Dera Baba Nanak (Gurdaspur), October 13
The Union Home Ministry has undertaken an exercise to strengthen fencing and floodlights apart from sanitising the riverine gaps on the India-Pak border falling in Punjab.

The need to undertake this kind of exercise arose following an unprecedented rise in the number of incidents connected with the seizure of narcotics, including heroin, worth crores of rupees in the past few years and an incident related to the firing of rockets on Indian soil in peacetime from across the border.

Official sources said Additional Secretary, Union Ministry of Home, AE Ahmed today visited various pockets on the Indo-Pak border in Gurdaspur district and carried out the inspection of major civil works going on there in connection with infrastructural development.

Inspector General, BSF, Punjab Frontiers, Himmat Singh, who accompanied Ahmed, said works in connection with the strengthening of the infrastructure were going on in border pockets. He, however, said he would not give information on the major works going on in these pockets.

Information gathered by The Tribune revealed that the main stress was being put on those areas where the fencing had been uprooted or cut. Apart from it, innovative measures were being taken to sanitise the riverine gaps to make it impossible for infiltration into Indian territory.

According to reports Ahmed, whose visit is being kept secret, will visit the Indo-Pak border falling in Amritsar and Ferozepur districts tomorrow. A proposal to strengthen infrastructure on the Indo-Pak border was sent to Union Home Ministry by the Punjab authorities of the BSF.

A senior official of the BSF said on condition of anonymity that the BSF personnel manning the forward posts had been facing a number of difficulties as their morchas and bunkers had been in bad shape.

Meanwhile, barracks are being constructed at various border observation posts in Punjab for providing accommodation to women, who had been inducted into the BSF about a month ago.

Chandigarh, October 13
The Punjab Government has decided to set up a diplomatic enclave in Mohali where countries with a large Punjabi population will be offered space to set up their diplomatic missions.The concept floated by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal was discussed with the visiting Candian High Commissioner Joseph Caron. He has shown keen interest in the concept.

Sukhbir Badal said the consulates set up in Chandigarh and Jalandhar were functioning out of office spaces and this caused difficulties in terms of security and management. In Mohali, Punjab would designate an area were consulates could be set up on the pattern of Delhi, which would solve many administrative problems, including that of providing security to the diplomats. He did not elaborate further, but said the concept was being developed. The High Commissioner, in response to a question, said there was still no clarity if Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper would visit Punjab or not during his proposed visit. But he said that he had invited Sukhbir Badal to visit Canada to forge collaboration between Punjab and Canada in areas that included agro processing, energy, environmental technology, etc. The Deputy Chief Minister has requested the Candian Prime Minister through the High Commissioner to visit Punjab when he comes to India.

Punjab and Canada are exploring areas of mutual cooperation that include infrastructure development and agro procession for value addition. Punjab and the Canadian province of Manitoba had an MoU on agro procession in place. “We have explored various possibilities and we will arrive at some understanding soon”, Sukhbir Badal said.The High Commissioner said Canada had not cut down on the number of visas being issued to Indian students. “The number of visas being offered is based on demand. But I can tell you there are no cuts either due to the global slowdown or any other reason”. In response to a specific question about the demand for an apology from Canada for the killing of 354 passengers from India who were trying to immigrate to Canada from India in a ship called the Kamagata Maru in 1914, the High Commissioner said he was aware of the incident and the demand for an apology, but did not know what decision the Canadian Government had taken.

Phus Mandi (Bathinda), October 13
The residents of the village, just 8 km from Bathinda, have been caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. On one side of the village is the highly sensitive ammunition dump of Bathinda cantonment while on the other side, there are dumps of various oil companies.

In such a scenario, residents of the village cannot celebrate the festival of lights by bursting firecrackers, fearing the wrath of the district administration.

This gives the village the dubious distinction of being the only village in the entire Malwa belt that can not celebrate Diwali with firecrackers.

Villagers have not been able to soak in the Diwali festivities for the last three decades ever since the Army acquired 400 acres of land to set up a cantonment, perceived to be one of the biggest cantonments in Asia.

