Jalandhar, October 24
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has been urged to strongly intervene to save farmers from exploitation by rice export lobby which has brought down the price of 1121 variety of paddy to all-time low - Rs 1,700 per quintal.

Sadhu Singh, a farmer from Sardullapur, said this variety of paddy had fetched price ranging between Rs 3,000-4000 per quintal last year. However, this year, it had not gone beyond Rs 2,000 per quintal whereas today it was sold at Rs 1,700 per quintal. The Chief Minister should do something in this regard to save farmers from exploitation, he said.

Rice prepared from 1121 has a ready market in the Middle East and some European countries. Its rice has aroma identical to high quality basmati rice. Because of this reason the Union government had categorised this variety as basmati last year.

Trade sources said the 1121 rice was fetching $1,300 per tonne in the international market. That means Rs 60 per Kg. There was a difference in the price being offered to farmers and the price fetch by it in the international market. Indian exporters have orders to export 2.5 million tonne of basmati rice, this year, it is learnt.

Balbir Singh Rajewal said he had asked Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar to take up the matter regarding 1121 variety with the Prime Minister as well as with the Union Commerce Minister. This year farmers had switched over to this variety in a big way because it had fetched a good price last year. However, now farmers feel fleeced.

Rajewal said Badal should also take the issue of 201 variety of paddy seriously. Problems related to it could pose serious problems to the rice trade in the industry.

There is a need to guide farmers about 201 variety. Millers were avoiding its lifting because of the problems faced by them last year.

Ludhiana, October 24
Even as rice millers are seeking a ban on the PAU 201 variety of paddy, which is not being lifted in mandis across the state, Punjab Agricultural University scientists have said that this is the best variety farmers can cultivate.

Stating that PAU 201 is a high-yielding variety with an average of 30 quintals per acre, the PAU scientists said it would prove to be a boon for the state as it required less water and matured two weeks earlier that PUSA 44. Moreover, it was resistant to the white-backed plant hopper and needed lesser pesticides.

Dr P.S. Minhas, PAU Director of Research, said this variety was released after thorough testing. Dispelling common beliefs about the variety, he said it fell under grade 'A'. No discolouration of grains was reported after de-husking and polishing.

‘‘This in one of the varieties that provides some solution to the lowering of underground water in the state, ’’ he said, adding the Directorate of Rice Research, Hyderabad, too, had found that this variety had high head rice recovery( 65.2 per cent). Besides, it had translucent, long and slender grains.

On the other hand rice millers said the variety showed discolouration of 7 to 9 per cent. Even the head rice recovery was less than 63, they claimed.

Hari Om Mittal, an office-bearer of the Punjab Rice Millers Association, said they did not want to argue with the experts of PAU. ‘‘We just want that they should test the rice in front of our eyes. The truth will prevail, ’’ he said.

Showing a number of dark grains in a sample of paddy, Nirmal Parkash Sofat, another office-bearer, said they had to bear the brunt of high damage of grains in this variety. ‘‘It is for anybody to see. We are not misleading the farmers, ’’ he said. 

Bathinda, October 24
If one goes through the details of expenditure and employment provided under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) in the first half of the current financial year, various districts of Punjab seem far away from running the scheme in true spirit.

The details available indicate that some districts could not even manage fresh sanctioning of funds by the Union government this year.

Jalandhar, Barnala, Ferozepur and SAS Nagar are the districts which have been running all schemes with the previous year’s balance amount.

Tarn Taran was sanctioned an amount of Rs 50 lakh this year, but due to the previous operating balance that, too, could not be released yet.

Gurdaspur and Jalandhar are the districts which are lying at the bottom in utilising the current year’s allocated funds.

Official details state that Gurdaspur district could disburse only 13.75 per cent of the total received funds, while Jalandhar spent just 18 per cent of the total amount.

However, observing the criteria of the Union government in releasing fresh amount, a few districts have now been putting their best to utilise the funds.

The districts which have spent more than 90 per cent of the total available funds are Barnala (95.68), Tarn Taran (94.82), Moga (93.54), Sangrur (90.9) and SAS Nagar (90.47).

However, it has also been said that some of these districts had comparatively less funds to spend, like Moga had just Rs 31 lakh, SAS Nagar Rs 21 lakh, Tarn Taran Rs 58 lakh, whereas the funds of Hoshiarpur were about Rs 17.7 crore.

