Bathinda, August 8
The dry port centre on the Mansa road here exemplifies an industrial dream remaining unrealised in Malwa.

Set up in 1998 with an aim to make Bathinda an export hub, the dry port now stands converted into a godown of the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation (PSWC).

Even the presence of a unit of the Vardhman Polytex and the Guru Gobind Singh Refinery could not bail out the dry port from running into a rough weather, soon after it started operations.

“Cotton crop is the USP of Malwa. The state government had plans to cash in on the export of cotton and trade it through the Bathinda dry port,” said officials of the central excise department at Jalandhar, under whom the unit lies.

Consignments were sent from here to the Ludhiana dry port by road and further to its destination. For the last five years, not even a single consignment has been booked.

“The business here has never been brisk. Till a few years ago, we used to send consignments of a trader dealing in animal bones and another of the Verka Milk Plant that used to export ghee and other dairy products. But now suddenly, the business has come to a standstill,” said the officials.

In the good old days, the consignments were booked at Bathinda and sent to Ludhiana via roads.

He added that lack of a custom house agent (CHA) too factored in the facility not becoming popular. CHAs are agents of importers and exporters.

PS Randhawa, an industrialist, said lack of proper infrastructure, unavailability of custom officials and delay in delivery of goods killed the centre. “It was one of the best options available to us. But had there been as good infrastructure as is present at the Ludhiana dry port, things would have been different,” he said.

With the commissioning of the Bathinda refinery, it was speculated that the business transaction at the centre might get an impetus. However, the refinery exports its products directly from its premises. While the HPCL sells eight petroleum products, the HMEL sells three solid products, including petcoke, sulphur and polypropylene, from its premises leaving no business for the dry port.

Similarly, the unit of the Vardhman Polytex sends its produce to its parent unit at Ludhiana from where it is exported further.

The two huge godowns meant for import and export are now being used to store wheat and paddy. The PSWC now runs its operations at the port.

Bathinda, August 8
Water water everywhere, not a place to rehearse! This could well have been the rhyme on the lips of the students who assembled at the Multi-purpose Sports Stadium here to rehearse for the Independence Day parade and cultural function.

marching forward: NCC girl cadets rehearsing for the Independence Day parade at the Multi-purpose Sports Stadium in Bathinda on Thursday; (right) nursing students of the Civil Hospital rehearse for the parade. Tribune photos: Pawan Sharma

After the downpour on Tuesday, the stadium had rainwater stagnated at various places on the ground making it extremely difficult for the students to rehearse. For a day, the students were made to rehearse at the MSD School grounds.

While complaints of non-availability of enough potable water for the children at the stadium kept pouring in, there was enough water on the ground to keep the students to the fringes of the ground.

Sounding positive about the rehearsals, assistant education officer (AEO) Pavittar Kaur said, “No one can escape the nature’s fury. The good thing is that we have managed to continue with the rehearsals. As the ground is yet to dry up, the children have no option but to form groups and practise on the portions of the ground which are dry.”

When asked if there were plans to look for another place for rehearsals, she said, “We understand that rehearsing in groups will not help in preparing for the final event. We had tried to look for places where we could possibly accommodate so many students but there is no such place in the city. We even checked the grain market but it is very dirty.”

Earlier on Wednesday, rehearsals for cultural items to be presented on the I-Day function were reviewed by a team of officials comprising Sub-Divisional Magistrate Damanjeet Singh Mann, principal of the Government Polytechnic College Yadwinder Singh, District Education Officer (Secondary Education) Harkanwaljeet Kaur and assistant education officer Pavittar Kaur. Cultural items of five schools have been chosen for the I-Day function. The schools are RBDAV Senior Secondary School, St Joseph Convent School, Clay India School, Sangat Mandi, Government Adarsh School Senior Secondary School and Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Maluka. The review committee asked these schools to include at least 175-200 students in their teams so as to fill the stadium ground.

Bathinda, August 8
As many as 106 lecturers teaching various subjects in government schools in the state have been promoted and made principals. The list includes four lecturers teaching in schools in Bathinda district.

Apart from promotion, the lecturers have also been assigned stations where they have been posted after being granted the promotion.

Apart from four from Bathinda, the list has four names from Amritsar, two from Barnala, six from Faridkot, three from Fazilka, three from Fatehgarh Sahib, two from Ferozepur, eight from Gurdaspur, nine from Hoshiarpur, four from Jalandhar, one from Kapurthala, 12 from Ludhiana, two from Mansa, two from Muktsar, 14 from Patiala, three from Pathankot, three from Ropar, 15 from Sangrur, one from Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, five from Ajitgarh and one from Tarn Taran.

From Bathinda district, the list includes the names of Ashok Kumar, a lecturer in mathematics at the Desraj School in Bathinda, who has been promoted to the post of principal of the Government Senior Secondary School, Kotfatta.

