Bathinda, May 12
The politics between the UPA-led Central Government and the SAD-BJP-led state government seems to have put the commissioning of the Bathinda Civil Airport on the back-burner.

Completed in August last year, the 'dream project' of the Badal family is awaiting inauguration.

The state government is facing flak as the top political leadership has been going to the town claiming the airport would become operational soon. Apart from the Malwa region of Punjab, the airport provides linkages to the adjoining districts of Rajasthan and Haryana.

Interestingly, the Centre does not seem to have time for inaugurating the airport, which is being perceived as a major vote-pulling factor in the region during the Lok Sabha elections to be held next year.

Officials involved in the process said in September last year, the Airport Authority of India (AAI) had sent a list of six domestic airports to the Prime Minister Office (PMO) for inauguration. Bathinda topped the list. But while the other five — Jalgaon, Chennai, Pudicherry, Kolkatta and Indore — were inaugurated and have started functioning, Bathinda was sidelined.

A state government official said the Punjab Government was not at fault as it even reduced the VAT on air fuel and promised substantial occupancy.

The Spice Jet, an aviation company, had shown keen interest and intended to start flights from Baisakhi. However, the festival came and went with no plane seen on the horizon.

The official said the state government had taken up the matter with the Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh apart from the PMO but still the much-needed clearance from the Centre was yet to come by.

Sources said the aviation companies were reluctant as they do not foresee good number of passengers on this route even as the government had tired to convince them that apart from ministers, government officials and employees of the refinery and other companies may provide regular clientele.

The aviation companies were yet to be fully convinced. The Spice Jet, after earmarking Baisakhi as the likely date for starting flights, was still to give its flight plan to the AAI.

The air terminal and the office of the AAI with negligible security and scanty staff have already proved to be sitting ducks for thieves, who had decamped with computers and parts of other equipment in March.

Though the district administration provided a posse of Homeguards for the security at the airport after the theft, the police was yet to visit the site to investigate the crime.

The director of the civil airport, Sanjay Tripathi, said the airport was ready since August, 2012, and they had submitted compete operational plan and report to the government. The report involves earmarking staff for different duties at the airport.

Bathinda, May 12
The JITF Urban Waste Management, the company entrusted with the job of constructing a waste treatment plant in Bathinda, has assured the Municipal Corporation, Bathinda (MCB), of completing the project and commissioning it by May 1, 2014.

The assurance came after the National Green Tribunal (NGT) strictly directed the MCB to take measures to ensure that the nearby water body, a distributary of the Sirhind canal, does not get polluted and that right steps are taken as was directed during the last hearing on April 29.

Municipal commissioner Uma Shankar Gupta said the JITF had assured that the plant would be made operational by May 1, 2014. "It has started taking measures such as managing garbage heaps and planting saplings at the site," he said.

Captain Mal Singh of Bhai Mati Dass Nagar, who had filed a petition in the NGT, said the proposed site of the plant at now-closed Roshan Lal Oil Mills was being covered with earth and the littered garbage was being removed.

The chairperson of the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), Punjab, which granted the environmental clearance to the plant, has also met the affected people twice on May 6 and May 9, and listened to their woes.

The next hearing in the NGT is scheduled for May 24 wherein the municipal commissioner has to appear in person with a list of NGT directions that have been followed.

The first garbage treatment plant in the state to get environmental clearance, the plant at Bathinda has remained mired in controversy since its inception.

Residents of the area have been irked at the proposed plant coming in a residential area. However, the MCB contested this by claiming that the site was being used to dump municipal waste for the last three decades.

Peeved at the environmental clearance given to the plant despite strong resistance, the residents had moved the NGT challenging the state government, the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) and the SEIAA.

Bathinda, May 12
Issuing a new list of revised user charges, the Health Department has raised the charges of blood per unit for private hospital to Rs 1,000, while a major relief has been given to the patients affected by cataract by making the surgery totally free of cost.

Members of various NGOs take out a protest rally against the hike in the price of blood per unit for private hospitals, in Bathinda on Sunday. Tribune photo: Pawan Sharma

The Punjab Health System Corporation (PHSC) managing director Hussan Lal has issued a directive revising a number of user charges at the civil hospitals.

The cost of blood continues to be at Rs 300 per unit for government hospitals, while for the private hospitals, it has been increased from Rs 750 to Rs 1,000.

However, patients suffering from thalassemia, pregnant women suffering from hemophilia, diagnosed cases of cancer, leukaemia, roadside cases of accidents and burns (where the percentage of burns exceeds 37) have been exempted from any of these charges.

The dengue patients will now have to pay more with the charges revised for apharesis (blood constituent separating procedure) from Rs 200 to Rs 500 for patients at government hospitals and Rs 1,500 for patients at the private hospitals.

Earlier, the patients of chronic diseases were given medicines for seven days only, which has now been revised to 21 days. However, there is relief for the cataract patients as the fee for cataract surgery was Rs 250, which has now been made free.

