Kapurthala, July 25
While the Ek Onkar Charitable Trust is holding a three-day function to mark the ninth anniversary of kar sewa of Kali Bein, over 158-km-long stretch of this rivulet is still blocked with hyacinth and under water vegetation.

Following two-day rains, the flood-like situation has emerged in the Bein due to this blockage at a number of places, including Kanjali, Subhanpur and Hussainpur.

When a team of Kapurthala-based mediapersons visited the Kali Bein today, it noticed that the water was flowing to its brims at most of the places in the Bein.

Neither the district administration nor Chairman of the Trust Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal, who takes credit for cleansing the Bein, has done anything to remove the hyacinth.

Nambardar of Kanjali village Sucha Singh said Baba Seechewal was paying attention only on the 1.5-to-2-km stretch of the Bein around his Nirmal Kuteya at Sultanpur Lodhi. As a result, the rest of the over-158 km-long stretch of the Bein was blocked with hyacinth for the past over two years, he said.

Further, the situation at Kanjali wetland has further aggravated as the work for under-construction bridge with a regulator has been left midway. The Chandigarh-based private company has stopped its construction due to non-payment of the remaining amount by the government.

The submerged structure of the under-construction bridge has obstructed the hyacinth and underwater vegetable to flow further beyond the Kanjali picnic spot. As a result, the water level in the rivulet has increased to its brims soon after the recent rains.

The situation is not different at other parts of the Bein. The hyacinth and underwater vegetation obstructed the smooth flow around the Subhanpur bridge on the Jalandhar-Amritsar NH-1.

DC Raj Kamal Chaudhary said he had already visited the rivulet at several places and directed the Xen, Drainage, and Xen, Bist Doab, to remove the hyacinth at the earliest.

Baba Seechewal said the problem of hyacinth could not be solved till the flowing of sewage water into the Bein was stopped from Begowal, Bholath in Kapurthala district and Tanda in Hoshiarpur district and several villages around the rivulet.

He said the government should also restart flow of pure water into the Bein from its originate point in Dasyua, which had been stopped for about a year.

Chandigarh, July 25
Even as the Bhakra and Pong Dams are trying to limp back to normalcy after heightened depletion in May, the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) on Thursday claimed that allegations of excess release of water, particularly to Rajasthan, were made as an afterthought by Punjab.

Talking to The Tribune, BBMB chairman UC Misra said all three partner states, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, had unanimously agreed in May to deplete Bhakra Dam to a certain level. “This was done to ensure that the reservoir does not get overfilled during the filling season besides guarding against the need to release water afterwards, which could cause a flood-like situation”.

“The only consideration at that time was to keep the level in control,” Misra said, adding that all three partner states were asked to specify their requirement and that water was released against requirement. During this period, one of the partner states even under-utilised the water released to it,” he said, while refusing to name the state concerned. It could not be Rajasthan, which received 2.6 lakh cusecs of water during this period.

The BBMB Chairman said allegations of excess release to Rajasthan were being made as an afterthought because the rains had failed. He said the situation was, however, different in May with the Indian Metrological Department (IMD) claiming the monsoon was likely to be normal.

Misra said upon getting indications in June that this was not the case, restrictions were enforced from June 11 onwards and the release from Bhakra was brought down to 28,000 cusecs daily and that from Pong Dam to 6,000 cusecs.

He said in July the release from the Bhakra was brought down further to 22,000 cusecs, following an emergency meeting of the board. “Now, however, we have reverted to releasing 28,000 cusecs from Bhakra and 6,000 cusecs from Pong Dam,” he added.

Meanwhile, Bhakra Dam is filling up on an average of 1 to 1.5 ft every day with rain being reported from various parts of Himachal Pradesh in the past one week. If this trend continues, the water can attain a comfortable height.

The BBMB Chairman said he hoped the situation would ease in the coming days with reports of rainfall reviving in Punjab in August. He said if this happened, the demand for water might go down and filling may increase.