On the other hand, irrespective of the reason, employment details state that Mohali is a district that could provide only 4,000 man days of employment till September.

Moga provided 22,000 man days, while Gurdaspur and Tarn Taran provided 28,000 man days each.

Kapurthala, Faridkot and Fatehgarh Sahib are also some districts which remained below the figure of 40,000.

In contrast, Hoshiarpur district stands at the top in the race, providing 5.46 lakh man days of employment under NREGA.

In the same way, Bathinda is next in the race with 2.6 lakh man days of employment during the current financial year.

Barnala, Nawanshahr, Amritsar and Fatehgarh Sahib are the districts where not even a single work could be completed during the current financial year by September.

Kapurthala is also among these, as only four out of the total 59 initiated works could be completed till date.

Amritsar, October 24
The Congress is projecting the Maharashtra Nav Nirman (MNS) chief Raj Thackrey just as it “had projected” Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and such, a “misdemeanour” would cost the country dear.

This was stated by BJP general secretary and in charge of Punjab Affairs Balbir Punj, who said the BJP had hardly suffered poll debacle and asserted that it was rather the Congress which had suffered a major setback in these polls, as the number of its seats in states like Haryana had gone down.

“The Congress is playing with fire by going all out to help the MNS and its leader Raj Thackeray just as it had done in case of Bhindranwale. In fact, if one observes the poll outcome minutely, one would find that it was the Congress which had suffered a huge damage. Arunachal Pradesh is a different case altogether because it generally goes with the central government,” said Punj.

Punj, it was learnt, has come to Punjab in an apparent bid to douse the “fire” prevailing within the Punjab unit of the BJP which was rocked by alleged differences among various senior party leaders, including MP Navjot Sidhu, Rajinder Mohan Singh Chinna.

More recently, the spat between the Amritsar BJP MLA Anil Joshi and Amritsar SSP Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh had hit the headlines. It was a different matter that Punj was successful in his efforts to some extent as he made all the warring BJP leaders sit together today. All Amritsar BJP leaders, including the district president Col Amrik Singh, accompanied Punj to the Golden Temple where he paid his obeisance.

Earlier, Sidhu and his supporters received him at Rajasansi Airport.

He also directed MLA Joshi to not sit on fast to press for his demand of transfer of the SSP. “Differences do crop up in bureaucracy and in any political organisation. It is a usual matter,” said Punj.

BJP MLA Anil Joshi had threatened to sit on a chain fast from Monday if the SSP was not transferred. Punj, however, admitted that differences and to some extent indiscipline had resulted in a number of problems within the BJP.

Jalandhar, October 24
Almost all civil hospitals in the state are functioning without house surgeons, who deal with emergency cases. Nearly 20 district hospitals are also facing the same problem.

According to information gathered by TNS, civil hospitals in five big cities have no house surgeons. Even, a 400-bedded hospital in Jalandhar functions only with six surgeons against the sanctioned strength of 20.

In Mata Kaushalya Hospital, Patiala, only one surgeon is working against a sanctioned strength of 10.

Interestingly, there is not even one house surgeon in civil hospitals in Bathinda, Amritsar and Ludhiana against the sanctioned strength of five for each hospital. Similarly, in Ferozepur, Gurdaspur, Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur, Mansa and Roopnagar, not even a single registered medico has opted for a house job for the past few years.

Only one house surgeon is posted in the civil hospital, Sangrur, against six sanctioned posts. However, the situation is better in Barnala, where three out of the total four posts are filled.

Though newly carved out districts are still grappling with the shortage of staff, the government has never bothered to create such posts in civil hospitals at Muktsar, Moga, Nawanshahr, Fatehgarh Sahib and Taran Taran.

In government medical colleges in Patiala and Amritsar, only one third of the sanctioned posts are filled. There are total 19 and 20 posts of house surgeons in the GMCs, Amritsar and Patiala, respectively, but six doctors each are on rolls in both these institutes.

Only one doctor is present during night shifts to take care of patients admitted in different wards, says Dr Hardip Singh, president, Punjab Civil Medical Services.

He said young doctors were not ready to work as house surgeons as they were not paid properly.

