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Sugarcane industry sinking
Morinda, June 25 The delayed payments have led many farmers to opt out of growing this crop leading to a bleak future of sugarcane cultivation. With five sugar mills at Rakhram Zira, Faridkot, Tarn Taran and Jagraon already closed, the future of existing nine sugar mills too doesn't seem to be secure. The sugar mill at Budhlada in Mansa lies locked up for the past 15 years. The pending payment of sugar mill in Morinda towards farmers is Rs 12 crore, of Ajnala it is Rs 13 crore, Rs 7.5 crore of Fazilka, Rs 14.5 crore in Gurdaspur, of Bhogpur it’s Rs 7 crore and that of Nakodar is Rs 9.5 crore. The sugar mills in Budhewal in Ludhiana and Nawanshahr are the only ones who have completely paid their farmers. During the last season the total area under sugarcane cultivation in Punjab was 1,00,040 hectares. Agriculture department predicts this figure to shrink to just 85,000 to 90,000 hectares. In Haryana the area has already been reduced by 45 per cent. While Haryana government has budgetary provisions to compensate sugarcane farmers' losses, Punjab government has no such provision. The meeting of Cane Control Board, whose president is Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, has not been conducted since the SAD-BJP government took over. During the time when government is proposing co-generation power plants at sugar mill units, sustaining the existing sugarcane fields becomes even more important. The proposal is to set up co-generation power plants of 8-10 MW in each mill. "If the government does not pay us in time, from where will to find raw material (bagasse) needed to run the co-generation plants," says Ujagar Singh from Morinda. It is learnt that the government has already passed Rs 10 crore proposal for Morinda sugar mill for co-generation power. All sugar mills are being run on co-operative basis under Punjab State Federation of Co-operative Sugar Mills Ltd. (Sugarfed). "But instead of being sehkari (cooperative) it has turned to be sarkari (government) movement," said Parminder Singh Chalaki, the national general secretary of BKU, Rajewal faction. He added that the Punjab government too should work out on the Maharashtra model. In this model the profit earned is distributed amongst farmers who are shareowners in the mill. Cooperation minister Captain Kanwaljit Singh said soon Rs 10 crores will be released to pay the farmers. "No farmer's money will be held back. Also we are soon going to hire a private consultant to facilitate the revival of six ailing mills," he said. |
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Hemkund Sahib tragedy victims cremated
Behrampur (Bassi Pathana), June 25 His wife Gurinder Kaur and children Manpreet (14) and son Jaskaran had gone with other villagers to Uttaranchal during summer vacation. Sarpanch Manjit Singh, deceased children's uncle said in tears, "It was the most difficult time of my life when I got the bodies of my near and dear ones." Manjit and his wife Amarjit Kaur reached village in afternoon. They had started from Hemkund Sahib yesterday evening. He said the managements of Gurudwaras in Hemkund Sahib proved most helpful, who not only provided rescue work but even shelter to those who have survived this tragedy. Manjit Singh was unable to meet his daughter Ramandeep Kaur, who is admitted to a local hospital at Dehradun with fracture injuries on arms and thighs. People from nearby villages of Bassi, Ucha Pind and Uchi, had also come at cremation to condole death of the tragedy-struck family. DC of Fatehgarh Sahib and SSP attended the cremation ceremony. Nine people had left for pilgrimage to Hemkund Sahib in a Tata Sumo on Friday. Tragedy struck them when a glacier slid there on Monday. Sher Singh's grandson Kamaljit Singh (19) and granddaughter Kiran (17) from this village are also among the missing. Sher Singh's family was panicked. The family members have been trying to get information of their missing children but to no avail. Even few taxi drivers of the adjoining areas who had gone to Hemkund Sahib were said to be missing. Sarpanch Manjit Singh and his wife Amarjit Kaur too had accompanied the group but were still to start climbing towards the sacred gurudwara. Meanwhile, a group of villagers from the village left for Hemkund Sahib today to help their colleagues in distress and for retrieving and identifying other bodies. SSP said the Fatehgarh Sahib police had not got further intimation about missing or dead pilgrims from Behrampur. |
