Bathinda, October 19
Already upset over 90 dharnas staged since January 2011 in front of the bus stand and huge losses incurred due to hike in the price of diesel, a section of the transporters today decided to deal with the protesters on their own.

It is learnt that some protesters from Mehma Sawai village, under the banner of the Punjab Labour Party, were trying to obstruct the exit point of the bus stand which did not go down well with the transporters and a scuffle ensued.

Many workers got injured and the windowpanes of three buses were reportedly damaged in the melee.

Earlier, the protesters waited outside the District Administrative Complex to submit a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner. However, in the evening, they decided to seal the only entry and exit point of the bus stand in a bid to get their grievances heard.

Kotwali SHO Jaspal Singh said the protesters were instigated by some local residents to block the GT Road in front of the bus stand to highlight their demand and to get media attention.

"However, the bid to block the road backfired as the transporters and bus passengers entered into heated arguments with the protesters. Irate over the transporters' stance, the protesters broke windowpanes of three buses," said Jaspal Singh, who was first to reach the spot.

The SHO said since the protesters were small in number — about 20 to 30 — the transporters and passengers tried to drive them away.

The transporters and some bus passengers said the blockade would have ultimately led to chaos on the road. It would have led to huge losses for the transporters and caused inconvenience to passengers.

Later, Civil Lines SHO Gurdev Bhalla and ASP City Patil Ketan Baliram too reached the spot with large number of policemen and dispersed the protesters and transporters.

Later talking to TNS, the ASP City said the area falls under the DSP City, Gurmeet Singh, who is deployed at Maisarkhana Mela. So, he reached the spot to ensure there is no obstruction in the smooth flow of traffic.

Baliram said the protesters were led by Gurmeet Singh, a resident of Adniya village near Malout.

The police said Gurmeet Singh has been arrested with seven others, including four women. A case will be registered against them for road obstruction, beating and damaging private property. About 10 to 15 unidentified persons, who managed to flee the scene, will also be booked, the police said.

The police said the case will be registered at the Kotwali police station on the complaint of a bus conductor, Harmandar Singh.

Meanwhile, SHO Jaspal Singh informed that the protesters had come to apprise the Deputy Commissioner of encroachment on some plots given to the poor under the Village Common Land Act, 1964. They said 28 kanal and 3 marlas were given to the poor for 164 plots. However, they were yet to get the possession of the plots.

The land where plots are located has now allegedly been acquired by some religious group which is constructing a gurdwara there with the help of the Sarpanch, the protesters had told the police.

Bathinda, October 19
The cap on number of subsidised LPG cylinders to domestic consumers, which has been limited to six in a year, also added to the fuel bill of the cars that were earlier being run on subsidised LPG.

"Taking advantage of the unlimited supply of subsidised LPG cylinders for domestic use and rising petrol prices, many owners had had got LPG-kits installed in their petrol-run cars. However, with the Centre limiting the availability of subsidised LPG cylinders to a domestic consumer, these people are now at loss," said a driving school instructor on the GT Road, Joginder Singh.

The LPG is available only at the Paramveer Petrol Station near the Adesh Medical College on the Chandigarh road.

The owner of the gas station, Paramveer Singh said the sale of LPG per day has increased to 2,500 litres. "Earlier, the sales were lower. People now have no other option but to get the fuel from gas station only," he said.

Sources said black-marketing of domestic LPG cylinders has been arrested to some extent with the introduction of the new rules. Even distributors of LPG cylinders, who had to earlier "oblige" politicians and senior government officials with additional cylinders, have now found an escape route.

"Earlier, we were forced to give cylinders no matter what happened. We are forced now also, but we tell the officers or politicians to arrange for an LPG domestic consumer booklet on whose connection we could issue an additional cylinder. Since, not everyone is able to arrange these booklets, we get an excuse," confided one of the LPG distributors in the city.

Meanwhile, the escalated cost of LPG cylinders has inflated the state budget for mid-day meals. In the initial days of notification pertaining to the capping of subsidised LPG cylinders, the government schools had to use wood to keep the hearth burning as cylinders were not being given on subsidised rates.

"Since the rates have increased now, we have decided to go frugal with using cylinders. While the cylinder is being used to prepare chapattis only, dal (lentils) and other meals are cooked on chulha (hearth)," said one of the teachers from the Raman area.

