Bathinda, September 16
The special trainer teachers, working in the state under the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), today staged a massive dharna against the state government for relieving them from duty.

As many as 1894 trainers were appointed in the state to teach the out-of-school children in the age-group of 7-14 years. These teachers covered 13,958 children in 21 districts of the state. Most of these children belonged to poor sections of society and some of them were even ragpickers.

The special trainers are not only supposed to motivate these children to attend school and their parents to send their wards to school. They also have to make sure that they attend a one-year bridge-course and are admitted to the mainstream schools located near their residence.

The president of the union, Davinder Singh Muktsar, said the government had issued orders to relieve the trainers by September 20. "The government wants to reduce its expenses on education and has issued orders to relieve all of us. No proper decision was taken over the fate of the 13,958 children belonging to the poor sections of society," he added.

In lieu of their services, the teachers are drawing a mere Rs 3,500. Davinder said the government has drafted a new policy according to which centres having less than 10 students would be closed and all students would be admitted to the nearest mainstream school even before their bridge-course is complete.

The teachers sat on dharna today in the afternoon for two hours at the bus stand and raised slogans. The dharna led to blockade of traffic on the GT Road. Traffic had to be diverted from the civil station to Power House Road and Ajit Road and vice-versa.

The district administration asked the agitating teachers to suspend their dharna. The teachers have been told to meet the Bathinda Deputy Commissioner tomorrow at 10 am. The date of their meeting with the CM would be decided at the meeting.

Also, around 400 special trainers from districts of Mansa, Gurdaspur and Muktsar, who were to be relieved on September 17, would not be relieved now. "Their relieving has been kept on hold," said the office-bearers of the union.

Bathinda, September 16
Medical super specialists are shying away from serving in the government sector leaving the major projects of the state and central governments in the lurch.

The latest to fall victim to this is the non-communicable disease (NCD) centres opened in four districts of the state. The Bathinda NCD centre, which is the first to take off in the state, is in dire need of one more super specialist. The centre has two posts of super specialists for which one doctor has been appointed and the search for another is on.

The NCD centre's cancer component has been introduced at the Mansa Civil Hospital too. But the health authorities are yet to find a super specialist for the job.

The dearth of specialists is largely due to the poor salary structure as well as the working environment that is mired in red-tape. A super specialist is being paid Rs 50,000 at these NCD centres, while the same doctor earns above Rs 2 lakh in the private sector. "To find a super specialist in the backwaters of Bathinda and Mansa is impossible. The salary of Rs 50,000 is too meagre an amount to lure these doctors from Ludhiana or Jalandhar, make them quit their jobs and serve the people here," revealed one of the specialists at the Civil Hospital, Bathinda.

Doctors suggested that the state government first needs to prepare a separate cadre of super specialists with a different system of promotions and seniority. "A doctor with a postgraduate degree and that with a super specialization degree are being treated as equal. There is no difference in the duties assigned, which is unfair," added another doctor.

To add to the woes, works like conducting post-mortem, dealing with medico-legal cases and VIP duties take away the charm and dedication from the job. Unavailability of exclusive and dedicated paramedics is also another reason why the super specialists are not keen to join the government service.

"At times, when we don't have even enough number of nurses to work, finding exclusive paramedic staff sounds like a cruel joke. But a super specialist has to be armed with all these things to deliver as per the requirements of community," pointed another doctor.

Meanwhile, during his recent visit to the NCD centre at Bathinda, the state coordinator for the non-communicable diseases (NCD) scheme, Dr Deepak Bhatia had asserted that the department was hopeful of finding super specialists for the NCD centres soon.

Bathinda, September 16
Former municipal councillor from the Paras Ram Nagar area, Vijay Kumar, is a real maverick.

After having registered his protest in an unusual way sometime back against the inadequate sewerage facility by plying a boat on a waterlogged street, Vijay Kumar today staged protest against the UPA government at the Centre for restricting the number of subsidized LPG cylinders every year to six per family besides increasing the price of diesel.

"The day is not far off when the use of LPG cylinders would be restricted to only the rich. Instead of controlling their own high consumption in the form of multiple LPG connections, the ministers at the Centre are busy downsizing the rights of the common man," he said. The former councillor sat on dharna at Paras Ram Nagar Chowk with a noose around his neck. Thie the other end of the rope was tied to an LPG cylinder on which he stood, signifying the way in which the increase in fuel prices and the ban on the use of subsidised LPG cylinders would sound the death knell for the common man.

Vijay Kumar also put up a flex measuring 8 feet by 16 feet, mentioning the A to Z of different scams that have rocked the country during the tenure of the UPA Government. Starting from the first alphabet to the last, it mentioned all kinds of scams including the latest Coalgate scam.

