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Farmers’ Woes
Justice Brar is gurdwara poll commissioner
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Khangura slams Sukhbir for ‘insincere’ concern
Kaypee to go on padyatra
State to recruit 613 staff nurses
Now, semester system for classes X, XII
STC summoned for ‘insulting’ legislator
DCs to weed out ineligible pensioners
Doc sent back from Wagah
Promotions of doctors to be expedited
Stone of Akal Academy laid
PAP may rethink Khali’s suspension
SOI to start membership drive
Heritage fest put off, again
Kartarpur corridor movement gets fillip
A clarification
High Court
Benipal Case
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Farmers’ Woes Jangveer Singh Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, November 20 A recent survey by the state Agriculture Department has revealed that areas such as Sangrur, Fatehgarh Sahib and Patiala, which were known for high productivity of wheat, are witnessing a drop in production over the years. Productivity, though on the decline the state over, has not dropped precariously because areas that were earlier producing less are reporting higher yields. These include areas like Ferozepur, Moga and Muktsar. The survey reveals that besides a decrease in overall agriculture investment and insignificant increase in the minimum support price, the fluctuations in the minimum and maximum temperature during February and March have also aggravated the situation. According to the survey, the high-yielding areas of the Green Revolution, which peaked in 1999-2000 with a production of 4.7 tonnes per hectare, might well be a thing of the past. In 1999-2000 most areas of the state, excluding the kandi areas — Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur and Ropar — besides Mansa and Bathinda produced an average of 4.7 tonnes per hectare. The state Agriculture Director, Dr BS Sidhu, said over the years the core area of high wheat productivity had been on the decline. He said high-yielding areas practically vanished by 2002-03 and were giving yields of only 4.2 tonnes per hectare. He said this trend continued with a further dip in 2005-06 when the average production per acre fell to 4.1 tonnes per hectare. The survey has revealed that a partial comeback was achieved in 2007-08 when the central National Food Security Mission (NFSM)-Wheat scheme resulted in higher productivity of 4.5 tonnes per hectare. However, this could not be sustained with the productivity in 2008-09 being recorded at 4.4 tonnes per hectare. The survey has thrown up some surprises. The core area of Sangrur-Patiala zone is shrinking even as a new high production area of Ferozepur, Moga and Muktsar has developed. The Agriculture Department has urged the Centre to invest in wheat production to ensure Punjab’s eminence in this field. It has called for making the state a special production zone and requested that all districts of the state be included in the NFSM-Wheat scheme.
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Newer wheat variety seeds in short supply
Chandigarh, November 20 The Punjab Agricultural University had last year withdrawn PBW-343, the most successful wheat variety that was grown over 67 per cent of the total area under wheat in Punjab last season. However, following reports of the variety having been affected by yellow rust, especially in the kandi belt, it was decided to phase out this variety and encourage farmers to grow the newer varieties. The yield from this variety sown over almost five lakh hectares of land in the foothills was affected last season. “We have made the newer varieties of seeds available through Punjab Agro and Industries Corporation, Punseed, National Seeds Corporation Limited and the State Farms Corporation of India Limited (SFCI). However, despite our best efforts to procure the 550 and 502 seeds, we have not been able to meet the rising demand. We have tried to make this variety available to farmers of the kandi belt so that they can give up sowing 343. But it seems it will not be possible to replace 343 completely this season,” said BS Sidhu, Director, Agriculture, Punjab. The PBW 343 has been the workhorse variety sown mainly in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and had resulted in a quantum jump in the wheat yield when it was introduced more than 10 years ago. However, over the years, it has been realised that the variety is prone to fungal diseases when the temperature and humidity is high. “The certified seed for the DBW-17 variety, which was introduced last year, has been made available to the farmers. Last year, less than 1 per cent of the total wheat sown belonged to the DBW 17 variety,” said Sidhu. He added that the PBW 550 was in great demand this year as during the last season almost 5 per cent of the total area under wheat was under this variety and had shown remarkable results. “The certified seed of this variety is yet to be released but the TL variety has been made available to the farmers,” he said.
