Bathinda, October 7
Farmers of the district today threatened to launch an agitation in case government did not make immediate and proper arrangements for the procurement of paddy.

A number of farmers bringing their produce to markets said today that although the government had earlier assured to make purchase of paddy immediately after its arrival in the market, the go-slow policy of the government procuring agencies, particularly the PUNGRAIN, in the local grain market has made the situation worse.

The farmers said that at present, nearly 20,000 bags of PAU 201 variety were lying in the open at the Bathinda grain market alone for the last 15 days and almost 10,000 bags were arriving here almost daily.

The agencies had never bothered to make speedy procurement, they said. Similar was the position in other grain markets of the district where thousands of quintals of paddy were lying unsold.

They also alleged that certain representatives of the agencies making paddy procurement refused to make purchases of this particular variety unless they were bribed with Rs 5 per bag.

Even discoloured paddy containing 23 per cent moisture was purchased if they were bribed. They rejected paddy containing 18 per cent moisture if no money was paid to them, they alleged.

Surinder Singh of Bir Behman village said that PUNGRAIN officials yesterday had passed his PAU 201 paddy variety and asked him get the bags filled.

But today, they refused to lift his produce saying it contained moisture and
was discoloured. He further said that he had brought his produce 10 days ago
in the grain market.

"I am losing on two fronts. First, because of non-lifting of my produce by agencies and secondly, by paying labour charges for filling about 2,500 bags," he rued.

He alleged that he had been asked to return the government agency's bags soon after emptying the produce that was lying in the open.

Malkiat Singh, another farmer, said he had sown PAU 201 variety on 15 acres
following the recommendation of the PAU authorities as it has more yield than
the other varieties.

But now, the government as well as private agencies were not willing to
purchase his produce.

The farmers said there was a glut of paddy at other purchasing centres of
Bathinda district and the harassed farmers had to stay put there to sell their
crop for days together.

The farmers were thus forced to indulge in distress sale as PUNGRAIN officials
go out of the way to reject the different varieties by overenthusiastic adherence
to specifications.

It was also found that paddy in certain other mandis was being rejected but when argued and threatened, the officials of these agencies agreed and bought the same at its due price, the farmers said.

Jaswinder Singh of Behman Diwana village said he had suffered heavy losses in five out of the total 15 acres due to inclement weather.

Rain had discoloured the paddy and the agencies had refused to buy such stocks.

He further said there would be a loss of crores of rupees in different procurement centres of district if it rained again. Paddy worth crores was lying in open, he said.

Traders were annoyed and said the platforms in front of their respective shops in grain markets had been stacked with paddy bags belonging to farmers and government agencies, thus blocking their way.

No arrangements had been made by these agencies to lift them. These bags were stacked a week ago, they said.

Ram Gopal Singla, District Mandi Officer, said he would take up the matter with the District Food and Supplies Officer (DFSO) tomorrow and sort out the modalities arising out of it.

Bathinda, October 7
The drive against female foeticide, launched here in 2003 under the banner of the PNDT cell, that was launched here in 2003, has now started to peter out.

According to details available, the then Bathinda deputy commissioner Anurag
Aggarwal had formed the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PNDT) cell, with him
as the chairman.

But after getting mired in procedural problems, the scheme started losing its sheen.

If one were to go by the officials of the PNDT cell, then, since November 26, 2007 not even the monthly meeting has been arranged.

"The scheme was so successful that only in 2003, when the cell was set up, we detected 10 cases of female foeticide. Cases were registered under the PNDT Act and also under relevant sections of the IPC. During the tenure of successive DCs, namely A.K. Sinha and Rahul Bhandari, two more cases were detected."

"It was the performance of the cell officials because of which the sex ratio, which was 740 girls per 1000 boys in 2002, reached 844 in 2007. Moreover, 27 couple, who had been booked till then, had to approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court for bail in such cases," he added.

But the performance was not appreciated by the community of doctors and they started protesting against the activities of the PNDT cell.

Members of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) alleged that innocent doctors were being targeted and false cases were registered against them under the Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PNDT) Act.