The flex drew the attention of the people living in and around the Paras Ram Nagar Chowk area. By evening, a large number of people were spotted making a stopover by the flex to go through all the alphabets mentioning the scams.

Vijay Kumar also marked his protest by drawing posters bearing the pictures of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and former Telecom minister A Raja with the tagline, "Dil Kale Hain To Kya Hua Koele Wale Hain."

All the couplets and taglines were the result of a month of hard work and search on the internet. "A month ago, I bought a computer to update myself with the latest happenings. It was then that I decided to come out with something extensive that would encompass all kinds of scams and raise the voice of the people," he said. The flex was designed on

Friday after spending seven hours and was put up at the Paras Ram Chowk by Saturday afternoon. Vijay Kumar, who is known to raise the issues in a novel way, claims to have staged ten major protests in one way or the other.

Fact file

* In 2011, Vijay ate grass protesting against the hike in the prices of cereals and pulses; He rode on a mule protesting against the hike in fuel prices

* In 2010, Vijay Kumar burnt the effigy of Ravan depicting him as the monster of inflation.

* For Sunday’s protest, Vijau Kumar said he bought a computer to update himself with the latest happenings. He decided to come out with something extensive that would encompass all kinds of scams and raise the voice of the people. 

Bathinda, September 16
Swerving between rickshaws and auto-rickshaws, blaring horns with the conductors shouting out the name of the next place of stoppage, the overcrowded buses are a common sight in Bathinda.

The buses, bursting at their seams, with passengers forced to hang out from the door frames in the most extreme conditions, filling all available space in the aisle, is also a familiar scene on the roads here.

Though every ordinary bus has 52 seats and their owners pay the lump sum annual tax on the basis of this sitting capacity, there is no one to question these overloaded buses as their owners are politically influential transporters in the state.

The sight of the intrepid travellers perched atop the overcrowded buses, risking their lives, continues uninterrupted.

In hot summer days, particularly during the evening hours, commuters can be spotted on the roof of the buses, sitting cross-legged. Many a time, they have to defend themselves from the low-lying branches of the trees and the overhead high voltage electric wires.

Some times, serious tragedies take place due to these electric wires and tree branches. In August 2011, two youths died of electrocution in Bathinda while riding atop a bus after they came in contact with live electric wires.

But the authorities rarely react. "We never receive any complaint for taking action," said a senior official in the transport office at Bathinda.

It is obvious that the passengers do not fully comprehend the dangers when they cling to a handle on the side or enjoy the fresh air on the roof of the bus. Their chances of injury or even death increases manifold, said the official.

But the passengers do not cling to the door handles in the buses just to get a whiff of fresh air. As these overcrowded buses do not even have space to stand in the aisle, so clinging to the door handle or climbing on to the rooftop is the only option left, said Tirath Ram, a daily commuter from Bathinda to Jaitu. "In most private buses, four persons adjusted on a seat meant for three, is so common that most of us literally hang off the seats," said Dilbag Singh, another daily commuter.

Moreover, the bus drivers and conductors keep inviting more and more passengers at every stoppage and many a time, there is no space even in the passage. The elderly and the small children often have to sit on their bags in the aisle.

Standing in the buses while travelling, the passengers have the experience of bumping their head against a fellow passenger when the driver stops the bus abruptly to pick up more passengers.

In general, the human body cannot survive the sudden deceleration involved in a motor-vehicle crash, even in low-speed crashes. And in case the person is in a standing position in a moving vehicle, the abrupt use of brakes is highly dangerous, said Manmohan Luthra, a retired senior transport official in Chandigarh.

Bathinda, September 16
Under the guidelines of the district and sessions judge SK Aggarwal, the District Legal Services Authority today organised a legal aid camp at the Government Senior Secondary School in village Sivian.

The seminar was presided over by advocate Kapil Kumar Bansal, who informed the people in the vilage about the importance of free legal aid and the functioning of the Lok Adalat, legal aid clinics and related laws.

He further said free legal services are meant for the poor and weaker sections of society and they must avail of its benefits.

As per the rules, a member of the Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe, beggar, woman, child, disabled person, victim of disaster, ethnic violence, flood, drought, or an undertrial in custody, an industrial workman or a person whose income is less than Rs 1 lakh per annum, can avail of the free legal 
services.

A proforma to avail of the free legal services along with books and pamphlets was also distributed among the villagers at Sivian by the officials.

Bathinda, September 16
The Agriculture Technology Management Agency (ATMA) would organize a Kisan Mela at the Kheti Bhawan on September 18.

