The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

‘Fields day’ on soyabean held
Our Correspondent

Samrala, August 23
A ‘fields day’ on soyabean was organised here today at Jhakrandi village 2 km from here by the Krishi Vigyan Kendra Samrala of Punjab Agricultural University.

Dr Gursharan Singh Kalkat, Chairman, Farmers’ Commission, Punjab and former Vice-Chancellor of PAU, exhorted the farmers to reduce area under paddy crops. “If you have six acres of land divert at least two acres to soyabean and pulses. “He applauded PAU for developing virus-free varieties of soyabean and raised-bed plantation of soyabean. Dr Kalkat announced that industries for processing of soyabean would be encouraged in the state so that the farmers could get maximum return from this crop.

Dr K S Aulakh, Vice-Chancellor PAU stated that diversification in agriculture was limited not only to soyabean and pulses but potatoes also had immense scope for exports. He send the farmers’ commission had given Rs 58 lakh to PAU for research on disease free potatoes for export purposes.

Dr Aulakh said not only scarcity of water, but declining soil health in the state was also a cause for serious concern. The soil of Punjab lack in iron, copper and other micro-nutrients.

Dr S.S. Gill, Director, Extension Education PAU, lamented that the water level in the state was going down while the debt burden on farmers was rising, as they were overspending and a large number of tractors owned by them remained under-utilised.

Dr Sat Pal Mehra, Additional Director, Extension Education, proposed a vote of thanks.

Earlier experts from various departments of the university guided the farmers about the latest production and technologies. The dignataries visited field demonstration plots at Chahalan village and KVK at Samrala.

Mr Kalkat and Mr Aulakh encouraged Mr Karminder Singh Guron and Col Balwinder Singh, progressive farmers of the Jhakraudi village for their new techniques in farming.

Awareness camp for farmers
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, August 23
The Department of Animal Husbandry, Fisheries and Dairy Development, organised an animal welfare and farmer awareness camp at Veterinary Hospital, Ghudani Kalan, which was inaugurated by Dr Charanjit Singh Pandher, Senior Veterinary Officer, Payal.

According to the camp in charge, Dr Satwinder Singh, veterinary officer, Ghudani Kalan, a team of specialists comprising Dr Sunil Dutt, Dr Parshant Singla, Dr Rupinder Singh and Dr Rakesh Verma, treated animals suffering from various chronic diseases and performed 19 major and minor surgeries.

On the occasion farmers were provided free medicines-cum-vaccines and were also educated about better animal care. Importance of dairy and fisheries in uplifting financial status of farmers was also highlighted by experts and large number of farmers were benefited by departmental schemes offering subsidy and loan facilities.

EDUCATION

From Schools & Colleges
Govt College students observe vanamahotsava
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, August 23
The Eco Club of the NSS, NCC unit and the Botany Department of Government College for Women celebrated Vanamahotsava day with Dr Jaswant Singh, Joint Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, by planting saplings on the college premises here today.

In his keynote address, Dr Jaswant Singh said forests played an important role as they maintain equilibrium in the ecosystem. The forests also helped in checking floods, soil erosion as well as improving soil fertility and maintaining temperature and pollution.

Stressing the need for afforestation, he remarked that in India an estimated 22 per cent area was covered by forest land. In Punjab, the forest cover was around 12 per cent which was much below the required proportion. Dr Jaswant Singh said 500 saplings would be planted on the college campus by the MC in the next few days.

Speaking on the occasion, Ms Prabhjot Kaur, Principal, said the tendency of destroying forests needed to be checked effectively since the lack of adequate forest cover could have many dangerous consequences.

“Citing the example of Shiv Kumar Batalvi, who equated trees with sons and daughters, we must understand the hidden meaning in his poetry that trees needed to be cared like our children,” the Principal added.

The Vice-Principal, Ms Narinder Sekhon, programme officer, NSS, Ms Harjeet and Ms Narinderjit Kaur were also present on the occasion.

