Moga, June 5
The Agriculture Department of the state has busted a racket in spurious and sub-standard pesticides and fertilisers in Baghapurana subdivision of Moga district.

As many as two samples of fertilisers and four samples of insecticides collected from the shops of this area have failed the quality tests.

The department has banned the sale of these products in the state.

Dr Rajinder Singh Pandher, chief agriculture officer of the district while stating the details to The Tribune, said as many as eight samples of pesticides and four samples of fertilisers were taken from Baghapurana, last week. Out of which, 50 per cent of the samples had failed the quality tests.

He said zero per cent zinc sulphate and manganese sulphate had been found in a sample of fertiliser (mixture/micro-nutrient grade-1) taken from New Gill Pesticides, Baghapurana. The actual composition should have been 4 per cent zinc sulphate and 15 per cent manganese sulphate. This product was manufactured by Hindustan Fertilizer and Chemicals, Mumbai.

Another sample of fertiliser (mixture/micro-nutrient grade-2), manufactured by Arora Fertichem Industries, Haraz (Ferozepur), taken from the same shop had also failed the quality tests. The quantity of zinc sulphate was found less than the prescribed limit.

A sample of pesticide, manufactured by Agrichem India Private Limited, Sampla (Haryana), taken from the New Gill Pesticides had also been found sub-standard. The composition of “phorate” has been found 3.95 per cent as against the required 10 per cent CG composition.

Two samples of pesticides taken from Sat Kartar Pesticides, Baghapurana, manufactured by Anu Products Limited, Faridabad, had failed the tests.

In one of the samples, the quantity of “triacontanol” had been found zero per cent as against the prescribed composition of 0.05 per cent. In the other sample, “cartap-hydrochloride” had been found 25 per cent less than the prescribed composition of 4 per cent.

Another samples of pesticide collected from National Fertiliser, Baghapurana, manufactured by A-B Chem, Samba (J&K), had also failed the quality test. The “cartap-hydrochloride” in it had been found 0.7 per cent less than the prescribed composition.

Dr Jaswinder Singh Brar and Dr Rashpal Singh, both agriculture development officers, who were assigned the task to collect these samples, said the department had issued notices to the manufacturers and sellers of these products.

“We have also banned the sale of these products, bearing same batch numbers whose samples were collected by us, in the state”, they added.

Ludhiana, June 5
A day after a local student claimed to have bagged a prestigious job of a senior microbiologist at NASA for having increased human lifespan by 10-15 years, the police today ordered a high-level probe into his claims.

Parteek Bajwa, a 17-year-old student had yesterday claimed that he had done research that would help enhance the age of humans, which was corroborated by NASA. For this his name was also included in the Guinness Book of World Records, he claimed.

Talking to The Tribune here today, Commissioner of Police Ishwar Singh said he had ordered an inquiry into his claims. “We will look into his certificates and all other claims and establish whether he was telling the truth or not,” said Ishwar Singh.

He said he grew suspicious following his claims published today that he was given a pilot vehicle to board a chartered plane to reach NASA. “I immediately got my records checked and found that no student was given any pilot vehicle. This has really made me suspicious. The rest will come out of the inquiry,” he said.

Parteek has a number of certificates to corroborate his claims. He even showed several pictures that he took at NASA.

While he is being suspected by the police, Vikas Seth, Parteek's uncle, said he actually went to NASA. “I was the one who saw him off while he boarded a chartered plane. We are disappointed that the police is suspecting our genius child. But we will come out of the inquiry scot-free,” he said.

Zira (Ferozepur), June 5
In less than a month, nature has played havoc with farmers and vegetable growers of this region second time as a hailstorm, which lashed this region again last night, caused irrevocable damage to various crops and vegetables.

In certain pockets of Ferozepur district, trees and electric poles were also uprooted.

The damage in certain areas was so huge that farmers, who had sown moong, maize, paddy and vegetables like bitter gourd and green chilli, have been finding it difficult to avoid the economic setback, which they had suffered within a few hours.

The farmers said so far the state government had not started to compensate them for the losses they suffered on account of damage of their crops on May 7, 2010, due to hailstorm 
and again on the same account yesterday.

On May 7, 2010, farmers of this region suffered losses ranging from a few thousands to lakhs due to hailstorms. Even rooftops of various houses and cattle sheds were also removed due to storm. Around 24 sheeps were also perished.

Chand Singh and Sukhdev Singh of Gamewali village of this area pointed out that the winds, which accompanied the hailstorm were so fast that they uprooted various crops apart from causing absolute damages to vegetables. Their maize and summer moong crops in about 11 acres had been damaged fully.

