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Cotton growers find paddy farming more lucrative
Legendary comedian honoured
Mehar Mittal (right) interacting with a gathering at the Bathinda Public Library on Sunday.
— A Tribune photograph |
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First anniversary of Fazilka Pushpak Sewa
Ajayvir Jakhar is chief of Bharat Krishak Samaj
Automatic machines for cotton grading
University to start enrolment
Cash, jewellery stolen
Talent hunt programme
Seminar on career options
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Cotton growers find paddy farming more lucrative
Bathinda, June 21 "Paddy would be more beneficial than cotton for us as last year we had to move from one place to another for selling our cotton produce. Also we could not get MSP for our produce. Paddy fields also require less labour as compared to cotton fields. When we sow wheat after paddy in the same field, it grows well," said Lehmber Singh, a farmer from Korewala village of Mansa at the Bathinda grain market here today. There are reports that the proposal to increase the area under cotton might not actually see the light of the day. Moreover, cotton farmers in traditional cotton belt areas like Bathinda and Mansa have been bearing the brunt of the unpredictable weather conditions. Pritam Singh, an agricultural expert from Mansa, says that under the given circumstances, the cotton crop growers feel that growing paddy would be a more lucrative option. They consider paddy a secure crop now," he added As per farmers' union leaders, even the cotton crop in Malwa had got severe blow last year. "Discouraged by last year's distressing lifting of the cotton crop, Malwa farmers are taking to paddy cultivation. Even quality water scarcity in Malwa has failed to deter them, they said. They revealed that the government's much-hyped diversification policy has remained only on papers. Farmers still continue with wheat-paddy cycle. "There were a small percentage of farmers who really look for diversification. Rich farmers with more than 40 to 50 acres prefer to diversify just two or three acres, whereas small farmer does not even risk that," they added. However, agriculture department officials revealed that this time the area under cotton plantation would increase as compared to the previous years. |
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‘Shun showing violence’
SP Sharma Tribune News Service
Bathinda, June 21 Mittal said it was unfortunate that sex and violence was prominently being projected in the movies these days. However, this was not the fault of the female artistes who had to perform such scenes to remain active on the screen during this highly competitive period. The participants of the function had a face-to-face interaction with Mittal who replied to their queries. Mittal recalled that before coming to the movies, he used to take part in the Ramlila and thereafter became schoolteacher and had a brief stint in legal profession. However, he joined the theatre and later moved to the films to become a famous comedian without whom perhaps no Punjabi movie was considered complete. Mittal's childhood friend, P.D.Goel and Jagdish Ghaie, general secretary of the Public Library, spoke on the occasion. Senior deputy mayor Tarsem Goyal was among those present on the occasion.
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Retreat ceremony: A treat for all visitors
When dusk shrouds, the silence is punctured and the mute fields of Hussainiwala are set ablaze by thunderous tapping of feet by the BSF sentinels, who match every step, every motion with their Pakistani counterparts, just to outdo each other. A visit to the Hussainiwala Joint Check Post (JCP) is an integral part of the itinerary of all those who visit this border town of Punjab. As soon as one walks past the BSF check post, the entire atmosphere looks charged as the alien nation, which was once part of ours, is just stone's throw away with only the barbed wire separating the two. The cobra fencing, the bunkers, the ditch-cum-bandh (DCB's), the observation towers (OT) which have now sprung up all along the border almost sketch a picture of a war field. For all those who come from far and wide, to witness the sturdy BSF jawans matching step by step, trying to prove an edge over Pak Rangers is an experience of a different world. With the last note of the buglers' sound, the ceremony folds up amidst thunderous applause by the audience on both sides. The sentinels of both nations match their movements with precision while lowering their respective national flags. The sun goes down followed by a dark sheet marking the end of the day's journey, day after day, year after year; the people on both sides keep on thronging the JCP with different streaks of thoughts coming to their minds. For some, it is a stereotyped ritual, for some it is a perfect drill by their soldiers, and for some it is a glimpse of land and the people on the other side which was once their own. — Anirudh Gupta Temporary campus for Central varsity
The premises of the Bathinda Cooperative Spinning Mills have been selected for setting up the temporary campus of the Central University. The complex is being spruced up for the session during the current year. Vice-chancellor Jairup Singh is actively engaged in finalising the nitty-gritty for starting the session. The spinning mill is under liquidation and the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has allotted the complex to the university for a period of five years. The PWD has assessed a monthly lease rent of Rs 1,35,800 for the sprawling complex. A piece of 500 acres of land has already been acquired at village Gudda for setting up the permanent campus. — S.P.Sharma Serving the humanity!
