Bathinda, July 24
Even as rumours have gripped the state that the Punjab government is likely to elevate Fazilka and Pathankot as districts, opinions of leaders of the ruling SAD (B) and its alliance partner BJP are divided over the issue.

Besides, politicians and residents of various other towns have also started demanding district status for their places.

Ashwani Sharma, President, BJP, Punjab and Surjit Jiyani, Technical Education Minister, are making lots of efforts for getting district status for Pathankot and Fazilka.

Though Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has categorically stated that the decision in connection with the creation of new districts will be taken as per the outcome of the Sukhbir Badal-Tikshan Sud committee, the issue has become a hot topic among the politicians of almost all the parties of Punjab and they have started lobbying either in favour or against it.

Even residents and other social and voluntary organisations in various parts of Punjab including Abohar, Ferozepur and Batala have started agitations after coming to know that the Punjab government has initiated a move to elevate Fazilka and Pathankot as districts.

Jagdish Rai Shawney, former chief parliamentary secretary and BJP MLA, Batala, has already held out a threat that if Batala was not given district status, he would quit the Punjab Vidhan Sabha.

He has gone to the extent of saying that if Batala is denied district status, it would be a fraud with the people of Batala by the state BJP leadership.

Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, vice-
president, state Congress unit and MLA, Guru Harsahai, said he has also put forward a demand that the Guru Harsahai town should be given the status of a sub-division by the Punjab government. However, a sizeable section of politicians from the ruling combine, to whom TNS spoke to, asserted that to carve out new districts at this stage when the next assembly elections are just a few months away, could prove detrimental for the ruling SAD-BJP alliance.

"If the Punjab government elevates Fazilka and Pathankot towns to district status then how will it handle the demand of people from Malerkotla and Sunam towns of Sangrur district, who are also interested in getting district level status for their respective towns," asked a senior leader of the SAD (B), requesting anonymity.

A senior minister of the Punjab government claimed, "The district status to Fazilka and Pathankot can surely fetch these two seats for SAD-BJP alliance in the next assembly elections. But it can also cause a huge political loss to the alliance in other parts of the state."

Another senior functionary of the government asked as to how the state government could afford to bear the extra financial burden by carving out two new districts in Punjab when it was already finding it difficult to arrange enough money to fund its ongoing development projects. 

Bathinda, July 24
The number of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) positive cases in Bathinda district appears to be gaining alarming proportions.In the first six months of this calendar year i.e. January to June 2011, as many as 134 HIV positive cases have been detected while during the entire 2010, a total of 162 HIV positive cases were detected in the district.

Five persons have already lost their lives this calendar year due to various diseases owing to lack of immunity due to HIV. Eleven HIV positive persons died in 2010 and one in 2009.

Three Integrated Counselling and Testing Centres (ICTCs) in the district had reported these 17 deaths, which included three by the Bathinda centre and six each by the Talwandi Sabo and Rampura Phul centres.

According to information available, out of 134 HIV positive cases detected between January to June this year, 110 were detected at the Bathinda ICTC alone. Nine cases were detected at the Rampura Phul ICTC and three cases at the Talwandi Sabo centre. Apart from these, two HIV positive cases each were detected at the link ICTCs situated at Goniana, Sangat, Ballianwali and Raman while four were detected at Maur’s link ICTC.

Sources said that there could be more cases that were lying undetected.

It may be mentioned here that in 2008, as many as 91 HIV positive cases were reported in the district while in 2009, the number of HIV positive cases touched the figure of 123.

Bathinda, July 24
For thousands of farmers in Punjab, cotton cultivation seems to have become a liability and troublesome this season as they have been confronting problem ever since they have sown the crop in April and May.

The cotton growers, who have braved problems connected with the shortage of Bt cotton seeds and canal water and were forced to carry out the sowing of cotton seeds twice or thrice due to the wilting of plants on account of soaring mercury in the last three months.

These farmers have now started facing another problem. This problem has emerged in the shape of attacks from the white fly.

Though the attack of white fly on cotton plants has not reached the economic threshold level (ETL) yet, the growers, who have panicked, have started spraying pesticides and insecticides to check it and are spending a lot of money on it.

The officials of the state agriculture department pointed out that the attack of white fly on cotton plants would get suppressed if the rains started lashing the cotton belt comprising Bathinda, Mansa, Ferozepur, Moga, Barnala, Sangrur, Muktsar and Faridkot districts.

