AGRICULTURE

BKU calls for crop diversification
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, January 20
The Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), while calling upon the government to formulate an effective policy to safeguard river water in the state of Punjab to sustain agriculture in future, has stressed the need to promote diversification at the same time.

Talking to mediapersons here today, the BKU president, Mr Ajmer Singh Lakhowal, and secretary general, Mr Manjit Singh Kadian, said that the government ought to promote cultivation of commercial crops like pulses, oil seeds, fruit and vegetables so that the farmers could be motivated away from the traditional crop rotation.

They said a strong marketing network should also be created for diversified crops so as to ensure a remunerative price to producers. The government should evolve such a mechanism that commercial crops were purchased at prices above the minimum support price fixed for these crops to check distress sale by farmers.

The BKU leaders mooted a suggestion that a central fruit and vegetable market be set up in a minimum area of 400 hectares adjoining the railway line somewhere between Ludhiana and Jalandhar to facilitate the marketing and export of fruits and vegetables. The proposed market should not only have rail connectivity but an international airport as well so that overseas markets could also be explored to their potential and the farmers could benefit in a big way.

Laying stress on evolving better crop varieties of fruits and vegetables to compete in global markets, Mr Lakhowal and Mr Kadian asked Punjab Agricultural University here to set up a new department which should take up development of new crop varieties and produce seed after thoroughly studying the demand and consumption pattern in different countries.

The BKU leaders reiterated their demand to remit all old debts of the farmers so that they could concentrate on farming and enable themselves to compete in international markets. They said the government should take a policy decision to grant farm loans at a cheaper interest rate of 4 percent in future so that the farmers could avail the loans and at the same time be able to repay the loans.

PAU literature catches on with farmers
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, January 20
Networking between the PAU and the State Cooperation Department has started to pay dividends and give impetus to “knowledge-based agriculture”. This is evident from the catalyst role village cooperative societies are playing in subscribing to farm literature published by the PAU for the benefit of farmers.

Apart from “Changi Kheti”, a monthly magazine, and package of practices for rabi and kharif are very popular with the farmers.

At a function in Iyali Kalan village today, the Joint Director Cooperation-cum-Director, Punjab Institute of Cooperative Training, Mr Maneshwar Chander, said cooperative societies would play a link to make available PAU farm literature to farmers. Every such society in Ludhiana district would be supplied with these publications. This would expectedly give a shot in the arm of re-seeding agriculture.

The village, Mr Chander said was a torch-bearer in making available farm machinery through its cooperative society. Availability of farm machinery through the society made it possible for 90 per cent farmers to do farm operations with those.

That turned out to be cost-effective and was expected to bring farmers in a position to repay their debts. Mr Maneshwar said village cooperative societies would also house hardware store items besides the goods of daily need.

The Deputy Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Ludhiana, Mr Kamaldeep Singh Sangha, said Iyali Kalan village school had been constructed on 2.5 acre purchased by the Cooperative Society, which today had a bank deposit of Rs15 crore.

Mr Sangha said as in respect of the districts of Moga and Muktsar, in Ludhiana, too, all cooperative societies would be supplied with PAU farm literature. 

8 PAU students to get gold medal
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, January 20
The Punjab Agricultural University Academic Council today approved gold medal to eight students of constituent colleges. Except for Dr J.S. Pruthi prize, the rest of the students will be presented with medal at the next annual convocation of the university.

Dr Pruthi prize will be given at the prize distribution function-cum-convocation of the College of Agriculture. The awardees are Mohinder Kaur of College of Agriculture, Dr G.S. Sidhu, Jasmine Kaur of College of Veterinary Science, Dr K. Kirpal Singh, Parama Bhadra of College of Agriculture, Dr Gurbakhsh Singh Gill, Jagroop Kaur of College of Agriculture, Dr Narinder Singh Randhawa, Pritpal Singh of College of Agriculture, Puran Anand Adlakha, and Amandeep Kaur of College of Basic Sciences and Humanities. Dr J.S. Pruthi Prize goes to Dilpreet Kaur of College of Agriculture.

