Harkishanpura (Rampura Phul), July 17
Harkishanpura village in the Rampura Phul sub-division is gathering itself to save its land from auction by Housefed. Once the sarpanch of this village had passed a resolution that the whole village was on sale, but this time, they are together against allowing any auctioneer to enter the village.

The village houses150 families, with around 600 acres, out of a total of 1,236 acres, having already been sold to the outsiders. Only 150 acres of land is left that has not been pledged to any lender, said Sukhdev Singh, patwari of the village. The villagers here claim to have witnessed 15 suicides by farmers in debt since 1992.

Farmers of the village are raising support to save them from the clutches of Housefed, a Punjab government society, that has an outstanding amount of Rs 85.49 lakh against the village.

On June 27, Housefed manager Santosh Kumar came with officials for auction but was gheraoed by villagers and Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) activists, and they had to flee. Santosh Kumar said, “I have nothing against these villagers, but it is my job. I have been told to recover the money from 21 defaulters.” Most of these loans were taken around 1996-97 at 16 per cent interest for the construction of houses and this village has the maximum defaulters, said Kumar.

But former sarpanch of the village and BKU activist, Gurjant Singh, claimed that nobody built houses, but paid off the debt of arhatiyas (private money lenders) and Khetri Vikas Bank (Land Mortgage Bank).

Balwant Singh (47), owner of 5 acre, had pledged his whole land to different lenders including State Bank of Patiala, arhatiyas, Housefed, Punjab Agriculture Development Bank and co-operative society at Jhanduke, and has an outstanding amount of Rs 760,000. “The input cost of cotton crop is around Rs 15,000 per acre and output is just 8 quintals per acre with the underground water. Last year, we sold cotton at Rs 1,800 per quintal. Only later, it rose to Rs 2,200 per quintal,” he said.

Gurcharan Singh (66), owner of five acres doesn’t know exactly how much amount he has to pay back. “I can only tell you the principal amount which stands at Rs 835,000 and my son Paras has to pay Rs 610,000. We managed to pay only three installments to Housefed,” he said.

Gurjant Singh (49), former sarpanch of the village, has pledged all his three acres of land and had also sold a 3.5-acre plot to marry his two sisters and children. He has a debt of Rs 5 lakh. “My brother Darshan Singh, owner of three acres of land land, committed suicide in 2006, just a day after Diwali. He was scared of bank authorities and consumed pesticide,” he said.

Lal Singh, nambardar of the village, said that the government was requested to waive off the loan, otherwise, the village would witness more suicides.

When asked why the condition of loans deteriorated so much in the village, Lal Singh revealed that farmers here had suffered continuous crop failures from 1992-1998 due to American bollworm. “We used to have 30-35 sprays per crop which meant an expenditure of Rs 10,000 per acre. We took heavy loans. The canal water doesn’t reach here and underground water is responsible for low productivity,” he added.

Joginder Singh Ugrahan, state president of the BKU (Ekta Ugrahan), said that the auction by Housefed would not be allowed at any cost.

The villagers have taken a pledge at the village Gurudwara not to let the auction of the village land. Kour Singh, a 70-year-old farmer of the village, said, “We would fall to police bullets, but will not leave the land.”

Santosh Kumar, Housefed manager, has suggested the defaulters sell their land as market price of the land is more than their debt. When defaulters, gathered at the village Gurudwara, were asked how difficult it is for a farmer to sell his land, Lal Singh replied, “When we sell the land, we don’t eat for days. It is like a mother to us. We feed the whole country, but… If our loans are waived off, we could start a new life.”  

Abohar, July 17
Executive magistrate Narinder Singh Saini asked the city police station SHO to take necessary action on the complaint against a wireless operator of the Punjab Police for alleged attempt to encroach upon the public property in the Jammu Basti area.

According to available information, the above said employee had a land dispute with some residents of the locality. So, he allegedly got constructed a graveyard overnight. The residents led by a social activist Amrose Masih visited the sub-divisional complex today to draw attention of the sub-divisional magistrate.

As he was not available, the deputation lodged a complaint with the executive magistrate and alleged that the wireless operator had conspired to grab the disputed property by misusing the religion to which he did not belong. They demanded that the digging of the said graveyard should be ordered to unfold the truth.

Archeological Survey department of the central government had five years back cordoned off some ancient locations in the locality and displayed a warning board against making any kind of construction there as research about the old town better known as Abha Nagari was incomplete.

