Bathinda, June 19
Furious over the insulting behaviour meted out by an SAD MLA to industries minister Manoranjan Kalia, the local unit of BJP today claimed that the ruling SAD had lost the recent Lok Sabha elections in the urban areas because of its members’ arrogance.

Senior leaders of the local BJP unit, including its president Narendera Mittal and senior deputy mayor Tarsem Goyal, asked Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to remember that his government was surviving only because of the support of 19 BJP MLAs.

They urged Badal to maintain the tradition of coalition by taking exemplary action against Sarabjeet Singh Makkar, the MLA who allegedly misbehaved with Kalia. The incidence was shameful and condemnable, they said.

They pointed out that SAD activists manhandled D.P. Chandan, vice-chairman of the small-scale industries, during the panchayat elections and humiliated BJP leaders. Such incidents brought disgrace to the SAD, particularly in the urban areas of Punjab.

They asked Badal to discipline such “irresponsible” leaders of the SAD who were trying to weaken the coalition.

Bathinda, June 19
The Australian minister for trade and citizenship, Virginia Judge, has said that effective steps would be taken to check the attacks on Indian students. She gave the assurance yesterday to a delegation of people of Indian origin that called on her at Sydney.

Dr JS Virk, chairman of the Sydney based Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO), led the delegation. He told this correspondent over the telephone today that a special task force has been set up by the police to check the attacks on Indian students, who generate a lot of revenue for Australia. He said the situation had gradually come under control and no fresh incident was reported.

Virk said an Australian-Indian welfare committee had been constituted in the city of Parramatta near Sydney. The committee would take steps to restore harmony in the area.

Bhoomi Punj, chairman of the Australia-based Punj group of industries, who is settled in Sydney for the past 35 years, stressed upon a need for the Australian and Indian governments to take stock of these incidents and prevent their recurrence.

He appreciated the Australian government for providing opportunities to the Indian migrants at par with their own citizens.

Vipin Sharma, who deals in dairy products there, said these attacks should not be termed as racist. The Indian students returning home late at night were targeted by anti-social elements, he added.

Bathinda, June 19
To promote the culture of various states, the Nehru Yuva Kendra, Bathinda, would organise a week-long National Integration Camp (NIC) at the SSD Senior Secondary School here.

While giving this information, Sukhdev Singh Sandhu, youth coordinator of the Centre, said the camp would be organised from June 20 to 26, in which around 100 boys and girls from seven states would take part.

The participants would interact with each other and know about the traditional attire of a particular place, its folk dance and songs, food of different cultures and how people live at various places.

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports had sanctioned about 150 such camps and one of them is being organised in Bathinda.

Field visits would be a part of the camp. The participants would be taken to the Jallianwala Bagh and the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

A cultural programme would also be organised during the camp.

Fazilka, June 19
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today said he was upset with the behaviour of the SAD legislature Sarbjit Singh Makkar with the senior BJP leader and the cabinet minister Manoranjan Kalia. He said the issue would soon be sorted out and it would be discussed with the BJP state president and other leaders.

Badal was speaking to the media prior to a sangat darshan programme at Behak Bodla in the Fazilka sub-division.

Despite the dispute between the coalition partners at Punjab level, the state BJP vice-president and the local MLA Surjit Kumar Jyani was present at the sangat darshan programme.

The sarpanches and panches of 39 border village panchayats of Fazilka and Jalalabad (West) subdivisions participated. The CM listened to the grievances of the villagers and distributed Rs five crores to different village panchayats.

In reply to a question, whether the SAD president Sukhbir Singh would be fielded from Jalalabad Badal, he said that it will be decided by the party.

The Chief Minister said that industrialists and NRIs are being motivated to set up industrial units in Punjab.

He said that the state government would come out with all possible help to them.

Irrigation minister Janmeja Singh Sekhon, MP Sher Singh Ghubaya, former MP Gurdas Singh Badal, Ferozepur divisional commissioner BS Sudan, DIG RP Mittal, deputy commissioner, Kamal Kishsore Yadav, SSP PS Parmar were present at the programme.

Bathinda, June 19
Local health department swung into action today after the DMC, Ludhiana, on Thursday confirmed the first case of dengue reported from Bathinda.

As per reports, the suspected case of dengue, Surinder Singh, a resident of Mata Jiwi Nagar here, had been suffering from fever for the past few days. He also complained of severe headache. Surinder was rushed to a private hospital where the doctors attending on him referred him to the DMC.

Meanwhile, as the news of the first dengue confirmed patient reached district health officials, a survey team was immediately sent to Surinder’s house. They took the blood samples of other family members and sent them to a laboratory. The report of the samples is awaited.

When contacted, Dr I.B. Aggarwal, assistant civil surgeon, Bathinda, confirmed the dengue case and said an awareness campaign had already been started in the city. The health department has also written a letter to the Bathinda Municipal Corporation asking it to make proper arrangements for cleanliness and fogging in the affected locality, he said.

