The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Sparks again Crop on 297 acres in Pathankot, Phagwara, Phillaur, Nakodar destroyed More wheat crop goes up in flames Tribune Reporters Gurdaspur, April 18 Standing wheat crop on 297 acres of land in Pathankot, Phagwara, Phillaur and Nakodar was destroyed in fires, which were caused due to sparks from transformer and live wires. Pathankot: Wheat crop on 150 acres was reduced to ashes in Larisharmo and Parmanand villages following a fire that occurred due to a spark from a nearby transformer. Gurdaspur District Youth Congress President Kartik Wadhera was passing through the area and seeing the flames he called the Pathankot fire station, which was quick to send in a fire tender. Wadhera along with his colleagues also helped douse the fire. A tractor was fully burnt and a farmer Balwinder Singh sustained injuries while trying extinguishing the fire. Phagwara: About 40 acres of wheat crop in Darveshpind and Salarpur villages, 12 acres in Ranipur Kamboia village, 7 acres in Khatti village and 10 acres at Gohawar village, Baghana and in Phagwara town were destroyed in different incidents. The loss is being estimated. Sparks from live wires of PSEB was said to be the cause of the fire. Phillaur: As much as 58 acres of wheat crop was reduced to ashes in the fire which broke out in three different villages of the Phillaur sub-division - 50 acres in Chokkra village, four acres in Begumpur village and four acres in Sangatpur village. Sparking from high tension wires of PSEB lines was said to be the cause of the fire. Nakodar: Eight acres of wheat crop was destroyed in a fire near Zandiala Manjki village and 12 acres of wheat crop near Jamshed Khas was reduced to ashes in another fire incident. No fire tender could reach the site and villagers themselves had to douse the flames. Sparks from live high tension electric wires were said to be the cause of the fire. Villagers later went to the PSEB office, demonstrated and raised slogans against PSEB officials, who failed to make adequate arrangements for the maintenance of wires. Some PSEB officials gave a slip to irate demonstrators. Meanwhile, several prominent villagers urged the state government to make arrangements of fire tenders in rural localities during the harvest season.
	Crime File NRI among 4 booked for abducting girl Tarn Taran, April 18 An NRI Ranjodh Singh of Thathian Mahantan village, 20 km from here, and three others of the same village have been booked for abducting a girl of the same village. According to information collected by this correspondent here today, a case under sections 363, 365 and 366 of the IPC has been registered at the Sarhali police station. Besides Ranjodh, the other accused have been identified as Jarnail Singh, Gurwinder Kaur and Kawalbir Kaur. Father of the abducted girl, in his complaint to the police, said his daughter was abducted when she had gone to attend the IELTS coaching at Amritsar. Ranjodh is settled in Australia and had come to India these days. All the accused were related to each other. — OC Rice bags looted Phillaur: In a daring incident of robbery, some unidentified robbers struck a godown of the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation on the Phillaur-Talwan Road late last night. The robbers drove away in a four wheeler loaded with 45 bags of rice from the godown after locking the three chowkidars in a room. A case has been registered. — OC
	SC lecturers get Buta Singh’s support Jalandhar: The Chairman of National Commission for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, Buta Singh, extended his support to the protesting members of the SC Employees Joint Action Committee, Punjab yesterday. He sat on a dharna staged by the committee and lambasted the Punjab government for sidelining the committee members by not providing them promotions and other benefits. The SC lectures have been sitting on fast unto death in front of the office of the Deputy Commissioner for the past many days. — TNS
	JDA master plan fails to get govt nod Dharmendra Joshi/Tribune News Service Jalandhar, April 18 The master plan prepared by the Jalandhar Development Board (JDA) didn’t get the nod at a meeting of the Punjab Regional & Town Planning and Development Board. The meeting was chaired by Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal in Chandigarh. A senior bureaucrat, on the condition of anonymity, who was present in the meeting, said scores of objections had been submitted in response to the proposed draft of the master plan prepared by Jalandhar Development Board in the second week of December. After incorporating most of the objections, the master plan would be republished soon. Any suggestion or objection from any individual or organisation may be submitted within 30 days of making the second draft public, he added. Giving a hint of incorporation of objections, he said instead of forcibly shifting polluting industrial units from the residential areas, it was decided to provide incentives to those industrialists who expressed their willingness to do so. The JDA prepared the first draft of the proposed master plan of Jalandhar, which included 780 sq km area falling under Jalandhar, Kapurthala and Nawanshahar districts. Apart from several other objections from different quarters, architects had suggested the JDA to incorporate realigning of rail lines in the shape of tunnels to free the ground surface areas from traffic congestion. They also suggested that option of mixed land use needed to be exercised with caution and to be focused only in specific areas rather than as policy on all areas. Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal, PWD (B&R) Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa, Chief Secretary S.C. Agrawal, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister DS Guru, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister-cum-Secretary Housing & Urban Development SS Sandhu, Principal Secretary industries SS Channy, Financial Commission Rural Development & Panchayats Jagpal Singh Sandhu and the Chief Town Planner Kuldip Singh were also present in the meeting.