House surgeons, who are qualified and registered with the Medical Council of India, are being paid Rs 4,800 in Punjab as compared to Rs 25,000-30,000 in Chandigarh. Ironically, no weightage is given to such doctors if they go in for their postgraduation.

Amritsar, October 24
The state government today launched magnetic identification smart cards for those registered under the Employee State Insurance Corporation (ESI) scheme.

Named as “pehchaan”, these smart cards will replace the existing paper-based identity cards. New cards will be equipped with a magnetic chip storing the medical history of the bearer as well as his family members covered under the ESI insurance policy. It will entitle the insured person as well as his family members to step into any ESI dispensary, accredited hospitals or branch office of the ESIC across the country.

Launching the card at the ESI Hospital, Amritsar, state Health Minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla said the card was part of the ESIC’s information technology roll out plan named as “Project Panchdeep”, the country’s largest e-governance scheme.

The project, entrusted to Wipro Technologies, envisaged the development of necessary hardware and software networking for the countrywide implementation by August. The minister said the “pehchan” smart cards would benefit lakhs of workers and their families covered under the scheme.

Additional commissioner and regional director, ESIC, Chandigarh, GC Jena, said, “Under the policy, two cards will be issued at one registration number- one card to the insured person and another to his family. This will enable the family members, too, to avail medical benefits if the insured person is not available.”

Medical superintendent, ESI, Amritsar, VS Mohi said the insurer’s photograph would be imposed on the smart card, besides his medical history.

Bathinda, October 24
Owing to “shortcomings” in the government procedure regarding the filling of a form before going for ultrasound during pregnancy, the Beti Bachao Manch said today that the government needed to tighten noose around private clinics.

It claimed that these drawbacks were leading to skewed sex ratio in the state.

As per the PNDT Act, Section 4(3), Rule 9(4) and Rule 10(1A), it is mandatory to fill form ‘F’ for conducting an ultrasonography on a pregnant woman.

Questioning the authenticity of the form, Ranveer Brar from the manch said at present, doctors got the form printed or photocopied at their level and there was no authenticity of these forms.

“The form contains a vital information like the duration of pregnancy and number of children the patient already has. On basis of this form, people involved in female foeticide can be booked. These forms have serial numbers and there is every possibility that these can be destroyed,” Brar said.

Sadhu Ram Khusla, who is working for the PNDT cell, Bathinda, said provision for providing centralised form ‘F’ having a specific serial number by the appropriate district authority was required.

“Carbonised paper for these forms can be used and a copy can be kept with the DAA for record and the DAA can charge an amount for these forms that will meet expenses of printing etc. to monitor various activities under the PNDT Act,” he added. At the time of filling the form, patients often list wrong addresses and there have been many cases where the patient is not available at the address mentioned in the form. Due to this lacuna, those involved in female foeticide are not traced.

“A residential proof should be generated by the patient at the time of filling the form and this can be any document approved by the Election Commission. An identification mark of the patient should also be noted while filling the form. There have been cases when pregnant women after ultrasonography and abortion refuse to admit that they were pregnant or had got ultrasonography done,” Brar added.

Ludhiana, October 24
Vini Mahajan, Joint Secretary in the PMO, was specially drafted by the Prime Minister to monitor the ongoing development projects at Amritsar with central assistance.

She visited Amritsar last week and met officials and reviewed the progress of various projects.

Perhaps she did not know about one important and prestigious project on her list which Dr Manmohan Singh himself had announced in 2004 while participating in the quadra centenary celebrations of the installation of Guru Granth Sahib.

The Prime Minister had announced that a national institute of studies in Guru Granth Sahib would be established at Amritsar. In this connection, Guru Nank Dev University was entrusted the task of formulating the scheme and to follow it up with the Union Human Resource Ministry.

During the tenure of Dr S P Singh as Vice-Chancellor, 10 acres were also allotted for this purpose and a number of meetings were held with the UGC. A scheme was prepared and it was recommended that an autonomous national institute on the pattern of a Shimla institute be set up for the study of Guru Granth Sahib.

The scheme got acceptance at all stages, but the Union Finance Ministry sabotaged the entire project by saying that only a centre of excellence at Guru Nanak Dev University could serve the purpose. Interestingly, such a centre already exists in the Department of Guru Nanak Studies.

