The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Youth’s death: Parents allege murder Bipin Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Jalandhar, July 15 The mystery shrouding the death of Onkar Singh, a resident of Jamsher Khas village, took a new turn today when his parents alleged that their son was murdered. The parents alleged hushing up of the case by the police. Talking to mediapersons, Onkar’s parents said their repeated representations to the Jalandhar SSP and other senior officers urging action against the two accused had gone unheeded. The deceased’s mother Rashpal Kaur alleged that on July 3 two youths of their locality took Onkar with them on the pretext of some work. “He returned after some time, but the two reached again and took him away,” she added. The victim’s father Swaran Singh said a female called them up and informed them that their son was lying unconscious in Khusropur village. He said, “When we reached the site, we again received a call and were told that Onkar was in Paragpur village. We finally found him lying unconscious near a tea stall at Paragpur village and rushed him to a private hospital in Rama Mandi where doctors declared him brought dead.” In fact there were no injury marks on Oknar’s body, Swaran Singh added. The shattered parents alleged that the police personnel prepared statements themselves and got it signed from them when they were under shock. Besides, the police had not taken any action against the two suspects whose names had been disclosed in the complaint. They said they had also sent a copy of the complaint to the top Punjab police officials, including the IG and the DIG, besides the Punjab Chief Minister.
	CPI flays Centre over price hike Amarjit Thind Tribune News Service Jalandhar, July 15 The steep hike in the prices of essential and other commodities has broken the back of the people with most people not able to afford even two square meals a day. Hundreds of workers from across the state participated in a convention held by the CPI (ML) at Desh Bhagat Yaadgar Hall here this noon. Addressing the gathering, senior leader Sardara Singh Mahal said the hike in the prices of essential commodities was unprecedented and the government had done little to control it. Even having dal-roti was bringing tears in the eyes of the people. The household budgets of the poor had gone awry but the government had provided a little relief, he added. Citing an example of the pro-industrialist policies of the Congress, he said on one hand big industrial houses were becoming richer by the day but 68 per cent of the people in the country were sliding towards the poverty limit, he said. Taking a dig at the CPI and CPM that had been supporting the government, he alleged that the former were pseudo-communists who were using the nuclear deal to cover up their indifference to the anti-people policies of the government while in power, he added. State secretary Darshan Singh Khatkar said imperialism was the mother of all ills plaguing the world. American MNCs were indulging in stockpiling of essential goods and petroleum products leading to price rise in the developing countries. The fad of promoting bio-fuels in Europe by the EU had resulted in shrinking area under cultivation for wheat and other crops. Subsidies being given for petroleum products and irrigation were being withdrawn resulting in the hike in the prices of farm produce, he added. Senior leader Ajmer Singh said it was not only the poor, but also the middle class who were affected. The country was heading for a crisis like the one faced by the Indonesians, Thais and the Koreans in the 80s when they had to sell their home appliances in exchange for food, he pointed out. Not only this, there were serious food crisis in 37 countries across the globe and there were riots over food in at least 10 countries, he added.
	Change in train timings causing inconvenience: Sikh devotees Dharmendra Joshi Tribune News Service Jalandhar, July 15 Change in timings of the Bathinda-Jammu Tawi train from 10.05 pm to 11.45 pm is causing a lot of inconvenience to Sikh devotees who visit Amritsar daily for “isnan sewa” at Harmandar Sahib. Demanding restoration of the earlier timings, thousands of Sikh pilgrims of the city and surrounding areas have urged Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) chief Avtar Singh to intervene in the matter. Talking to The Tribune, businessman Karanvir Singh said nearly 200 Sikh pilgrims from Jalandhar and nearby areas boarded this train for “isnan sewa” at Golden Temple. “The sewa is done daily for two hours from midnight to 2 am where the temple is cleaned with milk,” he said, adding that due to change in timings his family missed the opportunity. Similarly, Waryam Singh of Preet Nagar and Paul Singh of Aman Nagar too rued that they were unable to be part of the sewa anymore. They said there was no other train between 8 pm and 11.45 pm for Amritsar except Shatabdi making it difficult for the Sikhs to participate in the cleaning service. “Besides, an ordinary man could not afford Shatabdi every day,” they added. Meanwhile, the SGPC chief had already written a letter to railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav on July 8 requesting a change in timings.
