Jalandhar, April 14
Concerned over the issue of the extended milling period of paddy, members of the Punjab Rice Millers Association (PRMA) on Sunday said the laid-back attitude of the Union Ministry of Food and Consumer Affairs would put the state through a loss of crores of rupees.

Association president Tarsem Saini said that the cut-off date for milling of paddy was initially fixed as June 30. “However, this year, the Union government fixed March 31 as the milling date in the state. This has led to a huge loss in terms of revenue,” he added.

Recently, the state government moved the case to the Central government for the extension of milling period. “Till date, the Union ministry has not taken any decision on the issue,” maintained Tarsem.

There are about 3,000 rice mills in the state and the delay in the extension of milling period of paddy has led to the closure of rice mills.

“At present, the rice milling industry is incurring a monthly expenditure of electricity, labour and salary as a result of which the rice millers are bearing an approximate loss of Rs 3 crore daily. In the past 10 days, we have suffered a loss of Rs 30 crore,” he added.

Meanwhile, the association members threatened to intensify the statewide protest in case the government failed to meet their demands. The rice millers have decided to resort to a rail roko protest on April 15 at Sirhind in Fatehgarh Sahib district. 

Jalandhar, April 14
Despite being the prominent national parties, both the Congress and BJP have lagged behind in opening their central election offices for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

On this front, the SAD and BSP have taken a lead with the opening their offices at Avtar Nagar near Doordarshan Kendra and Buta Mandi on the Nakodar road, respectively, on April 3.

Earlier all the political parties announced to open their state-level sub-offices, meant to provide logistic support to the candidates and campaigns, in the NRI city, which is also a media hub of the state.

Interestingly, candidate from Jalandhar (SC) seat Mohinder Singh Kaypee stated during a function at a former minister Avtar Henry’s office on Saturday that they had already selected an empty kothi on the Cool road near State Bank of Patiala to set up their central election office, which would be formally inaugurated on Monday. However it could not be opened on Monday.

When contacted, Jalandhar (Urban) Congress president Arun Walia told The Tribune that Kaypee had gone to Talwandi Sabo to attend party general secretary Rahul Gandhi’s election rally on Tuesday. Without telling the exact date, he further said the central election office would be formally opened within a few days.

Similarly, BJP state media co-convener Rajat Mahendru said a site at the Sat Kartar Nagar locality in Johal Market had already been finalised for setting up central election office on the direction of state president Prof Rajendra Bhandari and its vice-president Vinod Sharma.

Mahendru further said the work of installing computers and telephones was going on. The central election office would likely be formally inaugurated by a senior BJP leader Arun Jaitely on April 18, he added.

Meanwhile, former SGPC president Prof Kirpal Singh Badungar is the in charge of election head office of the SAD where its district president Gurcharan Singh Channi is assisting him since its opening.

However, SAD candidate from Anandpur Sahib Dr Daljit Singh Cheema and Channi used to look after central election offices of their party during some previous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, whereas now due to his own campaigning at Anandpur Sahib, Dr Cheema is naturally not able to provide time at this office.

The SAD and BSP offices are hi-tech and are equipped with computers, internet, phone and fax facilities, which are being used for coordinating their electioneering in the state but also used for media briefings and releasing press-notes on day-to-day basis.

Besides, complaints regarding violation of model code of conduct are also being sent from these offices to the Election Commission and Punjab Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Kusumjit Sidhu.

Jalandhar, April 14
The nomination of Kamaldeep Kailey as coordinator for the District Youth Congress to campaign for party candidate Mohinder Singh Kaypee, has evoked a mixed response from the party circles.

While the president of district rural youth Vikramjeet Singh Chaudhary expressed his resentment over the appointment of a person as coordinator who is not even a primary member of youth Congress, district urban youth chief Kamaljeet Kaur Multani was not averse to Kailey’s appointment by PPCC president Kaypee as coordinator.

Talking to The Tribune, Vikramjeet said he had already conveyed it to the in charge of the State Congress Campaign Committee Capt Amarinder Singh and the in charge of Jalandhar Constituency Campaign Committee Chaudhury Santokh, also his father, that Kailey had been nominated as coordinator of the Youth Congress whereas he was not even a primary member of this frontal organisation in Jalandhar.

