Abohar, September 11
Having served the final notice to about 350 residents of Jammu Basti for vacating their houses by September 15, the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) on Friday made public announcement warning the occupants that their houses will be razed to ground, if they fail to vacate the same by September 20.

This sparked protests. Scores of women gathered at the Mud Fort land and started shouting slogans against the Central and state governments. The residents held an emergency meeting and resolved to take out protest march on September 15 through the main roads.

The same will be followed by a day long dharna near the sub-divisional complex, they indicated.

Notably, the colony had been developed in a phased manner by encroaching land that belonged to the ancient Mud Fort.

The ASI had been censured in Parliament on different occasions as the members expressed concern over encroachments on the ancient monuments in different states.

The government had listed the Mud Fort as the maiden ancient monument in Punjab that had completely been encroached upon. One Munsha Singh had reportedly taken the matter to the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which reportedly directed the administration to take action.

SAD MP Sher Singh Ghubaya, Balluana legislator Gurtej Singh Ghuriana and Abohar MLA Sunil Jakhar were among the leaders, who visited Jammu Basti and extended support to the action committee formed by the occupants.

They had urged the state government to initiate process for rehabilitating the families, who were to be displaced, on priority basis.

They suggested that each family should be allotted residential plot, compensation from the displacement fund and interest free loan for building new houses.

But there had not been any solid offer from the state government so far.

It is believed that the ancient Mud Fort was originally known as Abha Nagri alias Abu Nagri that had been founded by the Rajput emperors of Bikaner and Jodhpur states in 14th century.

The Fort attains significance since some historians had claimed that Nayla, mother of king Ferozeshah Tughlak, was daughter of a Rajput king of Abu Nagri. The ASI had been under pressure to take up long-pending extraction and invention process to find historical links, it is said.

Bathinda, September 11
Despite being effective in checking the attack of pests mealy bug and black worm, sowing of the recently introduced genetically modified (GM) Bt-II cotton seeds has also not been able to skip controversy.

On the one hand, after receiving positive results, farmers are happy sowing Bt-II cotton seeds and on the other, pesticide dealers regret because it has led to a decline in the sale of medicines for pest control.

Taking serious note of the increase in the area under Bt-II cotton, promoters of organic farming have been terming it as a dangerous trend."Though the seed is a bit costly, it is capable of giving relief to farmers, who were suffering due to black worm (Kali Sundi).

After sowing Bt-II, we are happy as till now, there has been no worm attack and we can do without the continuous spray of expensive pesticides," said Ranjeet Singh of Gehari Bhagi, who has covered five acre chunk under Bt-II seeds.

Another farmer, Bakhtaur Singh of village Teona, who took the early crop to the grain market here, said, "I am aware about the side-effects of GM crops but cotton is a non-edible and non-food crop, so there is no harm in Bt-II cotton as a non-food product."Pesticide dealers meanwhile termed the sowing of Bt-II seeds as a loss for their trade.

"Due to this seed, pest attack have not taken place yet. We have been repaying the bank debts but the sale of stock is very poor.

If things go on like this, we will be forced to check the feasibility of switching over to some other trade," said Parkash Chand, a pesticide dealer.

"Bt-II is giving us a tough time as we have invested about Rs 20 lakh in storing the pesticides but it is being said that the black worm would not attack this season and we will have to carry forward the stock to next year," said Brijesh Kumar of Shiv Shakti pesticides limited.

Expressing his view, Navneesh Kumar, a representative of Chambal Fertilizers Limited, said, "The Bt-II technology has played an important role in checking black worm and other pests. It is because of this that it became farmer friendly."

Organic farmers too have their view. "No doubt, Bt-II was introduced to check mealy bug and black worn but we can not ignore the fact that deficit rains and low level of air moisture are the actual reasons why crops have been saved from pest attack," said a farmer Sukhwinder Singh.

The well-known promoter of organic farming, Umendra Dutta, executive director of Kheti Virasat Mission (KVM), has his own views.

