Bathinda, December 24
The Director, Health Services, Punjab, Dr Ashok Nayyar today paid a surprise visit to the Bathinda Civil Hospital wherein he pointed out various anomalies and instructed the doctors to remove all the glitches to provide better health services to patients.

Nayyar also visited the Civil Hospital at Ghudda where he noticed that the number of patients was quite less in comparison with the facilities provided at the health centre.

During his visit to the Civil Hospital here, the director scrutinised the records of the hospital and found them not up to the mark.

While talking to TNS, Nayyar said the doctors and staff present at the Civil Hospital were told to maintain the records according to the diseases and urgency of providing medical facility.

"Reports of complete diagnosis were not mentioned on the patients' files which, are mandatory to provide better health services. Also, the service being provided at the OPD was not satisfactory," Nayyar said.

He said the overall performance of the doctors was found satisfactory.

"I have again called up the SMO to diagnose the patients in a proper manner and if a patient is serious then every minute detail should be mentioned on the patient's file,” the director said.

He said instructions had been issued to the staff to minimise the presence of medical representatives and fix specific hours for them. The emphasis of the doctors should be on patients only and the presence of medical representatives should not affect the treatment, the director said.

Nayyar also pointed out to segregate the medical and surgical wards and asked the staff to identify separate rooms for the purpose.

On the lack of a trauma centre, Nayyar said such centres were provided by the Central Government near various state highways. "We have mooted the idea to have a trauma centre in Bathinda also, so that accident victims could be treated properly," he said.

Bathinda, December 24
A car that runs on water - that's a dream we all have, thanks to the rising fuel prices. And while we dream about it, there is a dedicated team of five students and a teacher from the department of mechanical engineering of the Swami Vivekanand College of Engineering and Technology, Chandigarh, that is working hard to make our dream come true.

Students of Swami Vivekanand College of Engineering and Technology explain the working of the water car, in Bathinda on Monday. Tribune photo: Pawan Sharma

Meet the ‘Torque Five’ - Amit Jindal, Ankit Thakur, Jaspal Singh Aulakh, Pankaj Bansal and Shashank Sharma - and their dedicated teacher Gurwinder Pal Singh Sodhi. The team of six was in Bathinda today to showcase what they have named the 'Water Car'.

In the first glance, it may look like any other Maruti 800, but a closer look reveals that the car has been fitted with reverse osmosis (RO) water bottles. These bottles have been fitted with stainless steel electrodes.

"When we turn on the car, current passes through the water and it breaks down into Hydrogen and oxygen gases. While the eco-friendly oxygen gas gets exhausted from the vehicle, the Hydrogen gas reaches the engine and normal combustion takes place," explains Gurwinder.

Talking about the inception of the idea, Gurwinder said, "Once, we were on our way to Manali on a college trip and we had to wait outside a petrol pump for 45 minutes. That is when we thought what would happen when there would be no fuel to use. And then, we thought about making a car that runs on water."

The team conducted first experiment in January and succeeded in making a car that had water and fuel in the ratio of 20:80. Over the months, the ratio kept increasing and at present, it stands at 50:50. While earlier the car's average was 14 km per litre (kmpl), it has increased to 30 kmpl, the team claims.

Keeping the risk factor in mind, the car has also been fitted with a pressure regulator gauge which keeps a tab on the amount of hydrogen being produced. In case the kit starts producing more hydrogen that what can be used at a particular time, the gauge automatically switches off the kit and the vehicle shifts to run on petrol only.

The team is aiming to work on its project for the next four-five months and finally, showcase a car that runs completely on water.

"When we will have a vehicle that runs on 80 per cent water and 20 per cent fuel, we will file for a patent. Our bigger aim is to use the technique for the welfare of farmers. If heavy agricultural vehicles begin running on our model, it will prove to be a boon for farmers," added Gurwinder. 

Bathinda, December 24
Bathinda had its first brush with fog this winter season when the visibility dipped considerably on Sunday night and Monday morning.

