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CCI’s decision draws flak from cotton growers
Cong MLA flays SAD-BJP
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Traffic blocked in Mansa
Two mishaps later, traffic in city still tied up in knots
NRI among 2 killed in separate road mishaps
DC warns officials found absent from duty
Subsidies for rural youth to start own ventures
Medical vs non-medical
CBSE programme for teachers
PAU advice for potato farmers
Patwari held on graft charges
Students vow to resist drugs
‘Educate youth on drugs’
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CCI’s decision draws flak from cotton growers
Abohar, December 15 No administrative officer intervened and about 1,400 vehicles loaded with cotton will have to wait for lifting of dharna, which the BKU said will be staged again on Tuesday. The BKU workers criticised the CCI for enforcing the new rules that required farmers to produce revenue record proof called ‘jamabandi’ while selling cotton in the grain market here. They argued that the contract farmers don’t have such a proof, a press release issued by the BKU said. The union criticised office-bearers of the Arhtiya Association for issuing appreciation letters to some of the CCI officials and warned that the agitation might be extended for an indefinite period. However, well-placed sources said the ministry of textiles in New Delhi had received complaints that purchase on the MSP of Rs 2,800 by the CCI was promoting unfair practice. In some towns, small shopkeepers were allegedly purchasing cotton from the small farmers against cash payment or to recover their dues and selling the same to CCI in the ‘mandi’ to fetch high price. The Central government accordingly faxed letters to the principal secretaries, a fortnight back, in all cotton-growing states seeking suggestions to curb the alleged unfair practice. All, except Punjab, responded promptly and the consensus was reached on asking the farmers to carry revenue record proof while bringing the produce to the mandi for sale. Most of the states had reportedly enforced the new rules last week while Haryana introduced it today. But Punjab has not done it yet. As per information available, some of the district officials had last week sought time as the CCI informed them that chairman S.C. Grover had issued clear instructions for the purchase in order to combat the scope of unfair sale by small traders. But the state government could not take a decision even today, resulting in strike by the farmers. Later, official sources confirmed that the strike had affected purchases only in five of the 25 markets across the state. Balluana MLA Gurtej Singh Ghuriana (SAD) suggested that the farmer should be asked only to produce certificate from the sarpanch or nambardar verifying that he had grown cotton. The condition for ‘jamabandi’ should be amended accordingly, he demanded. |
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Cong MLA flays SAD-BJP
Abohar, December 15 “If the alliance government is farmer-friendly in real sense, then it should waive off the cess of about Rs 20 crore to help the private traders join the cotton market. This will give substantial relief to the cotton growers, who had to wait for a week to sell the produce,” he said. Jakhar said the state government, by enforcing eight-hour power cut on the cotton ginning and pressing factories, had caused glut at the industrial units resulting in slow buying in the mandi. He added that the farmers had to stage dharnas resenting delay in purchase, lifting or payment only when the SAD-BJP alliance came in power. He alleged that the state government was not ready to refund the amount, which the traders had deposited on account of central sales tax (CST) at the rate of 2 per cent. Though the Central government had refunded the total CST amount, Punjab government was dilly-dallying over this issue also, Jakhar said. Meanwhile, the BKU Ekta Ugrahan while announcing that a dharna would be staged tomorrow in the cotton yard asked why the state government did not direct the Markfed to join the cotton markets this year. |
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Traffic blocked in Mansa
Mansa, December 15 Addressing the farmers, state president of the union Ruldu Singh Mansa said nearly 1,000 trolleys of cotton were brought by farmers to the market here but the CCI did not make any purchase. This led to resentment among the farmers and they blocked the traffic. Later, they staged a dharna in front of the DC residence. SDM Gurjeet Singh Pannu rushed to the spot and assured the farmers of starting the purchase tomorrow. Meanwhile, leader of the union Inderjeet Singh Jhabber alleged that the CCI had failed to purchase the cotton properly. |
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Woman poisoned to death by in-laws?