Rate list

* Every domestic consumer is entitled to 12 cylinders in a year. These include six subsidised cylinders at the cost of `434 each and six other cylinders at the price of `947.50.

* The exempted category cylinders (14 kg) meant for schools, colleges, gurdwaras, temples and other organisations working on no profit, no loss basis will be available at Rs 1,195.

* The commercial cylinder (19 kg) for use in dhabas, restaurants, hotels and other eateries is available at `1,706.

Bathinda, October 19
A BSc IInd year student of Agra (Uttar Pradesh) and his two accomplices landed behind the bars as they tried to loot gamblers near Bathinda railway station. The GRP (Government Railway Police) raided the area near the Malgodam road and arrested them along with five illegal weapons while they were about to loot gamblers near the railway station.

Though the gamblers managed to flee, the police nabbed the three looters.

The accused were arrested on a tip-off received by the GRP.

The arrested persons have been identified as Suresh Kumar, Naresh Kumar (both residents of Hisar) and Avadh Naresh, all in the age-group of 25 to 35 years.

The latter is a resident of Agra. He is a BSc student and the only son of an inspector, who had served the RPF (Railway Protection Force) in Uttar Pradesh and is no more.

The main accused, who could not be arrested by the police, has been identified as Amandeep Singh, a resident of Sirsa.

The Ferozepur range DSP, Surjit Singh Khosa of the GRP, and inspector Kuldeep Singh said two .32 bore and three .315 bore country-made pistols along with 12 magazines and 16 cartridges have been recovered from the possession of the accused persons.

Avadh came in contact with the looters who were already in touch with the main accused, Amandeep Singh. He reached Bathinda along with the other boys and had planned to loot gamblers.

The police said the accused boys took advantage of the illegal act of gamblers who would have never brought the incident of looting into the notice of the police.

The police said Amandeep Singh was also booked by the Kotwali police under Section 366 of the IPC a few years ago.

A case under Section 401 (planning to loot) of the IPC and Sections 25, 54, 59 of the Arms Act has been registered against the arrested accused and Amandeep Singh at the GRP police station.

The police said police remand of the accused persons would be sought. Further investigations would be carried out to nab the absconding accused.

Bathinda, October 19
Officials of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) today recovered 38 kilograms of poppy husk lying in one of the bogies of the Punjab Mail that reached Bathinda from Mumbai.

The train was running behind schedule and reached the Bathinda railway station at around 6.30 am. The officials noticed two small bags and a sack lying unattended in the train. The RPF said going by its smell, the material appeared to be poppy husk.

A case in this connection would be registered against unidentified persons and the material too would be examined.

Bathinda, October 19
Turban is not just a headgear but part of the rich culture heritage of Punjab. To keep this tradition alive and also encourage the school students to take pride in their rich culture, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has been organising turban tying competitions at various schools.

In continuation of this effort, a turban-tying contest was held today at the Saint Xavier's Senior Secondary School.

Twenty-three students from the primary and secondary classes were given eight minutes to tie their turban and those with the best headgear were ranked first, second and third.

Daya Singh and Punjabi writer Jaskaran Singh Sivia, who were the judges, declared Gurinder of class XII as first, Milapreet Singh of class X as second and Manvinder of class XII as third in the contest.

The organisers said 50 schools have been identified in each district of the state for holding these competitions.

Though Sehajdharis too have been allowed to participate in the competitions in view of their keen interest in tying turban, the competition is solely for the Sikh students.

"The turban tying competitions would be organised at a bigger level in the coming months and a decent sum may be given away as the prize," said Bharpur Singh, one of the organisers. He said the competition is being organised on the initiative of the SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar.

Bharpur Singh said the students have been told to keep improving the technique of tying their turbans beautifully so that they may participate in competitions in the months ahead.

Principal of the school, Father Eulalio Fernandes, congratulated the students and thanked the SGPC for holding the competition at the school. The principal assured all help to the SGPC for holding such competitions in future as well.

Bathinda, October 19
The students of the fashion technology department of Swami Vivekanand College are back from a two-day educational trip to Chandigarh and Panchkula.

Vice-principal Sharanjeet Kaur, lecturers Maninder Kaur and Reena Katoch had accompanied the students whose itinerary also included a visit to the shrine of Mansa Devi. Later, the team visited a knitting industry at Ludhiana.

