Fake arms racket busted in Mansa
Mansa, April 17
A racket involving the sale of countrymade weapons under the name of reputed national and international brands has come to light here. The police has rounded up a few suspects, including an arms dealer, and sealed a few shops too. Three countrymade pistols and revolvers, sold as original ones, have also been seized.

Moga, April 17
The Agriculture Department has decided to constitute flying squads at the district and subdivision level under the supervision of chief agriculture officers to keep a check on the sale of spurious/substandard BT cotton seed in Bathinda, Mansa, Muktsar, Faridkot, Moga and Ferozepore districts.

There have been numerous reports about the sale of uncertified cotton seed in the past couple of years. The Joint Director, Agriculture, Dr Nirankar Singh, held meetings with the agriculture officers at Moga and Ferozepore today.

He said the government would take appropriate steps to protect the interests of cotton growers. “We have fixed the rates of BT-2 cotton seed at Rs 1,000 per packet and BT-1 at Rs 825 per packet and none will be allowed to sell at higher rates,” he said.

He directed his officers to ensure proper billing of the sale of cotton seed and warned the sellers to sell certified and recommended seed only.

To a question, Dr Nirankar Singh said the total area under cotton cultivation in the state was likely to increase by about 20 per cent. The government target was to increase the area by 60,000 hectares this year. The production figures were expected at 25 lakh bales (one bale ie equal to 170 kg) this year as compared to 20 lakh bales last year. Chief agriculture officer of Moga Dr Ravi Kumar Sabharwal said the area under cotton in the district was likely to go up from last year’s 4,500 hectares to 6,000 hectares.

The sowing was likely to begin by the end of April immediately after the harvesting of wheat.“We are trying to change the cropping pattern from paddy to cotton in view of the depleting water table,” he explained.

According to the agriculture marketing information centre of Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, the cotton prices are likely to remain high in the domestic and international market (between Rs 4,500-Rs 5,000 per quintal), unless the weather plays truant.

Ferozepur/Moga, April 17
All claims by the Punjab Mandi Board regarding the smooth procurement of wheat proved hollow last night when rainwater stagnated at Jalalabad grain market of the district causing damage to wheat.

While a section of farmers managed to save their produce by covering it with tarpaulin, others were not as lucky. With a proper drainage system missing at the market, the heaps of grains left in the open, and even the wheat packed in gunny bags, got submerged.

District Mandi Officer, Ferozepur, Manjeet Singh Sandhu said the stagnation occurred as the level of grain market was down than that of the road. He said the water was drained out later through a pump. Meanwhile, the rains have hit harvesting in various parts of Ferozepur and its neighbouring districts, including Bathinda and Muktsar.

Official sources said till April 16, only 17,945 MT of wheat had arrived in various grain markets of Ferozepur district, as against 5.97 lakh MT in the corresponding period last year.

In Moga, light to moderate rain accompanied by a hailstorm ruined the hopes of farmers looking for a good yield.

Chief Agriculture Officer Dr Ravi Kumar Sabbarwal has asked his officers to move out into the rural areas, gather information and submit a report on the impact of the rain on the wheat crop tomorrow.

Ludhiana, April 17
According to the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC), cotton production world-wide during 2010-11 is expected to reach 24.46 million tonnes as compared to 21.85 tonnes in 2009-10.

Dr JS Sidhu, in charge, Agricultural Marketing Information Centre, PAU, said the world cotton consumption during 2010-11 was projected at 24.83 tonnes. Due to the tight demand and supply conditions and the declining world carry-over stocks, the international cotton prices for 2010-11 remained high, he said.

The ICAC feels the soaring cotton prices may induce the farmers of leading cotton-producing countries (India, China, Pakistan) to get more area under cotton. It says the world cotton production is expected to increase by about 12 per cent to 27.4 tonnes in 2011-12. Improved world trade and the recovery from recession may see a rise in the consumption of cotton in the coming year.

According to the latest estimates of the India’s Cotton Advisory Board, during 2010-11 cotton production in India is expected to be 312 lakh bales, 6 per cent higher than in 2009-10.

Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Karnataka are the major cotton-producing states in the country and 95 per cent of the area under cotton is under hybrid or Bt cotton.

The area under cotton in Punjab has increased from 5.11 lakh hectares in 2009-10 to 5.30 lakh hectares in 2010-11. The yield has increased from 474 kg per hectare to 513 kg per hectare during the same period. Consequently, the production of cotton has increased from 14.25 lakh bales to 16 lakh bales.

The main cotton-growing areas are in the south-west of Punjab comprising Mansa, Bathinda, Faridkot, Muktsar, Ferozepore and Moga districts.

Mansa, April 17
A racket involving the sale of countrymade weapons under the name of reputed national and international brands has come to light here. The police has rounded up a few suspects, including an arms dealer, and sealed a few shops too. Three countrymade pistols and revolvers, sold as original ones, have also been seized.

