The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Flood-relief work in Muktsar gets impetus Difficulties arise for farmers in Fazilka area Balwant Garg Tribune News Service Muktsar, September 22 Giving an impetus to the relief work and draining of flood water from the 83 worst affected villages of Gidderbaha, Lambi, Malout and Muktsar areas, the Drainage Department, Punjab, on Thursday deputed 14 more executive engineers and subordinate staff in the area. If earlier, four XENs were supervising the flood control work in Gidderbaha circle, now their number has gone up to 18. The flood affected area of Muktsar and the adjoining Fazilka district has now been divided into 18 circles with one XEN in each circle. Superintending Engineer (SE), Drainage Department, Rajinder Singh believes that the increased work force and supervisory staff will speed up the draining of flood water. The new work force consists of four XENs from the Patiala circle, three from the Bathinda canal lining circle, four from the Punjab State Tubewell Corporation besides other staff from Ferozepur and adjoining areas, said the SE. Presently, 450 water pumps are working round-the-clock to drain out the floodwater. These pumps are lifting the water and releasing it in Abulkhurana and Aspal, the two major drains of the area. But this increased volume of water has had an adverse effect on about 30 villages of the adjoining Fazilka distirct. As the water flow in the Abulkhurana and Aspal drains is towards Fazilka and now these drains are overflowing due to the increased supply of water, being lifted by the pumps from Gidderbaha and Lambi areas, so it has increased problem for the villages, situated near the drains. Sardarpur, Datarianwali, Rajiawali, Bhagu, Bhagsar, Amarpura, Ram Sran, Bhabwala, Khatban and Tabba Kokrian are some of the worst affected villages of Fazilka which are facing problems due to the draining of water from Lambi and Gidderbaha, leaving their fields marooned and damaging their crops. Rajinder Singh, SE, agreed that the increased flow of flood water in the drains was causing overflowing but with every passing day, the water level is receding, both in the Gidderbaha-Lambi and Fazilka areas, he maintained. “It is not a new problem but for the last two weeks, we have been facing this situation,” said Gurpal Singh, a farmer in the Bhabwala village of Fazilka. Due to the SGPC elections, the state government was making all possible efforts to assuage the feelings of farmers in the Gidderbaha, Lambi and Malout areas. So, 450 pumps have been pressed into service to drain out the flood water, he said. A total of 112 villages of the area, including 16 in Muktsar, 19 in Malout, 11 in Gidderbaha, 47 in Lambi and about 29 villages of Fazilka area have been affected by the flood, said Rajinder Singh.
	Pak mobile incursion signals threat to Indian security Anirudh Gupta Ferozepur, September 22 The recovery of three Pakistani SIM cards by the BSF in the Amarkot area along the Zero Line yesterday indicates that the cross-border smugglers and drug peddlers continue to use these SIMs inside the Indian territory to evade surveillance and interception by the security agencies. The process has been going on for some time now and regular seizure of Pakistani SIMs have been made. However, the agencies have been unable to find any solution to check this practice which can pose a serious threat to the security. BSF officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the Pakistan-based network operators have penetration inside the Indian territory along the Zero Line. However, the strength of the signals varies from place to place due to the meandering nature of the border, they added. "At some places, the Pakistani mobile service providers have connectivity even up to a few kilometers in our area," disclosed Kaustubh Sharma, AIG Special Operations Group, Punjab. While the Pakistani mobile operatives have their presence inside the Indian border, the Indian companies have been barred from providing high connectivity in the border areas. If need be, the agencies curtail their signals using high frequency jammers, but to keep the signals of Pak-based companies under control, seems to be a herculean task. Pakistani service provider "Mobilink", which leads the market share with 30.75 million subscriber base has connectivity up to hundreds of metres in the Mamdot, Khemkaran and Ferozpur areas while another company "U-Fone" has its signals reaching villages in the Mamdot and Amarkot areas. Many foreign companies also operate in Pakistan including Telenor (Norwegian) which has 20 million customers, Zong (Chinese), WorldCall (Oman) besides the UAE-based Warid which also enjoys a large subscriber base. Security officials said that in the absence of any stringent regulatory laws in Pakistan, a large number of unregistered SIM cards are in circulation there, which at times make their way into India. "It is extremely difficult to prevent incursion of these SIMs as they can be easily brought here through legal interface like the Wagah or Attari and even through other grey channels," added Sharma. On several occasions, the BSF and other security agencies have recovered these SIM cards during seizure along with drugs, FICN and arms, which indicate their usage inside the Indian territory. BSF officials confirmed that Pakistani SIMs have been seized on two occasions since July in the Ferozepur sector this year. Another official said that the smugglers who use Pak SIMs also keep changing the company and the number to ensure they are not intercepted by the intelligence agencies. BSF officials further said that earlier, both the smugglers and spies used satellite phones to execute their tasks. However, the agencies were able to track down their details. But now intercepting these SIMs is a cumbersome job as their servers are based across the border.
