Ludhiana, February 9
World-renowned agricultural scientist MS Swaminathan today called upon the states to fund agricultural universities to continue research and education in the country.

In an interview with The Tribune, Dr Swaminathan said the turning point in the agriculture revolution was the establishment of agricultural universities in the country. The states should give a top priority to such universities.

He further said if the states were facing any problems, they should have state-Centre partnership to share funding of the universities. There should be a consultative group on agriculture research and education, which should be headed by the Prime Minister with all Chief Ministers as its members. This would ensure the funding of the universities jointly by the states and the Centre, he added.

Swaminathan also made an appeal to the Punjab government to come out with sufficient grant to Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), as it was facing financial crisis.

Referring to the present food scenario and price rise, Swaminathan observed that the last year was a bad year. Drought was certainly a problem and even some states had floods. Sixty per cent of the oilseeds and pulses were produced in the rain-fed areas and as a result of all these factors, there was a gap between the demand and supply. “The government has been trying to import pulses, but it cannot be imported as these are Indian crops,” he said.

Swaminathan said the government should have anticipated the shortfall and launched the procurement of pulses and other crops on the pattern of wheat and rice.

He said there was a need for pro-farmer reforms. “Reforms for farmers are important at this juncture. Farming is the largest private enterprise in the country and farmers must be looked after well. We have to learn a lesson from this year,” he emphasised.

Swaminathan said agriculture was the mainstay of the economy and that it should not be neglected. “If we neglect agriculture, it will harm producers, urban consumers with price rise and our social set up,” he said Regarding a controversy over Bt Brinjal, Swaminathan said it had a rich heritage.

He also suggested raising of resources to store foodgrains and establish ultra-modern storage with a capacity of one million tonnes each at 50 locations. This would help in checking hoarding, he added.

Swaminathan will deliver the convocation address at the PAU here tomorrow.

Amritsar, February 9
Telephone calls proved to be nothing short of a catastrophe for the parents of Lance Naik Gurpreet Singh and Naik Ranjit Singh, which brought the news of their sudden demise yesterday.

Lance Naik Gurpreet Singh (22) belonged to the Majitha area, about 22 km from here and Naik Ranjit Singh (32) of Khabe Rajputa village 35 km from here, were among the 16 Army soldiers who lost their lives after a huge avalanche hit the Army’s High Altitude Warfare School at Khilanmarg in Gumarg yesterday. Gurpreet was with the Regimental Reserve Line (RRL), while Ranjit Singh belonged to 8 Sikh (Light Infantry) regiment.

Gurpreet’s father Sukhwinder Singh, a petty vegetable seller in the Majitha Sabzi mandi, told The Tribune that all his hopes got shattered with the telephone call he received about his son’s death, the eldest among the siblings. The family was looking forward to the weddings of Gurpreet Singh as well as his sister Sandeep Kaur next month.

On other hand Naik Ranjit Singh was the only son of his parents, brother of five sisters. He was married and was father of two kids. Meanwhile, the district administration officials told that the bodies of the martyrs were being expected to reach their respective native places on February 10 and guard of honour would be conducted as per traditions.

Kapurthala, February 9
A day after cremation of their colleague Kiranjeet Kaur, who had immolated herself, EGS (Elementary Guarantee Scheme) Union has restarted its indefinite dharna at Shalamar Bagh here today in favour of their fresh demands, including registration of a criminal case under Section 306 of the IPC against DSP Bahadur Singh for instigating her to commit suicide after his suspension.

The EGS volunteers also demanded that the condition of 50 and 45 per cent marks for general and SCs, respectively in 10+2 for getting admission in Elementary Teachers Training (ETT) course, should be relaxed for them and they should be unconditionally and directly admitted to the ETT course. Their demands also include enhancement of monetary compensation to Kiranjeet’s family from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh.

Reacting to a former SAD minister Raghbir Singh’s statement, a former Congress MP Rana Gurjit Singh said he was the only leader, who had contacted the protesters after the self-immolation bid to convince them not to take any extreme step, whereas the entire local SAD leadership, including Education Minister Dr Upinderjeet Kaur could not even turn up to the spot to listen to agitated volunteers’ grievances, despite her presence in Kapurthala district.

Meanwhile, Dasuya SDM Mohammad Tayyab has initiated enquiry into the self-immolation incident. DC Raj Kamal Chaudhary already stated that the SDM would inquire into the entire matter, including the role of the police officials. Talking to The Tribune, Tayyab said he had visited Kapurthala today in connection with the enquiry. However, he refused to divulge any further details.

The enquiry was time-bound and he would try to complete the same as early as possible, he added. According to sources, Tayyab visited the water tank located in the local Civil Hospital premises, where Kiranjeet had set herself on fire on Sunday evening. He also met DC during his visit to Kapurthala, the sources added.

In the meantime, several EGS volunteers alleged that the women police personnel manhandled and detained their president Kulwant Kumari at the Kapurthala Railway Station, when she had arrived there in a train from Faridkot. However, she was freed after strong protest by them, they added. Meanwhile, SDM Bholath Ranjit Kaur visited Shalamar Bagh, where she had been handed over a memorandum by the union.

