Bathinda, October 28
A modern printing press of The Tribune group of publications, located at Industrial Growth Centre on the Mansa road here, was inaugurated by one of the Trustees of The Tribune and former vice-chancellor of Panjab University, Chandigarh, Dr R.P. Bambah, today.

Other Trustees, Justice S.S. Sodhi, former Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court, and former IAS officer N.N. Vohra, along with Editor-in-Chief of The Tribune group H.K. Dua and General Manager Sanjay Hazari, were present on the occasion.

A function was held later in the day to mark the launch of The Tribune’s edition from Bathinda where Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal was the chief guest. The trustees paid floral tributes to the founder of The Tribune, Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia. The press staff presented the dignitaries with bouquets.

The machine can print 35,000 copies per hour with a maximum of 16 pages in colour and eight in black and white at the same time.

Dua said the machine would also print copies of the Dainik Tribune and Punjabi Tribune. It was capable of supplying the newspaper to the entire Malwa belt besides parts of Rajasthan and Haryana, he added.

Bathinda, October 28
Having remained the most backward district of Punjab all these years, Bathinda is now on the threshold of becoming a modern city with a string of development activities ranging from widening of roads, construction of flyovers and setting up of modern shopping malls and multiplexes. As most other areas of the state have already developed to their optimum, the thrust of development activity has now shifted here.

Being the hub of the cotton belt, setting up of a special economic zone (SEZ) for textiles and construction of a domestic airport and a cricket stadium are in the pipeline.

Although Bathinda is the home to the largest railway junction in the country and also the cantonment that is considered the largest in Asia, it had remained virtually neglected as far as development works were concerned. Modern buildings and industry are gradually replacing the sand-dunes.

Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal and his MP son Sukhbir Singh have announced development projects for the town. However, these announcements are being watched sceptically because of the political situation. 

To meet the growing demand of removing vehicular congestion caused mainly due to the railway crossings in all the four directions of the town, flyovers are proposed to be constructed on the Badal, Malout, Dabwali and Talwandi Sabo roads. Work on one of these flyovers is in progress.                                          

The Guru Gobind Singh Refinery Ltd. (GGSRL) that will be constructed by the Mittal group here will develop the town as one of the major petrochemical hubs in Asia. The Rs 18,000 crore refinery with a captive power plant of 110 mws, which is slated to be commissioned by December 2010, is bound to boost economic activity here and usher prosperity.

The SEZ for textile would be set up on 250 acres and the state government would provide 24-hour power supply to the units set up in the zone. The district is already undergoing rapid industrialisation but even then it is backward with the number of medium and large industries here as low as 14 that provide employment to about 7,450 persons. On the other hand, the district has assumed the status of being the biggest foodgrain and cotton markets in northern India.

Each unit of the thermal plant when operated at full capacity is capable of generating 26.4 lakh units of electricity a day. The project is providing direct employment to about 3000 persons, say the engineers.

All the units of the thermal plant have outlived their designed life. Ironically, the authorities have failed to take steps to control dust pollution that has become an issue of concern for the residents.

Bathinda is known as an educationally backward district although coaching centres have mushroomed here. According to the census of 2001, the literacy rate in the district is 61.51 per cent and it stands at the 13th place in the districtwise ranking. There is also a gap between rural and urban literacy rate.i.e. 75.9 per cent in urban areas and 55.3 per cent in rural areas. Moreover, the difference between male-female literacy rate is also considerable, i.e. 68.31 per cent male and 53.76 per cent in females.

Fortunately, the team of young officers, Jitendra Jain, DIG, Rahul Tewari, deputy commissioner and Naunihal Singh, senior superintendent of police, has been aptly taking prompt care of the grievances of the people. Jain’s campaign against drug abuse has received an encouraging response in the region.

Muktsar, October 28
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today urged the rural populace at Fatehpur Mania village to shed their political differences and unite for the sake of development. “It is seen that developmental works in villages come to a standstill because of the political differences and party affiliations,” he said.

Besides Fatehpur Mania, Badal also addressed ‘sangat darshan’ programmes at Phullu Khera, Arniwala, Kutteanwali and Chhappeawali villages of Muktsar district. He also distributed cheques under the ‘shagan scheme’ for the developmental works pertaining to public health, education and social-welfare.

The Chief Minister also tried to convince the village panchayats to adopt the World Bank’s drinking water and sanitation schemes by investing the mandatory 10 per cent of the total cost of the micro-projects.