	Rains bring along soil-borne disease scare for kinnow Raj Sadosh Abohar, September 22 Heavy rains during the monsoon have affected kinnow crop also. "The rains had resulted in waterlogging in the kinnow orchards making it vulnerable to soil borne diseases caused by Phytophthora. It may lead to fruit drop also. Therefore, timely treatment of the plants affected with Phytophthora is essential," said Dr JS Josan, station director, Punjab Agricultural University regional station. The scientists have suggested the spray of Aliette 80 WP along with soil drench with Ridomil Gold 68 WP to control the disease. To check fruit drop, the growers have been advised to immediately spray Bavistin/Aureofungin or Ziram. Dr Josan said due to unabated rains, the farmers have not been able to follow the regular and timely plant protection measures. The accumulated rainwater needs to be pumped out at the earliest. After moisture condition, a light hoeing may be given for aeration to the root system. Meanwhile, another team led by Krishak Bharti Cooperatives (KRIBHCO) marketing head N Sambasiva Rao, who is a senior member of the National Bt Cotton Review Committee, has also said the roots of the cotton plants that got affected by the accumulation of rainwater were unable to get nutrients from the soil and may also not get air. The farmers have been advised to spray 13:0:45 Potassium Nitrate solutions by dissolving two kilograms fertiliser in 100 litre of water. Experts including Dr Tahal Singh, Dr HR Jagga, SS Khare from Noida and KS Sandhu from Chandigarh also interacted with the farmers at village Killianwali. "The Bt cotton crop that had survived despite of heavy rain in some villages might be targeted by tobacco sundi (worm)," they warned. The team advised the farmers to select insecticides in consultation with the PAU scientists only. Rao said floods triggered by heavy rains and overflowing of drains in this remote rich cotton belt and neighbouring West Punjab province in Pakistan had adversely affected the global cotton production. Organic content in the soil in Punjab and Haryana had already been on decline for the last few years. KRIBHCO has offered free testing of micro-nutrients in the agricultural soil at its lab for the benefit of farmers. Assuring that the farmers would not face shortage in the urea fertiliser, he said the renovation of the urea fertiliser plant at Hazira in Gujarat would increase annual production from 18 to 21.5 lakh tonnes by November, this year. About 10 lakh tonnes of urea fertiliser would be imported by the KRIBHCO from Oman.
	CM calls for setting up of industrial units in jails, offers tax exemption Tribune News Service Faridkot, September 22 Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has invited the small-scale industrialists in the state to set up their units in two newly constructed jails at Faridkot and Kapurthala. These industrial units will be exempted from all production and processing taxes, Badal said today while inspecting the newly-constructed jails in Faridkot. The CM asked Principal Secretary (Home) DS Bains to work out the modalities for wage enhancement for the inmates in the jail. “All the convicts in the jail who do any skilled work during their stay in the jail, need to be given 50 per cent of total wages,” said Badal. “Besides imparting some job skill to these convicts in the jail, their increased earning would be an impetus for them to indulge in some constructive work,” said the CM. Parkash Singh Badal was in Faridkot to mark his presence at the three-day annual Baba Farid Mela. After paying obeisance at the Gurdwara Tilla Baba Farid, the Chief Minister inaugurated the Sports Mela at the Nehru Sports Stadium. The CM also visited the Baba Farid University of Health Sciences and inaugurated some newly-constructed buildings.
	SGPC polls: Avtar Singh of Bhagta wins by highest margin in Bathinda dist Sushil Goyal Tribune News Service Bathinda, September 22 Though all nine seats of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) in Bathinda district have been won by the candidates of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) but Avtar Singh (SAD) from the Bhagta (SC) constituency proved its supremacy as he emerged victorious with a margin of maximum number of 11,065 votes in the district while Gurtej Singh (SAD) from Maur constituency won with the lowest margin of 4,513 votes in the district. The results for nine seats of six SGPC constituencies in the district were today declared officially. The returning officers also distributed victory certificates to the winning candidates of their respective constituencies. For the Bathinda SGPC constituency the returning officer-cum-SDM, Bathinda, Sandip Rishi gave the victory certificate to Sukhdev Singh Bahia, the SAD candidate. Bahia polled 11,388 votes to defeat his nearest rival Harpal Singh (SAD 1920) with a margin of 9,091 votes. In the Bhagta constituency, Phuman Singh (SAD) won by defeating Harinder Singh (SAD 1920) by a margin of 10,266 votes. In the Bhagta (SC) constituency, Avtar Singh (SAD) got 16,207 votes and Teja Singh (SAD 1920) 5,142 votes. Avtar Singh won by the highest margin of 11,065 votes in the district. In the Rampura Phul constituency, Major Singh Dhillon (SAD) won the seat by a margin of 9,228 votes. He contested against Sher Singh (SAD 1920). In Rampura Phul (Woman-General) constituency, Jaspal Kaur (SAD) got 21,523 votes and Kiranjit Kaur (SAD-Amritsar) 10,872. In the Balluana constituency, Amrik Singh (SAD) won by a margin of 9,202 votes from his nearest rival Harpal Singh (SAD-Amritsar), who secured 4,189 votes. In the Balluana (Women-SC) constituency, Joginder Kaur (SAD) defeated her nearest rival Gur Surinderjit Kaur (SAD-Amritsar) by 10,129 votes. In Talwandi Sabo constituency, Mohan Singh Bangi (SAD) won against his nearest rival Sukhdev Singh (SAD-Amritsar) with a margin of 10,155 votes. In the Maur constituency, Gurtej Singh (SAD) got 15,562 votes to defeat his nearest rival Darshan Singh (SAD 1920), who got 11,049 votes. Ferozepur: The results of the SGPC polls held on September 18 were officially declared today. The returning officers of their respective constituencies handed over certificates to the winning candidates. As per the official notification, those elected to the SGPC include Pritam Singh Malsian from Mamdot, Darshan Singh Sherkhan from Ferozepur (General), Balwinder Singh from Ferozepur (Reserved), Satpal Singh from Talwandi Bhai (General), Jaswinder Kaur from Talwandi Bhai (Reserved, Women) besides Kashmir Singh from Zira. All the candidates belong to the SAD (Badal). — OC