The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Railways to lease out vacant prime land Anirudh Gupta Ferozepur, September 9 The Rail Land Development Authority (RLDA) has decided to offer vacant chunks of railway land for the development of Multi Functional Complexes (MFC) through which it aims to earn around Rs 400 crores. In a communication issued by the Northern Railways in this regard, officials said the process was being expedited following the exemption granted by the cabinet from seeking prior approval before leasing out the railway land. Railway officials said the RLDA has already prepared an action plan for fast tracking the development of these projects and realising the expected revenue. The RLDA has lined up 60 new MFC sites and eight other standalone sites for which bidding process will be initiated in a phased manner within a fortnight. Many real estate consultants like Knight Frank, IL&FS, PWC, E&Y and JLLM have been roped in to advise the RLDA in planning and marketing of these commercial sites. Railway officials said MFC buildings which are likely to come up at railway stations in important tourist and religious destinations across the country will provide facilities for rail users at one centralised complex within the station premises. Facilities such as shopping, food stalls, restaurants, book stalls, ATMs, medicines and variety stores besides budget hotels will be provided at these MFCs. Officials said several leading brands, retail outlets, hotel chains and developers have expressed their interest in MFCs. NK Goyal, DRM, Ferozepur division, said MFCs at 26 railway stations which have been developed jointly with IRCON and RITES have already been completed and are waiting for being leased out. These stations include Haridwar, Udaipur, Raipur, Madurai, Allahabad, Jabalpur, Burdwan, Manmad and Guntur, among others. In Ferozepur division, such MFCs are likely to come up at Amritsar and Jammu stations. “The MFC project offers a unique opportunity for retailers, hotel chain operators, developers and other stakeholders for expanding and enlarging their footprint across hundreds of important towns and cities in the country,” said the DRM, adding that the railway stations provide assured footfalls and wide exposure that too in the heart of the cities. Officials said the MFC concept was a win-win model for the railways, rail users and developers. While the railways gets passenger facilities developed at no cost besides additional revenue, the rail users get better facilities in the shortest period of time and the developers get assured market and opportunity at a large number of railway stations across India. The MFCs so developed will be part of the railway operational buildings and will be transferred back to the railways once the lease period ends, said another official. Several important sites for commercial development of surplus railway land, including Katra, Amritsar, Chennai, Vizag, Vijaywada and Bangalore, are also soon going to be offered for bidding for leasing up to 45 years.
	Rice mills in Moga district under Mandi Board scanner Kulwinder Sandhu Tribune News Service Moga, September 9 With reports pouring in that the rice millers of Moga district were importing cheaper varieties of paddy and also custom milled rice from Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and other states, the state agricultural marketing board has set up special teams under a DGM-level official to conduct the physical verification (PV) of the mills. The teams along with the local officials of the Board had started conducting PV in the Nihalsinghwala, Baghapurana and Moga sub-divisions of the district. As many as 10 mills had been checked during the last two days, a senior Board official revealed. It was learnt that the agricultural marketing board has suffered huge losses due to the import of paddy and rice because the millers had not paid the marketing fee. They had imported the consignments of paddy and rice by paying only the entry tax at the VAT collection inter-state barriers. They had imported the ‘masoori’ variety of rice, besides various other broken varieties, rice kinky, rice nakku and rice sella through the inter-state barriers. These could be mixed by them with the local varieties of milled rice while handing over the stock to the FCI for the central pool. Last year, the miller failed to deliver as much as 2-lakh metric tonnes of rice in time to the central food agency. This backlog of the year 2010 continued even after procurement of the 2011 crop. From the 2011 stock, the millers first completed the backlog for the year 2010 and now they are again facing a shortage of paddy which has forced them to import cheaper varieties from outside. Insiders in the rice mill industry revealed that some local officials of the FCI were hand-in-glove with the millers for accepting the milled rice mixed with cheaper varieties imported from the other states. Although senior authorities of the FCI deny such allegations but records reveal that as many as 75 samples of rice failed the quality tests in the past three years. But strict action was not taken against the millers except for asking them to change the stock. “Such rice mills should be blacklisted by the state authorities,” said a senior official of the central food agency posted at New Delhi.