He said the state government would soon launch vocational training centers in the Malwa region so as to enable the unemployed youth to be self-reliant.

The Chief Minister has been visiting the area frequently of late and only some time he had visited the villages in the district and promised help for farmers affected by water-logging in the area.

Barnala, October 28
Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Rajinder Kaur Bhattal today warned the SAD-BJP combine to shun the politics of vendetta or be ready to face the music.

Addressing a rally here, Bhattal criticised the SAD –BJP government for terrorising the Congress workers in the last seven months. “But now the party will not tolerate this behaviour any more, and we are fully prepared to face the odds,” she said. She informed that she has also written to the chief secretary and the home secretary to direct officials and police personnel not to become puppets in the hands of politicians. Expressing her apprehension that the Punjab State Electricity Board could be disbanded soon and thousands of employees could lose their bread and butter, she alleged that the present government had betrayed the poor. MLA Barnala Kewal Dhillon said Congress had identified 175 cases where ruling combine registered false cases against the Congress sarpanches.

Sherpur MLA Harchand Kaur, Mahesh Inder Singh, former MLA Bachan Singh Pakho, MC chief Makhan Sharma and block youth Congress president Mangat Rai were also present.

Ferozepur, October 28
In a developing country, such as India, industry plays a vital role in economic growth. Though the slogan, ‘industrialise or ‘perish’ has been realised in Punjab, but the border district of Ferozepur, can not claim to be industrially advanced nor can it boast of any well-established industry.

Agriculture is the mainstay of economy in this region. There have, however, existed here cottage and village industries such as pottery, leather tanning, handloom weaving, phulkari, enamelling and preparation of salt petre that are common in other Punjab villages also. Trades like Sirki Moora making, wood work, shoe-making, pawa making, carpentry etc are still carried here.

However, in the name of industrial development, only a few rice mills
and the sheller units have mushroomed over the years. Fazilka tehsil was once known for ban making. Desi jutis of Fazilka prepared artisticaly with zari and tilla, are still in great demand.

After the partition of the country in 1947, Ferozepur overnight became a border town which proved to be a permanent impediment in its industrial progress. The
Indo-Pak conflict of 1965 adversely affected whatever progress the district had made during the two decades after independence. Investment became risky owing to the ever-present fear of war.
The devastating floods in 1947, 1955 and then in 1988, too played havoc with the economy and industrial prospects of this town. Hussainiwala border, 12 kms from the district headquarters was a vital trade link between India and Pakistan. It was in fact the lifeline of the traders engaged in the export-import of dry fruits, vegetables and other commodities.

But after its closure in the aftermath of the 1971 war, the booming trade declined and since then, the economy of this town has been in dire straits. Ever since, the question uppermost in the minds of the residents here is whether the Hussainiwala border will ever be opened again for trade or not?
The public at large, especially the traders, are groping in the dark and are persistently clamouring for the opening of this route again so that the industry can be revived. The issue has been raised many times at various levels of government but there seems no hope at the moment especially because of the volatile political situation in Pakistan.

A section of the people here attribute the closure of this trade route to the strong lobby of traders in Amritsar who do not want this post to be reopened for the reason that it will adversely affect their business.

However, the economy of this town can be put back on rails only if this border outpost is opened again or some employment and business generating industry is set up in this border town.

Although, both the state and the union governments have offered facilities to the businessmen to improve the industrial set-up in this belt, but all these measures have proved to be inadequate.

Residents feel that if some major industry is set up here, small and tertiary units will also come up subsequently, giving a boost to the economy

in the region. Now, in a recent memorandum sent to the Prime Minister, residents of this border town have again demanded that the government should make concerted efforts to reopen this border for trade and transit, which will help put the shattered economy of this region back on rails.

Sarainaga (Muktsar), October 28
Sarainaga is an international dateline. Here live Hurricane State and Forest Gazelle, the American stallions, and the Irish Inner City. They are trailed b y the breeders as the off-spring of these thoroughbred horses fetch millions of dollars for them at race courses across the world.

“Stud farm is a serious business,” says Teghbeer Singh Brar, son of MLA Kanwarjit Singh Brar, who carries on this 30-year-old family legacy, that includes nearly 230 horses, mares and ponies at over 250 acres of sprawling farm with 200 employees in this village. “Chalo,” he directs the colts yearnings (1-year-old) every time he inspects them, one by one, along with his father and Dr Shankaran, their trustworthy veterinary doctor who has been caring and managing these horses for the last seven years now.     