The Shri Chintaharan Triveni Mandir Committee, Mansa has been serving the mankind for last eight years in its own way. Besides serving langer to poor three times in a day, the mandir committee has been distributing pensions to physically challenged since February 3, 2008. The committee president Ashok Lali and the chairman Kanwal Kumar Singla said that pension camps were held every month. Nearly 105 persons had received pensions so far and Rs three lakh has been distributed for this purpose. Volunteers of mandir committee also serve patients at drug de-addiction centre by providing them food three times daily. Nearly 50 poor families receive rice, wheat and other eatable materials every month from this socio-religious organisation. The organisation also provides financial aid to poor student. Office-bearers of organisation said all these social services were being performed on the basis of donations. Committee chairman and president said they have a plan to construct old age home and houses for people. — Parmod Mehta |
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First anniversary of Fazilka Pushpak Sewa Praful Chander Nagpal
Fazilka, June 21 Celebrating the occasion, the association brought the rickshaw pullers under insurance cover, besides, launching welfare schemes for their kids. The GWAF provided Digital Identity Cards (DIC) to altogether 250 registered rickshaw pullers of the town. The digital cards were distributed by the municipal council president Anil Sethi. The notable feature of the DIC is that all the card holder rickshaw pullers have been covered under the health insurance scheme up to Rs 50,000. The premium of which will be paid by the GWAF. With the health insurance cover, the rickshaw pullers will be entitled to free treatment up to Rs 50,000 at private nursing home of the town, namely Chandravati Hospital, Sachdeva Hospital, Gurpta Nursing Home, Jassi Heart Care Centre and Dhawan clinic. According to the GWAF general secretary, Navdeep Asija, the insurance cover had been offered to the rickshaw pullers to provide them better health facilities in case of any accident or disease. The GWAF active member Vikram Ahuja said that besides the GWAF has also made provision to provide education to the children of rickshaw pullers at a nominal rate of Rs 10 per month at a local Satsang Primary School. The school managing committee would provide the children with free text books, notebooks and a set of winter uniform. On this occasion, MC president Anil Sethi said that those rickshaw pullers, who had no houses, would be offered residential plots measuring 675 square feet at nominal rates on easy installments to enable them a better living. The GWAF has suggested the rickshaw pullers that they could display publicity material of different companies like flex board on rear part of their rickshaw and hence earn about Rs 100 per month for such display. He said that according to a survey conducted by the GWAF, each rickshaw puller runs a distance equal to an auto three wheeler which would consume two litres of fuel per day. Hence about 900 litres of fuel consumption is saved everyday besides preventing air pollution. To mark the first anniversary of sewa, the MC president Anil Sethi inaugurated the office of rickshaw union opposite the local main bus stand.
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Ajayvir Jakhar is chief of Bharat Krishak Samaj
Abohar, June 21 Ajay was born in 1971 at village Maujgarh here. He was unanimously elected to the office during the 57th meeting of All India Farmers' Council of the organisation at Amritsar that was presided over by the state president Buta Singh Bajwa today in the presence of his grand father Bal Ram Jakhar. Ajayvir's name was proposed by Andu Gowder president of the state unit in Tamilnadu, reports reaching here said. His term of office will be five years. Speaking to The Tribune over the phone, Ajayvir Jakhar said the BKS is likely to take up the issue of waiving of Rs 65 thousand crore loans to farmers by the UPA government. The habitual defaulters normally get benefitted always, why not to refund the interest at least to good pay-masters, who had repaid loans well in time? The BKS will urge the “farmers-friendly” Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to fix rate of interest at three per cent for all categories of the farming loans. The organisation plans to demand opening of more agricultural universities in private sector. Agro-based industries need to be installed only in the rural areas to pass on the benefit to farming community, besides, skilled labour in villages. Small tools should be developed to make farming less costly. |
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National Integration Camp begins Anjali Singh Deswal Tribune News Service
Bathinda, June 21 She said she had never seen a ceiling fan before. Her group mates also saw a moving train for the first time. They said that they had so far seen pictures of the train and read about it in books. Not only this, they also experienced sweating in the scorching sun for the first time. About 10 youngsters from Kargil have come here to take part in the six-day long National Integration Camp organised by the Nehru Yuva Kendra. Having seen lush green fields enroute, they have started loving Punjab. As the land holdings in their native place are small and they had never seen the sprawling fields. The camp was inaugurated by the deputy commissioner of Bathinda, Rahul Tewari, this morning. "I have moved out of Kargil for the first time and I heard the name of Bathinda in the movie 'Jab We Met', said Dolma. Staying at the SSD Senior Secondary School here, the Kargil team is very excited about taking Punjabi juttis (sandals), suits and karas back home. "My mother told me that Punjabis love wearing a ‘kara’ in their wrist. She told me to get some for the entire family," Kaleem added. Dolma, Yangdol, Stenzin and Fatima, all could be seen getting excited to buy suits for themselves. "I have seen Punjabi suits only in movies or sometimes the tourists who come to Kargil wear them and I would buy lots of them when we go to the market here," Stenzin, a Buddhist girl quoted. A majority of them being first timers to step out of Kargil were excited to see how a train looks like but they could not board it because they missed their train from Jammu. But, for Nisha sitting in a bus was also a different experience and every time the noise of the engine of the bus frightened her because she never sat in a bus in Kargil. The girls clad in their traditional dress goncha were proud of the fact that Kargil was a city of six cultures and people spoke Balti, Ladakhi, Sheena, Dardi, Kashmiri and Purji languages there. Gulzar and Talib said that they loved the rice served to them here. "The taste of rice here is very different from that we eat in Kargil. We just ate rice without any curry as it tastes so good without it," Gulzar said. Yakub and Shamim said that the water of Bathinda was not suiting them.
