Bathinda, November 9
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal's Sangat Darshan programme held in Bathinda today drew flak from people visiting police stations, Saanjh Kendra and Suvidha Centre for some work but could not find staff as the entire workforce was deputed at the CM's programme.

Even policemen were not happy about being forced to remain present at the Sangat Darshan venue in Parjapat Colony instead of listening to public queries at their respective workplaces.

People regretted that such programmes were putting general public to inconvenience. They urged the Badal Government to let government servants discharge their duties at their offices so that people could be saved from the harassment they have to face due to absence of officials.

"Instead of doing our routine work, we are forced to remain present at the Sangat Darshan where we have nothing to do except for keeping an eye over public," said a policeman deployed at Parjapat Colony.

Policemen regretted that every time a member of Badal family visited Bathinda, work in the police and other government departments was affected.

"I came all the way from Talwandi Sabo to get a police clearance certificate (PCC) for entry pass to gain access to Bathinda refinery. The visit proved futile as there is no official here," said Sulakhan Singh at Suvidha Centre.

Shyam Sunder, a Military Engineering Services (MES) employee, said after making repeated rounds to obtain a PCC for the past one month, he was supposed to collect it today. "But nobody is here to deliver the document. I have learnt that officials have been deputed at the CM's Sangat Darshan," he said.

Functioning of government offices could improve to a great extent if the state government and politicians refrain from dragging employees into such fruitless tasks, he added.

People trying to obtain verification reports of old vehicles, passport verification and other important tasks too expressed similar views.

Complainants were found sitting outside police stations in the city, including Civil Line, Cantonment, Kotwali, Canal Colony and Thermal, waiting for officials to return from Parjapat Colony.

"We receive 50 to 60 online passport forms from Chandigarh everyday, a copy of which is sent to the police station concerned and the ADGP Crime for police verification. The number of pending cases rises with shifting of nine employees of the Suvidha Centre out of 11, including the in-charge, to Sangat Darshan programmes," said a cop on VIP duty. He lamented that they have to work overtime for many days to clear the backlog.

Registration of NRIs, arms license renewal, marking of complaints to respective investigating agencies and other work are delayed every time a VIP visits the city, said policemen deployed at the Saanjh Kendra and the Suvidha Centre.

"Even as the ADGP has issued written orders that important tasks of the police force should not be disturbed during a VIP visit, senior police functionaries force us to do VIP duties," they said.

Meanwhile, police force was deployed in strength at Parjapat Colony. All senior police functionaries were present at the venue.

Bathinda, November 9
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today announced Rs 50 lakh for construction of the B Block of the lawyers' chambers at the District Court Complex here.

A section of advocates, including Bar Association president Mahinder Singh Sidhu, former Bar Association secretary Gurwinder Mann, Mithu Ram Gupta, Gurtej Singh Sidhu, Daljit Brar, Sukhdev Bahia and Rakesh Gupta, met the Chief Minister during his Sangat Darshan programme at Parjapat Colony.

Gurwinder Mann said the lawyers were seeking grant from the state government for a long time. "Earlier too, the state government had released funds for construction of 304 chambers in the court complex," Mann said. It took four years to make the project of building these chambers a reality. He pointed out that there were still many senior advocates operating from outside the court complex, adding that they should be given chambers for which an area had already been earmarked in the complex.

The Chief Minister asked the chief secretary and the Deputy Commissioner to release Rs 25 lakh for lawyers' chambers. The remaining Rs 25 lakh would be given after utilisation certificate for the previous grant was submitted.

Surprisingly, the Chief Minister declined to lay the foundation stone of the lawyers' chambers and suggested that lawyers should look for someone else for the task. Initially, he asked them to find a senior advocate to lay the stone but later agreed to lay it in the coming few days or so.

Lawyers said they would collect an estimated Rs 50 lakh to Rs 60 lakh from those interested in chambers. While every lawyer has paid Rs 15,000, they will be asked to deposit an additional sum of Rs 21,000 before December 30.

