Bathinda, December 3
The door-to-door cancer detection survey in the rural areas has been hit in Bathinda district after the Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers went on strike today.

Launched on December 1, the drive could not take off properly as Saturday and Sunday were holidays. The inaugural ceremony of the Kabaddi World Cup held on December 1 at Bathinda also affected the smooth beginning of the exercise.

Today, all the 800 ASHA workers in the district suspended work demanding that their incentive of Rs 200, fixed for cancer detection survey, be increased.

Members of the ASHA Workers and Facilitators Union said they are supposed to go from door-to-door for a period of 15 days but would get only Rs 200. Demanding a hike, they held a dharna outside the office of the civil surgeon and later submitted a memorandum to him.

The ASHA workers accused the Punjab government of exploiting them. They threatened that if the fee for the survey is not increased to Rs 2,000, ASHA workers throughout the state will boycott the cancer survey, which is supposed to play an important role in the preparation of a cancer registry and plans to deal with the disease that has spread its tentacles in the state.

"While we are being paid peanuts, the government has spent lakhs on advertisements and propaganda in the media. We are considered nothing but puppets," said state president Amarjit Kaur Kammoana.

Civil Surgeon Dr Ajay Sahni said he was aware of the problem. "We have conveyed the ASHA workers' grievances to the health department officials at Chandigarh. We have now got written instructions from the head office to make alternate arrangements and depute our own staff for conducting the cancer survey," he said.

ASHA workers, Sukhdev Singh Faridkot, Chhinderpal Kaur, Shinderpal Kaur, Harbans Kaur, Nachhattar Kaur, Rupinder Kaur and Sukhdeep Kaur, were also present among the protesters.

Fact file
Each volunteer will cover 25 to 30 houses in a day. The surveyors will collect data about people who died of cancer in the last five years. They will carry a questionnaire with 12 queries related to the cancer patient and will also make the people aware about the symptoms and treatment of cancer, laying emphasis on early detection of the disease.

Bathinda, December 3
Special trainer teacher Jasbir Kaur from Gurdaspur, who has been on hunger strike for the last six days, was today taken to the Civil Hospital after her condition deteriorated.

Late in the evening, Sub-divisional Magistrate (SDM) Ramvir, SHO Gurdev Singh Bhalla and a team of doctors took away Jasbir Kaur to the Civil Hospital and promised the Special Trainers Teachers' Union a meeting with the education minister tomorrow at 3 pm.

However, the leaders of union said Jasbir Kaur had been forcibly taken away. Now, Paramjit Singh from Kapurthala has gone on hunger strike in her place. "If the matter is not resolved by tomorrow, we will continue with our stir," he said.

Earlier in the morning, a team of doctors today examined Jasbir Kaur who has lost 6 kg weight and is said to be serious. Jasbir Kaur had twice become unconscious during the hunger strike.

As the condition of Jasbir Kaur deteriorated, the administration swung into action. Special trainers were convinced that their meeting with the education minister will be held tomorrow at 3 pm.

Today was the 39th day of the agitation and dharna. The district administration had repeatedly assured the agitators of granting an audience with the chief minister and the education minister, but no such meeting materialized.

Even today, the union members were supposed to meet the chief minister but no such meeting was held. Earlier, a meeting was held with a panel under the chief minister was held on November 17 wherein the Chief Minister agreed to their demands. But any notification regarding the acceptance of the demands was yet to be issued.

The leaders of union present included Jagdeep Singh Faridkot, Gurpratap Singh Tarn Taran, Sony Moga, Harpinder Kaur Ludhiana, Jagdeep Kaur Ludhiana and others.

Bathinda, December 3
The Sarv Shiksha Abhiyaan (SSA) and the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyaan (RMSA) Teachers' Union have decided to hold a state-level rally in support of their demands at Bathinda on December 16.

The union will also hold a protest on December 8 during which they will burn an effigy of the state government. This was decided at a meeting of the union held at Teachers' Home today.

