Bathinda, April 28
The Director General School Education (DGSE) has listed out guidelines for the block and cluster level training of the teachers during the academic session 2012-13.

As per the directions, the training of the primary teachers will be done over five days, the upper primary teachers would be trained over a span of 10 days.

At the block level, the training groups would comprise a maximum of 30-40 teachers. The training would happen in six phases, starting in the third week of July. 

Before the training phases start, Modules and material pertaining to the training will be shared with the resource persons starting May. The micro-plan of the entire process will be prepared by the Government In-Service Teachers’ Training Centres (GISTCs) and District Institute of Education and Training (DIETs). 

A list of the teachers eligible for the training programme will be shared with the GISTCs and DIETs. It has also been recommended that the lists be updated regularly and clearly mention the names of the teachers due for retirement or transfers. 

To make sure that the training process doesn’t clash with the classes in the schools, only 50 per cent of the teachers of a particular subject will be sent for training at a time while the rest would take care of the classes. 

At the cluster level, training will be given over a period of ten days. While the training for maths and English will be imparted by specialised trainers, the training for the rest of the subjects will be given by the trained resource persons. 

It has been specifically clarified that the teachers undergoing the cluster level training would be given dearness allowance (DA) for five days. The District Education Officer will certify that the teachers eligible to receive the DA payment attended and completed the training process.

Bathinda, April 28
Nine policemen, travelling in an SUV, trailing the cavalcade of the Fazilka SSP for security cover to the Prime Minister and other VIPs at the Guru Gobind Singh Refinery, met with an accident today morning.

The police vehicle (Mahindra Scorpio) turned turtle five times and all of its occupants, including two ASIs and seven head constables, received injuries. Arms and ammunition, including sten guns and other weapons of the policemen, too got scattered in the accident, which were collected and restored to them by the volunteers of the Sangat Sahara.

While Fazilka SSP’s cavalcade failed to notice the accident, passengers of a bus passing by informed the NGO whose volunteers reached the spot. 

The volunteers, with the help of some other passersby helped the injured policemen in getting out of the completely damaged SUV.

The modified SUVs were inducted into the police department for better transportation of the policemen by the SAD-BJP government during its previous term. 

Initial reports suggest that the accident took place when the SUV was overtaking a vehicle and failed to negotiate with a motorcycle coming from the opposite direction due to gravel lying by the roadside. Head constable Suraj Parkash was driving the SUV. 

Pali Mashana, one of the NGO volunteers who rushed to the spot said the policemen were in pain and asked the rescuers to rush them to some hospital in Dabwali, which was around 15 kilometers from the accident site. 

Pali said the injured policemen were taken to the Government Hospital, Dabwali where there was hardly any medical facility available. This forced the volunteers to shift the injured cops to the Civil Hospital in Bathinda and it took more than one and half hours to reach Bathinda. 

While seven of the injured policemen were discharged from the hospital, head constable Sukhdev Singh, with a fracture in his arm, and head constable Baldev Singh, with multiple injuries, are undergoing treatment at the emergency ward of the hospital.

Volunteers of the NGO said no policemen enquired about the health of the injured cops until the inauguration ceremony of the refinery culminated. 

“Bathinda SSP, Dr Sukhchain Singh Gill, and other senior police functionaries enquired about the well-being of the injured cops later in the day,” Pali said. He added that the injured cops cursed their colleagues for their callous attitude during such incidents.

Others who received injuries in the accident were identified as the team in-charge ASI Suresh Chand, ASI Satwant Singh, and head constables Baldev Raj, Khushal Singh and Sukhdev Kumar.

Volunteers Jagseer and Sukhbir Singh Khalsa were among those who helped in shifting the injured cops from the accident site to the hospital. They said the Sangat Police Station SHO, under whose jurisdiction the accident site falls, was informed about the accident.

Bathinda, April 28
Considering blood donation as a pious cause, more and more people are coming forward to donate blood voluntarily at the blood donation camps, being organised in the district from time to time by the non-government organisations (NGOs), youth clubs, educational, religious and social welfare organisations.

This conclusion has come to fore from the fact that during the month of April as many as 623 persons donated blood at 14 blood donation camps, organised by the NGOs and the clubs etc in the district so far.

Talking to Bathinda Tribune here today Blood Transfusion Officer (BTO) at the Blood Bank of the local civil hospital, Dr Inderdeep Singh Sra, said the NGOs and the clubs had organised these 14 camps with the assistance of the district health authorities and blood units had been collected by the teams of local Blood Bank.

The NGOs and the clubs, included Sahara Jan Sewa, Bathinda; United Welfare Society, Bathinda; Fateh Singh Yadgari Club, Fatta Khera; Shaheed Bhagat Singh Club, Jodhpur Pakhar; Swami Vivekanand Girls College; Green City Club, Goniana; and Sant Nirankari Mandal, Bathinda.

Dr Sra said they had collected the blood, relating to almost all blood groups, including A positive, B positive, O positive, AB positive, A negative, B negative and AB negative. He said they had been receiving hundreds of blood units from the donors voluntarily every month.

During the January 2012, the local Blood Bank collected 641 units voluntarily at the camps and at the Blood Bank here. Likewise, 748 donors donated blood voluntarily in February 2012 at the camps and the Blood Bank. Besides, in March this year, 683 donors donated blood voluntarily while in April around 750 persons have donated blood voluntarily at the blood donations camps and the Blood Bank here so far. 

Bathinda, April 28
As many as 138 cases out of 341 were settled amicably at a Lok Adalat held today on the premises of district courts.

The adalat was presided over by district and sessions judge SK Aggarwal.

Award of Rs 2.38 crores were passed by the court during the occasion.

Aggarwal said Lok Adalats were organised on every last Saturday of a month at Bathinda, Phul and Talwandi Sabo and in the labour court at Bathinda. He said the Lok Adalat aimed at saving money and time of the litigants and to reduce the enmities between both the parties. He said every kind of dispute except serious nature of criminal cases which were lying pending in various courts may be taken up during these Lok Adalats.

Even those cases which are not in any court may also be taken up at Lok Adalats.

Bathinda, April 28
A farmer Jaswant Singh was crushed under a speeding private bus on Bathinda-Barnala road near Naruana village today in the evening.

The bus driver fled away along with the vehicle after the incident. The farmer died on the spot.

Volunteers of the Sahara Jan Sewa reached the spot and helped in shifting the body to the Civil Hospital.

Police officials from the Sadar police station were informed about the incident and were recording the statements of the eye-witnesses and the family members of the deceased.

Sleepy village wakes up to VVIP attention
y On the day of the inauguration of the Guru Gobind Singh Refinery, all roads led to Phulokhari