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Justice Brar is gurdwara poll commissioner
Ludhiana, November 20 On the issue of delayed Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) elections, Justice Brar said that he was taking stock of the situation and would be able to comment on arrangements only after a few days. The Chief Gurdwara Election Commissioner conducts elections to the SGPC general house and the electorate comprises Sikh voters of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal and Chandigarh. The present committee completed its term last September and elections were expected to be held by March. Roughly 80 lakh forms were needed to enroll Sikh voters in the four states. The Punjab Government is reported to have expressed its helplessness in printing forms at the Government Printing Press citing financial constraints. Now, the government will invite tenders from private printers, resulting in the delay. Justice Verma’s taking over on September 25 had sparked off protests from the SGPC and other Sikh organisations, as a non-Sikh had for the first time been appointed Chief Gurdwara Election Commissioner. Following protests, Justice Verma had quit.
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Khangura slams Sukhbir for ‘insincere’ concern
Chandigarh, November 20 Terming it a “publicity gimmick”, Khangura said this attempt at image re-branding was clearly Sukhbir’s preparation to take over the Chief Minister’s chair “that he has been eyeing for long”. In a statement issued here, Khangura said the attempt came too little and too late. “It (driving around in a private vehicle) aimed to turn around Sukhbir’s deeply entrenched image of being arrogant with a taste for the high life, fast cars, huge houses, private jets and lavish shopping trips to Dubai and the US. The attempts at re-branding are an insult to the intelligence of the people of Punjab,” Khangura said. He that within 24 hours of interacting with the common man at Ludhiana, Sukhbir’s own insecurities and anxieties prevailed at the Canadian Prime Minister’s reception in Amritsar where he denied invitations to persons who are clearly better communicators. “Sukhbir should have developed this concern for the public the day he joined politics and public life. Instead, he always remained preoccupied with his personal possessions and obsessions,” the MLA said. “Sukhbir seems to be mimicking Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi, who has been mingling with people across the country. Nothing wrong in learning good lessons but the effort should be sincere and not just a PR exercise,” he said.
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Kaypee to go on padyatra
Amritsar, November 20 Scheduled to begin from the samadh of Shaheed Bhagat Singh at Hussainiwala in Ferozepur on February 28, the yatra would aim to create awareness among masses on an array of important issues like national integration, center-sponsored NREGA scheme and the Sarb Sikhya Abhiyan. Kaypee and his supporters would be reaching Khatkar Kalan in Nawanshahr to pay tributes to Shaheed Bhagat Singh on his birth anniversary on March 23. “We are chalking out the programme,” confirmed Kaypee. “I want to take along the rural as well as urban masses and tell them how just about 15 paisa out of Rs 1 meant for development of the country actually reaches the grassroot level,” he said. Kaypee would be the first Punjab leader to carry out a pad yatra in the past decade.
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State to recruit 613 staff nurses
Patiala, November 20 He said a total of 540 staff nurses and other staff would be recruited in this scheme for Government Rajindra Hospital in view of the chronic shortage of paramedical staff in this permier healthcare institution of the state. He said earlier the staff nurses and other paramedical staff appointed on contractual basis were paid a monthly stipend of Rs 3,200 that had now been revised to Rs 7,500 per month. Sheetal Singh called upon the new appointees to deliver their best in the service of the ailing humanity. He said the Punjab government was committed to providing best medical treatment and healthcare facilities to all sections of society and the
contractual appointments were a step in this direction. Dr Jai Kishan, Director of Research and Medical Education, said complete transparency had been exercised while making these contractual appointments and these had been made purely on the basis of merit.
