Fact file

* The campus will start a regular PhD programme with scholarship for research scholars in five engineering disciplines, namely, computer science and engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, civil engineering and textile engineering.

* Two students from each discipline will be selected for the PhD programme every year. Besides the PhD, the centre will have a summer school and a winter school for short-term faculty development programmes. Later on, the component of the Curriculum Development Cell activities to help improve classroom teaching and learning will also be added.

* PTU GZS is also setting up a Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP-II) of the Government of India. It has got Rs 10 crore in grant from the World Bank under the programme for strengthening the institutions to improve the learning outcome and employability of graduates. A proposal for development assistance of Rs 65 crore from the UGC for the PTU GZS Campus, Bathinda, has also been submitted to Union Ministry for Human Resource Development.

Bathinda, September 9
Local residents, pedestrians and morning walkers have joined hands to get rid of the parthenium weed, popularly known as congress grass, from the area adjoining the Sirhind Canal near National Colony.

Residents removing the congress grass along the Sirhind canal near National Colony on Sunday morning. Photo by writer

The residents, with their indigenous tools, were seen removing the grass in the wee hours today along the Sirhind Canal.

The residents said the grass causes problems to those passing by the canal. Away from traffic and pollution, the over 5 km path, adjoining the canal, is a favourite of the morning walkers and cyclists.

People weeding out the grass stopped the morning walkers and cyclists and urged them to extend a helping hand in destroying the grass. They said the grass causes allergy and leads to constant itching. It also causes respiratory malfunction and dermatitis. "So far, we have cleared more than one kilometer area of the track and the rest would be completed in the next few days or so. Last year too, people volunteered to clear the grass to get rid of the problems," said a local resident.

Residents said the grass grows fast during the monsoon and creates problems for the people. "It is called congress grass as it grows in groups. Every plant produces nearly one lakh seeds and flowers during the monsoon season," said Happy, a morning walker.

The residents said the staff of the forest department or the Municipal Corporation can destroy the grass in a day or two using better tools but no action has been initiated by them despite repeated requests.

The doctors at the Bathinda Civil Hospital said they receive cases of acute allergy due to the congress grass and people are advised to weed it out to get rid of the problem.

Bathinda, September 9
There has been no let down in incidents of snatching in the city. Days after a mob bashed up two snatchers in Namdev Nagar, the crime has not subsided. In a fresh incident that took place today, 

Harbans Kaur of Guru Gobind Singh Nagar said two unidentified youths snatched away her gold ear-rings when she was purchasing vegetables near her house. The woman sustained injuries in her ear because of the snatching. The snatchers managed to flee from the spot. A case under sections 382 and 34 of the IPC has been registered against the accused at the Thermal police station.

Bathinda, September 9
Bathinda district has not received the supply of Vitamin A syrup since July this year. Vitamin A, essential for children up to five years of age, is helpful in controlling night blindness among kids and building their immune system.

It is to be administered to children up to five years of age, every six months.

A total of nine doses are administered.

"We haven't got supplies for the months of July, August and September. In fact, the supply has been erratic for the past one year," disclosed doctors at the Civil Hospital.

The consumption at the Women and Children Hospital, Bathinda, alone is 125 vials per month. Under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), only 85 kits were received for 136 health sub-centres in the district.

"However, we rationalised the medicines and ensured to give it to every child visiting different centres. For the past two months, neither the syrup is being supplied nor there is any communication as to when it would be made available," the doctors added.

While urban residents can get the syrup at private hospitals or from chemists, those living in the rural belt are at the receiving end. The situation is grim in the areas where a single government health centre is serving a large number of people and there is no other medical facility nearby.

Pediatricians working in government health centres said for the past two months, cases of night blindness too have started pouring in. "Most of the children coming to me are around three years old and from slum areas," added another pediatrician.

Doctors said though Vitamin A could be derived from balanced diet too, the poor neither had access to the balanced diet nor were they aware about it.

Meanwhile, District School Program Officer Dr Kundan Lal said not only Bathinda, but other districts too were facing the same problem. "The matter is in the notice of higher officials," he added.

Milk, eggs, fortified cereals, dark orange-coloured vegetables such as carrots, sweet potatoes and pumpkin, and oranges are rich in Vitamin A.

Bathinda, September 9
The DAV Colleges Retired Teachers Association (Punjab) will oppose the candidature of nominees of the DAV Colleges Managing Committee to Panjab University senate elections to be held on September 23.

Retired teachers have decided to take this step as means of protesting against the DAV Colleges Management for not clearing their long-pending demands.

During a state-level executive meeting convened here today, the general secretary of the association, Satish Chander, criticised the committee for allegedly not paying the revised gratuity. "We are still being paid Rs 3.5 lakh as gratuity while teachers from other colleges are paid the enhanced amount of Rs 10 lakh," he said.

