Kapurthala, May 15
Several farmers of Sultanpur Lodhi using treated water for organic farming shared their experience with their counterparts in Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur districts.

Farmers Santokh Singh Bhagorian and Jaswant Singh Kaura of Sultanpur Lodhi told a large number of other farmers gathered at a seminar organised by the agriculture department on Friday that the yields of wheat and paddy crops had increased many times by using the treated water for farming. They have been using the treated water for farming in their fields for the past one year.

Thanks to the efforts of Ek Onkar Charitable Trust chairman Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal for encouraging them to use treated water for organic farming. Actually Baba Seechewal, doing the Herculean task of cleansing the Kali Bein, is against throwing even treated water after installing STPs into the bein and encouraged Sultanpur Lodhi farmers around the bein to use the treated water for farming.

Now these farmers encouraged other farmers located around 160-km-long Kali Bein to use the same for increasing their yields. Santokh Singh Bhagorian and Jaswant Singh Kaura further told the farmers that they had saved urea and electricity by using the treated water. Earlier they had to use pumps to get water for irrigation purposes.

On this occasion, agriculture experts Dr Kuldip Singh and Dr Thakur Singh explained to the farmers the benefits of using treated water for farming as there was no need for urea and insecticides.

Speaking on the occasion, holy bein project coordinator P.Ram, also the principal secretary, technical education, reiterated that there would be no acquisition of agriculture land in the name of green belt around the bein.

Talking to media persons after the seminar, P. Ram said more than 60 per cent work of digging ponds in the villages around the bein had been completed and the sewage of more than two dozen villages stopped from flowing into the sacred river.

Baba Seechewal and chief agriculture officer Manohar Singh also addressed the farmers on this occasion.

Phagwara, May 15
In an unexpected decision, the Punjab government has ordered to stop all developmental works being carried out under the municipal development funds (MDF) throughout the state. The government on March 26 issued a letter to this effect, it was reliably learnt.

All the developmental works, including construction of roads and laying of new sewerage system under MDF, have been stopped midway till the passing of the annual budget of the state for the year 2007-2008, said the sources.

It may be mentioned here that Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had made an announcement on April 23 to spend Rs 8 crore for the existing sewerage system of Phagwara. But till date the local administration have not received a single penny, revealed the sources.

When contacted, Gurmit Singh, XEN, sewerage board, told this correspondent here today that first instalment of Rs 2 crore from the announced money could be expected by May 16.

On the other hand, former Punjab PWD minister Joginder Singh Mann has alleged that SAD-BJP government could not come up to the expectations of the people and all types of developmental works had come to a standstill even after three months of coming to power of the Badal government.

Mann alleged that all three major projects of Phagwara, including Satnampura railway overbridge, Mehtan bypass flyover and new bus stand were behind schedule by three to six months due to careless handling of the projects.

Mann further alleged that laying of premix on 55-km-long roads of Phagwara sub division and construction of Phagwara-Bahani and Rawalpindi-Panchhat-Mio Patti roads was still hanging fire due to lack of funds.

He said despite several reminders, sewerage works could only be done on 331 metres in Hadiabad and 1,210 metres in remaining parts of the town. Mann further alleged that payments of electricity and labours bills etc could not be paid till now.

Mann said SAD-BJP government could not fulfill any of its poll promises and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal was befooling of the people of the state by lingering on his promise to provide atta and dal on subsidised rates on one pretext or the other.

On the other hand, Punjab technical education minister Swarna Ram denied these allegations of former minister Mann and claimed that all development works in Phagwara were in progress and SAD-BJP combine was committed to fulfill its all poll promises.

Phagwara, May 15
Hundreds of irate residents, including women and children, of the local Shivpuri Mohalla held a demonstration and blocked rail traffic on the Phagwara-Nawanshahr rail section yesterday.

They stopped the 3JRJ Jaijon-Jalandhar passenger train at level crossing no. 4 near JCT Mills here for 40 minutes and sat on dharna on the rail track in protest against the poor drainage system in the locality which caused flooding of streets and spreading infections among residents living near the rail track.

Kaushalya, a resident of the area, said that a number of times they had submitted memoranda to the nagar council authorities, but to no avail. “It has become a routine. One or the other locality situated alongside the rail track is flooded due to overflowing and sewage enters nearby houses,” she said.

SDM Amarjit Paul rushed to the spot and intervened in the matter. He assured the residents that the administration would take an appropriate action to solve their problem soon. The blockade, which started at around 12.50 pm, was lifted at 1.30 pm after the assurance of a cleanliness drive in the locality was given by the administration officials.

The SDM, while talking to newsmen, said that the problem had arisen because the railway authorities had stopped the flow of the dirty water from the locality towards rail track by constructing a pavement. Thus the dirty water started stagnating in the streets of the locality.