Chandigarh, July 25
Lip service about going organic aside, the Punjab government is very clear about one thing: trials in organic farming can be sacrificed if a prestigious project like Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) is to come to the state. No wonder that years of field trials in organic farming of wheat, paddy, barley and citrus fruits at Ropar are being brought to a naught so that this land can be allotted for setting up the IIT.

It is another matter that after being shifted, the Organic Farming Council of Punjab will have to restart field trials. That too after the new land allotted for the purpose has been rendered fit for organic farming.

The land allotted for field trials in organic farming has not been under cultivation for more than decade. Sources said it could take anywhere between one to three years to ready the land for starting organic farming.

The Punjab government has decided that the IIT campus will come up on 577 acres of Birla Farms. The council has been informed about the decision and told to shift their trials to 100 acres in Laddowal near Ludhiana, which is almost one-sixth of the land where the trials are on at present.

The council has also set up a laboratory at Birla Farms and farmers are often brought here to attend training modules in organic farming of wheat, paddy, barley, peas, guava and kinnow. But with the model farm at Ropar being shifted, all these extension activities would also be halted till the new farm at Laddowal
is ready.

Interestingly, though there is enough talk about the benefits of organic farming, Punjab has made little progress on this front. So far, only 1,800 acres of farm land has been certified by various agencies as being brought under organic farming.

Most of this land has been brought under organic farming due to the initiative taken by NGOs, while the state government’s body, Organic Farming Council of Punjab, has certified only 350 acres of land for the purpose of organic farming. Most of this land is located in south of Punjab, mainly Abohar, Fazilka and Faridkot.

“Around 12,000 acres of land is in the process of being converted for organic farming. The council recently got an audit conducted in 50 farms in which it was established that all traditional farmers had converted to organic farming. “We propose to bring another 5,000 acres of land under organic farming in the coming year,” said a senior officer of the council. 

Chandigarh, July 25
A new DGP means new ideas and an attempt to implement a new vision and so is the case with PS Gill, who took over on July 3. The DGP has laid out a plan to modernise the police force with special emphasis on urban policing and counter terrorism operations.

Modernisation of the police force, including better gear for police personnel facing rioters, as well as better communication facilities are among the plans being finalised.

Gill is for equipping the police personnel with modern belts that have state-of-the-art handcuffs and other restraints needed to tackle rioters, besides appropriate jackets. Policemen would also be imparted special training on riot control.

Urban policing is another area of focus. Here, the need for centralised communication command and coordination between police jeeps and motorcycles and the control room in a seamless manner are being finalised.

Chandigarh, July 25
“Education is not economic activity for us. We cannot compete with the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand for admitting Indian students to universities in Germany.

“Education for us is knowledge and not business,” says Christian-Mathias Schlaga, officiating Ambassador of Germany to India. “There is no tuition fee for Germans and foreigners in our universities. Still we have 4,000 Indian students. We want more Indian students. As all undergraduate courses are in German and admission is not possible if one does not know the language well. Almost all universities are state-run.

“The number of students from Germany in Indian universities has been rising, but it is not substantial. German students in India must also be more,” says the diplomat, who was here to flag off the first batch of six Chandigarh teachers - three each from Vivek High School and Paragon Senior Secondary School, Mohali - for an eight-week course in German language and culture in Germany. The six teachers were given air tickets.

The courses for Vivek and Paragon school teachers are run by the Indo-German Language and Cultural Society, Chandigarh. Its Director, Surinder Singh Maken, an alumnus of Panjab University, is postgraduate in German language and has lived in Hamburg before he started the Chandigarh chapter of the Goethe-Institut, Max Mueller Bhawan.

“This special programme is aimed at having more schools teaching German in the world. It has been introduced in 40 schools in India of which two schools are from this region. All six teachers were given basic knowledge of German before being sent for the course. After return they will teach the language in schools.