Fog dispersed only around 9 am on Monday.

As per the Agri-met department of the PAU Regional Research Station, Bathinda, the maximum temperature recorded on Monday was 15.6 degrees Celsius while the minimum was recorded at 7.5 degrees Celsius. On Saturday, the maximum temperature was 22.6 degrees Celsius and the minimum was 2.8 degrees Celsius.

Though the city residents shivered a little more on Monday, the minimum temperature recorded on Sunday was two degrees Celsius with maximum at 15.4 degrees Celsius.

The increase in the minimum temperature on Monday can be attributed to the presence of clouds.

On Sunday evening, winds blowing at a speed of seven kmph forcing most of the city residents to stay indoors.

The cold wave is here to stay. As per the predictions, the weather is expected to be the same over the next 48 hours. Like Monday, the sun will play hide and seek for the next couple of days as well. On December 27 and December 28, clouds are expected to be back.

The chill in the air hits the homeless people in the city the hardest. Many destitute could be seen keeping themselves warm by sitting around bonfires. — TNS

Bathinda, December 24
Theatre, Bollywood, entertainment, fashion, glamour and good food - these were the ingredients that added flavour and ‘tadka’ to Bathinda's culture curry in the year 2012.

With an increasing number of Punjabi films’ cast and crews coming to the city to promote the film, it became the fifth most visited city by film crews after Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar.

Cast of “Jatt and Juliet”, “Sirphire”, “Carry On Jatta”, “Powercut” and many other films came to the city to publicise their films.

Theatre also got a shot in the arm in Bathinda, thanks to the two theatre festival hosted in the city in the months of May and November. During the festivals, plays by famous Punjabi playwrights were staged at the Balwant Gargi Open Air Theatre, Rose Garden. Apart from the theatre festivals, plays were staged in the memory of Bhai Gursharan Singh.

The month of November proved to be an eventful one with the Viarsat Mela, hosted every year at the Jaipalgarh village, adjacent to the Multi-purpose sports stadium. The mela kick started with a cavalcade which displayed the rich heritage of the state. The cavalcade included men and women dressed in traditional attire dancing to Punjabi folk songs, decorated bullock carts and artistes simulating various wedding functions.

On the first day of the last month of the year, a grand event was orgainsed by the state government to open the 3rd World Cup Kabbadi. The opening ceremony included performers dancing with Zorbing balls, lit with LED lights. This was followed by a laser show and other performances.

The main attraction of the opening ceremony, hosted at the Multipurpose Sports Stadium, was the presence of the starcast of the film, "Khiladi 786". Actors Akshay Kumar, along with Asin and Claudia Ciesla, danced to the chartbusters from the film.

The crowd went crazy when Akshay addressed it in chaste Punjabi. Calling himself a Punjabi puttar, he expressed his desire to produce a Punjabi film. Anchor-cum-singer Satinder Satti was another attraction at the opening ceremony.

Although the city's name has been used by many Punjabi singers in their songs, the city also got its share of arch lights when the film 'Anhe Ghode Da Daan' was extensively shot in villages of Bathinda district. The film went on the win many prestigious awards.

Bathinda's another 15 minutes of fame came when crew of Aamir Khan's show "Satyamev Jayate" landed in the district to shoot part of an episode. The episode focussed on how an increase in the use of pesticides in the area was resulting in increase in the number of cancer cases in the area. Bathinda's singer, Jazim Sharma, a participant on the music reality show "Sa Re Ga Ma Pa" managed to reach the top 10.

Another development that added spice to Bathinda's culture curry was mall culture.

The city got a Baisakhi gift when the Deputy Chief Minister inaugurated a mall in the city. With the opening of the mall and a new Cineplex inside it, the city also got its first 3D movie screen.

December was also marked by a fashion show hosted at the HBN Country Club. The show was a part of the Blender's Pride Fashion Tour and showcased creations by four fashion designers.

The fashion show was organised in collaboration with the Nanhi Chhaan Foundation and supported the cause of girl child.

