Along the Indo-Pak border, Ferozepur, August 18
Though thousands of residents of villages situated along the India-Pakistan border, who have borne the brunt of the conflicts between the two neighbours twice and faced the fury of mighty Sutlej several times in the past, have lost their crops following flooding of their fields yet again but they have not lost hope. The heavy damage been done to their crops notwithstanding, these relentless villagers like comrade in arms could be seen working with undying zeal to reinforce the Dhussi bandh along the Sutlej so that their dwellings do not submerge.

During a visit to the forward areas along the Dhussi bandh in Palla Megha, Basti Ramlal and Muthianwala villages, this correspondent saw the farmers with their tractor-trolleys making a beeline to fill earth along the bandh so as to strengthen it further. While the men were busy working on the bandh the womenfolk have started community kitchens to serve food and tea to the male members of the village.

Gurnaib Singh said that their fields across the bandh had already submerged and now they were filling earth to reinforce the bandh to save their dwellings.

Another farmer Virsa Singh said if the bandh breaches in this area, then it would be highly difficult to save the villages along the Sutlej as it had happened in the year 1988 when bandh had breached at Dulchi Ke and consequently the entire Ferozpur town had submerged.

Gurmeet said the district administration had provided them with two JCB machines to facilitate their effort. He added that farmers had brought their tractors, equipment and even diesel by pooling their resources. Besides, an acre of land had been identified to dig soil. They have promised to pay the owner Rs 10,000 for the same.

When this correspondent visited the bandh along village Pachariya, it was spotted that the bandh had developed minor cracks at few places making it vulnerable. The villagers said they would fill the exposed spots by tomorrow morning so that the bandh could withstand the escalating water level.

When contacted, irrigation minister Janmeja Singh Sekhon informed that the drainage officials along with the village community were working on war footing to reinforce the bandh at sensitive places along this area in Ferozepur.

He added that the water level was likely to rise further if water was released from Bhakra and Pong dams, which appeared inevitable in the present scenario.

The minister said the discharge upstream Harike was 82,000 cusecs today, adding that about one lakh cusecs of water had been released from the Pong dam which was likely to reach Harike by Tuesday.

Hailing the spirit of the border farmers, Sekhon said the district administration has been instructed to provide all logistic and monetary assistance to those farmers. He also said the government would provide compensation for the damaged crops and reimburse the expenses incurred by the farmers to reinforce the bandh.

He went on to say that he has also requested the chief secretary and officials from other districts to make motor boats and tents available to the local administration.

Muktsar, August 18
To solve the menace of waterlogging and to promote fish farming in the district, the administration has been experimenting with a twin strategy under which it has aimed at expanding the trade in 55 more hectares during this financial year.

Taking notice of the low-lying areas getting marooned due to the seepage, the state government has been experimenting with the policy in Muktsar district under which the administration has been motivating the farmers along with providing subsidies to take up the trade.

After attending the meeting of the district development committee, deputy commissioner Muktsar, Vikas Garg, today gave details of the scheme regarding fish farming in which he said that the fisheries department would give 5.5 lakh poongs to the traders at the cost of Rs 100 per 1000 for new ponds.

The DC mentioned that out of this, 2.06 lakh poongs have already been distributed to farmers.

Speaking about the old ponds, Garg said that in 475 hectare of the district, the target was fixed at 71.85 lakh poongs out of which 29.7 lakh have already been supplied. Replying to a query, he said that due to the low-lying areas getting inundated, farmers were unable to sow any crop. So, it had been decided to help them develop this trade.

As per the details provided by the fisheries department, in a pond of one hectare area, 45-50 quintal of fishes can be produced which can provide between Rs 70,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh to the farmers.

Along with motivating farmers, the administration has been providing training to those interested. As per the details provided by the DC office, out of the total of 135 farmers targeted, 30 have already been trained.

Bathinda, August 18
Death of Masanobu Fukuoka, who is known as father of modern age natural farming, has shocked those following his footsteps in farming here. He passed away on Saturday at the age of 95 at his home in Japan.

Umendra Dutt, executive director of the Kheti Virasat Mission (KVM), today said here that the organisation has mourned Fukuoka's death.

KVM as natural farming movement was highly motivated by Fukuoka and his philosophy. He was the author of ''The One Straw Revolution,'' a book that has been translated into English, Korean, Thai and several other languages, and the recipient of the Deshikottam Award, India's most prestigious award, and the Philippines' Ramon Magsaysay award for public service, both in 1988.

After attending an agricultural college in Gifu Prefecture and working at the customs office in Yokohama and an agricultural laboratory in Kochi Prefecture, Fukuoka returned to his native Ehime Prefecture to practice the natural farming method that does not require artificial fertilisers or pesticides and goes beyond organic farming.

He advocated natural farming in various parts of Asia and Africa and also made efforts at greening deserts using such ideas as enclosing seeds in clay pellets.

Dutt said that the passing away of Fukuoka leaves an unbridgeable void not only in the concept and development of sustainable agriculture but also in the thinking of simple and sustainable living.

He promoted "Do Nothing" farming based on his innate faith in the soil to produce optimum yields if the soil is left to work undisturbed.

He was deeply concerned with the spreading desertification in the world. Hence, he recommended throwing of seed balls and aerial seeding of the deserts.

He was awarded in 1988 Doctor of Philosopy Ph.D by the Vishwabharati University at the hands of the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi for his lifetime service for protection of the environment.

Bathinda, August 18
"We will stand by the separate Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) of Haryana if it is formed, as it will save innocent Sikhs in that state from the dominance of the Badal family, which has been controlling the SGPC," said Ravi Inder Singh, chief of the Akali Dal 1920, here today.

