Mini Zoo captivates visitors after facelift
Bir Talab (Bathinda), December 27
After an expenditure of Rs 9.5 crores, the Bir Talab Mini Zoo has witnessed a sea change and has now become a place worth visiting. With animals and birds shifted to seven huge cages that were built recently, the Deer Safari was also opened for the visitors today. Once a den of people of disrepute, the zoo seems to have now become presentable for the reputed people.

Animals at the deer safari recently opened at the Mini Zoo, Bir Talab, in Bathinda on Friday. A Tribune photograph

‘Make sure that children’s rights are protected’
Bathinda, December 27
Chairman of the District Child Protection Scheme, Gurpreet Singh Maluka, today convened a meeting at the District Administrative Complex. During the meeting, the chairman and the members of the society discussed various steps being taken to give teeth to the Integrated Child Protection Society.

Chairman of the District Child Protection Scheme, Gurpreet Singh Maluka (in light blue turban) addresses the meeting in Bathinda on Friday. A Tribune photograph.

Year 2013 ender
Gold witnessed ups and downs
Bathinda, December 27
The year experienced a massive upheaval in the price of gold. The market which had been looking dismal since the beginning of the year with the rate for 22k gold set at Rs 31,250 per 10 gram on January 1,was suddenly buoyed as the rates started going southward. While on April 1, the price of the yellow metal was recorded at Rs 30,050 per 10 gram, by April 13, it had come down to Rs 28,500 and Rs 27,000 on April 15. The rates plummeted further and settled at Rs 26,400 on April 16.

Many trains to be cancelled due to fog
Bathinda, December 27
The intense cold wave in North India has been hitting train traffic for almost two weeks now. While trains had been running hours behind schedule thereby throwing the entire train schedule out of gear, within the next two three days a couple of trains will be cancelled for one to two months.

Congmen end hunger strike against MCB
Bathinda, December 27
The district Congress workers, who had been sitting on a chain hunger strike outside the office of the Municipal Coporation, Bathinda (MCB), since Monday ended their dharna today. The workers raised slogans against the MCB and the state government as they took out a march through markets.

Canadian channel to hunt for Punjabi talent at GKU
Bathinda, December 27
In order to preserve the Punjabi culture, a popular Canadian channel, Watno Door, will be holding a talent-hunt competition at Guru Kashi University, Talwandi Sabo, on January 8.

Mini Zoo captivates visitors after facelift
Exotic birds shifted to seven huge cages recently after expenditure of ~9.5 crore
Gurdeep Singh Mann
Tribune News Service

A colony of rabbits at the Mini Zoo, Bir Talab, in Bathinda on Friday. a A Tribune photograph

Bir Talab (Bathinda), December 27
After an expenditure of Rs 9.5 crores, the Bir Talab Mini Zoo has witnessed a sea change and has now become a place worth visiting. With animals and birds shifted to seven huge cages that were built recently, the Deer Safari was also opened for the visitors today. Once a den of people of disrepute, the zoo seems to have now become presentable for the reputed people.

Families with their children, couples and elderly from the Bathinda city and surrounding areas were seen visiting the zoo just days after its inauguration and complete overhauling.

An 'Uran Khatola' (a battery-operated vehicle) and an open gypsy wait for the visitors for a ride for Rs 10 per person at the entrance of Mini Zoo.

The forest department officials said the first phase was to equip the zoo with all the basic facilities and there is still a lot to be added to attract more visitors.

They said a proposal to bring tiger, leopard, hippopotamus, jackal and pheasant is almost ready and modalities are being worked out in tandem with the Central Zoo Authority (CZA). The toy train too will be introduced by next month, the officials added.

At present, the visitors could see owl, porcupine, duck, semian population of monkey, parrot, small birds, including red munia, budgerigars, partridges and peacock in the seven new cages. Four species of deer in deer safari includes black bucks, spotted deer, hog deer and sambhar.

People friendly spotted deer

A friendly spotted deer is a centre of attraction for the visitors inside the deer safari. Unlike all the other deer species which run away after spotting the battery operated vehicle, this spotted deer comes close to the visitors.

Zoo officials said the reason behind the friendly nature of the only spotted deer was due to its raising at a religious dera at nearby Goniana Mandi.

