Boy shot at in group clash
Bathinda, March 11
A brawl broke out over a trivial issue between two rival groups in which a young boy was injured after shots were fired at in Balla Ram Nagar today in the afternoon. According to DSP City-II Parwinder Cheema, both the groups had earlier, too, fought with each other.

Relatives of the injured boy who was shot at in a clash following a rivalry in Bathinda on Tuesday. A Tribune photograph

First time voters to get appreciation certificates in Bathinda
Bathinda, March 11
The initiative by the District Election Office of issuing pre-signed appreciation certificates to first time voters has found resonance with the State Election Commission which is planning to replicate it throughout Punjab.

6-kg tumour removed from woman’s womb

Bathinda, March 11 A team of doctors at the Civil Hospital removed a 6-kg cystic tumour from a 65-year-old woman’s womb here today. Surgeons Dr Maninder Pal Singh and Dr Viveshwar Chawla, anaesthetist Dr Ramandeep Singla and staff nurse Sonia operated upon the patient, Surjit Kaur, a resident of Bhai Rupa village for over an hour and removed the cystic tumour. Dr Maninder with the patient Surjit Kaur who was operated upon for a cystic tumour at the Civil Hospital in Bathinda. A Tribune photograph

national theatre festival
Mushtaq Kak from Jammu presents Ibsen’s ‘Ghost’ at theatre fest
Amritsar, March 11
Mushtaq Kak, the renowned theatre actor-director from Jammu, presented his production, "Ghost", on the second day of the National Theatre Festival at Virsa Vihar. The director, known to bring realism on stage through his socially hard hitting plays, adapted the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen's play "Ghost".

Election expenditure training held
Bathinda, March 11
Assistant Chief Administrator Bathinda Development Authority (BDA)-cum-Election Registration Officer Dalwinderjit Singh today conducted a training of expenditure teams, supervisors and master trainers deployed on election duty.

Juice seller returns purse to owner Bathinda, March 11 A roadside juice seller in front of the entrance to the District Administrative Complex today got accolades for returning a lost purse to its owner. The juice seller, Pawan Sharma, found a wallet lying on the roadside while he was trying to set up his vend in the morning today. Juice vendor Pawan returns the lost wallet to its owner in Bathinda on Tuesday. A Tribune photograph

Students honoured Bathinda, March 11 As many as 22 students of Government Primary School, Deon, have been selected for the national award. The village panchayat and he school teachers honoured these students here today. Students of Government Primary School, Deon, in Bathinda on Tuesday. A Tribune photograph

Bharati, Gaurav best athletes at AIMSR Bathinda, March 11 Bharti Kaundal and Gaurav Passi were adjudged the best athletes among boys and girls, respectively, at the annual sports meet, Elatio 2014, of the Adesh Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (AIMSR). Students and staff members with the torch during the annual sports meet at the Adesh Institute of Medical Sciences and Research in Bathinda on Tuesday. A Tribune photograph

Placement drive held
Bathinda, March 11
Air Soft Infosys, an Australia-based multinational company, conducted a placement drive at Guru Kashi University, Talwandi Sabo, for the management students. HR managers from its branch office, Chandigarh, visited the campus with their team for the placement drive.

Clarion call: Students present a choreography on tiger conservation at the Adesh Institute of Medical Sciences and Research on Tuesday. A Tribune photograph

Throw it far: A girl takes part in a shotput event during the annual sports meet at the Adesh Institute of Medical Sciences and Research in Bathinda on Tuesday. A Tribune photograph

Boy shot at in group clash
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, March 11
A brawl broke out over a trivial issue between two rival groups in which a young boy was injured after shots were fired at in Balla Ram Nagar today in the afternoon. According to DSP City-II Parwinder Cheema, both the groups had earlier, too, fought with each other.

“It is yet to be enquired about the source from where the illegal weapon was procured in today’s incident. The accused who fired the shot has been identified as Navdeep Chatha,” Cheema said.

He pointed out that members of both the groups are in the age-group of 18 to 28 years and they belong to lower middle-class families. They all reside in Balla Ram Nagar where the injured boy, Ravinder Singh, was taken to the Civil Hospital by the volunteers of the NGO Naujawan Welfare Society. Doctors attending to the victim said the injured was referred to another hospital after giving him first aid.

The Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) helped the two rival groups reach a compromise and end the impasse.

The policemen said a case has been registered in this connection and efforts were being made to arrest the accused at the earliest.

First time voters to get appreciation certificates in Bathinda
Megha Mann
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, March 11
The initiative by the District Election Office of issuing pre-signed appreciation certificates to first time voters has found resonance with the State Election Commission which is planning to replicate it throughout Punjab.

A brainchild of the District Election Officer Kamal Kishore Yadav and Assistant Election Officer Sonali Giri, the project will see appreciation certificates issued to the first time voters in the age- group of 18 to 19 years, making the process a cherished experience for them.

Approving the idea, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Punjab, VK Singh said today that the initiative could be replicated in the entire state.

Also, the District Election Office, which has geographical coordinates for the polling booth maps, will provide facility to voters enabling them to tag themselves on social networking sites right after casting their votes.

“Since most of the people are hooked to networking sites, we thought it would be a good idea to enable them upload comments and tag themselves from the booths’ locations,” said ADC Sonali Giri. Putting impetus on motivating the youngsters to get enrolled and cast their votes, the District Election Office will continue the enrollment of new voters till candidates file their nominations.

SSP, Bathinda, Gurpreet Singh Bhullar today briefed the CEO, Punjab, about the security arrangements for the elections. He said that the proclaimed offenders (POs) have been identified and divided into categories of heinous crime and petty crime. He added that special teams have been formed for surveillance. He was told that security be withdrawn from those who are ineligible and also from those who are not entitled to security during elections.

CEO VK Singh today conducted a meeting of the Election Registration Officers, Assistant Returning Officers and the police. He reviewed the district election plan, security arrangements, poll expenses, flying squads, videography teams and other arrangements for the polls.

6-kg tumour removed from woman’s womb
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, March 11
A team of doctors at the Civil Hospital removed a 6-kg cystic tumour from a 65-year-old woman’s womb here today. Surgeons Dr Maninder Pal Singh and Dr Viveshwar Chawla, anaesthetist Dr Ramandeep Singla and staff nurse Sonia operated upon the patient, Surjit Kaur, a resident of Bhai Rupa village for over an hour and removed the cystic tumour.

Surjit Kaur reported her problem at the Women and Children Hospital on March 4 with an abnormally large stomach. The doctors then referred her to the Civil Hospital. “After conducting diagnostic tests, we found a huge tumour in Surjit’s ovary that gave the stomach an unusual appearance,” said Dr Maninder.

Surjit’s husband Ajmer Singh said she did not suffer any pain or discomfort due to the tumour. “She is a thin woman and had a large stomach. For the past two years, the size of her stomach had been increasing. So, we thought it would be better to consult doctors at the hospital,” he said.

Dr Maninder said it was a first of its kind operation wherein such a huge tumor has been removed from a patient’s body at the Civil Hospital. The tumour would be sent for further tests to a laboratory. Surjit is recuperating at the Civil Hospital.

national theatre festival
Mushtaq Kak from Jammu presents Ibsen’s ‘Ghost’ at theatre fest
Neha Saini
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, March 11
Mushtaq Kak, the renowned theatre actor-director from Jammu, presented his production, "Ghost", on the second day of the National Theatre Festival at Virsa Vihar. The director, known to bring realism on stage through his socially hard hitting plays, adapted the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen's play "Ghost".

Reflecting social characters and moralities, Kak said his works were just an extension of the classics. "For me, the two greatest realist storytellers were Saadat Hasan Manto and Henrik Ibsen. Thier stories and characters are relevant even today and are about society, with all its ugliness. Even in my play, ‘Ghost’, the five characters are connected to one another, tormented by thier inner ghosts," said the director.

As one of the noted names in theatre from Jammu and Kashmir, Kak has been actively keeping innovative theatre alive in the Valley. Having directed over 100 plays and winning the Sahitya Kala Parishad award for four years with critically acclaimed plays, Kak is one of the very few theatre patrons in Kashmir. "The fact that we have been able to stage acclaimed plays like "Andha Yug", "Pratibimb" and "Ghost" with talented artistes from J&K itself proves the ideology and quality of theatre. Youngsters are directly and vigorously involved in theatre and travel a lot with our productions. "Though he agreed that lack of theatre space had been a let down. But we have not let this limit our theatre, instead we redesign our theatre according to the space available. sometimes with intimate theatre or open-air presentation. Besides, forms and techniques are experimented with," he said.