It is learnt that farmers and vegetable growers had suffered maximum damage in villages, including Shahwala, Chohla, Behak, Lohuke Kalan, Santuwala, Bumb, Basti Haji Ke, Nurpur, Bhawalpur, Fathegarh Pantoor, Chabba and Malko.

The farmers said they had spent huge money on the cultivation of summer moong and maize crops, which had been destroyed. They added that they had been finding it difficult to arrange more money to re-sow these crops and, hence, they would have to keep their fields vacant this season.

They demanded that the government must come forward to assess the losses suffered by them and they should be compensated without any delay.

Bipin Bhardwaj adds from Jalandhar: The widespread rain accompanied by a thunderstorm played havoc with cash crops in this part of the region last night.

While the unpredictable weather brought misery to farmers, the third storm in the past one week caused a huge damage to the mango crop in the Kandi belt besides Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, and Ropar districts of Doaba region.

Apart from damaging the fruit crops, the strong winds have also damaged trees, electricity cables, mud houses, temporary sheds and cow sheds in the area.

The frequently changing climate in the past fortnight will affect the yield and quality of fruits that are near the ripening stage.

The squall that swept the region on Friday night caused almost 15 per cent damage to the mango crop in this region, known as mango belt of Doaba, claimed Dr Gurkanwal Singh, deputy director, Horticulture, Hoshiarpur.

He said the changing weather had affected the quality of other fruits crops including litchi, guava, peach and pear.

“Our staff will be pressed into service for assessing the exact loss caused by the thunderstorm to the crops,” he added.

Chandigarh, June 5
Former minister Gulzar Singh passed away yesterday. Former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has expressed grief on the demise of Gulzar Singh.

Gulzar was also the vice-president of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee and had served as the chairman of the Patiala Improvement Trust.

Amarinder said in the death of Gulzar Singh the party had lost a dedicated and seasoned Congressman. Expressing sympathy with the family, he said the death of the minister was a personal loss to him.

Mohali, June 5
To spread the message “save plants, save life”, Punjab Youth Congress President Ravneet Singh Bittu today drove a tractor-driven water tanker to water tree saplings planted by the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority and Mohali MC around the city.

The plants are not watered regularly resulting in high mortality rate. The Anandpur Sahib MP led a convoy of tractor-driven water tankers being used by the youth Congress workers to water plants in different parts of the city. A state-level function to mark the World Environment Day was flagged off from Matour village.

Interacting with mediapersons, the MP said instead of planting tree saplings that die for want of water, the party thought of doing something worthwhile to save the existing tree cover. The youth Congress plans to adopt green belts across the state to spread the message.

Citing examples of the campaign, several tree saplings planted at the public places, gurdwaras, hospitals and dispensaries would be regularly monitored. He also praised the “Nanhi Chhan” campaign spearheaded by SAD MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal. At last the trees gifted with religious sentiments are taken care of by the devotees.

The MP said the youth Congress workers spent the day watering trees in their respective areas across the state. “It is not that we watered plants to get photos clicked. The entire campaign was being monitored by the Congress workers at the state level and by Rahul Gandhi at the national level,” he said.

Fatehgarh Sahib, June 5
To ensure foolproof security in Punjab, the cyber café owners have been instructed to install specially-designed software that saves photographs, digitised identity proofs and other essential information of every internet user. The software also slashes nearly 40 per cent electricity bills of the cyber cafes.

It clicks the picture of every computer user, uploads identity proofs of every customer, records time spent on internet surfing and enables the café owners to access every related information. This information is saved forever in the server of the software provider.

The software providers earn revenue by getting 75 per cent space for advertisements on the desktops of all those users who use the software.

The installation has been completed in all cyber cafes of Amritsar, Bathinda and Sangrur. Besides, around 300 cyber cafes all over state have already installed the software.

Earlier, the cyber café owners have to note down the names and addresses of customers in registers, besides keeping a copy of the identity proofs. Most of the cafes lose the saved information in registers after some time. Now, these details got uploaded automatically and are available round the clock on internet.

The software, with a single click, also helps in turning off power of the computers, which are not in use and this saves nearly 40 per cent of the total consumption of electricity in cafés.

Police heads of Khanna and Fatehgarh Sahib confirmed that they have received guidelines in this regard and efforts are on to get the software installed in every cyber café.

Group head, operations of Clink Cyber Café Software, Harpreet Singh said the software is installed free-of-cost in all cyber cafes of Sangrur, Amritsar and Bathinda districts in the past few days.

The efforts were on to install it in all other districts with help of the police, he added.

Patiala, June 5
In what may be termed as a serious threat to the safety of the people, the unsafe hoardings in many city areas and the city bus stand are standing tall with the authorities concerned looking the other way.