NSS camp: A one-day NSS camp and function of “Jagrookta Mahotsav” were celebrated by the NSS unit of Everest Public Senior Secondary School, Moti Nagar, at the Dhandari Kalan here today. Dr Raminder, Medical Officer, PHC, Sahnewal, addressed the NSS volunteers.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Raminder focused on the ways to control diseases like cholera, dengue, malaria and measures to save the life and environment. Describing the aims of NSS, Mr Jaspal Singh said first and foremost purpose was to develop the personality and thereafter to cultivate the habit of social services.

He remarked that the NSS unit was launched on Oct 2, 1969, to fulfill the desire of Mahatma Gandhi as a body like the NSS was his dream. Mr Dheeraj Sharma, programme officer, told the students that NSS cultivated the spirit of brotherhood, spirit of social service and spread social awareness among the people.

Mr Rajinder Sharma, president, Association of the Punjab School Education Board Affiliated Schools, expressed his views on controlling diseases and importance of public health and personal hygiene. The NSS unit of the school organised a group discussion with the people to control the diseases and saving the life and environment.

Career counselling: The career counseling forum of SVM Senior Secondary School will organise a career guidance seminar on the school premises on the Dhandra road here on August 23 and 24 in which various educational and professional courses would be introduced to the students to enable them get undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate degrees in the fields of IT, management, law, hospitality and journalism.

The seminar would also cover other career-oriented courses like nannies and air hostesses by Canadian-recognised institution.

College teachers stage protest
Tribune News Service

Doraha, August 23
As per the call given by the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers Union, city colleges observed ‘Save Education Day,’ today and criticised the anti-higher education’ policies of the government.

Dr Parminder Singh, area secretary, Dr Khushwinder Kumar, district president and Prof Kuldeep Singh and Prof Baldeep Singh, executive committee members, said college lecturers of private-aided colleges of Punjab and Chandigarh observed a two-hour strike from 12 noon to 2 PM to press upon the government for non-implementation of their genuinely pending demands.

The restoration of 95% grant-in-aid scheme, implementation of pension -cum-gratuity scheme as mentioned in the election manifesto, merger of 50 per cent DA and absorption of staff affected by shifting of plus+2 classes, are among the topmost demands of the teachers. Campus dharnas were organised in various colleges to make the strike effective.

The union leaders also reiterated that August 25 will be observed as “Poll manifesto reminder day”. Further , the Teachers Day would be observed as ‘protest day’. Teacher’s would go on casual leave en masse and march to Matka Chowk Chandigarh, to participate at a state-level protest rally.

Samrala: As per the directive of the executive committee of the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers’ Union, teachers of Malwa College, Bondli, Samrala, observing a strike after 12 pm in the college. The teachers held a massive rally in the college campus. They were joined by the all non-teaching employees and students. They raised anti-government slogans at the rally.

Addressing the rally, the union president and state executive member, Prof Baldeep Singh, blamed the government for the total collapse of the education system. He said the education system was in a shambles because the state government was shirking its responsibility of providing good education and health facilities to the poor. Education had now been totally commercialised.

The rally was addressed by union secretary Prof Jagdeep Singh, Prof Baljit Singh and Mr Harinderjit Singh Kler Mr Gurdev Singh, president, Non-Teaching Employees’ Union, and Mohan Singh, PU area vice-president, also spoke.

The speakers condemned the “apathetic” attitude of the state government towards the genuine demands of the college teachers.

DCI member for uniformity in professional college admissions
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, August 23
Dr Vikas Jindal, a member of the Dental Council of India (DCI), has made a fervent plea with the respective state governments to frame such laws which should ensure uniformity, transparency and merit in admissions to all private professional colleges in the country.

Reacting to the Supreme Court verdict on admissions to private professional colleges, he said the observation made by the Supreme Court regarding scrapping of state quotas in admission to minority and private unaided colleges should be taken in the right spirit.

