Chandigarh, September 20
The incessant rains are causing a havoc with the household budget. With rains spoiling most vegetable crops across India, prices of vegetables are now hitting the roof, forcing people to delete most vegetables from their daily menu.

Onions are literally making the people cry, with their retail price touching Rs 25-30 per kg in various cities across North India. Tomatoes are being retailed at Rs 45 per kg, cauliflower is available at Rs 70 a kg, and peas at Rs 90 a kg. Sources in the wholesale vegetable trade say that the prices could soar further if the rains were to continue as large tracts of land under vegetable crops are submerged, thus damaging the crops.

Surinder Kaur, a housewife in Ludhiana, lamented that she had now shifted to buying vegetables on a need basis. “The prices of most vegetables are so high that I buy these on a daily basis. We cannot buy stock for a week and have also cut down on vegetable consumption by having these only once a day and cutting these from our dinner menu,” she rued.

Wholesale traders in Delhi inform TNS that the flow of vegetables to the mandi there has trickled down, as vegetables grown in Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka have been damaged because of the rains. “As a result, the prices of most vegetables in the wholesale market, too, have shot up. The wholesale price of onions has gone up from Rs 200-Rs 450 per 40 kg last fortnight to Rs 400-Rs 700 per 40 kg now (depending on their size). Since onions are coming to North India from Belgaum in Karnataka and Kohlapur and Sholapur in Maharashtra, the onion crop has been damaged there because of heavy rainfall. This is the reason for the soaring onion prices,” said Rajinder Sharma, general secretary, Onion and Potato Merchants Association, Delhi.

The same is true with other vegetables like cauliflower, peas and tomatoes. These vegetables reach Delhi and other places from Himachal Pradesh. With heavy rains in the hill state, these vegetables, too, have been damaged. Also, with roads getting blocked in Himachal Pradesh because of land slides, vegetables are not reaching the mandis regularly, leading to their high prices.

If prices of vegetables coming to North India from other states have been affected by rains, the prices of vegetables grown in the region, too, are high because of the high trader margins, which are as high as 150-400 per cent. No wonder that vegetables like lady finger, which is grown in most parts of Punjab, is retailing at Rs 50 per kg, and even cauliflower grown locally is retailing at Rs 60 a kg. 

Chandigarh, September 20
Filling at the Bhakra and Pong dams is set to come to a close tomorrow with the meteorological office predicting an end to the current rain spell even as the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) feels it has sufficient water to meet the irrigation and drinking water needs of the partner states of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan till May 20 next year.

According to the meteorological office, the current rain spell, which has been light to medium in the catchments of both dams, is likely to come to an end tomorrow. As the traditional filling date of the dams also comes to a close today, the water level of both dams is likely to stabilise at the present levels.

The water level at the Bhakra today was 1680.70 ft. The level of the Bhakra is not likely to rise further, unforeseen circumstances notwithstanding, with the dam receiving an average inflow of around 40,000 cusecs. Around 38,000 cusecs of water is released into the Sutlej from the Bhakra power plants daily. The spillway gates of the Bhakra have been closed for the last two days.

At Pong, inflows were only around 10,000 cusecs today indicating light rainfall only in its catchments. The water level at the Pong was recorded at 1393.50 ft today.

Meanwhile, there are conflicting opinions on the water level achieved at both dams. South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and Peoples head Himanshu Thakkar today claimed that the BBMB had operated in an ad hoc and casual manner by letting the water level rise to the maximum limit of 1680 ft in the middle of the filling season. However, Padamjit Singh of the All-India Power Engineers Federation claimed that optimum filling had not been achieved at both dams.

Thakkar claimed the BBMB had not acted responsibly by allowing the dam to fill beyond 1680 ft two weeks before the end of the filling season. He claimed this had resulted in a tilt in the dam structure, which was beyond the permissible limits forcing the dam authorities to stop further filling.

Power Engineers Federation president Padamjit Singh has written to Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde asking him to direct the BBMB to reduce power generation at Pong.

BBMB Member, Irrigation, MK Gupta, when questioned, said the dams had been filled to their optimum levels and that the present levels were sufficient to meet the irrigation needs of the partner states till May 20 next year. 

