Bathinda, January 20
Traffic on the Bhatti road came to a standstill on Sunday morning for about three hours as hundreds of villagers of Pooli blockaded the road protesting against the alleged “negligence” of a local hospital in treating one Baldev Singh (60), who had died there during treatment on January 1.

Raising slogans, villagers gathered on the road and parked their tractors and trolleys to block the traffic. They demanded a high-level inquiry into the death of Baldev, who was admitted to the hospital on December 30 and died two days later on January 1.

Santokh Singh, son of the deceased, alleged that the doctors did not attend to his father for about 24 hours and when his condition deteriorated, they referred him to Ludhiana, but he died of heart attack before he was shifted.

He threatened that villagers would intensify the stir and gherao the hospital, in case an inquiry was not ordered within two weeks. A large number of local leaders including Congress MLA Nathana, Ajaib Singh Batthi and Bharatiya Kisan Union Ekta Sidhpur, Hardev Singh, extended their support to the kin of the deceased.

Santokh said that he was fighting for justice and not for compensation and blamed the doctors for giving wrong version of the sequence of things and alleged that his father had died due to the “negligence” of the hospital. The hospital staff did not provide the reports and CDs related to the disease and the treatment administered, he added.

However, the director of the hospital, Dann Singh refuted the charges and said it was an after thought to extract money from the hospital. The records also support the contention of the hospital authorities, he added.

Dann Singh said that Baldev was brought to the hospital with a fractured arm and suffered a heart attack. The relatives paid just Rs 20,000, while the cost of the treatment was Rs 1.25 lakh.

The doctor, Gursevak Singh Gill, who attended to the patient, said that the allegations were false and he was ready to face any inquiry. Giving a history of the patient, he said that his three arteries were blocked and he had suffered a cardiac problem four year back too.

Gill said that he conducted an angioplasty and opened his one artery and the patient, who was put on ventilation, started recovering. But as the heart was not pumping, he was referred to Ludhiana. The patient died on his way to Ludhiana near Malupur, he added.

Bathinda, January 20
There is credible evidence to suggest that the condition of farmers in Punjab is going from bad to worse.

According to a survey titled, “Flow of funds to farmers and indebtedness in Punjab”, conducted by the department of economics, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, 89 per cent of the farmers in the state are under debt and 12.8 per cent are those who have little option other than to resort to extreme steps as many end their life by committing suicide.

The main reasons for indebtedness, as perceived by the farmers, are the low price of farm produce and high price of inputs. The total indebtedness of the farm sector is estimated at Rs 21,064 crore.

On the recommendation of the Punjab State Farmers’ Commission, three economic experts from the Panjab Agriculture University, Sukhpal Singh, Manjeet Kaur and H.S. Kingra, carried out a survey, covering 20 blocks of 11 districts, in Punjab.

The random sample survey comprised 600 farm households, including 107 marginal farm households, 150 small farms, 153 semi-medium farms, 87 medium farms and 103 large farms for the reference year 2005-06.

According to the survey, the farmer households under debt is worst in the cotton belt (south-western), where 93.5 per cent of the farmers were under debt, followed by the central region (89.7 per cent) and the semi-hilly region (68.3 per cent).

The indebtedness per household was the highest in the south-western region (Rs 2,85,172), followed by the central region (Rs 1,69,739) and semi-hilly region (Rs 55,195).

In the cotton belt, all the farm household groups were highly indebted.

The average debt for marginal and small farmers (Rs 1,80,000) in this region was more than the average debt of all the farm categories in the semi-hilly region and of the marginal and small farmers in the central region.

The institutional credit advances to the farmers in the state increased from Rs 1,638 crores in 1990-91 to Rs 16,374 crores in 2004-05 at current prices and to Rs 5,660 crores at constant prices.

The year-to-year growth in bank advances during 1990-91 to 1997-98 was only 1.2 to 12 per cent and increased again to 12 to 67 per cent during 1997-98 to 2004-05.

The total debt per sample farm household from both the institutional and non-institutional sources was Rs 1,78,934, i.e. Rs 50,140 per hectare during 2005-06. The debt per indebted farm in the state was Rs 2,01,427.

Per hectare agricultural institutional loans advanced increased from Rs 3,883 in 1990-91 to Rs 38,986 in 2004-05. In addition, the farmers continued to depend upon the non-institutional sources.