“India has the largest number of schools under the scheme,” says the diplomat revealing that “China is catching up fast. China has been selling itself well in Germany. We want India to market itself in Germany.

“Bilateral trade has grown from three billion Euros in 1993-94 to 13.4 billion Euros in 2008-09. Joint ventures of India and Germany has increased from 270 to 2,700 and technical collaborations are above 5,000 mark,” says the German diplomat.

He said major German presence in the region, Groz Becket, has completed four decades here. Its Managing Director completed 15 years here.

The diplomat says Germany is among the top three to four trading partners of India. Germany still has a stronghold in research on origin and development of Sanskrit as mother of all languages. India, he said, was a favourite destination for German tourists as a few millions come here every year.

Ferozepur, July 25
Reacting to the Centre’s announcement of providing 100 MW more power from the Central pool to Punjab following deficient monsoon, Akali-BJP nominee for the Jalalabad byelection Sukhbir Badal said, “It is too little and too late,” adding that crops had been damaged already.

The Centre also announced to provide 50 per cent subsidy on diesel given to farmers by states. The SAD president did not seem impressed.

Addressing election rallies at Balluana, Pakka Kale Wala, Suhelewala and Ladhuwala villages in Jalalabad today, Sukhbir said SAD-BJP MPs from Punjab had been seeking more power to the state for 20 days, but the Agriculture Ministry was not taking note of the damage caused to paddy crop due to scanty rain in Punjab. Sukhbir said the SAD had been demanding 1,000 MW more power free of cost and diesel at subsidised price to enable farmers to save paddy. 

Chandigarh, July 25
Congress MLA from Qila Raipur Jassi Khangura yesterday countered SAD president Sukhbir Badal’s charge saying that the supply of coal to Punjab had declined due to policies of the Centre, resulting in a state-wide power shortages.

Khangura referred to the comments of the PSEB recently, saying that, in fact, a lack of coal supply was a matter of simple economics: “Who will supply a defaulting customer, with a poor payment record and a bad credit history? This alliance government alone is responsible for this mess”.

Khangura stated the alliance government and Sukhbir, in particular, had been remarkably inconsistent on the power issue.

At the 2007 assembly elections, the Akalis had promised surplus power within three years of its taking reigns of the state. On assuming power, this timeline expanded to a surplus situation “within the term of this government”. Now, even Manpreet Badal, Finance Minister, observed in his recent Budget speech that Punjab would not be a power surplus state until the end of 2012.

He revealed that the Ministry of Coal had recently allocated coal blocks to Punjab, which, on account of its financial crisis, had to date not been able to find a single partner for extracting the coal.

Chandigarh, July 25
In a bid to bridge the gap between the demand and supply of power, the Punjab government is contemplating to allow private players to set up merchant power plants in the state on the pattern of Gujarat model and a comprehensive policy in this regard will be announced shortly.

Disclosing further details, a spokesman of the Chief Minister’s office said the prospective entrepreneur would be asked to sell 20 per cent of the generated power to the state government only at variable cost and the developer would be free to sell the remaining power in the open market.

Under the new proposed policy, private parties interested to set up such merchant power plants would arrange land, coal linkage and undertake other formalities of their own. The state government would only facilitate in providing required water for the power generation.

Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal recently held a detailed meeting with the top brass of the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) to chalk out a strategy to set up these power plants in the private sector. He asked the board to devise ways and means to encourage private entrepreneurs, who had expertise and technical know-how in the field.

The CM has directed Principal Secretary, Irrigation and Power, Suresh Kumar and Chairman, PSEB, HS Brar to ensure a level playing field to all private key players who intend to set up merchant power plants in the state and hopes such power plants will play a crucial role in augmenting the power supply in the state.

The state government has already had a Non-Conventional and Renewable Sources of Energy (NRSE policy) in Punjab, but there was no policy on the setting up of merchant power plants so far. It was a conscious decision on the part of the government to formulate a concrete policy to enable private investors to set up such power plants.