Mohali, September 20
Bharatiya Kisan Union (Rajewal) president Balbir Singh Rajewal sat on an indefinite fast following a protest rally on the Mohali-Chandigarh road near YPS Chowk here this afternoon.

The “peaceful” rally was called by the association for not fulfilling the demand of distribution of Rs 800 crore among farmers by the Punjab government, which they had received from the Centre on March 31 this year.

After about a two-hour long rally, which witnessed the participation of thousands of farmers from several parts of the Punjab, Rajewal started his “Satyagrah”.

“I will not take anything except limewater and my medicines during the fast,” said Rajewal, while maintaining that he was a heart patient and had undergone a bypass surgery several years before.

The farmers sat on the road as the Chandigarh Police did not allow them to enter Chandigarh.

“We do not want to disturb common man by adopting violent measures. We believe in ‘non-violence’, so our protest will remain peaceful by all means,” said Rajewal, looking at the tight security arrangements by the police there.

The farmers were annoyed, alleging that the Punjab government had not fulfilled its promise of taking decision on the distribution of the Centre package, which they (the farmers) claimed was meant for them.

Rajewal claimed that principal secretary of the Punjab Chief Minister DS Guru had promised on August 13 following their three-day protest last month that today (September 20) some decision in this regard would be taken. “But the government has been ignoring our demand as it wanted to misappropriate the amount of the package,” alleged Rajewal, adding that the government was already warned that the protest would again be started if the demands were not met.

Rajewal also alleged that the Punjab government claimed that the package was meant for the state electricity board which was misleading. “In fact, the government wanted to siphon off Rs 800 crore on which the farmers of the state have right,” said the president.

The BKU (Haryana) also extended its support to their neighbouring counterparts.

To support the farmers’ cause, Kulwant Singh of Nawan Shahr gave 1000 dinars as financial help to the union at the spot

To check the security arrangements, ADC PS Shergill, UT IG Pradeep Srivastava and SSP Naunihal Singh visited the spot.

Chandigarh, September 20
The Punjab Government has clarified that the Centre has not extended any financial help to the state for passing on to farmers. The Rs 800 crore received by the state from the Centre is specifically meant for passing on to the Punjab State Electricity Corporation (PSEC) with the riders that if it is used for any other purpose, it will be taken back with interest.

Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal said this point was made clear at a presentation of the Finance Department made before the Cabinet yesterday. He said: “Though the CM should be clarifying the position, I can say this with certainty that the money cannot be used for any other purpose than compensating the PSEC, which bought additional power during kharif- 2009.”

He said it clearly meant that the Centre did not give any money to Punjab to be distributed among farmers for additional electricity they used on irrigation on account of adverse weather conditions.

Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal who met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh earlier this year had demanded an agriculture package to the tune of Rs 3,000 crore for Punjab farmers on account of additional input costs. Sukhbir said Punjab would soon be taking up the case with the Centre seeking assistance for the agriculture sector.

He said when the money was received by Punjab, it was not accompanied by any letter either to the Chief Secretary or to the CM’s office saying that the money could not be distributed among farmers. He said now the Finance Department had disclosed the contents of the letter, which marked the money for a specific purpose.

The letter from the Ministry of Finance, Department of Expenditure, says that the sanctioned amount is on account of drought during the kharif- 2009 and is in the form of “Central assistance for additional cost incurred by the Punjab Government in providing power to the agriculture sector during the kharif- 2009”.

Sukhbir said the letter mentioned that the Rs 800 crore had been released to Punjab for its further release to the “implementing agency (PSEC) without any delay failing which the amount would be recovered from the government with interest”.

He added that as promised, the state government had announced the release of productivity bonus to farmers. “But this will only be given to those who pay their electricity bills,” he added.

He said the exact modalities were being worked out by the Chief Secretary and would be implemented immediately.

Jalandhar, September 20
In an incident that reflected badly on the local police, members of the local Congress unit today virtually ruined the inaugural ceremony of the local School of Nursing, Civil Hospital, which was attended by Health Minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla, Principal Secretary, Health, Satish Chandra, and other senior officials of the department.

Loudly protesting against the inadequate arrangements in the state to deal with the dengue outbreak, the Congress workers ran over the institute’s auditorium and literally hijacked the dais and stood on the chairs meant for the Health Minister and other officials.