	PU’s Sanskrit school battles staff shortage, fund crunch Ravinder Sud Hoshiarpur, July 15 Things are not going easy for this institute in Hoshiarpur which has been trying to save the age-old language Sanskrit through its education and research. The Vishveshvaranand Vishva-Bandhu Institute of Sanskrit and Indological Studies (VVBISIS), a wing of Panjab University, Chandigarh, has been suffering from both staff shortage and fund crunch for the past many years. VVBISIS chairman and senator Prof Ganesh Bhardwaj rued that neglect on part of the Punjab government and the university authorities was a reason why the institute was in a shambles. He said, “Out of 19 posts of lecturer-cum-curator, 15 have been lying vacant for the past many years. Besides, a post of research scholar too was vacant.” Being run by Panjab University since July 1, 1965, the institute has more than one lakh books, including some rare works of Sanskrit scholars. Even being a storehouse of important literature, could not help it much as the library has only one assistant librarian in the name of staff. The posts of librarian, deputy and assistant librarian, clerk and peon had been lying vacant for the past many years, but no heed has been paid either by the state government or the university authorities. Talking to The Tribune, Bhardwaj said, “The institute offers various courses like MA (Sanskrit), PhD (Sanskrit) and a three-year course in shastri.” But due to shortage of staff there had been a significant decline in the number of students appearing for the courses, he added. He said the institute was planning to publish a 200-page comparative and critical dictionary of vedic interpretations but due to absence of a scholar the work had been hanging in fire. “The National Manuscript Mission of the Centre also established two centres in the VVBISIS for surveying, cataloguing, conserving and preserving manuscripts. In fact, we had been providing support for survey and documentation pertaining to all districts of Punjab and Chandigarh,” Prof Bhardwaj added. He lamented that the institute had a great scope for running acharya classes but lack of interest on the part of university had put the idea in the cold storage. Meanwhile, despite many attempts Panjab University vice-chancellor R.C. Sobti was not available for comments.
	Alternative Thinking Sweet returns for honey-processing units Our Correspondent Hoshiarpur, July 15 Turmeric and honey processing has proved a boon for the turmeric growers and bee-keepers in Hoshiarpur district by providing direct and indirect employment to more than 2,000 youths. The nodal officer of the project, Chaman Lal Vashishat, told this correspondent here last evening that keeping in mind the problems like fragmentation of land, reduction of number of farmer families from 14 lakh to 10 lakh from 1994 to 2001 in Punjab and going down of rural economy day by day, technocrats of the agriculture department after discussion and study formulated a concept to generate rural economy to overcome the problems. The project formulated by the agriculture department was finally approved by the Planning Commission of India (PCI) and the latter had selected Hoshiarpur district in the country. Under the Rashtriya Sam Vikas Yojna, two processing plants had been envisaged one for turmeric (haldi) and other for honey with total project outlay of Rs 40 lakh and Rs 36 lakh, respectively. The PCI had provided the money through the deputy commissioner. The agriculture department is the nodal department and projects afer being streamlined were handed over to Farm Produce Promotion Society (FAPRO). The first FAPRO was constituted at Ghugial village, which has 306 regular members of which 80 per cent are marginal farmers and bee keepers and the processing plants for both turmeric and honey processing were come in operation in 2007. Presently about 450 acre area is under cultivation in the district which could be increased to 1,500 acres in one year. As per a simple economic estimate, one acre farm yields turmeric 70-75 quintals under shade and 90-100 quintals in open conditions. The raw turmeric is sold at the rate of Rs 5 per kg, i.e. Rs 45,000 per acre as against 15,000-20,000 for other crops. The total production of turmeric was being procured by the processing plant and it was proved a good viable alternative for the farmers of the area. The marketing of the processed turmeric was being done by the self-help unemployed youth groups. Hoshiarpur district is known as honey bowl of the state as there is sufficient availability of flora round the year, particularly due to sunflower crop. Last year 460 tonne of honey was exported to other states through private agencies. There are more than 800 beekeepers in the district. The average yield range between 35 to 50 kg per hive for stationary and migratory beekeeper, respectively. Processing of honey is necessary before commercial sale, said Chaman Lal Vashishat, adding that rates of processed turmeric and honey are fixed by the members of the society. No middle man is involved from cultivation to sale process. Each member is earning at least Rs 4,000 per month whereas each beekeeper is earning around Rs 10,000 per month. Keeping in view the success of the project, teams of the Indian Institute of Management, Hyderabad, Nigeria government, World Bank and representatives of Rajasthan, Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir governments recently visited here to see the project viability. Chief Agriculture Officer Dr Kulbir Singh Deol said pulses processing unit would also be introduced by the society. It was a best alternative for traditional crops and farmers should join the movement for the diversification of agriculture.
