Jalandhar, February 3
Taking a serious view of the artificial scarcity created by the sunflower seed dealers, the administration has decided not only cancelling the licences of distributors found indulging in black-marketing, but also taking legal action against them.

District magistrate Ajit Singh Pannu, who presided over a meeting of seed company representatives, seed dealers, farmers and farmer organisations here today, said it had been found that certain seed dealers were hoarding sunflower seed and selling it at a premium causing undue hardship and harassment to the farmers growing sunflower.

He said farmers had been complaining about the artificial shortage created by the dealers and alleged that they had to pay up to four times the sale price of sunflower during the ongoing sowing season.

Pannu said he had instructed the seed companies to keep a record of the seed sent by them to the dealers and asked the dealers to keep a list of their customers invoices so that they could ascertain the quantity of seed purchased by any farmer. This would enable them to know how much seed had been sold and at what rates, he added.

Various companies had so far supplied over 30 lakh tonnes of sunflower seed to Punjab, especially the sunflower belt of Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Nawanshahr and Hoshiarpur. Jalandhar had so far received 9000 kg seed that was sufficient to sow over 7000 acres in the district but still the farmers were complaining of the non-availability of the seed and making charges of black-marketing by certain dealers.

He said he had instructed various state agencies to enquire into the matter and find the dealers who were hoarding the seed. Their stock registers would also be scrutinised. The representatives of the farmer unions have urged the farmers to be vigilant and bring such cases to their notice and that of the Chief Agriculture Officer.

Seed companies on their part maintained that they had sent the requisite amount of seed to Punjab but the shortage was due to the incased area coming under sunflower cultivation across the country. They also assured the administration that they too would pursue the matter and act against the erring dealers on their own.

Nawanshahr, February 3
The installation ceremony of chairman of the district planning committee Jaswinder Singh Anokherwal here today at the DC complex virtually turned into an “election rally” of the SAD-BJP with an eye on the ensuing parliamentary elections.

The deputy speaker, Lok Sabha, Charanjit Singh Atwal, while addressing the gathering on the occasion, said the SAD-BJP government in the state had taken revolutionary steps for ensuring prosperity of the state both in the field of agriculture and industry.

He particularly mentioned the steps like setting up of thermal plants to make Punjab a power surplus state and strengthening of canal system to revamp irrigation system as well as solving the problem of depleting underground water table. Both these steps would prove boon for the agricultural and industrial development in the state, ultimately solving the problems like poverty and unemployment, added Atwal.

Dr Daljit Singh Cheema, SAD-BJP nominee for the Lok Sabha elections, said unlike Capt Amarinder Singh, the former CM, who was not even available to his party MLAs, the Chief Minister, Parkash Singh Badal, had been visiting each assembly segment to disburse liberal grants for the rural and urban development as well as to listen to the grievances of the general public.

He said the installation of like-minded NDA government at the Centre was the need of the hour to give a fillip to the development of the state.

The SGPC general secretary, Sukhdev Singh, while enumerating various development and welfare activities started by the Badal government exhorted the party workers to propagate the achievements up to the grassroots level. Without naming anyone, pointing to the absence of certain leaders at the function, Bhaur urged the SAD-BJP leaders and workers to rise above petty “disputes” or difference of opinion, in the larger interest of the party.

Jaswinder Singh Anokherwal, chairman, district planning committee, while expressing his gratitude, said his appointment was an indication that in the SAD, the humble party workers like him were also being honoured. He assured to justify the faith reposed in him by Parkash Singh Badal and the deputy CM Sukhbir Badal.

Local MLA Jatinder Singh Kariha, Markfed chairman Jarnail Singh Wahad, SGPC member Gurbaksh Singh Khalsa, municipal councillor Param Singh, AISSF president Gurcharan Singh Grewal, district SAD (youth wing) president Balbir Singh Dhilon, Paramjit Singh Mirpur and Satnam Singh Ladhian also spoke.

Amritsar, February 3
Activists of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) today organised a dharna and burnt the effigy of Shwet Malik, mayor of the local municipal corporation, outside his office today.

Speaking on the occasion Harpal Singh Bhatia, secretary, PPCC, said the water and sewerage system in the city had collapsed. He said lakhs of devotees were coming to the city for paying obeisance at the Golden Temple.

However, they were being put to harassment due to traffic jams on various roads in view of the damaged roads, which gave bad impression to them about the holy city.