Mohali, February 9
Scholars, artistes, politicians and people from all walks of life paid tributes to the 90-year-old literary giant of Punjabi literature, Santokh Singh Dhir, at his residence in Phase X here today. The established writer had passed away yesterday after battling for his life against failed kidneys and liver cancer at the PGI, Chandigarh.

Prominent among those laid wreath were former Vice-Chancellor of Punjabi University Jaspal Singh; Director of the state Languages Department Balbir Kaur and CPI general secretary Joginder Dyal. On behalf of the government, DC Prabhjot Singh Mand and SDM RPS Walia laid the wreath. Prominent personalities present there described the death of the writer as a great loss to the literary world. Later, the body was taken to the CPI office in Sector 21.

The family has decided to donate his body to the PGI. 

Chandigarh, February 9
In the death of litterateur Santokh Singh Dhir, who strode the region’s literacy scene like a colossus for nearly seven decades, the Punjabi literature has lost the voice of the masses.

Loved and admired by his readers and hated by the establishment, Dhir championed the cause of the common man and downtrodden and emerged as the forecast “writer of the social conscience”.

As a poet, story writer and novelist, Dhir fought relentlessly against social injustice and was one of the last links between the pre-partition and post-partition Punjabi literature.

Born on December 2, 1920, at Bassi Pathana in Fatehgarh Sahib district, Dhir left his first imprint on the literary world through “Guddian Patole” (Dolls and Toys) in 1944. Short stories and poetry compilations, including “Pauh Phutala” (The Dawn, 1948), “Sittian Di Chhan” (The Shades of Wheatshoots, 1950), “Sanjhi Kandh” (The Common Wall, 1958); “Birhare” (Pangs of Separation, 1960); “Kali Barchhi” (The Black Spear, 1980), “Sanjivani” (The Plant of Life, 1983), “Sheran Di Awaaz” (The Roar of Lions, 1988); “Pakhi” (The Fan, 1991), “Pair” (The Feet, 2000), “Pucca Raag” (Classical Melody, 2001) and “Khabbe Pakhi” (Leftist, 2007), established his dominance in the contemporary literary scene.

Dhir’s versatility exhorted him to experiment successfully with all genres, including novels--”Do Phul” (Two Flowers); “Yadgaar” (The Memorial); “Nawan Janam” (New Birth) and “Khima” (Apology).

Folk literature- “Lok Gittan Bare” (About Folk Songs) and “Punjab Dian Lok Kahanian” (Folk Tales of Punjab); travelogue- “Meri England Yatra” (A Journey to England) and anthologies- “Meiran Sarest Kahanian” (My Best Short Stories), “Likh Riha Dhir” (Dhir Writes) and “Misse Dane” (Miscellaneous Writings) only brought out his genius’s different facets.

“Birhaspati”, his autobiography and “Meri Kalam”- his literary autobiography-demonstrated indefatigable Dhir’s never-say-die spirit.

While most of the Punjabi text books at the college and university levels include short stories and poems of the late writer, Dhir considered “Nawan Janam” and “Yadgaar” as his masterpieces.

In fact, his unflinching commitment to the social causes gave sleepless nights to the establishment. That was perhaps the reason why Dhir, who wielded the pen like a soldier’s sword, took the official awards in his stride.

Though the “Shiromani Punjabi Literary” award by the state government came his way, the “Sahitya Akademi Award” surprisingly came at the ripe age of 76. While his leftist leanings are legendary, his commitment to the values of equality and universal brotherhood shows the humanistic face of the eminent writer.

Chandigarh, February 9
Activists of organisations working against the release of Bt brinjal in India today hailed the moratorium placed on it as a positive development even as farm leaders said biotech seeds were the need of the future and scientists said the move could discourage those working to increase crop productivity.

Expectedly, the Kheti Virasat Mission, which has organised a vigorous campaign against the introduction of Bt brinjal, thanked Union Minister Jairam Ramesh for putting a moratorium on its release. KVM executive director Umender Dutt even urged the minister to ensure a liability clause was fixed on the crop developer making it solely liable for any potential leakage and contamination during the period of moratorium. He claimed this was neccessary keeping in mind the biotech industry strategy of “contaminate first, regulate later”. Dutt further pointed out that during the period of moratorium, no open-air trials should be allowed and further research should be in strictly contained conditions.

KVM leader Kavitha Kurugati claimed this was also the right time to make a comprehensive review of Bt cotton as it had also been accepted by the GEAC before the country moved ahead on this controversial technology for other crops, too. She said while the minister had clearly qualified his decision to be specific to only Bt brinjal, it followed logically that some basic rethinking should be applied to this technology.