“One of the two deer died a few days ago after which the male spotted deer was brought to the zoo. The animal is yet to adapt with the forest area and start licking hands and legs of the visitors,” said a worker. It seems that the animal still looks for his handlers whenever a visitor enters the safari area. The spotted deer with long antlers keep chasing the visitors till he runs out of breath.

The deer however, becomes aggressive after spotting one of the workers with a stick and got irritated. The deer misses the people who used to raise him at the dera and after spotting people he always ran behind them while other animals run away.

Rabbit’s infection

A visit to the colony of rabbits in the cages revealed that some white rabbits in an enclosure were suffering from fur loss and infection. A bunny suffering from fur shedding could be due to inbreeding or artificial lighting. The zoo officials, however, said rabbits also shed furs in the fur shedding season. A veterinarian has been looking after the ailing rabbits, the workers claimed.

Seven individuals adopt animals

DFO said seven individuals, including six from Bathinda and one from Delhi, have adopted birds at the Mini Zoo. People have adopted parakeet, duck, peacock and red munia, he added.

Names on display

The names of those who have adopted the animals and birds have been put on display by the authorities outside the respective cages in zoo.

Cafeteria for visitors

The zoo authorities said the process to release tender of a cafeteria too is under process and it will be made operational within next few weeks or so.

Official Speak

Divisional Forest Officer, Dr Sanjeev Tiwari, said the rabbits were recently shifted from small cages into the big cages and it will take some time for them to adjust.

He said the spotted deer was also inducted in the zoo safari recently and efforts are on to make him adopt in new the environment. Tiwari said increase in the footfall at the zoo is already witnessed by the authorities and from 100 to 150 visitors everyday they expect it to increase to 400 to 400 during holidays.

The DFO pointed out that an interpretation centre to make the visitors aware of the wild behavior of the animals with modern audio and visual aids is also in the pipeline. Besides, a veterinary center too will be made operational soon.

‘Make sure that children’s rights are protected’
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, December 27
Chairman of the District Child Protection Scheme, Gurpreet Singh Maluka, today convened a meeting at the District Administrative Complex. During the meeting, the chairman and the members of the society discussed various steps being taken to give teeth to the Integrated Child Protection Society.

Addressing the meeting, Maluka said the society will work towards its goal of extending help to the children of the district and would also make sure that their rights are also protected. He added that children are the future of our nation and we shall work to make sure that their present and future are both secure.

During the meeting, the social activists and workers of the district were also asked to give their suggestions pertaining to making the Child Protection Society more powerful. The tasks undertaken by the society ever since its formation a couple of months ago and its plans were also discussed.

Also present during the meeting were Additional Deputy Commissioner (development), Sonali Giri, District Social Security Officer, Harpal Singh, District Education Officer (elementary), Dr Amarjit Kaur Kotfatta, District Child Protection Officer, Ravneet Kaur Sidhu, secretary of the District Red Cross Society Col (retd), Mukhtiar Singh, superintendent of children home, Navin Gadwal, chairman of the Child Welfare Committee Bathinda, Prof Ashok Gupta, and others.

Year 2013 ender
Gold witnessed ups and downs
Nikhila Pant Dhawan
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, December 27
The year experienced a massive upheaval in the price of gold. The market which had been looking dismal since the beginning of the year with the rate for 22k gold set at Rs 31,250 per 10 gram on January 1,was suddenly buoyed as the rates started going southward.

While on April 1, the price of the yellow metal was recorded at Rs 30,050 per 10 gram, by April 13, it had come down to Rs 28,500 and Rs 27,000 on April 15. The rates plummeted further and settled at Rs 26,400 on April 16.

With the gold price tumbling to a 15-month low, falling below the mark of Rs 27,000 per 10 gram, the jewellers expected a windfall. But the reverse shocked them.

Buyers, who had been waiting top buy or were motivated to buy gold after the fall in the price of gold, did scuttle to the jewellery shops in the second week of April. After a day or two of frantic buying, the shopkeepers observed a lull as the buyers chose to wait for a little longer before they set their money on gold.

Jewellers who were expecting to mint money registered a decline in even regular sales. While the rumour of China planning a huge gold sell off was weighed out by the news of surge in the price due to blasts in Boston, buyers started flocking to the shops only in May.