The department has called upon the people not to panic, adding that they should go in for pathological tests to confirm dengue. “Precautions should be taken immediately so that this does not develop into an outbreak,” Dr Aggarwal cautioned.

Mansa, June 19
Although the area under the cotton sowing is almost equal as it was in the last year, the Agriculture Mandi Board officials are expecting increase in the cotton production this year owing to suitable environmental conditions and sowing of improved quality seeds.

Nearly 5.50 lakhs hectare areas was covered under the cotton sowing this year while it was 5.27, lakhs area in the last year.

A section of cotton growers of Malwa, including Jung Singh of Jattana, Darshan Singh and Prithi Singh said that they had sown cotton in the area almost equal to the last year.

However, they expect more production this year, provided natural and environmental conditions remain suitable. Mealy bug may damage the crop at the last moment as it had done in the past, they added.

Many farmers during this season preferred to sow Bt cotton variety (Ankur 327), which could result in more yield.

Dr Gurdyal Singh, joint director of the Punjab Agriculture department expressed hope that cotton production could increase till considerable extent as environment conditions were suitable for the crop. He said that last year cotton crop was damaged in the earlier stage due to rains.

District chief agriculture officer, Davinder Singh, informed that high temperature was beneficial for the cotton crop. He advised farmers to supply water to the crop after one month from the date of sowing.

Moga, June 19
Markfed, the Asia's biggest cooperative society, has decided to increase its cattle feed production by 50 per cent, enhancing the capacity of its two cattle feed plants at Gidderbaha in Muktsar district and Kapurthala from the existing 100 tonnes per day to 150 tonnes due to the increasing demand in Punjab and nearby states.

A spokesman of the Markfed stated in a press release that the decision to enhance capacity of the plants has been taken to meet the increasing demand of the certified cattle feed amongst the dairy farmers.

Markfed has also decided to introduce the latest state of art computerised batch marking system in cattle feed production to maintain consistency in the quality of the product. To increase the product mix, besides, type-II compounded cattle feed, Markfed has now introduced high energy feed and protein rich mash, mineral mixture and liquid calcium as well.

The Gidderbaha plant has achieved 27,205 tonnes annual production against the target of 25,000 tonnes that was 109 per cent of its capacity utilisation.

The plant has also earned a profit of Rs 160.8 lakh against an estimated earning of Rs 75 lakh in the last financial year.

Bathinda, June 19
Two persons were killed and three others seriously injured in a road accident occurred near Burjmehma village on Bathinda-Muktar road on Thursday night.

According to sources, the incident took place when a jeep in which the victims were coming to Bathinda from Deon village collided with a JCB coming from opposite direction.

Two of them succumbed to their injuries in the Civil Hospital, Bathinda, where they were brought by the volunteers of the Naujawan Welfare Society.

The jeep was badly smashed and the driver of the JCB managed to escape from the mishap site.

Members of the NGO said, “We made efforts to pull all the five injured out from the badly mingled vehicle. The other injured have been referred to a private hospital.”

The deceased have been identified as Malkiat Singh (24) and Jodha Singh (48).

The injured include Jaswant Singh, Sewak Singh and Tarsem Singh. All the victims were residents of Deon village.

SHO Buta Singh of Nahiawala police station told The Tribune that investigation into the accident has been initiated. “Efforts are on to nab the JCB driver as he had fled the scene after hitting the jeep,” he added.

Bathinda, June 19
College teachers of Bathinda have expressed happiness over the Punjab government’s nod to the recommendations of the UGC’s revised pay scales of teachers and equivalent cadres in universities and colleges in Punjab.

Professor NK Gosain, office-bearer of the Punjab Federation of University and College Teachers’ Organisation (PFUCTO) said today that they organised dharnas and meetings to get the revised scales implemented.

“This has happened for the first time that teachers of universities, government colleges and aided colleges were taken under one notification. Earlier, university teachers were given priority when it came to the implementation of revised pay scales then government college teachers used to be considered and then teachers of aided colleges had their turn,” Gosain said.

Bathinda, June 19
Naunihal Singh, the officiating SSP, Bathinda, today held an interactive session with media to make improvement in policing and maintaining law and order in the district.

To check criminal activities, he said, the police had decided to start round-the-clock patrolling. Naunihal said besides giving top priority to redress the grievances of the public, he would also ensure that the behaviour of the cops was proper and friendly, he added.

Naunihal urged people to co-operate with cops and provide them with correct information so that anti-social elements could be brought to book immediately.

Mansa, June 19
The Mansa district unit of the All India Youth Congress today organised a blood donation camp at the Civil Hospital here on the occasion of Rahul Gandhi's birthday. Blood bank team of the hospital collected 30 units of blood from the blood donors.

District president of the youth Congress, Gurpreet Singh Vicky and other office- bearers of the outfit donated blood during this camp.