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4-laning of
Chandigarh-Kharar road
Kharar, June 25 Ropar central works division XEN Karnail Singh said all 141 violators had been given a week's time to reply to the notices. "Accordingly, further course of action will be taken," he added. The four-laning will have 8.5-m wide roads on both sides with a divider of 1.2 m. The NHAI will not have to acquire any land as was done in the case of Kiratpur Sahib national highway stretch. The major task for the NHAI at this stretch will be to remove encroachments wherein major chunks of land have been encroached upon by mega township projects. The Ropar forest department, Ropar central works division department and the revenue department will together take action in this regard. Major violators include sprawling townships of Sunny Enclave in Mundi Kharar and Desu Majra; Gurufateh Enclave in Kharar; Radiant Buildcom, KPS World, Ballo Majra; Sawan Land Developer, Desu Majra; Paras Panorama, Desu Majra; Gillco Valley, Mundi Kharar and Shivjot Enclave. The amount bid of tenders for four-laning is Rs 10 crore. These tenders will be received on July 15 and thereafter; construction work will be taken over immediately. In his communiqué to the Punjab Chief Minister, union minister of shipping, road transport and highways T.R. Baalu has already stated that this stretch of NH 21 had been approved for four-laning at the cost of Rs 1,350.96 lakh by the ministry. Four-laning of the stretch is expected to bring major relief to the commuters. A large number of accidents are reported on this stretch due to the narrow road coupled with reckless driving. It is one of the major stretches leading to Chandigarh from Punjab. |
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One killed, 3 hurt in accident
Bassi Pathana, June 25 A tractor-trolley, going towards Bassi Pathana, hit the four when they came on the road from the fields. Jaswinder Kaur fell into a deep roadside drain while one of her daughters Amarjot Kaur (9) was crushed to death and her another daughter Rajinder Kaur (12) was seriously injured. Her third daughter Amandeep Kaur sustained minor injuries in the accident. Driver of the tractor-trolley fled from the site leaving behind the vehicle. As soon as the news of the incident spread in the town, residents, led by social worker Kulbhushan Malhotra, rushed to the spot and took the injured to the civil hospital. Rajinder Kaur was referred to the Fatehgarh Sahib Civil Hospital after being administered first aid while Amandeep Kaur was discharged. Amarjot’s body was taken to the civil hospital. After postmortem, it was handed over to the family and was later cremated. A case has been registered. The driver of the tractor-trolley is still at large. |
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Impounded truck stolen, 2 cops suspended
Kharar, June 25 SSP Jatinder Aulakh suspended munshi Swaran Singh and guard Satnam Singh. He also ordered a departmental inquiry against both the cops for dereliction of duty. The CIA police had put up a naka near Balongi at around 2:30 am and confiscated a truck carrying 1,610 bottles of illegal whisky. The police arrested driver Jarnail Singh, a resident of Lohar village in Jalandhar. He was booked under various sections of the Excise Act. The truck was brought to the CIA quarters in Kharar and the entire booty of whisky bottles was unloaded from it. At around 4:30 am, the truck was found missing from the place it had been parked at. After the truck was unloaded, one person accompanying driver Jarnail Singh offered to park it at the right place. However, instead of parking it, he fled with the truck. Meanwhile, the Kharar police today confiscated 20 boxes of English wine being taken without permission at a naka from near Sawara village. Also, 100 boxes of different brands of English wine were confiscatd from near Landran T-point. |
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120 kids participate in long-distance race
Patiala, June 25 The race was held as part of the ongoing sports training summer camp where martial arts and taekwando are being taught by Satwinder Singh. Padamshree Arjuna awardee Sunita Rani, DSP, Patiala, was the chief guest. School managing director Rajdeep Singh and Surinder Pal Singh were also present. The children covered a distance of 2 km starting from the school. DSP Sunita Rani was so impressed with the efforts of the kids that she also joined the race. She said the camp was a unique step by the club as this was not the routine cultural camp where dance, singing, cooking etc were going on. It was a camp in order to teach self-defence techniques to kids, especially girls. She also shared her experiences with the kids. She congratulated Satwinder Singh for his efforts and hoped that he would continue with such camps in the future. |