As opposed to the perception that rates of gold and silver would pick on Dhateras and Diwali, the rates fell on Friday, two days before Diwali. While the rate of 22 carat gold was Rs 31,300 on October 28, on November 1 it fell to Rs 30,500.

After being hit by the slump in rates, the jewellery market looked up only slightly and the festive season in India held little importance since the bullion rates are affected by world markets now.

Another trend which was prevalent in the market was the fact that jewellers also recorded sales during shradha period, which was considered inauspicious for buying new things.

Many trains to be cancelled due to fog
Nikhila Pant Dhawan
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, December 27
The intense cold wave in North India has been hitting train traffic for almost two weeks now. While trains had been running hours behind schedule thereby throwing the entire train schedule out of gear, within the next two three days a couple of trains will be cancelled for one to two months.

The Northern Railways had cancelled the Jind-Ferozepur passenger (train number 54045-54046) on December 20. The train will remain cancelled till January 31. The Dhuri-Bathinda-Dhuri passenger train will also be stalled till January 31.

The Ajmer-Amritsar (train number 19611, 19612, 19613 and 19614) which runs via Bathinda twice a week and via Hissar and Ludhiana twice a week will be cancelled starting December 28.

The Udyan-Abha Express (13007, 13008) which had been running more than 15 hours behind the schedule will have its last run from Hawra on December 28 and last run from Shri Ganganagar on December 30 after which it will be stalled for two months.

Other trains which have been running behind the schedule are Rishikesh-Bathinda-Shriganganagar (4711), Delhi-Bathinda-Shriganganagar Dainik Superfast (12481), Delhi-Bathinda-Fazilka (4731), Jammu Tavi (train number 9223) and others.

Meanwhile, the station Superintendent at the Bathinda Junction stated that the information pertaining to either the delay or cancellation of trains was regularly being conveyed to the passengers. He also stated that while Bathinda was not being enveloped with thick fog for a couple of days now, the trains were getting delayed since several other cities in Northern India were experiencing foggy conditions which are not suitable for plying of trains.

Keeping the winter and foggy weather in mind, the General Manager of Northern Railways, VK Gupta, had released a booklet informing the drivers on cautious driving during fog. He had also expressed hope that the drivers and helpers would pay attention to the guidelines mentioned in the booklet.

Congmen end hunger strike against MCB
Nikhila Pant Dhawan
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, December 27
The district Congress workers, who had been sitting on a chain hunger strike outside the office of the Municipal Coporation, Bathinda (MCB), since Monday ended their dharna today. The workers raised slogans against the MCB and the state government as they took out a march through markets.

Addressing the party workers, General Secretary of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee and former Bathinda MLA Harmander Singh Jassi accused the ruling SAD-BJP alliance of taking the state on the path of destruction.

He stated that the ruling alliance had already sold off prime property in Bathinda to private firms to fill their coffers and were now resorting to cutting off water and sewerage connections to generate more money.

He asked the Chief Minister to take a serious look at what the MCB was doing and how it was affecting the public.

He asked the MCB officials to stop troubling people and pay attention towards development of backward areas of the city like Kheta Singh Basti and Beant Singh Nagar.

He alleged that the MCB was targeting areas inhabited by people belonging to the lower income groups.

Also present on the last day of the dharna were Ashok Kumar, KK Aggarwal, Mohan Lal, Iqbal Dhillon, Surinder Sahni, Yashkiran Sharma, Jaswant Goldy, Niranjan Bhola, Rupinder Bindra, Paramjit Kaur among others.

Canadian channel to hunt for Punjabi talent at GKU
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, December 27
In order to preserve the Punjabi culture, a popular Canadian channel, Watno Door, will be holding a talent-hunt competition at Guru Kashi University, Talwandi Sabo, on January 8. Teams from colleges of Bathinda, Mansa, Muktsar and Fazilka of Malwa region will be participating in the competition. The competition will be restricted to Punjabi songs, individual skits or mono acting.

Prof Gurbhajan Singh Gill, director (planning & development), Guru Kashi University, stated that the competition will go a long way in making the participants aware of Punjabi culture.

He also appealed to the participants to eschew vulgarity and political comments. It would be better that the trainers of the students prepare such items which may focus upon elimination of social evils, he added.