Chandigarh, August 12
The Punjab government has decided to ask private hospitals in the state to gear up for handling swine flu cases.

State Health Secretary Satish Chandra said a list of such hospitals was being prepared and instructions would be issued tomorrow.

“We are shortlisting those private hospitals which have the capacity to handle such cases,” said Satish Chandra.

Larger hospitals will be asked to designate areas within the hospitals, which can be converted into isolation wards. The government will also train some staff members to handle such cases.

“The situation in the state is right now under control. The number of designated government hospitals across the state are enough to deal with the situation as it is emerging in the state. But we are preparing for the worst. Private hospitals will be needed when civil hospitals cannot handle all cases,” said Satish Chandra.

Dr Deepak Bhatia, nodal officer of the pandemic in the state, said in case a private hospital offered to treat a patient, it could be considered.

“We had some cases in Ludhiana which were treated in a private hospital, but under the guidance of a government nodal officer,” he said.

Meanwhile, Union Minister for Health Ghulam Nabi Azad had a telephonic conversation with state Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal yesterday, alerting him of the spread of the pandemic.

A two-member team of doctors from the government of India today visited Punjab to examine the preparation of the state in case the pandemic spread further in the state. They met the Health Secretary this morning and will be visiting some civil hospitals tomorrow.

Satish Chandra repeated an appeal made to all private medical practitioners in the state that in case a person showing swine flu symptoms approaches them, they should refer such a patient to the nearest civil hospital and also contact the nodal officer of the area about the suspected case.

Till now, 25 confirmed cases of swine flu have been treated in Punjab.

Moga (TNS): One suspected case of swine flu was reported at the district hospital here on Wednesday. According to reports, Gurvinder Singh (39) of the Civil Lines here came to an emergency ward of the hospital for a check up today.

However, doctors were of the opinion that he had symptoms of swine flu.

The patient also revealed that one of their relatives had recently come from Australia and visited him.

The health authorities immediately admitted him to an isolation ward and took his blood samples, which had been sent to New Delhi for tests.

Meanwhile, doctors have started his treatment as per the prescribed module till the result of the test comes.

Chandigarh, August 12
The Punjab government today notified that the allowances the employees would get with revised salaries following the implementation of the Fifth Pay Commission.

Revised salaries, with new allowances, will be effective from August 1. “ New salaries will be paid to employees by the end of this month,” said Principal Secretary, Finance, Karan Avtar Singh.

New pay scales following the acceptance of the Fifth Pay Commission report were already notified. But notification for the allowances was pending.

Agreeing to all recommendations of the commission the government, however, decided to retain the old classification of cities, followed from 2003, for the payment of the house rent allowance. The revised HRA will be paid according to the old classification.

For employees residing in cities with a population of 50 lakh and above, the HRA will be 30 per cent of the basic pay, while for cities within the 5 lakh and 50 lakh range, it will be paid 20 per cent of the basic pay. For employees posted in Patiala and Bathinda, the HRA is 15 per cent. For those posted in cities with more than 50,000, but less than 5 lakh population, the HRA will be 12.5 per cent, and those in cities or towns less than 50,000 people, including villages, will get 10 per cent of pay as HRA.

“The notification on revised pension is expected to be issued tomorrow and be effective from August 1,” added Karan.

The revised salaries and allowances will mean an additional burden of Rs 250 crore per month for the government. “We are taking steps for additional resources to meet this expenditure,” said Karan.

As the government agreed to implement the recommendations of the commission with effect from January 1, 2006, arrears due till July 31, 2009, will also have to be paid to the employees which will mean an additional burden of Rs 4,000 crore.

Amritsar, August 12
Akal Takht will try to resolve the issue of a separate committee for the management of gurdwaras in Haryana if the members of the ad hoc committee for the management of Sikh shrines in Haryana and the SGPC failed to resolve the issue in the next general body meeting of the SGPC on August 14.