	Writers join hands against anti-Naxal operation Bipin Bhardwaj & Kusum Arora Tribune News Service Jalandhar, April 18 Eminent writers from across the state joined hands against Operation Green Hunt, which has been launched to wipe out Naxals. Speaking at Desh Bhagat Yadgaar Hall here today, they claimed the Central Government had been trying to give control of areas, enriched in natural treasure, to the MNCs and corporate houses by forcibly displacing the actual residents, the tribes, of these areas. Himanshu Kumar, director of Vanvasi Chetna Ashram, Dantewada-based NGO, said, “The tribal people are being forced to take up weapons. The police do not register their FIRs, courts do not move their cases, administration do not address their grievances and politicians just play games. Where should they go for justice? And who will help the tribes in distress?” He said, “The men are gunned down while the girls are cut into pieces under the garb of Operation Green Hunt.” He also showed pictures of four girls, who were picked up along with 19 villagers from Singhar village, who were virtually torn into pieces. “The girls were picked up during an encounter. When the policemen were questioned, they ransacked the entire village,” he added. He said many of his fellow activists were either lodged in the jail or illegally confined for supporting the cause of the tribals. Prof Jagmohan Singh highlighted the absence of basic requirements like schools, water, electricity and road apart from health care facilities in these areas. Instead of providing them minimum basic amenities, the government indulged in violence forcing the Naxalites to retaliate. “They have come together to save their natural resources. The poor tribes are fighting for their rights but the Union Government has branded them Maoists,” claimed Prof Ajmer Singh Aulakh. Those who spoke on the occasion include Gandharav Sen Kochhar, Dr Parminder Singh and AK Maleri and were against the kills. Some 350 writers attended the event.
	SSOC links opium trade to heavy migrant inflow PK Jaiswar/Tribune News Service Amritsar, April 18 If authorities of the counter intelligence wing are to be believed, the harvest season getting to its peak in the region is a sure shot harbinger of a boom in the opium trade, with the arrival of migrant labour from Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. “As a large number of migrants arrive in the state to earn their livelihood due to the harvesting season and high demand in labour, they also bring opium with them. It also fetches them double the rate they get in their respective states,” said Manminder Singh, SSP SSOC. “The opium normally sold at a nominal rate of Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 per kg ends up between Rs 50,000 to Rs 60,000 per kg in Punjab,” he added. Meanwhile, the State Special Operation Cell (SSOC) today seized 9 kg opium from two persons. Those arrested include Kuldeep Singh of Chhicherwal (Patiala) and Harpal Singh of Nathuwal (Ludhiana) and recovered 8 kg and 1 kg opium, respectively. Harpal Singh was nabbed Maqboolpura area while Kuldeep Singh was caught near Millennium Gate at the GT Road, where he was waiting for a party to deliver the consignment of opium. Two separate cases, under sections 18, 61 and 85 of the NDPS Act have been registered in this regard. During interrogation it came to light that the recovered consignment of opium, which was recently smuggled from Rajasthan, was meant for different parties. The origin and modus operandi used for smuggling this consignment and its ultimate destination is being ascertained. Meanwhile, SSOC recovered 2 kg heroin on the information gathered from the interrogation of Harjinder Singh and Satnam Singh, who were arrested by the cell yesterday with 6 kg heroin and an AK-47 assault rifle, along with four magazines and 100 live cartridges.