From Colleges
Kulwant wins intra-college debate 
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, January 20
The Young Speakers Association of GGN Khalsa College, Civil Lines, organised an intra-college debate competition on the college premises here today. The Principal of the college, Mr Tarlochan Singh, presided over the debate. The topic for the debate was “Conversions — an economic compulsion or change of heart”.

Ms Ramindra Kaur Chabbra, in charge of the association, emphasised the importance of extra-curricular activities. Prof Rajinder Singh was the guest of honour. Ms Mandeep Rajpal was the judge for the event. Kulwant Singh of B.Sc-I won the first prize, Ashish Wadhwa of B.Com-I stood second while Amit Mittal of B.Sc I was awarded the third prize.

Students get business tips

The students of Ramgarhia Girls College here interacted with Mr Eddie Sdaadgeard, MD, MTA company, Holland. It manufactures packaging machines. He told commerce students about the basic qualities of a good entrepreneur such as strong business instincts, good education and financial links.

He also gave them tips on how to become a successful businessman. He said he was very impressed with the Indian education system where a lot of stress was laid on inculcating moral values among the students, along with academic achievement.

GNIMT students excel in PTU exams
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, January 20
Students of the Guru Nanak Institute of Management and Technology (GNIMT), Gujarkhan Campus, have once again bagged several positions in the merit list released by Punjab Technical University (PTU) recently.

As per the list released for examinations held in May, 2005, 11 students of the GNIMT figured in it.

In BBA-VI semester, Catherine bagged first position in the university, Vaishali got second, Parinita fourth, whereas Bhartinder Kaur and Ramandeep Kaur secured sixth and eighth positions, respectively. Five out of first 10 positions were bagged by the GNIMT.

In BBA-II semester, Reema Kapoor bagged third position, Chetan Veer Singh and Neha Mahajan shared fifth, Richa Ahuja got sixth, whereas Ekta Arora and Rattandeep Kaur secured seventh and ninth positions, respectively. Six students are among the first 10.

Moral exam result declared

Ludhiana, January 20
The Guru Gobind Singh Study Circle has declared the result of Moral Examination, conducted each year for students. More than 900 students participated in the examination.

The additional zonal secretary, (academic field), Ms Amanjit Kaur, said Rupinder Kaur (Mai Bhago College, Ramgarh) stood first, Daljit Kaur (Ramgarhia Girls College) came second, Sawaran Kaur (GHG, Gurusar Sudhar) third and Harpreet Kaur (Guru Teg Bahadur College, Maloud), Ravinder Kaur (Guru Nanak College, Mullanpur), Babita Rani (National College, Machhiwara), and Sukhwant Kaur (Government College for Girls, Ludhiana) came fourth. — OC

Primary teachers want order revoked 
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, January 20
The decision of the Secretary, Education Department, to merge primary schools and middle schools of the state with high and senior secondary schools and bring the management of head teachers and centre head teachers under senior teachers has led to resentment among primary teachers.

The leaders of Primary/ Elementary Teacher Bacho Front, Punjab, have condemned the move of the Secretary. According to a joint statement of Front leaders, the order to merge primary schools with high and senior schools is unlawful, unconstitutional and very much against the interests of the teachers.

GCW bags quiz title

Ludhiana, January 20
A state-level science quiz was organised at Guru Nanak Girls College, Model Town, here today. More than 20 teams representing Panjab University, Chandigarh, Punjabi University, Patiala, and Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, took part in the contest.

