Bathinda, October 6
Dengue has started rearing its ugly head with the number of confirmed cases reaching 20 in the last one week with the addition of two more suspected 
cases today by the local civil hospital.

With this, the total number of cases had gone up to 32 at the civil hospital, private hospitals, nursing homes and at DMCH, Ludhiana, since September 28.

The new arrivals were being monitored and tested for the disease. The civil hospital had been low on the priority of patients due to its unhygienic conditions and lack of facilities. The private hospitals and nursing homes had always been the first and the second choice of the patients from the city and surrounding areas.

Meanwhile, the local health authorities today claimed that two new suspected cases had been reported by the civil hospital, with one of them being highly febrile.

According to Neelam Bajaj, civil surgeon, a suspected dengue patient from Jogi Nagar and another from Navi Basti were admitted to the hospital today. Three patients were discharged today.

The health department today carried out fogging operations in the slum areas of the city.

Even as a majority of the dengue patients here have so far preferred treatment at private hospitals, the district administration today started a helpline for suspected cases at the civil hospital here.

Sources said the move to start the helpline was indeed laudable, but the patients' preference for private hospitals and nursing homes reflected adversely on the image of government hospitals. Apart from local private hospitals, some patients are known to have gone to Ludhiana hospitals for the purpose.

"Probably, it is the public perception that treatment at private hospitals is more effective," conceded the civil surgeon.

Interestingly, the patients looked the other way despite the facility of a separate ward for them in the civil hospital that has a proper testing facility as well.

However, Kasturi Lal, district health officer, said criticism from various quarters of the BMC's efforts was unjustified as more than the efforts by the administration, it was the active participation of the public that was needed to control the spread of the disease.

"For example, despite our regular reminders, sections of the public have failed to keep their surroundings in hygienic conditions and water coolers clean," the civil surgeon said.

Bathinda, October 6
The festive season is on and fruits and vegetables are an essential part of the religious celebrations. But along with the increasing demand, the prices of these items too have soared.

Fruits, already a distant dream for average families, now seems to be beyond the means of even the well to do. Fruit vendors lined up near Hanuman Chowk, while commenting on the escalating prices, said, "Earlier, we used to have a business of around Rs 2,000 per day but during this season, at times we even fetch Rs 5,000 daily. This business is for sure flourishing because during the Navratras, women keep fasts which results in an increase in the demand for fruits and we make a huge profit out of it. Apple, bananas, grapes, papayas and mosambis (sweet lime) are selling the most. Their rates have also touched an all-time high."

Apples which were priced at about Rs 30 to 35 per kg are now being sold for Rs 50 to Rs 60 per kg. Bananas that sold at Rs 25 per dozen are now selling at Rs 30 to 40 per dozen. Chikoo which was Rs 25 per kg earlier is now Rs 80 per kg and grapes that were Rs 50 per kg have gone upto Rs 200 per kg. Mosambi sells at Rs 25 to 30 per kg which was Rs 20 per kg earlier. Coconut which was Rs 10 per piece is now selling at Rs 15 per piece and it is speculated that it will remain so even after Diwali.

Like fruits, even vegetables are acting pricy because the demand is more and the supply is less. Cabbage and cauliflower are selling at Rs 30 instead of Rs 15 to 20 for which they were being sold a fortnight back.

Harpreet Singh Gill who supplies vegetables to vendors and others, said, "Earlier, we used to get vegetables from Delhi and its suburbs. But as Yamuna was in spate, the vegetables were destroyed in large quantities and we are not getting anything from there this time. Rather, Punjab is sending vegetables to Delhi. This has caused a shortage of vegetables around this time of the year."

Unlike other vegetables, potatoes are witnessing a decline in rate this year. A bag of 50 kg of potatoes was sold at Rs 270- 280 but this year, the price has come down to Rs 150- 170 per bag. Patiala and Rajpura belt that used to supply cabbage to this region have been unable to do so because of heavy rains during the monsoon, which destrpyed 45 per cent of the yield.