It is learnt that the construction of the B Block will cost an estimated Rs 7 crore.

Bathinda, November 9
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today said neither the former chief minister, Surjit Singh Barnala, nor any of his family members had ever met him to express a desire that Barnala wants to rejoin the SAD. However, he said the party would take the call in case of such eventuality.

Earlier, while addressing the gathering during the Sangat Darshan programme held at Parjapat Colony in the city, the Chief Minister claimed that these programmes gave boost to the ongoing development process in the state.

Later, the Chief Minister accompanied by Lok Sabha MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal also laid down the foundation stone of a sewerage project in the Teachers' Colony.

Prominent among those present on the occasion included Deputy Commissioner Kamal Kishore Yadav, Chief Parliamentary Secretary and local MLA Sarup Chand Singla, MLA Darshan Singh and CM's Special Principal Secretary KJS Cheema.

Bathinda, November 9
Prof Rattan Lal Hangloo, the newly appointed vice-chancellor of Kalyani University, West Bengal, who has served as the Dean, School of Global Relations and School of Languages, Literature and Culture at the Central University of Punjab (CUP), Bathinda, aims at holistic development of Kalyani University.

Speaking to the TNS over the phone from West Bengal today, Prof Hangloo discussed plans for his new assignment and recounted his experience at the CUP Bathinda. He now aims at promoting integration of knowledge of natural sciences with social sciences and humanities at the Kalyani University.

"The effectiveness of research, outreach programmes and broad access will be strengthened at Kalyani University by providing innovative use of science and technology to the faculty and students. Areas like nano technology, biodiversity, Bengali diaspora, ethnology-archaeology, developmental economics, media studies, green architecture, hospitality and tourism management, societal sciences and environmental studies will also be strengthened," he said.

Recalling his stint at the CUP in Bathinda in 2012, he said he had come to Punjab with the hope of contributing to the growing educational hub and being in the neighbourhood of his home state Jammu & Kashmir. "But unfortunately, it turned out to be a different experience. A university cannot be defined by simply colouring and conversion of old buildings, it can be defined only by vision. It was difficult for an established academician to stay there," he said.

Talking of issues that ail the higher education system, Prof Hangloo felt that the current higher education scenario in India is facing a serious de-motivation. "We need to invest in infrastructure and quality of teachers, upgrade teaching skills and focus on research areas," he added.

Commenting on the spurt in the number of private universities across the country, he said it was historically inevitable in India. "We have a mindset that education is destroyed by private institution. Initially, it happened because many private educational centres earned money but now the trend is changing. Private universities are doing a lot of research globally to streamline and strengthen their institutions. Look at the Amity or the new university set up by Wipro or others. They look for good teachers, have better infrastructure and a desire to compete globally," he said.

Prof Hangloo added that keeping in view the growth of population in India, the country needs private participation in the education sector. India has the second largest system of higher education, the first being the USA. Today also, the total number of students represents only 6 per cent of youngsters in the age-group of 18-23 years, which is less than the average in the developed countries at 47 per cent. The government is not in a position to cater to that. Hence, the private sector steps in, he added.

Bathinda, November 9
Love for a luxury car landed a mechanical engineering student and a BA-first year student behind bars.

The students belong to well-to-do families residing in Model Town Phase III and on the Ajit Road in the city.

Investigating officer Devinder Singh said Jaskaran Singh and Bawanpreet have been booked under Section 411 of the IPC. The duo is accused of stealing Rs 14 lakh from the house of Jaskaran's maternal grandmother, a resident of the nearby Goniana Mandi, a few months ago.

While Jaskaran's father works with the Military Engineering Services (MES), Bathinda cantonment, Bawanpreet's father was patwari, a revenue official.

The young boys spent Rs 10 lakh on buying a Chevrolet Cruz car. Some of their relatives saw them driving down the city roads in the car and brought the matter into the notice of the police suspecting their role in the theft.

