AGRICULTURE

Farmers seek payment of cane arrears
Our Correspondent

Amloh, September 9
Activists of the Bharti Kisan Union staged a dharna in front of the Nahar Sugar Mill here yesterday to demand the payment of arrears to the tune of Rs 125 crore to cane growers.

Addressing the gathering, Mr Balveer Singh Rajewal, national general secretary of the union, alleged that cane procurement by private mills was not being shown in the record and the sugar produced by them was also being sold on the black market, which fetched Rs 350 per bag of sugar by evading excise and sales tax.

“The mills have not made the payment of cane purchased from farmers to the tune of Rs 125 crore in the state,” he said.

He blamed the bureaucracy for the downfall of cooperative sugar mills. He stated that a nexus between some political parties and private sugar mills had been formed to privatise cooperative mills. He said farmers should be prepared to launch a stir against the nefarious designs of the nexus.

Mr Baldev Singh Mianpur, state president of the union, said Rs 125-crore arrears of cane growers in the state should be paid along with interest. He criticised the Central Government for making payment of Rs 609 crore from SDF to Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Uttaranchal, whereas only Rs 31 crore had been announced for Punjab and that too in the shape of loan.

Speaking on the procurement prices of wheat and paddy, the union leaders said the MSP of paddy had remained Rs 580 for the past three or four years whereas the prices of diesel, fertilisers, etc. had increased manifold. The diesel price during the past two years has increased three-fold. They demanded to fix the procurement price of paddy according to the price index. They said farmers from all over the state would organise a protest march in Delhi on September 17.

The dharna was also addressed by office-bearers of several district units of the union, including Mr Netar Singh Nagra, president of the Ludhiana unit, Mr Karnel Singh Dadiana, president of the Fatehgarh Sahib unit, Mr Gurnam Singh Durgapur, general secretary of the Patiala unit, Mr Jagjeet Singh, president, Nabha block unit, Mr Kartar Singh Nillon, vice-president, Ludhiana unit, and Mr Ghuman Singh Rajgarh, general secretary, Nabha block unit.

Languages Dept holds literary contests
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, September 9
Students from over 20 schools participated in district-level poetry recitation, on-the-spot essay writing, poetry composing and story writing competitions organised by the District Languages Department at Punjabi Bhavan here today.

The students were given current topics related to corruption, social evils and Indo-Pakistan relations. All contests were organised by Mr Harpal Singh Sidhu, Assistant Director in the department.

The judges of the contests were Principal Prem Singh Bajaj and Mr Kulwant Jagraon, both noted poets and writers. In the Hindi poetry recitation contest, Chamanpreet Kaur from Guru Nanak International Public School (GNIPS) stood first, followed by Puneet Kaur from the same school and Anantdeep from DAV Public School.

In the Punjabi poetry recitation contest, Kumar Sharma from Bhartiya Vidya Mandir clinched the first prize. The second prize went to Amanpreet from Guru Nanak Khalsa High School, Model Town. Prabhleen from DAV Public School was declared third.

In the Hindi poetry composing contest, Preeti Madaan from Bhartiya Vidya Mandir stood first. Varundeep from DAV Public School was declared second and Sandeep from Government Model Senior Secondary School, Punjab Agricultural University, won the third prize.

In the Hindi story writing competition, Jaspreet Kaur from Ramgarhia Girls Senior Secondary School bagged the top prize, while Shikha Gabha from Gupta Model High School stood second, followed by Gagandeep Kaur from Guru Nanak Khalsa High School, Model Town.

In the Hindi essay writing competition, Akirt Bhandari from DAV Public School got the first rank. Harsimranjit Kaur from GGN Public School was declared second and Bhavna Gulati from Malwa Khalsa Senior Secondary School stood third.

In the Punjabi poetry composing contest, Charanvir Kaur from GGN Public School clinched the first prize. The second prize went to Gagandeep Kaur from Khalsa Girls’ Senior Secondary School and Jaspreet Singh from GNIPS was declared third.

In the Punjabi story writing competition, Gurdeep Singh from BCM Arya Model Senior Secondary School bagged the top prize, while Amanpreet Kaur from Government Model Senior Secondary School, Punjab Agricultural University, stood second, followed by Harpreet Kaur from Dashmesh Public School.

In the Punjabi essay writing competition, Harpreet from Guru Harkrishan Public School, Doraha, stood first. Gurpreet Singh from Government Senior Secondary School, Jawahar Nagar, was declared second and Surbhi Bhardwaj from Bhartiya Vidya Mandir stood third.

A woman of substance
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, September 9
In her early 30s, Rashmi Gangwani has accomplished what many, much older than her, strive for. Armed with an MBA degree, she is the head of the Department of Business Management in Khalsa College for Women, here.

The latest feather in her cap is the interactive session of President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam with 650 schoolchildren of the city, which she had anchored during his one-day visit to the city.

This college lecturer had a brush with glamour at Bombay Dyeing, Zee, Gladrags, MRF India 2003 contest in Bombay, where she was ranked amongst the top five contestants. She was the only contestant representing north India.

Rashmi says she is mesmerised with the momento she possesses in the form of a pen, with which the President had signed a painting as a token of appreciation.

Her happiness doubled when she received calls from the President's house and the Governor's house, complementing her for anchoring the interaction with the President.

She says her parents taught her to think big and aim high, making her a winner in varied fields like sports, academics, debating and beauty. This, along with sagacity, prudence, strong family values and support from her husband, ensured success, leading her to new vistas, most women only dream of.

An ‘initiation to the core’ is how Rashmi describes herself. This attitude, along with sheer determination, enabled her to anchor the opening ceremony of 54th Junior National Basketball Championships in June at Ludhiana.

Her performance on the first day of the tournament led her to compere a cultural night followed by the national facilitation meet of the Basketball Federation of India during the same tournament.

A joint secretary of the District Women Hockey Association, a state-level gymnast and 32 medals to her credit for excellence in athletics, she dabbles in painting and other creative pursuits.

A mother of two children, having an encouraging and supporting mother-in-law helps. She says she can have anything in life with the moral support from her family. 

Cassettes released
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, September 9
Shiv Darbar and Gyan Ganga, the two cassettes of bhajans and religious songs were released here today by Mr Gurinder Singh, President, All India Panthers’ Association. The songs have been written and sung by Rajni Jain, a city-based artiste and set to music by Manmohan Singh.

Ms Jain has been invited to perform in the Parliament House Function next year.

Amongst others present on the occasion were Mr Shiv Soni, vice-president, National Communist Party Punjab and Mr Vimal Rai, district president, National Communist Party.