According to the police, the matter came to light during a probe conducted into a case pertaining to the submission of fake documents for an arms licence. When the weapon for which the licence was sought was examined, it was found to be fake.

Subsequent investigation unravelled the involvement of a large number of arms dealers from Punjab, Haryana and other parts of the country -- most of whom have gone underground -- in the racket.

Sources said the accused arms dealers were operating in an organised manner by forming a gang. Their modus operandi included purchasing ‘kattas’ (countrymade pistols) from Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and other parts of the country and then imprinting the logos of reputed brands on them.

While one wing of the dealers would do the purchasing, another used to imprint the names and number of various ordinance factories and international companies involved in the manufacturing of weapons. Once the exercise was over, yet another gang unit would dispose of the same to bonafide and other customers.

As per sources, the dealers used to procure a pistol at around Rs 20,000 to Rs 35,000 and further sell it at around Rs 70,000 to Rs 1 lakh. The weapons were shown as made in China, Italy, USA, Japan and Webley Scott. The sale invoices were procured from two dealers based in Moga and Sirsa. While the owner of Moga-based armoury is bedridden, the other has gone underground.

Young teachers who have left jobs overseas to join IIT-Ropar. A Tribune photograph

To be continued

Bathinda, April 17
The heavy mechanisation of agricultural operations in Punjab hasn’t stopped farmers from indulging in manual harvesting of wheat.

A sizable section of farmers, including those having big landholdings, are using men and women to cut the wheat manually and subsequently extract grains with the help of an electric separator. This phenomenon is visible all over the state where the wheat crop has ripened. The reason for the shift is the high price of wheat husk this year. The price per quintal of wheat husk is about Rs 300 to Rs 350 in the market this month as compared to Rs 150 to Rs 200 per quintal which had prevailed in the corresponding period last year.

Harpal Singh, a farmer of Lakhe Wali village of Muktsar district, said that farmers were trying to extract maximum husk this season by manual harvesting. He added that the quantity of wheat husk produced through husk-making machines is always less than the the quantity produced through manual harvesting.

Madhuvir Thind, another farmer of Patiala district, said that for farmers, both wheat grain and wheat husk were equally important in terms of earnings. He added that few years ago, the price of wheat husk had crossed Rs 500 per quintal.

Kirpal Singh Aulakh, a farmer of Phoos Mandi village of Bathinda district, said that more and more farmers were going for manual harvesting as there was no labour shortage for it. He said that farmers might shift to combine harvester if they started facing shortage of manual labour.

Amritsar, April 17
Stranded here for the last four days after being released from various jails in Pakistan on April 14, the 89 fishermen heaved a sigh of relief today after officials from Gujarat turned up to escort them back home.

A four-member team led by VK Shukla, Assistant Director, Fisheries Department, Gujarat, arrived to take them back tomorrow. Else for one (from Bihar), all fishermen were from Gujarat.

Fisheries Officer VA Arda said communication from the Government of India did not reach them on time, which resulted in their late arrival. Nevertheless, this gesture has upset the fishermen.

Rajkumar, from Bihar, said 16 months in Pakistani jails were not “as much torturous as these four days”.

Muhammad Abbas, another fisherman, said: “We had thought we would appeal to Gujarat officials to initiate proceedings for the release of our boats, our only source of livelihood, but the way we have been treated, it is pointless talking about boats.”

Notably, it was the second such instance in around six months when fishermen freed by the neighbouring nation had to wait for days together due to red-tapism.

The fishermen had to spend over a year in jail after being arrested by the Maritime authorities of Pakistan on the charge of violating its territorial waters.

In Amritsar, they were lodged at District Red Cross Bhawan after no official from the Gujarat Fisheries Department turned up to receive them.

Patiala, April 17
While the entire country is celebrating the Fire Safety Week, which started on April 14, fire incidents in Samana have caused losses worth over crores in the past few months.

In the recent incident on Thursday night, a fire at a cotton mill caused losses of over Rs 40 lakh. The absence of a fire station made the conditions worse and led to this loss.

According to fire officials, the recent fire incident took place at BR Cots Spin, Samana, situated at the Patiala Road. “Huge flames were reported in the godown of the mill at around 8.15. Cotton yarn caught fire and slowly it spread in the entire unit,” they said.

Fire brigades were rushed from Patiala to douse the flames but as the distance from Patiala to Samana is almost over half an hour, fire officials could only manage to check its spread in the nearby area. “It took six fire fighting tenders almost five hours to bring the fire under control, but by that time the damage was done,” claimed Sat Pal SHO of Samana.

Following the increased cases of fire from Patiala, the Punjab Government has released a grant for setting up a fire station. The Tribune had highlighted the plight of the industrialists and residents of Samana in December. The residents said the losses were also due to absence of a fire station in the city.

