Bathinda, April 22
They understand Hindi only "thoda thoda", but know how to communicate with their audience through their actions.

Meet Kehald, Omari, Dulyl and Diamond - artistes from Tanzania, who are part of the Great Bombay Circus in the city these days.

They confess that they love the sound of a collective gasp of the audience when Kehald douses the fire on a rod by putting it in his mouth. Kehald adds that since the sound of laughter is same across the globe, he understands that the audience is happy to see him putting the rod inside his pants.

He stated that since they do not understand the language, the terms and conditions of the contract were negotiated for them by their manager.

The team says they have been working together in circuses for years.

"Before joining the Great Bombay Circus, we were with another circus. After our contract of two years expires, we will go back and meet our family and stay in Tanzania till we sign up with either the same or some other circus," says Diamond, who is slightly more conversant in English than the rest of his friends.

They explain to Bathinda Tribune that language has never been a problem with them, no matter which part of India they are in. With their actions they encourage the audience to clap. "And to converse with other artistes, we either use broken English or sign language," says Omari.

Talking about what they love about India, Kehald vainly tries to hide a shy smile while Diamond says, "I love Indians. They are very friendly and don't make us feel like we are not one of them. They also make an attempt to talk to us and understand what we are trying to tell them."

He adds that they have also been told that the stunts that they do using a pole resemble an Indian martial art form (Malkhamb).

Ask them what do they don't like about India and pat comes the reply: "Although we have developed a taste for Indian cuisine, we do not like the 'mirch' (spice) in the food. Indians eat very spicy food."

Do they miss their families? "Although we are bound by a contract, we are allowed to go home. But since travelling costs a lot we prefer going home only after our contract gets over," says Omari. Till they meet their real family members, the circus is their family.

Bathinda, April 22
Many would agree that Bathinda is progressing by leaps and bounds but bibliophiles have little to cheer about considering the dearth of good book stores that could quench their search for books.

In the absence of a good book store, the city residents have no other option but to use e-commerce sites to order books.

"While more eating joints are being opened to offer gastronomic delight to the city residents, beauty salon chains are setting shop in the city, malls are coming up, I wonder why there is such a crunch for places offering good books. Markets are also full of stores that offer books for competitive exams but only one or two of them offer good literature books," said Ankit Bhateja, an entrepreneur.

"I usually order books, mostly inspirational writing, from e-commerce sites and get a good deal as well. These sites also suggest other similar works that may interest me," he added.

"The one or two book stores that have books do not have any experienced salesmen to offer me a comparison between two works. For me, the e-commerce websites score for many reasons. To begin with, I get to read reviews of books. I can also rely on these sites as they offer discounts too," said Vatsal, a resident of Model Town, Phase I.

While some resort to ordering books online, others prefer buying them on their trips to cities like Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana or Chandigarh.

"Ludhiana has good book stores that offer books ranging from classics, chick lits to inspirational writings. Salesmen at those stores are also well-trained to deal with customers and understand what they are looking for. Sometimes I go there to buy just one book and pick up four-five to last me till my next trip to the place," said Gurjot Singh, a retired government official and a resident of Vasant Vihar. 

• In the absence of a good book store, the residents have no option but to use e-commerce sites to order books.
• There are others who make purchases during their trips to cities like Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana or Chandigarh.

Bathinda, April 22
The plot holders in unauthorised colonies of the state will have to pay internal development charges to get their properties regularised while colonisers will bear all the other charges.

These are guidelines laid in the draft of a state government policy for regularisation of unauthorised colonies that will be tabled soon for consideration of the higher officials.

Unauthorised colonies in the state have been divided into two groups on the basis of the year they were set up in. Colonies developed before August 17, 2007, have been categorised in the first group while those developed afterwards have been classified in the second group.

While the developer or the coloniser will have to pay change of land usage (CLU) charges, compounding fees, external development charges, licensee or permission fees (PF) and social infrastructure fund (SIF), the plots holders will have to pay the internal development charges, including water supply, sewerage and street lights.

The rates applicable to the general public range from Rs 100 to Rs 250 per sq yard for the colonies developed before and after August 2007.

The municipal corporations of Bathinda, Moga, Pathankot and Patiala have been enlisted under the slab of A-class municipal towns instead of being included in the list of corporation towns. The move has benefited the four corporation towns as the rates applicable to them are lesser than that of the corporation towns of Amritsar, Jalandhar and Ludhiana.

In case a developer of unauthorised colony fails to pay all the fees mentioned above, the government shall recover the same from the arrears of the land revenue deposited by the developer.

