib Nanded and Sriganganagar while the train No. 12486 runs between Sriganganagar and Hazur Sahib Nanded. The train number 12486 that runs on Friday arrives at Bathinda at 4.45 pm and reaches New Delhi after nearly six hours at 11.20 pm.

The residents of the area had been demanding a New Delhi-bound superfast train in the evening for a long time now.

Bathinda, March 15
As many as 6,686 persons enrolled under the Saakshar Bharat Mission of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, will appear for the learner’s assessment exam to be held on March 18.

These 6,686 learners include illiterate villagers in the age group of 15 years and above who have never been to school and had been educated under this programme which began in the district in July last year.

In all the eight blocks of this district, adult education centres have been opened wherein trained volunteers are imparting education to the illiterate.

The District Education Officer (Secondary) would conduct the examination on March 18. The teachers of primary schools will take the exam in the villages where there is no middle, high or senior secondary school. In the villages that do not even have a primary school, the schools run under the Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI) would take the exam.

The exam would be conducted in girls' secondary school of those villages that have two secondary schools.

The 6,686 learners would be appearing for assessment for the second time. Earlier, they were assessed in November last year.

The office of Assistant Deputy Commissioner (Development) Dr Abhinav Trikha has already forwarded instructions to the district education officer as well as principals and in-charges of all the government schools where the exam would be held.

The examinees would be assessed on the basis of syllabus covered so far and will be awarded grades. A grade would be awarded to the candidate who would score 80 per cent and above, B grade to those scoring 60 per cent and above while C grade would be given to those scoring 40 per cent and above.

The assessing authorities have been directed to submit the list of marks awarded, to the office of the ADC (D) by March 22.

Bathinda is among the seven districts of the state having female literacy rate of less than 50 per cent, which have been selected under the Government of India's adult literacy project. Other districts include Faridkot, Mansa, Sangrur, Barnala, Ferozepur and Muktsar.

Bathinda, March 15
Residents of Burj Mehma and nearby villages are up in arms against the setting up of a solid waste management plant at Burj Mehma, which they believe would create pollution and cause health hazards for those living in its vicinity.

The protesting farmers said the plant would bring in more trouble for the area residents, who were opposing setting up of the plant.

The villagers accompanied by various farmer union leaders had been staging protest in this connection.

In a letter written to the station commander of the Air Force Station, Bathinda, an ex-serviceman and a village resident Harmail Singh Brar said the pollution created by the plant would also obstruct flying of aircraft.

He said the villagers had come to know about the dumping of waste at the plant following which eagles and other birds were likely to roam around in search of food.

The letter bore the signatures of village sarpanches and reputed people of the area and cautioned the authorities about the ill-effects of the plant.

Brar demanded that the under-construction plant should be dismantled so that the area residents should not suffer and get affected by pollution it would create if completed.

Last month, the residents of Burj Mehma, Deon, Bhisiana, Jhumba, Mehma Bhagwana and other nearby villages had blocked the Bathinda-Muktsar road to register their protest against setting up of the plant.

The protesters said the plant was earlier planned to be set up near Lehra Mohabbat but the residents of the area opposed it. It was then shifted to near Burj Mehma village.

The villagers said they would intensify their agitation if the authorities failed to bring forth a solution to their problem.

The district president of BKU (Ugraha) Shingara Singh Mann said they would not allow setting up of the solid waste management plant at any cost.

Mann said that the agitation by the villagers would continue till their concern was addressed.

Bathinda, March 15
The additional gram sewikas, working in the district rural development agencies (DRDAs), have not been getting retirement benefits, like gratuity and leave encashment, despite getting all other benefits during the service.

As per information, these additional gram sewikas, have also been getting benefits like regular grades, annual increments, contributory provident fund (CPF), casual leave, earned leave, maternity leave, etc. at par with the employees, working in the DRDAs.

