Bathinda, June 4
An incomplete running track, snapped power connection to floodlights, lack of coaches and a yet-to-be-constructed handball ground - it is hard to believe the state of affairs at the Multi-purpose Sports Stadium which has hosted Bollywood stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar and Asin during opening ceremonies of the World Cup Kabaddi.

In its budget this year, the state government announced that a world-class Shaheed Baba Deep Singh Center for Excellence in Sports will be set up at Mohali with four regional campuses at Bathinda, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Amritsar for promotion of 10 'important' sports. It also proposed that the sportspersons will receive free coaching from international-level foreign and Indian coaches apart from free boarding and lodging facility.

The proposal seems to be a tall claim if one takes a closer look at the sports stadium in the city that was constructed with much fanfare.

Speaking to Bathinda Tribune, District Sports Officer Karam Singh said, “We have written to the Deputy Commissioner about the lack of maintenance at the stadium. The track is yet to be laid and the handball ground is also to be constructed. The stadium was handed over to the administration in 2011. We have not got any reply from the administration yet.”

Almost a year ago, some anti-social elements had broken the glasses of the washrooms meant for players and had also decamped with water pipes, taps and other fittings. The electricity connection to the floodlights was also discontinued since the bill to the tune of Rs 60,000 was not paid.

“Earlier, we used to keep the floodlights on every night but then we noticed that the stadium was turning into a place of recreation and not sports. After the power bill ran into thousands, we asked the Electricity Department to discontinue the supply. We take the connection only when an event is to be organised in the stadium,” Singh said.

Apart from hosting the opening ceremony of the World Cup Kabaddi, the stadium is used only for kabaddi matches since it lacks facilities for hosting other sporting events.

A former Olympian and the president of the District Athletics Association, KPS Brar, said, “I am a product of the same stadium and I feel sad to see that although the government spent a lot of money on dismantling the earlier structure and building a new one, it is not paying any attention towards its upkeep. The condition of the new stadium is the same as that of the old one in the 1980s.”

“The government is more interested in showing off the development of infrastructure and organises big events at the stadium. But once the event gets over, no one turns to look at the condition of the stadium,” he added.

Deputy Commissioner Kamal Kishore Yadav admitted that the stadium needed attention and maintenance. “We have asked the state government to release funds for the upkeep of the stadium. The annual cost of maintenance, excluding the expenditure incurred on repairs and construction, comes to about Rs 5 lakh.”

Apart from poor facilities for sportspersons, there is a lack of coaches as well. While the stadium remains open for the sportspersons from 4 to 7 pm during summers, their practice takes a beating for want of dedicated coaches.

In Bathinda, there are coaches only for volleyball, athletics and boxing. There is one coach each for volleyball and boxing in Talwandi Sabo and a wrestling coach in Goniana Mandi. Coaches for boxing, judo, wrestling and handball among several other sports are required in the city. 

Bathinda, June 4
Health officials today collected samples of milk and eatables from various places in the city.

Headed by the District Health Officer, Dr Raghubir Singh Randhawa, the team collected a total of nine samples. These included three samples of milk, one of mango shake, two of cold drink, two samples of pulses and a sample of protein powder. The collected samples will now be sent to the food testing laboratory at Chandigarh.

The team found 30 litre of mango shake stored in a steel drum at a shop in the bus stand. “The owner of the shop used to prepare a huge quantity of milk shake in the morning and served it at Rs 5 to Rs 10 per glass during the day. He used to add ice to the milk shake to increase its shelf life. However, it was not a healthy product,” said Dr Randhawa, adding that the entire milk shake was discarded. Overripened mangoes being used to prepare milk shake were also destroyed at the same shop.

Further, the health officials collected two samples of soft drinks bearing non-descript labels. Milk samples were collected from milkmen on the Goniana Road as well as from a dairy at the Mehna Chowk.

Dr Randhawa said if the collected samples were found unfit for human consumption, a court case would be filed against the accused under the Food Safety and Standards Act. If the food products were found sub-standard, the adjudicating officer, the Assistant Deputy Commissioner ADC (general), will penalise the accused.

Bathinda, June 4
Dimple Garg, a student of the Arya Model School, Bathinda, could not believe her eyes when she checked her PSEB Class X result. Dimple scored a zero in social science.

Any backbencher could have feared to fail in the examination but not Dimple, considering she scored 96 marks in science, 93 marks in mathematics, 84 in English, 89 in Hindi, and 137 (out of 150) in Punjabi.