He said a water tanker would be sent to the residents to provide fresh drinking water until the problem was solved. “Suction pumps would be used in the area to drain out the stagnating water,” the SDM added. 

Phagwara, May 15
Hindutva is to be saved at all costs and communal forces cannot be let loose to do what they want against Hindus, this was stated by Kailash Singhal, regional organising secretary of Vishwa Hindu Parishad while addressing media persons here yesterday.

Singhal said that this is being done to awaken the Hindus from the challenges faced by it from communal forces for which a meeting of the 'kendriya marg darshak mandal' of VHP would be held in New Delhi from May 23 to 25. After this meeting, a large rally would be held at Ramlila Maidan, in New Delhi on May 27, which would be addressed by senior leaders of the VHP.

While tolerance is a basic tenet of Hinduism, intolerance against it would be far cry, Singhal claimed. Communal forces' systematic attacks on Hindus have increased in the recent months. He said that communal forces are making a mockery of the rule of law. The government led by the UPA, which has close links with the Sangh Parivar, is watching disinterestedly. One cannot but doubt the secular credentials of the government. " Justice delayed is justice denied". VHP leader added.

He said that a three-day training camp of Bajrang Dal would be conducted from June 9 to 17 in Sujanpur after holding an eight-day training camp of 'Durga Vahini 'scheduled to be held at Nabha.

Singhal disclosed that VHP have decided to organise weekly 'Maha-Arti' in selective important historical temples and 50 temples have been selected in Punjab for this purpose. Singhal also announced that 'dharam raksha yatras' would be organised from November 20 to December 20 throughout the country. 

Jalandhar, May 15
In what may be termed as shocking information, women in the district do not lag in drug peddling.

According to sources, the police nabbed four persons from different parts of the district for drug peddling on Saturday and recovered as much as 38 kg of poppy husk.

Alarmingly, two of the four persons arrested on the charge of drug peddling are women and 18 kg of poppy husk was seized from their 
possession.

The two women are Swarani of Bhar Singhpura village and Harbans Kaur, alias Banso, of Dhak Bansian. They were nabbed from different places falling under Phillaur police station.

While 10 kg of poppy husk was seized from Harbans Kaur’s possession, 8 kg was seized from Swarani. Separate FIRs were lodged against them under sections 15/61/85 of the NDPS Act at Phillaur police station.

When contacted, Phillaur DSP Harpreet Singh told The Tribune that women had been involved in the smuggling of poppy husk and smack for the past some time. Most of the women involved in the smuggling of poppy husk and smack belonged to the Sansi community, he added.

The other two persons who were nabbed in the district on Saturday for smuggling of poppy husk are Joga Singh of the Majijeetan locality of Jagraon and Rajesh Kumar of Ashok Nagar, Maqsoodan.

While Joga Singh was nabbed from a place falling under Phillaur police station, Rajesh Kumar was arrested from the area falling under police station No. 6.

As much as 15 kg and 5 kg of poppy husk was seized from Joga Singh and Rajesh Kumar, respectively. They were also booked under sections 15/61/85 of the NDPS Act.

An insatiable desire to settle abroad is overpowering Doaba youth in Punjab. Not only young girls and boys are in a hurry to fly abroad but their parents also use their daughters as a ladder for the fulfilment of their ambitions. They think once their daughter is settled there, they can send other family members subsequently.

In this craze sometimes, they don’t even care for the starry ambitions of their “ladlis”. Many times, they mismatch their “cute dolls” with middle-aged men. The list of such type of victims is endless.

Some time ago, 24-year-old Hoshiarpur girl Manjeet Kaur’s case resurrected many such precedents of the deplorable conditions of Punjabi brides. Manjeet Kaur met extreme mental as well as physical torture at the hands of her husband - a Dubai-based foreman. He was in the habit of marrying a new girl every time he came from Dubai on a holiday. Stunned by the misdeeds of her husband, she lodged a complaint against him but it got no response.

Ritu (name changed) from Jalandhar married an NRI and led a life of supreme bliss only for two months. After that luscious period, her husband left for abroad assuring the girl that soon he would complete the formalities and call her there.

At that time, Ritu never knew that the rosy days were over forever. After some time, Ritu’s parents tried to contact the boy at the given number but the number was phoney. Now Ritu is desperately waiting for her husband with a baby in her lap.

Not only the parents are responsible for the ill-fate of their daughters but also the girls knowingly taste the bitter gourd. Highly ambitious and well-educated girl from Phagwara Surinder Kaur (name changed) married German-based restaurant owner of Punjabi origin Sukhjinder Singh, knowing fully well that the person was a divorcee amd having two kids. She gladly gave her consent for the marriage in spite of her parents’ objection. She was so desperate to go abroad that she could not wait for any suitable match.