Bathinda, January 20
The vigilance department, Bathinda, has arrested SDO Panchayti Raj, Talwandi Sabo, Sukhpal Singh, on the charge of receiving a bribe of Rs 10,000 from Gurjeet Singh, a resident of Kot Bakhtu vilage.

According to sources, Gurjeet Singh had been slapped with a fine of Rs 72,900 for doing less work during the period 1998-2003. SDO Sukhpal Singh had reportedly demanded Rs 20,000 for ordering reassessment of the fine.

However, Gurpreet bargained it to Rs 10,000, but he also complained to the vigilance department about it. DSP Onkar Singh (Vigilance), in the presence of witnesses, caught Sukhpal Singh red-handed.

A case under the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against Sukhpal Singh.

Bathinda, January 20
The Army authorities have stressed upon the need for creating awareness about physical fitness, so that candidates don’t lose the chance to join the Army, just because of minor curable diseases.

Some of the problems like wax in the ear and piles are easily curable. A large number of candidates did not know that their diseases are curable and they could be cured through proper treatment, said an Army official.

Army authorities said to help the selected candidates perform better in written examination, model papers have been displayed and guidance on how to attempt the paper had also been made available. The test is meant to judge the basic intelligence of the candidates and is based on elementary education. It was observed that contrary to the general belief that Malwa region has a large number of asthma patients due to air and water pollution, it was actually persons suffering from bone structure ailments and skin diseases, whose number was quite high.

Thekriwala (Barnala), January 20
On the third and the concluding day of the Shaheed Sewa Singh Thekriwala’s death anniversary, opposition parties, cutting across party lines, made it a point to point out the shortcomings of the ruling SAD-BJP government.

Be it the Congress, CPI (M), SAD (A) or Khalsa Dal activists or farmer unions, all were busy criticising the state authorities.

SAD (A) leader Simranjeet Singh Mann flayed Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal’s efforts to attract NRI investment in the state.

He also criticised the state government for setting up the Chandigarh international airport and asked, “When Amritsar international airport is doing well, why is Badal determined to uproot farmers for Chandigarh airport?”

Meanwhile, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee chief Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, a regular visitor at the death anniversary cermony for the past decade, could not turn up because of personal engagements.

Local Congress MLA Kewal Singh Dhillon criticised the Badal-led government for the poor pace of development in the state.

He said that the state government has failed to meet the promises it had made to the electorate in its election manifesto.

Khalsa Dal leader Daljeet Singh Bittu alleged that the Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee, which was controlled by the CM himself, was not fulfilling its real duty of propagating Sikh ideology among the Sikh youth.

Mangat Rai Pasla of the CPI accused the CM of not providing basic amenities to the poor sections of the society. He referred particularly to the Atta Dal scheme as an example.

Thekriwala (Barnala), January 20
The three-day ceremony to mark the death anniversary of martyr and founder of the Parja Mandal Movemment seems to have lost its original sheen. The thin presence of devotees at the ‘pandal’ made everybody think over the issue. 

Thanks to the strict security arrangements made by the local police, no one was allowed to move freely around the venue which was otherwise surrounded all over by various stalls in the recent past.

Even during the previous Congress rule, the police didn’t use any force to keep the devotees at bay.

Situated at about five kms from Barnala, Thekriwala village was the central place of attraction as people from the surrounding areas used to come to visit the fair.

It was like a festive occasion for the married girls, dressed in their best, who could be seen roaming freely in those days. The relatives of the villagers used to come to live at Thekriwal village to enjoy the three-day ceremony including, ‘Dhadhi darbars’, ‘kissa’ enchanting and other programmes.

The various stalls of toys, cosmetics, clothes and eatables could be seen around grain market, which used to remain flooded with visitors. But this time, everything was seen missing.

Sukhminder Singh, a villager, lamented that the visit of the CM had cost the residents their share of the fun.

The common man was afraid of the police and the vendors, who used to wait for the occasion earlier, have now lost their bread and butter. During these three days, they used to earn handsome sum of money. But this time, no stall was allowed to be set up near the venue.

Moreover, the announcements made by the Chief Minister during his last tenure, on the death anniversary, have failed to see the light of the day.

