Bathinda, May 9
The market on the GT Road near the Sirhind Canal, constructed over the land of the Bathinda Improvement Trust, would not be razed.

Shopkeepers of the area said Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal had given them an assurance to this effect at a meeting held in Chandigarh today.

Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sarup Chand Singla had acted as the mediator for today’s meeting in which Deputy Commissioner, Bathinda, Kamal Kishore Yadav was also present.

Rejoicing over the decision, shopkeepers danced to the tunes of “dhol”, burst crackers and distributed sweets.

“A delegation of the shopkeepers met the CM at his office in Chandigarh. He assured that no shopkeeper in the vicinity would be made to suffer. We have been assured that none of the shops will be razed till the shopkeepers are provided with an alternative,” said Munish Garg, who was part of the delegation that called on the CM.

The assurance has given a new lease of life to the 60 odd shopkeepers operating in the market who have been here for the last 45 years. Garg claimed that most of the shopkeepers have proper revenue record, such as registry, mentioning them as the owner of the land.

The eight-member committee that met the Chief Minister included Dr Rajesh Sood, Dr Pramod, Mandev Singh, Baljit Singh, Pankaj Singla, Sanjiv Kumar and Munish Garg.

Earlier on April 18, a division bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court had set aside orders of a Single Judge passed 23 years ago.

Allowing a bunch of writ petitions, the Single Judge on October 20, 1989, had quashed the acquisition of land notified as 16.44 acres Town Planning Scheme between Panj Rattan Hotel and Sirhind Canal on Goniana road.

The Division Bench of Justice Hemant Gupta and Justice AN Jindal allowed appeals preferred by the Bathinda Improvement Trust.

Acting on the High Court judgment, the Bathinda Improvement Trust authorities swung into action and tried to demolish the shops on April 19.

However, the drive fizzled out as the shopkeepers blocked GT road in protest and Chief Parliamentary Secretary Sarup Chand Singla supported their demands.

Bathinda, May 9
Punjabi University, Patiala, has rescheduled a paper of the students of Bachelor of Computer Examination (Part III), as per the orders of the Controller of Examinations.

The students of BCA (Part III) were to appear for the BCA 305: Software Engineering examination on May 12. The examination has now been rescheduled and will be held on May 19.

According to the information uploaded on the university website, ‘administrative reasons’ have been cited for the rescheduling of the examination.

“The date of the examination was clashing with the date of the entrance exam for MBA course at Indraprastha University in New Delhi. A few students and representatives of some colleges had met the Controller of Examination of the Punjabi University and had requested him to look into the matter,” informed a source at the University.

“The students said since they couldn’t miss the BCA (Part III) paper at Punjabi University, they would end up missing the entrance exam and a chance to secure a seat in the coveted course,” the source added.

After considering the demand of the students who wished to appear for the entrance exam at the IP University to get admission in the post-graduation course, it was decided that the BCA (Part III) would be rescheduled to allow the students time to appear for both the exams.

Bathinda, May 9
The inquiry into the death of 31 blackbucks at the Bir Talab mini zoo has found that the tragedy is the handiwork of someone ‘well-versed’ with the “weak” areas of the recently-constructed enclosure, where the animals were found dead, and its fencing.

The report finds that enclosures built in the deer park are not as per the specifications laid down by the Central Zoo Authority of India (CZA). According to Rule 10, sub-rule (13), land area to be given to any animal enclosures should be decided with due regard to the maximum number that can be displayed in it.

Sambar, spotted deer, swamp deer and some other animals can live in large social groups. Enclosures for such species can easily be designed for displaying 15-20 animals.

However, the maximum number of animals that can be displayed in a single enclosure should not exceed five to seven. The area of the enclosure should have adequate land space for facilitating the free movement of animals and their natural, social and reproductive behaviour.

“In the present case, these norms were not followed. Besides, the postmortem report also shows that many of the deaths occurred due to the stampede,” the report states.

Apart from indicting the lower-rung employees and expressing doubts over the statements of the watchman, the “highly confidential” report has recommended numerous measures to avoid such incidents in future.

The inquiry report has recorded the statements of 14 officials, employees, workers of the zoo and local residents.

The only evidence found in the enclosure, where the blackbucks died, is a hole of 30 cm diameter, suspected to have been intentionally made by unscrupulous elements, states the inquiry report. SDM, Bathinda, Ramvir, ASP Bikrampal Bhatti and Deputy Director, Animal Husbandry, Pardeep Bansal, have conducted the inquiry.

Terming the entry of dogs into the enclosure through the fencing by the farthest gate as a conspiracy, the report suggests that specialised inquiry should further be conducted into the incident.