With 80 mares pregnant at the farm, Teghbeer Brar said he was cautious enough to maintain the quality of health of these mammals. “Just as in case of human healthcare, these animals are kept with utmost care in respect of health and hygiene,” he says. Over a hundred men take care of the daily schedule of the horses round-the-clock, eyes and ears open as the mammals enjoy the cool breeze throughout the night in their respective paddocks that overlooks lush a green landscape.    

Each paddock occupies an area of half an acre and houses only one horse as the presence of a second one would mean that one may succumb to infighting. And this is one of the first lessons for any caretaker of a 
stud farm.

“If two stallions are left in a single paddock, they will fight till one of them dies and this shows their territory behaviour,” said Dr Shankaran, as he cracked different voices to communicate with the dancing Hurricane State out in the open.

Teghbeer Brar, who remembers every horse or mare by name, said that the stallions are the real treasure for any stud farm. “The incidental loss of one stallion means losing a lot more than simply the cost of the horse,” he says. He would not like to disclose what a good stallion costs, which is over a million US dollars in some cases. Not willing to take the credit for running the show, the MLA from Muktsar straightaway points to his son Teghbeer Singh Brar. The younger Brar says he has been living with horses since his childhood and he would love to do nothing else.

 The Brars have a grudge though. The government has dumped the proposal for a race course at Ludhiana which could have fetched nearly Rs 200 crore to the state. “I do not understand why there is no legal form of gambling in India, when it is already taking place here,” he adds.

Bathinda, October 28
Government Rajindra College, Bathinda, won the overall trophy of Punjabi University Regional Youth Festival 2007, which concluded today at the Punjabi University Regional Campus, Bathinda. Government Barjindra College, Faridkot secured second position while Baba Farid College, Deon came third.

Overall trophy in music, theatre, dance and folk arts was won by Government Rajindra College. Overall trophy in literary activities was won by Aklia College of Education, Goniana Mandi, and in fine arts by Baba Farid College, Deon.

Kulwinder Singh, Sunita Dhir from the Punjabi University, Patiala, Paramjit Singh Romana, Principal, Punjabi University College of Education, Bathinda, and Satnam Singh, Head, Punjabi University Regional Campus were present.

Winners: Bhangra: Government Barjindra College; Skit: Government Rajindra College; Allocation: Punjabi University Regional Centre; Poetic recitation: Punjabi University College of Education; Mime: Government Rajindra College, Bathinda.

Kishanpura, October 28
The non-descript area of Dharamkot block of this predominantly agrarian town of Moga, has taken a giant stride in diversification of cropping pattern by adopting mint farming.

The aromatic herb is being cultivated on about 4,000 acres of land. It has high commercial value and has become an alternative for peasants to break vicious circle of wheat and paddy, which is guzzling underground water. Its oil too has a great remunerative value.

Mint can be sown in shape of inter crop of wheat and garlic and helps in maintaining fertility, save precious ground water and profit of double crop. This type of farming has come as a benefit to the farmers as they can plant garlic and mint together.

About 50 litres of oil can be extracted from mint planted on an acre of land. One litre of oil fetches nearly Rs 400 in wholesale market. In order to extract mint oil, three plants are situated in and around Kishanpura so far.

Inderjit Singh, owner of one of the companies said an investment of Rs 5 to Rs 30 lakh, depending upon the machinery and space of the unit, is needed to establish a company. He also recalled that the crop was first introduced by Richardson Hindustan, now known as Protector and Gamble in 
the area.

Stating that the oil is useful in diversification and must be considered actual crop, he said mint falls in horticulture category and therefore, should be exempted from tax.

Menthol is also extracted from the crop, which possesses cool stimulating action on the skin. It is used in mouthwashes, shaving creams, toothpastes, chewing gums, jellies, cigarettes, chest rubs, alcoholic liquors and several other products. It also finds application in various pharmaceutical formulations and in condiment industry.

Chilling mint oil and its subsequent centrifuging to segregate the menthol crystals obtain menthol. The process is divided into two steps. Firstly, menthol flakes are produced by chilling mint oil. Secondly, menthol flakes mixed with mint oil is again chilled to produce bold crystals of menthol.