After this, several oil companies decided to establish their dumps near the ammunition dump in a decision mired in controversy.

All this has meant that the residents cannot burst firecrackers, fearing a Diwali rocket might well go astray and hit the nearby

ammunition dump or an oil dump. Says a fire department official “things are really bad for the villagers. A single spark can turn the village into an inferno. Once the ammunition dump was established, the oil companies should have set up their respective dumps in other faraway areas. There was some controversy when the oil dumps came up near the ammunition dump but later everything was swept under the carpet by the authorities concerned.”

Says Manjit Kaur, sarpanch of the village, “Our children do not even know the meaning of Diwali. We have not celebrated the festival for the last so many years. During the days preceding the festival, the police visits the village regularly and reminds us that we should not use firecrackers on Diwali. When our kids insist that they use firecrackers, we have to tell them that because of the dumps, they can not use such stuff. For us, it is Diwali sans firecrackers.”

The administration ensures that announcements are made on a regular basis from the village gurdwara so that inhabitants of all the 300 houses of the village are alerted.

Gurdaspur, October 13
Even as the state Congress leadership will hold its rally at Batala tomorrow to ‘thrash’ the ruling SAD-BJP alliance over its failure in the procurement of paddy in smooth manner, chairman of the Punjab Mandi Board Ajmer Singh Lakhowal visited various grain markets of the district to speed up the same.

Though, it was claimed that Lakhowal made a surprise visit to various grain markets, including Batala, Dhariwal and Gurdaspur towns this evening today to expedite the procurement process, a large number of farmers alleged that Lakhowal did it to stop the farmers to attend tomorrow’s rally being held by the Congress.

Information gathered by The Tribune revealed that a number of farmers, who had been sitting in various grain markets for the past many days to dispose off their produce, expressed their anger against the ‘mismanagement’ of the ruling alliance.

They even went to the extent of saying that they were more harassed whenever the SAD-BJP came into power. They also alleged that the officials of procurement agencies had been purchasing the paddy, unloaded in the markets at their whims.

Lakhowal, while talking to the mediapersons said so far 24.50 lakh MT of paddy out of total 26.48 lakh MT, which had arrived in the markets so far, had been procured by the government agencies and the private purchasers.

Chandigarh, October 13
Even while the government is trying to fine-tune paddy procurement in Punjab by making senior officers responsible for the same, arhtiyas today decided not to sell any produce to Pungrain in protest against delayed payments of up to 16 days.

The delay is reportedly occurring because Pungrain wants to make online payments to farmers and not through cheques as is being done by other state agencies. State Arhtiya Association president Ravinder Singh Cheema said the association had requested the agency to make payments through cheque in case it was facing any technical glitch but the agency was insisting on making online payments only. Pungrain has procured more than six lakh tonnes of paddy, which is around 25 per cent of the total procured till now.

“In the meantime farmers who need money to make purchases of DAP fertiliser besides diesel are being inconvenienced”, Cheema added. He said the association reviewed the situation today and decided not to sell any produce to Pungrain till the agency released payments to farmers. He said during an earlier meeting with government officials it had been requested that if any state agency failed to make payments to farmers within 14 days it should not be allowed to participate in the auction process. He said this suggestion was, however, not heeded by the government.

Meanwhile, farmers who get cheques for their produce may have to give counter-cheques to arhtiyas from whom they have taken loans. With all payments being made direct to farmers, arhtiyas feel this is the only way loans given by them can be secured. Cheema, when questioned on this, said farmers should not have any problem in giving cheques to settle loans.

As far as procurement is concerned, government agencies and private millers had procured more than 23.74 lakh tonnes of paddy till last evening. Government agencies procured 22.8 lakh tonnes of paddy whereas private traders procured 86,392 tonnes that is 3.4 per cent only. The FCI was able to procure 1.6 lakh tonnes.

An official said Ferozepur district was leading in procurement work with 3.9 lakh tonnes of paddy being procured in the district followed by Muktsar with 2.9 lakh tonnes and Faridkot with 2.3 lakh tonnes. The state government has set up 1,600 procurement centres and activated its machinery to ensure the smooth procurement of paddy, the spokesman added.