The seriousness of the situation can be gauged from the fact that many such unsafe hoardings got damaged and fell on the road, during the dust storm last week. While most of the big hoardings installed in the bus stand got damaged and their frames were spotted on the road.

Speaking to The Tribune, majority of the people expressed their concern over the matter. “It is really worrying that civic functionaries are allowing the private advertisers to put up hoardings without ensuring their safety. If the hoardings cannot sustain the dust storm, it is clear that their frames were of poor quality,” said Jagat Ram, who resides near the YPS School, where few hoardings were damaged during last week.

“More than six billboards and hoardings at the bus stand were completely damaged after they failed to sustain the winds last week. Luckily, it was night hour and no one sustained any injury,” stated Ravi Singh and Mukhtiar Singh, both shopkeepers.

Interestingly, Municipal Commissioner Manjit Singh Narang claimed that the matter comes under the purview of the Pepsu Roadways Transport Corporation (PRTC). However, when quizzed that whether there were any guidelines pertaining to the size and the height of the hoardings being put up in the areas, coming under the MC jurisdiction, he had no reply and said, “We follow the instructions of the High Court regarding the installation of the hoardings.”

However, PRTC chairman Manvesh Singh Sidhu said, “The contract period of the advertiser, who had put up the hoardings at the bus stand had expired and he had not removed the hoardings. In future, we will ensure that hoardings that are being put up are safe.”

Patiala, June 5
With the Patiala Municipal Corporation failing to take necessary measures to ensure proper water supply to the city residents, several areas in the royal city are grappling with severe water crisis.

A man ferries buckets to supply water in areas  facing shortage in Patiala on Saturday.  Tribune photo: Rajesh Sachar

The residents of the affected areas have expressed displeasure over the attitude of the civic functionaries for not paying any attention towards the problem.

A visit to different localities, including Desi Mehamandari, Lehal Colony, Kishore Colony, Sewak Colony, Rajpura Colony and the Factory area brought to light that these areas are reeling under water scarcity.

Rajwinder Kaur, a resident of Rajpura Colony rued, “We get water, but for just a couple of hours and that too at a very low pressure. In order to meet our domestic needs, many a times we have to travel to the other areas with buckets.”

The residents of many other areas expressed similar views, while criticising the civic body for miserably failing to find concrete solution to the problem. “By issuing statements that indiscriminate use of tullu pumps has lead to the water shortage in some areas, the municipal authorities are running away from their responsibility,” said Jaswinder Singh, a resident of Lehal Colony, while adding, “If this being the case, why no action is being initiated against the violators so far.”

The residents told the Tribune that they were experiencing this problem from past two weeks, but the problem has become severe from last few days. “In routine, water is supplied twice a day- an hour each in the morning and evening. But from past few days, our taps have gone dry and we are not getting single drop of water during morning hours. Promises made by the MC officials before the start of the summers that more tube wells would be installed in order to ensure proper water supply have turned out to be completely false,” clamed residents of Kishore Colony.

The civic officials claimed that they were making all possible efforts to provide proper water supply to the city residents. Patiala Municipal Commissioner Manjit Singh Narang accepted there was some problems in certain areas, while adding that he has deputed his staff to check illegal usage of the tullu pump sets.

Patiala, June 5
Seeking admissions to MBBS courses under the NRI quota in various state medical colleges this year, hundreds of NRI wards have demanded to extend the last date for submission of admission forms by at least a month. The Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot, has fixed June 30 as the last date for submission of the application forms for admission to the MBBS courses under the NRI quota.

However, in Canada, US and other foreign countries, the Class XII examination will start in mid or third week of June. Therefore, the NRI students will not be able to get their Class XII certificates required to be submitted along with the application forms before mid July. This way they will lose one year of their career.

The wards of the NRIs abroad and in India have sent applications and e-mails to the university’s VC and to the secretary, Medical Education and Research, Punjab, but so far they have not received any response.

“The life and career of our children will get jeopardised if they do not get timely admission,” said grandfather of one of the NRI student.

Chairman, in-service doctors wing, state branch of Indian Medical Association, Dr DS Bhullar said the demand of the students was genuine and the university must extend the last date for submission of the application forms at least by a month. He added this would save one year of the students and would not affect the academic curriculum of the MBBS courses.

Moreover, if the seats under the NRI quota were not filled, it might cause heavy loss of foreign exchange to the university and the medical colleges under it, he added.

Chandigarh, June 5
If you think you can make hoax phone calls or play a prankster with a stolen mobile phone, you are heading for trouble. Ask Santosh Kumar, a migrant labourer from Uttar Pradesh working in JCT Mills, Phagwara.

He has been remanded in police custody until June 8 by Ludhiana’s Ilaqa Magistrate today after the Government Railway Police prima facie established that it was he who had allegedly made the phone call warning the police of a possible bomb attack at Ludhiana Railway Station on May 19.