Ludhiana, July 25
Fourteen-year-old Jatinder Singh from Bramhmpura village in Patiala, a student of class VIII, is in trouble for no fault of his. Jatinder, whose sister’s mother-in-law was allegedly murdered by his father over his daughter’s wedding within the village, has landed him at a local observation home. His fault: He accompanied his father when he allegedly committed the murder and got booked in a murder case.

Since yesterday, Jatinder, an innocent frail boy, has not stopped crying. He does not understand why he was sent to the observation home. “I did not kill anybody. But I am sent to jail,” he sobbed to a Tribune team here today.

The young boy is not able to understand the wrangling of the law. His misery can make even the hardest of hearts melt. “My father killed the elderly woman. Then why was I sent here? I was just standing there not doing anything. I had in fact tried to stop my father not to kill my brother-in-law,” he says while wiping his tears.

He and his 16-year-old cousin, Daljeet Singh, were accompanying a delegation of 11 that went to his sister, Kuljeet Kaur’s marital house, three days ago.

His father, Kuldip Singh, allegedly opened fire with his licensed arm at Kuljit’s husband, Balihar Singh. His mother Manjit Kaur tried to save him and got killed.

The Julka police registered a case against 11 accused, including Jatinder and Daljeet. While eight persons absconded, three included these two minors were arrested by the police on the spot.

While Kuldip Singh was sent to Patiala Jail, the minor duo was sent to observation home for minors here yesterday.

SHO Julka Shaminder Singh said the duo were also booked in the murder case that was registered on the complaint of the victim party. He said the boy was arrested, produced in a court and sent to the observation home.

The young boy’s arrest has evoked strong reactions from human rights organisations. Universal Human Rights Organisation president Satnam Singh ridiculed the role of police in the case. “There are several cases of murders registered against several people in Ludhiana alone. Do they arrest everybody? They mark an inquiry in such case. Why could not they do it in this case? Do they want this boy to become a criminal?” he asked.

Patiala, July 25
While the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) authorities are merrily planning to purchase a whopping more than 12 lakh digital meters by end of March 2010, its much-publicised drive to shift meters out of consumer residences has proved to be a “pick and choose affair”.

It has almost ended as a fiasco, as the board was yet to complete the daunting task of replacement of 31 lakh of a total of its about 55 lakh old analog meters and was also to move these out of consumers’ premises.

In a rare display of enthusiasm, the PSEB had initiated its drive not only to replace analog meters with new “Pilferage proof” digital meters about two years ago but had also planned to shift meters out of premises of the consumers, almost holding most of its 55 lakh domestic and commercial consumers responsible for power theft.

Nearly, 23 lakh meters were replaced under the PSEB’s “half-hearted” initiative, which was initially projected repeatedly as a “potent weapon” against power thefts. This, according to the PSEB officials, could bring down quantum of the PSEB’s huge and piling up losses.

But, what surprised a huge chunk of the PSEB consumers was that the board’s scheme started loosing its steam suddenly. Certain consumers also alleged bias in the implementation of the process saying “powerful” persons managed to retain their old meters.

“We are going to purchase 12 lakh new digital meters by end of March 2010 and would make all out efforts to shift and replace remaining about 31 lakh old meters by this time,” said member (distribution), PSEB, KD Chaudhary.

The board officials said it was not short of meters, as it had more than 37,000 single phase, 30,000 three phase and more than 17,000 of farm meters lying in its stores. 

In the hand-written diaries recovered from the DGP, the vigilance claimed said the total unaccounted money mentioned in the diaries was Rs 7.56 crore. The prosecution also stated that it needs presence of the DGP to question him about the abbreviations in the diary which mentions code names of places and persons. Asthana claimed that the properties mentioned in the diary were roughly valued at around Rs 30 crore.