Giving relief in cases of dog bites, it has now been provided that free rabies vaccine will be given to the victim. The vaccine was earlier priced at Rs 50 per dose. Similarly, the fees for mammography for general and private ward patients has been brought at par at Rs 100, which was Rs 200 for the private ward patients.

Abolishing the disparity in the rates of ECG for radiology and cardiology, a single rate has been fixed at Rs 50. The test charges for driving licence and arms licence application has been increased by four times from Rs 50 to Rs 200 keeping in view the prices that the applicants can afford.

The dental treatment charges have been revised to a large extent.

The services charged for prosthodontics at Rs 50 cumulative have now been segregated and will be charged Rs 50 for each service. Similarly, in conservative dentistry procedures and minor surgeries, Rs 30 will be charged for each service and for facial surgical procedures, Rs 600 per procedure will be charged.

Bathinda, May 12
The police today arrested around 100 special trainer teachers (STRs), who were protesting against the Punjab Government for terminating their services without any intimation.

The teachers were protesting at Kotha Guru village, which is close to Education Minister Sikandar Singh Maluka's ancestral village Maluka.

The teachers thronged the village early morning and decided to take out a protest march. However, their attempt was thwarted by the police. The cops took them to three different police stations in buses.

The protesters comprised teachers and their family members, including children.

One of the STR leaders Gurpartap Singh said nearly 500 teachers and their family members gathered at the village and nearly 100 teachers were arrested.

He said the police was noting down the names and addresses of the teachers and was planning to send them to jails after registering cases.

Phul Deputy Superintendent of Police Harpal Singh said cases have been registered against as many as 100 protesting teachers.

It is learnt that the teachers had come from Amritsar, Patiala, Mansa and various other districts of Punjab to hold a protest here.

The teachers are demanding appointment of 1,894 teachers, who were shown the door by the government without any notice.

The protesters said that they would make relentless efforts and hold protests till the government accepted their demand.

Bathinda, May 12
Organic variety of wheat is in great demand for domestic consumption this season. The organic wheat growers said despite little yield this season, which means only 10 to 13 quintals per acre, customers are making rounds of their villages to purchase it. While a few farmers sell the organic wheat in the market, most of them keep a chunk of it for their own consumption.

As compared to non-organic variety of wheat which is sold at a minimum support price of Rs 1,350 per quintal in the market, the organic farmers are selling their produce at Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,000 per quintal.

The organic wheat growers said despite the low wheat yield this season, they are quite contented with the profits as compared to those who use pesticides and other chemicals to grow the crop.

The organic wheat growers said customers are queuing up at their doorstep and are ready to purchase their wheat for even Rs 2,800 per quintal. "Those who failed to purchase organic wheat immediately

after the harvesting season are now ready to purchase the produce at a higher price. Though the organic wheat is not available in bulk these days, customers are buying 50 kg to one quintal at one point of time," said Deepak Monga, who has been growing organic wheat for the last ten years. Monga said he does not sell organic wheat as the quantity that he grows is sufficient only to meet the consumption needs of his family.

He said there are some sellers who are making a profit these days by importing wheat from Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh with claims of grain obtained from the organically grown wheat plants. They too sell the wheat for Rs 2,500 to Rs 2,800 per quintal.

There are some retail outlets in Bathinda where customers may be billed at the rate of Rs 2,500 per quintal of organic wheat and Rs 28 per kg of wheat flour.

Though the price of wheat per quintal fluctuates between Rs 2,200 to Rs 2,800 per quintal, farmers said good quality certified organic wheat is being sold by the farmers for Rs 2,500 per quintal.

Manoj Kumar, Project Officer, Ambuja Cement Foundation, said they got 325 farmers registered with the Control Union of India Limited, a company approved by the PEDA. Manoj said the foundation

has been encouraging farmers in 15 nearby villages to go organic.

"These farmers are growing organic wheat for the last three years and after the completion of three years, they got the certification,' Manoj Kumar said.

He added that many other farmers have shown an interest in organic farming and by 2013, they expect 500 farmers to come under the organic umbrella.

The farmers got 12 to 13 quintals per acre yield this season. Ambuja Foundation has opened a retail outlet on Amreek Singh road from where people buy organic wheat and flour.

Manoj Kumar said with the rise in demand for organic wheat every year, its prices too have increased manifold. "In the beginning, the price of per quintal organic wheat was Rs 1,800 to Rs 2,000," he said. He added that the taste of the organic wheat is quite different and the chapati made from the organic wheat remains fresh and tasteful for a longer period of time.

The foundation has so far sold 10 to 12 quintals of wheat at its outlet on Amreek Singh road and they expect to sell 40 to 50 quintals of wheat in the coming days.