The police said Jaskaran was an engineering student at the Giani Zail Singh PTU Campus while Bawanpreet was pursuing graduation from the Punjabi University, Patiala.

The accused were brought to the Sadar police station where they reportedly confessed to having committed the theft. The police said the car worth nearly Rs 10 lakh has been recovered from the possession of the accused and efforts were on to recover the remaining Rs 4 lakh.

The accused boys admitted that they stole the money by breaking into the woman's place while she was away. The police said woman's husband died sometime ago and Jaskaran used to visit his grandmother off and on. A member of the family was a commission agent and keeping lakhs of rupees in the house was a common thing. Keeping an eye over the money, the accused planned to steal the money to fulfill their desire to drive around in a luxury car. 

Bathinda, November 9
The fall in temperature has brought down the number of dengue cases being reported in the district.

Four of the 42 blood samples have tested positive for dengue. Similarly, of the 36 samples collected on November 5, three were found to be positive for the disease.

Earlier, the department had collected 46 samples on November 1 and 25 of them tested positive for dengue. Of these, two samples were of people from other districts. Similarly, of the 38 samples collected on October 29, 27 were found to be positive.

So far, blood samples of 361 suspected dengue patients have been tested and 119 have been found to be positive. The 119 patients include 11 patients reported from Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH), Ludhiana, and two from Mansa.

"An analysis of the data collected reveals that the dengue positive cases have nosedived vis-à-vis the dip in temperature. The situation is expected to improve by the end of November when cold weather intensifies," said the District Health Officer, Dr Raghubir Singh Randhawa.

While the number of dengue cases is on the decline, the numbers of fever cases persist. All the blood samples tested for dengue were of patients suffering from fever.

Doctors at the Civil Hospital here said while fever cases may continue due to weather, the number of dengue cases would witness a fall. — TNS

Bathinda, November 9
A three-day module of the management development programme in academic leadership for senior and middle-level faculty of Giani Zail Singh Punjab Technical University Campus, Bathinda, in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode, began at GZS PTU campus.

Convener of the programme, Prof Karanvir Singh said the management development programme (MDP) for faculty members of Giani Zail Singh, Punjab Technical University Campus, Bathinda (GZS-PTU) is a unique proposition, as IIM Kozikode is a pioneer in organising the MDPs for engineering colleges across the country.

Course co-convener Prof Jatinder Kaur welcomed the course faculty from IIM Kozikode who had especially come to Bathinda to conduct the MDP. TEQIP coordinator Dr Balwinder Singh said the MDP is being sponsored by the TEQIP-II project.

Program facilitator from IIM Kozikode, Prof Omkumar Krishnan introduced the participants to the MDP and said the experience of their own faculty members has helped in formulating objectives and the programme design of this MDP for GZS-PTU.

Besides, the visit of campus director Dr Jasbir Singh Hundal to IIM Kozikode campus as part of the TEQIP management development program helped in formulating appropriate pedagogies for the respective sessions and planning modules for this MDP.

Faculty from the IIM Kozikode, Prof Saji Gopinath said the MDP is a part of six- day programme designed as 36 hours of classroom interaction with about six hours of interactions per day. The first programme would be divided into two modules and will be organised at the Bathinda campus itself. The later programme would be a continuous six-day affair at the IIM Kozikode campus itself, where the faculty of GZS-PTU campus, Bathinda would be deputed to get a feel of the world class campus. The first module would concentrate on the operational aspects and the second module will focus on strategic visioning for building a world class institution.

Prof Anandakuttan B. Unnithan, another faculty member from IIM Kozikode, stressed that learning methods would largely be participant-centred and emphasis would be on peer-group learning in addition to the sharing of perspectives from orientation of the torch-bearers of GZS PTU for institutional development.

Dr Jasbir Singh Hundal said the MDP aims at transforming the campus into a world class institute by focusing on the institutional and academic leadership needs. 

Bathinda, November 9
A cluster level workshop of Red Ribbon Club was held at the Malwa College. The department of youth services, Punjab, held this workshop under the guidance of the assistant director, youth services, Dr Kamaljit Singh Sidhu.