As per the instructions, issued by the Rural Development Department, Punjab, the salary to the additional gram sewikas is also being paid from the DRDA Administration Scheme.

Due to this, the staff of the DRDAs consider that denial of retirement benefits to the additional gram sewikas is a great injustice to them.

In a representation, sent to the Punjab chief minister, Parkash Singh Badal, president of the All India DRDA Staff Welfare Association, Sadhu Ram Kusla, has stated that in June 2008 the Union Ministry of Rural Development had written to the state governments to make available better service conditions to the employees, working in the DRDAs.

These included avenues for promotion, pension, gratuity and leave encashment. Despite this, all these benefits were not being provided by the state government to all employees, working in the DRDAs and covered under DRDA Administration Scheme, he added.

He further said the posts of additional gram sewika had also been sanctioned by the Union Rural Development Ministry through a letter in 1986.

And hence, the state government should initiate steps at the earliest to provide all service and retirement benefits to the additional gram sewikas at par with other DRDA employees, he added.

He said the association was hopeful that the new state government would pay attention to fulfill their demands, relating to retirement benefits to additional gram sewikas.

Fact file

Although not being given the retirement benefits like gratuity and leave encashment, the additional gram sewikas have been getting salaries under regular grades, apart from annual increments, casual leaves, earned leaves, maternity leaves, and all other benfits being enjoyed by other employees working with the DRDAs.

Bathinda, march 15
A blood donation camp was organised by an NGO, Shaheed Bhai Raj Singh Khalsa Club of Maur Kalan village, in the village today. The camp was organised by the NGO in assistance with Nehru Yuva Kendra.

The Blood Transfusion Officer (BTO) at the Blood Bank of local Civil Hospital, Dr Inderdeep Singh Sra, said at the Maur camp, 75 persons had donated blood voluntarily.

He said on March 10, a blood donation camp had been organised by the Medical Practitioners Association in Sema Kalan village. At the camp, 64 blood units were collected.

Besides, another camp was organised on March 7 at Kot Bakhtu village by Shaheed Bhagat Singh Club, affiliated to Nehru Yuva Kendra. As many as 30 persons donated blood at the camp.

Dr Sra added that the local blood bank had collected about 400 blood units during the current month.

Bathinda, March 15
The Department of Civil Engineering, Punjab Technical University, Giani Zail Singh Campus, Bathinda, is organising a two-day national conference on ‘Innovative Challenges in Civil Engineering’, that began today.

VC, Guru Kashi University, Dr DS Hira inaugurated the conference. He insisted on innovations and clarified with the examples of Noble laureates, Neil Bohr and Rutherford, that only a country which has innovators, can progress better.

Speaking on the occasion, principal, PTU GZS campus, Dr Jasbir Singh Hundal said the conference had been organised with the objective to bring academicians and scientists at a platform and discuss latest trends and technology.

He also added that emphasis would be on solving local problems using the latest technologies in the area of civil engineering.

He welcomed the participants from across country and explained how civil engineering techniques were needed in the present growth of infrastructure.

A souvenir was also released on the occasion. Chairman of the Conference ICCE 2012, Dr Dhirendra Singhal proposed the vote of thanks.

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, has sponsored the conference, while Ambuja Cement and HEICO, New Delhi, have supported it.

Scientists and academicians from prestigious institites across the country such as IIT Kanpur, IT, BHU, Varanasi NIDM, New Delhi, MNIT, Allahabad, etc are participating in the conference.

The conference will be held in five sessions and 45 papers will be presented. Each session will open with a presentation of expert lecture from a well recognised institute.

Bathinda, march 15
One person was killed and another injured in an accident near the milk plant on Dabwali road. In his complaint to the police, Sandeep Singh, a resident of Gurusar Senewala, stated that he was returning to the village with his friend on a motorcycle.

Near the milk plant on Dabwali road, a speeding car rammed into their bike, killing Sukhdev on the spot.

The Canal police have registered a case against the unidentified driver.