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Dera Row: Protesters disrupt rail, road traffic
Madhopur (Fatehgarh Sahib), June 25 Demanding arrest of Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim, the protestors said they would continue their peaceful protest till the arrest of the dera head. Chief of the Damdami Taksal Baba Harnam Singh Dhumma, SAD (A) activists, SAD (presidium) president Daljit Singh Bittu, some SGPC members and a large number of activists squatted on the railway line near Madhopur village. The protest began at around 8 am with the halt of a Jammu-bound goods train loaded with oil. After waiting sometime, the train went back as protestors started raising slogans against Gurmeet Ram Rahim. Fatehgarh Sahib deputy commissioner Ashok Singla, accompanied by some policemen, reached the spot and requested some leaders to vacate the place. However, the protestors raised slogans and refused to budge. The leaders said they would go back only after the arrest of the Dera head. "Nobody will be hurt during the protests. Our task is to send a message to the Centre Government about our demand," said the Damdami Taksal chief. The G.T. Road from Chandigarh to Khanna was also blocked for nearly two hours by the SAD (A) activists led by Imaan Singh Mann. He warned the Centre Government not to test the patience of Sikhs and immediately arrest the Dera head. SAD (presidium) general secretary Kulbir Singh Barapind said the agitation would be intensified if the Dera chief was not arrested. He said train services in the entire state were suspended completely. Temporary sheds were also built around the railway lines where community kitchen was organised for police officials and protesters. Meanwhile, a large number of activists, including some women, gathered at the Sukhmani Society Gurudwara at Rajpura in the evening and reached the railway station. They stopped the Jammu Tawi Express for around an hour. |
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SAD activists burn effigies of dera chief
Ropar\Kharar, June 25 In Ropar the activists blocked road traffic at Nangal chowk at around 11 am. The traffic was disrupted for 15 minutes. SAD workers raised slogans demanding immediate arrest of Baba Ram Rahim. They alleged that the Union government had soft corner for Baba and that despite repeated criminal allegations leveled on him he has not been
arrested. Similarly, a handful of SAD (A) workers in Kharar burnt effigy of Baba Ram Rahim and raised slogans against him. |
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SAD highlights development projects
Bassi Pathana, June 25 They said people of the State are highly impressed with the good governance of Parkash Singh Badal, Chief Minister, and have endorsed his public oriented policies by giving a landslide victory in recently concluded
Panchayat and Zila Parishad elections. Rajesh Pal Singh Lalli highlighted the various development projects initiated by their previous council president Sunita Malhotra. He said on the other hand during Congress rule the councils had become a den of corruption. He urged the people to elect only those candidates who have a clean image and vote for ruling coalition as only they can initiate development. Kulbhushun Malhotra former council president, Mohan Lal Sappal, Surinder Babba, Ranbir Singh, Sukhdarshan Kaur and
Shivani, all candidates also addressed. |
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Election office inaugurated
Zirakpur, June 25 He spoke at a function at the inauguration of elections office in ward no. 10 of
SAD-BJP combine candidate Hardev Singh Mangat. |
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Badal colony supports
SAD-BJP
Zirakpur, June 25 Addressing a press conference here in presence of Jasjit Singh, Sukhwinder Saini president of the Badal Colony residents’ welfare association and other office bearers of the association announced their open support for the alliance
candidates. |
Silver jubilee of World Cup win
