Chandigarh, October 18
Hundreds of acres of standing basmati crop in Haryana have been hit by a black hopper and neck blast attack. This attack has dashed all hopes of farmers for a rich harvest as the disease has struck at a time when the crop is ready for harvest.

It is learnt that while black hopper has attacked the traditional basmati crop in Karnal, Panipat and Rohtak, the neck blast attack has been reported from basmati fields in Sonepat, Panipat and parts of Rohtak. This attack will adversely affect the yield and quality of the crop.

Though the duplicate basmati, RH 10 and PUSA 1121 varieties, have already started arriving in mandis, arrival of the traditional basmati in various mandis of the state is expected to begin next week. With prices of duplicate basmati having fallen by Rs 300 per quintal as compared to last year, farmers were hoping that the traditional basmati would fetch a higher price than last year. “Last year, traditional basmati was sold at Rs 2,200-Rs 2,900 per quintal in mandis, and later the prices shot up to Rs 4,900 per quintal in the open market. However, now with the attack on crops, the prices fetched will be less,” lamented Vijay Kumar Arora, a leading commission agent in Matloda mandi in Panipat.

Interestingly, while a number of top agri-corporates like the ITC, Olam Foods, Phoenix, Kohinoor Foods, LT Overseas and the SSA have entered into the mandis of Haryana to lift basmati and evolved basmati varieties, the farmers are not getting high prices because of the high moisture content in the rice. Manish Kharbanda, a commission agent in Ladwa mandi, which is one of the largest grain markets in Asia, informed TNS that as compared to last year, the prices this year were quite less.

“While duplicate basmati sold for Rs 2,000-2,300 per quintal and RH 10 for Rs 1,600-1,700 per quintal, this year the duplicate basmati is fetching Rs 1,700-1,900 per quintal and RH 10 Rs 1,000-Rs 1,300 per quintal. PUSA 1121 is also fetching just Rs 1,900-2,200 per quintal, as compared to Rs 2,350 per quintal last year,” added Bakshish Singh, a commission agent in Taraori (Karnal).

Officials said the main reason for the price having fallen this year is the new regulation by the Government of India, banning the mixing of evolved basmati into pure basmati varieties. Earlier, the exporters would mix 20 per cent sharbati or RH 10 varieties into the pure basmati before exporting these. 

Chandigarh, October 18
Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today assured the farmers that the loss to their paddy crop would be assessed soon to take an appropriate decision to compensate them.

Hooda’s assurance came in the wake of the Haryana agriculture department’s confirmation of the attack of white backed plant hopper (WBPH) on paddy in certain pockets of the state.

Hearing the grievances of people in Rohtak, Hooda said he equally shared the woes and sorrows of farmers and assured that all their problems would be solved on priority basis.

The Chief Minister said he had also spoken to agriculture minister Harmohinder Singh Chatha on the issue of disease infecting paddy crop and issued directions so that farmers should not face any difficulty. He said he was fully aware of their tribulations as he himself was a farmer and they should not worry, as the government would go all way to redress their grievances.

He also directed the financial commissioners concerned to make sufficient availability of fuel for generator sets to drain out rainwater accumulated in rural areas and release funds for power connections of pump sets for the same purpose. He said Haryana had become the topmost state of the country and other states were pursuing the schemes implemented in the state.

He said no other government had taken the decision of waiving power bills to the magnitude of Rs 1,600 crore and gave so many concessions to all sections of society. — UNI

Sirsa, October 18
The Indian National Lok Dal today alleged that farmers in Haryana were being forced to sell their produce at throwaway prices in distress as the state government had failed to safeguard their interests.

Talking to mediapersons in the local INLD office, Sampat Singh, senior INLD leader and former Haryana minister, alleged that farmers had been forced to resort to the distress sale of cotton, paddy and bajra this year due to the indifference of the government.

"Sirsa and Fatehabad are the top cotton producing districts of Haryana, but in the absence of purchases by the Cotton Corporation of India, farmers have been forced to sell their Bt cotton at Rs 100 to Rs 150 less than the prevalent rates," alleged Sampat Singh.

He maintained that when the purchase of cotton began this year, farmers were getting between Rs 3,050 and Rs 3,100 per quintal.

But, due to the lack of interest by the government in the purchase of cotton, it was now selling at Rs 2,700 to Rs 2,750 per quintal.

The INLD leader alleged that bajra-producing farmers were the most exploited lot this year.

He alleged that due to the non-procurement of bajra by the state government, the farmers had been forced to sell their produce at rates lower than the MSP of Rs 840 per quintal.

He said that by banning the purchase of bajra brought from other states, the government had encouraged corruption in the procurement of the crop.

He alleged that no government purchase of bajra was being made in Sirsa and Fatehabad. In Hisar district, the crop was purchased for a day or two at Adampur.