The Jalandhar rural youth Congress president further said the coordinator should have been at least either an elected delegate or a block-committee member of the frontal organisation.

Answering a query, Vikramjeet said he could not get a chance to talk to Kaypee over the issue.

According to information, there are as many as 42,500 primary members of the Youth Congress in Jalandhar. Of them, 25,000 and 17,500 are primary members of the Jalandhar urban and rural units, respectively.

However, when contacted, Kaypee justified Kailey’s nomination as coordinator saying, “He belongs to his area and is also a former sarpanch of Wadala village.”

Similarly Jalandhar urban youth Congress president Kamaljeet Kaur Multani said there was no harm in Kailey’s appointment as coordinator. She said, “We should concentrate on electioneering and ensuring Kaypee’s victory.”

It is pertinent to mention here that Vikramjeet’s father and former minister Chaudhary Santokh was also a ticket aspirant from the Jalandhar (SC) seat.

It is time to study and do well at university examinations which are on full swing. Students work assiduously hard to get through this ordeal. Student from rural areas have to reach the examination centre on time and for this they have to depend on the means of transportation like trains and buses. Sometimes the unnecessary disruption of some sort creates menace and trouble for these students to reach their destination well in time.

This is what has happened last Wednesday due to the bandh observed at various places like Jalandhar, Amritsar, Ferozepore, Phagwara, Bathinda and many more cities. The protest was held against allocation of the ticket to Congress leaders Jagdish Tytler and Sajjan Kumar for their alleged involvement in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. The agitating crowd blocked the road traffic. The activists also squatted on the rail tracks to stop trains. As a result many students could not reach their examination centres on time. The students who got late due to this agitation could not complete their paper. They were greatly disappointed and underwent mental trauma for no fault on their part.

Who is responsible for this ill-fate of the students. It is true that being a democratic country, citizens have the right to have a say for their opinions but it does not mean that their assertions should demobilise even the emergencies. Patients too had to suffer because of all this large-scale protest. No matter is greater than the life of an individual, the agitators must understand this.

Apart from this, daily commuters like lawyers, doctors, teachers, businessmen, etc. were also victims of this malfunctioning.

The agitating leaders should not involve themselves in such an agitation at the cost of public inconvenience. The protests and agitations should be so planned that the emergencies can be tackled easily and effectively. They must provide information of their protest so that those who have to reach some specific destinations can manage accordingly.

Jalandhar, April 14
Two educators representing Alderman Peel High School, Norfolk, UK, and Langham School, UK, were here at Eklavya School with its teachers and staff to discuss and implement teaching practices being followed in British schools.

The teachers were in the school from April 6 to 11 to explore the emerging teaching methodology in these three schools. School director Seema Handa said emphasis was laid on the technology projects, teamwork and classroom presentations with equal work in woodwork, art and drama.

Jalandhar, April 14
Though asthma has become a serious global health problem in all the age groups, children, especially boys, are more prone to the disease than girls. Because of direct exposure to passive smoking, boys are the primary victims of this chronic disease which is rapidly increasing among children worldwide.

Experts, however, said asthma was a chronic inflammatory disorder, the chief complaints of which were wheezing, breathlessness, chest tightness and cough, particularly at night and early morning. They were of the view that inhaled corticosteroids, at present the corner stone of treatment, were the most underused therapy of childhood asthma. This was stated by experts while speaking at a conference here.

Dr H.J. Singh, a chest physician of the city, revealed that about 100 million people suffered from asthma in the world. He said deaths due to the disease had also witnessed an increase by more than 25 per cent in the USA, whereas the mortality rates had come down over the past couple of years.

The disease has also been playing a major role in the education of the students as asthmatic students quite often miss their classes which hampers their learning abilities.

Jalandhar, April 14
The local Hansraj Mahila Maha Vidyalaya recently received a grant of Rs 88 lakh from the University Grants Commission (UGC) for strengthening infrastructure of the institution, upgradation of science laboratories and promotion of research-based work.

College Principal Dr J. Kackria said, “The college has already utilised Rs 44 lakh for the upgradation of science labs and addition of new equipment.”