The protesters indulged in an altercation with the Health Minister, the Principal Secretary and other officials for over half an hour. As the situation worsened, the Principal Secretary offered to go along with them to the hospital wards, where the dengue patients were admitted.

All this happened in front of the newly admitted nursing students and their parents, who came from across the state to attend the function. “The function was in the knowledge of the district administration. It is embarrassing that no security arrangements were made by the authorities concerned,” Chawla added.

Ironically, the incident happened just two days after the district administration talked of full security measures on the hospital premises. The local Congress unit had protested over this issue in the hospital on Friday also.

Taking on the protesters, Chawla said it would have been better if they had organised a blood donation camp or an awareness campaign regarding dengue in the city.

Eleven protesters, including Arun Walia, district president, Congress (Urban), and Varinder Sharma, secretary, PPCC, were arrested by the police and later released in the evening. Dr SK Kalia, ADCP-I, said they had no information regarding the function or the minister’s visit. The function got delayed by over an hour.

Chandigarh, September 20
The grandchildren of terrorist victims are not entitled to reservation, a Full Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled.

The significant judgment by the Bench, comprising Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal, Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel and Justice Ajay Tewari, came on a petition filed by a student, Pawanpreet Kaur.

The Bench ruled: “Reservation is only for the benefit of wards whose parent or guardian may have been affected by terrorism. In the case of the petitioner, her parents, who are still alive, have not been affected by terrorism. The reservation clause in such a situation could not be invoked by the petitioner on the ground that her grandfather was affected. In her case, the breadwinner will naturally refer to her parents”.

The question before the Full Bench was “whether the fact of reservation and admission to medical colleges for wards of terrorist victims can include the grandchildren also”.

Going into the background of the controversy, the Bench observed: “The petitioner is a candidate for MBBS / BDS course and has sought reservation under Clause 5A (vi) of the Prospectus for PMET 2010 issued by the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot.

“Her grandfather Kartar Singh was killed in 1984 during Operation Blue Star and at that time, her father Lakhwinder Singh was 19/20 years. Even though terrorism ended in Punjab in 1990, the policy of reservation for wards of terrorist-affected persons was continuing and the said policy should thus be held to be applicable even to grandchildren of terrorist- affected persons”.

The Bench added: “The case of the petitioner is that if the policy is not applied to grandchildren, there may not be any eligible persons who may get benefit of the reservation in the category in question”.

After hearing the rival contentions, the Bench asserted: “The plea of a possibility of a clause becoming redundant cannot be a reason to extend reservation unless reservation could be justified for a compelling legal and social necessity. The department has also not adopted in the present case an interpretation, which may support the stand of the petitioner”.

Before parting with the orders, the Bench asserted the petitioner’s case was not covered by the reservation clause. As such, the question was being answered against her. 

Patiala, September 20
Intensifying the drive against the industries violating pollution norms, six teams of the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) swooped down on 26 industrial units of Ludhiana recently.

Five industrial units were found not complying with the norms and the process to take action against them has been initiated. Under the command of PPCB Senior Environmental Engineers Krunesh Garg and Pardeep Gupta, six teams of the board, headed by NS Manshahia, RK Nayar, RK Goyal, Paramjit Singh, Tejinder Kumar and Avtar Singh, raided 26 units.

PPCB Deputy Director (PR) Dr Charanjit Singh said the raids were conducted on the units located along the Tajpur Road, the Bahadur-Ke-Road, the Rahon Road and at the Focal Point. “Out of five defaulting units, major violations were detected at M/s Sunny Scientific Dyer, Rahon Road,” he added.

“M/s Sunny Scientific Dyer, Rahon Road, was found not operating its effluent treatment plant (ETP), while four other industrial units were found violating norms pertaining to the record of energy meters, water meters and chemicals used for running their ETPs. But major violations were at M/s Sunny Scientific Dyer only,” Dr Charanjit said. He said the instructions for initiating action against erring units had already been issued.

Dr Charanjit, however, expressed happiness over the fact that the pollution-control devices were working properly at majority of the industrial units that were raided. “The air pollution control devices (APCD) of most of the industries were found operational and none of the industry was found using unauthorised fuel. These are positive signs,” he added.