The GND varsity authorities again made a representation to the HRD ministry and a new committee, headed by Dr GK Chadha, a former Vice-Chancellor, JNU, and a member of the economic advisry panel of the PMO, was formed.

The Chadha committee recommended that only an advance study institute could serve the purpose. The Chadha Committee, at its meeting on April 21, 2008, recommended, “Having gone through all pros and cons, taking into notice the documents of the UGC and HRD ministry and having discussed the long-term viability of the proposal, the committee is of the view that in order to ensure the smooth growth of studies on Guru Granth Sahib, especially in the context of challenges of India within and without, the establishment of an institute rather than centre would be more appropriate and strongly recommends that the UGC should take the issue to the ministry of HRD at the earliest.”

The Tribune has learnt that the Chadha Committee report was later discussed in October 2008 at a meeting of the HRD ministry which was presided over by R.P Aggarwal, Secretary Education, and recommended the implementation of the Chadha Committee report. This meeting was also attended by Dr Jairoop Singh, then Vice-Chancellor, Guru Nanak Dev University, and Anjali Bhara, former Secretary, Higher Education, Punjab.

Anjali Bhawra had also pressed for the establishment of an autonomous national institute.

Academic circles of Punjab are disappointed at a commitment on behalf of the Prime Minister for the study of an important scriptural study having gone haywire.

Prof Prithipal Singh Kapur, former Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Guru Nanak Dev University, who was associated with the formation of the project at various stages, has appealed to Manmohan Singh and HRD Minister Kapil Sibal to look into the matter and get the project expedited.

Mohali, October 24
To acquire 150 acres of land to widen the Mullanpur-Siswan road, the land acquisition collector has recommended a rate from Rs 70 lakh per acre to nearly Rs 1 crore per acre. The land falls in seven villages- Mullanpur Garib Dass, Ferozepore Bungar, Parol, Pharongian, Hoshiarpur, Majra and Sultanpur.

To facilitate the traffic movement of the Sizswan-Baddi road and for future development of a 500-acre urban estate within the Mullanpur planning area, the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) is acquiring land to widen the road. “The process to recommend the land acquisition rates have no link with the stay taken by Mullanpur residents against dispossession from their structures coming in way of the road widening,” said a GMADA official.

Landowners are protesting against the alignment of the road in Mullanpur. There was enough road width available along the existing road and there was no need to realign the road, said Dr Gurdeep Singh Sohi, who along with several other landowners has already taken stay on dispossession.

The rates recommended by the land acquisition collector would be sent to the Secretary, Housing and Urban Development for final approval. Arvind Puri, a resident of Mullanpur said the rates recommended by the collector were on the lower side. The rates recommended for the villages were-Mullanpur Garib Dass (Rs 95 lakh an acre), Ferozepore Bungar (Rs 86 lakh an acre), Parol (Rs 86 lakh an acre), Pharongian (Rs 90 lakh an acre), Hoshiarpur (Rs 89 lakh an acre), Majra (Rs 85 lakh an acre) and Sultanpur (Rs 70 lakh an acre). 

Amritsar, October 24
To make North Americans aware about Sikh Gurus and Sikhism, the University of Calfornia at Merced is contemplating to establish a Sikh Studies Chair at the varsity campus to facilitate research and higher studies in Sikhism.

Chancellor of University of California Steven Kang was so impressed with the Sikh religion and contribution of the hard-working Punjabis towards the development of USA that he has not only showcased a keen interest in setting up of the Chair for Sikh Studies, but has already started holding discussions with leading members of the Sikh community to give practical shape to the proposed project.

According to sources, the Sikh studies chair project could also have been an effort to woo more than two lakh Punjabis of California, particularly Sikhs, who have been playing a major role in various spheres of life.

“Steven is so impressed with Sikh philosophy and way of life that he is making all out efforts to give shape of reality to his dream of setting up of a Sikh studies chair at the university,” said a Modesto (LA)-based leading oncologist Dr Amarjit Dhaliwal. Dhaliwal was here in connection with the body’s meeting scheduled to be held in California from August 12 to 14 in 2010. “Stevens has agreed in principle to establish the chair,” said Dhaliwal adding that it was probably for the first time that such a chair was being mooted in North America.