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Rail budget 2013
Region has high hopes from railway minister
Faridkot, February 17
The residents of the area are demanding that the Union Railway Minister Pawan Bansal increase the railway network in the region so that they don't have to remain dependent on private bus operators.

CLP leader seeks rail link between F’pur, Amritsar
Abohar, February 17
In the light of the strategic and commercial importance of the Ferozepur-Amritsar rail link, Punjab Congress Legislative Party leader Sunil Jakhar has urged the Railways to incorporate it in the budget, which is to be presented at the end of this month.

Little care about a littered court complex in Muktsar
Muktsar, February 17
Despite the directions of Justice Paramjit Singh of the Punjab and Haryana High Court who visited Muktsar on October 27 last year, to keep the District Court Complex neat and clean, it still presents a picture of neglect with heaps of garbage visible in every nook and corner.

Garbage strewn inside the District Court Complex in Muktsar Garbage strewn inside the District Court Complex in Muktsar.
A Tribune photograph

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	Faridkot college students protest fee overcharge February 13, 2013
	Rice millers seek one-time settlement February 12, 2013
	Students want state govt to preserve ancient monuments February 11, 2013
	Speaking up against coloniser leaves residents high & dry February 9, 2013
	Narcotics seized from Fazilka sub-jail February 8, 2013

	Rail budget 2013 Region has high hopes from railway minister Tribune News Service Faridkot, February 17 The residents of the area are demanding that the Union Railway Minister Pawan Bansal increase the railway network in the region so that they don't have to remain dependent on private bus operators. Expecting that a railway minister from their region will fulfill their "genuine" demands in the Rail Budget-2013, the residents have started sending their requests to the minister. "If not the facilities as grand as Nitish Kumar, Lalu Prasad Yadav, Mamata Banerjee and Ram Vilas Paswan introduced in Bihar and West Bengal in the last 15 years, we expect Pawan Bansal to fulfill some genuine demands of the residents of this area," said Raj Kumar Aggarwal, a resident of Kotkapura town of Faridkot district. "We have tried to impress upon the minister of the need to join the 'missing' rail links, which will not only lessen the duration of travel between various places in the region but will also increase the railway connectivity with the neighbouring states," said Aggarwal. Demanding extension of some trains up to Ferozepur, the residents wrote to the Railway Minister that some trains reach Bathinda at 10.20 pm but at that time, there is no further train link from Bathinda to Ferozepur. The residents demanded that if one of those trains was extended up to Ferozepur via Sirsa-Hisar route, it would benefit the residents as well as generate more revenue for the Railways. The residents said there was no direct train for the passengers of this area wishing to go to Barnala, Dhuri, Nabha, Rajpura, Patiala and Ambala. They said though all degree colleges of the region were affiliated to the Punjabi University, Patiala, and that the office of the Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd was also situated in Patiala, they don't have any direct train to the city. Aggarwal said, "The Divisional Railway Manager, Northern Railway, has sent a proposal to the Railway Ministry to introduce two trains — from Ferozepur to Haridwar and to Howrah — and we are hopeful that the minister would accede to the proposal as well as the requests of the residents of the area."
	CLP leader seeks rail link between F’pur, Amritsar Our Correspondent Abohar, February 17 In the light of the strategic and commercial importance of the Ferozepur-Amritsar rail link, Punjab Congress Legislative Party leader Sunil Jakhar has urged the Railways to incorporate it in the budget, which is to be presented at the end of this month. In a memorandum submitted to Railway Minister Pawan Bansal at his office last evening, Jakhar sought a new railway link from Amritsar-Ferozepur via Tarn Taran-Patti as it would enable the people of Malwa, Rajasthan and Gujarat to have easy access to the holy town of Amritsar. "From the point of view of national security, the railway link would step up logistics of the armed forces in the north-western front of India," he said. Jakhar also urged the Railway Minister to take up the Abohar-Sadulshehar rail link, a survey for which was initiated about 10 years ago but the proposal has moved at a snail's pace.
	Little care about a littered court complex in Muktsar Muktsar, February 17 Despite the directions of Justice Paramjit Singh of the Punjab and Haryana High Court who visited Muktsar on October 27 last year, to keep the District Court Complex neat and clean, it still presents a picture of neglect with heaps of garbage visible in every nook and corner. The area in and around the complex is crying for immediate attention of the authorities concerned. The state-of-the-art judicial court complex built at a cost of nearly Rs 21 crore, was inaugurated in October 2009. "It is irritating to see the condition of the court complex that is visited by a large number of people, including advocates, from across the district. The authorities concerned must wake up to the occasion and ensure clenaliness here,” said an advocate. He believed that if the number of garbage bins in the complex was increased, the problem would be addressed to an extent. “Garbage is also a threat to the health of the visitors,” said advocate Gurmeet Singh while demanding the immediate removal of the trash from the court complex. — TNS
	Visually impaired want vacant posts of teacher filled by March 31 Tribune News Service Faridkot, February 17 Visually impaired persons from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh today accused the Punjab and the Himachal Pradesh governments of being insensitive towards the blind and violating the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995. “It is highly disgraceful on the part of the governments that have turned a blind eye to the problems of the visually impaired,” said Rajesh Mohan, convener of the North West Committee of National Blind Federation. The visually challenged persons have assembled here to participate in a three-day conference of the blinds of northern region. Under Section 33 of the Act, one per cent of the posts of teachers should be reserved for blind candidates. But the Punjab and the HP governments have shown disregard to the rules and denied appointment to eligible candidates, alleged these visually handicapped. In Punjab, 182 posts of teachers (140 in primary and 42 in high schools) for blind persons are lying vacant for a long time. Some time ago, the secretary, education, had sent a proposal to the state government to fill these vacancies no action was taken in this regard. “We will start an agitation if the government does not fill the vacancies before March 31,” said Rajesh Mohan. Jage Ram, the convener of the blind federation in HP, said the condition of visually impaired persons was very poor in the hill state due to insensitive approach of the government there. Though the Central government had identified 1,901 jobs where a blind person could be employed, the HP government is yet to fill these jobs. On the other hand, Haryana has approved this list and filled most of these vacancies. “In Haryana, the blind are social science teachers while in Punjab, we are generally given the role of music teacher,” said Rajesh. In Haryana, nine colleges have the blind as principal but there is none in Punjab. “Such an attitude on the part of the government discourages the blind to exploit his full potential,” said Rita Ahuja, a visually impaired senior assistant in the Excise and Taxation Department, Faridkot. “In Punjab, the political leaders see no potential vote bank in us, so most of these leaders offer us a ‘merciful’ pension and not job,” said Rajesh Mohan. In the exhibition at Faridkot, the blind federation today exhibited various technologies and advancement for the visually impaired to end their social isolation.