Her parents said they also could not believe the result sheet and consoled their daughter and promised her to have the result corrected. However, they did not know they were to hit a dead end too.

They told Bathinda Tribune that they called on the PSEB control room number several times and were repeatedly given some other numbers to call on. “No one told us about whom to speak to or what to do in the matter,” they said. “Our daughter has suffered a blow. She scored very well in all other subjects but the result in social science was shocking. There has been some kind of error,” they added.

When contacted, PSEB public relation officer Raminderjit Singh Wasu said if the student had scored above 80 per cent marks in all other subjects and a zero in social science, there might have been a technical error. He advised that the parents should contact the higher authorities without wasting any time and the issue would be settled.

Bathinda, June 4
Shopkeepers and residents of the areas near the railway over bridge (ROB) on the Mansa road have demanded that the area under the bridge should be developed.

The shopkeepers said the areas under the bridge adjoining the ITI Chowk as well as on the side of the TV Tower fall under two different municipal wards. While Rajinder Kaur Brar represents the area near TV Tower, Daljit Singh Brar is the councillor of the ITI chowk area.

Satwinder Singh, a resident, said as the patches have not been developed, people have converted them into garbage-dumping sites. “The shopkeepers in the area have engaged sweepers especially to clean the garbage dumped here. The nearest place where the MCB sweepers work is the Harbans Nagar area. The entire area from the railway track to the ITI Chowk remains unkempt,” he said.

Malkit Singh added that the area should be developed by laying premix, laying inter-locking tiles or by turning it into a green strip. He added that after dusk, the strip gets converted into an public drinking place, courtesy the liquor vends nearby. "If streetlights are installed here, the unlawful activity can also be curbed," he said.

The mud from the patches enters houses and shops creating respiratory problem for their occupants. “We have discussed the issue with both the municipal councillors, but nothing has been done to end the problem yet. We face a lot of problems, especially in summers and monsoons,” added Malkit Singh.

Since the patch belongs to Center Works Division (CWD) department, the Municipal Corporation, Bathinda (MCB), does not have any say in its development. The estimates for laying inter-locking tiles were also presented in the general House meeting of the MCB held on December 8, 2012. An estimate of Rs 10,73,000 was presented to lay the tiles on the TV Tower side while another estimate of Rs 11,20,000 was floated to lay tiles on the ITI Chowk side.

Municipal councillor Daljit Singh Brar was not available for comments despite repeated attempts while councillor Rajinder Kaur Brar was unable to talk due to some unavoidable reasons.

“Since the land in question is not our prerogative, we refused to pass these estimates. We will only be able to develop these patches if the area residents request us. Once people give us in writing, we can take up the matter with the CWD department,” said municipal commissioner Uma Shankar Gupta. He added that the MCB cannot act without permission from the CWD department. He said the portion towards the ITI Chowk could be developed along with the roundabout very soon.

Bathinda, June 4
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has imposed a penalty of Rs 2,000 on the HDFC Bank's branch near bus stand in Bathinda following a complaint about transferring money from a customer's savings account to his kid's account without bringing it to the customer's knowledge. The transfer of money disturbed the maintenance of the minimum balance in the customer's account. Consequently, the bank deducted Rs 2481.75 from his account.

A quorum of Vikramjit Kaur Soni and Sikhwinder Kaur passed the order.

The complainant in the case, Narinder Kumar, stated that making repeated requests, bank officials had allured him to open a zero-balance savings account. Later, they got another account opened in the name of his 15-year-old son. The bank officials had said Rs 1,000 would be transferred from his savings account to the kid's account every month.

The complainant, however, claimed to have closed the kid's account by withdrawing Rs 16, 278 lying in the account on April 26, 2010. He also submitted the unused cheques with the bank.

Meanwhile, the bank continued transferring Rs 1,000 to the kid's account. The savings account, which had Rs 18, 879 as balance on April 26, 2010, was left with Rs 1.50 on September 10, 2012.

The complainant's counsel, Jai Gopal, said despite his client's account being a zero balance, the bank deducted Rs 827.25 thrice for his failure to maintain the minimum balance of Rs 10,000.

The counsel for the bank, Vinod Garg, said withdrawing entire amount from the kid's account did not mean that the account was closed. The bank only transferred money from one account to another. Since Narinder Kumar was guardian of his kid's account, he might have withdrawn the money from the latter's account as well. A sum of Rs 827.25 was debited for not maintaining the average quarterly balance in the savings account, Garg said.