Chandigarh, October 18
Continuing with its spree of “accommodating” senior babus post-retirement, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda is learnt to have cleared the name of financial commissioner, revenue, K.S. Bhoria, for the post of chairman of the Haryana Environmental Impact Assessment Authority. Bhoria retires on October 31. Sources said earlier H.C. Disodia’s candidature for the post was being backed by minister of state for forests Kiran Choudhry. In fact, Disodia was holding the charge of secretary, forests, before he retired and had worked with the minister before.

The post had fallen vacant in September this year after its first incumbent, former chief secretary Promilla Issar, appointed in April, resigned to join the CAT.

While the Chief Minister is learnt to have cleared the name a week ago, the sources said his file was yet to reach financial commissioner and secretary, forests, P.K. Gupta, who will forward the name to the Centre for approval and was “stuck” somewhere in between.

The Centre, it is learnt, is also keen on an early appointment since there are 160-odd cases awaiting environmental clearance of which 150 are said to be construction projects. The sources said the Government of India was informed of the vacancy created by Issar’s departure and the state government had already been asked twice to recommend a new chairperson at the earliest. The Centre had sent two letters to the chief secretary urging the government to forward a name for the post. Unlike Issar’s time when the clearance to the appointment took nearly two months, the nod is likely to come earlier this time given the keenness of the union government on an early appointment.

The authority, functioning part-time, was constituted by the central government in consultation with the state government to give clearance to construction projects on the basis of their processes and pollution levels up to a certain level. The clearance for highly polluting units and projects, however, still continues to be with the Government of India.

Though the notification of the constitution of the authority was made in 2006, a number of states are still in the process of constituting these as per the directions of the ministry of forests and environment while the authorities in other states like Punjab have already begun work.

Work of the authority has been suffering in the absence of the chairman since there is a specified time limit for granting approval to cases applying for environmental clearance. The lower committee has to give its decision on projects within 60 days of receipt of application while the three-member core committee has a time limit of 45 days to give its decision failing which the applicant has to apply afresh.

Karnal, October 18
Speculating an early Lok Sabha poll, main political parties are coming out of inertia and getting into the election mode.

The BJP and the INLD are holding separate as well as joint district-wise meetings of their workers to put up a united show after entering into an alliance, while the Congress has set in the process of selection of candidates by deputing observes to take stock of the ground situation.

The BJP and the INLD are yet to take up the ticklish exercise of seat sharing, but the tussle for tickets within the parties has already begun. The BJP cadres have accepted the alliance with a lot of apprehension and there is pressure on the party leadership to have equitable sharing of seats.

The first joint meeting of state office-bearers of the BJP and the INLD after forging the alliance will be held here on October 21 under the joint chairmanship of state BJP president Atam Prakash Manchanda and INLD general secretary Ajay Chautala to draw up the strategy for the elections and to strengthen coordination.

The Karnal mandal office-bearers of the two parties met here yesterday to sort out mutual issues so that a smooth joint campaign could be launched after the selection of candidates.

In the Karnal parliamentary constituency, where the Congress faces a vertical split with sitting MP Arvind Sharma and working president of the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee Kuldeep Sharma gunning for each other’s scalp, state Youth Congress president Sanjay Chhokar has further aggravated the worries of the high command by staking claim to the ticket.

Chhokar, who hails from Karnal, said he had already apprised the party observer of his desire to contest from Karnal and said he qualified for the ticket on many counts. “I belong to the backward Gujjar community, have a rural background and roots in Karnal,” he said, while talking to mediapersons here yesterday.

BSP general secretary Man Singh Manhera also addressed a “janhit chetna rally” of the party here yesterday and exhorted workers to ensure the defeat of both the Congress and the BJP-INLD alliance. He said both parties were against the Dalits and only the BSP could ensure them justice and dignity.

Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) president Kuldeep Bishnoi has already addressed a Sikh rally at Karnal and is intensively touring the state to gather support for his party. The BSP, the HJC and the Left parties have not entered into any alliance with any party, but this time the Left parties, which have limited base in the state, will oppose the Congress and may align with the BSP.

The the HJC and the BJP have common area of influence, mainly in urban and semi-urban areas, and the latter is banking on the strength of the INLD to repeat 1999. 

Chandigarh, October 18
A war of words has erupted between the Haryana BJP and the Haryana Janhit Congress of Kuldeep Bishnoi over the issue of the alliance between the former and the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD).

Ever since the alliance between the BJP and the INLD has been announced, supporters of the HJC have been claiming that the alliance has been “imposed” by the BJP high command on leaders and workers of the state unit. They have also been claiming that a vast majority of the BJP workers would cross over to their party in protest against the high command’s “undemocratic” decision.