"Increase in area under Bt-II cotton is a dangerous trend. Those who term cotton as non-edible crop have forgotten that cotton seeds are used for oil. Animals are fed the stub after harvest and farmers are always in contact with cotton.

There is evidence that these farmers have suffered allergic reactions. This needs an official follow-up. Before terming the seed as farmer-friendly, both environmental and health implications have to be taken into account," Dutt said.

"With the resistance by insects, day by day, manufacturing companies would keep on launching new Bt seeds varieties but ultimately, man will have to suffer badly," he added.

Hanumangarh/Abohar, September 11
The ‘Janata ki Chaupal’ a brain-child of chief minister of Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot is gaining momentum in the West Rajasthan region. Parliamentary secretary Nana Lal Ninama, in-charge for Hanumangarh district, during the two-day tour reached village Dabli Baas Pema at 9 pm on Thursday and listened to the public grievances during the marathon chaupal meeting till 2 am on Friday.

Ninama also visited village Matoria Wali Dhaani and Chaiya besides carrying on-the-spot inspection of various works taken up under the NREGA schemes. He performed prayers at Goraksh Teela and Gogamedi temple, which are uniquely worshiped by Hindus and Muslims. He interacted with the NREGA workers and farming families, who were to be benefitted by the NREGA projects. He inspected de-siltation of Budhwalia and Kanwani sub-canals. Dr P Navdeep MLA from Sangria and Rajinder Makkasar chairman of the Zila Parishad were also present.

Significantly, the visit of the Rajasthan state cabinet representative resulted in immediate relief to the NREGA workers, who had not been able to get their demands redressed despite repeated protests. The Parliamentary secretary asked the officials to ensure regular and timely payment of wages to the workers by removing hurdles at the bank level. He assured the villagers that most of their demands related to the development would be discussed in the next cabinet meeting.

Moga, September 11
The eleven-year-old daughter of a migrant labourer was raped by a local resident in the wee hours here on Wednesday.

Buta Singh, father of the victim, physically disabled, in a statement recorded to the police had alleged that one Amritpal Singh alias Pala, son of Joginder Singh living near their residence at Kothe Patti Mohabbat on the outskirts of the town entered their house in the wee hours and raped his minor daughter.

The police had registered a criminal case against the alleged accused person under section 376 of the IPC in the police station (rural) and initiated investigations into the incident.

Investigations made by The Tribune revealed that initially the police was reluctant to register the FIR under 'political' pressure even as the report of this incident was written in the daily dairy register on the same day.

When the girl was taken to the district hospital on Wednesday morning, she was not admitted for medical examination. The girl and her parents were asked to first inform the police.

Later, when the mother of the victim Phoola Devi and father Buta Singh brought the matter into the notice of the police station (south) from where they were referred to the police station (rural), the girl was admitted to the hospital in the evening and her swab was taken by a gynaecologist for clinical examination.

The SMO Dr Sadhu Ram Mittal also intervened into the matter for conducting medical examination of the girl. Interestingly, the alleged accused person Amritpal Singh also got himself admitted to the hospital on Wednesday morning alleging that he was beaten up by Buta Singh and his associates on Tuesday night.

It was learnt that he tried to exert pressure on the police through his political connections on not to register the FIR and instead get a 
counter case registered against the victim's father but when the FIR was finally lodged against him on Thursday, he allegedly fled away from the hospital. 

Fazilka, September 11
On the basis of the landmark decision of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the authorities of the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) have directed the managements of its affiliated schools to give minimum basic pay to its teachers at par with government school teachers.

The payment should be made through cheque. These directions have been issued keeping in view that the teachers working in affiliated schools are not exploited.

According to these directions, the managements of private schools affiliated to PSEB will have to release minimum basic pay to teachers. As per the instructions, JBT teachers would be paid Rs 4,550 per month, master cadre teachers Rs 5,480 per month, and lecturers would be paid Rs 6,400 per month that too through cheque only.

As per available details, the Punjab and Haryana High Court in its decision had directed on May 16, 2008 that the Board should ensure that the teachers working in its affiliated schools should be paid salary at par with minimum basic pay of the government school teachers.