After her marriage, she stayed in India with her in-laws for about seven months who made her life a hell. After perpetual requests made by her, Sukhjinder Singh agreed to take her abroad. On reaching there, she found that her status in the house was that of a servant only. He had told his sons that he was bringing a maid-servant from India to look after them.

Now she has resigned herself to her fate. She cannot return to India as she had married against her parents’ wishes. Her husband has denied to hand over her passport and visa papers.

Such cases are innumerable. Some people get themselves indulged deliberately and some are caught in this web unknowingly. So the people should not hanker after the false allurements.

They should not be involved in such matters without any proper inquiry. The need of the hour is to create awareness among the people, especially Doabites.

— Vandana Bansal and Rashi Sharma

Welcome to Down Under, Australia, a land full of surprises. Everything about Australia - right from its climate to scenic beauty to its people and their culture - is simply magnificent. Contrary to the climate in India, summer officially starts in December and winter in June there. And amazingly, even in winter one can enjoy blue skies and warm, bright days.

No, of course, I am not talking about tourism in Australia. But when I went there as an immigration consultant I was spellbound by the country and thought I would prefer going to Australia for my studies had this country had thrown open its doors of endless lucrative opportunities for migrants, as it has done now.

Australia having a multi-cultural society is originally a land of immigrants with its population consisting of people heavily migrated from various countries of Europe, especially from Greece, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Yugoslavia, Lebanon, and Turkey after World War II. And in the last 30 years, Australia has liberalised its immigration policy and opened its borders to South-East Asia to boost the population and 
workforce.

Australia offers two programmes under which people can migrate or can get permanent residence while in Australia. The programmes are the migration programme and the humanitarian programme. Under the migration program Australia invites all people, irrespective of their nationality, ethnic origin, sex, colour or religion.

Presently, the government is laying great emphasis on skilled migration inviting trade persons like carpenter, fitter, motor mechanic, welder, hair-dresser, electronic communication trade persons, etc. For the skilled trade professionals there are certain requirements which one must meet.

Humanitarian migrants are mainly UN declared refugees. Australia runs the third largest dedicated resettlement programme in the world for such people in humanitarian need.

Australia as a multicultural and multi-religious society accepts migrants with an open heart. And I can vouch for it. I received adequate respect as an Indian in Australia. Australians are not very formal and they may sound casual and relaxed and also make you feel so. Interestingly, Aussies may greet you as “Hi mate” at the first meeting only. But it is not advisable for foreigners to address them like this in your first interaction with them as it may sound demeaning to them. So just simply say “hello, how 
are you?”

One thing that really impressed me about Australia is their unique education system. Whereas in India, right from laying the foundation of education in a child to his graduating, emphasis is laid on theoretical knowledge, in Australia, the importance is placed on creative and independent thinking. And also in career-focused vocational education and training courses they encourage you to be an independent and active learner, both in the classroom and in work environment.

I personally felt that in Australia, in spite of one of the highest standards of living in the world, living expenses and tuition fees are considerably less than that in the UK or the USA. For an international student the expenses amount to be $335 per week which involves accommodation, food, clothing, entertainment, transport, travel, telephone and incidental costs.

Before I wrap up, let me tell you another interesting thing about Aussies - they are not only direct in their communication, but they often use colourful language to put their point across. I remember once I asked an Aussie friend, “Which drink do you like most?” “I am in love with portwine,” he answered.

— Diamond Sodhi

Jalandhar, May 15
Students of International Institute of Fashion Design (INIFD) organised a fashion show of wearable stuff, “Chic n’ chill”, at Jullundur Gymkhana Ladies Club on Monday.

The show was an awesome mixture of style and design comprising of five different rounds displaying 50 dresses including sarees, skirts, jackets, Indianised version of kaftans and sun dresses. The saris donned by the budding designers were made of net and crochet. The jackets too were made out of summer wear stuff. Another round lado rani was aimed at seeking co-operation for the project “Save the girl child”.

During the rounds, there were attractive on-the-spot prizes like Madam Cyan and White Glory. A contest for selection May Queen was also organised, said Shefali Sood, centre in-charge. 

Phagwara, May 15
Following the instructions from Kapurthala Deputy Commissioner J.M. Balamurugan, Phagwara DSP HPS Khakh has ordered the owners or managers of the commercial establishments and owners of the residential premises to inform the police station concerned about the antecedents of any servants, helpers, maids or part-time helpers employed by them.

All details will have to be furnished on a prescribed form available at the respective police stations. Any breach in the order, will invite action under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The order would come into force from May 20.

Similar orders had also been passed by the then SDM Balwinder Singh Dhaliwal on the insistence of the Phagwara police but the police was yet to get adequate response from the public. The Phagwara police officials had in the past adopted soft attitude towards the public by not registering any case against Section 188 of the IPC. A similar order on verification of tenants by house owners effective from May 20 has been passed by the DSP.