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Automatic machines for cotton grading
Mansa, June 21 Informing this, Mandi Board officials said that this was being done to bring quality in the cotton purchase and provide reasonable price of crop to the farmers. Through these automatic machines, cotton grading would be fixed, which would be helpful for both farmers as well as traders. The purchase of cotton would start after fixing the cotton grading through automatic machines, they added. This work would begin from August 1, 2009. Twenty four markets where these automatic machines would be operational to fix grading of cotton included Bathinda, Maur, Rampura, Rama, Sangat, Bhucho, Gunianana, Mansa, Sardulgarh, Bareta, Budhlada, Bhikhi, Jaito, Kotpura, Tappa, Barnala, Lehragaga, Gidderbaha, Malout, Mukatsar, Abohar and Fazilka. Meanwhile, cotton officer of Bathinda, Vijay Sharma, said this new system of cotton grading would be helpful in knowing the exact quality of cotton and fixing the price depending upon its quality. He informed that earlier cotton traders had taken cotton of Punjab in short-staple length at lower prices as compared to Gujrat cotton. Now, farmers would be able to get more prices according to the quality their crops. |
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University to start enrolment
Bathinda, June 21 The 10-acre complex was run between 1995 and 2008 as the Nehru Memorial College by a registered body under the chairmanship of deputy commissioner, Bathinda before it was taken over by the Punjabi University, Patiala. According to the principal, Dr.D.K.Madaan, admission for courses in BBA-MBA integrated, MBA (Agribusiness), BCA, PGDA, M.Sc (Information Technology) and BA would be done. All courses will use international pedagogy like field study, class room presentation, seminars, group discussion, simulation, etc. Madaan said that in order to promote and develop professional culture, an active interaction with industry will be promoted by holding extension lectures, industrial visit of students, organising seminars and workshops. The placement cell of this campus would function under the centralised placement cell of Punjabi University. |
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Cash, jewellery stolen
Fazilka, June 21 As per the information, owner of the house Sushil Sharma left for Beas to participate in a religious programme with his wife, son and daughter last evening at 6 pm. His father Mohan Lal Sharma, who lives near their house on Phirni road, came to check the house in the night in their absence as a precautionary measure. Sharma noticed that the window of the kitchen was open. When he entered the house, he saw that the valuables kept in almirah were spread on the bed. He said the thieves took away cash, mobile and gold ornaments which were kept in the almirah. Sushil is a teacher at the Government High School, village Kamalawala. His wife Anita Sharma is also a teacher in village
Hiranwali. |
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Mansa, June 21 She inaugurated the talent hunt programme for searching meritorious and talented candidates from this region to make them technically and professionally sound. — OC
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Seminar on career options
Bathinda, June 21 Dr J.S. Anand, principal of DAV College, was the chief guest. Key speakers were Kaushik Mukherjee, Ripneet Singh and Guneet Singh. Nearly 450 students attended the seminar, said organiser S. Baghla. K Mukherjee, Ripneet Singh and Guneet Singh were the main speakers at the seminar. — TNS |
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Mehar Mittal, the legendary comedian of Punjabi movies, became emotional when he was honoured here today for his long service to the cinema and theatre.
National Integration Camp begins