They organised protests and suspended ultrasound examination of all pregnant ladies, demanding cancellation of the cases registered against the doctors on the ground that they were false.

They approached chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and gave a representation.

The then project officer, Sadhu Ram Kusla, who was believed to be pursuing these cases, was reportedly pressurised to withdraw the cases. But because of the public interest litigation (PIL), the High Court imposed a stay on it.

On the other hand, IMA state president, Amrit Sethi said, "Even after the CM's telephonic orders, bureaucrats manning senior positions, for reasons best known to them, created hurdles in the cancellation of cases."

In the initial stage, the cell was being given economic support from the Red Cross funds, but then it also stopped.

Now, in the absence of funds, pursuance of cases is a matter of worry for the officials. But some NGOs have still been backing the drive.

Confirming the details, Sadhu Ram Kusla said, "The drive against female foeticide and trapping the guilty is one of the aims of my life, which I will keep pursuing."

When contacted, deputy commissioner Rahul Tewari said, "Earlier, the cell was holding a full-house meeting, but due to the hustle-bustle, the important issue were not being discussed. So, we selected limited persons to discuss the agenda. But the working is almost nil as after the Red Cross funds mismanagement issue, there is no fund to run the activities of the cell."

Bathinda, October 7
Despite the claims of the ruling party about setting up development projects in Bathinda, regarded as the capital of Malwa, the area has not only been unable to attract new industry but is also failing to retain the existing ones.

According to sources at the District Industries Centre (DIC), in the survey report of 2003, around 1900 units were shown as closed while in 2008, the number is 736.

It has been disclosed that as the state government imposed a ban on providing subsidies over land, building, plant and machinery, which was reportedly around 30 per cent in 2002, industrialists started losing interest in making investments.

Meanwhile the Central government, which was providing a sale tax rebate for the initial 10 years, also revoked the facility and due to this, a number of entrepreneurs started shifting base to some other places.

As per the reports, three noted industrial houses have moved base to Kala Amb in Himachal Pradesh and Haridwar.

Further, it has been learnt that industrialists in the district are casual in getting the registration certificates for their units.

Many of them have been running their units just on the basis of provisional permissions, which also puts a question mark on the efficay of the official machinery that has been unable to check their proliferation.

During the financial year 2007-08, only 12 new units were registered under the permanent head, while during the current year, only eight industries (six micro and two small-scale) have been granted the permanent registration certificate.

According to a survey report, at present, there are total of 2099 units including micro, small, medium and large industry.

Service centres have also been incuded in this. Further, an investment of Rs 13,182 lakh and total employment of around 16,923 persons have been shown.

An official of the department, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said there was no fee for registration.

Even then, people were least bothered to get the registration done. The reason was that industrialists wished incentives and in its absence, they preferred to run their units on the basis of provisional licence, valid for only two years.

As per the recent survey reports in ASI units' category, out of the total 324 registered units, 74 were found to have closed.

If we talk about large-scale industries, there are only 13 such units in the district.

It may be mentioned that Bathinda, the hub of cotton zone in Punjab, lacks in cotton-based industries.

As per the report, there are only seven cotton yarn mills, one for laminated jute, one for surgical cotton, one for cotton ginning, one for cotton qualities pillow and only one mill that deals in thread balls.

Raman Watts, president, Bathinda Chamber of Commerce and Industries, said, "No government has paid heed to the grievances of the industrialists due to which we have been forced to opt for some other state."

When contacted, Ram Singh, general manager of DIC, Bathinda, said, "Ban on subsidies and incentives is the reason for the industrial backwardness of the area. The government has been collecting data to file a writ petition in the High Court, in an attempt to get some benefit from Central government regarding tax relaxation."

Bathinda, October 7
Tradition reflects both elements of continuity and change in society. While the practice itself continues through generations, it also reflects the change brought about with the passage of time.

And the nine-day long Navratra festival amply reflects this. On Tuesday,
which was the "Ashtami", little girls, clad in colourful attire, visiting various
households as 'kanjaks'.

Every family that celebrates navratras organises a feast consisting of black grams, semolina halwa and puris, fed to little girls, seven in number, along with a boy.