	Block Samiti Poll Cong supporters raise slogans against SDM Our Correspondent Hoshairpur, July 15 Activists of the Congress led by block chief Dharam Singh staged a dharna and blocked traffic at the T-point crossing, Talwara, for more than one and a half hours to protest against the Dasuya SDM. The agitators were protesting against SDM Rahul Chaba for not allowing seven block samiti members, including three each of the Congress and the SAD, to participate in elections held for samiti chairman and vice-chairman. According to information, Rahul was appointed presiding officer for the elections of samiti chairman and vice-chairman which were held today. At around 11 am MLA Amarjit Singh Sahi along with eight samiti members entered the BDPO office (election venue) and the SDM then called the other members in. When other members entered the venue, they were told Daljit Singh and Salochna Devi, both of the BJP, were elected chairman and vice-chairman, respectively. The block samiti members led by senior Congress leader Romesh Chander Dogra and SAD political affairs committee member Sampuran Singh Cheema raised slogans against the SDM. However, block samiti members of the SAD, including Sampuran Singh Cheema and one disgruntled member of the BJP, did not participate in the dharna. Addressing protesters, Dogra criticised the SDM for not allowing the seven members to participate in the poll at the behest of Sahi. Meanwhile, SDM Rahul said, “Sahi along with other members entered the venue at about 10.50 am today and the election time was 11 am. Out of 15 members in the block samiti, nine belonged to the BJP and three each to the Congress and the SAD. He claimed at 10.55 am he instructed naib-tehsildar A.S. Malhi to call the remaining samiti members to hold the election. Despite three calls by Malhi, none of the remaining members came inside. “Subsequently, we held the elections and Daljit Singh and Salochna Devi were unanimously elected as chairman and vice-chairman, respectively,” Rahul added. He said finally the announcement of chairman and vice-chairman was made and the seven members entered the venue at 11.10 am. “Besides, I showed them the time of their arrival,” he added.
	Hoshiarpur to get new park soon: Sud Our Correspondent Hoshiarpur, July 15 A special meeting of officers concerned was convened by Punjab minister for forest Tikshan Sud here on Monday. The forest department will set up an environmental park at Bassi Jana located in the periphery of Hoshiarpur at a cost of Rs 1 crore, for which a committee headed by the deputy commissioner had been constituted, Punjab minister for forest Tikshan Sud said here today. A plot of medicinal plants would be set up in this park at an extra cost of Rs 30 lakh, Sud said, adding that he had instructed the officers concerned to carry out a survey within 10 days in this regard. International Tractors, Usha Martin, Reliance Industries, JCT Limited, Mahavir Spinning Mill, GNA Limited, Hawkins Pressure Cookers, A. S. Silk Mills, Super Star Rubber Industries would contribute for the project, claimed Sud.