Sonali Aggarwal, principal of a primary school, when asked about the price rise, said, "I don't understand the reason behind this unexpected price rise. I was in Delhi for sometime and the prices used to remain more or less stable even during the festive season. But I feel that Bathinda being a dry area, does not have its own produce and is facing a supply crunch which is unable to meet the demand and has resulted in price rise. The reason might be anything but it surely is a big blow to a common man's budget."

Vegetable and fruit suppliers felt that even after the festivals are over, the prices of these commodities would remain more or less the same. Things might get cheaper by a rupee or two but nothing of note would happen. 

Bathinda, October 6
Students from the ITI for girls alongwith with other ITI students and members of various students' union staged a protest today. They alleged that the government has handed over the Bathinda ITI to the JCM company based in Ballabgarh, UP.

The protesting students alleged that the government seems to be in a benign mood as it had already given the Barnala ITI to the Trident group and now it is the turn of Muktsar and Bathinda to witness private hands taking over these technical institutes.

The students said the Barnala ITI had already been transferred to the Trident group on paper but it was still being run by the government. When they were asked as to why they were against privatisation, Manpreet Singh of the Punjab Students' Union (Sridhar Nabha) said, "If government-run colleges are handed over to private hands, then the fee will increase and other expenses will mount up as well. The property of the institute is being given to private companies at a cheap rate. Privatisation will lead to poor percentage of employment as the students will be made to work on contract and will be paid as per the company's policy. Students will be made mere labourers."

"When the Barnala ITI was handed over to a private company, the students did raise their voice but it went unheard. They did not get any response. Rather then helping the students, the police lathicharged them on the instructions of the government. False cases were registered against innocent students," another student charged.

The protesting students warned the government that if this time their voice went unheard, then they would go on strike on October 8 and launch a state-wide protest. They added that they would not allow the government to initiate privatisation when it came to education, and would fight for their cause. 

Moga, October 6
Barjinder Singh Brar, popularly known as Makhan Brar, who is the son of senior SAD leader and former education minister Jathedar Tota Singh, took over as the president of the local Municipal Council (MC) here this afternoon.

Brar (37), who is also the senior vice-president of the Youth Akali Dal, was elected unopposed from ward number 1 of the town. In a house of 31 members, the SAD enjoys a total majority with virtually no opposition. The SAD has the support of 22 members besides eight members of the BJP, its alliance partner.

The election in one ward was countermanded by district magistrate Satwant Singh Johal due to alleged poll rigging. The matter is pending before the High Court.

In a joint meeting of the SAD and BJP councillors, Prem Chand Chakkiwala proposed the name of Brar that was seconded by Gurvinderjit Singh Bablu. After that, the house unanimously decided to elect him as president. All the 30 members were present at the meeting.

Soon after his election as president of the MC, Makhan promised to carry out all the proposed pending development works in the town besides working for upgrading the local body into a municipal corporation.

He said priority would also be given to beautify the town by constructing new parks, carrying out massive plantation drive and constructing new roads.

Anil Bansal, a BJP councillor from ward number 17, was proposed for the post of vice-president by Shashi Bala and Rajpal Sharma, which was also unanimously accepted by the members.

The meeting of the newly elected councillors was convened by Vijay Kumar, executive officer of the local body, and was held under the supervision of Mahinder Singh Kainth, additional deputy commissioner of this district.

BJP’s general secretary Kamal Sharma was also present on the occasion.

It may be mentioned that the main opposition, the Congress, had not fielded its official candidates for the elections, which led to the one-sided results. There were sharp differences of opinion among the local leaders of the Congress following which the local Congress MLA Joginder Pal Jain unilaterally decided not to give party symbols to his party’s candidates.

Bathinda, October 6
Alleging that farmers of Punjab had suffered losses to the tune of crores due to delay in the procurement of paddy by the government agencies, the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) has reiterated its demand for payment of adequate bonus on paddy to compensate the farmers.