The teachers are demanding the implementation of the revised pay scale from April 1 this year, policy for regularization of services, cancellation of cases registered against 59 teachers, maternity leave for six months, medical leaves and other facilities. The president of the union Manjit Singh was among those present on the occasion.

Bathinda, December 3
Fashion shows are popular for over the top clothes with little wearability quotient, fights for the front row seats, designers with a stiff upper lip and a way of killing time for those who have well, nothing better to do.

However, the fashion show, organised in the city on Sunday night, was different. When Blenders Pride Fashion Tour came to Bathinda to host its fifth show in the state, it raised its voice against a cause.

The fashion tour, which is being presented by Audi Ludhiana in association with the Nanhi Chhaan Foundation, aims to create awareness, raise a voice against the menace of female foeticide and to save the girl child.

Dressed in fashionable and largely wearable clothes, models sashayed down the ramp showcasing the creations by fashion designers Sulakshana Monga, Sumit Dasgupta, Kirti Rathore and Ashfaque Ahmed.

The female models gave a cold shoulder to the chill in the air as they walked in the off-shoulder dresses and creations with long slits. Another lot of creations, comprising lehengas and traditional attire, catered to the wedding and the festive season.

Heavy bridal wear, with generous use of net, georgette, brocade, velvet, gota-patti, appliqué and lace work, got a round of applause from the audience.

Male models walked down the ramp in casual as well as formal wear. An interesting mix of casual and the rustic was seen when models dressed in denim and T-shirts wrapped shawls around their shoulders.

The Bathinda fashion show was the fifth in the state. Shows were earlier held in Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar and Patiala. A grand finale of the fashion tour will be organised in Chandigarh.

This year, Nanhi Chhaan Foundation has partnered with event organisers, Glamorouz Media, to hold the fashion show. The event also aims to provide a platform to the aspiring models in the state. 

Bathinda, December 3
Mobile phones were confiscated from two jail inmates during a checking at the Bathinda Central Jail.

The jail superintendent conducted a checking of barrack number 1 at around 7 am on November 24. A Nokia mobile phone was recovered from an inmate, Bogha Singh, a resident of Hamirgarh village.

The superintendent also conducted a checking on November 26 and a Samsung mobile was recovered from an inmate, Rajiv Kumar, a resident of Ludhiana.

Police have registered cases against the accused.

Bathinda, December 3
While there has been about 100 per cent increase in the price of fertilizers and other inputs for wheat crop in the last one year, no increase in the minimum support price (MSP) of the crop has left the farmers and traders sulking. With no change in price index for wheat for the 2012-13 season, the price continues to be Rs 1,285 per quintal, the MSP for last year.

The price of diesel has gone up from Rs 36.70 per litre to Rs 45.96 per litre in the last one year.

The rate of super phosphate (phosphorus) registering about 100 per cent rise (increasing from Rs 205 per 50 kg bag to Rs 415 per bag), the market price for potash (an alkaline potassium compound ) witnessed a steep rise from Rs 220 per bag to Rs 600 and the rates of DAP (diammonium phosphate — a highly concentrated nitrogen-phosphorus fertilizer) also showing a whopping jump in the market price (increasing from Rs 467.50 per 50 kg bag to Rs 1,275 per bag) in the last one year.

All these are necessary and basic fertilizers and inputs for the wheat crop.

In view of the exorbitant rise in the cost of inputs, even Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar sought an increase in the MSP of wheat when he visited Ludhiana to participate in the seventh national conference of Krishi Vigyan Kendras.

Even renowned farm scientist MS Swaminathan pitched for an increase in the MSP of wheat by Rs 165 to Rs 1,450 per quintal for next year to cover the rise in the cost of production due to an increase in the price of inputs.

"But the government decided to ignore these recommendations," said Tarsem Lal Kataria, a flour mill owner in Bathinda.