Moga, October 13
Employees of the agriculture department in the state have gone on an indefinite strike from today in protest against the role of the politicians of the ruling parties and the police authorities in slackness in checking the sale of spurious pesticides, fertilisers and other chemical farm inputs.

Thousands of employees of the department came out of their offices at all district headquarters in the state and held protest rallies outside the offices of the district magistrates. In the Malwa belt, the protest rallies were held at Moga, Ferozepur, Faridkot, Muktsar, Barnala, Sangrur, Bathinda, Mansa, Ludhiana and other districts.

Dr Gurdev Singh Gill, joint director of the agriculture department and chairman of the Agriculture Technocrats Action Committee of the state, alleged that widespread political interference in the routine work of the official machinery was prevalent in the state.

Referring to the incident of checking of the premises of M/s Ajnala Kheti Stores last month, he said the owners of the firm were selling unauthorised pesticides, fertilisers and other chemical farm inputs, but even as the raiding team of the department asked the police to take action against them, the police authorities, probably under pressure from ruling party politicians, were hesitant to take legal action against the firm. “This firm did not have a valid licence to sell pesticides, fertilisers and other chemical farm inputs," he claimed.

Dr Gill said the Agriculture Minister had categorically given directions to him to constitute teams and inspect pesticide, fertiliser and seed sellers, but when a drive was launched in Amritsar, Taran Taran and Gurdaspur districts, political pressure started mounting on the official machinery not to take action against some particular firms.

“We have decided not to do any work of quality control, crop cutting experiments, not to organise farmers’ training camps and all other official work until legal action is taken against owners of M/s Ajnala Kheti Stores and political interference is stopped in official working”, Dr Gill added.

Perturbed over the “irresponsible” attitude of politicians, Dr Rashpal Singh Khosa, president of the Plant Doctors’ Association of Moga district, said it was a sorry state of affairs that ruling party politicians were interfering in the routine work of the department and protecting unauthorised sellers of pesticides and fertilisers.

Dr Palwinder Singh Aulakh, chairman, and Dr Jaswinder Singh Brar, press secretary of the district unit of the association, said they had given a memorandum to the district magistrate to be forwarded to the Chief Minister, demanding legal action against the owners of the said firm. 

Malkana (Bathinda), October 13
This village, noted for its high cotton yield, is a typical instance of the desperate poverty amid the ostentatious wealth in one of the country’s most prosperous states. Plagued by teeming squalor, lack of sanitation, contaminated water, endemic diseases and - above all - official apathy, residents still manage to eke out a living here.

Though the political leadership had pledged to combat the epidemic form of cancer prevalent in the area during the previous polls, it has failed to take any effective steps to contain the disease. In the face of government apathy and their lack of means, many villagers are now taking recourse to ‘black magic’ in the hope it would help in ridding the village of the disease.

During a visit to the village, residents told this reporter dozens of villagers had fallen prey to various forms of cancer in the past, with six people having succumbed to the disease during the past four months. They rued the state health authorities had not rendered any medical assistance whatsoever. Initially hesitant in talking about the issue, a group of elderly villagers said: “The state government is so heartless that even after it had received several applications from residents for medical aid it did not respond. The result was that six villagers died of cancer”.

Later, recounting the deaths that had lately occurred, the villagers said a 60-year-old resident, Gurcharan Singh, died of stomach cancer about a month back.

“After a struggle lasting seven months Kaur Singh died four months ago at the age of 63 due to mouth cancer. 40-year-old Gurdeep Kaur, who died on July 1 this year, had been suffering from throat cancer. Another woman, Jaswinder Kaur, who was in the same age group, lost her life on August 5 due to breast cancer. 52-year-old Golo Kaur, who had uterine cancer, died the following month”, they added.

“The list of deaths due to cancer is very long. The disease has even become an impediment in the villagers’ wedding plans as outsiders are reluctant to allow their children to marry anyone in this village,” said Baldev Singh. An educated woman, requesting anonymity, said, “It is high time the government swings into action. Even though a reverse osmosis water purification plant has been installed here, health officials must render prompt treatment to those residents who have been afflicted with cancer”.