The Takht has also directed the SGPC to send a fact-finding team to Vienna to bring out the truth with regard to the disrespect of Guru Granth Sahib resulting in the shootout and subsequently the killing of the deputy chief of Dera Sachkhand and violence in Punjab.

Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh told the media here today that they were against the formation of a separate gurdwara committee for Haryana as it was a move aimed at dividing the Sikh community, which was already in minority.

The Jathedar said they had deliberated on the modalities of sending beers to foreign countries and asked the SGPC to chalk out a plan for sending them following maryada. He asked the committee to investigate the authenticity of the holy relic associated with Guru Gobind Singh brought from Italy recently.

The Takht also approved the resolution of the SGPC passed in 2003 pertaining to the reconstruction of Darshani Dheodi in the SGPC complex. He said they had asked the committee to construct the same while retaining the architectural design and paintings.

Bathinda, August 12
Scanty rainfall will severely hit the cotton crop in Malwa this season. Most of the cotton fields, which would otherwise be blooming at this stage, are drying up due to a scarcity of water.

Facing a drought-like situation, farmers, who find canal water insufficient for their fields, are forced to use groundwater. Contamination of the groundwater of Malwa is known to all, and it clearly reflects the results.

Some farmers have access to canal water supply but it is being supplied for a few minutes per acre, that too after a gap of a week. Farmers have to switch to groundwater to irrigate their fields at the cost of soil fertility. Dwarf plants and weak branches are ample proofs of its effect on the crop.

The worst affected areas are Sangat and Talwandi blocks. However, the size of cotton plants is not up to expectation even at Tungwali and its surrounding areas.

During a visit to Tungwali village, Naib Singh and Jasveer Singh, who have total 12 acres under the cotton crop, expressed worry over the size of the plants.

“Last year, our plants were about six feet in height but this time (after three months of sowing) these have reached only up to three and a half feet. Previously, we recorded a yield of about 1.40 quintal per acre, which would only reach up to one quintal, if nature did not bend in our favour,” said Jasveer Singh.

Naib Singh said: “We sowed five varieties of cotton this season: 6025 Mahyco, 2226 Ankur, 6304 Mahyco, Jassi and 333 Jeet. Being all of Bt variety, we felt relieved from the mealy bug and pests. But, the short height of plants can not give the expected yield.”

According to official details, last year 1.53 lakh hectares in this district was under cotton production, which has now recorded a fall of 3,000 hectares.

Chief Agricultural Officer, Bathinda, Paramjeet Singh Sandhu said: “We are still hopeful of somehow coping up with the situation if a good rainfall is experienced in the coming few days.” 

Jalandhar, August 12
Ruling out the review of the recommendation on minimum support price of paddy to the Union government, the chairman of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices said a report on “latest crop situation” in Punjab would be submitted.

The commission members led by chairman Prof Mahendra Dev met farmers and visited paddy and other crops in the Jalandhar-Amritsar region today. Director, Agriculture, Punjab, Balwinder Singh Sidhu accompanied them.

Professor Dev said, “Farmers told me about the cost of inputs on paddy having gone up by Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,500 and they had to buy diesel tend the crop. I will submit report on it to the Union government”.

On additional relief to farmers, Professor Dev refused to disclose it. “I will submit the report based on the feedback I had from the farmers”.

To a question on the review of the minimum support price (MSP) for paddy due to drought-like situation in the country, Professor Dev said the commission had already recommended MSP for paddy and the Union Cabinet would decide it. So there was no possibility of its review. However, farmers could be given relief in other forms to be decided by the Union government.

The Union Cabinet has not taken a decision on MSP for several weeks. It can increase the MSP and announce relief to farmers in other form apart from raising the MSP.

Professor Dev, accompanied by Dr KG Radhakrishanan, Member- Secretary and Professor Rajvir, a member, said, “The commission followed the data provided by the Union government to fix the MSP of crops. It can not change the method for determining the MSP. Punjab had been asking for change in the method because it does not include costs of certain inputs on tending crops”.

Amritsar: The farmers sought a compensation of Rs 2000 per acre for the extra amount they spent on diesel for irrigating their fields.