The Forum observed that after withdrawing Rs 16, 278 from the kid's account, the complainant assumed that the account was closed. He never moved an application or gave any representation in this connection to the bank but submitted the unused cheques.

At the same time, when the bank found that the balance in the kid's account is Rs 0.66, the bank officials never deemed it fit to ask the complainant that whether he wants to continue the account or not.

Moreover, the defendant kept on deducting the amount from the savings account and credited the same in the kid's account without any further instructions from the complainant. Resultantly, the balance in the savings amount reduced and the bank charged Rs 827.25 thrice on April 26, 2011, July 13, 2011, and October 10, 2011, on account of non-maintenance of the average quarterly balance. The bank never informed the complainant that he was required to maintain the average quarterly balance.

The Forum penalised the bank with Rs 2,000. Besides, it directed the bank refund Rs 2481.75 to the complainant. It further directed that the kid's account be closed. In case of non-compliance of the order, the opposite party will have to pay the amount along with interest of 9 per cent per annum.

Bathinda, June 4
The Municipal Corporation, Bathinda (MCB), has not planted even a single sapling in the Pratap Nagar area during the last three years.

The president of the Naujawan Welfare Society received the information under the Right To Information (RTI) Act. The applicant had sought details of the plantation activities undertaken in the Pratap Nagar area from April 2010 to March 2013.

The information revealed that area municipal councillor Anjana Rani was given 10 plants and an equal number of tree guards on September 8, 2010. A plant and a tree guard each was given to MCB clerk Surjan Singh on September 20, 2010 and to retired postman Ashok Kumar on April 20, 2012. “As per the RTI reply, residents of Pratap Nagar got 12 plants in the last three years. However, the MCB did not mention the places where these saplings were planted and tree guards installed. There is no detail of the amount spent to purchase these saplings and tree guards,” said Sonu Maheshwari, the president of the NGO. — TNS

Bathinda, June 4
The various moods of the weather god continue to bother the residents of Bathinda and its adjoining areas. Although there has been a decline in the maximum temperature recorded in the city over the past couple of days, the increase in the humidity level has not allowed the residents heave a sigh of relief.

As per the agri-met department of the PAU regional station, Bathinda, while the maximum temperature on Tuesday was recorded at 43 degree Celsius, the minimum was recorded at 29.2 degree Celsius.

The maximum and minimum temperatures were recorded at 42.6 and 28.4 degree Celsius, respectively. On Sunday, the temperatures were recorded at 44.6 and 27 degree Celsius, respectively.

However, winds blowing at a speed of 5.5 kmph spelt discomfort for the region. The humidity level also rose to be recorded at 64 per cent in the morning and 15-25 per cent in the evening.

As per the fresh forecast released on Tuesday, there is a possibility of light thundershower or dust storm in isolated areas of the region in the next 24 hours.

Bathinda, June 4
The students of Baba Farid Public Senior Secondary School, Bathinda, brought laurels to the school with their performance in the PSEB class X examinations. All the 43 students passed the examination in first division. Manjot Kaur, a student of the school, secured 608 marks out of 650 and stood second in the district and 20th in the PSEB merit list.

Lovepreet Singh Brar secured 596 marks while Ravideep secured 589 marks and stood second and third, respectively, in school. As many as 24 students of the school got more than 80 per cent marks and the rest secured more than 72 per cent marks.

Managing director of the Baba Farid Vidyak Society, Gurmeet Singh Dhaliwal and director, administration, Paramjit Kaur Dhaliwal, congratulated the students on their achievement.

Students of MSD Senior Secondary Public School also did well in the examination. As many as 157 students had appeared in the examination and 98 per cent of them passed.

While Gurpreet Kaur stood first with 90.3 per cent marks, Prerna and Sanya bagged the second and third positions with 89.5 and 89 per cent marks, respectively. As many as 12 students secured more than 85 per cent marks while 13 students secured more than 80 per cent marks.

School chairman Chiranji Lal Garg, secretary KK Garg, president Rajan Garg and director Suraj Setia honoured the students and announced 100 per cent fee concession for them. 

Bathinda, June 4
The work on verification of digitisation of ration cards in Punjab has begun on completion of which people can view their ration cards online. In a press statement issued here, the District Food and Supplies Controller (DFSC), Bathinda, Captain Praveen Vij stated that as per the guidelines of the Supreme Court, under the first phase, the ration cards were digitised and the data was uploaded on the internet. Now, the work on the verification of the digitized data has begun.

For the verification, the examiner, food and supplies and depot holders will seek Aadhar cards or enrollment slips and pass books of bank accounts of ration card holders. The information about all these documents will be linked with the digitised ration cards.