The colonies are being regularised by amending the Punjab Apartment and Property Regulation (PAPR) Act under the provisions of The Punjab Laws (Special Provisions) Bill-2013. Also, the colonies have been categorised into four categories on the basis of area sold out and will be charged accordingly.

It is learnt that a meeting of all the urban housing administrators is being convened in a couple of days to finalise the policy.

The secretary, Housing and Urban Development, Venu Prasad, was not available for comments.

Meanwhile, the press secretary of the Bathinda Property Agents Association, Sunil Singla, has welcomed the draft policy and said it was pro-people. "It will even help people in the middle income group. Moreover, those who had carved out illegal colonies without following the due guidelines will be served right," he added.

Bathinda, April 22
Member of Parliament from Bathinda Harsimrat Kaur Badal today presented an ex-gratia grant of Rs 2 lakh to the dependents of Sapper Gobind Singh.

Sapper Gobind Singh was killed last year in an encounter with terrorists in Kashmir valley.

Hasimrat Kaur Badal also handed over an incentive of Rs 6 lakh and one lakh each to the parents of six officers, who were selected for commission in the three Armed Services.

Of the six officers, four have been selected for the Air Force and the others for the Army. Two of them are females.

Bathinda, April 22
The Bathinda School Bus and Van Operators Association today organised an awareness rally in the city. The rally was flagged off from Fire Brigade Chowk this morning.

As many as 30 vehicles and 200 operators registered with the association took part in the rally which passed through Mall Road, Hanuman Chowk, Power House Road, 100-feet road and Ghorewala Chowk before culminating at the association's office on 80-feet road.

The rally aimed at making the operators of the school vehicles aware that their vehicles meet the benchmark set by the district administration. It also asked the operators to follow the traffic rules and stay away from habit-forming substances and refrain from driving under the influence of liquor.

Interestingly, the association made sure that the vehicles which were part of the rally, were of new models and in good condition. Close to 30 per cent of the vehicles registered with the association are in poor condition.

"We wanted to send across the message to the parents that they should also make sure that their children are ferried in vehicles which are in good condition," said Gurpreet Singh Happy, the president of the association.

He added that the operators often complained that parents preferred to send their children to school in packed auto-rickshaws and old vehicles instead of paying a little more conveyance charge to an operator with a new bus or van which will ensure safety.

Bathinda, April 22
Earth Day was observed at the University College of Agriculture, Guru Kashi University, Talwandi Sabo, today. SK Ahluwalia, vice-chancellor of the university, inaugurated the function with a tree plantation drive. He also inaugurated a Green House established by the college.

While welcoming the chief guest, Dr Kiran said the Earth Day was observed for the first time on April 22, 1970 in the US and Gaylord Nelson was known as its founder. The aim behind observing the Earth Day was to bring about awareness among the people regarding various environmental issues.

A guest lecture was delivered by Alka Rani on Earth Day to make the students aware of the various environmental problems. She spoke about the impact of industrial revolution, deforestation and urbanisation on climate and human life.

She also urged the students to adopt three ‘Rs’ — reduce, recycle and reuse- to cope with the increasing environmental problems.

The day was also celebrated by the students of Lord Rama Public School. Poster-making and model-making competitions were organised in the school to mark the day.

Following the directions of the Director General of School Education, Punjab and the District Education Officer (SE), World Earth Day was also celebrated in the Government Senior Secondary School, Myserkhana, under the supervision of its principal Varinder Pal Kaur.

To mark the day, poster-making and quiz competitions were organised. The students were told that the theme for this year's Earth Day was "Climate change".

In the poster-making competition, Navjot Kaur stood first and Sandeep Kaur came second. In the quiz contest, Balwinder Singh and his team stood first while Harmanjeet Singh and his team stood second. 

Bathinda, April 22
Non-government organizations (NGOs) in the city will come together to hold a candlelight vigil for the five-year-old Delhi rape victim on April 24.

Starting at 7 pm from Fire Brigade Chowk, the rally by the NGOs will move down the Mall Road.

Several organisations including the Indian Medical Association (IMA), Punjab Medical Representative Association, Inner Wheel Club, Rotary Club, Lions Club, Bathinda Vikas Manch besides the members of the Bathinda Association of NGOs (BANGO) are participating in the candlelight vigil to express their concern over the crime and urge the lawmakers to frame stringent laws and implement them sincerely to make the cities a safe place for women.

In a press statement issued here today, a spokesperson for Swami Vivekananda Study Circle stated that a meeting was held at Rose Garden where concern was expressed over the rise in incidents of heinous crime.

"We, as society, do not deter rapists. Only one out of 10 rape cases is reported. This means that the accused in at least 90 per cent of the rape cases in our society still live and walk among us; free to rape again. And in most cases of conviction, the punishment does not fit the crime," observed the speakers at a meeting of Swami Vivekananda Study Circle.