Lashing out at the mayor, Bhatia said false claims were being made by Malik that Rs 400 crore were being spent on the development of the city but there was no development worth to name. He said the BJP in order to remain in power had sold the city in the hands of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).

He said the ruling party was laying foundation stones in every nook and corner of the city just to gain popularity and causing great loss to the exchequer.

Bhatia said a public wave would be created against the ruling SAD-BJP alliance to dislodge the alliance besides setting up a democratic government to fulfil the aspirations of the people.

Nawanshahr, February 3
The police has arrested registered medical practitioner Balwinder Singh, Darshan Ram and Narinder Kumar under sections 312 and 315, IPC, for their alleged involvement in conducting an abortion.

The police has booked five persons in this case. The other two are Raj Devi whose abortion was conducted and Balwinder Singh’s wife Sunita.

As per the information, Raj Devi, widow of Sat Pal of Mahalon village, has been working as a labourer in a potato warehouse in the village. She had developed illicit relations with her co-worker

Narinder Kumar and subsequently became pregnant.

As both of them had children from their deceased spouses, they decided to get the embryo aborted. Narinder Kumar contacted Darshan Ram, an RMP of the same village, who, in turn, contacted Balwinder Singh serving in a private hospital at Nawanshahr. The doctor gave injections to Raj Devi at Mahalon village for terminating the two-month pregnancy but the procedure remained unsuccessful as the bleeding could not be stopped.

When the problem continued, Balwinder Singh asked Darshan Ram to shift Raj Devi to Nawanshahr where he along with his wife again tried to conduct the abortion but the condition of Raj Devi worsened and she was admitted to the local civil hospital for treatment.

Amritsar, February 3
A dispute, reportedly over teasing of a girl, between two groups continued for the second day today with reports of firing and brandishing of swords by members of the two groups in the Gujjarpura area outside the walled city even as panic gripped the area and people preferred to remain indoors.

Assistant superintendent of police Pardeep Kumar Yadav said they were verifying facts while adding that the accused, who were absconding, would be arrested within a couple of days.

The residents, preferring anonymity, said there was a rift between the Tiddi and Shama Don groups of Gujjarpura and Bira and Kaka Mental of the Himmatpura locality. They said the clash took place between the two groups on January 24 and 25 in which Bira was injured. The police registered a case after receiving a complaint from both the parties.

Again on January 28, Shama allegedly fired in the air to terrorise the people of Himmatpura but the people there caught him and beat him up. The people of Gujjarpura tried to gherao the C-division police division demanding action against the accused that beat up and injured Shama. The police allegedly indulged in a mild lathi charge to disperse the crowd, which retaliated and threw stones on the police after which the police allegedly fired in the air yesterday. However, the police authorities denied the allegations and said there was no firing by it. Senior police officials also visited the area late in evening.

Meanwhile, the police authorities said the situation in the area was under control. They also said they were trying to verify whether the accused had opened fire or not.

Amritsar, February 3
The Border Security Force recovered 5 kg of heroin which was hidden near the barbed fence on the Indo-Pakistan border during a patrolling late last night. The BSF has handed over the contraband to the Valtoha police in Tarn Taran district police which registered a case under various sections of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act against unidentified persons.

The force authorities disclosed that heroin was hidden by Pakistan-based smugglers for smuggling into the Indian territory. However, the alert jawans located the five packets.

Meanwhile, the Civil lines police has seized 1.50 kg of opium from Ratan Lal, alias Fauji, a resident of Nikka Singh Colony area, near Khalsa College, here. According to the information, the police had laid a naka near Ram Tirath Road when the accused, after seeing the police, started to run. The police team got suspicious and during search found opium concealed in a polythene bag. A case has been registered under the NDPS Act against him. — TNS

Pathankot, Febuary 3
Former Punjab minister and senior Congress leader Raman Bhalla and convener SC wing of the PPCC Joginder Singh Chhina have condemned the raising of the Anandpur Sahib resolution issue at the time of elections.

Talking to mediapersons here today, both the leaders alleged that when the Akali leadership found itself in deep trouble on the eve parliamentary or assembly elections, it tried to rake up long-buried issues.

So is the Anandpur Sahib resolution which had lost its relevance nearly 30 years ago. The leaders advised the Badals to propagate the philosophy of Guru Granth Sahib instead of digging up issues which could instigate the Sikh youth again to adopt aggressive measures to disrupt the peace and harmony in the state. They alleged that the Badals had raised the issue only to motivate the Sikh youth to meet their own vested political ends.