Bathinda, December 15 According to the police sources here today, Inderjit Kaur of Bhaini village in Nathana was married off to Nirmal Singh of Mari Mustafa village in February this year. Malkiat Singh, uncle of the deceased, told the police that her in-laws were seeking more dowry from Inderjit Kaur's father Paramjit Singh and said she was poisoned by them. She was constantly harassed for more dowry, he alleged. He said that Inderjit Kaur informed her family members about the demands of her husband. She was very unhappy at her in-laws' house and would often talk about it whenever she visited her parents, her father alleged. As per sources, Inderjit Kaur was brought to Kartar Hospital in Bathinda where doctors declared her brought dead. The police has registered a case against her husband Nirmal Singh, his mother Jasbir Kaur and sister Simarjit Kaur under sections 304-B and 34 of the IPC. The body has been sent for postmortem examination at the civil hospital. She was suspected to have been poisoned but the cause of her death has not been ascertained. Her viscera has been sent for further examination. |
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Two mishaps later, traffic in city still tied up in knots
Bathinda, December 15 Mismanagement of traffic is glaringly visible in all parts of the city, particularly on the Mall Road, GT Road near the Hanuman Chowk and the outskirts. The most irritating and unruly traffic scenes greet residents at the entry points to the city at Barnala Road, Mansa Road and Dabwali Road. Traffic policemen are conspicuous by their standing around and not lifting a finger to help the traffic along. The authorities concerned have duly ensured their 'presence'. Non-functional or dysfunctional traffic lights not only add to the woes of commuters and vehicle users at some of these points, but also add to the general confusion. Bottlenecks at various chowks and roads, courtesy private buses operators at unauthorised bus stops, especially on the GT Road, slow down the traffic, besides being a hazard. The local traffic police have failed to act against them and there is no move to channelise traffic. Drivers of private buses stop at places like Hanuman Chowk, Bibiwala Road and near the canal and send all traffic in a tizzy. Some drivers stop buses bang in the middle of the road right under the nose of the traffic police. Despite complaints by the daily commuters and the residents, nothing has been done. Authorities have failed to enforce rules to smoothen the flow of traffic. Talking about the inconvenience being faced by the commuters due to these undesignated bus stops, Rajat Goyal, a shopkeeper, says: "Commuters usually rush to the incoming buses in spite of heavy traffic at the chowk, thus endangering their lives. Pritam Singh, who travels daily to Gidderbaha, says buses are more or less responsible for all the chaos on the local roads. "What is worse is that the traffic police, deployed at Hanuman Chowk, turn a blind eye instead of taking action against errant buses." Krishan Malhotra, another local resident, says it is a huge task just crossing over to the other side of the road. "Especially for commuters on two-wheelers, who have to live with the fear of being run down by these buses that have no scheduled stops?" he adds. Most residents cannot understand why traffic cops don't act against the errant bus drivers. "There are reports and complaints almost every day but the authorities just don't bother," says Malhotra. However, traffic in-charge Bharpur Singh says, "We are short of staff for regulating traffic and we do take action against these buses from time to time whenever we receive complaints against them." |
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NRI among 2 killed in separate road mishaps
Moga, December 15 As per the details available from the police, Parnam Singh, son of Ranjit Singh, an NRI residing in Canada, was killed in a road accident that occurred about 5 km from here on Kotkapura road late last night. He was returning from Panjgrain village on a Skoda car along with his brother Gangandip Singh and relatives Virpal Singh, son of Hardev Singh, and Harpreet Singh, son of Jeeta Singh, all residents of Singhawala village. On the way, the car rammed into a tractor-trailer, probably due to fog, and turned turtle to roll down the roadside leaving Parnam dead on the spot. A police patrol party rushed the injured persons to the district hospital. However, the doctors at the hospital referred them to Ludhiana. The condition of Harpreet Singh was stated to be critical. In the second incident that took place in the morning today, a middle-aged woman identified as Harjinder Kaur, wife of Jagir Singh and a resident of Lopo village, was run over by a speeding vehicle at Badhni Kalan bus stop on Moga-Barnala road, while she was trying to cross the highway to catch a bus on the other side. In the third accident, six persons travelling on a canter got injured when it rammed into a tractor-trailer last night on the Kotkapura road, just outside the Moga town. The injured had been