Press secretary NK Gosain added that institutes does not pay for leave encashment stating the reason that it does not have enough funds. "Despite the money collected, the DAV management is not paying retiral benefits. Even the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered that it is mandatory to pay retiral benefits to retired teachers before getting the grant-in-aid from the state government," said president of the association Rajnish Kumar. He criticised the DPI (C), Punjab, for not stopping grant-in-aid of these colleges as envisaged by the High Court.

Teachers alleged that the past 10 years saw the best administered institutions being turned into the most exploitative, anti-student, anti-teacher and anti-employee institutions.

They alleged that principals of these colleges are diverting lot of students' money to the DAV college management in the name of administrative charges.

Colleges, which claim to be suffering from fund crunch, afford to send huge sums of money to the management whereas they are supposed to meet the expenses of five per cent of deficit in colleges and even provide other funds to support colleges in providing the best education to its students.

Rajnish Kumar added that colleges have been charging huge sums of money from students in different names. For instance, in one of the DAV colleges in the Malwa region, a sum of Rs 5,160 per student per annum is being charged as matching fund.

"Principals are also enjoying unlimited financial powers so far as their personal expenditure like TA/DA, unlimited use of college phone and car (even for their personal use) and provision of all sorts of domestic help — one full time and four to five part-time — to name a few," he added.

Press secretary NK Gosain urged the DAV Colleges Management and the state government to immediately release the retrial benefits of teachers such as enhanced gratuity, leave encashment, arrears of revised pay-scales with effect from January 1, 2006, and arrears of contributory provident fund on the total salary. He lamented that on the one hand, they are deprived of pensionary benefits while on the other, the authorities concerned are delaying their long-pending 'genuine' payments under one pretext or the other.

Bathinda, September 9
The Radcliife School, Bathinda, organised a dance competition "Freedom Flame" to tap the talent in the district.

Along with the students of the Radcliffe School, a number of participants from other schools showed their dancing abilities. Students of various age-groups performed on the occasion.

A renowned choreographer from Bollywood, Micheal Mathew, who is an expert in Latin dance, judged the performances. The selected students will now be trained at Chandigarh and later, they would exhibit their talent in the Dance India Dance competition.

Principal of the school Sujit Jana praised the performance and dedication of the students. He handed over the prizes to the winners as well as participants.

Bathinda, September 9
The Best Price modern wholesale stores are organising a clothes collection-for-donation drive for underprivileged people across eight states in India. The programme is being held in association with a Vastra Samman project of an NGO, the Goonj, with the Gati KWE as the logistics partner.

In a press statement issued here today, a spokesperson of the store stated that the initiative aimed at helping poor and needy people.

The initiative is being organised from September 1—30 across the Bharti Walmart's 17 Best Price stores in Punjab, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, J&K, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

The Best Price store employees will participate in the drive and will encourage others to contribute as well.

The collected clothes will be sent to the Goonj, who will use these to motivate under-privileged people to develop infrastructure in their communities like repairing of roads, digging of wells and cleaning villages among other possible activities. As a part of the programme, people will be encouraged to do shramdaan (community labor) and get collected clothes in return as reward.

The Gati, which deals in express cargo delivery, will collect donated clothes from the Best Price stores and deliver them to the Goonj collection centers, which will finally distribute them among under-privileged and economically distressed communities. — TNS

Bathinda, September 9
The police has booked Naresh Kumar, Raju, Hansi and around 12 unidentified persons for beating up a resident of Parasram Nagar here.

In a complaint to the police, one Ashwini Yadav said he was talking to his mother-in-law at a shop in her house when the accused attacked them with sharp-edged weapons.

The police has registered a case against the accused persons under Sections 452, 323 and 34 of the IPC at the Canal Colony police station.

Motorcycle stolen
The police has registered a case against unidentified persons for stealing a motorcycle worth nearly Rs 40,000.

In a complaint to the police, one Harmandar Kaur of Partap Nagar said that her son's bike was parked near the Pokharmal Canteen and was stolen by some unidentified person.

A case under Section 379 of the IPC has been registered against unidentified persons at the Canal Colony police station.

Four booked
Four persons, including a couple, have been booked by the police for inflicting serious injuries upon a resident of Bangi Kalan village in the district.

In a complaint to the police, Jatinder Singh of Bangi Kalan village said he was severely beaten up by the accused near the Fauji Chowk and later bundled into a vehicle. He was thrown out near Mashana village.

The police has registered a case against Chhinder Singh, his wife Hardeep Kaur of Rama, Sunny of Dabwali and an unidentified person.

A case under Sections 364, 324, 323 and 34 of the IPC has been registered against the accused at the Civil Lines police station.

One arrested for stealing jeep trolley
The police has arrested a person for stealing a jeep trolley of one Sandeep Singh, a resident of Adarsh Nagar.

In a complaint to the police, Sandeep said his trolley was stolen by some unidentified persons few days ago and it was recovered from the possession of one Sukhjeet Singh of Sucha Singh Nagar.

The police has registered a case against Sukhjeet under Sections 379 and 411 of the IPC at the Thermal police station.