Methanol plant owners opine that demand for menthol has increased substantially both in India and abroad due to rise in utilisation of cosmetic products. They reasoned that economics of menthol production greatly depends on the availability of mint oil, which in turn depends on the cultivation of the herb and extraction of the oil by steam distillation. 

Fazilka, October 28
The cotton production is likely to be hit this year, due to attack of Mealy bug on the crop. About 10 years ago, cotton farmers had faced severe losses due to attack of American bollworm.

However, due to availability of Bt cotton, the farmers of this area had been getting good yields for about three years, and were getting remunerative prices too. This factor had turned up the trends of cotton cultivation.

Now, the attack of Mealy bug is once again playing havoc, with the cotton producers, on Bt cotton varieties. In a bid to protect their cotton crops, the farmers have been forced to resort to pesticides spray for over a dozen times. However, with about 25 per cent extra pesticide spray, the cotton crop continues to be destroyed with Mealy bug insect. The attack of this insect upon cotton has belied the tall claims of the agriculture experts that BT cotton is a pest-resistant variety of cotton.

 According to Dina Nath Sachdeva, President, Pakka Artia Association, who is a traditional cotton cultivator, the cotton arrival in Fazilka market was high during the last year, and about 1,80,000 bales of cotton was sold.

During the last year, the cotton arrival was about 2000 bales daily. This year, the arrival is low and only 500 to 700 bales are being produced daily. Yet additional fall of about 15 percent is likely, due to sub-standard and spurious cottonseed procured by farmers from unauthorized sources.

 Due to fall in cotton production, the rate has shot up to Rs 2200 to 2300 per quintal. Earlier, it was around Rs 1800 to 2200.

Satish Kumar Dhingra of village Mohammad Pira and President of the Pesticide Dealers Association, Fazilka, says that Milibug is proving to be resistant to all varieties of pesticides and insecticides.

He also pleaded that in view of low yield of cotton, the minimum support price of cotton should be fixed at Rs 3000 per quintal.

Faridkot, October 28
The DOT division 282 and DOT artillery brigade dispatched a multi-disciplinary rafting, cycling and camel safari expedition to commemorate silver jubilee of the division from here recently.

The expedition team led by Major Yoginder Kushwaha comprises of two officers, three JCOs and 36 Other Ranks. Brigadier G. Murli flagged off the multi-disciplinary expedition.

They would cover a total distance of 1028 km across Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan over a period of 20 days. It includes covering of 485 km through rafting in Indira Gandhi canal from here to Ranjitpura. Followed by 216 km Camel Safari from Ranjitpura to Binjour and final leg back of 282 km from Binjour to Hisar on bicycles.

Brigadier G. Murli said that the on their way the expedition team would interact with villagers to motivate potential candidates to carve out their career in army. Moreover, it would also hold medical camps at Fattahkhare and Ranjitpura. 

Bathinda, October 28
Jaspal Bhatti, a famous actor and comedian, who has always been the torch-bearer of society against social evils like corruption and dowry, is now planning to launch a full-fledged campaign against female foeticide, drug addiction and contamination of ground-water in the Malwa region.

He is also coming up with a new project under the banner of MAD (Media and Digital) Arts and a big-budget Hindi movie with Bollywood star cast. He is also planning an animation film. Both of these will be comic capers.

To tap the potential of people from this region in filmmaking and animation, Bhatti is also planning to conduct acting and film-production workshops here. Bhatti’s Nonsense Club will also stage nukkad plays.

Malwa, at one point of time, was the centre of Punjabi film making, with actors like Guggu Gill and Harbhajan Mann coming from this part of the state. Many Punjabi films were shot here.

Speaking to TNS at the launch of Bathinda edition of The Tribune today, Bhatti said that people from Malwa had a huge potential in animation and film production.

“But they lack professionalism. So, to inculcate professionalism in them, we will open an animation based film institute in Bathinda,’’ he announced.

The first batch has already passed out from MAD Arts and a majority of its students have got placements in the field of film direction, cinematography, acting, animation, radio jockeying, production and animation,

“The second batch of MAD Arts will start from November 1. For acting, we want to train Punjabis, especially from Bathinda, Amritsar and Jalandhar. The big hurdle for a filmmaker in Punjab is the absence of quality actors. So, once we train Punjabi youth, we will have ample talent here,” he said.