They added that if the temperature did not come down in the coming few days, the attack of white fly would become intensive in nature and then the farmers would have to take extra care to save the cotton plants.

Paramjit Singh Sandhu, Chief Agriculture Officer, Bathinda, said that constant surveillance of the cotton fields was being done so that the level of attack could be judged every day. He added that so far, the attack of white fly was not severe.

Bakhshish Singh Chahal, Chief Agriculture Officer, Ferozepur, said that the attack of white fly on cotton plants was prominent in those fields, which were located near the orchards. He added that the farmers had been advised to take steps required to deal with the situation.

Tarsem Singh, Joint Director, Department of Agriculture, Punjab, said that field survey reports revealed that the cotton crop was growing normally in Punjab so far.

He added that the attack of white fly was momentary and would disappear within few days without causing any loss of production. 

Bathinda, July 24
Member of Parliament Harsimrat Kaur Badal today called upon the people of Punjab to celebrate the month of 'Saawan' by taking a vow to educate the girl child besides planting maximum number of trees.

The MP said festivals like 'Teej' witnessed a deep relationship between girls and trees. She said the glory of this festival was lost somewhere as the ratio of girls and trees to the population had decreased.

Giving an account of her visit to the Bathinda parliamentary constituency, Harsimrat said in the month of 'Saawan', her primary motive was to share the message of 'Nanhi Chhaan' campaign with the people of the constituency besides hearing their grievances.

The MP exhorted people to adopt at least one plant to protect it.

She added that protecting the girl child and planting a sapling would not serve the purpose unless they were provided with an environment to flourish. — TNS

Jalandhar, July 24
Life moves at a rather quiet pace in Sadduwala, a small non-descript village located in a distant corner near Zira in Ferozepore district, known as the backwaters of Punjab. At first glance, Harinder Singh Dhaliwal appears to be just another farmer doing routine chores.

He is different from the lot because of his ability to think in an innovative and fresh manner. Whenever a relative got married, Harinder’s friends were surprised to find packets accompanying the wedding invitation cards he sent to them. His friends found a set of books instead of sweets. And books were also not ordinary ones. These were classical writings of eminent Punjabi writers such as Shiv Batalavi, Narinder Singh Kapoor and Sufi poets.

“ Alongwith every invitation card, I tagged a set of books. Of course, it was a pleasant surprise for all of them. But they liked it and thanked me for the unusual gifts,” said Harinder, who took to the job of farming after passing out from B.Sc. in agriculture from the PAU, Ludhiana. When asked as to how he got the idea of sending books instead of sweets, he answers: “It came to my mind all of a sudden and I discussed it with my family members who approved it without any ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’. Stories appearing in the media regarding the preparation of sweets from synthetic milk and “khoya” were also at the back of my mind and helped me to decide in favour of books”, he added.

Another equally inspiring example of thinking out of the groove is what Dr Nirmal Singh, head of Lambra Sath, an organisation dedicated to the promotion of healthy literature in Punjabi, did to pay tribute to his brother Dr Kesar Singh Barwali. Kesar Singh Barwali, an eminent scholar dedicated to rural development, passed away a few days ago. His bhog ceremony was held at a gurdwara near Barwali village, at a short distance from Khanna. Outside the gurdwara was kept a huge stack of books on environment, short stories, stories for children and other subjects.

Those who came to attend the bhog ceremony were given books free of cost. And there was no limit, each one was free to pick each title. About 2,000 books were distributed at the bhog. Another noble deed performed by the family at the bhog ceremony was distribution of saplings to perpetuate the memory of Kesar Singh. Some saplings were brought by Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal, who attended the bhog and some were brought by a club from Machhiwara. The family too contributed to the saplings which were given free of cost.

Not only the state but the country too needs more individuals to emulate people like Harinder Singh and Nirmal Singh for the betterment of society.

Sriganganagar, July 24
About 15-20 per cent of the people in the Malwa region of Punjab are suffering from cancer, feels Sant Seechewal. Speaking at the functions held in Sriganganagar, Mirzewala, Srikaranpur, Gajsinghpur and Padampur towns of neighbouring Rajasthan, the noted environmentalist said the Act of 1974 prohibits even spitting in canals but the Punjab government was little concerned over the discharge of chemical waste, sewage and garbage in the canal system.