Talking to TNS here today, J.S. Sidhu, Kulwinder Singh and Harjit Singh, general secretaries of the BKU, maintained that while fixing the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy at Rs 850 and Rs 880 for fine and superfine variety, the government had ignored the recommendations of the Agricultural Costs and Prices Commission which had suggested the price of Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,050 per quintal.

The BKU leaders pointed out that as a result of unseasonal rains and strong winds, the paddy crop had suffered damage and the harvesting cost had further gone up. The delay in the commencement of paddy procurement by central agencies had further worsened the situation and a large number of farmers were forced to sell their produce at a price below the MSP fixed by the government.

"The government should raise the MSP to a suitable level while at the same time relax the norms of purchase in terms of moisture content and damaged grain," they said. 

Abohar, October 6
The Bharatiya Kisan Union (Lakhowal) drew flak today by postponing its decision on launching a morcha against alleged plunder by the private sector in purchase of Narma cotton in the local market.

The Lakhowal faction reportedly convened a meeting of all other farmers’ organisation offering joint struggle against the traders at Kisan Bhawan here.

As the state vice-president Gurjant Singh Rampura started criticising the private buyers as well as the administration, he received a call from Ajmer Singh Lakhowal who heads the faction and the Punjab Marketing Board also on the cell phone.

Resultantly, Rampura cooled down and after a pause said that Lakhowal would be visiting Abohar on October 9 and the course of action will be decided after that. With this, the representatives of the Lakhowal-led faction started leaving one after the other.

Representatives of the other BKU outfits lashed out at the Lakhowal faction for allegedly stabbing the farmers’ movement in the back and observed that struggle and luxuries of power can’t go side by side.

Senior office-bearers of the BKU Ekta Ugrahan, BKU Krantikari, BKU Ekta Sidhpur, Jamhoori Kisan Sabha and Punjab Kisan Sabha said Lakhowal had failed in safeguarding the interests of cotton growers since the state government had denied permission to the CCI to purchase cotton directly from the growers at the minimum support price (MSP).

The government had delayed its decision even when the market rates had nose-dived during the last few weeks.

“The SAD-BJP coalition has succumbed to pressure from the traders keeping in view the financial interests as the Lok Sabha election was expected in the coming days,” one of the farmers’ leader alleged during the meeting that continued even after the Lakhowal followers had walked out.

The meeting urged the CCI to start purchase before October 8 failing which five organisations would stage a sit-in (dharna) at the office of the sub-divisional magistrate here, the leaders said.

Those who later submitted a memorandum in this regard at the office of the SDM included Babu Singh Bahadurkhera, Kulwant Singh Kirti, Mohan Singh, Gurbux Singh, Harnam Singh and Balwant Singh Tootwala.

Meanwhile, a BKU (Lakhowal) spokesman tried to clarify in the evening that the meeting was called to coordinate with other organisations but serving an ultimatum to the administration for launching the morcha was mandatory.

Abohar, October 6
The Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) shall enter the Punjab markets for purchasing cotton on Wednesday, a senior official indicated today.

The CCI has received much-awaited fax message from the state government expressing inability in giving permission for purchasing cotton directly from the farmers. The message was reportedly signed by the GM (Marketing) on behalf of chairman of the Punjab Mandi Board Ajmer Singh Lakhowal, who had recommended that the CCI must purchase cotton directly from the farmers to remove the middle men (Arhtiyas) even if it leads to loss of revenue.

Observers said it means the CCI will have to make purchases through the commission agents even when the Central Auditor General had objected to payment of 8 per cent cess to the state due to this system. The state governments in Rajasthan and Haryana had already turned down the CCI proposal for direct buying from the farmers.

It appeared that the SAD-BJP led government has also succumbed to pressure from the recently reorganised Commission Agents Association as the ruling parties had succeeded in getting their own man elected as its president, well placed sources said.

Bathinda/Muktsar,  October 6
High flames rising in the harvested paddy fields along the roadsides in Muktsar, the home district of the chief minister, today again pointed to the tragic incident related to stubble burning that was witnessed a few months back.