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Now, semester system for classes X, XII
Mohali, November 20 Board chairperson Dalbir Singh Dhillon said the decision had been taken after consulting educationists, principals, HODs and other stakeholders. As per the guidelines, the syllabus has been divided into two parts. The first part will start from April 1 to September 30 and the second from October 1 to March 31. Forty per cent of the syllabus will be covered in the first semester followed by an objective type exam, and the remaining in the second part followed by a subjective type exam. Twenty per cent internal assessment for the board classes will be calculated on mathematical lines and a committee under Avtar Singh, a former SCERT Chief, will decide norms for such assessment. In another decision, grouping of subjects has been proposed in matric exams. In the first group, compulsory subjects consist of English, Punjabi, Maths and Science and in the second group, it will be mandatory to have one compulsory subject out of social science and Hindi. The third group will consist of one optional subject other than computer science and physical education. Dhillon said result cards of classes X and XII would consist of grading along with numerical score. Along with introducing the semester system, it had been proposed to introduce 40 per cent continuous comprehensive evaluation and 60 per cent board exam evaluation, he added.
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STC summoned for ‘insulting’ legislator
Chandigarh, November 20 Responding to a written complaint by Zira Congress MLA Naresh
Kataria, Kahlon has asked State Transport Commissioner (STC) R. Venkatratnam to appear before him on November 23 and explain his conduct. Kahlon confirmed that he had summoned Venkatratnam as the “dignity of the MLA could not be allowed to be compromised by anyone”. This is not the first time Kahlon has issued such a notice to a bureaucrat. The Speaker’s stand has been that the bureaucrats in the state have to be subservient to elected representatives and not the other way around.
Kataria and some others met the Speaker and submitted a complaint against Venkatratnam saying that “when he
(Kataria) went to meet the IAS officer, he was first made to wait for a long time and them the officer refused to meet him”. Kataria pleaded with the Speaker that the action of the STC amounted to breach of privilege on part of the
officer. Kahlon, who has been championing the rights of MLAs, had announced at the recent SAD Shimla Conclave that he would work towards protecting the dignity of all members of the house. In the past, too, he had summoned senior IAS officer DS
Kahla, then serving as Finance Secretary for not clearing payment of the Speaker for a foreign trip. Similarly, he had also summoned the Amritsar and Ludhiana deputy commissioners besides the Gurdaspur SSP for being discourteous towards
MLAs. As has happened in the past, Venkatratnam is likely to be asked to tender an unconditional apology to Kataria by the Speaker if he did not wish to invite harsher punishment.
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DCs to weed out ineligible pensioners
Bathinda, November 20 Elderly, widows, destitute women, disabled persons and dependent children receive old age pension and financial assistance of Rs 250 a month through the Punjab Social Security Department. The Chief Secretary had written to Deputy Commissioners in the last week of October asking them to identify ineligible beneficiaries by November 5. Stating that the stipulated time was too little, district social security officers had asked for the exercise to be extended by two months Inquiry committees under the chairpersonship of SDMs would meet, speak and scan lakhs of beneficiaries. The government had also instructed that no employee from the rural development department be sent for inquiry in villages. Likewise, no municipal council employee will be sent to carry out a probe in cities. Upon completion of inquiries, SDMs will submit lists of eligible and ineligible pensioners to deputy commissioners, who will then forward those to the state government and then names of ineligible pensioners will be struck off. The process to identify ineligible beneficiaries has already begun in Bathinda with SDMs constituting inquiry committees. There are over 91,000 beneficiaries in the district and it is expected that 40,000-odd pensioners will find themselves under the scanner.
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Doc sent back from Wagah
Abohar, November 20 Narrating his ordeal in a 17-page letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today, Dr Khariwal said he was invited by Prof Syed Muhammad Awais, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Lahore’s King Edward Medical University as a guest speaker at the 23rd International Conference of the Pakistan Orthopaedic Association held on November 13. “The Pakistan High Commission called me up on November 12 after office hours to inform me that I had been issued a special visa. When my wife and I reached the Wagah border the following morning, Indian immigration authorities said only individuals above 65 could cross the border on foot. However, this was not mentioned in the documents.” Officials told Dr Khariwal to contact Kamal Parvej in the Ministry of External Affairs. “When I contacted Parvej on the phone, he asked me to contact one Pankaj Singhal, who gave me a fax number for sending the representation. However, there was no response till 5 pm,” he said. “All day the conference organisers kept waiting for me.” Dr Khariwal has urged the PM to get the person responsible for the lapse identified. He recently joined the Mohan Dai Oswal Cancer Treatment and Research Foundation as chief of the orthopaedics and ortho-cancer department.