Water from Himachal gets contaminated only when it passes through Punjab and to such an extent that greenery, birds and animals too get badly affected, he pointed out.

While questioning the propriety of installing RO systems worth billions of rupees, the Sant asked why the state government can't check pollution at the ground level. Poisonous contents cannot be removed even by the RO, scientists had claimed. He cited many examples to allege that hundreds of industries besides the sewerage channels were contaminating water in Sutlej, Beas, Kali Bein, Kala Sanghia and Jamshed drain in Punjab. Even cyanide could be found in the polluted water. He exhorted the people to exert pressure on political leaders to check the inflow of contaminated water in Rajasthan through the Gang canal, Rajasthan Feeder and Ferozepur feeder. 

The atmosphere is cordial and relaxed at Sadiqi joint check-post.

Fazilka, July 24
An atmosphere of change and easing of tension is visible during the retreat ceremony at the Sadiqi Joint Check Post (JCP) in the Fazilka sector. The relation between the BSF and Pak Rangers appears to have become more cordial.

After the completion of the ceremony, Border Security Force Commandant PP Singh hugged his Pakistan counterpart Amzid at the Zero Line. Although the stretching shoulders, daring glances and raising of the eyebrows is continuing during the flag lowering ceremony, both the sides have toned it down to some extent. "We always want to maintain cordial relations with the Pak Rangers," says Ved Kandpal, Commandant, 199 Battalion, BSF. While performing the parade, a Pak Ranger slipped and fell on the ground. BSF Commandant PP Singh enquired about his well-being from his counterpart Amzid.

The entry of number of visitors has increased on the Pakistan side, said a BSF official on the condition of anonymity, but he could not ascertain the reason behind it. On the Indian side, the schoolchildren outnumber the visitors. "To inculcate the spirit of patriotism amongst the coming generation is the aim behind bringing them to this historical Sadiqi JCP, says Ramesh Chuchra, Principal of SD Model High School who brought 54 schoolchildren to witness the retreat ceremony.

"I feel adventurous in seeing the farmers cultivating their fields till the last inch of the land in Indian territory," says Delhi-based poetess Poonam Matia who had come along with her husband to see the ceremony. The couple was excited to see the visitors on either side of the Radcliff line enjoying and waving at each other from a distance. There was a virtual competition in playing aloud patriotic and Punjabi folk songs on both the sides of the great divide which added to the joy of the visitors.

Ferozepur, July 24
A woman along with her two children allegedly tried to commit suicide by jumping into the Sirhind feeder canal near Ghal Khurd, around 20 kms from the district headquarters. However, all of them were rescued.

The woman has been identified as Geeta while her two children have been identified as Jiodeep (12) and Shamreen (7), all residents of Ferozpur Cantonment.

Sources informed that she allagedly tried to resort to this extreme step as she was perturbed over some domestic problem. The shopkeepers in the vicinity noticed them jumping into the canal. They sounded an alarm and rescued them. — OC

Fazilka, July 24
Thirty-six units of blood were donated by the volunteers of Ram Sharnam in a blood donation camp organized by the Ram Sharnam Ashram here with the help of the Civil Hospital staff.

Transport and Technical Education Minister Surjit Kumar Jyani inaugurated the camp. Senior Medical Officer Dr SP Garg, Blood Bank in-charge Dr Renu Dhuria, senior laboratory technician Balbir Singh and his technical staff conducted the blood donation proceedings. Blood camp in-charge Raj Krishan Thatai, Dina Nath Sachdeva and Ashok Sukhija lauded the religious organization. A demand for Punjab Roadways AC bus from Fazilka to Gohana via Agroha was raised. — OC

Abohar, July 24
A daily wage earning migrant from Uttar Pradesh was killed while six other persons sustained injuries in road mishaps here today. Unidentified miscreants set ablaze a motorcycle that had been parked in a street.

Sumit Kumar (22) was crushed under the tyre while his companions Raghubir and Dharminder sustained injuries when the tractor by which they were traveling was reportedly hit by a truck near the city bypass. The truck escaped after the mishap.

In another mishap, four persons were injured when the car and tractor by which they were travelling, collided while overtaking on the Seetogunno bypass here. All have been admitted to the Civil Hospital here. Meanwhile, in Sidhu Nagari near the railway quarters, some miscreants set a motorcycle ablaze during the wee hours today. — OC