His daughter, Ifra Mushtaq Kak, too, has carried forward the family legacy and is one of the first women theatre directors in the Valley. " She directed a play two years ago at the National Theatre Festival in Amritsar and was appreciated. I have always let her choose her own path and am glad that she is doing well," said he. Besides theatre, he has also been part of Bollywood films like "Vishwaroopam", "Kai Po Che", "Hijack", "Shahid" and "Mausam".

As for the play ‘Ghost’, it was a collective story of five characters and the consequences of their past lives with present references. "It's a family tragedy but also a social drama. "Story of Captain Alving and his Family", each battling a ghost. "The initimate drama defines the diffrence between realism and literalism," explained Kak.

The two-hour long play depicted how man fell a victim to social conventions, the ghost being Captain Alving, finally presented as a victim rather than the defaulter.

The next play to be staged is Girish Karnad's mystical story, "Nagamandala".

Election expenditure training held
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, March 11
Assistant Chief Administrator Bathinda Development Authority (BDA)-cum-Election Registration Officer Dalwinderjit Singh today conducted a training of expenditure teams, supervisors and master trainers deployed on election duty.

In a meeting held at the BDA Complex meeting hall, the election officers of Bathinda rural and Bathinda urban Vidhan Sabha constituencies were imparted training.

The election officers were told about video-graphing the election rallies and political events, calculating the expenses incurred on rallies, vehicles and other propaganda material.

On March 12, training would be held for Talwandi Sabo and Maur Mandi Vidhan Sabha segments at the Yatri Niwas Market Committee, Talwandi Sabo. On March 13, training would be held at the BDA complex for Bathinda, Rampura Phul and Bhucho Mandi assembly segments.

Juice seller returns purse to owner

Bathinda, March 11
A roadside juice seller in front of the entrance to the District Administrative Complex today got accolades for returning a lost purse to its owner. The juice seller, Pawan Sharma, found a wallet lying on the roadside while he was trying to set up his vend in the morning today.

After spotting the purse, he searched for the phone number of its owner and found a piece of paper mentioning the name and phone number on it. Pawan rang him up and informed about the lost wallet.

The man who had lost his purse was identified as Kulwinder Singh, a resident of Lehra Mohabbat village. Kulwinder met the juice vendor and got back his purse. — TNS

Students honoured
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, March 11
As many as 22 students of Government Primary School, Deon, have been selected for the national award. The village panchayat and he school teachers honoured these students here today.

For the Golden Arrow Award given for scouts, 88 students have been selected from Punjab of which 22 are from Government Primary School, Deon.

Besides, eight students of government school at Tungwali and six of government school at Jangirana village have also been selected.

Bharati, Gaurav best athletes at AIMSR
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, March 11
Bharti Kaundal and Gaurav Passi were adjudged the best athletes among boys and girls, respectively, at the annual sports meet, Elatio 2014, of the Adesh Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (AIMSR).

In the 100m race, Rishabh Taneja, Gaurav Passi and Rajan Gupta secured the first, second and third places, respectively. In 200m race, Rishab Taneja, Rajab Gupta and Gaurav Passi secured the first, second and third places, respectively. In 800m, Aakash Garg, Gaurav Passi and Rishab Taneja bagged the first, second and third places, respectively.

In the long jump event, Aakash Deep Singh, Rajan Gupta and Aaakash Garg secured the first, second and third places, respectively. In shotput, Rajan Gupta, Upvan and Karanveer Singh bagged the first, second and third places.

In weightlifting, Ram Saroop Mehami and Karanveer Singh bagged the first and second places, respectively, while Gaurav Passi and Harpreet Singh Toor shared the third position. In relay race, Batch 2010, Batch 2013 and Batch 2012 secured the first, second and third places. The event started with a marchpast.

Principal Dr Harkiran Kaur addressed the participating students at the opening ceremony.

Placement drive held
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, March 11
Air Soft Infosys, an Australia-based multinational company, conducted a placement drive at Guru Kashi University, Talwandi Sabo, for the management students. HR managers from its branch office, Chandigarh, visited the campus with their team for the placement drive.

The company selected seven management students through an aptitude test, group discussion followed by an interview.