AGRICULTURE

Can the paddy reach mills early?
June 30 deadline hard to beat
K.S. Chawla

Ludhiana, June 10
The government should not only get the paddy lifted from the ‘mandis’, but also get it milled soon. It should ensure that there is enough space for storing the rice and a smooth movement of the produce from Punjab to the other states. “If this is not done, the economy of the state will be affected,” say experts and officials who are looking after the procurement of wheat and paddy in the state. They say that the Deputy Commissioners cannot provide the answers to these problems.

The Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, will meet the DCs tomorrow in Chandigarh to discuss the issue of the procurement of paddy that is to arrive in the ‘mandis’ in September.

An examination of the problems related to the paddy purchase shows that the state government should ensure that the Food Corporation of India clears the procured stocks. It should also think about getting the paddy milled. Past year, 1.10 crore tonnes of paddy was procured, 40 per cent of which is yet to be milled.

The Centre has told the state government that it will not accept the rice milled after June 30. It seems unlikely that the remaining stock of the past year will be milled by this date. With the rise in temperature and the onset of monsoons, the paddy will deteriorate and the Centre will not lift it. In that situation, the state will have to bear a big financial loss.

Mr Tarsem Sarin, President of the Punjab Rice Millers Association, said at least 35 per cent of past year’s paddy stock was lying unmilled in the state and a maximum of five lakh tonnes of it could be milled before the given date.

The Centre has not announced the minimum support price of paddy for the next season and the levy price of rice. Things cannot move if these issues are not resolved.

Rice millers say that their long-pending demands have not been met and about 350 cases are pending with the arbitrators for the past many years. The government has not compensated them for the Rs 300 crore difference between the actual and the subsidised prices of the paddy.

Besides, there are some millers who are facing prosecution on the charges of misappropriation of the paddy stock in about 100 cases. They say that the law should take its own course, but the issue of the revision of transportation charges should be resolved soon. The rice millers body has sought that the Punjab State Electricity Board should take the actual charges and not fixed charges from the millers.

Official sources say that the CM wants to see a smooth procurement of paddy and the Prime Minister has assured him of Centre’s help in this regard, in view of the Vidhan Sabha elections next year. The CM has also sought an economic package for Punjab from the Centre.

However, the picture on the food front does not look bright as the Centre has not relaxed specifications for the wheat that has been procured by the state agencies. The wheat was damaged by untimely rain in March and April. About 1.10 crore tonnes of it has been procured so far. The state government wants the Centre to ensure that this wheat is moved to the other states as soon as possible.

Officials of the procurement agencies do not like interference by the DCs because they believe that the DCs are more prone to political pressures. They say that the DCs should ensure smooth procurement by dealing with the law and order problems and not act as “bullies”.

Mr Tarsem Saini says that the Centre has revised the milling rates in the past three years. “The Bureau of Industrial Costs and Prices has submitted its report on these rates to the government, but the recommendations are not being implemented,” he says.

Farmers to hold dharna today
Our Correspondent

Amloh, June 10
The Bharti Kisan Union (BKU) will hold dharna on Monday in front of the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) office at Patiala, to protest against the anti-farmer polices of the board, said Mr Baldev Singh Mianpur, president of the BKU, here today. He blamed the board had not allotted tubewell connections to the general category of farmers that were pending for a long period.

He said the board had constituted a squad of its employees to curb the menace of power theft, which has paved the way of corruption to pocket money from the farmers. The board officials were threatening farmers with heavy penalties and punishment under the ‘condenser scheme’ under which tubewells are being illegally operated in single phase supply.

EDUCATION

Atlases fail to keep up with global changes
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, June 10
Going by various atlases being provided to the students by many local schools, the Union Of Soviet Socialist Republic(USSR), still exists and countries like Kazakistan, Uzbekistan and many others from the former union exist nowhere in these atlases and Czechoslovakia continues to be a single entity instead of two different countries, the Czech and Slovakia republics. In the world where information technology has advanced by leaps and bounds and the masses are striving hard to take account of every latest happening on the globe, most students in our schools are made to do with the atlases that have been not revised for several years. No wonder the students fail to score marks in geography and the interest in the subject is waning.

In the past few decades when a number of developments have taken place, the cartographers are still stuck with old maps and the atlas industry has been shaken as it has a lot of obsolete atlases at hand. Yet the need to incorporate the latest changes has not been felt by the schools and the Education Department.

In a survey of various school libraries conducted by the Ludhiana Tribune, it was discovered that some schools did not have the new edition of atlases and some schools were without atlases. Some of the better schools did have the revised version but most of the school libraries did not want to take the blame and said that they did not have enough funds to buy the latest atlases.

Not only the atlas maps suggested to the students for practice during summer vacation were outdated but the students also were still filling the USSR in the place meant for it earlier instead of the present Russian Federation and other countries. West Germany and East Germany were still independent countries and Bosnia was still a part of Yugoslavia.

“The other day my daughter was working on her map book and when I glanced over her work, I was shocked. I was exasperated to discover that she had scribbled the USSR on the map of Asia . When I asked her about it she confidently replied that that was the USSR. And the book published by that company was suggested by the school itself," said a disgusted parent.

“I was disgusted to see that even the teachers did not bother to correct the mistake regarding the maps. Even when they had given the new atlas with the set of books, the atlases had not been updated. Book sellers buys in bulk as it helps them to save money and year after year they sell the same atlases. Only when some of the concerned parents protested to the principals, the atlases were exchanged. But not for all only for those who detect the mistake., "said Mrs Menon, another parent.