But vested interests continued attempts to encroach upon the land in-question at each corner of the Jammu Basti and had renamed it as Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar to avoid action by the central government.

The state government employees, including the cops, had allegedly joined the spree, the complaint lodged today to the EM fairly indicated this.

They are trying to indulge in activities, which could be injurious to the rights of the genuine property holders, sources said. 

Mansa, July 17
Fearing breach in the Bhakhra canal, people of Fatehpur, Ghurkani and Makhewala villages clashed and threw stones at each other last night.

According to information, when water level rose in the canal, the villages assembled and started work to prevent the breach. On the issue of stopping the breach from one side, people clashed and threw stones and later fired in the air.

SHO Jhuneer said that the police rushed to the spot and controlled the situation. In this connection, the police registered a case against one identified and 150 unknown persons.

The people of the above villages said that the sides of this canal were broken for a long time and the high water level had destroyed banks of the canal. The villagers feared a big loss and they started efforts to save it in advance.

ADC (General) Sukhvinder Singh said that he also rushed to the spot because the situation was serious. He said repair work had been started and water level had been brought down. He also admitted that the sides of the canal were in bad condition.

It is notable that before this incident, the canal had been breached several times but even then canal department had not taken steps for repairing the sides of the canal. 

Fazilka, July 17
Two BSF jawans were electrocuted while another was injured in the morning today. According to available details, the incident occurred when jawans of the 20 Battalion, BSF, were tying a rope for performing a PT show at Jagannath post in Fazilka sector. They were carrying an aluminum ladder, which accidentally touched an 11000-KV live wire resulting in the death of Manoj Kumar (37), a resident of Bihar, and Vimal Kumar (36), a resident of district Darjeeling in West Bengal.

A jawan was also injured in the process and has been identified as Aamle Vithal (25). He was rushed to the local civil hospital where his condition was stated to be stable. The bodies have been sent to their native places for cremation. 

Abohar, July 17
Eighty girls were given certificates after completion of training in sewing and stitching at a free training centre set up by IFFCO in village Khuyiansarwar located on NH 15 in this sub-division today. SDM N.S. Brar was the chief guest. Assistant registrar cooperative societies, Atma Ram, presided over the function. They also handed over cheques on behalf of the Fazilka Central Cooperative Bank to some girls for opening sewing centres to supplement their financial needs. Brar said the state government had launched the Maai Bhago Scheme to sanction loans at very nominal rate of interest. Brar will personally ensure that financial institutions comply with the government's instructions to make the scheme a success.

IFFCO area manager Amarjit Singh said the centre was established to ensure that quarterly training camps should be held for the farming families besides, forming self help groups after imparting training in sewing, cooking, jam and pickle making etc.

Field manager R.K. Upveja, deputy manager R.L. Sethi and deputy accounts manager Swaran Singh highlighted the schemes which had been launched by IFFCO for welfare of the farming community. — OCTwo shooting incidents in last 48 hours

Barnala, July 17
Following the two shooting incidents in the last 48 hours in the district, an uneasy calm prevails among the residents. The people are grief-stricken and fearful regarding their security. Close on the heels of Bhadaur shooting incident that took place on Tuesday night, exactly 26 hours after two persons entered into a quarrel over some issue. Hardev Singh quarrelled with Makhan Aggarwal at village Thikriwala about 5 km from here around 9 pm yesterday. As per the eyewitnesses, the quarrel was on a very simple matter, but Makhan got agitated over it. He allegedly opened fire on Hardev Singh with his licensed .12 rifle.

The bullet hit Hardev Singh in stomach. He was rushed to the civil hospital, Barnala, but as his condition was critical and he was referred to Ludhiana.

Inquiry officer Pritam Singh said that as per the doctors, Hardev Singh was not in a position to make any statement before the police. Meanwhile, Surinder Pal Singh Parmar, SP (H), Barnala, when contacted, said that a case had been registered for attempt to murder and under the Arms Act.

Though the main accused Makhan has not yet been arrested but the police nabbed his son, as he was a co-accused who handed over the arm to his father.

Bathinda, July 17
The Punjab State Ministerial Staff Association (Excise and Taxation) passed a resolution of demands at gate rally organised at Bathinda. The rally was presided over by Khuskaranjeet Singh, general secretary, division president Inderjeet Kaur and Goverdhan Gopal, district president.

The workers raised the demands of filling up of vacant posts and releasing of seniority list of employees.