"The Commission for Agriculture Costs and Prices (CACP) had recommended to the Agriculture Ministry to keep the support price at last year's level in the wake of surplus stocks. But it is surprising that while the country claimed to have surplus stock of wheat, there is still scarcity of foodgrain for the poor," said Mantar Singh Brar, a parliamentary secretary.

Even farm workers and those who have got land on lease are disappointed. "Last year, I had got farm land on an annual contract for Rs 38,000 per acre. But this year, the lease money was increased to Rs 42,000. Many farmers like me would eventually end up with almost no profit. Rather, it will leave them with debts due to the high increase in the cost of inputs and no increase in MSP," said Zila Singh, a farmer who has 12 acres of land on lease.

Though the CACP has offered a bonus of Rs 40 per quintal, farmers feel it is not enough.

"If the farmers get only an increase of Rs 40 per quintal as bonus, they can just earn Rs 800 over last year's per acre income if the yield is calculated at an average of 20 quintals. But the cost of inputs has increased to over Rs 5,000 per acre," said an agriculture expert.

Bathinda, december 3
The 41st state-level science exhibition at Baba Farid Group of Institutions (BFGI) concluded today. Chief Parliamentary Secretary, Sarup Chand Singla, felicitated the students who had presented models under various sub-themes. Also present on the occasion was IG Nirmal Singh Dhillon.

While the Punjab Education Minister, Sikander Singh Maluka was scheduled to be present at the felicitation ceremony, he could not make it to the event owing to his prior commitments at the ongoing Third Kabaddi World Cup.

While addressing the gathering, Singla appreciated the students for coming up with new ideas. He laid stress on how new ideas could bring about a change in the world.

He also emphasised on the need for proper counselling of students. He said counselling could play an integral part in charting the educational path and later, the professional path of a child.

Over 5,000 students and 500 teachers from across the state attended the four-day-long science fair. As many as 320 projects were displayed at the fair.

The four-day exhibition had been divided into six sub-themes — Industry, Natural Resources and their Conservation, Transport and Communication, Information and Education Technology, Community Health and Environment and Mathematical Modelling.

In the Industry sub-theme, Gagandeep Singh and Niranjan Singh grabbed the first place in the secondary category while Pardeep Kumar Sharma and Ram Krishan stood first in the senior secondary category of the sub-theme.

For the sub-theme Natural Rsources and Their Conservation, the first position was grabbed by Chirag Bansal and Satvir Singh in the secondary category and by Simran Kaur and Navneet Kaur in the senior secondary category.

In the Transport and Communication sub-theme, Kulbir Singh and Gurmail Singh (secondary) and Harpal Singh and Sukhwinder Singh (senior secondary) were declared the winners.

Nitesh Verma and Rajiv Sharma (secondary) and Gurpreet Singh and Niraj Sharma (senior secondary) won the top honours in the sub-theme Education and Information Technology.

The top position in the sub-theme Community Health and Environment was won by Rajveer Kaur and Rajinder Singh (secondary) and Ramandeep Kaur and Kamal Kumar (senior secondary).

For the sub-theme Mathematical Modelling, Sikandar Singh and Jadwinder Singh won the first position in the secondary category while Prashant Shekhar and Ashu Gupta won in the senior secondary category.

Bathinda, December 3
The District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) today observed the International Day for PeoplewWith Disability at Mahanta Gurbanta Dass School for Deaf and Mute Children.

District and sessions judge and chairman of DLSA, Jaspal Singh and his wife Jaswinder Kaur, were the chief guests on the occasion.

A seminar was held wherein judge, senior division, Kawaljit Singh, civil judge, senior division, Harinder Kaur, chief judicial magistrate Harjit Singh and his wife Sukhwinder Kaur, secretary, Red Cross Society, JR Goyal, assistant district legal attorney Surinder Sachdeva, principal Navinder Kaur Bhalla and the students were present.

Speaking on the occasion, Jaspal Singh said the District Legal Aid Services was making efforts to provide all kind of legal aid to the mentally and physically challenged persons so that their rights were not infringed. He added that such persons were provided free legal aid wherein even the lawyers did not charge any fee and the court fees was paid from the DLSA funds.