Dogs alone cannot force their entry at two points in one night. “Humans have done it with ulterior motives either to defame the project or to seek revenge. Role of labourers involved in construction activity or local residents is suspected,” says the report that District Magistrate KK Yadav submitted to the Principal Secretary, Forests, Punjab.

Deposing before the inquiry committee, Chet Singh, a daily wager and the only watchman in the mini zoo, said he visited the area near the enclosure at 3 am where he found some blackbucks in an abnormal condition, with many of them lying restless, while the others were unconscious and frightened. He claimed to have seen a dog in the enclosure. Chet Singh, who did not have a cell phone, rushed out and approached a resident of the area, Mithu, to make a call to forest guard Jarnail Singh. As soon as he came back, the animals started dying one after the other.

Jarnail Singh told the inquiry committee that he got a message related to the death of blackbucks at 6 am, three hours after the watchman saw the animals in a ‘disturbed condition’. Jarnail Singh said the watchman had sent Ram Kumar to inform him about the incident. Jarnail Singh reached the zoo at around 6.45 am and started the rescue operation as well as the treatment of animals.

Jarnail, who had a cell phone, called up Range Officer Gurpal Singh, who reached the place at 7 am. Gurpal then informed Dr Gurdeep Singh, a veterinary doctor. When Dr Gurdeep Singh arrived, 15 animals had already died and 15 others were gasping for breath. Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), who was in Chandigarh at that time, was informed about the incident at 9.30 am.

The DFO further informed Dr Pardeep Bansal and Dr Navneet Kaur about the veterinary polyclinic and requested them to send a panel of vets for postmortem. Deputy DFO M Sudhagar too reached the place at around 10 am and took charge of the rescue operations and the shifted the injured animals.

The four angles

The inquiry report has explored four different angles. The first angle states that the enclosure where the incident occurred is farthest from the main entry point and field forest staff, the watchman, was the only person present in the zoo.

There were many gaps in the under-construction compound wall from where one could easily enter the zoo premises. The report says there were marks of iron rods on the main iron gate and it seems to have been dislocated forcefully to gain entry into the newly-constructed enclosure. Fencing was also broken at the place where it was fixed. It is suspected that the openings were made by someone to facilitate the entry of dogs inside the enclosure.

The second angle states that the watchman’s statement is questionable. If the watchman was present near the enclosure, he would have surely heard cries of the blackbucks and the snarling dogs. It is suspected that the watchman did not visit the place at 3 am and went there after 6 am. Had he been there at 3 am, he could have immediately contacted the forest guard Jarnail Singh. Major lapse has been found on the part of the watchman.

The third angle is of sabotage by the local residents who might have been upset over the construction of the boundary wall, which had stopped their illegal supply of forest products and trees.

The fourth angle states that labourers, working under the supervision of the PWD B&R Department, knew where the fencing of the enclosure was weak. Also, drug addicts could have used a hunter dog to kill the animals.

Strict action recommended

Massive time lag in reporting the matter from the lower-rung officials to the senior functionaries increased the death toll. Strict action has been recommended against the watchman and the forest guard for wasting precious time in informing the senior officials and asking for help.

Preventing future incidents

To prevent the recurrence of such incidents, the inquiry report suggests that enclosures should be maintained according to norms prescribed for the deer parks. Security and manning of area should be made hi-tech with gadgets like mobiles, walky-talkies, CCTV cameras, night vision glasses, rescue vehicles and doctors.

Food chain in the natural ecosystem has also been disturbed in the area. The scavengers like vultures, jackals and other carnivores have almost vanished in this belt. Stray dogs have taken over their role. The food chain needs to be restored.

Forest Department’s initiative

Officials of the forest department said they have now deployed four watchmen after plugging all the points in the 5-km long boundary wall. They said 15 stray dogs have been shifted out from the premises by tranquilising them. Vigil has been increased in the forest area and zoo premises by the DFO and his staff who have been conducting surprise checkings.

Bathinda, May 9
Stubble burning by farmers near the boundary wall of the National Fertilisers Limited (NFL) today led to a major fire in the green belt of the fertilizer giant.

Though no loss of property or life was reported, many trees were burnt in the fire and panic gripped people residing in the residential areas surrounding the place of fire. The fire erupted at around 3 pm and the flames were doused by 5.45 pm.

Fire department officials said three fire tenders were rushed to the place apart from one fire tender each from the NFL and Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant. The three fire tenders made four rounds to refill water to control the raging fire. Firemen said high velocity of winds spread the fire all over the place and it damaged the entire forest area.