Jalandhar, October 13
Family of eminent writer and Sikh scholar Harinder Singh Mehboob, who is suffering from serious ailment and undergoing treatment at the local Patel Hospital, suffered a blow, following the hospital management asking the family to clear the medical bills.

Mehboob was undergoing treatment in the hospital for last one month. Deputy Commissioner, Jalandhar, AS Pannu had called on the ailing author and had announced that all the treatment cost would be borne by the government. The hospital had submitted a bill of Rs one lakh to the DC, but it has been unclear whether the follow up charges were to be paid by the family or the government. Presently, the hospital management, after the date of relieving of patient, asked the family of the writer to pay the bill amounts, causing anxious moments to the family of the writer.

Daughter of the writer Satwant Kaur told The Tribune that her father had been relieved from the hospital on last Wednesday and management told us that we have to pay all the expenses thereafter. They even billed us for the cost of drugs that we availed from the hospital on the day of relieving, she added.

“The government must pass fresh and unambiguous directions to the hospital management to clear the whole situation,” she said. Owner of the hospital Dr SK Sharma said they have not received any written directions from the state authorities in this context. “However, we have sent the bill of the treatment to the DC’s office because of the verbal assurances given by the district administration and news reports,” he added.

Amritsar, October 13
More than 200 women journalists from the Asian subcontinent pondered over challenges before womenfolk of Asia and dwelt upon emerging opportunities for them in the changed world order at a two-day conference that concluded at Lahore on October 12. The conference was organised by SAFMA and the South Asian Women in Media.

Visiting women journalists from SAARC countries like Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Maldives and Sri Lanka were in for a surprise when they saw that the traffic in Lahore was well organised and that there were no beggars.

A group of as many as 32 women journalists from India and Bhutan had crossed over to Pakistan via the land route from the Attari border post on October 9.

The 32-member Indian and Bhutanese group of journalists and columnists comprised actor Nandita Dass, Nanki Hans, Anita Katyal, Teresa, Shruti, Shagufta, Mannika Chopra, Jyoti Malhotra, Bagchi Kakaria, Pamela Philipose and Muslim Jaan, a teacher from Srinagar.

Women journalists deliberated on issues like women’s place in the regional media, portrayal of women in media, terrorism and its effects on womenfolk, and the gender relation situation prevalent in South Asia.

“What left us elated was the smooth flow of traffic in Lahore streets. There was no chaos, no mismanagement and it was contrary to our perception about Pakistan, currently grappling with a huge law and order problem,” said women journalists on their return from Pakistan to India via Attari on Monday. 

Patiala, October 13
Time and again we see new bills being tabled by various ministers in the Parliament. But as a common man, getting a bill introduced in the Rajya Sabha is something unheard of. What’s more, majority of us don’t even know that it is actually possible. But advocate Gurjit Singh, a guest faculty at the Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Patiala, has made this difficult task possible.

After a long-fought battle, he has finally managed to get his petition --- requesting amendment to Article 19 (2) of the Constitution for misuse of freedom of speech and expression by the print and electronic media and for imposing reasonable restrictions --- converted to a bill that would be introduced on the opening day of the 214th session of the House.

Talking to The Tribune, Gurjit Singh said, “Whenever the police arrests an alleged robber, burglar or a chain snatcher, it has become a precedent to inform the media. The cops proudly get themselves clicked with their ‘catch’. In many cases, the alleged victims are not found guilty by the court and are acquitted. However, they have to bear the social stigma throughout their life. It happened with one of my friend’s son. He was acquitted by the court, but is still facing problem in every walk of life, including marriage. Reason: His picture was published in the press as an alleged robber.”

Elaborating on his petition, the lawyer said, “I had earlier filed a petition with the Punjab Human Rights Commission, Chandigarh, but that was dismissed as it did not have the jurisdiction to try it. Therefore, I filed a petition with the Rajya Sabha in 2005. The petition was given a nod by the chairman of the Upper House and thereafter it was admitted to the Committee of Petitions in 2006. The committee then called the petitioner for clarifications.