It may be recalled that on May 1, a fire had wreaked havoc in Muktsar district, when men and cattle had succumbed to burn injuries and crop on hundreds of acres was destroyed. But people have a short memory it seems.

The burning of crop stubble, widely reported after wheat harvesting, was  once again sighted after the harvesting of the paddy crop.

It is not only farmers, who appear to be indifferent, but the state agriculture department too. The department did not pass any law or  notification in this regard, till date.

During a random visit to some villages of the district, this correspondent found a number of fields engulfed in flames and smoke. On being asked, the farmers said they themselves had put the stubble on fire.

"It is the best and traditional way to solve the problem of stubble after reaping the paddy. Generally, we do this in late hours, but as there is no restriction, so this time, we have been burning it even during the daytime," said Tarlochan Singh, a farmer on Malout road, near Gidderbaha.

Holding a piece of burning bamboo in his hand, Santokh Singh, a peasant, standing on the outskirts of Malout, said, "The owner of this field has ordered me to put the stubble on this eight acres on fire, which I will do."

When asked about the request made by the officials to use reapers and rodavator machines for it, he said with a smirk, "This bamboo is enough to perform the job that these costly machines do."

Talking to some more farmers, it was learnt that they were not bothered about the soil losing its fertility. They were not even bothered about the smoke, which can cause a number of respiratory problems.

Talking over the phone, Sucha Singh Langah, Punjab agriculture minister, said, "We do not want to take any strong step against the farmers. But we have been trying our best to educate them about the demerits of the practice.  Moreover, the government has decided to increase subsidies on such machines so that the farmers can purchase them easily."

When asked about the ordinance to stop the practice, about which the  minister had been talking since long, he said, "If the farmers do not stop it, then I will perform my duty and get an ordinance passed in this regard."

Mansa, October 6
Joint director of the Punjab agriculture department Surjeet Singh has assured the farmers that  fertilisers would be provided to them throughout the year.

He was speaking at a district-level camp for farmers organised in Mansa today.

Surjeet also directed the block agriculture officers to ensure proper supply of fertilisers from distributors and dealers’ side and also without any extra charge.

The camp aimed at giving technical information to the farmers about the crops, seeds, pesticides and fertilisers.

District chief agriculture officer Davinder Singh said one district level camp, five block level camps and one camp at every village were organised in the year.

He said as per an estimate, about 52,000 MT urea and 21,800 MT DAP fertiliser would be used in this season.

Nearly 16,000 MT of DAP had been made available till now, he added.

Agriculture experts, including Amritpal Singh, Karamjeet Singh Shekhon, Amarjeet Singh, Anurag, Ajeetpal Dhaliwal and V.P. Mittal  were present at the camp.

Meanwhile, members of the Bhartiya Kisan Union raised slogans against the agriculture department officials for not providing DAP and urea fertilisers on genuine rates to the farmers.

District president of the union Ram Singh Bhaini Bagha said  that they wanted to meet the joint director of the department in connection with the shortage and high rates of the fertilisers but they were not allowed to meet the official.

Bathinda, October 6
One of the biggest and most comprehensive cancer awareness events concluded at Swami Vivekanand College here on Sunday.

The theme of the event was 'the best way to manage cancer is to conquer it'.

The event was organised by the Bathinda Vikas Manch in association with Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH), Ludhiana.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Sandeep Jasuja, cancer specialist at the DMCH, said the prime objective of the event was to bring together all like-minded groups of doctors, nurses and support groups to increase awareness on cancer and its various forms. Ten cancer survivors from various parts of the state participated in the event.

"The idea of bringing cancer survivors was to tell cancer patients that suffering from cancer was not the end of life and that there was life after cancer," added Dr Jasuja.

Rajesh Jindal and Rajni Jindal, doctors who run the Jindal Heart Institute and Infertility Centre, Bathinda, spoke on various cancer-related issues like women and cancer, tobacco and cancer, prevention and early detection of cancer, yoga and cancer.