Mr Gurbir Singh Sarna, president, Guru Nanak Education Trust, inaugurated the quiz. Students of Government College for Women (GCW), Ludhiana, bagged the first position, while Multani Mal Modi College, Patiala, came second and S.D. College, Barnala came third. Winners were given prizes by the college Principal, Dr Charanjit Mahal. — OC

HEALTH

DMCH doc’s presentation adjudged best
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, January 20
Extreme caution is advised if you are wearing a long chunni or dupatta and riding on a two wheeler or rickshaw, lest it should get entangled in the wheels and strangulate you. Always wear a seat belt or in the event of an accident, or sudden applying of breaks, your neck may smash against the steering wheel or the dashboard.

This was the clear-cut message of an exhaustive series filmed on more than 55 patients, who had sustained neck injuries due to strangulation with dupatta and in road accidents, with consequent loss of voice, breathlessness, neck swelling or loss of tissues. The series won accolades for Dr Munish Munjal, Associate Professor, Department of ENT, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH), at a national conclave recently.

The presentation was made at the 58th Annual Conference of Association of Otolaryngologists of India at Lucknow earlier this month.

He won the first prize and gold medal at the national level.

SPORTS

Haryana wrestlers dominate
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, January 20
Haryana wrestlers dominated the arena clinching three out of the four titles in the girl’s u-14 years category on the third day of the 51st National School Games being held at different venues here today. The fourth title was bagged by Manipur.

In the below 44 kg category, Geeta of Haryana proved her mettle by puting to mat her opponent Sumisha from Uttar Pradesh. Punjab’s Rajwant Kaur and Savita from Delhi had to content with the third position.

In the below 59 kg category, Nirmal of Haryana proved too strong for her rival Veerpal Kaur of Punjab, while the third spot was shared by T. Sujata of Andhra Pradesh and Nayana of Delhi.

Jaiwanti from Haryana added another gold medal to her state’s kitty wheh she got the better of Rajni from Uttar Pradesh. Maharashtra’s Arpana and Manipur’s Lawang finished third.

However, in the 51 kg category, Manipur’s wrestler, Romita, bagged top honours. In the final, she did Jaswinder Kaur of Punjab. Mamta from Delhi and Andra Pradesh’s G. Indra were tied at the third spot.

Dr Jagtar Singh Khatra, DPI (Primary), along with Mr Sadhu Singh Randhwa, DPI (Secondary), Mr Kuldeep Singh Dhillon, Mr Ashok Sachdeva, Mr Yash Pal Mehra and Mr Sohan Singh Pannu, both District Education Officers, were present at the grounds and blessed the students who finished among position-holders.

Other results: Hockey (boys u-14 years)- Rajasthan drew with Goa 1-1; Himachal Pradesh beat Maharashtra 5-0; Karnataka beat Rajasthan 2-1; Chandigarh beat Madhya Pradesh 1-0; Haryana beat Uttaranchal 9-0; Delhi beat Karnataka 12-1 and Punjab beat Gujarat 11-0.

Girls (u-14 years)- Madhya Pradesh beat Goa 8-1; Chandigarh beat Uttar Pradesh 2-1; Rajasthan beat Chandigarh 4-3; Delhi beat Andhra Pradesh 3-0 and Punjab beat IPSC 4-1.

Boxing (boys u-14 years)- 42-45 kg Vipan of Uttaranchal beat Govind Rao; Vishwant of Goa beat Kishore Ghwai; Pramod of Haryana beat Robin; 48-51 kg- Deepak of Delhi beat Saleem and N. More of Himchal Pradesh beat Ankit; 57-60 kg- Robin of Goa beat Azad Singh; Vikas of Himachal Pradesh beat Sanjay and Yogesh of Delhi beat Nilesh.

Basketball (boys u-17 years)- Chhattisgarh beat Jammu and Kashmir 58-22; Karnataka beat Kerala 39-38; Tamilnadu beat Andhra Pradesh 64-49 and Delhi beat Uttar Pradesh 70-42.

Girls- Karnataka beat Tamil Nadu 44-36; Andhra Pradesh beat Jammu and Kashmir 42-8; Chandigarh beat Jammu and Kashmir 24-10 and Maharashtra beat Rajasthan 54-49.

Handball (boys u-14 years)- Punjab beat Karnataka 20-5; Navodya Vidalya Schools beat Jammu and Kahsmir 14-2; Delhi beat Chhattisgarh 18-9; Madhya Pradesh beat Uttranchal 15-14; Maharashtra beat Haryana 19-15; Andhra Pradesh beat Gujarat 20-5; Punjab beat Navodya Vidyala Schools 20-7; Delhi beat Uttaranchal 16-4 and Karnataka beat Jammu and Kashmir 11-5.

Hockey (girls u-14 years)- NVS beat Uttar Pradesh 2-1; Haryana beat Chandigarh 10-5; Manipur beat Delhi 6-5; Maharshtra beat Gujrat 9-8; Chhatisgarh beat Madhya Pradesh 9-3; Andhra Pradesh beat Jammu and Kashmir 15-3 and Punjab beat NVS 26-2.

Sanatan Vidya Mandir lads score second victory
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, January 20
Sushyant Kohli remained unconquered on 51 runs as Sanatan Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary School, Civil Lines, beat Government Model Senior Secondary School, Punjab Agricultural University, by six wickets in the annual PCA Parle Inter-School Cricket Tournament being organised by the Ludhiana District Cricket Association under the aegis of the Punjab Cricket Association at the Baba Bachan Singh Academy ground at Balloke village, near Haibowal Khurd, here today.

It was Sanatan Vidya Mandir School’s second win. In their first encounter, SVM lads had outplayed Spring Dale School, Sherpur.

Sanatan Vidya Mandir School won the toss and invited PAU lads to bat first. The PAU school were bowled out for 105 runs in 34 overs. Only Vineet could reach double figure who made 21 runs while Jagdeep and Aman scored nine runs each.

Sanatan Vidya Mandir School’s Deepak Bansal and Lalit shared the bowling spoils claiming three wickets each for 23 and 22 runs, respectively. Other notable wicket takers were Navdeep and Atul Sharma who grabbed two wickets each conceding 19 and 16 runs, respectively.

Sanatan Vidya Mandir School achieved the target in the 29th over after losing just four wickets. Sushyant Kohli remained unbeaten on 51 runs while Deepak Bansal scored 15 runs. Gurjot (2 for 21) and Vineet (1 for 24) were the successful bowlers for Government Model Senior Secondary School.

Unity Club sail into cricket final
Our Sports Reporter

Ludhiana, January 20
The Unity Club, powered by contributions from Punjab Ranji player Karan Goel and Chinton Sehgal, Tarun Passi and Ashish Sehgal, defeated Bhavadas XI by 38 runs to secure a berth in the final of the 10th Rajiv Gandhi Memorial Cricket Tournament being organised by the Shastri Young Society at Daresi Ground here today.

Batting first, Unity Club scored 203 runs in the stipulated 30 overs. Their innings was buit up by Karan Goel and Chinton Sehgal who contributed 47 and 32 runs, respectively. Tarun Passi and Ashish Sehgal, too, played well and scored 30 runs each. For Bhavadas XI, the most successful bowler was Lalit who took four wickets in his quota of six overs, conceding 45 runs. Pardeep bowled three overs and chipped in two wickets for 25 runs.

In reply, Bhavadas XI were out for 165 runs after 25.4 overs. Pankaj top the score with 34 runs, followed by Shiva and Pardeep who scored 31 and 28 runs, respectively. Vicky of Unity Club scalped three victims for 29 runs in six overs while Karan Goel captured three for 27 in three overs. 

Winning hockey team honoured
Our Correspondent

Amloh, January 20
The hockey team of Government Secondary School that won the district under-16 title was honoured at a function organised by the local Guru Gobind Singh Club and the school on the school premises today.

DSP Amloh Daljit Singh Rana was the chief guest, while PTA chairman Ram Saran Sood presided over the function.

The tournament was organised by District Sports Department. The players were honoured with mementoes by the chief guest.

Mr Rana exhorted students to actively participate in sports for overall development. Principal Zora Singh Gill spoke on the academic achievements of the school.

Mr Sood congratulated the staff and students. Staff secretary Balbir Singh Ghuman was the stage secretary. Physical education lecturer Manmohan Sharma welcomed the guests. Students also presented a cultural programme.

Team coach R.S. Tiwana expressed his confidence in the team’s ability to bag the state shield. DPE Jaspal Singh said school players had won distinctions in athletics and other events at state and national levels in the past.

Municipal Council Amloh vice-president Harpreet Singh, president Surjit Singh Panesar and secretary, Guru Gobind Singh Youth Club, Darshan Singh Cheema also congratulated the players.

Malwa sports festival begins
Our Sports Reporter

Ludhiana, January 20
As many as 175 bullock carts and 55 dogs took part in the preliminary rounds of the 12th Annual Sports Festival, being organised by the Malwa Sports Association and the Gram Panchyat of Bondli, which began at the Malwa College ground of Samrala, near here, today.

Earlier, the bhog of Sukhmani Sahib was performed and Mr Baldev Singh, SDM, Samrala, declared the festival open. He unfurled the association flag and participants took part in the march past.

Mr Malkeet Singh Dhillon, an NRI from the USA and president of the association, thanked the gathering. Office-bearers of the association, prominent citizens of the town and a large number of spectators from nearby villages were present during the opening ceremony of the three-day festival.

The bullock carts owned by Bhagwant Singh of Poonia, Prem Singh of Lopon, Deep Singh, Nirmal Singh Nagra, Mohinder Singh of Jarg, Harnek Singh of Baghli Kalan, Karm Singh of Ghungrali won heats and advanced into the next round.

ADMINISTRATION

Admn comes to aid of NRIs
Amarjit Thind
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, January 20
In an effort to end usurping of property of non-resident Indians (NRIs) and government servants, particularly armed forces personnel, posted at far-away stations, the district administration has directed all tehsildars that entries of the khasra girdawaries of land standing in the name of NRIs in the cultivating column not be changed, except with his or prior written consent of owners.

Mr Anurag Verma, Deputy Commissioner, said this practice would be applicable to serving members of the armed forces as well as to persons on government and non-government assignments at far- away stations.

He said if the name of a person existed in the cultivating column on the date of his death and the girdawari stood in his name, the entry should be changed to the name of his widow/legal heir only.

The DC directed the Sub Divisional Magistrates and tehsildars that in order to cut down the time in summoning the respondents in revenue cases, the process of service of respondents should be done through the issue of dasti summons, mushtari munadi and registered AD simultaneously for speedy completion of the process.

He directed the tehsildars that in the wake of fast communication facilities, patwaris must enter the mutation within a period of 15 days from the event necessitating such an entry of mutation. Thereafter, the uncontested/undisputed mutation should be decided within a month.

Villages adjacent to each other and geographically contiguous areas should be taken as a cluster and one day fixed for considering the mutation, as already laid down by the state government.

An advance notice must be given to the villagers concerned and a copy of such notice should be put on the noticeboard in tehsils, locality of the villages concerned and mushtari munadi as usual. The revenue officer should put up the particulars of the mutations sanctioned or rejected on the noticeboard on the same day.

The patwari shall specifically report to the circle revenue officer concerned on the last date of every month about the mutations entered and those pending.

Mr Verma further directed that the mutation fee should be got deposited at the time of registering the deed. A notice to this effect must be given on the ‘parcha yadashat’ that fees had actually been deposited whenever mutation had to be considered. In addition, the person concerned may also produce the receipt showing that the fee had been deposited in respect of a particular mutation.

Mr Verma said cases of disputed mutation should be decided within three months.

The DC appealed to the general public that if revenue record-related works were not being done as per the procedure, it should bring the matter to his notice so that remedial steps could be taken.