NEIGHBOURHOOD

60 wards, 27 panchayats to be part of new MC
Our Correspondent

Madinpur (Fatehgarh Sahib),March 18
High-tension electricity wires on the Madinpur-Alour road near Mandi Gobindgarh are posing a grave danger to hundreds of commuters with the overhead lines nearly touching vehicles, especially buses and overloaded trucks.

In normal conditions the roof of a heavy vehicle sometimes remains only one and a half feet below these wires and if a truck is loaded to full capacity it almost grazes these wires.

Villagers and owners of industrial units located nearby said they had brought the matter to the notice of electricity department officials.

However, the latter stated then these wires would be removed only after a “preliminary inquiry” was held, following which the department would have to approve the estimate of the cost involved.

The overhead 66 kV wires are supplying power to rural areas around Mandi Gobindgarh including Alour and Madinpur villages.

A few months ago Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal’s cabinet members and other ‘VIPs’ passed through this route under the high tension wires to inaugurate an industrial unit in Madinpur village, said area residents. The CM however arrived at the factory in his helicopter, they added.

The department officials said the wires were installed about 15 years ago when the road under them was situated a considerable distance away. “With the passage of time the road gradually passed under the high tension wires and the roofs of vehicles now come closer to them”, they added.

Gurvinder Singh, an area resident and a bus driver, said the wires often sparked in the rainy season when it became quite dangerous to cross the road. "We have to travel an extra 30 kilometers if we take the alternative route through Khanna”, the villagers said.

The area residents rued that besides high-tension wires the road was too narrow for two vehicles to ply at the same time. “At night four-wheelers sometimes fall off the road into nearby fields”, they added.

When contacted the area subdivisional officer, junior engineers and other officials feigned ignorance about the issue.

However, Punjab State Electricity Department junior engineer Amrik Singh said he would look into the matter if area residents approached him about it.

Niholka (Kharar), March 18
A 26-year-old small farmer, Bikram Singh, wields the power of reducing input cost on farm operations and aids his colleagues in using hi-tech agriculture implements without actually owing them.

He runs a privately owned agriculture service centre at the village stocked with latest land laser leveller, rotavators, Happy Seeder (earlier known as zero drill), tractors and other equipment.

An initiative of the Punjab State Farmers’ Commission (PSFC), such centres have helped even small and marginal farmers use expensive machinery that they, otherwise, may not afford to purchase.

“We started with Rs 10 lakh capital and Rs 3.3 lakh subsidy from the PSFC. I borrowed a loan from the bank as well as pooled in my relatives’ resources to start this venture,” he says.

Today, Bikram rents out the implements to farmers from not only his village but from other villages of the block as well. “At just Rs 400 to Rs 500 per hour, farmers are having a busy time running latest machineries in their fields,” he adds.

Land laser leveller is the most sought-after machinery at these centers across the state, as it helps farmers work wonders with its precision. It helps save on costly farm inputs like water and fertilisers, improves crop stand and enhances yield by as much as 15 per cent, adds Bikram.

Besides aiding farmers, the centres have also created rural employment with youth being roped in to run and manage it.

PSFC chairman Dr GS Kalkat says initially the commission targeted at raising five such centres each in all 142 blocks.

“Seeing the difference these centres made, the government asked us to open more. We then decided to open 1,040 centres across the state of which 425 are already in operation,” Dr Kalkat adds.

The PSFC has laid provision for opening centres run privately as well as on co-operative basis. The commission is encouraging co-operative ones more.

For this, primary agriculture service societies have been introduced that run 700 such centres, while another 350 have been sanctioned for private ownership.

The commission allows only those farmers who do not have more than 10 acres of land to privately own such centres. “Our aim is to uplift small farmers and put a full stop on the implement buying spree of farmers,” Dr Kalkat says.

Ambala, March 18
Sectors developed by HUDA in Ambala City and a host of other colonies have been polluting the Tangri that flows along the town.

HUDA had developed Sectors 1, 7, 8, 9 and 10. But these sectors have no sewage treatment plant and as a result, the sewage finds its way into drains, which open into Tangri. The same is the case with a large number of other posh localities.

Taking note of the increasing pollution in the river, the Haryana Pollution Control Board has issued notices to HUDA and the civic authorities, asking them to set up sewage treatment plants.

Sources in the department revealed that HUDA had decided to set up at least two sewage treatment plants in the sectors.

Several associations of residents had also taken up the matter with HUDA, seeking the immediate installation of treatment plants and provision for more civic amenities.

Ram Kumar, a resident of Sector 7, said he had been staying in the sector for over 15 years now and the matter had been taken up with HUDA several times, but had failed to yield any result.