An artist gives finishing touches to a rangoli on the concluding day of the 14th Rahul Kaushal Yadgaari Mela at Teachers’ Home in Bathinda on Sunday. Tribune photo: Pawan Sharma

Bathinda, May 12
Poets regaled the audience at the kavi darbar held on the concluding day of Rahul Memorial Art Fest today.

Vijay Vivek from Faridkot remained the highlight of the kavi darbar, while Sewak Singh Shamiria from Kotshamir elicited smiles and laughter with his fun-filled presentations.

Poet Neetu Arora's poems struck the right chord. She was also awarded the Rupinder Mann Memorial Award. Apart from her, poets Gursewak, Mangat Kuljind, Baljinder Singh Dhaliwal and Navi Shergill, all from Bathinda, also presented their poems.

Suresh Hans, the author of the Hindi novel "Tinka Tinka", which brought him the National Hinditar Bhashi Hindi Lekhak Puraskar, was also honoured on the occasion. Gurpreet Singh presented a slideshow, "Bulla Ki Jana Main Kaun" and "Guru Nanak Dev Ji's Aarti".

The fest concluded on a promising note.

Bathinda, May 12
Chief Parliamentary Secretary (CPS) Saroop Chand Singla today inaugurated a four-star luxury hotel, Best Western Plus Stella, that is a franchise of an international chain of hotels.

Speaking on the occasion, Singla said with the growth of industry here, there was need to upgrade the infrastructure.

The inauguration was to be done by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, but because of bad weather, his helicopter could not take off from Chandigarh.

Sudhir Sinha, president and chief operating officer of the Best Western India, said the standards and experience of over 4,000 hotels worldwide will not only bring quality to the city here but also attract international tourists to the region.

Bipan Garg, director of the hotel, said the hotel has the first in the town 24-hour coffee shop.

The new hotel will offer 45 well-furnished rooms, swimming pool and a host of other features to its guests that any international chain offers.

Bathinda, May 12
"As teachers, we should not only teach our students new things but also learn new things ourselves. And this is what the refresher course organised by the Centre for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT) was all about," said Gurdeep Singh Mann, the only teacher from Punjab to have attended the course which was held in Guwahati.

Mann, who teaches 'Purchasing & Book-keeping' at the Government Senior Secondary School, Rampura Phul, told Bathinda Tribune that the teachers who didn't go for the course missed out on a lot. "Despite the fact that it was an all expenses paid trip, they would have got a chance to meet teachers from other states and know about their culture and way of teaching," he said.

Talking about how he decided to attend the course, he said, "I have always been interested in travelling and knowing people. This was a golden opportunity and the day the letter inviting applications was issued by the office of the District Education Officer, I informed my school authorities that I wanted to go."

"I followed it up closely and read about the CCRT on the internet. I wanted to attend the course since I was curious to know what a national-level institute wanted to train the teachers in. Another big reason was the fact that the camp was being organised in Guwahati. I had travelled across India but had never been to the North-East. I grabbed the opportunity," he added.

He also accepted the fact that he was surprised that he was the only teacher from Punjab to have attended the course. "From every other state, there were at least five-six teachers, from some states, there were more than 10 teachers," he said.

"It was not just a fun trip. Expert lectures, talks, group discussions and many similar activities were organised as part of the course. The kind of activities that we were engaged in, like book binding and bamboo work, helped all of us gain a different perspective about the importance of time and various trades," he said.

Bathinda, May 12
Members of the Linemen Union, Punjab, today chalked out a strategy to stage protest against the state government for its failure to provide jobs to the 4,000 unemployed linemen in the state.

State president of the union Pirmal Singh and advisor Soma Singh addressed the members of the linemen and their family members at Chacha Nehru Park over their demands and the ongoing agitation.

Soma said the SAD-BJP government, during its previous tenure, had advertised that 5,000 linemen would be employed in Powercom, but only 1,000 linemen got the jobs. The government is now delaying the appointment of the 4,000 linemen on frivolous grounds. The linemen said they would soon intensify their agitation if the government failed to give appointment letters to the linemen.

The linemen have been agitating in the city on earlier occasions also and their stir has kept the police and the administration on its toes.

However, no concrete measure has so far been forthcoming to redress their grievances.

Bathinda, May 12
As many as 453 patients were examined during the two-day free diabetes and obesity awareness camp held at Max Super Speciality Hospital. The camp which concluded today was organized to address the problem of diabetes and related complications in eyes, kidneys, brain, heart and feet.

During the camp, diabetes specialist Dr Sushil Kotru, cardiologist Dr Sharad Gupta and diabetes foot wound expert Dr Bharat Kotru provided free consultation to the people with respect to diabetes and related concerns.

Dr Kotru said India is the second diabetes capital of world after China. In 2011, India's diabetic population was around 61.3 million, which is expected to increase at an alarming rate.

The International Diabetes Federation estimates that the Indian diabetic population will reach around 101 million by 2030. — TNS