B A T H I N D A    E D I T I O N

Vacant MBBS, BDS seats
Students in state of confusion
Faridkot, September 14
As differences between the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS), the private medical and dental colleges and the medical education and research department in Punjab continued over the filling of vacant NRI quota seats for the MBBS and BDS courses, hundreds of students and their parents were in a state of confusion today during the second round of counselling by the BFUHS to fill these seats.

Posters on a wall of the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences in Faridkot inviting students to study MBBS in Europe at highly subsidised fees. A Tribune photograph

VAT hike: Fazilka traders block NH-10
Fazilka, September 14
Hundreds of footwear traders from all over the district blocked the national highway No. 10 on the outskirts of Fazilka town on the Abohar road to protest against the increase in VAT on low price shoes by the Punjab Government.

Footpath encroached, pedestrians back on road
Muktsar, September 14
Though the local Municipal Council last month constructed the first ever footpath in this historic town on the Bathinda road after clearing the encroachments, yet the pedestrians are still forced to walk on the roads because the shopkeepers have again started using the footpaths for parking vehicles and putting their belongings on it.

7 An encroached footpath on Bathinda road in Muktsar. A Tribune photograph

Vacant MBBS, BDS seats
Students in state of confusion
Balwant Garg
Tribune News Service

Faridkot, September 14
As differences between the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS), the private medical and dental colleges and the medical education and research department in Punjab continued over the filling of vacant NRI quota seats for the MBBS and BDS courses, hundreds of students and their parents were in a state of confusion today during the second round of counselling by the BFUHS to fill these seats.

The BFUHS today claimed to have filled the vacant MBBS seats in all medical colleges of Punjab, except for the 23 NRI quota seats in Adesh Medical College, Bathinda, and 18 NRI seats in PIMS, Jalandhar.

Vice-chancellor, BFUHS, Dr SS Gill said the candidates aspiring for these 41 MBBS seats, can apply either to the medical colleges concerned or the university.

After receiving the applications, these vacant seats would be jointly filled by the BFUHS and the management of these two private medical colleges. “These seats would now be filled as the management quota seats and an annual fee of Rs 4 lakh would be charged,” said Dr SS Gill.

However, as the private medical colleges are reportedly not in a mood to fill these seats as management quota seats and many agents, working for these colleges, are quoting a price of Rs 40 lakh-Rs 50 lakh per seat, so hundreds of students and their parents who had reached Faridkot today from various parts of the state were in a state of confusion.

The confusion provided an opportunity for many agents to offer seats to the aspirants in medical colleges in India and abroad at a highly ‘subsidised’ price.

A large number of posters came up on the walls of the university and buildings in the area giving ‘attractive’ offers to students to join the medical colleges in Europe without any donation and at a nominal fee.

One such poster showed an offer to study MBBS in Europe, admission guaranteed and without donation. There were even broad claims of these colleges in Europe being duly recognised by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Medical Council of India (MCI).

The fee in these colleges was shown to be as low as Rs 1,75,000 per year and even bank loan was offered.

Reacting to these posters, the VC said these posters in the medical college and the university were removed as they were “misleading” the students. 

VAT hike: Fazilka traders block NH-10
Our Correspondent

Fazilka, September 14
Hundreds of footwear traders from all over the district blocked the national highway No. 10 on the outskirts of Fazilka town on the Abohar road to protest against the increase in VAT on low price shoes by the Punjab Government.

A complete bandh was observed by the members of shoe associations in Fazilka, Abohar, Jalalabad and Guruharsahai town.

A large number of members of shoe associations, led by Ashok Gulbadhar, president from Fazilka, Kapil Bajaj, president from Jalalabad, Sanjiv Doda, president from Abohar, and Sandeep Madaan, president from Guruharsahai, after closing their shops gathered at the local clock tower and staged a district- level protest dharna.

Later, they carried out a protest rally in the local bazaars and blocked the national highway No. 10.

The vehicular traffic came to a halt on the highway and hundreds of vehicles had to wait till lifting of the dharna which continued for two hours.

While addressing the gathering, Ashok Gulbadhar said the Punjab Government had earlier charged 13 per cent VAT and surcharge on branded leather shoes and five per cent VAT plus surcharge on other low-priced varieties of footwear.

“But now, the state government has increased the VAT on the low-priced variety from five per cent to 13 per cent which is not justified,” rued Gulbadhar.

He informed that shoes below the price of Rs 500 are tax-free in the neighbouring states of Haryana and Rajasthan. He demanded that the state government should have reduced the tax on the low-priced variety from five per cent to tax free on the pattern of Haryana and Rajasthan as this variety is mostly being used by the common man.

Gulbadhar pleaded that Fazilka district is situated on the border of three states of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, and hence, there is every possibility of inflow of footwear from neighbouring states. “This is likely to ruin the business of shoe traders, particularly in Malwa belt,” said Ashok Gulbadhar.

The traders further flayed the government decision of charging Rs 800 annually from a trader holding sales tax licences on the plea of maintaining the documents of the traders by the department.

The traders demanded that the hike in VAT should be rolled back and that the decision taken in an arbitrary manner by the government be reverted.

They warned that if their demands were not conceded they would proceed on an indefinite strike and would hand over the keys of their shops to the CM in protest. 

Footpath encroached, pedestrians back on road
Archit Watts
Tribune News Service

Muktsar, September 14
Though the local Municipal Council last month constructed the first ever footpath in this historic town on the Bathinda road after clearing the encroachments, yet the pedestrians are still forced to walk on the roads because the shopkeepers have again started using the footpaths for parking vehicles and putting their belongings on it.

Raman Kumar, a social activist, said, “That the shopkeepers have encroached upon the footpath is really disappointing. The shopkeepers must clear the encroachments so that the pedestrians can use this newly-constructed footpath.”

Similarly, an octogenarian, Reshma Devi said, “It is a welcome step taken by the MC authorities. But the shopkeepers still seem to be in no mood to clear the encroachments. They must understand its worth and clear the encroachments so that old persons like me can avail of its benefit.”

Mitt Singh Brar, president, Municipal Council, said, “We will clear the encroachments in a short period, but presently we are facing the problem of manpower shortage.”