But the PSEB perhaps did not bother to implement the orders and directions. As a result of non-compliance of the orders of the high court, the Indian Federations of Trade Unions filed contempt petition a few days back.

While admitting the petition, Justice Rakesh Kumar Garg has directed the Principal Secretary, Education, Punjab to present before the court on October 9 in this regard. Besides, Justice Garg has also ordered the managements of about 4,000 affiliated schools to produce record of salaries of teachers of the previous three years.

On the other hand, on the basis of orders of the court, the PSEB has directed the managements to pay salaries according to basic pay of the government school teachers.

This is reportedly an effort by the PSEB to set its house in order before appearing in the court on October 9.

NGO Shiksha Sudhar Committee Punjab patron Raj Kishore Kalra, president Jaswant Singh Gill and Dr Satinder Singh have hailed the move. 

Bathinda, September 11
City's 'creativeness' was on display on Friday when the hitherto truant monsoon caught the residents here on the wrong foot.

From polythene bags to gunny bags; from newspapers to towels; all the unconventional items were put to use by the residents when they literally ran for cover from rains which kept the region guessing about its behaviour the entire day besides showing its true trait - unpredictability.

When all the hopes for a stormy session with monsoon had nearly faded and when the residents had packed their raincoats, umbrellas and other such articles for the next rainy season, the monsoon came to show that why it is called the mother of all vagaries.

The normal life in the entire region was thrown out of gear as residents were caught unprepared for such a tryst with the rains. People taking into account the monsoon's last three months track record, kept believing that the rainfall would cease soon. But the drizzle this time failed them.

The city today, however, got to a cloudy start. The rain, in most parts of the region, stated around 10 am but after that there was more or less no break. Unprepared for rains, citizens were found stuck everywhere, from market to offices, in the hope that like previous days, it would again be a matter of an hour or more. After sometime when the patience started wearing thin the frantic search for cover began and whatever was found was used while many preferred to get wet.

The residents termed it a rainy day and the Agro-met advisory services PAU regional station, Bathinda echoed their sentiments by saying, "It was 21.3 mm as recorded at 2.30 pm on Friday."

With this the mercury, which has been ranging between 30 degrees Celsius and 34 degrees at maximum level during the last week, plummeted to a record 22.2 degrees Celsius at 7.30 am and 23 degrees at 2.30 pm on Friday, Agro-met advisory services here said.

As per the weather forecast made by the IMD, Chandigarh, for Bathinda region on Friday and received by the Agro-met advisory services here, prevailing conditions is likely to remain on Saturday. However, there would be a fall in intensity in comparison to Friday.

Weather is likely to be partially cloudy with possibility of rain in some parts of the region in the next one to two days. Later, the weather would be clear, the weathermen said.

Bathinda, September 11
The IAF authorities today launched a probe to ascertain the cause of the MiG-21 crash at Bhalaiana village in Muktsar on Thursday, in which Flight Lieutenant Manu Akhouri was killed on the spot.

Various teams from the different wings of the IAF landed here but they opted to carry out the investigation in a discreet way. Despite much persuasion, none of the officials present disclosed details of the ongoing probe.

After removing the wreckage of the fighter jet, the Bathinda-Muktsar road was opened for traffic. Almost every vehicle slowed down for a look at the aircraft debris lying on the roadside but the police and IAF authorities present there did not allow disruption of traffic.

When contacted, the district administrations of Bathinda and Muktsar officials informed that the teams had come from Delhi. The officials had been technically investigating the parts of the jet.

According to sources in Air Force Station, Bhisiana (Bathinda), Manu was the only son of Col (retd) Sanjay Akhouri of Daltonganj in Jharkhand.

SHO Kot Bhai police station, Davinder Singh said that the body was handed over to the medical wing of the IAF, where the postmortem was supposed to be conducted today. The father of the deceased had reached here and would take the body to the native village by Saturday.

Meanwhile, the social networking site of which Manu Akhouri was a member, was flooded with messages from his friends, expressing grief and praying for peace to his soul.