identified as Harjinder Singh, son of Mukhtiar Singh and a resident of Samalsar village, besides Malkit Singh, his son Gobind Singh, wife Manjit Kaur, one Paramjit Kaur and her 10-year old daughter Sona, all residents of Baghapurana. They were rushed to the district hospital here. The condition of Malkit Singh being serious, the doctors referred him to Ludhiana. |
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Abandoning ashes of the dead
Bathinda, December 15 During a visit to two such cremation grounds here, TNS found a number of boxes of the cloak rooms locked with rusted locks, which appeared as if no one had even touched them since a long time. When asked, employees working there said many persons came, cremated the deceased, collected mortal remains, dump those in lockers and then forgot all about it. Karamjeet Singh, who looks after the cloak room and other activities at Ram Baag, a cremation ground run by Mahaveer Dal, said, “This room has a capacity of 42 lockers but one third of the almirah has been occupied since the past couple of months. No one has come even to ask about the ashes lying here.” “We have raised an instruction board that one can not claim for the remains after a lapse of 15 days, even then people are callous. When we find the shortage in storage capacity, we break open the locks, put ashes in jute bags and send them to Haridwar for performing their last rites,” he added. At another cremation ground, Swaragpuri, run by welfare society Patti Mehna in Bathinda, the caretakers told that they too had been waiting for half of the occupied lockers to be opened since the past two years. Showing rusty locks, Ramu Kumar, a caretaker said, “The condition of locks, which had been put by the kin of the deceased, would itself be sufficient to indicate the time since they had not been opened.” “We had to break three locks and immerse ashes in the Sirhind canal due to scarcity of space and resources,” he added. He said there was a bag of ashes lying in a locker, whose kin, a cloth merchant from Gujarat, came and assured them to take the ashes soon but never did. When contacted, Vijay Kumar, who runs Sahara Jan Seva, a helpline NGO, said, “I am also aware of the fact but I think poverty could be the reason for such an inhuman act.” “On my part I can say that the NGOs working in the city will always be there to perform the last rites of all those whose kin are unable to perform such rituals.” he said. |
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DC warns officials found absent from duty
Ferozepur, December 15 According to information available, 13 employees were found absent in the office of DFSC alone, whereas seven employees were found absent in the office of Deputy Economic and Statistical Advisor (DESA). One lecturer was found absent in Government Girls Senior Secondary School (GGSSS). Those found absent in DFSC office included Mohinder Singh Dhillon, DFSC, Surat Singh, Rajinder Kumar, Paramjit Kaur, all auditors, Raj Kumar (clerk), Narinder Kumar (junior auditor), Durgawati (steno), Jaswant Singh (junior assistant) besides Kabul Singh, Rajan, Jatinder Singh and Harbans Lal, all clerks. In the office of DESA, Avtar Singh, Baldev Singh, Hakum Singh, Bhupinder Singh, all statistical assistants, besides Gurnam Kaur, Pooran Singh and Avtar Singh, all clerks, were found absent from their duty during the surprise check. Similarly, Arvinder Kaur, lecturer of Punjabi, was found absent from duty at the GGSSS. The DC also visited the local civil hospital where he found that the patients were not being treated properly. Neither were they provided with medicines. Taking a strong cognisance of the lackadaisical attitude of the hospital employees, he warned them of any such negligence in future. However, Megh Raj said the matter would be taken up with their higher authorities and strict action would be initiated against all those found absent today. The DC said he had ordered the ADC and sub-divisional magistrates (SDMs) of all the five sub-divisions to conduct surprise visits at various government offices, schools, hospitals and dispensaries at least thrice a week and submit their report to the district headquarters on weekly basis. |