A number of students when contacted by this correspondent were nonchalant . They said,“ We are asked to mark only a few deserts or seas or some capitals, so we are not concerned. As it is our syllabi is so crammed up that our heads spin.” The teachers too evaded a direct answer.

Many students got a rude shock when they were required to answer questions based on the changes in various competitive examinations. A student, Manpreet broke out in cold sweat when she was asked to write about the two countries formed after the division of Czechoslovakia. “I was taken aback when I found this question in the paper. No one had ever told us. I bought a new atlas and found how hopelessly outdated I was.” And so are many others, including the educationists.

Teachers learn communication skills
Our correspondent

Ludhiana, June 10
As many as 110 teachers of the BCM Arya Model Senior Secondary School attended a 10 days workshop on ‘Communication Skills and Personality Development’ organised by The Legends English Village, which concluded here today. The workshop focused on the enhancement of communication skills and personality development.

Mr Satyanand Munjal, President, School Managing Committee, was the chief guest, while Mr G S Nahar, ALR, Government of Punjab, was the guest of honour on the last day. The chief guest lauded the efforts of the organisers and also congratulated the teachers who had participated in the workshop.

The workshop included lectures on topics such as ,‘How to win friends and influence people, ‘Organisational conduct' and ‘You can win’. Talks on each subject were delivered by various professionals and other distinguished personalities who participated in the workshop. Some of the persons, who addressed the workshop included Ms Manjeet Sodia, Ms Divya Bhardwaj and Commodore Khanna.

Apart from the lectures, the workshop also included various activities aimed at improving public speaking skills and its allied aspects of the participants. These included group discussions, interview sessions and also sessions for speech enhancement power. Presentations were also given by 10 participants on the concluding day on the topics which were covered in the workshop.

COURTS

53 Lok Adalats to be held in Punjab
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana , June 10
The Punjab Legal Services Authority has decided to hold 53 Lok Adalats during the next quarter starting from July, throughout in state, for providing speedy justice to the litigants and for minimising the load of over-burdened courts, at all the district headquarters and sub-divisions.

In these adalats cases pertaining to Hindu Marriage Act, Rent Act, Motor Accident Claims, Civil etc will be taken up.

As per the schedule sent to all district and sessions judges, who are also chairman, District Legal Services Authority, at their respective headquarters, a Lok Adalat will be held in Ludhiana Judicial Complex on July 29.

At Amritsar on September 15, Ajnala September 1, Patti September 1, Baba Bakala September 15, Taran Taran September 15, Bhatinda September 22, Mansa August 11, Phool August 4, Talwandi Bhai August 11, Faridkot August 25, Moga September 1, Gidarbaha September 22, Muktsar August 25, Malaut August 4, Zira September 1, Fazilka September 29, Gurdaspur September 1, Batala September 15, Pathankot September 29, Ropar September 22, and at Kharar on September 22. At Hoshiarpur, Dasuya, Garhshankar, Jalandhar, Anandpur Sahib and Sunam the date will be September 29 and in Nakodar, Nawanshahr, Patiala, Balachaur and Sangrur on September 22.

Lok Adalats at Kapurthala, Phagwara, Phillaur, Sultanpur Lodhi will be organised on September 15.

At Samrala sub-division on July 28, Jagraon September 1, Khanna July 28, Nabha August 4, Samana August 11, Barnala August 25, Fatehgarh Sahib July 28, Malerkotla August 4 and Amloh July 28.

Six Labour Lok Adalats will be held, in which cases pertaining to disputes of labour with employer etc are likely to be settled. As per information available, Labour Lok Adalat at Amritsar on September 14, Gurdaspur August 31, Bhatinda September 31, Jalandhar September 20, Patiala September 21, Ludhiana August 31 will be held by the legal services authority.

CULTURE

Painting exhibition on female foeticide
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, June 10
To mark the 100th anniversary of artist Sobha Singh, a painting exhibition titled ‘creative moments’ was organised by the Chand School of Arts at the Sutlej Club here today. The exhibition was based on the theme ‘female foeticide’ and carried a message to stop the merciless killing of unborn female child.

Dr Sushma Jaiswal, one of the guests on the occasion, said that ‘women’ have for ages been battered, stoned, raped and harassed but the most heinous of these all was the female infanticide and foeticide. “The work of art here is the reflection of the artist’s mind on the subject of foeticide”, Dr Jaiswal added.

Chand Bhatia, the brain behind the exhibition, is an advisor of the Kalpana Fine Arts Society and executive member of the Sobha Singh Memorial Art Society. She has over 100 paintings to her credit. Ms Bhatia said,”I took the initiative to educate and guide the youth interested in art. After completion of the term, they are given certificates by Bibi Gurcharan Kaur, daughter of saint, philosopher and artist Sobha Singh. It is a tribute to the artist”.

The paintings with titles Vision, aakhir kab tak, Suffocation, Agony, bhilni ke ber, Agony and ecstacy, Evil dead, Shattered, intezaar, Moods, mera kasoor, Web of evil, Evolution and kaash were appreciated by the visitors.

Shattered, depicts the theme where vultures and crows symbolise the lecherous and anti-social elements of the society. The woman is shown breaking down at the hands of scavengers.

“Evolution” beautifully depicts the development of a human child inside the womb of a mother.

Creation was the centre of attraction for all visitors. A symbolic work of art in which the woman took the form of a burning candle who burnt herself to spread light around.

The theme painting Female foeticide, mocked at the irony that women in India were worshipped on the one hand and aborted following sex determination tests.