Divisional Forest Officer K Kannan said he has asked his staff to ascertain the damage done to the forest area, birds and other natural habitat. The traffic on the Bathinda-Goniana road too got affected due to the fire.

Firemen said they tried to enquire about the person who set the wheat stubble on fire but failed to find anyone responsible for the incident. Local policemen were informed about the incident who assured of doing the needful in this regard.

Bathinda, May 9
Superintendent of Police (Detective) has been appointed as the nodal officer to deal with all the police cases of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL). The decision has come in the wake of attack on three Powercom officials who had gone to check power theft in village Chotiyan on Tuesday.

Also, the Powercom officials have written to the police station to register a case of power theft against the accused that attacked the Powercom team.

Meanwhile, the PSEB Engineers’ Association held a meeting today pertaining to the issue. The engineers demanded security for the field staff that conducts checking. They also demanded that the district administration should help Powercom officials in cases pertaining to power thefts and said these measures are needed to ensure round-the-clock power for the paddy season.

Prominent among others present at the meeting were Karnail Singh Mann, Jeevan Bansal, RK Goyal and Udaideep Singh. A delegation of the engineers also met the SSP Bathinda demanding the arrest of the accused.

Bathinda, May 9
Aiming at creating awareness about HIV/AIDS and drug abuse among the people, the Red Ribbon Clubs (RRCs) would be set up by August 15 at 30 colleges in Bathinda district by the Department of Youth Services, Punjab.

Each club will have as many as 50 NSS volunteers, besides an NSS programme officer who would act as the nodal officer.

In the next phase of training programme, to be held from May end to mid-June, six groups (five colleges in each group) of the 30 colleges have been formed. In the training programme, five NSS volunteers (peer educators) and a programme officer (nodal officer) from every college will take part. For holding the one-day training programmes, separate venues have been identified for these six groups.

Assistant Director, Youth Services, Bathinda, Dr Kamaljit Singh Sidhu said nodal officers and peer educators from five colleges would be imparted training at the Baba Farid Degree College, Deon, while another five college nodal officers and peer educators would receive training at Malwa Degree College, Bathinda.

Besides, nodal officers and peer educators from five colleges each would get training at the Government Polytechnic College, Bathinda; the Mata Sundari Girls College, Dhade; the Aklia Degree College, Goniana Mandi, and the Government Rajindra College, Bathinda.

Thus from May end to mid-June, as many as 30 nodal officers and 150 peer educators from 30 colleges would be imparted training. Experts in the fields of HIV, AIDS, drug de-addiction and blood donation would impart training to create awareness among the participants, he added.

In the last phase, after the start of the next academic session in the colleges, the RRCs will be set up by August 15 by the NSS programme officers. In each RRC, 50 NSS volunteers will be enrolled while the peer educators will create awareness among these NSS volunteers to spread awareness among the masses regarding HIV, AIDS, drug abuse and blood donation.

During the training programmes, a movie relating to HIV/AIDS, 'Sawdhan' (Caution), produced by the Border Security Force (BSF) and the UNAIDS, will be screened for the nodal officers and peer educators.

As these clubs will be set up under the banner of the Punjab State AIDS Control Society, so the society will give a grant of Rs 2,500 per annum to every RRC for running the activities of the club smoothly.

Bathinda, May 9
Organic farmers from eight states would kickstart “Poison free fields-poison Free food campaign” at the Vatavaran Utsav — the natural farming and environment festival to be held at the Teachers' Home from May 11 to May 13.

Executive director of Khetoi Virasat Mission (KVM) Umendra Dutt said the campaign aims at mitigating environmental disaster in the capital of green revolution, now known as the cancer state world over.

"The campaign shall be a joint endeavour of farmers, consumers and the conscious people of Punjab to get rid of the poisons in the food chain.

Due to excessive use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides, the food chain is contaminated and the collapse of agriculture model has put farmers into the cycle of disease-debt-distress-suicide created by the economic ruin of te farming community," he added.

Farmers will have lot to learn from the fest that will have stalls of organic seeds. Vijay Jaddhari from Beej Bachao Movement of Uttaranchal, Prakash Raghuvansi, master seed breeder farmer from Uttar Pradesh, a group of farmers from Karnataka and others would also be a part of the fest.

Organic farming expert Suresh Desai, an expert in water efficient sugarcane from Karnataka, Subhash Sharma, expert in organic vegetables from Yavatmal, Maharastra, Sriparkash Raghuvanshi, master farmer breeder — who developed more than 100 varieties of seeds from Varanasi in UP, Raman Bhai Patel from Anand, Gujarat, organic cotton farmer from Karnataka, Jaideveya, besides women’s group from Haryana and Dr Arun Kumar from Jodhpur would also be participating in the fest.