Amrit Sethi, an ophthalmologist, referring to the intensity of consumption of pesticides, pointed out that at present, around 10,000 tonnes of chemicals were being used globally. He suggested that environment conscious and those concerned with protecting ecology, agricultural scientists and policy-makers must work jointly to devise ways of increasing food production by methods other than chemical control that can minimise cancer growth in the region.

The event concluded with a workshop on doctor-patient relationship in cancer management. 

Ferozepur, October 6
On the directions of the apex court, officials of the PWD department along with policemen demolished the unauthorised structures, which had come up along the sides of the Ferozpur-Fazilka road.

Under the anti-encroachment drive, over 300 houses and shops, which were constructed after 1995, were to be demolished. The status of all those residential and commercial premises, which were erected before 1995, is still uncertain and is pending before various courts.

According to information, no construction is permitted within a stretch of 133 feet on the either side of the road.

The PWD officials said the owners of both residential and commercial premises on the sides of the road were issued notices almost a year back and the same were being demolished now.

In Khai Pheme Ke village, almost half of the market was razed leaving hundreds of people high and dry.

Ajit Singh, who runs a bicycle repair shop along the GT Road, was in tears seeing his shop being razed. He was not sure as to how would he manage food for his children now.

Many women were crying as they watched helplessly demolition of their houses.

Abohar, October 6
Kuldeep Kaur was adjudged best both in general dance and folk dance gidha for her superb performance during the two-day talent search function that concluded in the Kenway College of Education here late on Sunday night.

Sub-divisional magistrate N.S. Brar and Tehsildar Rakesh Dhiman handed over the prizes to the winners in different sessions which were inaugurated by them by lighting the traditional lamps.

The special guests included veteran educationist C.P. Narang.

The guests were honoured by college secretary Sushil Garg, vice-principal Sushila Narang and chief organiser Vipul Narang.

Ferozepur, October 6
Keeping in mind the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, the Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal), in an apparent attempt to woo the female electorate, has decided to constitute women’s wing of the party at the village, block and district levels.

In a conference held here today at the historic Gurudwara Jamni Sahib,Vajidpur, Paramjit Kaur Gulshan, MP and the president of the SAD women’s wing, said it was imperative to bring all women workers under an umbrella so that they could work together to spread awareness about the various people welfare measures and developmental works being initiated by the party.

Gulshan said the party had already given adequate representation to women leaders during the formation of Panchayat Samitis, Block Samitis, Zila Parishads and at various other prominent positions in the party. She added that an 11-member committee would soon be constituted at all districts in order to prevent any atrocities against them.

While addressing the gathering, irrigation minister Janmeja Singh Sekhon said that in the Malwa belt, the women were not actively participating in politics and electioneering process.

The formation of the women’s wing was a step to make them aware so that they could fight for their rights on their own, he added.

The conference was also attended by Shavinder Kaur Johal, Hari Singh Zira, 
ex-MLA, Avtar Singh Minna, Manjit Kaur Faredawala, chairperson, Zila Parishad, Jaswinder Kaur, chairperson, Block Samiti, Ghal Khurd, besides hundreds of party workers.

Barnala, October 6
The Improvement Trust, Barnala, is planning to bring flat culture in the fast-growing industrial town of the state. These flats would cater to the needs of those belonging to lower as well as middle-income group.

Revealing this plan, newly-appointed chairman of the trust, Inderpal Singh Chahal said everyone wants to live in one’s own house. But in the wake of increasing prices of the land alone, it was quite difficult for those who earn less income. Keeping in view the fact, the trust would construct about 150 flats in its prestigious Maharaja Aggarsein Scheme, also known as 18.23 acre scheme, at Sangrur–Barnala main road.

While talking to The Tribune, Chahal said the estimate cost of an LIG flat would be Rs 5 lakh while a two-bedroom MIG flat would cost Rs 11 lakh. “The scheme will go on floor within six months,” he said.