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Subsidies for rural youth to start own ventures
Jalandhar, December 15 Sharing the details of the central employment generation programme to be implemented through the board in the state, Vijay Sampla, chairman, PKVIB, announced that the board would disburse Rs 4.82 crore subsidies under the scheme to the rural youth for setting up self-employment units. He said subsidies would benefit approximately 400 units, which in turn would generate employment for over 4,019 rural persons in the state. A capital investment of Rs 1 lakh on an average under this scheme was expected to provide a job to atleast one person, the chairman informed. Sampla said that the upper limit of disbursement would be Rs 25 lakh to any potentially viable enterprise. All subsidies to be given under the scheme excluded any land costs for the projects, but included the cost of shed, building, machinery and equipment along with one working cycle capital installment, the chairman added. The best part of the programme is that no educational qualification or pre-condition is required for availing subsidy for projects involving investment of upto Rs 10 lakh in case of a manufacturing unit and Rs 5 lakh for a business or service unit. For any venture seeking higher project cost, 8th class pass persons were qualified to apply and seek subsidy under the PMEGP, he informed. Sampla clarified that 15 per cent SC applicants would be given priority in the disbursement exercise while 27 per cent OBC, five per cent minorities, three per cent physically handicapped persons, 1 per cent ex-servicemen and 30 per cent women would be given preference, and the remaining would be given to general category entrepreneurs. It may be recalled here that the board was set up in 1957 and has till date generated employment for 1,50,000 persons by financing approximately 55,000 units. Kuldeep Singh Brar, member secretary of the board, who was also present on this occasion said the financial institutions that had been chosen for disbursement, included 27 nationalised banks, all regional rural banks and cooperative and private banks to be approved by state-level task force. The entrepreneur will apply by submitting an application at district offices of the board that will forward the case after scrutiny to the district-level task force committee. After appraisal the application will be sent to concerned banks, which will examine at their own end before sanctioning the loan. The borrower has to undergo Entrepreneur Development Training programme for three weeks to be organised by an approved agency of the KVIC, Vijay Sampla added. |
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Medical vs non-medical
Bathinda, December 15 Students are now drifting towards engineering. Reasons for this change are many. The medical stream for sure has witnessed a downfall in the number of aspirants. The Tribune spoke to students and teachers and found out the reasons for this change. Prof P.K. Sadhu, who belongs to West Bengal and has been teaching zoology for about 15 years here, now feels, "If you go to a school and see the section-wise strength of medical and non-medical students, you will see that non-medical students are more in number. The number of medical students is going down every year. The prime reason for this change is miscommunication by some people who have their interest in spreading this message. People now feel that becoming a doctor means wasting half your life in studying.” “Also, the course is very expensive. A doctor deals with life and death, so the subject knowledge has to be deep and detailed. It would certainly take time to understand and learn medical sciences if you want to be a doctor. People who feel that taking up medical stream is time consuming and expensive have forgotten that it's an evergreen profession and generates self-employment also. The President of India also said that we need more doctors. Diseases are on the rise and so are people who can cure them," he added. Students who have taken up medical after class X seemed very confident in their choice and were sure that they would do well. Jeevan Jyot, a student of St Xavier's, said, "I don't think that becoming a doctor is time consuming and expensive. My sister has done MBBS from Patiala and I want to follow in her footsteps. She is independent and is doing well. I always wanted to become a doctor.