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Promotions of doctors to be expedited
Patiala, November 20 The general secretary of the PCMS-I Association, Dr DC Sharma, said the Principal Secretary had assured them that the vacant post of Director, Punjab Health Systems Corporation, was being filled by appointing one of the senior doctors from the PCMS cadre. Earlier, the post was occupied by one of the retired doctors, Dr SK Bansal, for two years, inviting protests. The Principal Secretary further said that no further re-employment would be given against the regular cadre posts. The association demanded the upgradation of one of the posts of Director to that of Director-General, who should co-ordinate the working of the various directorates in the Health Department. To strengthen the emergency services in block-level hospitals, the association demanded the restoration of 1,193 rural dispensaries to the Health Department. The Principal Secretary said the Health Department supported the viewpoint and would take up the matter further. The association demanded a rational transfer policy suggesting that only the seniormost persons among the SMOs should be posted as District Programme Officers in the Civil Surgeon offices and SMOs of district hospitals. The Civil Surgeons should be bracketed with the Deputy Commissioners in protocol and allowed red lights on their vehicles.
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Stone of Akal Academy laid
Chandigarh, November 20 Many eminent personalities, including Gurbachan Singh, Jathedar of Akal Takht, Tarlochan Singh, Jathedar of Takht Shri Keshgarh Sahib, Balwant Singh, Nandgarh, Jathedar of Takht Damdama Sahib, Iqbal Singh, president of the Kalgidhar Trust, Baru Sahib, Labh Singh Kaar Sewa Wale, Harnek Singh of Rara Sahib, Dr Khem Singh, ex-VC PAU and chairman of the Kalgidhar Trust, Baru Sahib, were present on the occasion. Dr Khem Singh talked about the objectives of the trust. Students of Akal Academies at Khamanan and Dhindsa recited shabad kirtan. The ardaas was performed by Giani Tarlochan Singh. The foundation stone of the Akal Academy, Kamalpura, was laid by Panj Piaras. The land for the academy has been donated by Satnam Singh.
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PAP may rethink Khali’s suspension
Jalandhar, November 20 Inspector General of Police GS Sahota said that he had not received any fresh formal request from Rana. "We can rethink his suspension orders if Khali approaches us. I came to know that he has moved an application to the DGP in Chandigarh seeking extraordinary leave,” Sahota said. The Punjab Armed Police issued Khali’s suspension orders on Wednesday after the media raised the issue of his absence from duty. Dalip Singh Rana aka Khali, an Assistant Sub Inspector with PAP’s 7th Battalion, was placed under suspension for being absent from duty since last December. It is said that former Punjab DGP M.S. Bhullar, who offered him the police job, former PAP ADGP Rajan Gupta and ADGP (law and order) Chander Shekhar had a soft corner for Rana as he had earned name for the country and Punjab.
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SOI to start membership drive
Patiala, November 20 Khanna said Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal would announce a transport policy for students next month. He said with the implementation
of the policy, the long tussle between the students and transporters would come
to an end. Talking about the other plans of the Youth Development Board, Khanna said they had sent a proposal to Sukhbir Badal to restart Punjab Youth Awards which he had accepted and from this session, these awards will be given to the young people who had achieved distinction in any field. Other than this, the board is streamlining all the Youth Clubs of the state so that they could benefit from the youth policies of the government. He said the board would also ensure that grants and facilities provided to Youth Clubs were properly utilised. Talking about the activities of the SOI, Khanna said under the leadership of the chief patron of the SOI, Bikram Singh Majithia, the SOI would launch
movements against female foeticide and drug abuse. The SOI members would also plant more than 2 lakh plants in the coming year throughout Punjab.