Lashing out at the Badal family, he further said, "The one and only reason for SAD (B) condemning the separate formation of SGPC in Haryana is that its control would be decentralised because as of now, the Badal family enjoys all the 
powers."

Handing over an amount of Rs 50,000 to the former Jathedar of Akal Takht Sahib Jasbir Singh Rode, Ravi Inder Singh said that Rode had promised to give the sum to the family of Sukhmander Singh, who had died in the Dera-Sikh clash at Dabwali.

Accepting the amount, Rode said he would personally visit the family and hand over the amount.

On the Dera-Sikh controversy, Rode was mild. When asked about the chances of Dera-Sikh controversy coming to an end, he said, "If the jathedar of Akal Takht Sahib takes a decision without any pressure, then we would follow its edict as the post is supreme for all Sikhs."

Blaming chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, Ravi Inder Singh said, "To show his supremacy, Badal has appointed all jathedars on a temporary basis. The reason behind this is that while removing temporary jathedars, there is no need to get the sanction of the general house of the Akal Takht Sahib."

Speaking about the removal of Jathedar Joginder Singh Vedanti, Rode said, "He was involved in a row with the Jathedar of Patna Sahib and they were not happy and the Badals did not feel it was good especially in view of the Shatabadi Diwas celebrations. Secondly, he urged Sikh MPs to vote in favour of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is the leader of an anti-Badal party, the Congress, which the Badals could not tolerate."

"We are restless with both the appointment and removal of Jathedar Joginder Singh Vedanti. It has exposed that in Punjab, the Badal family has become supreme as cpmpared to the jathedars as they govern all the activities as they wish," Ravi Inder Singh added.

Bathinda, August 18
Four Congress MLAs of Bathinda district, Jeet Mohinder Singh, Gurpreet Singh Kangar, Ajaib Singh Bhatti and Makhan Singh, while taking exception to the "derogatory" remarks of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief, Sukhbir Singh Badal, against former chief minister Amarinder Singh, today described this as a panic reaction of the SAD.

In a joint statement, the four legislators said that Sukhbir Singh Badal has become panicky due to the massive public response that Amarinder Singh had drawn in the recent functions organised by the Congress.

They said that the SAD chief was frustrated as he was visualising defeat of his party in the coming Lok Sabha elections with Amarinder Singh leading the Congress campaign.

These MLAs said that Amarinder Singh has always remained true to his words and fulfilled all election promises he made while the SAD-led coalition headed by Parkash Singh Badal was misleading innocent people on various issues. The coalition has failed to implement its poll promises.

The party MLAs said that the Congress would this time repeat its performance of 1999 when it bagged 11 of the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab.

Bathinda, August 18
The heavy rains this season and the tense situation in Jammu have been burning a hole in the pocket of the layman. And this is manifest in the skyrocketing prices of fruits and vegetables that is worrying both the shopkeepers and the consumers.

During a random survey, this correspondent found that buying vegetables was gradually slipping out of the reach of the common man due to the steep hike in their prices.

As per the market trend today, the price of peas, commonly used as an adjunct in every vegetable dish, has now reached Rs 80 per kg. Cauliflower, cabbage, tomato and onion, all have recorded a steep hike in prices.

Blaming the heavy rains for the present situation, Deen Dayal, a vegetable seller on Amreek Singh road said, "Rains have spoiled our business as due to the showers, vegetables coming in trucks from Himachal Pradesh and other areas started rotting."

"Due to the rains, trucks which have to come through the flooded and marooned areas of the state, are not able to reach the markets. The shortage in supply has resulted in the price hike," said the owner of Patwari vegetables at the market.

It is not only the rain, which has been affecting the vegetable prices. The Jammu conflagration has also played a key role in hiking the prices of some fruits. Giving details, Bittu Sachdeva, a vendor said it was the time for apples and pears from Jammu and Kashmir to enter the market. But due to the disruption of transport services and closing down of fruit markets in Jammu, this season, these fruits are not available in the market. In this situation, apple has been transported from Shimla but it is very costly as the sale price is around Rs 50 per kg and customers prefer to avoid it.

As per the details available from the market, apple is being sold at Rs 50 per kg, pomegranate at Rs 85, pineapple at Rs 40, cauliflower at Rs 50, cabbage Rs 30, tomato Rs 16 and onion at Rs 14. But the king of the vegetable market at the moment is peas with its selling price fluctuating between Rs 80 per kg to Rs 100 per kg.

Bathinda, August 18
An 11-year-old child drowned in the Sirhind canal here today while taking bath. The incident took place near the Janta Nagar railway bridge. The body was later found with the help of volunteers from an NGO. According to information available, the boy, Manoj, was taking a dip in the canal. He had tied himself to a rope that had been fixed on to the bridge. But the rope suddenly came apart and he drowned. Members of the Naujawan Welfare Society rushed to the spot immediately.

The body was later found near the Behman bridge. In another incident, the body of a man was found from lake number 3 on the Goniana road. The deceased was identified as Rajinder Kumar Singla. The Thermal police was informed.— TNS

Abohar, August 18
A former sarpanch of village Jandwala Hanwanta falling in Khuyiansarwar block, his wife, secretary of the village panchayat and a Block Development and Panchayat Officer (now posted at Fazilka) have been booked under various sections of the IPC for alleged misappropriation of development funds. A case has been registered at Khuyiansarwar police station of this sub-division, sources confirmed on Monday evening.

As per information available, the state government had received complaints against senior Congress worker Ram Kumar, his wife Kamla Devi and others of embezzlling state funds.

The elaborate investigations reported that the alleged embezzlement was to the tune of over Rs 12 lakh and an FIR was lodged against two former sarpanches, Ram Kumar and his wife Kamla Devi, besides panchayat secretary Rajinder Singh and the then BDPO Inderjit Singh Sandhu.