It is believed that kanjaks are a form of goddess Durga and the boy accompanying them is a devotee. This tradition is centuries old but people follow it.

But now-a-days, one has to make a lot of efforts to find kanjaks. Earlier, kanjaks used to come on their own, but now people have to go in search of them. The main reason stated for this is female foeticide, especially in Punjab.

Despite laws to curb the menace, foetuses are found either in wells, on roads and in fields. Instances of women abandoning newborn baby girls adds to the problem.

Generally, kanjaks were fed at 7 in the morning but due to the declining female ratio, the feast is served even at 5 in the morning.

There are also brawls among the families after kanjaks. Who will take them to their house first becomes a cause for friction.

Some people invite kanjaks even on Navmi so that they can get the seven girls as per the tradition.

The earlier trend was that after the feast was over, kanjaks were given a rupee or two but now people spend quite some amount and give away bangles, chunnis, utensils, stationery items and clothes to get kanjaks to their homes.

Monica Teja, a housewife said, "It is a pity to see that people in a prosperous state like Punjab still believe in social evils like female foeticide. Today, when girls are doing better than boys, parents still want a son."

“When my daughter was born, the nurse hesitated while putting the baby in my lap and said it was a girl. I am sorry for you,” added Puja, a teacher.

Bathinda, October 7
The Indian Ex-servicemen (ESM) League, Bathinda, held an ESM Sammelan at Rampura to welcome the newly-elected state president Col Bhag Singh (retd) and other office-bearers of the IESL.

Welcoming the new members, Lt Col Daya Singh (retd) informed about the problems of ESM and ESMs' widows.

The anomalies of the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations were discussed.

ESM pointed out that government was showing interest only in the serving officers and not the pensioners.

They alleged that there would be a wide gap in the pensions of those who retired before the implementation of the SPC.

Thus, the demand of 'one rank, one pension' stood unaccepted. Lt Col Daya Singh stated that ESM, who were a part of the 1962, 1965 and 1971 wars, were denied their dues.

The league said service tax levied by the Central government and sales tax imposed by the state government on security agencies of ESM and PESCO to the tune of about 21 per cent was a matter of concern.

Bhag Singh (retd) said it was for the first time that the three chiefs joined hands to get the SPC anomalies removed and their efforts deserved appreciation.

Abohar, October 7
The sub-divisional town became the first in the state as the cotton yard here became functional today.

To meet the long-pending demand of the growers as well as traders, the Central government had sanctioned such yards to 19 towns with each of them to cost Rs 4.21 crore. Arrivals have improved with the opening of the cotton yard.

SDM N.S. Brar, while inaugurating the yard, said the local market committee had contributed Rs 1.12 crore whereas a contribution of Rs 1.50 crore was made by the Punjab Mandi Board in completing the project. Rest of the money was funded by the Central government, he added.

Market committee secretary Harpal Singh welcomed gathering, including foreigners.

Pleasure lit large on the faces of the farmers besides the purchasers as the vehicles were queued in a disciplined manner and could move out for the ginning factories without any obstruction immediately after the auction.

Brar also inaugurated the Farmers’ Information Centre (FIC) inside the yard.

The online facility equipped centre, which has been developed under the guidance of the Technology Mission of Cotton, will provide information on the current prices offered to the farmers in the leading cotton markets spread over the country.

The farmers can update their knowledge on availability of fertilisers and certified seeds besides getting guidance over the use of insecticides.

The yard has also been equipped with the state-of-the-art cotton grading centre. So far, the private players had been charging Rs 250 for testing a sample to determine the quality of cotton.

But, the centre here would charge Rs 100 from the trader for providing the service.

No charges would be collected from the farmers for getting their cotton tested.

The Central government has informed that in Punjab, ideal staple length of the cotton should be 26.7-27.7 mm.

The Cotton Corporation of India (CCI), expected to enter the market by tomorrow, has reportedly resolved to offer MSP if the moisture in was not over 8 per cent.

Abohar, October 7
The 35 students on board the mini-bus of a private model school of Ghallu village sustained injuries as the vehicle overturned after hitting a roadside tree on Tuesday morning. Two of them were reported to be serious.