Talking to Ludhiana Tribune here today, he said the states should fix a specified quota for the poor and the economically weaker students, but at the same time, adequate autonomy must be given to the institutions for the remaining seats to provide quality education, qualified faculty and state-of-the-art professional facilities.

While lauding the role of the state governments in encouraging the opening up of new dental colleges in their respective states, Dr Jindal said at the time of giving permission to open new dental colleges, the governments must keep in mind the ground realities. As there was an acute shortage of dental and medical faculty throughout the country, the government must put a stop to the opening of new dental colleges in the country.

“The number of unemployed qualified dentists is swelling day-by-day causing a great resentment among the qualified dentists. The DCI, at its recent general body meeting, has passed a unanimous resolution requesting the government to put a 10-year moratorium on opening up of new dental colleges in the country. The council has also decided to come down heavily on the substandard dental colleges to improve the quality education and create a national wealth in the dental colleges of the country.

Dr Jindal, working as a professor in Christian Dental College here, has lauded the efforts of the President of the DCI, Dr Anil Kohli, who had launched a drive to conduct surprise inspections and raids in dental colleges all over the country and had also blacklisted certain faculty members found absent during these inspections.

According to Dr Jindal, the DCI president had recently set up some committees to look into varied matters in the council and the problems related with dental education in the country. “A committee has also been formed to reframe the entire syllabus of dental education leading to the BDS and MDS degrees to make it comparable to the best syllabi any where in the world. The decades old syllabus needs to be changed in a big way, is the common feeling among the DCI functionaries.”

Entrepreneurship development programme
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, August 23
To promote agro-processing, the Punjab National Bank (PNB), in association with Punjab Agriculture University (PAU), inaugurated an entrepreneurial development programme on ‘Post-harvesting handling and food processing’ here today.

The 10-week programme would give practical training to participants in post-harvesting and food processing, which will help them to run a unit successfully.

Mr K.L. Miglani, Deputy Zonal Manager, PNB, Punjab zone, said realising the potential that the food processing industry had, the bank had started financing food processing and agro-processing projects like extraction of oil from rose and other plants.

He said the bank would also consider providing finance for viable projects to candidates who intended to set up their units after getting the training in this programme.

Dr G.S. Chahal, Director-Dean, College of Agriculture, PAU, while inaugurating the programme, said promoting the food processing industry was the need of the hour as crops worth over Rs 75,000 crore went waste every year.

He said there was a need to shift from marketing of agriculture produce to product for increased value-added profits to the farmers.

Dr David O. Hansen, Associate Dean and Director, Ohio State University, Ohio, Mr Harmesh Kumar, District Development Manager, NABARD , and Dr G.S. Padda from the Food, Science and Technology Department, PAU, were among those present on the occasion.

At least 30 candidates from the state are participating in the EDP programme.

NSUI launches enrollment drive
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, August 23
The National Students Union of India (NSUI) has launched a membership drive to enroll new members in all colleges in the district.

During the current year, the body aims at taking in 500 active members and 5,000 primary members from the local units.

This was stated by district president Jaspreet Singh Ahluwalia and vice-president Amritpal Khanpur while addressing a news conference here today.

They claimed that in the near future, the NSUI would emerge as the largest representative body of the students in the state.

According to Mr Ahluwalia, the body was committed to the welfare of students and several new policies had been formulated to press the pending demands of students at appropriate levels with the government.

Initially, the NSUI leadership had planned to raise issues pertaining to payment of insurance premium of students by the government, drive against menace of drugs and other intoxicants and creating a cleaner environment in colleges and universities.

Among others present on the occasion were president Mandeep Singh Sanghowal; vice-president, Khalsa College unit, Manjit Singh Haibowal; president, Kamla Lohtia College unit, Manpreet Singh Atwal; Satwinder Singh Jawaddi, Bhupinder Singh Ayali, Sahil Arora, Kuldip Kasabad, Sonu Sahibana, Gurpreet Singh Ahluwalia and Amit Wadhwa.