5 rabi crop varieties released
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, August 12
Striving towards development of high-yielding varieties of Rabi crop and standardisation of their production and protection technologies, a two-day workshop of agriculture officers began at Pal Auditorium, Punjab Agricultural University, here today.

The inaugural session was chaired by Dr K.S. Aulakh, Vice-Chancellor of the university. It was attended by the Director of Agriculture, Punjab, the Director, Punjab State Seed Certification Authority, the Director of Marketing, Punjab, all district extension specialists, all associate directors of Krishi Vigyan Kendras, besides deans, directors and additional directors of the university.

During the workshop, five tailor-made varieties of Rabi crop fitting into multiple cropping system were released. These included two varieties of sarson gobhi (canola type), GSC-5 and Hyola PAC-401. GSC-5 is a short stature, early maturing variety recommended for general cultivation throughout the state with an average seed yield of 6.3 quintals per acre. The seeds are brownish black, lustrous with 42 per cent oil content. Hyola PAC-401 is dwarf variety, maturing in 150 days. Its seeds are brownish black and lustrous. One thousand seeds weigh 3.5 kg and contain 42 per cent oil. The average seed yield is 6.7 quintals per acre.

PBR-210, a new variety of Raya, has been recommended for cultivation in South-Western region of the state. It has 38.4 per cent oil content. It is expected to mature in 150 days with an average yield of 6.8 quintals per acre.

Buland, a new variety of maize, was also recommended. It is a cold tolerant single-cross maize hybrid for cultivation in winter season. It has thick ears with orange flint grains. It has moderate reaction to rust with a good level of tolerance to post-flowering stalk rot in general and charcoal rot in particular. Average yield of the variety is 31 quintals per acre.

The fifth variety released was that of Berseem. BL-42 is a quick-growing variety producing more tillers per unit area. It supplies green fodder up to first week of June. It is tolerant to stem-rot disease with superior nutrition quality, yielding about 440 quintals per acre of green fodder.

The officers approved of the three varieties of gram and one of wheat for adaptive trials. These included GNG 469, FG 897 and ICCV 96029. Three new brand formulations for protection technology were also recommended. These included Puma power, Treflan 48 and SF-10 for control of Phlaris minor in wheat. The officers also recommended adoption of rice berseem and rice-potato-sunflower/wheat rotations, and early sowing as cultural control measures against Phlaris minor. An exhibition of posters and new varieties of different crops was also held.

Zonal School Committee meeting
Our Correspondent

Mandi Ahmedgarh, August 12
A meeting of the Zonal School Committee was held at Government Senior Secondary School Bhogiwal village, near here, on Monday. The meeting was attended by representatives of around 35 schools. Mr Gurtej Singh Grewal, Principal of the school and general secretary, Zonal Sports Committee, presided over the meeting.

Mr Grewal informed the representatives of various school that tae kwon do and tug-of-war had been deleted from the list of games to be played during tournaments commencing on August 18. He said a student could participate in only one game during the tournament.

However, a kabbadi player could participate in another game. According to approved sports calendar, cricket matches would be played at Bhogiwal village on August 18 and 19, hockey at Khurd on August 25 and 26, badminton at Malerkotla on August 21 and other games will be played at Flaund village.

ITI employees threaten stir
Our Correspondent

Mandi Ahmedgarh, August 12
The employees of 94 ITIs and 18 polytechnic institutes in Punjab have threatened to launch a stir if the state Cabinet doesn't rescind its decision on privatising these institutes.

Mr Navjot Singh Dhoot, general secretary of the Industrial Training Employees Union , Punjab, told Ludhiana Tribune that industrial development of the state would be badly effected if training institutes were privatised. These training institutes had not only increased per capita income of the state, but also diluted the problem of unemployment. Job-oriented courses in ITIs and polytechnic colleges at district and tehsil levels and IRATCs ,GISs and ITCs in rural areas had encouraged self-employment.

At present, fee for technical courses was around 20 times that of neighbouring states like Haryana. It would touch Rs 16,000 if the decision was implemented. Whereas, students at government ITI colleges completed their courses , 65 per cent of students in private colleges dropped out due to financial constraints.

He alleged that the state government, by selling these institutes with an infrastructure of Rs 16 crore at a throwaway price, was running away from its constitutional responsibility.

He urged the government to save the industrial future of the state by serving these institutes. " Otherwise we would be left with no option than to struggle," he threatened.

Traditional fervour marks Teej celebrations
Our Correspondent

Mandi Ahmedgarh, August 12
Traditional fervour marked Teej celebrations at the local Janta College for Women on Monday. The campus of the college reverberated with the beat of drums. Students presented songs from a series of their choicest collections and thrilled the audience. Girls attired in traditional outfits such as ghagras and lehngas, performed folk dances of Punjab. The bolian and tappe sung by girls explained the importance of various traditional ornaments. Performances by Parveen, Charanjit, Pardeep, Isha, Jasleen and Deepika was appreciated by the audience.