Jalandhar, October 16
Hundreds of farmers of the Doaba and the Majha regions took out a rally here today in protest against the distress sale of cotton and paddy in the state .

Marching under the banner of the Jamhoori Kisan Sabha, they raised slogans against the callous attitude of the government towards farmers and later submitted a memorandum to the commissioner, Jalandhar division.

Earlier, addressing the gathering, Dr Satnam Singh, chief of the outfit, said the state was aware that certain private parties were buying paddy at prices lower than the MSP, but the government had turned a blind eye to such incidents. The government should issue instructions that no person would be allowed to purchase the paddy from the mandis below the fixed price.

He said the government should initiate steps to raise the MSP from Rs 850 to Rs 1,000 per quintal, besides raising the moisture content from 17 per cent to 20 per cent. The bonus on paddy announced by the Centre last year should also be given this year, he added.

Then price of sugarcane should also be raised to Rs 165 per quintal and that of cotton at Rs 4,000 per quintal. The government should also stop misleading statements that efforts were being made to revive all cooperative sugar mills in the state. If the state was so serious in this context, it should release the arrears of Rs 60 crore with interest owed by the mills to the cane farmers for the past many years, he pointed out.

The government should step up its efforts to grant ownership rights to the farmers who were tilling custodian and other lands in the pondage area of the Sutlej and Beas. There should be transparency in the whole process, he added.

The government should also place large orders for DAP fertiliser that was not available to the farmers, he said.

Other speakers were also critical of the Centre for being insensitive towards the just demands of the farming community, especially Punjab, which was the breadbasket of the country. The MSP was unrealistic and even lower than that recommenced by the CACP.

They also decried the nexus of the commission agents, babus and sheller owners, responsible for the plight of the farmers and the large-scale distress sale in the mandis of the state. Harassment at the hands of the procurement agencies and the commission agents was the reason why farmers sold their produce at throwaway prices, they alleged.

In case their grievances were not redressed, they along with eight other kisan organisations would resort to a rail roko agitation on October 20.

Jalandhar, October 16
Come Karva Chauth and the festive season comes to its peak with womenfolk specially draped in a bright hue of red and maroon.

A look at the city markets depicts that nearly every lane was decked up with mehndi stalls, traditional sweet and fruit shops and parlours offering special packages.

Such was the craze among the womenfolk that nearly all the lanes of various markets, including Model Town, Adarsh Nagar, Ladowali Road market and Sadar Bazaar had been completely overcrowded right since morning.

And enjoying the festive fervour were not only elderly women but the newly weds, would-be brides and girls as well.

While a majority of them were seen busy visiting parlours, the rest had a gala time applying mehndi on their hands and feet.

It were the mehndiwalas who were reaping benefits by applying mehndi anywhere for Rs 100 to Rs 500 per hand and feet.

Adding a touch of glamour to the festival of love, commitment and prosperity, Sarb Multiplex announced a surprise gift for every woman who would watch a movie in the multiplex on this day. “Since the day holds special meaning, we have introduced this scheme,” said a spokesperson of Sarb.

Sharing some beautiful experience with The Tribune, Sunita, an NRI from the Philippines, said the festival held a lot of significance for her as she had been celebrating this day for the past 29 years.

“However once I was in the Philippines and somehow could not manage to apply mehndi on my hands and it was my husband who made some imprints on my palms at that moment.

Though these were not like the original mehndi prints, the joy of sharing a sweet moment with my husband is still fresh in my heart”, she said.

A would-be bride, Meenu Sharma, who had all her hands and feet imprinted with mehndi, maintained, “It is an out-of-the-world experience. Since I am getting married in February next year, my in-laws have specially asked me to go ahead with my first Karva Chauth.”

Other than this, OXL Clara International have announced economical beauty packages plus free mehndi for every body.

Centre head of the institute Preeti Rana said, “We have arranged special beauty packages worth Rs 799 and Rs 999, including free mehndi, and the response has been tremendous. Apart from this, the institute has also arranged tombola game and gift vouchers worth Rs 1,000 for all the ladies who would take part in the game tomorrow.”

Jalandhar, October 16
The common saying, “justice delayed is justice denied” fits well with the district as over 60,000 cases lie pending in different district courts since long.