Mansa, January 20
The Punjab School Education Board’s move to start the board examination for the students of Class V in the state has drawn criticism from several cross-sections of society in Mansa, including students and their parents.

It may be mentioned here that the state school education board had started board examination for the Class V students in some parts of the state last year.

Opposing the decision of the board, parents, students and teachers said that students of Class V were not mature enough to endure the burden of a board examination.

Convener of the Save Education Committee, Darsan Singh Dhillon said the board had collected nearly Rs 6 crore from 7 lakh students of Class V this year and about Rs 15 crore from Class VIII students.

He alleged that the board had received more money than the proposed expenses.

Teachers of several schools, including Bikker Singh Government Primary School, Ralla, Gurtaz Singh Government Primary School, Ahmadpur, and Jagdish Rai Government Primary School, Mansa, said that students of Class V were too young to bear the burden of the board examinations.

Ramesh Kumar, father of a Class V student, has termed the school board’s move as ‘illogical’.

Echoing similar views, Surjeet Singh and Raj Kumar, parents of other school students in Mansa, said that the certificates of these examinations were not required at the time of job.

Opposing the step of the board, district president of the ETT Teachers Union, Hardeep Singh Sidhu said that even after one year, the board could not provide certificates to Class V pass-outs.

Sidhu said that the entire work, including conducting and checking of answer sheets, had been carried out by the schoolteachers and the Punjab School Education Board only releases the certificate to the students who qualify.

Mansa, January 20
Freedom fighter and revolutionary Jagir Singh Joga died on August 24, 2002. And the then Punjab Congress president, H.S. Hanspal, promised to construct a building in his memory at Joga village in Mansa district. 

But the construction of the memorial building has not yet been completed due to the government’s apathy.

Jagir had participated in the freedom struggle after giving up his studies at Bathinda when Mahatma Gandhi raised the slogan of picketing against the liquor and foreign goods shops. Joga participated in the agitation and was sent to Kambulpur Jail for three months.

After this, during the boycott of the Butler and Simon Commission, he went to jail for one year.

Parja Mandal, Patiala, was organised at Mansa and Joga’s role was instrumental in its formation. He went to Lahore to attend the Congress conference with his group. While he was on his way to Peshawar, he was arrested and sent to jail for another year.

Post release, he started a weekly paper, the Riasti Duniya, from Lahore for the Parja Mandal movement. He contributed an article in the paper against the Dograism of Kashmir and was imprisoned for three months for echoing his views through the article.

After independence in 1947, Jagir Singh Joga played a key role in the communist movement and participated in various struggles for the rights of downtrodden.

Owing to support from people, he was once elected as an MLA while in jail. He was also elected thrice a member of the Punjab 
Vidhan Sabha.

His son Gurdarsan Singh Joga, who has been working as a doctor at the civil hospital, Mansa, informed that for the memorial, the Gram Panchayat, Joga, provided an acre of land and his family along with their relatives contributed Rs 5 lakh for the work.

Bhan Singh Bhaura, while he was an MP from the the Bathinda Lok Sabha constituency, had released a grant of Rs 5 lakh and Gram Panchayat, Joga, had donated Rs 2 lakh for the construction for the memorial.

MP Gurdarsan Singh Tohra had also provided Rs 2.50 lakh for its construction.

But the memorial is still far from being completed.

Abohar, January 20
Operations on a trial basis began in the Rs 30-crore multipurpose vegetable and fruit juice plant established by the Agro Juices here, sources said.

The operations was started by the Jain Irrigation Systems (JIS). Earlier, Reliance was expected to enter the fruit market here but inquiries revealed that the company preferred to confine its working to Hoshiarpur district, the second best kinnow fruit growing area in the state.

Details on the terms and conditions agreed to with the JIS by could not be gathered as the official concerned could not be contacted.

The JIS had initially entered the Punjab market to install drip irrigation system in various areas. The company worked with some big business houses in their endeavours to develop agricultural farms with modern techniques by getting the land on a lease from the state government, sources added.

Commenting on the development, local member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) and former parliamentary secretary for irrigation and horticulture, Sunil Jakhar, said today that it was better to collaborate with private players as the state lacked expertise in processing of fruit and vegetables.

This correspondent, during a daylong survey, was told that delay in onset of foggy weather had not only delayed the sale of kinnow but had also affected its sweetness.