Earlier, despite promises in the recent past to allot a fire station in Samana by senior politicians, nothing concrete was done despite five major fires in the town that accumulated for losses in crores. Later, former MLA of Samana Surjit Singh Rakhra took up the matter with the CM and got a fire brigade allotted, which is yet to start functioning.

Moga, April 17
In just two weeks of the beginning of the current fiscal, liquor smuggling in Moga town is giving sleepless nights to Excise and Taxation Department officials as well as the (liquor) contractors.

Over the last fortnight, more than 20 cases of liquor smuggling have come to light in the town and its adjoining areas.

Ferozepur division Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner SJS Beesla said they were regularly checking the vehicles entering the city. But, he admitted, despite the efforts liquor continued to “remain available here at a relatively lower price than that in vends”.

In order to check the smuggling menace, he said, the department had also approached the police.

Beesla said Sadhan Wali Basti, Hakam Ka Akwarh and a couple of other localities near Bukkanwala had become hot spots for the sale of illegal liquor. “There are reports that some people are even delivering liquor at home.”

A hike in prices (over 35 per cent) by major IMFL and countrymade brands is learnt to have compounded the menace, he said. The smuggled liquor came not only from adjoining areas, but also from Chandigarh where fresh auction had been delayed keeping in view the steep rise in excise duty in Punjab.

There were also reports that some people were openly selling smuggled liquor at the local bus stand here, which was mostly brought from Chandigarh and other cities via buses.

Balwinder Singh, a local contractor, said the problem was not new but for the past few days it had increased manifold. Ruing that their sale had been hit badly, he said: “If the sales come down instantly without any reason, it means cheap liquor is coming from other parts.”

Mandi Gobindgarh (Fatehgarh Sahib), April 17
Blasts in the steel town of Mandi Gobindgarh have increased in the past few years as 11 persons have died and 45 people have been seriously injured and lost their limbs.

Most of the blasts have occurred in the factories while boiling scrap or extracting iron or copper in the industries.

The scrap is boiled at 1,200°C to make ingot, which is used as raw material to shape iron rods, heavy metals and other channels. Explosive material in the scrap usually explodes while boiling and labourers are injured.

Also the roadside rag pickers, in a bid to extract copper wires, iron and other costly material from explosives have also been injured.

In Saturday’s incident four people, including two children, found a heavy iron box on the roadside and tried to open it. The box, however, exploded and two of them, Vishal (40) and his 18-year-old son, Bahadur, succumbed to injuries today at PGIMER, Chandigarh.

Though police officials usually initiate inquest proceedings under the Section 174 of the CrPc, there is hardly any move to curb the menace.

The injured labourers are given compensation by the factory owners but are crippled for life. Family members of deceased are also given money for not initiating any legal action.

“Even if we initiate legal action for negligence, the authorities concerned or police feign ignorance. Factory owners are influential people of the town,” said a migrant labourer, working in a furnace unit for the past 15 years.

There have also been incidents wherein blasts have taken place in one factory more than once in the past.

In Saturday’s incident, a case under various sections of the Explosives Act has been registered. SHO of Mandi Gobindgarh Bikramjit Singh Brar said police registered a case of negligence against the factory owners on the complaint of family member of the deceased or injured. Inquest proceedings have been initiated under the Section 174 of the CrPc. He said bombshells and iron scrap was received in the past years, especially during the time of the Iraq War.

“But now the government has banned the import of scrap. Even though the factory owners manage to identify a bombshell, they do not report it to the police and throw it away. The shells are picked up by rag pickers who die in blasts while extracting copper,” he said.

Patiala, April 17
Following a recent government notification for the setting up new police stations in the district, the Patiala police is yet to get additional staff to ensure their smooth functioning. The PCR vehicles provided to the police has also failed to check the increasing crime incidents.

Following the proposals forwarded by many police chiefs to the police headquarters, the Home Department had permitted the setting of new police stations. “The respective police chiefs have been informed that over one dozen police stations will be set up following these orders,” they said.

Five new police stations have already been set up in the Shambhu, Kherha Gandian, Bakhsiwala, City Samana and Urban Estate areas of Patiala. However, confusion prevails over their designated area.

With the new police stations coming up, the present staff from other police stations was shifted to these new police stations. However, with no new force being sent to the district police, it is the public that is bearing the brunt with staff shortage.

The ISO certified Civil Lines police station is working short of 15 policemen. Similar situations are being faced by other police stations, which are short of almost a dozen employees each. “All paper work and even routine raids have to be cancelled or postponed due to excessive work and staff crunch,” claimed a SHO.

“Also VIP duties and regular dharnas, consume much of our time and sometimes a team of 5 head-constables and a single constable visit crime spots,” he added.