In a hard-hitting statement issued here yesterday, former president of the Haryana BJP Rattan Lal Kataria said the position of the HJC in the state’s politics had become akin to the US economy, which had been hit by recession. He said the HJC leaders had been frustrated by the increasing marginalisation of their party and were issuing irresponsible statements. Describing the HJC as a “bunch of rejected and rootless” leaders of other political parties, Kataria said more than grassroots level workers, frustrated leaders had joined the HJC in the hope of getting the party ticket.

He said the BJP-INLD alliance had emerged as the only viable alternative to the Congress in the state and this was giving sleepless nights to the HJC leaders.

Asserting that the HJC would soon disintegrate, Kataria said many of its leaders would quit the party when they would not get the ticket. He said instead of worrying about the so-called demerits of the BJP-INLD alliance, Bishnoi should pay more attention to keep his newly born party alive. 

Kaithal, October 18
Educational institutions should help in character building and creating a sense of discipline among students besides providing them education.

This was stated by education and transport minister, Haryana, Mange Ram Gupta while speaking as a chief guest at the inaugural function of Dr B.R. Ambedkar Polytechinc College, Fatehpur Pundri, here today.

The minister said, at present, a lot of educational opportunities were available to students as compared to earlier times and the number of education colleges had gone up to 451 and 52,000 seats were available for admission in the state.

Sirsa, October 18
Priyanka Chaudhary, a local boxer, who has played at the national level and has been the winner of the gold medal in the national boxing championship, has set an example of compassion and philanthropy by contributing the scholarship of Rs 30,000 that she had received from the government to Megha Bhardwaj, a boxer, who has been fighting a bout with cancer for the past one and a half years.

Priyanka has earlier played with Megha and is a student of the same school, Maharaja Agarsen Senior Secondary School, where Megha studied.

Megha (15) was a brilliant student and a boxer, who represented the state at junior level in the national championship.

She noticed a tumour on the thigh one and a half year ago when she came back from Mumbai after playing in the nationals and later the small tumour proved to be cancerous. Since then, Megha has been fighting a bout within. She has to go to Jaipur every 15 days for chemotherapy and other treatments.

Her father, who was working with a private firm, had to leave his job, while her mother Meenu had to sell her jewellery for Megha’s costly treatment.

The Tribune had highlighted the story of Megha Bhardwaj in these columns earlier. After the publication of the story, financial help started pouring in for her, though in bits. An NGO from Karnal had recently contributed Rs 50,000 to Megha’s father.

Similarly, traders from Kalawali have contributed a sum of Rs 55,000 for the cause. A meeting of the District Women Boxing Association was held here yesterday under its president Kulwant Singh Chaudhary and general-secretary Rahul Sharma where Priyanka Chaudhary (16) contributed her scholarship for the treatment of Megha and other boxers associated with the association contributed Rs 5,100 for the cause.

Rohtak, October 18
To ensure uninterrputed power supply to nearly 15 villages, the Haryana Power Utilities have energized the newly constructed 132 KV substation in Jassia village in the district. The substation, constructed at a cost of nearly Rs 9 crore, will have the double circuit power supply facility shortly.

A spokesman said here yesterday that almost half of the existing load of the area had been put on a 10/16 mega volt amperes transformer and the remaining part was being fed from the existing 33 KV substation. Another transformer of 20/25 mega volt amperes had also been installed and was at present working on no load as per technical requirements. This transformer would transmit electricity to the upcoming 33 KV substation, Jindran, being constructed by the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam.

The substation had been connected with the 220 KV substation, Rohtak, by a single line, whereas the work on the second circuit was in progress.

There was a provision for connecting this substation with the line feeding 132 KV substation, Gohana, and the upcoming 132 KV substation, Mundlana, also. In the event of any fault on one line, the villages being fed from Jassia would be able to get electricity from the second transmission line. 

Karnal, October 18
The Haryana Jat Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti (action committee for reservation), planning a show of strength by holding a “Jat mahapanchayat” at Rothak tomorrow, has stated that increasing unemployment among the Jat youth is driving them to crime.

The samiti, struggling for the OBC status and reservation in jobs, has coined a new slogan, “Give reservation, get votes” and asked the Jats to unite.

“The population of Jats in the state is 30 per cent and all governments are formed with the support of the Jats, but no government has cared to see their plight and take steps to improve their lot,” said Randhir Singh Ghaylon, vice-president of the samiti.

Stressing that the Jats had a strong case for getting the OBC status and reservation in jobs, he claimed that 60 per cent of the Jat youth were unemployed, 10 to 15 per cent were landless while the remaining had small landholdings between 1 and 2.5 acres. A survey conducted by the samiti in Karnal, Panipat and Yamunanagar districts revealed that the economic condition of the households where some member was in government service was better than others, but nearly 80 per cent of the Jat families had no member in government job.