‘Indian star teacher’ award for Fazilka educator
Our Correspondent

Fazilka, February 17
A physically challenged teacher of Fazilka, Vijay Gupta, has been awarded with the prestigious tag of "Indian star teacher" by a leading software company, Microsoft. Gupta, a social studies teacher presently posted in Government Senior Secondary School, Arniwala Sheikh Subhan village of Fazilka sub-division, was selected for being an innovative educator who embraced technology to make his teachings more effective in engaging his pupils.

He launched a new web portal, launched the school blog and channel for the betterment of students, and prepared digital lessons for learners.

Only seven teachers from the country have been selected for the tag and Vijay Gupta is the lone recipient in the state.

Gupta has already been honoured with the state award by the Punjab Government, the NDTV's "Excellence in School Teaching" award and the "Innovative Teachers Leadership Award" by the Microsoft.

Gupta is suffering from 60 per cent orthopaedic disability in his right leg. "The disability is a challenge and hard work is the only key to achieve the destination," says Gupta.

District Education Officer Sandeep Dhuria, teachers and representatives of social organisations congratulated Gupta on getting a prestigious award from Microsoft.

The other recipients of the tag include Chander Prabha Bhatia of the Central School, Military Camp, Kolkata, Hari Krishan Arya of Government Senior Secondary School, Hanumangarh (Rajasthan), Rajesh Tiwari of Subhash School for Excellence, Bhopal (Madhya Pardesh), Anil Sonune of Zila Parishad Primary School, Neemkhera (Maharashtra), Feroze Khan of Primary School, Bulandshahar (Uttar Pradesh) and Mamta Narula of Delhi Public School, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi.