The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

AGRICULTURE

Winter maize best bet: Aulakh
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, May 4
A field day on winter maize was celebrated at the farms of Capt Rattan Singh, a progressive farmer, in village Khaira Bet today. The PAU Vice-Chancellor, Dr K. S. Aulakh was the chief guest of the function which was organised by the Samrala Krishi Vigyan Kendra of the university.

Showing his bumper maize to the university scientists and members of the Punjab Kisan Club, Capt Rattan Singh remarked that his maize crop was as good as any maize in USA.

“I got a corn yield of 26 quintal per acre last year and I am confident to get a yield of 35 quintal per acre this year,” he told the visitors.

Capt Rattan Singh said he started maize cultivation way back in 1958 on the soil which was sandy and unfertile.

He said he had always maintained a close liaison with the university scientists and followed their recommendations.

The bumper crop of maize variety — Bulland — has been raised in 20 acre as per recommendations of the university scientists.

Vice-Chancellor Aulakh described Capt Rattan Singh as a scientist and a progressive farmer who has pioneered the cultivation of winter maize in Punjab and also initiated agro-forestry in the state in a big way.

He said winter maize was a best bet for crop diversification as has been demonstrated by Capt Rattan Singh. He called upon the farmers of Punjab to follow the example set by Capt. Rattan Singh.

Showing great concern on less returns from agriculture, the Vice- Chancellor said farmers should reduce their input cost in order to increase their profits.

He also advised the farmers to do marketing of their produce themselves in order to get better income.

Speaking on the occasion, the PAU Director of Extension Education, Dr. S.S.Gill, said the hard-working Punjabi farmers had always accepted challenges and they had grown bumper rice crops in sandy soils.

It is time that farmers realised the crisis posed by depleting underground water and should take every possible step to reverse this trend. He advised the farmers to transplant paddy only after June 15 as it saved water.

Dr Gill informed that the university scientists were working to develop a variety of summer maize which would be a substitute for rice.

Need to promote dairy farming: Aulakh
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, May 4
The Punjab Agricultural University Vice-Chancellor, Dr K.S. Aulakh, has warned against the slump in the agriculture sector in the state. According to him, Punjab farmers are under debt and this is forcing many of them to commit suicide. He has called upon farmers to look for alternative avenues like dairy farming to meet this challenge.

He was speaking after inaugurating a three-day national group meeting of the AICRP on forage crops at PAU today. He said of the 148 million rural households, 60 per cent comprised cultivators and 50 per cent of them were under debt.

“We must make concerted efforts to increase the earnings of farmers,” he said. “Dairy sector can provide them more income,” he added.

“Against the optimum requirement of fodder at 3 kg/animal/day, the fodder available in Punjab is less than 1 kg/animal/day. Efforts must be made to provide adequate fodder to boost dairy farming,” he said.

Dr S.K. Shukla, assistant director general for forage crops at the ICAR, said the All-India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) initiated in 1972 aimed at developing technology and means to increase the income of farmers.

“The AICRP on forage crops is aimed at providing better quality feed and forage to boost dairy farming. Since area under fodder has remained stagnant at 9-10 million hectare, efforts are on to increase productivity by developing better varieties,” he added.

Project Coordinator for the AICRP, Dr S.A. Faruque, said the research works was going on at 39 locations in 24 states throughout India.

He said PAU had played a major role in developing several varieties of forage crops.

Earlier, Dr G.S. Chahal, Dean, College of Agriculture, welcomed the chief guest and the participants.

PAU launches soil, water management drive
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, May 4
In consonance with the national objective to observe 2006 as the year of “soil health enhancement and water harvesting management”, the PAU has launched a movement to create awareness on this to increase agricultural production.

Vice-Chancellor of the university K.S. Aulakh, in a reply to a communication from Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, has said areas to be covered under various projects pertaining to the two objectives have been identified. The objectives have been outlined by National Commission on Framers Chairman M.S. Swaminathan.

In respect of soil health improvement, research strategies are now focused on application of green manure to different crops, raising short-duration summer moongbean for grain and green manure benefits, application of organic manure, incorporation of crop residues, including legumes, in rice-wheat system, crop diversification and balanced fertilisation.

For the water management and recharge of aquifer, PAU scientists are working on cropping pattern adjustments, educating farmers to delay rice transplantation till June 15, preparing irrigation schedule modules for different crops, re-charging of groundwater through check dams and upgrading village ponds.

Also on the anvil are studies on conserving soil and water resources in sub-mountainous regions receiving high rainfall, through water harvesting structures and management of slopes.

Dr Aulakh in his letter to the Chief Minister has informed him about the Rs 2.6-crore Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) project given to the PAU for the twin objectives and also about the “save water, save Punjab” slogan, which the university has coined.

For this, a statewide mass campaign has already been started in Sangrur to create awareness among farmers on the need and urgency to protect soil fertility and conserve water. “Simple measures have been suggested through wall posters on how to maintain soil health and water management”.

PAU’s outreach research stations and krishi vigyan kendras are also working on the two objectives. Additional Director Research G.S. Hira is the principal investigator of the Rs 2.6-crore project.

Dr Swaminathan has included soil health enhancement and irrigation water supply augmentation in the five components of action 2006 Plan — “the year of agricultural renewal”. The other components are credit and insurance, technology upgradation, biotechnology and information technology and farmer-centric market.

Khalsa college lecturer awarded project
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, May 4
Dr Khushdip Kaur, lecturer, Department of Commerce, has done Khalsa College for Women (KCW) proud by being awarded a research project titled ‘’Self-Appraisal of Employees — Comparative Study of Private Sector Banks and Public Sector Banks’’ by the UGC under the financial assistance for teachers working in the college for undertaking minor research project in sciences, humanities, social sciences and languages.

Dr Khushdip Kaur said self-appraisal was an important component of performance appraisal. It enhanced the level of responsibility that one undertook and also promoted personal growth. A research in this field would benefit both employers and employees, she said.

In adition to this, the UGC also released grant-in-aid of Rs 5 lakh to Khalsa College for Women for starting three career-oriented courses — dress designing, fashion designing, cosmetology from the academic year 2006-2007.

The introduction of the courses will provide jobs and new avenues to students to meet the latest challenges in the competitive world. Besides this, a sanction of Rs 90,000 had also been granted for conducting a seminar on ‘’Mutual Funds — A Gateway of Micro Investment’’.

PCCTU election on May 7
Our Correspondent

Doraha, May 4
The annual session of the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers Union and the election for the office- bearers of Ludhiana district will be held on May 7 at Ramgarhia Girls College, Ludhiana.

The annual session will be held from 10 a m to 11 a m during which the district secretary will read out the annual report of the union. Voting for the posts of the district president and district secretary will be conducted henceforth.

There is a direct contest between the two candidates for the post of district president — between Prof M. S. Komal of GGN Khalsa College, Ludhiana, and Prof S. S. Virk of Guru Nanak National College, Doraha. For district secretary, Prof Kanwaljit Singh of Govind National College, Narangwal and Prof Sunil Khosla of Arya College, Ludhiana, are in the fray.

National award for Dr Mahal
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, May 4
Dr Charanjit K. Mahal, Principal of the local Guru Nanak Girls College, has received National Award for Excellence in Education. The award was presented to her by Mr M.V. Rajasekhran, Union Minister of State for Planning and Dr Bhisham Narain Singh, former Governor of Tamil Nadu, at the 36th National Seminar on World Economic and Social Progress in New Delhi on April 28.

A get-together was organised in honour of the Principal by the management, staff and students of the college. Mr Gurbir Singh, president of the college, said Dr Mahal’s excellence in the field of education was an exemplary achievement.

The staff also congratulated the Principal.

Dr Mahal, expressing her gratitude, said the award had boosted her morale to scale newer heights of success in the field of education.

From Colleges
GNIMT students excel in MBA exam
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, May 4
Students of the Guru Nanak Institute of Management and Technology (GNIMT), Gujarkhan Campus, have performed well in academics once again. As per the results declared by Punjab Technical University (PTU) recently, the GNIMT students had shown extraordinary performance in the semester examinations that were held in December, 2005.

All students of MBA I semester bagged first divisions. Saloni Gupta bagged first position by scoring 705 out of 880 marks. Parul Munjal got second position with 689 marks and Parul Bhandari got third position with 686 marks. Parinita bagged fourth position with 675 marks and Ritu Sharma came fifth with 670 marks.

Congratulating the students on their achievement, Dr (Col) H.S. Singha, Director, GNIMT, said such a performance was indicative of high degree of commitment on part of students as well as faculty.

GGNIMT students shine: Students of Gujranwala Guru Nanak Institute of Management and Technology (GGNIMT) have achieved excellence in MCA examinations conducted by Punjab Technical University (PTU). Anu Verma of MCA Part I has stood first by securing 87.7 per cent marks. The second and third positions have been secured by Jaskaran Kalsi and Kulpreet Kaur with 84.4 and 84 per cent marks respectively.

Ramandeep Kaur Mann of MCA Part III has topped with 86.8 per cent marks. Jagmeet Singh and Jasmeet Kaur of MCA Part III have got the second and third position with 84.4 per cent and 83.8 per cent marks respectively. Charanjeet Singh of MCA Part V has stood first with 89.4 per cent marks, Sarbjeet Kaur and Roopkamal Grewal of MCA V have bagged the second and third positions with 81.1 and 78.8 per cent marks. More than 31 per cent of the MCA students got more than 80 per cent and about 71 per cent of the students scored more than 70 per cent marks.

Director of the institute Kuldeep Singh and coordinator Gunwant Singh Dua have congratulated the students on their brilliant performance and appreciated the teachers for providing excellent guidance to the students.

Farewell to seniors: The students of MBA and BCA of the Doraha Institute of Management and Technology (DIMT) organised a farewell party for their seniors. The juniors presented a colourful extravaganza interspersed with music and dance items.

The programme featured a dance performance by Pritpal, Mandeep, Rashpinder and Harpreet on a melody song. Skit on the theme “illiteracy is a curse” was presented by BCA-II students. Rajni Sharda, Meenakshi Bhanot, Sandeep and Gurpreet organised one-minute games.

Various titles were conferred on the seniors. Sukhnandan Kaur of MBA was adjudged “Miss DIMT” and Inderpal Singh was adjudged “Mr DIMT”.

Students display models on traffic
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, May 4
Students of Guru Nanak Public School organised an exhibition on traffic here today. A number of models were put on display at the exhibition. District Transport Officer Kuldip Singh visited the exhibition. He appreciated the efforts put in by the students.

The exhibition was part of Creativity Day events organised in memory of school founder Jagat Singh, said Principal R.S. Gill. Mr Kuldip Singh exhorted the students to abide by traffic rules.