The union asked to stop any research going on to change rules of ministerial staff and demanded that it should be consulted to carry out any amendment.

The workers warned that if their demands were not met by July 30, they would observe a pen down strike of one day. — TNS 

Bathinda, July 17
The mushrooming growth of distance education centres in the city and the way they are fleecing the students is resulting in complaints pouring in. The indifference of the district administration is resulting in woes multiplying for students as the officials have so far chosen to turn a blind eye to the activities of such centres.

This time, the complainant is a government employee, working in the district information and public relations office, Bathinda.

Giving his complaint in black and white, he accused a private institute, Kips Education Centre, located on Ajit road in the city, of fleecing students. He mentioned in the complaint that he had admitted his daughter-in-law at the centre for a Diploma in Computer Applications (DCA). Showing a receipt issued by the institute, dated April 15, 2008, he said at the time of admission, he deposited Rs 3,500 as fee. The balance of Rs 6,500 was to be paid later.

Narrating his plight, he said that till the time she joined the institute, not even on a single day was she called to attend classes. When he and his daughter-in-law, both approached the institute, the authorities allegedly asked them to pay the balance and get the certificate, without even appearing in the examination.

When the complainant asked about the practical experience and training imparted, the authorities laughed off their query, saying they should be more concerned about the diploma and not the practical knowledge. Disappointed over the unsatisfactory and frivolous response, they approached The Tribune. To verify the complaint, when this correspondent visited the institute, pretending to be a student, he also was given the same answer. Moreover, claiming to be office-in-charge, Vijay Gulati, assured of qualifying in the examination with “paid help” provided by centre authorities.

While disclosing the fee structure, he informed about the “extra money”, also called the late fee. Claiming to get only the commission from the actual fee charged, he accused the authorities of the university also, whose franchise they have, of charging “extra money.” Head of the institute, Avikesh Jindal, speaking over his mobile phone, from Katra in J&K, said, “Despite all this, we get just the commission. We are not looting the students. Moreover, we do not have enough infrastructure to provide practical knowledge to the students.”

When the officiating deputy commissioner, Bathinda, Vijay Zade, was informed, he said, “It is for the first time that such kind of a complaint has come to me. After investigating the matter, serious action would be initiated against the guilty.”

Bathinda, July 17
Education should not aim only at supplying certificates to students. Instead, it must be meaningful, that is to say, capable of making them self-reliant and economically independent, said Sanjeev Kumar, director of Gurukul College, Bathinda, at a seminar organised here on Wednesday.

He said the number of educated unemployed persons in the country was increasing day by day. “The reason for the same lies in education being not meaningful enough. Besides, the students were also not fulfilling the requirements of present day jobs.”

Kumar said if a student draws a blue-print of future just after completing Plus 2, he or she would not find any problem in getting jobs.

He said there were ample job opportunities in several fields like media, banking, telcom, education. Kumar said colleges believe that a degree was enough for getting a student a good job, adding that the aim of Gurukul College was to impart such education that was meaningful and job-oriented.

Officials of the college informed that the college had introduced a 7-point study programme this year.

The programmed aimed at making education job-oriented, they said adding that the programme included training the aspirants of IAS, PCS, banking services, BBA, BCA and others, developing overall personality of students by enhancing their communication and other skills, awareness programme for students as well as parents, imparting moral education, making students responsible citizens by sensitising them about different rules and laws and others.

Bathinda, July 17
The Science Olympiad Foundation (SOF), New Delhi, has announced the dates for their various Olympiads for the students during 2008.

The 8th National Cyber Olympiad is going to be held on September 4, the 11th National Science Olympiad will be held on November 20 and 2nd International Maths Olympiad on December 18.

All these Olympiads will be organised on two levels, the first being in school and the second one at central place in the state, online written.

SOF, area coordinator, G.S. Brar said that this year, the students could apply for all the three Olympiads together.

The last date of registration for the area has been fixed as August 19, due to the summer vacations having been rescheduled in many areas.

Bathinda, July 17
The body of an unidentified youth was found on the Bathinda-Bikaner railway track near the yard on Thursday morning. After getting the information, volunteers of the Sahara Jan Seva rushed to the spot.

The youth, appeared to be around 25 years, was wearing a blue jeans and an orange colour shirt. The body could not be identified and neither any identification mark was found by the GRP, who were enquiring into the case. After the post-mortem examination, the body was handed over to the NGO for performing the last rites. Police sources hinted that the youth could have been run over by a train at night. — TNS