Surprisingly, despite a huge backlog of cases and shortage of judges in the country, as many as three sanctioned posts of additional district and sessions judge (ADSJ) have been lying vacant in Jalandhar since long, sources said.

Vacant sanctioned posts of judge in subordinate courts are filled on the recommendation of the Punjab and Haryana High Court after their proper selection but the prior approval of the state government is necessary for filling the posts.

According to information, the selection of judges in subordinate courts in Punjab was done by the Punjab Public Services Commission (PPSC) prior to the unearthing of an alleged recruitment scam a few years back.

Meanwhile, civil judge (senior division)-cum-district legal services authority (DSLA) secretary Virinder Aggarwal expressed the hope that the number of pending cases would reduce considerably after the mega lok adalat being 
held in Jalandhar on December 20 and 21.

The mega lok adalats will be held at the district and subdivision levels in each district of Punjab and Haryana as well as the union territory of Chandigarh.

Special efforts were being made to encourage more and more litigants to bring their cases in the two-day mega lok adalat, he added.

Pending civil and criminal cases as well as pre-litigation cases of banks and telephone companies would be taken up for disposal in the mega lok adalat, he said, adding that special efforts would be made to dispose of traffic challan cases as well as security and mutation cases.

Aggarwal appealed to more and more people to come forward to avail the benefits of the lok adalat as it was an effort to resolve litigation and disputes through compromise and conciliation.

Further, no appeal, except in case of fraud and misrepresentation by way of writ to the decree of lok adalat, could be made and the decree was binding on the parties concerned, he added.

It is time for pageantry and prayer as Karva Chauth has come to coruscate the entire country with its effervescent hues. The luminous mosaic of the festival has always reigned over the hearts of millions of Indian women. Married women celebrate the occasion by observing fast that ensures the well-being and longevity of their husbands. The gem of all festivals, Karva Chauth marks the culmination of a woman’s love for her husband. The bondage between the two gets stronger and healthier. The sight of women dressed in their bridal dress, decorating their hands by creating beautiful designs with henna-paste exhibits the spirit of celebration. The puja ceremony enthrals the onlookers. The festival truly removes the insipidness of life by introducing the vibrant interludes of fun and gaiety.

Nowadays the event is not restricted to family get-together only. Glamour world has its own role to play. The magic of Bollywood has changed the innocent affair into a big extravaganza.

The serenity of the festival has given way to the much-hyped big parties where “Mrs Karva Chauth” is chosen with great pomp and show. Nowadays Karva Chauth is more of fun than a serious festival. Lavish clothes and copious jewellery dominate the scenario.

The spirit of the festival can be maintained if the husbands, too, show equal care and concern for their wives. This pious relation can be everlasting with the emotional bonding that is the quintessence of it. In some cases, wives are shoddily treated by their husbands. This mars the rapture of the occasion. Menfolk should realise the importance of this relationship and try to strengthen the tie en masse. Only then the inviolability of the celebration can be retained.

Jalandhar, October 16
The CBSE north zone-II (u-14 and u-19) handball championship, 2008, was organised at Police DAV Public School, PAP Campus, from October 10 to 13, in which 49 schools and approximately 1,000 students, both boys and girls of took part.

The championship was declared open by chief guest Pushkar Vohra, AEO (sports), CBSE, along with Police DAV Public School principal Rashmi Vij.

Police DAV Public School stood first in the u-14 (boys) category, Guru Ram Dass Public School, Ferozepore second and HD Senior Secondary School, Salahwas, Jhajjar, third.

In the u-14 (girls) category, MGN Public School, Adarsh Nagar, Jalandhar, stood first, DAV Public School, Ludhiana, second and Shaheed Bhai Dyalaji Public School, Longowal, Sangrur, third.

In the u-19 (boys) category, the first place was bagged by Police DAV Public School, Jalandhar, the second by MDN Senior Secondary School, Kaithal, and the third by Army Public School, Beas.

In the u-19 (girls) category, Shah Satnamji Girls School, Sirsa, stood first, MGN Public School, Adarsh Nagar, Jalandhar, second and Guru Hargobind Public School, Sidhwan Khurd, Ludhiana, third.

The best player among girls was Manpreet Kaur of Shah Satnamji Girls School, Sirsa, and Upinderdeep Singh of Police DAV Public School, Jalandhar, among boys.