If you want to become a doctor then you can't think about issues like time consumption and the cost it would take.” “If it's a long-term affair, then it also pays you well. Children who feel that medical profession is not right these days are just making excuses because non-medical is much easier as compared to medical stream," she opined. Archit from Class XII of DAV Public School, said, "My dream was to become a doctor. It's a profession that would always have many options for you. Whether you want to work at a hospital or you want to open your own clinic, it is your choice. Having a good job would never be a problem." Jigyasa from St Xavier's felt that she chose to become a doctor because it is a noble profession. She does not have a medical background but her parents always supported her and she seemed confident of doing what she is doing today. "IT is booming and students opt for a better package. They feel that they would be able to grab a good package after a B.Tech degree. But, I feel that B.Tech alone can not fetch you a job. You have to do an MBA from a good college to get a good job. MNCs look for engineers from good colleges. So many colleges offer a B.Tech degree but all are not good. With the recent economic downfall, so many engineers were left jobless but doctors would never be jobless. They would always be in demand and be respected," added
Jigyasa. |
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CBSE programme for teachers
Bathinda, December 15 Members of the school, S.H.S Mokha and S. Bhag Singh Ji Sidhu welcomed the organisers and the participants. Principal of the school Jaswinder Singh welcomed the guests with utmost confidence that the programme will definitely be fruitful for the participants who will further guide and help the students in life.
— TNS |
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PAU advice for potato farmers
Bathinda, December 15 Darshan Singh, head of the department, said that since freshly harvested tubers have dormancy, these cannot be used as such immediately after harvest for seed purposes. Therefore, for the spring crop, seed potato of last year, kept in the cold store, can be used. If the seed raised from autumn crop is to be used for spring planting, its dormancy should be broken by dipping cut tubers of potato in a solution of 1 per cent Thiourea (1 kg in 100 litres of water) and 1 ppm Gibberellic Acid (1 gram in 100 litres of water) for an hour followed by air drying the treated seed pieces for 24 hours in thin layers in shade. The tuber should be planted after these are properly sprouted. Meanwhile, other experts of the PAU have asserted that there is an imperative need to save the underground water from further depletion. A mass awareness movement is required to be launched by all the organisations across the state. Dr S.S. Gill, an agricultural officer with PAU, said at least 30 per cent water saving was possible if the farmers desist from early sowing of paddy crop and also diversify to other crops which require less water. He said if all the farmers pay attention to this aspect only, the problem of underground water could be solved within a short period of time. |
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Patwari held on graft charges
Ferozepur, December 15 The Vigilance sleuths, led by DSP Talwinderjit Singh, nabbed the patwari, Joginder Singh, while accepting the bribe. Sukhdev Singh, SSP, Vigilance, informed that the accused official had demanded a bribe of Rs 6,000 from Iqbal Singh, son of Ajit Singh, for conducting a mutation of the land belonging to his brother Jaswant Singh, who died four months ago, in the name of his nephew as per his Jaswant’s will. The accused was arrested in the presence of Arun Kumar Dhawan and Lakhwinder Singh, both government witnesses, and Kalga Singh, a shadow witness, said the SSP. |
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Students vow to resist drugs
Abohar, December 15 The function was organised by the Aggarwal Sabha to launch a campaign for providing shoes and socks to nearly 1000 students, who, during a survey, were found wearing plastic slippers in different schools here in spite of biting cold. Bharat Vikas Parishad president Pardeep Garg, during his keynote speech, motivated the audience to take a pledge against smoking or consuming alcoholic brew and drugs. Hundreds of students and teachers besides the eminent citizens gracing the dais spontaneously raised the hands to show their approval. Chief guest Balkar Singh, SHO, city-2 police station, said most of the crimes were committed because youths lagged behind in discipline besides becoming drug addicts either due to social frustration or lack of awareness. |
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‘Educate youth on drugs’
Mansa, December 15 He said awareness regarding the drug addiction was the need of the hour, adding that it was only through education that the youth could be persuaded against it. Principal S. Nagar read out the annual report of the school at the function. Students performed a cultural programme, which included dandiya, bhangra and gidha. Over 400 meritorious students in academics and sports were awarded.
— OC |
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Sukhbir to visit on Dec 18
Bathinda, December 15 |
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