Chief Agriculture Officer, Rajinder Singh Brar, said farmers would be given training in sowing, processing of crops besides the use of latest farming machinery. The fair would be inaugurated by CPS Sarup Chand Singla. DC KK Yadav would preside over it. Joint director, agriculture, Dr Nirankar Singh would inform about new schemes. — TNS

Bathinda, September 16
The 45th Engineers' Day was celebrated by the local centre of the Institution of Engineers. Engineers from the Military Engineering Services, National Fertilizers Limited, Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant, Guru Hargobind Thermal Plant, Punjab Technical University Giani Zail Singh Campus and other engineering colleges and state services attended the event.

The chief guest on the occasion was Brigadier Rajeev Chaudhry. Eminent engineers of the region including the chairman of the centre, Brigadier SS Kahlon, chief engineer, Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant, HP Singh, Director, PTU GZS Campus, Dr JS Hundal, executive director, NFL, KB Verma, Brigadier Arun Thakur, retired engineers-in-chief, PSPCL, RS Dhillon and Naranjan Singh were also present.

The celebrations commenced by paying rich floral tributes to the greatest engineer that the nation has produced, Bharat Ratna Sir M Visvesvaraya, whose birth anniversary on September 15 every year is celebrated as Engineers' Day.

The institution chose the theme,"Climate responsive technology for inclusive growth and sustainable development" this year keeping in mind the challenges posed by the unpredictable climate today.

The engineering faculty felt it is its prime role is to synergize the efforts for development and the growth of the people of the country. Developing and adopting climate responsive, area-specific and need-based technology, using more renewable energy resources, conserving energy and water for improving the quality of life were cited as the main objectives. The dignitaries present on the occasion echoed the same concern at the function.

A souvenir containing essays on the theme and technical articles pertaining to contemporary technologies was released on the occasion. Honorary secretary RK Verma presented a report on the centre's activities during the last one year.

Various artists presented a cultural programme. The function concluded with the chief guest distributing mementoes to the authors of technical articles and artists at the cultural show.

Bathinda, September 16
It is not just the beauty of the lakes in Bathinda along with its multiplexes and shopping malls that are proving to be an attraction for the youngsters from nearby towns including Muktsar, Gidderbaha, Malout, Abohar and Kotkapura.

The availability of liquor at low prices as compared to the nearby towns is also proving to be a huge draw.

A random visit to liquor shops in the city revealed that the prices of beer and whisky were less here as compared to the adjoining towns and youngsters from these areas were seen making a beeline for it on Saturday evening.

Apart from it, the mushrooming growth of "illegal" taverns in the city, where liquor is served to Bacchus lovers, besides the dhabas and other eating joints, is also giving the visiting youths a high.

One can easily witness a number of persons, mostly youngsters, enjoying liquor at dhabas located outside the railway station, at Goniana road and in the area near the canal on the outskirts of the city, in the evening.

Even the salesmen at the liquor shops accept the fact that their clientele includes a number of people from the nearby towns who often come on weekends to purchase their weekly stock.

A salesman at a liquor shop located on Goniana road, said, "Usually on Saturday evenings and Sunday, we get a number of customers from the nearby towns, because the price of liquor is higher there. There is a monopoly of liquor traders in the nearby towns. But here, we face competition. We sell a bottle of 650 ml of beer at a price ranging between Rs 80-90, which is available for nearly Rs 120 in the nearby towns."

The Bacchus lovers also cited a similar reason behind their love for the city.

"After every hectic week of work, we prefer to visit Bathinda to see a movie in a multiplex and buy our quota of liquor. It is cheaper here, so why should we pay extra money for it in our own city," said Dinesh Bansal, a resident of Muktsar.

It may be mentioned here that in the recent past, the owners of liquor vends were selling a bottle of beer at a price ranging between Rs 65-75 here, which was available in the nearby towns for Rs 110-Rs 120.

Fact file
A bottle of beer, which is available at Rs 110-120 in the other nearby towns including Muktsar, Malout, Gidderbaha, Abohar and Kotkapura, is easily available at Rs 80-90 in Bathinda. Similarly, there is a huge difference in the price of whisky. The difference in the price of one bottle is nearly 15-20 per cent. Liquor traders say there is competition between them, but in the nearby towns, liquor traders have a monopoly and charge extra amount from the customers.

Bathinda, September 16
The sleuths of the Excise and Taxation Department today claimed to have caught a transporter, his driver and seized a truck loaded with grocery items, while entering the state from Haryana via the Doomwali barrier for not having the required bills of the loaded material.