As per information, the driver of the bus allegedly consumed some drug and lost control over the vehicle somewhere between villages Jhumianwali and Mammukhera.

The vehicle overturned after hitting a tree on the link road at about 10 am. The driver fled from the spot following the mishap.

Witnesses said sarpanch Kundan Lal Gaba along with other farmers rushed to the site as the injured students cried for help. The students were shifted to Abohar.

Those serious were dropped at private hospitals on the way. Nearly 20 were admitted to the Nehru Memorial Civil Hospital here.

Of them, five-year-old Rajni and Vishal (6) are critical, doctors said this afternoon.

Others were Ajaydeep, Gaurav, Sachin, Navrattan, Sajan, Guddu, Saijal, Jashan, Jasmeet, Anmol, Chandan, Ankush and Himanshu, Lovpreet and Naveen.

The parents rued that they had brought it to the notice of the school management that the driver had been consuming drugs even in the presence of the students and was found inebriated thrice.

On some occasions, the students had also complained that the driver took out money from their pockets. But the management did not pay any heed to this.

Sources said no representative of the school management reached the site and were conspicuously absent from the hospital premises also.

Repeated efforts to contact them on the available phone numbers proved futile.

Fazilka, October 7
The Fazilka grain market, which is one of the largest cotton, paddy and wheat market in north India, is flooded with paddy these days but there are not too many buyers around.

About 1.5 lakh quintals of paddy spread on nearly 85 acres of the grain market
wait lifting here.

The paddy arrival started about 10 days back and is at its peak as harvesting
is in full swing.

A total of 3,34,220 quintals of paddy has been recorded to have arrived in
the grain market.

Out of this, 1,95,190 quintals has been procured by four government agencies, namely Pungrain, Markfed, Punsup and Punjab State Warehouse Corporation.

Initially, these agencies made a brisk purchase for supplying the same to rice millers.

Later, they slowed down the procurement process and are making nominal procurement. The paddy arrival hovered around 10 to 15 thousand quintals per day.

The total paddy arrival during last year in Fazilka grain market was 12,93,483 quintals. This year too, the arrival is likely to be the same.

The main reason being pointed out for the glut of paddy is that the government has not come out with the levy rice policy for the rice millers.

In previous years, the government used to declare the levy rice policy prior to paddy procurement.

Hence, rice millers could work out the viability of milling the paddy. In the absence of definite levy rice policy, the millers were adopting the wait and watch stance.

Brij Mohan of Arora Rice Mills said unless the government declares the rice policy, the millers cannot purchase paddy in bulk from market.

On the other hand, Joginder Singh, purchase inspector, Pungrain, said the government agencies had procured paddy according to government guidelines. They have procured paddy for the rice mills allotted to them.

Singh expects that government was likely to allot them more rice mills in nearby towns also, which would ease the glut in the market.

Meanwhile, farmers are a harassed lot as their produce was not being taken care of. They rued that they were camping at the grain market for several days awaiting their turn for procurement of paddy.

Scores of farmers were continuously staging protest dharnas at the grain makret, Malout chowk, demanding early procurement of their paddy.

Fazilka, October 7
Jawans of the 20th Battalion, Border Security Force, recovered 9 kg of heroin, worth Rs 45 crore in international market, in Fazilka sector today.

The narcotics was buried in fields across the barbed wire fencing. According to Himmat Singh, inspector-general, BSF, Punjab Frontier, BSF officers and jawans of the battalion had been carrying out search operations for about a fortnight in area.

The patrol party noticed a red cloth tied to a tree at a distance of about 150 metres from the Zero Line across the barbed wire fencing in the area of border village GG1 Gulaba Bhai.

Getting suspicious, the patrol party dug up the freshly covered earth near the
trunk of the tree and recovered nine packets of heroin, weighing one kg each,
covered in a cloth.

The IG said that the search operations shall be carried out intensively in the following days to check infiltration of narcotics from across the border.

Barnala, October 7
Deputy commissioner R.L. Mehta has ordered a probe into the scam in which a local patwari of this district earned crores of rupees by allegedly advancing false loans and tempering with the revenue records.