Patiala, September 20
He screams when he is hungry, but no one is there to feed him. He can’t sleep properly and is in a pitiable condition. He has got two sons and a daughter, but at such a crucial age, there is no one to look after him.

This is the plight of octogenarian Gurbhajan Singh, who is locked alone in a house in Mooran Wali 
Gali, Patiala, for the past five years.

However, the matter came to light when residents of the area recently approached the Kotwali Police and urged the authorities to allow them to shift the old man to some old age home.

“Gurbhajan’s son and a daughter are settled abroad and the other son resides in Patiala. We have requested his son to take him out of the house, but to no avail,” said the residents.

“The kin of Gurbhajan shifted to Patiala some five years back. Since then he is living an inhuman life in the locked house,” said the residents while speaking to The Tribune.

Gurbhajan’s only company is his neighbours, who sometimes talk to him to ensure that he is medically fit. The only time they come to see him is during evenings, when he comes near the gate of the house to eat the food left by his kin. And many a times, he screams of hunger because animals had eaten the food.

Meanwhile, his immediate neighbour Rajinder Kumar and Parminder Kumar said he often banged doors during the night shouting that he was hungry.

“We have to give him food to pacify him,” they said, adding that Gurbhajan’s kin keep food for him once a day only.

The conditional of the old man could be gauged from the dirty clothes which he is wearing. As in this weather he was wearing two sweaters. With uncombed hairs, unusual body language, people felt that he was mentally unstable but if someone was caged in a house from past so many years, his conduct would, obviously be like that of Gurbhajan, opined a majority of the residents.

However, the claims of the residents proved to be true when TNS spoke to him as not only Punjabi, Gurbhajan was well versed with English. He said he was educated and had served as a manager in a prestigious firm and then quietly went away. 

Ropar, September 20
Pressing for the need for clearly defined accountability in reservoir operations of Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), a research group - South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP) - has called for dissemination of information in public.

SANDRP director Himanshu Thakkar said the Bhakra reservoir need to be operated in a more responsible manner to minimise the risk to large number of people of the areas dam serves.

Bhakra dam’s full reservoir level (FRL) was decreased from 1690 feet to 1680 feet and the BBMB has been observing it for the past 22 years. The circumstances that led to decrease of FRL remain unknown to the public.

“Despite the fact that FRL was brought down to 1680 feet, on September 14 this year water level was 1681.08 feet. Why was the dam allowed to fill two weeks before September 21 closure of filling period,” he questioned.

Thakkar said despite such precaution, dam’s wall showed deflection beyond permissible limits, endangering the structure.

Rajasthan, which gets water from BBMB systems (Pong dam), has seen below normal sowing this kharif season due to lack of adequate water releases from Punjab.

Calling for well defined on reservoirs operation, responsibility for decisions taken in such matters and accountability in case of wrong decision, Thakkar demanded that information be made public.

He added that even between March 15 and June 21, 2009, when there is minimum agricultural activity and water use demand for agriculture is least, level of water in Bhakra dam was allowed to deplete from 480.61m to 458.62 m, when actually dam level should have gone up due to flows from glacier melt starting from May 20.

The member generation BBMB was not available for comments.

Gurdaspur, September 20
When tillage begins, other arts follow. That is the reason why farmers have earned the sobriquet of being “founders of human civilization”. This was the gist of proceedings on day one of the centenary celebrations of PAU Regional Research Station that commenced on a vibrant note here today.

After the PAU Vice-Chancellor, MS Kang, inaugurated the centenary gate leading to the campus, he addressed the employees, just yards away from the Automatic Weather Station which over the years has been instrumental in providing exact weather forecasts to farmers of the Majha region.

Kang felicitated the retired non-teaching employees and later delivered a speech. “I know the Research Station here has been successful in many ways. However, we should strive hard to make the station an even better place to work and live in.”Speaking about the brain-drain phenomenon, Kang said, “If we manage to provide better facilities and better pay packages to our agriculture scientists in this country itself, I see no reason why these young scientists should make an exodus to foreign nations.”

Perturbed at the lack of quality research on sugarcane in Punjab, Kang said he would urge the authorities to provide them with funds so that sugarcane research should continue.