Chandigarh, June 25 Among those honoured were Chandigarh Hockey Association secretary Yash Pal Vohra, Indian cricket selector Bhupinder Singh Senior, Chandigarh Cricket Association, affiliated to Punjab Cricket Association, Mohinder Singh, former Punjab wicketkeeper Arun Sharma, former Haryana Ranji player Rakesh Jolly, SAI cricket coach Manjit Singh, Sushil Kapoor and sports scribes Donald Bannerjee (The Tribune) and Balbir Singh (United News of India) for their valuable contributions to promote sports. Sports journalists jointly presented a memento of DP Cricket Academy to Dronacharya Desh Prem Azad. Chief guest Harold Carver, principal of the school, presented the mementos. D.P. Azad also presented bats to budding needy cricketers Jai Kumar (hawker) and Arjun Singh, son of a mali of St Stephen's School. According to Azad, the academy is also providing them free training, clothes etc. “Kapil Dev rang me up from England and wished good luck for the function,” Azad said. Meanwhile, Desh Prem Azad Cricket Academy also organised an exhibition 20-over match played between Kapil Dev XI and Gavaskar XI at the grounds. Kapil XI scored an easy eight-wicket victory. Brief score: Gavaskar XI: Manan Vohra 26, Ankit 18, Karan 17, Navin 14, Saurabh 31, Rishi Chopra 21, Harshank 1 for 21, Harry 2 for 21, Abhilash1 for 16). Kapil XI: 155 for 2 in 15 overs (Sachit Nayyar 104, 12x4s, 3x6s, Shivdeep 30, Jayant 1 for 20, Rajat 1 for 29). |
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RTI Act
Chandigarh, June 25 It is neither, if one goes by the information procured under the RTI Act. The SGFI is merely a private registered society, which implies that it cannot have government departments as its units as per the rules of the Societies Act. But the body has not only been regulating school sports through government departments since its inception in 1955 but also charging annual affiliation fee from them, which incidentally runs into several lakhs of rupees. With an annual affiliation fee of Rs 30,000 for each unit, the SGFI has 35 affiliated units (either sports department or education department) from 28 states and seven Union Territories from all over India. According to the information received under the RTI, the ministry of HRD had never issued any directions/circular to the state/UT education departments to become members of the body. When the question was put to the ministry of HRD, Government of India, the reply that e from the ministry of youth and sports affairs was: “No such directions have been issued by the MYAS to any state or UT education department.” If such is the situation, then in what capacity, the SGFI has been charging hefty amount as fee from the government departments and under which heads the departments are paying affiliation fee to a registered society? On the issue, former vice-president of SGFI Ravinder Talwar said, “This has been a practice since the body came into existence but definitely, government departments can’t be affiliated members of any registered society. Even I was not aware of the fact during my tenure as the office-bearer of the body.” Further, Talwar said, “Though the body has been accumulating whopping funds through annual affiliation fee, the SGFI’s expenditure on sports promotion is negligible.” Giving details, he said, “The state-level school sports tournaments are being organised by the states concerned besides bearing the whole expenditure on conducting the events. During national tournaments, being allotted by the SGFI to different states, all the expenditure, including TA/DA allowances to the SGFI officials, free accommodation to the players, kit money and technical expenses are being borne by the respective government departments, which are members of the body. What the SGFI does for the promotion of sports is a matter of concern?” “During international tournaments, the SGFI charges Rs 10,000 per sportsperson for the kit money from the concerned states while the air tickets are being given by the Centre Government. On the other hand, the host provides boarding and lodging free of cost. So where do the funds go?” Talwar asked. |
North’s First