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Heritage fest put off, again
Jalandhar, November 20 When asked about the reason for the festival being postponed a second time, Deputy Commissioner, Kapurthala, Raj Kamal Chaudhary, said, “We have not received the money yet. We understand that the Finance Department has sanctioned the money but it is yet to get clearance from the Department of Culture and Tourism.” When asked if the festival will take place this month, he said, “We certainly hope so.” Secretary Culture Geetika Kalha said, “The treasury hasn’t given us the money as yet.” Sources say the festival had to be postponed at the cost of artists, who had to bear with the inconvenience of postponement for a second time.
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Kartarpur corridor movement gets fillip
Amritsar November 20 The IMTD, an NGO set up by John W McDonalid and Dr Louise Diamond, is busy enrolling engineers, architects and businessmen from India, Pakistan and the US for the project. The corridor, if set up as demanded, will prove to be a big confidence- building measure between India and Pakistan. Guru Nanak Dev spent over 18 years at the place where the gurdwara now stands, just 4 km from the border at Dera Baba Nanak. Surinder Singh, a US-based engineer, said a master plan for the proposed corridor would be prepared with the active help of engineering professionals and that he had already visited the gurdwara side in Pakistan just to examine the viability regarding the corridor. Major political outfits on both sides have given their nod for the propsed project.
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High Court Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, November 20 Bringing it to the notice of the Bench, comprising Justice Mehtab Singh Gill and Justice Jitendra Chauhan, “they implicated and sought directions for impleading the chief secretary and the home secretary as respondents in the matter, as they had been directed to pay up the amount. The Bench had also directed the initiation of perjury proceedings against two cops and at least 12 others, including Jagsir Singh, in whose murder case they were implicated. The Bench asserted the entire burden of paying compensation to implicated Nachhatar Singh, Sira, Amarjit Singh, Nikka Singh and Surjit Singh “rests squarely” on the state. The trial, including the appeal, took 13 years to conclude. Nachhatar Singh’s son Sira, while on bail, committed suicide. The appellants remained behind bars for five years, went through torture and suffered “loss of face” for 13 years. Elaborating, the Bench observed the best years of their lives were spent in jail. The kith and kin also had to undergo mental torture and agony. The Bench also took note of the assertion that Nachhatar had to sell his agriculture land to pursue the case. The produce of his land also decreased, as there was no one to look after it.
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Police withdraws application
Rajneesh Lakhanpal
Ludhiana, November 20 SAD Youth Wing Ludhiana's president Simarjit Singh Bains, councillor Kamlajit Singh Karwal and their several aides were behind the bars for more than three months in this case. This application was withdrawn by Mandeep Singh, SHO of Sadar police station. In a statement made before the court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate JPS Wehniwal, it has been stated that they (police) do not press the application, at this stage. After this, the court dismissed the application being infructuous. A few days back, the local police had moved the court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Wahniwal following ADGP crime's observation that the presence of accused on the spot was doubtful. Opposing the police plea, Benipal had submitted in the court that the attempt of the police was "abuse of the process of law". The Special Investigation Team (SIT) had already investigated the case. Moreover, the SHO Sadar was misleading the court. He had mentioned in the application that the police wants to "further investigate" the case. Whereas, the SSP Ludhiana had directed him in writing to get permission for "re-investigation" of the case, on the basis of ADGP crime's report, mentioned the objections filed in the court. The ADGP's report had expressed doubts about the credibilty of the statement of the Tehsildar and the presence of the prime accused on the spot. He had directed the police to get permission of the court for re-investigation of case. A case was registered against the accused on June 19 this year. The challan was presented on September 16. As many as 29 persons were facing proclamation proceedings in this case.
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Amritsar, November 20
Abohar, November 20