Manu Akhouri had 213 friends. People writing on his scrapbook have termed him a martyr who lost his life in an attempt to save the population of Bhalaiana village.

Referred to as flyboy by his friends, in his 28 photos uploaded on the social networking site,, he could be seen in various places, including Scotland and London.

Writing a testimonial, one of his friends, Palak Shekhawat of Chandigarh, had earlier described him as unbelievably believable. She further writes, "You just need to tell him what has been troubling you and the problem will vanish as it had never been there. Procrastination is beyond him, he believes in getting things done."

Bathinda, September 11
The ITI students and the Punjab Students Union (Shaheed Randhawa) have alleged that the father of a student had been arrested in the aftermath of the incident in which window panes of an Orbit bus had been broken.

Manpreet Bhokra, state general secretary of the union, today alleged that the police went to arrest Sarabjit Sharma, a resident of Maur Chadak Singh Wala village near Maur Mandi today but when police found Sarabjit was not at home, they arrested his father.

A massive protest took place on Wednesday across the state against the government's decision of not making bus passes applicable in private buses.

The students alleged that the police was not divulging any details on where Sarabjit's father had been kept. They also said that a student Parminder Singh was arrested for which the students met the DSP (City) and he was set free.

The students stated that they would be meeting the SSP tomorrow regarding Sarabjit's father's arrest.

When SSP Ashish Chaudhary was contacted, he stated that Sarabjit's father had not been arrested but had been taken by the police for interrogation and he would be left once the questioning was over.

The SSP also said that the students tried to act like hooligans and those found guilty would not be spared. 

Bathinda, September 11
“It is unfortunate for the people of Malwa that despite our best efforts, doctors are not keen to join any of the hospitals in this region," said Punjab health minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla, here today.

The Health Minister was here to formally lay the foundation stone for the Rs 4.73 crore new OPD block at the Civil Hospital. She was accompanied by the principal secretary of the department, Satish Chandra and the managing director of the Punjab State Health Corporation, Raji P Shrivastva.

Expressing regret, she disclosed that the state health department recruited 204 specialised doctors for the region but only 46 have joined the service as they did not turn up for fear of being posted in the Malwa belt.

"It is not enough. There were three doctors who belonged to this region. But saying it was a backward area, they refused to join here. There was only one lady doctor, who agreed to join the Civil Hospital in Mansa for one year but with the completion of that period, she too got a transfer," the minister added.

Addressing the gathering, she urged people to motivate doctors known to them to come to Malwa, as it has developed a lot.

Speaking further, Chawla said that during the past one year, government hospitals recorded about 70,000 births while the number was only 35,000 in the past.

Terming it as an achievement of the health department, she disclosed that the state health department was soon going to declare that all deliveries, irrespective of the family status of the patient, would be free of cost in all government hospitals.

About the school health fund, she said that students of all government and government aided schools would get free treatment for general ailments. In case of some serious disease, they would be treated at selected private hospital at concessional rate.

When asked about the recently instance of her reportedly snubbed by the chief minister over the issue of deputation of doctors, she refuted it saying, "There was no such topic at the meeting."

She spoke at length to motivate people to take a stand against drug menace, female foeticide and sale of spurious products.

Urging people to motivate the health department staff, Chawla said, "As of now, during the SAD-BJP government regime, till date, we have seized objectionable drugs worth Rs seven crore, whereas the previous government could seize only drugs worth Rs 58 lakh. Despite this, you people are not supporting us"

Before leaving, she informed that a four-day Ayurvedic Camp, would be held in Bathinda from Februray 12-15 next year.

Patiala, September 11
Supplementary examinations of BA/BSc/BCom of Punjabi University will begin on September 25. Roll numbers and datesheets have been dispatched. Candidates who do not receive their roll numbers by September 22 can collect the same on September 23 and 24. 

They must bring with them two photographs, the receipt of the submission of form, fee and other relevant documents. Datesheets are also available on the university website- www.punjabiuniversity.ac.in.