Those who put their money where their mouth is, also had a reason to smile as a couple of famous eating joints opened their outlets in the city adding to the gastronomical delight of the city.

One would think, all this was enough to keep one socially busy. But yeh dil maange more, right? The city hopes to be in the spotlight in the year 2013 as well and going by the culture card of this year, we don't think the city is asking for a lot.

Bathinda, december 24
The District Volleyball Association today hosted selection trials at the DAV College to choose men and women’s teams. The teams will participate in the Senior State Volleyball Championship to be held in Faridkot from December 28 to December 30.

The trials were held under the supervision of the president of the association Gurpreet Singh Peerkot and senior vice-president Jasvir Singh Sidhu. Volleyball coach Harpreet Singh were also present during the trails.

Secretary Shammy Sharma said almost 40 men from the district participated in the trials. Female players from places like Mandi Kalan and Rampura also took part in the trials and were selected for the women’s team. — TNS

Bathinda, december 24
Students of the Delhi Public School brought laurels to the school as Rashi Babbar, a class XI student won gold in the national-level ball badminton tournament.

In the boy’s category, the DPS students grabbed the fifth position.

DPS student Aditya Raj was one of the five players chosen as the best players during the tournament.

Principal of the school, Dr Arunjee congratulated the winners and felicitated them at a ceremony hosted in the school.

Bathinda, December 24
With more than three snatching incidents reported in the city over the past ten days, it seems the snatchers are back to business.

While a snatcher was arrested from near the Dhobi Bazar yesterday, in another similar incident four-five females snatched gold jewellery worth nearly Rs 13,000 from a lady in Kamla Nehru Colony.

The victims complained that despite the deployment of a large number of policemen in the city and setting up nakas at various entry and exit points of the city, the snatchers still managed to flee from the spot.

Varinder Kumar, a resident of Vishal Nagar said an unidentified man snatched the purse of his wife from him. In his complaint to the police, Varinder said he, along with his wife, were shopping near Mithu Mall Wali Gali when his wife entered a shop after giving him her purse.

Varinder added that a young boy came and tried to flee after snatching the purse from him.

The snatcher was however, caught and thrashed severely. Cops from the Kotwali police station reached the spot and arrested the snatcher. The accused was identified as Sukhjiwan Khan, a resident of Jai Singh Wala village. A case under Section 382 of the IPC has been registered against the accused.

Pushpawati, a resident of Kamla Nehru Colony, said she was basking in the sun when four-five women called her pretending to ask her something. Pushpawati added that they encircled her and ran away after snatching one of her earrings. Pushpawati was also injured in the incident.

A case under Sections 356 and 379 of the IPC has been registered against unidentified persons at the Cantonment police station.

These cases add to a long list of snatching incidents that were recorded over the year. While the police claims to have brought down the rate of crime in the city, they attribute snatchings to drug addicts and anti-social elements.

Bathinda, december 24
A shopkeeper and his two children received injuries when their car was hit by another car at around 9 pm near Ghorewala Chowk on Sunday night. The driver of the speeding car received serious head injuries and was shifted to the Civil Hospital from where he was referred to another hospital.

Lovely Garg, driving a Maruti Alto car, was taking a turn from the Ghorewala Chowk towards the Power House Road when a rashly-driven car hit them from behind. While the children sustained minor injuries, Lovely’s leg was hurt.

The policemen and onlookers present near the spot said it seemed the speeding car was being driven by someone in an inebriated condition. The policemen added that before hitting Lovely’s car, the speeding car had excaped hitting a two-wheeler and a divider near the Bibiwala Road. The PCR officials said they rushed to Ghorewala Chowk from the 100-feet Chowk and found that the speeding car had collided with another car.

The injured were taken to the Civil Hospital by the volunteers of the Sahara Jan Sewa.

The police had to press two cranes into action to remove the mangled vehicles from the road. The police said a case would be registered after recording the statements of the victims.