Meanwhile, over 15 chain snatching incidents have gone unsolved and the police is yet to arrest the culprits in majority of the cases as due to staff shortage police is unable to hold regular nakas.

In this regard, SP Narinder Kaushal said though the SP (Headquarter) might have requested for additional staff, the police was managing the city with the same force that managed it before the creation of new police stations.

Patiala, April 17
Despite clear instructions issued by the state government, the district police has failed to check the use of illegal black filming and red beacon on private vehicles.

Several vehicles on Patiala roads, majority of them belonging to the small-time politicians, are flouting the norms leaving the police in a helpless situation.

Though the traffic police claim to have carried out sustained drives in the past to check the violation, it seems that the efforts are just not enough. Majority of the drives drive recklessly endangering the lives of commuters.

Flouting the Punjab and Haryana High Court orders, vehicles are seen plying on the roads with and without the valid permission stickers issued by the ‘Security’ wing of the state police. Some cars are on the road on a regular basis, while few are just crossing the city.

Majority of the permission stickers put on such vehicles are fake or expired.

In the past, many vehicles with the aforesaid violations have been caught for smuggling and other crimes in various districts of the state.

Even some officials of the government departments, including a few local politicians, have their vehicle windows with black films and are fitted with red beacon.However, as per the orders issued by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2002 to Punjab and Chandigarh, the permissions issued for the use of black filming on or before the afore said date was cancelled. Later, the security wing had issued new stickers to the officials who were allowed to use such vehicles.

Speaking to TNS on the condition of anonymity, a traffic cop said “most of these vehicles are of the senior officials and therefore it is difficult to stop them as it may bring trouble for us. Almost everyone is a relative of a politician or a senior officer,” he said.

Many local Akali leaders are also using the same on their private vehicles along with an escort, but no action has been taken against them.

Traffic in-charge of Patiala HS Badoongar said they had started fining such vehicles and would carry out a sustained drive to check this menace.

“We will not allow such vehicle using illegal flag post, black filming or red beacon on road,” he added.

Amritsar, April 17
Sikhs in Australia have decided to set up a separate Australian Sikh Gurdwara Parbhandak Committee (ASGPC) on the lines of the American Gurdwara Parbhandak Committee (AGPC).

According to Dr Pritpal Singh, coordinator of the AGPC, who is in Australia to garner support for the Sikh community, 20 leading Sikh gurdwara management committees in Australia have decided to form the ASGPC during a meeting held at Gurdwara Rivesby on Saturday.

He said that an ad hoc committee has also been set up to finalise the constitution and framework of the new Sikh body. The committee will prepare the draft of the constitution within three months for approval by the 20 gurdwara managements.

Dr Pritpal Singh said the Sikhs in foreign countries were unhappy with the present Sikh leadership in India which is controlling the SGPC. “Finding SGPC inept in its duties, Sikhs in Canada and Germany have already set up separate gurdwara management committees.”

He said that the prosperous Sikh community abroad would try to provide alternative leadership to community so that Sikhism could be promoted worldwide.

Amritsar, April 17
The SGPC is shipping 450 birs (copies) of Guru Granth Sahib to Italy in the ‘passenger’ category.

The SGPC president, Avtar Singh Makkar, told TNS today: “We are sending 450 birs of Guru Granth Sahib to Italy by ship.The copies have already reached Mumbai in a special AC bus. The bus will board a special cabin in the passenger section of the ship.” He said Akal Takht jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh and SGPC officials would reach Mumbai on April 19.”The jathedar will receive the ‘birs’ in Italy.The bus carrying the ‘birs’ will be the first to board as well as disembark the ship.”

SGPC secretary Dalmegh Singh said the “birs” would reach Italy in 20 days. He said the process to send the “birs” to Italy started a few months back when they received a letter from Harwant Singh Daduwal,head of gurdwara committees in Italy, stating that the gurdwaras there needed copies of the Holy Granth.

Earlier, the SGPC has transported “birs” of Guru Granth Sahib on chartered flights. However, maintaining the Sikh “maryada” during travel remains an arduous task. That is why the SGPC is setting up a printing facility at Charlotte in North Carolina, US.

The project will cost the SGPC Rs 5 crore. The SGPC has the sole printing rights for “birs” of Guru Granth Sahib as per an Akal Takht edict issued on May 9, 1998.

In 2007, the alleged attempt by the DSGMC to transport 100 copies of Guru Granth Sahib to Canada in a ship container had shocked the community.

Their love for boat could well be described from a miniature made by a fisherman, Sajan, during his jail term. While showing his creation, Sajan said he himself chiseled wood to give it a shape of a big boat, supporting the National Flag and having minute details like radar, a gun and a helipad too. He has named this boat after his daughter Jaya.

“It’s name is JAYA 10. I gave it a decorative look with the help of pearls I bought from a shop inside the Pakistan jail. I am desperate to present it to my daughter,” he added.