New Delhi, June 25 Conceptualised by animal welfare activist Maneka Gandhi’s non-profit organisation, People for Animals (PFA), the hospital at Raipur Kalan will have a kennel capacity of 1,200 dogs and will cater to the canine population within a 200-km radius of the city. The PFA is convinced that sterilisation of stray dogs is an urban requirement to ensure peaceful and balanced co-existence of humans and dogs. The city has around 6,500 stray dogs. The population of dogs in the satellite towns of Mohali and Panchkula touches 5,000 and 4,000, respectively. The creation of the hospital, on two-acre land spared by the Chandigarh administration, is inspired by the objective to protect neglected stray dogs from unnatural deaths. “If you don’t sterilise them, you may be doing them more harm than good. Street dogs don’t survive beyond two to three years. They are run over by cars, stoned to death or die due to viral infections for want of vaccination,” says Payal Sodhi, coordinator of the Chandigarh chapter of the PFA. PFA convener Maneka Gandhi said here that the hospital was under construction and was expected to cost Rs 2 crore. She appealed to city residents to contribute to the hospital, which will add to 26 hospitals being run by her organisation across the country. The hospital, being designed by Delhi-based architect Gautam Bhatia, will have centrally air-conditioned operating theatre and pre and post-operative care besides an intensive care unit. “We want to make it as a good as a hospital for human beings,” says Sodhi. Bhatia is handling the assignment as a challenge because it is being designed for animal welfare. “We hope to gift man’s best friend a green building by the end of 2009.” The PFA head in Chandigarh said the main thrust of the hospital would be on sterilisation of dogs, which is a better option than killing dogs in a cruel manner. “The 26 animal care shelters being run by the PFA in various places, including Chennai, Delhi, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Ludhiana and Kolkata, offer a range of services as first aid to an injured animal or bird, anti-rabies vaccination and sterilisation for dogs.” She said the 1960 Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act prohibits killing of dogs. The provisions of the Act permit killing of dogs in exceptional circumstances — if a dog is found rabid or if a veterinarian certifies that it is terminally ill and prescribes (PTS - putting to sleep in a merciful and dignified manner). Sodhi pointed out that sterilisation served to control a dog’s ferocity. “Killing a dog is cruel and is not a permanent solution to the problem of dog menace. If you do away with 40 dogs in a locality, you may have to deal with a fresh batch from a neighbouring locality. Besides being the most dependable guards, dogs keep rodents away. We should learn from Gujarat’s example of the 1994 Surat plague, which could have been avoided had they not killed dogs.” Hailing the initiative, Dr S. Chinny Krishna, chairman and co-founder of Blue Cross of India, a Chennai-based animal welfare organisation that started the world’s first mass street dog birth control programme in 1966, says: “We are delighted. This is the only viable solution for the street dog issue anywhere in the world. Turkey and Sri Lanka have legislations that prohibit killing of dogs. The age-old method of catch and kill has never worked and never will.” |
Smack worth Rs 10 lakh seized
Mohali, June 25 According to SAS Nagar SSP Jatinder Aulakh, accused Satnam Singh was arrested by Phase XI SHO Deepinder Singh. “Deepinder had information that Satnam Singh, his brother Madanjit Singh and Madanjit’s wife Manjit Kaur were dealing in drugs and operating from their houses here. The house was raided by the police and 10 gms of smack worth Rs 10 lakh in the open market was recovered from his house. Another Rs 2,20,757 was also recovered from the accused. The police said during interrogation Satnam told them that the smack was to be sold to a customer and the money had to be used to get more drugs. Madanjit Singh and his wife Manjit managed to flee on seeing the police, said the SSP.
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Tanwar Case
Chandigarh, June 25 Viren was booked following a complaint against him for exhibiting a nude painting and portraying animals in objectionable acts at an exhibition in Sector 36. SSP S.S. Srivastava said the case had been sent for re-consideration and it would take a few days before they could finally come to a conclusion. However, no arrest would be made till then, he added. Tanvar said: “I am an artist and I am only concerned about my work.” He said the police had not interrogated him so far regarding the painting. “Last year, when I was called to record my statement, the police did not ask me anything related to the case.”
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