	BFUHS warns its docs against pvt practice Balwant Garg Tribune News Service Faridkot, September 9 A week after Chief Parliamentary Secretary (Health) Navjot Kaur Sidhu carried out a sting operation and nabbed a government doctor for carrying out private practice, Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS) in Faridkot has not only warned its doctors against private practice but also started keeping tab on visitors to their houses. Now, the entry of a stranger to the campus housing the residences of doctors at Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital, is riddled with obstacles. The security guards at the main gate of the campus confront a visiting stranger with many questions like whom to meet, reason for meeting, relations with the doctor, etc. After making these entries in the register, the doctor is telephonically informed about the visitor’s arrival. Sometimes, the doctors are even asked to receive the visitor at the main gate. Three days back, the principal of the medical college issued a letter to all heads of departments, writing that some doctors were indulging in private practice. “The doctors should not indulge in private practice as it is a breach of rule and makes them liable for departmental action. So ask all doctors to desist from private practice or face music,” reads the principal’s letter. Believing that warning is not enough to rein in the ‘erring’ doctors, the authorities also directed the security guards on duty to keep record of every strange visitor to the doctors’ residence. Dr SS Gill, vice-chancellor, BFUHS, said that they were forced to use this option as some doctors were not desisting from private practice. While many doctors in the campus are disappointed because of this arrangement, those who have their residence in town are a bit relieved as there is no one to check their guests and patients. In some cases, the family members of doctors on government rolls have their private clinics and diagnostic centres in the town. Often, they lure the patients to their family hospitals and fleece them with high priced medicines and unwarranted medical tests. To run their family hospitals, some of these doctors have even nurtured their political relations to shield their practice, revealed sources. Keeping a tab on visitors The entry of a stranger to the campus housing the residences of doctors at Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital, is now riddled with obstacles. The security guards at the main gate of the campus confront a visiting stranger with many questions like whom to meet, reason for meeting, relations with the doctor, etc. After making these entries in the register, the doctor is telephonically informed about the visitor’s arrival.
	Rural folks making a beeline to learn bee-keeping Our Correspondent Ferozepur, September 9 Following a rise in the demand for honey and other allied products in the national and international market, bee keeping is increasingly attracting the rural youths who are taking keen interest in this vocation. This was stated by Dr Yuvraj Singh Pandha, Assistant Professor (Plant Protection), PAU. Dr Pandha said besides the rise in the demand for honey, the improvement in the processing facilities, floral availability and conducive environment have also acted as a catalyst for the rural people to adopt this vocation. Speaking during the vocational training for bee keeping recently organized by the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) at Ferozepur, where more than three dozen trainees from Ferozepur, Fazilka, Muktsar and Faridkot districts evinced keen interest in learning the details about the vocation, Dr Pandha said besides the certificate training in beekeeping for beginners, the KVK also conducted an advanced training course on mass queen bee rearing. He said trainees were given theoretical and practical information on management of honey bee colonies in different seasons. Apart from honey extraction, information on utility and extraction of royal jelly, bee venom and pollen was also given. He said the trainees also practiced preparation of pollen substitute, wax purification and honey processing. Special emphasis was given on management of bee enemies like wax moth and mite. Dr Pandha said 50 per cent subsidy is given on the purchase of bee hives, bees and necessary equipment required for starting the occupation. Experts including Darshan Singh Sidhu, Rajesh Beri, Jagdeep Singh also interacted with the trainees on the occasion.
	U-19 cricket World Cup star returns to warm welcome Balwant Garg/TNS Faridkot, September 9 It was not just the star of the Under-19 World Cup cricket team from Punjab, Prashant Chopra, who was accorded a grand welcome on his arrival in his native town of Faridkot yesterday. His father, Shiv Chopra, a cricket coach, also received a loud salutation. Prashant was overwhelmed when the red carpet was rolled out for him in a school at Faridkot that was once the alma mater of his father, Shiv Chopra. “Teachers and parents play a very important role in sculpting a student. So, they are also happy when their dream comes true,” said Shiv Chopra, Prashant’s father. Prashant’s father Shiv Chopra is a cricket coach and his mother Vyas Chopra is a volleyball coach. In 1979, Shiv Chopra shifted to Solan in Himachal Pradesh from Faridkot after getting job as a cricket coach. Shiv’s two brothers, Gulzari Lal Chopra and Ved Prakash Chopra, live in Faridkot. Yesterday, when Shiv Chopra and Vyas Chopra were accompanying their celebrity son to Faridkot, it was not Prashant’s friends but the eager friends of his father who welcomed them the most at the gate of the school. Giving the entire credit for his success to his father and mother, Prashant shared many secrets of success in cricket with some budding players in Dashmesh School. To celebrate Prashant’s 52 run score which helped pull off a thrilling 9-run victory over New Zealand in the semi-final, many youth clubs and cricket lovers had put up big hoardings in the bazaars of the town last month.