Six student peer educators and a nodal officer each of Gurukul College, Bathinda, Baba Sri Chand Government College, Sardargarh, ITI Bathinda, Malwa College, Bathinda and Malwa College of Physical Education, Bathinda, participated in the workshop. The participants were imparted training regarding the steps needed to be taken to promote blood donation, to create awareness about the symptoms, effects and treatment of AIDS and the harm caused by the intoxicants.

College dean NK Gosain welcomed the participants. Dr Kamaljit Singh Sidhu outlined the activities of Red Ribbon Club. He said Red Ribbon Clubs have been established in educational institutions by the Punjab State AIDS Control Society to create awareness on AIDS.

Speaking at the event, UN AIDS educator Narinder Bassi spoke about the AIDS disease in detail. Resham Singh from the Civil Hospital blood bank in Bathinda underlined the importance of blood donation. He appealed to the students to save precious lives by donating blood. Naresh Pathania from the District Red Cross Society imparted first aid training and spoke on the ill-effects of different kinds of addiction.

Honorary director, Malwa College, Dr Shardev Singh Gill extended a vote of thanks. Manpreet Singh Tiwana conducted the stage proceedings.

Bathinda, November 9
Members of the Unaided Teachers Front, Punjab, comprising male and female teachers deployed in unaided schools took out a candle march near Teachers’ Home today. The teachers alleged that despite their three meetings with the Chief Minister, no tangible results had come out. The teachers said they decided to take out a candle march in search of the CM.

District president of the Front, Gurpreet Singh said that there are 483 unaided schools in the state and 13 in Bathinda where teachers are performing their duties on contract basis for the past decade. “We are demanding that these teachers should be declared permanent employees of the state government but to no avail”, Gurpreet said. He lamented that the teachers work under the school committees and the officials seek details about teachers from the committee members who are usually partial.

Bathinda, November 9
A knee and joint check-up camp was organised at Health Street Hospital where a team of surgeons from Shalby Hospital, Ahmedabad, consisting of Dr Ashish Sheth and Dr Ranjit Singh examined 50 patients for knee and joint problems.

Medical advice, with respect to medication and physiotherapy after proper investigations, was given to the patients. The physiotherapy sessions were explained to the patients and they were educated on ways to lead a healthy lifestyle.

The patients requiring joint replacement were identified and they were educated about the unique technique that has been pioneered by Shalby Hospital, wherein the total surgical joint replacement procedure takes less than 20 minutes and the patient is able to walk after four hours of surgery. The patient can also climb stairs the day after surgery and can be discharged from the hospital after three days, said the managing director of Health Street Hospital, Dr Ajay Gupta.

The joint check-up camp would be held on December 10 from 10 am to 5 pm. The knee and joint replacement surgeries would start at Health Street Hospital, Bathinda, from the month of December.

The doctors from Shalby Hospital, Ahmedabad, would also be conducting OPDs at Health Street, Bathinda, on the first and third Friday of every month.

A rickshaw-puller falls down after colliding with a motorcyclist near Fauji Chowk on Saturday. The rickshaw-puller was allegedly coming from the wrong side. Tribune photo: Pawan Sharma

Investigating Officer (IO) Balwant Singh said one of the parties accused the other of pocketing money in the name of selling a piece of land. Neither was the money refunded nor was the land transferred to the other party. The probe in the case is still on, he said.

Two booked in dowry case

Police today booked two persons for demanding dowry. A case under sections 498-A and 406 of the IPC has been registered against Vinay Kumar and Guddan at the women's police station.

Motorcycle stolen

A motorcycle worth nearly Rs 35,000 was stolen by some unidentified persons from near the entrance of the Civil Hospital, Bathinda. The complainant, Malkit Singh of Jai Singhwala village, said some unidentified persons took away his motorbike when he had gone inside the hospital. A case under section 379 of the IPC has been registered at Kotwali police station.