Mehta has deputed the enquiry to SDM Pushpinder Singh Kehlay saying that the whole revenue record maintained by Nirmal Singh, the patwari of Thullewal village, be seized and the enquiry report should be presented to him within three days.

The deputation has also written a letter to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, N.P.S. Aulakh, DGP, Punjab, and head, Vigilance Bureau, Punjab, demanding a vigilance inquiry and strict action against the accused.

Mehta informed The Tribune that Balwinder Singh, Mahinder Singh, Jodha Singh and Malkeet Singh, residents of Thullewal village, complained that the patwari of their village earned crores by making false ‘farads’ (official copy of ownership of land) in connivance with the revenue officials and the bank employees concerned.

In the signed affidavits, Mahinder, Balwinder and many others alleged that Nirmal had made fake ‘farad’ in the name of some persons, who do not have any land in their name.

On the basis of these fake ‘farads’, the State Bank of India and many other banks sanctioned loans to about 25 persons.

The patwari made huge sums of money by tampering with the official revenue record, thereby causing loss to banks, they added.

The DC said the issue came to light only with the transfer of the patwari and when the bank officials of Mehalkalan visited Thullewal village before sanctioning the loan to one Ghuddu Ram, who had produced false ‘farad’.

When the bank officials enquired about the land of Ghuudu from revenue records and villagers, they came to know that he did not have land in his name.

Ferozepur, October 7
Thousands of people, whose residential and commercial buildings were demolished by the officials of the PWD department on Monday held a protest demonstration today on the Ferozpur-Fazilka road due to which the traffic remained blocked for hours.

The irked residents started gathering at Jangwala chowk on the busy Fazilka-Ferozpur road since morning following which the vehicular traffic came to a halt. The residents shouted slogans against the government.

Some of them alleged that they had purchased the land and had got the same registered also. However, the officials paid no heed.

Mangat Monga said he had purchased land along this road in 1978 and since then, he had been staying here.

Surjit Singh, another resident, said all the shops running along the road belonged to educated youths, who have been rendered jobless now.

Jamna Bai, an old-timer said they had come here after migrating from Pakistan at the time of partition.

She said the government should send them back to Pakistan as they did not have any shelter here.

While the residents blocked the traffic, the police remained a mute spectator. DC Megh Raj had deputed ADC (General) Jaskiran Singh for talks with the agitators.

PWD officials said close to 312 houses and shops were razed during the demolition drive following the apex court’s order.

Ferozepur, October 7
The state government has given its nod for the construction of railway overbridge (ROB) at an estimated cost of Rs 46 crore on the Jalandhar-Makhu section, stated Parminder Singh Dhindsa, PWD Minister, who was here to inaugurate the steel bridge constructed on Makhu-Wahka road at cost of Rs 5 crore.

On the occasion, Dhindsa said the work on the four-laning of Amritsar-Pathankot highway shall begun soon. He also laid foundation stone of Chuchak to Dhaleke road to be constructed at a cost of Rs 31.50 lakh.

Dhindsa was accompanied by MP Zora Singh Mann and ex-minister Hari Singh Zira besides other senior SAD-BJP leaders and PWD officials.

Dhindsa said the work on four laning of Zirakpur-Patiala-Bhatinda highway has
also commenced, adding that the Kurali-Kiratpur Sahib road would be four-laned
by the year end.

Later, Dhindsa laid foundation stone of the science block on the premises of Government Senior Secondary School for Boys in Makhu.

Mansa, October 7
On the directions of deputy commissioner, the Health Department, Mansa, would be organising health awareness camps on the occasion of Dussehra (October 9).

The camps, aimed at spreading awareness about water-borne diseases like jaundice and dengue, would be held in all the blocks of the district.

DC Kumar Rahul said people would also be sensitised about female foeticide and TB control programmes being run in Mansa.

These camps would be organised at Ravi Dass Mandir situated in Birnagar locality here, Tuthianwali in Khailakalan, Rurki road in Sardulgarh and Dalit Basti in Budhlada.