The residents pointed out that villagers also took the cattle to the river and it consumed polluted water. The polluted waters of the river had also been polluting the ground water.

Dera Bassi, March 18
A woman was seriously injured after slipping from a train at Dappar railway station last night.

According to the railway police, Rani, a resident of Sector 52, Chandigarh, was travelling in a train from Kalka to Jodhpur when she accidentally slipped off the train at the Dappar railway station. One of her hands and feet came under the wheels of the train.

She was taken to the Civil Hospital, Ambala, from where she was referred to the PGI, Chandigarh, in a serious condition.

Railway police in-charge at Lalru Ranjit Singh said the victim lost one hand and foot in the accident.

358 get degrees

Kalka, March 18
Degrees to 358 students of arts, science and commerce stream were awarded and postgraduates from three disciplines i.e. Hindi, political science and geography were handed over the degrees in the annual convocation function of Smt Aruna Asaf Ali Government PG College, Kalka, organised today on the college premises amidst considerate excitement and fervour.

Prof Ram Singh (retd), an eminent teacher leader and ex-president of Haryana Government College Teachers’ Association, gave degrees to the students — OC

Ambala, March 18
A cycling-cum-trekking expedition was flagged off here yesterday.

Brigadier P Vivekanandan flagged off the team near the Kali Paltan bridge, which was headed by Lt Abhinav and consisted of one Army officer, two JCOs and 12 other Army personnel.

According to a spokesman, the expedition was launched to foster a spirit of adventure and to promote the image of the Army among civil population. The team will be back from Thatyur near Rishikesh after covering a distance of about 1,000 km.

Chandigarh, March 18
Acting on a public interest litigation by social activist Hemant Goswami, Punjab & Haryana High Court Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal and justice Jasbir Singh today issued notice of motion for May 19 to the union HRD and home affairs ministries and the Chandigarh administration.

The petitioner has sought directions to all educational institutions to provide free education to at least 15 per cent of the students belonging to economically deprived segments of society.

Goswami also prayed for providing such students free books and stationery besides free transport if they were living at a place far away from where the school is located.

Goswami also wanted the respondents to form a permanent, full-time body and a foolproof mechanism to supervise and oversee the functioning of private schools and ensure they did not impose charge sundry charges for items such as building, picnic and other funds. 

Chandigarh, March 18
The police today registered a case of attempt to murder against unidentified persons into the incident of alleged firing on a car in Sector 11 here last night.

The SHO of the Sector 11 police station, Inspector Sukhbir Rana, said a case of attempt to murder under Sections 307 and 34, IPC, along with Sections 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act had been registered against unidentified persons on the basis of the statement recorded by the victim, Gurwinder Singh of Naya Gaon.

Though Gurwinder had named the member of a rival student organisation, the police said it would examine the statement and verify the claims.

Gurwinder’s car would be sent for examination to the CFSL in Sector 36 and a letter had been sent to the lab in this regard.

Gurwinder had alleged that four persons travelling in a car fired two shots at him, which hit his Maruti Zen near the YMCA in Sector 11.

He then went to the Sector 11 police station, where the police registered a daily diary report last night.

Chandigarh, March 18
The police today arrested two youths for speeding away from a police naka at the Sector 49 here. 
The police said Satish Kumar and Deepak, both residents of Sector 49, were riding a motorcycle without wearing helmets last night in Sector 49. They were in their early 20s and worked with a lawyer.

The police said they had put up the naka to check snatching incidents in the area. They were signalled to stop, but they tried to run over a home guard volunteer in order to flee. The home guard volunteer hit the accused with a baton and injured the pillion rider in the process.

The police has registered a case of obstructing a public servant from discharging his duties and assaulting him. The police learnt that the two had gone to the Sector 32 GMCH for treatment. The police reached there and arrested them.

This is not an isolated incident. Earlier, too, there have been instances of policemen being injured by rowdy elements in their bid to escape. 

Chandigarh, March 18
The British School Junior Golf Academy in Sector 44 here has opened its five-hole miniature golf course to students of all schools for a two-month junior golf camp starting on March 27. Open to children in the age group of 5-12 years, the camp will be held twice a week under the guidance of Manjit Kochar, director overseas, Junior Golf Development Programme of the Indo-Canadian Golf Association.

The last date for registration for the camp is March 25. The British School will meet all expenses, range fee, range balls, caddie money and golf set rental, etc.

The British School Golf Academy is indorsed by the ICGA. The trainees will be taught basic fundamentals of golf, including putting, chipping, long and short irons, golf etiquette.