Punjab State Farmers Commission chairman GS Kalkat said “if the lobby against Bt succeeds, what will happen to scientists working to increase crop productivity?” Dr Kalkat said field trials conducted by PAU, Ludhiana, had revealed that the yield of Bt brinjal was much higher than that of normal varieties. Dr Kalkat said the effect of Bt seeds on the environment as well as the human body could take another 25 to 30 years to be proved conclusively.

Former VC SS Johal said the world could not do without genetically engineered crops. He, however, said in the case of Bt brinjal, since it was to be ingested direct, more tests could be undertaken. “Once tested properly, we should accept it”, he added. BKU-Rajewal president Balbir Singh Rajewal said farmers had benefited from Bt cotton and even now once Bt brinjal was cleared by scientists, farmers should be allowed to use it.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, February 9
About 45,000 bags of rice stacked in the open in yards of warehouses at Kilaraipur, Ghungrana and Dehlon were spoilt by rain during the past 24 hours.

Terming the alleged adamant attitude of the officials of the procurement agency for not shifting the commodity inside the godowns as the reason behind losses worth crores, owners of the rice shellers have demanded probe into the sequence of events that had lead to dumping of the foodgrain in open for over a week.

The sheller owners alleged that the authorities had not taken care of the stocks, as they (sheller owners) had refused to pay bribe higher than the settled rates. Denying allegations levelled against them, the FCI officials maintained that the rice-sheller owners were supposed to take care of the stocks that were yet to be lifted by the agency.

Maintaining that about 100 truckloads of processed rice were stacked in yards of the Warehouse Corporation situated at Kilaraipur, Ghungrana and Dehlon about a week ago, rice-shellers owners lead by Prem Jain and Ravi Goyal alleged the authorities had refused to shift the stocks inside the warehouse till they were paid consideration demanded by them.

“All our requests to shift the stocks inside the godowns fell on deaf ears of the officials, as we refused to pay higher bribe desired by them. They did not direct the staff to cover plinths of bags lying in open, thus resulting in spoilage due to rains during past 24 hours,” alleged Jain and Goyal. Protesting against the adamant attitude of the officials, the rice-sheller owners demanded probe into the cause of damage of the foodgrains. 

Ludhiana, February 9
The Punjab police gets around 3 lakh complaints annually on an average, but conviction rate in state is just 3 per cent. Punjab State Human Rights Commission (PSHRC) chairman Avinash Rai Khanna stated this at a meeting with the police officials in Ludhiana today.

The officers, including DIG, SSP, SP and various other police officers revealed that the PSHRC chairman was of the opinion that there has been a decrease in the number of cases involving illegal detention.

In 2009, the PSHRC received 17,141 complaints and out of the total figure 55 per cent related to the police.

Refuting the police claims that the PSHRC has been biased with the Punjab police, Avinash said, “Whenever the commission sorts records or asks the police to file their reply pertaining to any case, the latter generally prefers to delay it. You should be confident and reveal the truth no matter how bitter it is. It is high time for the police in the state to make its image people friendly.”

Khanna said, “Out of the total complaints received by the police only 28 per cent are converted into FIRs.” Do not give them any chance to come to the PSHRC, was the opinion of the chairman. He said, “The police is found to ferry undertrials handcuffed in public. You should try to see what sort of crime has he committed and is justified enough to carry him in such a way among people.” 

Chandigarh, February 9
Almost 17 years after 28-year-old Amar Singh of Amritsar district disappeared while in police custody, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today ordered the Punjab Home Secretary to pay a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to his petitioner mother and other legal heir.

The order by Justice Sabina came on a petition by Sawinder Kaur. The police had allegedly picked up Amar Singh from a bus, when he was returning after some shopping in Amritsar on December 8,1992. The petition was originally filed by Major Singh, Amar Singh’s father. But following the petitioner’s death, the petition was pursued by his wife Sawinder Kaur. 

Chandigarh, February 9
Punjab and High Court Justice Surya Kant today stayed the Punjab government notification of February 6 on cancellation of appointment letters to selected medical officers for Punjab civil medical services (PCMS), who failed to join by February 15.

The order came after the preliminary hearing onthe writ petition filed by Dr Kranti Garg of Patialagovernment medical college and hospital.

She had been selected for PCMS. The petitioner claimed she was doingher post-graduation in medicine and hadanother eight monthsto go before the completion of the three-year course.

The state government order of February 6 was challenged on the ground it violated norms of natural justice.

Murder of student leader: 2 held
Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, February 9
The police today nabbed two accused in connection with the shootout that took place outside the Jagraon Court Complex on January 20 in which president of the Jagraon wing of Students Organisation of India (SOI) Hargunjeet Singh (24) was shot dead, while his friend was injured.

Six-armed men belonging to a rival group shot the duo, identified as Gurpreet Singh alais Deepa of Konke Kalan village near Jagraon and Gurpreet Singh alias Gopi of Kote Shergunj village. Both the accused were nabbed from the Nanksar Gurdwara here this evening.

The Jagraon police was under fire for their sluggish investigation in the case. The incident took place at a busy main chowk adjacent to the court complex when Hargunjeet along with his friend Inderjeet came for a hearing in a case.