The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

AGRICULTURE

Farmers seek reduction in fertiliser prices
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, October 3
A delegation of farmers from the kisan and khet mazdoor wing of the Punjab Pardesh Congress Committee met Mr Balram Jakhar, former Union Minister, who is also the chairman of the Kisan and Khet Mazdoor Congress, and apprised him of the problems of the farmers.

Mr Kirpal Singh Grewal said the members impressed upon him to urge the Punjab Government to take the views of the wing on issues related to farmers. Representatives of the Kisan and Mazdoor Committee must be accommodated on panels formed by the district authorities on related issues.

He said the chairmen and the members of market committees, grievance committees and planning boards must be appointed from among the members of their outfit. It was also pointed that the government must implement crop diversification in the state by taking the advice of the agricultural technocrats of the Department of Agriculture.

Fulfilling the needs of the farmers at block level should be the top priority of the state and for this, agricultural graduates should be encouraged to start plant clinics and agricultural commercial centres. Subsidised loans should not be made available to the farmers only, but also to the unemployed graduates.

There was a need to educate farmers regarding judicious use of chemicals, fertilisers, pesticides and insecticides. This could be done through plant clinics where farmers could be shown the after-effects of the excessive use of such chemicals. An added benefit would be that they would be able to ensure production of foodgrains as per international and WTO standards. The unemployed agricultural graduates would also gain employment, he said.

Mr Grewal said they also told the chairman that there should be a concrete plan for redemption of loans of the farmers and that the interest on the loans should be treated on a par with industry. The interest on the loans taken previously by farmers must be waived off, because the condition of the farmers of Punjab was extremely bad, he pointed out.

Other issues raised with Mr Jakhar included reduction in the prices of fertilisers, insecticides and pesticides. Interest rate on the loans taken for agricultural equipment, including tractors, must be reduced, drinking water should immediately be arranged for those in the Kandi area and a canal should be dug for Hoshiarpur. Reduction in the prices of sugarcane at the time of purchase must be stopped and the balance payment must be released to the farmers at the earliest. The purchase of sugarcane and paddy should be confirmed in the last week of September and purchase of paddy should be linked with price index.

He said the Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal issue was also raised. He said the members stressed that not a single drop of water of Punjab would be given to the neighbouring states because there was an acute water scarcity in the state itself.

Mr Grewal said Mr Jakhar assured them that he would raise the issues at the party and government level.

EDUCATION

Sukriti tops PTU exam
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, October 3
Sukriti Khanna, a BBA student of the Punjab College of Technical Education (PCTE), has topped Punjab Technical University by securing 90.5 per cent marks in the sixth semester examination conducted this year.

This is the fourth time that Sukriti has bagged first position in the university examinations. Kulwinder Singh, a student of the PCTE, has bagged second position with 88.7 per cent, while Vineet and Maninder Saggar of the same college have stood seventh and 10th, respectively, in the university. Vineet has obtained 86.33 per cent marks, while Maninder has got 85.33 per cent marks.

Dr K.N.S. Kang, Director of the college, has congratulated the students. He said hard work of the students and efforts put in by the faculty had helped them bag top positions in the university.

NSS camps in colleges
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, October 3
Blood donation camps, traffic awareness lectures, drug de-addiction drives, communal harmony programmes and an array of several other activities were held here today as part of the ongoing series NSS camps being organised in the Khalsa College for Women, Ramgarhia Girls’ College and GHG Khalsa College, Gurusar Sadhar.

In all 147 students are participating in the 10-day NSS camp at the Khalsa College for Women that entered its sixth day today.

The programme is being held under the leadership of three programme officers, Dr Rasil Kaur, Dr Gurdeep Kaur and Ms Prabhleen Toor. The camp was inaugurated by Dr K.S. Verma, coordinator, NSS, Punjab Agricultural University.

On the second day, Mr Satnam Singh of Guru Gobind Singh Study Circle, Model Town Extension, delivered a lecture on moral values. A slogan-writing contest was also held on the theme of the camp, ‘Youth for health’.

On the third day, Dr Anurag Bansal, an eye specialist, delivered a lecture on eye care. He checked the eyesight of the volunteers. A dentist, Dr Kanika Jindal, enlightened the volunteers regarding dental care. She answered the queries of the students.

On October 1, a traffic awareness camp was organised. A blood donation camp was organised by the Red Cross Society the next day. Many students volunteered to donate blood. A poetry recitation competition was also organised on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti.

Today, an awareness camp for farmers was held at Sunet village in which they were imparted knowledge about conservation of water. During the post-lunch session, a camp was organised at Children’s Traffic Park, Model Town, where school students were taught traffic rules.

Similarly, it was the sixth day of the camp at Ramgarhia Girls’ College that was inaugurated on September 28. A blood donation camp was held on Wednesday. Mr Rajdeep Gill, lecturer at Government College, Fazilka, told volunteers about the importance of donating blood. Yesterday, communal harmony day was organised during which competitions were held in singing, poetry recitation and creative writing. Ms Jasbir Kaur Punni and Dr Jasbir Brar emphasised the need of communal harmony. Students spoke on Gandhiji’s philosophy and teachings. Students sang patriotic songs. Vivek Monga, a volunteer, sang ‘Yeh teri zameen ke insaan, aapas mein ladte rehte hain’. Students who performed well were given prizes.

At GHG Khalsa College, Gurusar Sadhar, the NSS girls’ and boys’ units conducted an extension lecture in collaboration with the Jagraon traffic police. Mr Himmat Singh, DSP, Traffic, spoke on traffic rules and safety measures. Mr Manjit Singh Khattra, Director of the college, and Dr J.S. Cheema, Principal, welcomed the resource person. A lecture was also delivered by Mr Ravel Singh, Director of Aas Kiran Drug De-addiction Centre. He inspired volunteers to eradicate drug addiction from society.