The members of the study circle expressed their strong anguish over the rising incidents of rape in the country. They said that there has been as many as 700 per cent increase since 1971 in the number of rape cases reported.

Delving into the sociology and pathology of this heinous crime, the speakers focused on factors like lack of moral education in schools and family, absence of fear of law, insensitivity and corruption in the administrative machinery and disparity in the quality of education as the factors to be addressed to so as to rein in the crime.

The study circle has decided to start a campaign to sensitise the public on issues of safety, security and status of women.

The start will be made from the level of families of the members of the NGO and the localities.

Bathinda, April 22
A farewell party was organised for the students of management and computer science of the Malwa College in Bathinda today.

The party was organised by the students of MCA (Part II), M.Sc (UT), MBA (Part I), PGDCA, BCA and BBA.

The party was inaugurated by Sewak Ram Singla and Rakesh Goyal, members of the management committee of the college.

The students presented group dance, folk dance and skit for their seniors which earned them a big round of applause. While Preetpal Singh, a student of M.Sc (Part II) was chosen as Mr Farewell, Kritika, a student of MBA (Part II) was adjudged as Miss Farewell. The college officials and the members of the faculty wished the students of the outgoing batches success in their future endeavour.

Brahm Kumaris give sermon at MC office

The Brahm Kumaris delivered a sermon at the office of the Municipal Corporation Bathinda (MCB) wherein the staff members were acquainted with their spiritual side.

Sister Kavita from Brahm Kumari Ashram, Chandigarh, called upon people to de-stress their lives by not giving importance to small happenings around.

She said that to attain happiness one must connect with one’s innerself and stop bothering about the world outside. She added meditation was key to sound mental health and physical well-being as well. With the help of meditation, one can channelise one’s positive energy and keep negativism at bay. this will help us in leading peaceful lives and in realising the serenity within.

Municipal commissioner Uma Shankar Gupta said that such lectures will be held regularly in the MCB office to de-stress the employees who work round-the-clock.

Sale of meat banned

The sale of meat has been banned on April 24 on the occasion of Mahavir Jayanti. District magistrate Kamal Kishore Yadav has banned the sale keeping in view the religious sentiments of the people. Neither the meat shops will be allowed to open nor meat will be made available at joints.

Bathinda, April 22
Police has registered a case against a resident of Hajirattan for beating up a resident of Dashmesh Nagar. The complainant, Jatinder Kumar, said he works as a driver with a resident of Birla Mill Colony.

On Sunday, he had come to drop someone in the car at Hajirattan Chowk. The occupants of the car opened the door of the vehicle abruptly and a biker collided with it. The biker, identified as Hafiz Mohammad, started quarreling with the occupants of the car and later abused and started beating them up.

The driver said he too was injured in the fracas. Kotwali police has registered a case under sections 452 and 323 of the IPC against Hafiz Mohammad for beating the driver and the passengers.

One booked for cheating

Police has registered a case against Amarjit Singh, a resident of Behman Jassa Singh village for cheating and other offences.

In a complaint to the police, Buta Singh said his uncle Gurdial Singh had a ration depot in the village where he sold edibles and received commission from the supply contractor.

The complainant said his uncle was illiterate and had deployed an assistant, Amarjit Singh. The complainant said Amarjit received the commission that should have gone to his uncle by preparing fake documents and a fake thumb impression. The matter was investigated by the economic offences wing of the police.

A case was registered against the accused under sections 420, 465, 467, 468 and 471 of the IPC at the Civil Lines police station.

Motorcycle stolen

Police has registered a case of motorcycle theft on the complaint of Ajay Kumar, a resident of Partap Nagar. The complainant said he worked in a private bank near Liberty Chowk. He had parked his bike outside the bank and it was stolen by some unidentified persons. A case under section 379 of the IPC has been registered in this connection at the Civil Lines police station.

Villager in dock for assault

Police has registered a case against Gurdev Singh of Jassi Baghwali village for assaulting and injuring a woman of the same village. In her complaint to the police, Sarabjit Kaur said the accused was relieving himself in front of her residence. When stopped, the man entered her house and beat her up. The police was informed by the villagers who recorded the statements of the villagers and the neighbours. A case under sections 452, 354, 323 and 506 of the IPC was registered against the accused at Sangat police station. No arrests have been made so far.

Man found dead

An elderly man was found dead under the Multania flyover. The volunteers of the NGO Sahara Jan Sewa shifted the body to the Civil Hospital. The officials of the Government Railway Police (GRP) too reached the spot and recorded the statements of the local residents. Police said further action would be taken after talking to the family members of the deceased.