The UGC grant would benefit the departments of botany, bioinformatics, computer science, information technology, chemistry, physics, zoology, biotechnology and food science and quality control.

Dr Kackria said that in addition to this grant the college had got the final instalment of Rs 21 lakh under “CPE action plan” and another Rs 10 lakh for an add-on course of communication skills.

Jalandhar, April 14
Two delegates from Pendeford College, Wolver Hampton, UK, visited the MGN Public School in the city to materialise the second phase of the UK-India Education Research Initiative (UKIERI), a project under the British Council. Delegate members, including Andrew Timmis and Kerry Watson, interacted with the CLOUDSAT (NASA) team and volunteers of the UKIERI project to discuss the issue of global warming.

During his visit, Kerry also conducted an art workshop in the school fine arts department for the staff and students.

The delegates also visited the historical monuments at Nakodar and attended a cultural programme at the school.

Later, delegates visited Police DAV Public School, Jalandhar cantonment, and enquired of the ongoing three-year project which aims at studying educational technology, culture and environment of both the countries.

Students of Police DAV School presented a short skit in the morning assembly showcasing the devastation caused to the environment by human beings. — TNS

Jalandhar, April 14
It was a thrilling and nerve wrecking experience for the onlookers at the horse riding show, which was organised by the Vajra Corps at Jalandhar cantonment on Saturday. The event was held as part of the diamond jubilee celebrations of 11 Corps.

Performing daring acts, top horsemen of national and international repute from the Army, the state police and civilians flocked the event with curiosity. Children were seen enjoying the thrilling horse riding skills at the sylvan surrounding of the newly established horse riding academy.

Most breath taking performances were individual tent pegging, triple tent pegging and cross tent pegging. The thundering response of the audience cheered the horse riders during the show.

As many as six horsemen took part in the individual tent pegging event, whereas police A team, ASC Centre North and Punjab Police B team participated in the team tent pegging event. Each team comprising three riders and 12 riders participated in the top score show jumping event. The trick riding display was performed by the riders of 61 Cavalry.

On the second day, an exhibition polo match was held between the Corps Commanders team and Chief of Staff’s team. Reputed polo players from across the country thronged the event. The players came from Jaipur, Delhi, Bareily, Jhansi and J and K to be part of the prestigious game. A daring “gatka display team” from Amritsar performed. The spectacular game saw skillful presentation by both the teams. GOC of Vajra Corps Lieut-Gen V.S. Tonk said both events were held with an aim to provide exposure to the audience regarding the games. “This is for the first time that a grand horse riding and polo match were held. This event will certainly give a fillip to both the games,” he added. 

Jalandhar, April 14
The last time when he won a team gold and individual silver medal in the second Oman international tent pegging championship in Oman, Muscat, his forthright statement was, “Give me the horse and I am a winner.”

This might sound an exaggeration, but SI Jagdish Singh, a horse rider from the 7th battalion of the Punjab Armed Forces Headquarters, believes that he is a born rider. His finesse was visible at the horse show recently conducted by Vajra Corps where one of his horse riders constable Vikram Singh won the first prize in horse riding. A fine horse rider and trainer now, Jagdish has won more than 162 medals in various national and international horse riding championships.

This guy has tried his hands at almost all breeds of horses.

With over 30 years of experience, he has made a name for himself in this thrilling sport.

At present, PAP has a horse squad of 31 horses with two special breeds, Thoroughbred and Half-bred. “The role of horses is now confined to sports only,” he added.

“I have spent more than 30 years in the service of these horses here. It gives me immense pleasure when my horses excel in the field,” he said. Jagdish is also the in charge of the equestrian team, Punjab. He won an individual gold in the horse riding show in South Africa in 2003. Besides, he has been awarded for his skillful horse riding with the Maharaja Ranjit Singh award in 2006 and the best rider award at the All-India Police Meet.

However, he lamented lack of interest of youngsters in this passionate individual game. “The game can get back its lost glory by starting horse riding clubs. Youth, particularly children, are usually fond of horse riding as a hobby and later can follow it as a game as well,” said Jagdish.