The students were given information about dyeing yarn, knitting, screen printing, pattern making, cutting, stitching, packaging and finishing and also about quality maintenance at every stage of manufacturing.

They were told about the various hi-tech machines used in the manufacturing of garments such as cylindrical knit machine, dispenser, brick gun, package dyeing machine etc.

Later, the students visited the Apparel Training and Design Centre (ATDC) at Ludhiana and were told about the cylindrical bed machine, under bed trimmer (UBT) and straight knife for cutting at least 200 layers of fabric at one time.

Principal of the Apparel Training and Design Centre, Ashish Kapoor, informed the students about the various schemes of the Ministry of Textiles that are beneficial for the students. The students also visited malls at Ludhiana for market survey and visual merchandising.

Bathinda, October 19
On the second day of the 58th Punjab School Games, league matches were held in circle style kabaddi here today. In the under-19 category for girls, Moga defeated Ferozepur 42-39, Nawanshahr defeated Amritsar 50-19, Maluka sports wing, Bathinda, defeated Gurdaspur 53-20, Ferozepur defeated Faridkot 42-19 and Nawanshar defeated Mansa 26-1.

In the under-19 category for boys, Ludhiana defeated Tarn Taran 48-29, Gurdaspur defeated Mohali 39-30, Amritsar defeated Kapurthala 44-28, Patiala defeated Tarn Taran 31-17, Mohali defeated Hoshiarpur 24-20, Ropar defeated Fazilka 40-14, Bathinda defeated Mansa 34-13 and Sangrur defeated Ropar 30-10.

Harmandar Singh, a lecturer in physical education, said the super league matches will be held tomorrow and the semi-finals would be held later.

Earlier, District Education Officer (Secondary) Hardeep Singh Taggar, Deputy DEO Amarjit Kaur and Assistant Education Officer, Sports, Pavittar Kaur met the players and encouraged them to give their best in the tournament.

Bathinda, October 19
Baba Farid Senior Secondary School won the maximum number of awards at the district science fair that concluded at the MSD Senior Secondary School here today.

The theme for this year was "Science and society", which was classified into six sub-themes. These six sub-themes included industry, natural resources and their conservation, transport and communication, information and education technology, community health and environment and mathematical modelling.

From the senior secondary section in sub-theme I, Jagdeep Singh from Baba Farid School, Sonali Arora from RMM DAV School, Raman, and Akashdeep Singh from Government Senior Secondary School, Multania, secured the first, second and third places.

In sub-theme II, Sukhanchand from Baba Farid School, Loverpreet Singh from Government Senior Secondary School, Dyalpura Mirza and Parminder Singh from RMM DAV School, Raman, bagged the first, second and third places.

In sub-theme III, Sahaspreer Singh from Baba Farid School, Sukhvir Kaur from MSD Senior Secondary School, Raman Mandi and Manpreet Kaur from Government Senior Secondary School, Balianwali, got the first, second and third places.

In sub-theme IV, Gaurav Garg from Baba Farid School, Sumandeep Kaur from Government Senior Secondary School, Dyalpura Mirza, and Hittu from MSD Senior Secondary School, Raman, won the first, second and third places.

In sub-theme number V, Manpreet from Government Senior Secondary School, Dyalpura Mirza, Veerpal Kaur from Government Senior Secondary School, Jassi Pau Wali, and Parwinder Kaur from Baba Farid School, Deon, bagged the first, second and third places.

In sub-theme VI, Davinder Singh from MSD Senior Secondary School, Raman, Mandeep Tayal from Baba Farid School, Deon, and Upinderjit Singh from Government Senior Secondary School, Dyalpura Mirza, secured the first, second and third places.

From the elementary section, Astha from Bharatiya Model Senior Secondary School, Rampura, Parwinder Kaur from Government Senior Secondary School, Mehraj, and Kulwinder Kaur from Government Middle School, Lal Singh Basti, got the first, second and third places.

In teaching aid, Amanpreet Kaur, science mistress from Government Senior Secondary School, Jassi Pau Wali, won the first position while two faculty members of Baba Farid School, Gagandeep Kaur, a lecturer in zoology and Mandeep Singh, a lecturer in chemistry, secured the second and third places.

In the rural section, Veerpal Kaur from Government Senior Secondary School, Jassi Pau Wali, was awarded the trophy.