Kawaljit Singh said the main objective behind observing various important days was to assure the people that law was meant for the downtrodden and the poor as well. He said special legal aid could be provided to the handicapped under the Legal Services Authority Act.

Students of Mahanta Gurbant Dass School for Deaf and Mute Children were distributed fruits and sweets on the occasion. An exhibition of articles prepared by the students was also organised.

The Central University of Punjab also observed the International Day for People with Disability and organised a special visit of 38 senior students of Mahant Gurbanta Dass School for Deaf and Dumb to the university’s city campus today.

The students, accompanied by four of their teachers, were welcomed by Prof Jai Rup Singh, Vice-Chancellor of the University. Interacting with the students, the VC encouraged and motivated them to work hard so that they may join this university for higher education.

Asking the students to visit the university again, he assured the students all the help for their academic and professional growth, saying the university would always welcome them to join it as students and would provide all the facilities needed by them.

He also presented them with token gifts. The visiting students were taken around the campus. During the guided tour, the enthusiastic and inquisitive students were shown the laboratory equipment, computer lab, library, museum and the fitness centre.

In order to increase awareness among the masses towards the issues concerning the persons with disabilities and for integration of such persons in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life, the university also organised a panel discussion on “Rights of Persons with Disabilities: Awareness and responsibilities of society in general”.

Fact file
Under the guidance of the United Nations, 3 December is observed as the International Day of People with Disability at the international level since 1992.
The aim is to promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities.

Bathinda, December 3
The five-day teacher training camp started today at the Government In-service Training Centre.

The camp is being held to impart training to English teachers and is aimed at equipping the teachers with the latest interactive techniques, which have been developed by the British Council.

Principal, Government In-service Training Centre Khushbir Singh, said the resource persons have been trained by the British Council and now they would be training English-subject teachers in the use of the latest teaching methodologies.

He said five of these camps have been started at four places including Bathinda city (two camps), Rampura, Nathana and Talwandi Sabo (one camp each) and added that seminarians had been informed about their training camp.

District Resource Person (DRP), English, Naib Singh, said a unique feature of these camps would be the teaching of latest techniques and methods of teaching English.

He said the teachers were familiar with their subjects, but the latest interactive teaching methodologies had to be shared with them. Naib Singh also claimed that such training camps would be organised in the future also.

Fact file
English teachers to be equipped with latest interactive techniques, which have been developed by the British Council.
5 such camps have been started at Bathinda city (two camps), Rampura, Nathana and Talwandi Sabo (one camp each).

Bathinda, December 3
The hotel and marriage palace owners convened a special meeting with the Punjab Tourism Minister, Sarwan Singh Phillaur, at Hotel Bahia Fort today.

President of the Hotel, Restaurants and Resorts Association, Satish Arora, said the minister was reminded of his meeting convened with the association wherein the latter had promised to set up a tourism information center, maintain the historic fort and the deer park at Bir Talab and make special efforts to promote tourism in the district.

“Despite all the assurances, nothing has happened. Instead, the marriage palace owners were burdened with a new policy which has brought them to the brink of closure,” he said.

The city president of the association, Jasbir Singh Dhillon demanded relief for the marriage palace owners in the state. Association member, Anil Thakur, said all the requests had fallen on deaf ears of the state functionaries.

“Whenever we have laid our demands before the Punjab Chief Minister and the Deputy CM, we have got hollow assurances only,” he said, while talking to Phillaur. The members of the association also demanded that the state-level Virasat Mela should be held in Bathinda to give an impetus to tourism.

Other members of the association, Ramesh Sardana, Amarjit Bahia, Sikandar Goyal, Prem Arora, Rohit Sardana, Sandeep Sardana and Rajesh Gupta, were also present on the occasion.

Bathinda, December 3
The conductor of an Orbit bus was beaten up at Jassi Chowk bus stand on the outskirts of the city today.