“These technological devices, sophisticated and handy as they look, leave strong footprints for the police or security agencies to be on the trail of the suspects or even hardened criminals after they commit a crime using these devices, including the mobile phone,” says Chandersekhar, Punjab Director-General of Railway and Traffic Police.

Talking about the scare created by the call received by Navdeep Singh, a civilian of Ludhiana, on his mobile phone on May 19 at about 6.45 pm that some eight to 10 terrorists have entered Ludhiana Railway Station to explode bombs there, had put the Government Railway Police on its toes.

After taking all possible preventive measures, it had launched a massive hunt to trace the source of the call that had been made from a mobile phone number 98148-44913 with an intent to create a scare. The caller, who spoke in chaste Hindi, held that the Ludhiana Railway Station was going to be bombed.

Investigations revealed a wholesale distributor of Spice had supplied some cards to his dealer in Aiyali Kalan, also in Ludhiana. The Aiyali Kalan dealer sold this SIM to one Shiv Shankar of Muzaffarnagar in Bihar against a fake identity proof in violation of the law. Shiv Shankar had allegedly faked the identity of Gurinder Singh of Bhadaur in Barnala district.

Interestingly Shiv Shankar, after getting the number activated, handed over the phone to his relative Aishu Paswan. Unfortunately, Aisho Paswan lost his mobile phone at Sitapur, near Muzaffarnagar, while he was on his way back to his native place in Bihar.

Since the stolen mobile phone had been used for warning the Railway Police of a possible bomb attack on Ludhiana Railway Junction, the police tracked down the exact location of the handset by tracking the calls made and received from it with the help of its IMEI number.

The origin of the call was traced back to Santosh Kumar from whose possession the Government Railway Police party headed by Inspector Banarsi Dass recovered the stolen mobile handset of Shankar Paswan.

The police recovered another stolen mobile handset from Santosh Kumar who allegedly admitted playing a prankster from these stolen handsets.

Police officials admit that the IMEI number had helped them solve many cases, including bank robberies, snatchings and kidnappings. 

Chandigarh, June 5
The alleged misuse of the national emblem by a Bathinda-based assistant district attorney has come under the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s scrutiny.

In a petition, Mohali-based advocate Kamal Jeet Singh Sidhu has sought directions to the state of Punjab and other respondents to remove the national emblem from the vehicle owned by assistant district attorney Satinder Kumar Bhatti. Directions have also been sought for the initiation of appropriate action against the respondent.

Describing himself as an advocate practising in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, he has added in the petition filed in public interest that the act amounts to disrespect to national emblem.

Going into the circumstances leading to the filing of the petition, the petitioner said he noticed the respondent using the national emblem on the front number plate of his white Indigo car, bearing temporary registration number PB-03-T-5539. This vehicle is generally parked at the Bathinda district courts complex.

Indicating that the action was not without knowledge, he said the respondent working as assistant district attorney was “well aware” that he was not authorised to use the national emblem.

He added: “The front number plate of a vehicle is generally below waist and is almost equal to foot. This amounts to disrespect to the national emblem. Taking up the petition, the Bench of Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal and Justice Jasbir Singh issued notice of motion to the state and other respondents.

Moga, June 5
Additional Sessions Judge of Moga Raj Shekhar Attri today rejected an application of local Congress MLA Joginder Pal Jain to discharge him in an attempt to murder case, which was registered against him and some of his associates during the panchayat elections in May 2008. An FIR in this regard was registered under the provisions of the Arms Act and Sections 307, 148 and 149 of the IPC on May 26, 2008.

The complainant, Guriqbal Singh, said his brother was contesting for the post of panch. He alleged that Jain and one of his associates, Harnek Singh, made an attempt to eliminate him. He further alleged that they first opened fire on his brother and later, Jain tried to crush him under a car.

Soon after this incident, Jain moved an application in the Sessions Court of BS Sandhu, who granted him an interim relief by staying his arrest for time being, because the process of the elections was in progress. In the meantime, the case was transferred to the Sessions Court of Amarjot Kaur Bhatti. She rejected his application to grant him bail on September 13, 2008.

Later, Justice Arvind Kumar, on November 11, 2008, confirmed anticipatory bail granted to him. Jain, through counsel Sant Pal Singh Sidhu, had moved the high court following the dismissal of his anticipatory bail plea by the Sessions Court.

Today, Jain’s counsel Anish Kant Sharma argued before the court to discharge Jain from this case at the time of framing of charges citing a judgment of the Supreme Court, but Additional Sessions Judge Raj Shekhar Attri rejected the plea and fixed July 20 as the next date of hearing in this case. The court has fixed this date for the framing of charges against the MLA. — TNS