The online verification is related to the direct benefit scheme of the government wherein things like subsidy on LPG cylinders and stipends given to the students will directly be credited into the accounts of the beneficiaries.

Seeking cooperation from the general public, District Food and Supplies Controller Captain Vij said they should take benefit of the scheme and urged to them to provide the depot holders with all the required documents. — TNS

Bathinda, June 4
Six-week long coaching classes to prepare the aspirants for the written exam of National Defence Academy and Combined Defence Services (NDA/CDS) commenced at the District Defence Services Welfare Office, Bathinda.

District Defence Services Welfare Officer Cdr (Retd) Baljinder Singh Virk informed that the candidates will be taught all subjects covered in the NDA/CDS examination during the coaching session.

It will be the earnest endeavour of the department to prepare the candidates in all aspects with the help of subject specialists, he added. In addition to the coaching for the written examination, the candidates will also get a chance to interact with senior officials of the Army, Navy and Air Force.

Special emphasis will be laid on the overall personality development of the candidates. He stated that the financial incentive scheme of the Government of Punjab has proved to be a motivating factor in attracting the youth to join the Armed Forces as commissioned officers. He also expressed gratitude towards Monika Singh, principal of the Police Public School, teachers Roshan Singh, Iti Behal, Harsimrat Kaur, staff members and candidates for their support and enthusiasm. 

Bathinda, June 4
A workshop on continuous and comprehensive evaluation (CCE) and life skills was organised at the RBDAV Public School on here today by the publishing firm S Chand and Co. The main focus of the workshop was on the effective implementation of the CCE in schools.

The first session dealt with the tools and techniques for evaluation involving understanding, application, creativity, analysing and remembering, etc. Various rating scales used for assessing a child's progress were also discussed.

The workshop became interesting with a story telling session. Through the stories, the resource persons threw light on the importance of subject-based activities which would help in the development of the child.

The second session highlighted the importance of life skills through activities. Real life classroom situations were created and the teachers enacted roles to represent the implementation of life skills. Principal Dr Satwant Kaur Bhullar, thanked the resource persons and laid stress on integrated methods of teaching. — TNS

Bathinda, June 4
A labourer suffering from high fever due to heat stroke died today. His body was found lying in front of the Municipal Corporation office. Volunteers of the NGO Sahara Jan Sewa said the deceased has been identified as Anil Kumar, a resident of Abohar.

The NGO sent the body to the mortuary of the Civil Hospital. President of Sahara Vijay Goyal said so far, five cases of deaths have been reported in Bathinda due to the heat wave.

In another incident, police booked the driver of an unidentified car for rash driving. The complainant, Hardeep Singh of Buladewala village, said his car which was hit by another speeding car near Bhai Ghanaiya Chowk. 

Bathinda, June 4
The neighbourhood campus of the Punjabi University at Maur is registering a heavy rush for admissions to professional courses for the academic session 2013-14. Campus principal Dr DK Madaan stated that admissions for MBA (Integrated), B.Com (Professional), BCA, BA (girls only), PGDCA, M Sc IT (LE), MCA and MBA courses have started.

The last date for the receipt of admission forms is June 26. A late fee of Rs 500 would be levied on the forms submitted up to July 1, Rs 1,000 on forms submitted up to July 5 and Rs 2,000 on forms submitted up to the day of the interview.

The principal also stated that the campus is well-equipped with computer labs, seminar rooms, library and a canteen. In order to promote and develop a professional culture, an active interaction with the industry is also encouraged by organising extension lectures, workshops and industrial visits. For all the courses being taught on the campus, international methods of instruction such as field study, class room presentations, seminars, group discussions and simulations are used.

Under the guidance of the Vice-chancellor, the principal and the faculty members visit the surrounding villages to spread awareness about the various facilities being provided by the university like reservation of 10 per cent extra seats for the students of the rural areas, fee concessions for SC, ST and rural students, post-matric scholarship for students belonging to minority section and various other scholarships.

Bathinda, June 4
A bag containing cash and jewellery worth Rs 48,000 was stolen from a car near the bus stand.

The complainant, Yogesh Jindal, said he along with his wife and some relatives came to drop an acquaintance at the bus stand. A handbag containing cash and jewellery was kept in the car and was stolen by some unidentified persons. The complainant said that the bag contained four gold rings, Rs 7,000 in cash and a mobile phone.

A case has been registered in this regard under section 379 of the IPC at the Civil Lines police station.