During the previous years, kinnow had been flooding the markets by November but this time, a major change in the climate resulted in good arrivals only in the third week of January. The fruit will thus be easily available till March this year, some growers said.

According to official sources, the total area under fruit cultivation in Ferozepur district had exceeded 12,000 hectares, out of which Abohar sub-division had a share of 75 per cent.

The kinnow fruit grown in this area is considered much better than in the Hoshiarpur district. Initially, NAFED and Agro Industries Corporation had installed kinnow fruit grading and waxing plants on the Abohar-Sriganganagar road (National Highway-15) and Abohar-Malout road (NH-10), respectively. Both had now become outdated in technology.

Kewal Krishan, who was also instrumental in setting up a plant near village Daulatpura in 2005 said there had been an addition of five grading and waxing units every year.

Now, some progressive fruit growers had also entered the market as they had enough in their orchards for this process.

As the area under fruit cultivation was increasing fast, about ten more units might be rendered operational by next year, he said . This had generated direct and indirect employment to hundreds in the region.

A state-of-the-art unit had become operational in village Maujgarh on NH-15.

According to information gathered from various sources, demand for kinnow had increased manifold in south India. The craze for orange is no more due to less produce and high price. Here, per acre yield of kinnow has increased but this has resulted in price reduction.

At present, the rate varied between Rs 7-8 for the average variety. However, for some growers, the season might not be much profitable due to the poor quality of the fruit.

In such circumstances, the processing of the fruit could bear better results if the experts succeed in diluting the bitter contents during the squash preparation, sources said.

Fazilka, January 20
The anti-encroachment drive launched by the Municipal Council, Fazilka, evoked protest from slum-dwellers in Anni Delhi locality of the town, which is considered to be a major vote bank for political parties.

As officials of the municipal council led by executive officer, Tilak Raj Verma, reached Anni Delhi on Saturday morning and tried to press in JCB machine to demolish the encroached structures, the slum dwellers gathered in big strength and the women folk in particular squatted on the ground and lay down before the JCB machine, preventing its movement. The residents also raised slogans against the municipal council. Sensing trouble, the executive officer requisitioned the police force.

SHO Baljit Singh with police force, on reaching the scene, brought the situation under control. With the help of the police force, the MC officials managed to demolish some shanties built on the encroached land.

The aggrieved residents maintained that they had been living in the area for more than two decades and now had been rendered homeless in biting cold. — OC

Abohar, January 20
Bhagwan Balmiki XI won the four week-long cricket tournament ‘Chak de Abohar’ by defeating Jai Ambe XI on the concluding day.

Speaking on the occasion, local legislator Sunil Jakhar said that in all, 50 budding players, 25 each from rural and urban areas, would be trained free of charge. The Sports Authority of India and the department of sports, Punjab, must come forward in releasing grants for promoting sports, he added.

Abohar Cricket and Welfare Club president S.K. Goyal, HMCA principal Rajinder Girdhar, Consumer Movement chairman Sat Pal Khariwal, stage director Vikas Batra and other members of the tournament managing committee were also present on the occasion.

Earlier, IFFCO chairman Surinder Kumar Jakhar agreed to sponsor the cricket academy to promote sports in this sub-division and distributed gym kits in 33 villages besides giving sports kits to rural sports clubs. — OC

Gidderbaha, January 20
The Gidderbaha police on Sunday arrested a woman, Manpreet Kaur, on charges of murdering her husband Surjeet Singh and his two children, a son aged 23 years and the 19-year-old daughter.

According to deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Jagjit Singh Bhagtana, Manpreet had administered sleeping pills to 
her husband and the two children.

After they became unconscious, Manpreet, along with her paramour Rinku, strangled them to death as was borne out by the postmortem report, the DSP said.

The body of the two children were found near the canal while Surjeet’s body was found at his house in Gidderbaha.

Surjeet was posted as patwari in Bathinda.

It was a second marriage for both Manpreet and Surjeet. While Surjeet’s first wife had passed away, Manpreet was a divorcee. Surjeet’s two children were born from his first wife.

According to the police, the incident took place on the night of January 17 and it was after the preliminary inquiry that Manpreet was arrested today. Her paramour Rinku is still absconding. Further proceedings in the case are on.