Thakur Singh, a lecturer in political science at the Government Senior Secondary School, Nathana, has been posted as the principal of Government Senior Secondary School, Selbrah.

Rajwinder Kaur, a lecturer in biology at the Government Senior Secondary School, Deon, has been posted as the principal of Government Boys Senior Secondary School, Goniana.

Jasbeer Singh Dhillon, lecturer in physics at the Des Raj Government Senior Secondary School, Bathinda, has been posted as the principal of Government Senior Secondary School, Kotbhara.

New assignments for... Ashok Kumar, a lecturer in mathematics at the Desraj School in Bathinda. Thakur Singh, a lecturer in political science at the Government Senior Secondary School, Nathana. Rajwinder Kaur, a lecturer in biology at the Government Senior Secondary School, Deon. Jasbeer Singh Dhillon, a lecturer in physics at the Des Raj Government Senior Secondary School, Bathinda.

Bathinda, August 8
The Bathinda Association of NGOs (BANGO) will hold a meeting with the Bathinda Kite Association with the aim of controlling the sale of China-made kite strings in the market.

This was discussed at a meeting of BANGO held today. In a press statement issued here today, the chief coordinator of BANGO, Ramneek Walia stated that though the festival of Makar Sankranti is a few months away, the China-made kite string has already entered the 
market.

Retailers and wholesale dealers are stocking their shops with the string, which has been banned due to its harmful effects.

Walia said that a meeting is being held with the Bathinda Kite Association wherein the strategy to strictly enforce the ban will be charted out.

The BANGO office-bearers will also meet Punjab Industries Minister Anil Joshi over the issue.

BANGO office-bearers Dr AP Grover, Rakesh Narula, Sonu Maheshwari, Rajan Singla, Kailash Garg and others were also present on the occasion where the decision was taken.

Fact file The Bathinda Association of NGOs (BANGO) has said that though the festival of Makar Sankranti is a few months away, the China-made kite string has already entered the market. Retailers and wholesale dealers are stocking their shops with the string, which has been banned due to its harmful effects. BANGO office-bearers will also meet Industries Minister Anil Joshi over the issue.

Bathinda, August 8
Aiming to preserve the rich Punjabi culture and popularise it, the students of Guru Kashi University (GKU) celebrated the festival of Teej on the campus to welcome the monsoon season. The students performed on various folk dances and sang songs related to the festival on the campus. Giddha performance by the students attracted the students from the other parts of the country.

Saktar Singh, Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Talwandi Sabo, was the chief guest on the occasion. He inaugurated the plantation campaign and in his keynote address, motivated the students to take part in such activities along with studies to ensure holistic development.

Sukhraj Singh Sidhu, managing director, appreciated the initiative of the education department which organised the function. Dr NS Malhi, Vice-Chancellor of the university, shared that Teej celebration and the tree plantation drive will prove to be very fruitful.

Bathinda, August 8
A district-level soft tennis tournament for the Under-15, Under-17 and Under-19 categories of girls and boys will be held in the city on August 14. The tournament will be organised at the Police Public School. All the zonal secretaries have been asked to send in the entries of their respective soft tennis players. The zonal secretaries have also been asked to fill the summary sheets of all the players before sending them to compete in the tournament.

Ramandeep Singh, lecturer in physical education at the Government Senior Secondary School, Bhokhra, has been appointed as the convener of the tournament.

Gurinderjeet Singh (Government High School, Lehra Sauda), Manpreet Kaur (Government Elementary School, Bir Talab Basti 4-5), Harbhagwan (Government High School, Virk Khurd) and Amritpal Kaur (Government High School, Sekhon) have been appointed the members of the committee that is organising the soft tennis tournament. 

fact file The tournament will be held for the Under-15, Under-17 and Under-19 categories of both girls and boys. It will be held at the Police Public School. All the zonal secretaries have been asked to send in the entries of their soft tennis players.

Bathinda, August 8
Police have booked a woman for attempting to murder her husband over a trivial issue. In his complaint to the police, Suresh Kumar of Khati Bazar, Rampura, said his wife entered into heated arguments with him when water entered his house following incessant rains. His wife then attacked and injured him, he alleged.

The man regretted that as he tried to pacify his wife, she put a piece of cloth (chunni) on to his neck and strangulated him and also put a mosquito repellant into his mouth.

The husband regretted that his wife beat him up and was pulled aside only after the intervention of the people residing nearby and his parents.

Investigating officer in the case, sub-inspector Gurjant Singh from Rampura city police station said the complainant works in a rice sheller. The couple married around seven and a half years ago and has a six-year-old daughter. The couple resides on the first floor of the house and the man's parents reside on the first floor.