Seeking a special MSP for the Punjab kharif crop, the farmers put across to the commission that the government must fix at least Rs 1,500 per quintal for the paddy and Rs 3,500 per quintal for basmati to allow the farmers to tide over the additional burden they had incurred due to scanty rain.

(With inputs from PK Jaiswar and Ashok Sethi)

Nangal, August 12
While the kharif crop in Punjab and Haryana is already threatened by the poor monsoon and drought-like situation, it is evident that the rabi season is going to be no better.

After a sweltering summer, people may have to bear the brunt of water and power crisis in winter too.

The filling period of the Bhakra and Pong Dams from June till date falls short of water by several metres compared to last year. Water in the Bhakra reservoir today was 1,591.74 ft with outflows of 18,208 cusecs and inflows of 36,638 cusecs.

However, at the same time last year, the water level was 1,657.94 ft, which is 66 ft more than today.

With the filling season coming to an end by September 21 and withdrawing the monsoon cover from North India, neither the situation seems to improve nor water levels are expected to transcend at higher proportions.

From September 21 to May 20, the depletion period of the Bhakra reservoir will last while that of the Pong reservoir will be from September 21 to June 20. This will practically leave the reservoirs with scant water to deal with the future needs converting into a limited water supply for the rabi season.

“The filling season has been poor. During the depletion period, water will recede further. The BBMB has rightly decided to cut down water for irrigation keeping in view the future needs,” says engineer Padamjit Singh from Patiala.

As per the BBMB, the Bhakra and Pong reservoirs are operated in an integrated manner to derive optimal benefits of irrigation and power. During the summer and rainy seasons, water is stored in the reservoir after meeting irrigation requirements of the partner states and released in a planned manner during a lean period.

To meet requirements of the depletion cycle (September to May), sufficient water storage is needed. Rajasthan may be the worst hit during the rabi season.

Member, Irrigation, BBMB, and officiating chairman MK Gupta said all decisions were being taken after keeping in view requirements of partner states.

Chandigarh, August 12
Punjab will ask for a Rs 3,000-crore package from the Centre to offset the losses suffered by it on account of power purchase to save paddy crop in the state following a 70 per cent deficient rainfall in June besides expenses incurred in maintaining its canal system.

According to a memorandum to be submitted to the Centre following deliberations held during the National Conference on Agriculture and Food Security in Delhi, the state claims it has purchased 2007 million units of power at a cost of Rs 1,254 crore to ensure eight-hour supply for tubewells to irrigate paddy. The electricity utility department has incurred a cost of Rs 2,861 crore in supplying this power to farmers, as it had to be diverted to them from higher-paying categories 
of customers.

The memorandum states that the state also had to undertake proper maintenance of the existing canal system during April and May so as to ensure normal supply of canal water at the tail ends of the system. It says an expenditure of Rs 45 crore was made for this purpose in 2009-10.

The memorandum claims that since Punjab is a major contributor of rice to the central pool and more than 95 per cent of the market arrivals are procured for the national pool, the entire cost of subsidy should be borne by the union government.

The state further claims the rainfall had been deficient by about 70 per cent during May and June. Though there was some rain during July, the spatial and temporal distribution of rainfall was poor. The dry spell resulted in an increase in input costs as farmers had to irrigate their fields using diesel generators.

According to estimates prepared by the state, the consumption of diesel during June and July increased by 99,141 metric tonnes against the consumption in the same period last year. Accounting for a normal rate of increase in the consumption of diesel by around 5 per cent, the cost of increase in diesel consumption during these two months has been worked out at Rs 400 crore. The memorandum says the recent increase in cost of diesel by Rs 2 per litre has put an additional annual burden of Rs 190 crore on the agriculture sector.

Punjab has demanded that since the weather forecast for the remaining kharif period was not very encouraging, a remunerative maximum support price (MSP) should be announced for paddy immediately. It has also demanded a suitable drought relief be announced over and above the MSP in case there is only partial rainfall during the remaining period of the kharif season.

Finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal said the union government’s money under the Calamity Relief Fund was deposited with the state. The fund could be operationalised only after the declaration of drought by the Centre.

Chandigarh, August 12
Punjab is exploring the feasibility of shifting textile-dyeing industries, which cannot be connected to common effluent treatment plants to be set up in Ludhiana for preventing the discharge of waste matter into Budha Nullah.

The Chief Secretary has directed the Punjab Pollution Control Board that cost estimates might be prepared for shifting of the industries scattered in the city, which were not likely to be covered by the proposed CETPs, “so that the amount of funds in form of loans required for the purpose could be worked out”.

In an affidavit-cum-status report submitted on behalf of the state Chief Secretary to the Punjab and Haryana High Court Division Bench of Chief Justice Tirath Singh Thakur and Justice Kanwaljit Singh, Additional Secretary to the state government, Department of Science, technology and non-conventional energy, Harjit Singh added it was also decided in a review meeting that the large and the medium textile dyeing units be persuaded to upgrade the ETPs to achieve zero-level discharge (ZLD).On the other hand, the small-scale textile units could be catered to by setting up dedicated CETPs for achieving ZLD for cluster of industries in geographically contiguous areas. The meeting was held on August 4, and was attended by the Budha Nallah project coordinator P Ram.

The report asserted the performance of 38 textile-dyeing industries was recently monitored. “All the samples were found to have failed to achieve the prescribed norm of island surface water in terms of BOD and bio-assay test”, the report added.

It said the pollution board chairman told the members that just one of the seven medium electroplating industries had ZLD, while the remaining units were in the process of upgrading the ETPs.

In all, 457 small-scale electroplating units had joined the CETPs in phase VIII, focal point, Ludhiana. Another 45 units were being persuaded to become the members.

Fatehgarh Sahib, August 12
With male child preference and female foeticide playing key factors, Fatehgarh Sahib district has registered skewed sex ratio in 2001 census. The Health Department claims that the dismal picture is slowly changing as the district has registered an upsurge in number of females in past nine years.

As per the 2001 census, the number of females was just 761 for per 1,000 males. The Health Department claims that this figure has now risen to 868 females per 1,000 males in 2008.

The district now has 845 female per thousand males and the figures are expected to improve by the next census due in 2011.

As per the details of first five months of year 2009, the birth rate of female is more in urban areas as compared to rural pockets. As many as 835 female children were born in the first five months of 2008 and in 2009, it increased to 853 per thousand males.

In urban areas 822 females were born in the first five months as compared to the 919 males and in the rural areas 617 males were born as compared to 489 females. April alone this year registered 1,084 female births in urban areas and in rural pockets it was 693.

While in 2006, the number of females was 769 per thousand males. In 2007 the ratio improved with 798 females head count and in 2008 the number rose to 868.

Chandigarh, August 12
Punjab Assistant Inspector-General of Police Ajay Kumar Pandey today moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court claiming he was not promoted as deputy IGP, even though his promotion was due nine months ago.

He has also sought directions for declaring the “Punjab Absorption of Paramilitary Forces Group A Service Rules -2005” inapplicable to him.

In two separate petitions placed before Justice Ajai Lamba and Justice Permod Kohli, the petitioner asserted, “it is confusing whether he is an IPS officer, or a PPS officer or a CRPF officer, or Punjab civil services officer or a persona non-grate…

“When it comes to fixing the seniority, it is assumed and inferred by the Punjab Police that he is not their officer. When it comes to pay fixation, grant of annual increment, the matter is referred to the Home Department for clearance as the officer belongs to the state government and is not a GOI officer. When it comes to allowances, the stand is he is state government officer, and all allowances applicable to state government officers will be applicable to him.”

Pandey has added on February 13, the Department of Home Affairs promoted three officers as deputy IGPs; and “placed two other officers Kartar Singh and Paramjit Singh Grewal to look after the work of deputy IGPs. The high court has issued notice of motion on both the petitions.