All these farmers would be interacting with their Punjab counterparts and will guide the practitioners of organic farming. Farmers and women working in kitchen gardening will also interact with the experts.

Besides, sessions on seed conservation shall add another dimension to the festival.

Bathinda, May 9
Rich tribute paid to poet laureate Rabindranath Tagore at the RBDAV Senior Secondary School here on Wednesday.

Under the guidance of principal Satwant Bhullar, a poetry recitation competition was held. The participants recited poems written by Tagore in Bengali language and translated versions of his poem in Hindi and English.

A skit competition was also held on the theme of “Social evils.” Themes like child labour, female foeticide and dignity of labour were enacted by young actors.

Harinder Brar, the judge, appreciated efforts made by young players and threw light on skit as a medium of communication. 

Bathinda, May 9
The DAV Retired Teachers Union of Punjab is going to hold its first convention, under the presidentship of Prof Rajnish Kumar of DAV College, Bathinda, at the PGSD College for Girls, Jalandhar, on May 13.

Interestingly, the union did not get permission to hold the convention at DAV College, Jalandhar.

The members of the union allege that the gratuity which has been enhanced from 3.5 lakh to 10 lakh, w.e.f. January 1, 2006 is being denied to the DAV teachers who retired between January 1, 2006 and July 31, 2009.

The members say that the some of the teachers, who retired after this date, have not been paid the enhanced gratuity while all the teachers who retired from government colleges have got enhanced gratuity.

The union says that the leave encashment in aided colleges is also the liability of the management. While all the other colleges affiliated to Punjabi University, Patiala, are paying it w.e.f. January 1, 1990, the DAV College, Bathinda, which is also affiliated to the university, the leave encashment has not been implemented. Similar is the case with the DAV Colleges affiliated to the GNDU, Amritsar.

Talking about the arrears generating from the revision of grades with effect from January 1, 2006, the union says that “not a single penny has been paid to teachers of the colleges of Punjab. Arrears due to certain teachers for the revision of grade w.e.f. January 1, 1996 are still pending.”

At the convention, the union will also take up the matter of pension to private college teachers. It says that while the scheme was prepared in December 1996, it was passed in the assembly in 1999 and a notification was issued in July 2002 but even after 10 years, it has not been implemented. Certain teachers of private colleges approached the HC and the case of slated for a July 13 hearing.

“The convention is being held to deliberate and find the way and means to get our retiral benefits, the amounts of which vary from 2 lakh to 25 lakh. We request the government to streamline the university rules so that they are uniform in all colleges of the state,” said Prof Rajnish Kumar. 

Bathinda, May 9
To check the misuse of the word ‘Press’ on the vehicles by unauthorized persons in the city, the Deputy Commissioner (DC) Kamal Kishore Yadav held a meeting at the Mini-secretariat here. He also sought the views of the media persons on the issue.

The Deputy Commissioner formed a four-member committee, comprising three journalists and district public relations officer, to chalk out plans and modalities to tackle the problem.

He said that after a gap of 15 days, a meeting would be held again to finalise the modalities and give a shape to the same.

The Deputy Commissioner also said that the main aim of the administration was to prevent the misuse of the word ‘Press’ by persons who were not genuine scribes. 

Bathinda, May 9
Dr Sanjiv Kumar Aggarwal, a senior faculty member and head of the department of civil engineering and department of training and placement, Punjab Technical University Giani Zail Singh Campus, has been honoured with the Shiksha Rattan Award in recognition of his accomplishments in the field of technical education.

Governor of Punjab, Shivraj V. Patil, conferred the award on the occasion of the annual corporate summit of the All India Technical and Management Association (AITMA) held at Chandigarh.

Dr Sanjiv Aggarwal earned his degrees with distinction from the TIET Patiala, PEC Chandigarh and the Indian Institute of Technolog (IIT), Roorkee, respectively.

Bathinda, May 9
As many as 28 persons, including 18-19 unidentified miscreants, have been booked by the police for making a bid to encroach upon a piece of land using weapons at Behman Diwana village.

The complainant, Karnail Singh said the accused attacked him and threatened him with dire consequences while trying to encroach upon his land in Behman Diwana village.

A case under Sections 336, 447, 506, 511, 148, 149 of the IPC and 25, 27, 54, 59-A of the Arms Act has been registered against Jarnail Singh, Kaki Kaur, Jagjeet Singh, Karnail Singh, all resident of Behman Diwana, Maghar Singh, Bhagwan Singh, Charanjit Singh, Charanjit Singh and Karnail Das, residents of Bhagu village, Parma Singh and Mani Singh, residents of Bhagu village.