In the high school section sub-theme I, Ashima from DPS Bathinda, Manpreet Singh from Government High School, Dikh and Simarjit Kaur from Government Adarsh School, Canal Colony, bagged the first, second and third places.

In sub-theme II, Chirag Bansal from Bharatiya Model School, Rampura, Jaskaran Singh from St. Soldier Scghool, Talwandi Sabo and Parminderjit Singh from Government Model School, Natheha, bagged the first, second and third places.

In sub-theme III, Kulvir Singh from Government Senior Secondary School, Chak Fateh Singh Wala, Komaljot Kaur from Government High School, Bibiwala and Amandeep Singh from Government High School, Hamirgarh, secured the first, second and third places.

In sub-theme IV, Arshdeep Khan from St. Soldier School, Talwandi Sabo, Jaspreet Singh from Government High School, Nehianwala and Sukhpreet Kaur from Government High School, Bibiwala, won the first, second and third places.

In sub-theme V, Jagmohan Singh from Government Senior Secondary School, Kotha Guru, Shubhreen Kaur Rajpal from Silver Oaks, Bathinda and Harkamal Phool Kaur from Government High School, Bangi Rukku, bagged the first, second and third places.

In sub-theme VI, Gurditta Singh from Senior Secondary School, Gulabgarh, Dipali Gupta from Government Senior Secondary School (Girls), Mehraj and Anmol Singh from Government Senior Secondary School, Multania, got the first, second and third places.

In slogan writing contest, Jagdeep Singh from Government High School, Beer Behman, Jaspreet Kaur from Government Senior Secondary School (Girls), Mehraj and Janamjit Singh from Government Senior Secondary School, Bhokhra, secured the first, second and third places.

In essay writing competition, Amandeep Bibi from Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Maluka, Kirandeep Kaur from Government Senior Secondary School (Girls), Mehraj and Sukhvir Kaur from Government High School, Harraipur, won the first, second and third places.

In rural secondary section, Dipali from Government Senior Secondary School (Girls), Mehraj, was awarded the trophy.

Shyam Sunder, one of the organizers, said the first winner in each sub-theme from the senior secondary and high school section, two rural winners, one each from the elementary section, teaching section, slogan writing and essay writing competitions, will represent the district at the state-level science fair to be held at Baba Farid School, Bathinda, from November 5 to 8.

Bathinda, October 19
The Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA) has organized an exhibition of solar appliances at the 100-feet road opposite the Clock Tower.

To popularise the energy conserving appliances, PEDA is offering subsidy on solar geysers, which were an instant hit with the visitors to the exhibition. Besides solar geysers, solar inverters and solar cookers were also on display.

District in-charge, PEDA, Sukhwinder Singh said the main aim behind holding the exhibition is to make people aware of the benefits of solar energy and its use in daily life. "People generally believe that solar devices are very expensive. But when calculated properly, the cost of the device proves to be less than the electrical devices," he said.

The exhibition also helped PEDA to bring all the dealers in solar appliances under one roof. Today, five dealers took part in the exhibition. Sukhwinder Singh added that it would also help in bringing about uniformity in the prices of solar appliances available with the dealers.

The market price of a solar geyser is Rs 17,000 per 100 litre on which PEDA offers Rs 4,500 as subsidy. He said around 500 people visited the exhibition today and orders for many geysers were placed. "We don't know how many orders will actually materialize, but the response is encouraging," he added.

Solar inverters are also available with Rs 145 being charged per watt. The existing electricity inverters can be converted into solar ones at the cost of Rs 30,000. "The solar panels used in these devices last up to 25 years.

Solar cookers are available for Rs 3,500. Sukhwinder Singh said subsidy on solar cookers is expected in the next two to three months. He said solar cookers have an edge over the conventional pressure cooker as food is cooked slowly on it without any loss of nutrients.

The exhibition will continue till October 20.

Fact file

* Aim behind the exhibition is to make people aware of the benefits of solar energy and its use in daily life.

* The exhibition has helped PEDA bring all the dealers in solar appliances under one roof. It would also help in bringing about uniformity in prices of solar appliances.

* The market price of a solar geyser is Rs 17,000 per 100 litre on which PEDA offers Rs 4,500 as subsidy. Solar inverters are also available with Rs 145 being charged per watt. The existing electricity inverters can be converted into solar ones at the cost of Rs 30,000.