The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Basmati 1121 growers await buyers Praful Chander Nagpal Fazilka, October 19 The sale of popular Basmati paddy variety 1121 has not commenced despite arrival for last one week due to reason that there is deadlock over the payment of purchased paddy. This variety of paddy is purchased by two segments, the exporters and rice millers from the farmers through commission agents. The Commission Agents of Fazilka market have decided not to sell the paddy to exporters because the latter have not made payment of outstanding of previous two years to the tune of around Rs 30 crores to the Fazilka market. On the other hand the rice millers have virtually “boycotted” the purchase and have decided to make payment to the commission agents after one month. Earlier, they used to make payment to commission agents within nine days on mutual understanding. “The rice millers are shifting their payment schedule from nine days to one month because majority of them purchase the paddy for exporters. The exporters gradually release the payment to the millers in 3 to 4 months”, said Rice Millers Association Fazilka and Ladhuka President Tejwant Singh Tita. Daya Krishan Sachdeva President Aarhtiya Association Fazilka says that according to Punjab Agriculture Produce Market General Rule 1962 sub rule 11-12-13 amended on October 9, 2010, the purchaser is bound to make payment to commission agents within two days who in turn have to release the payment to the farmers within three days. The spoilsport began with exporters not making the outstanding payment of hefty amount which has resulted in financial crunch in Fazilka grain market and rice mill owners. It is stated that some rice millers have been procuring paddy from some other nearby grain market to run the trade. As per rule 17 (7) of section 10 mentioned on the sale and purchase license, no one can boycott the grain markets and this practice shall be considered illegal. In the present payment scenario, if the deadlock persists the ultimate sufferer shall be the farmer who has grown and reared up his produce fighting several odds. The farmers who have cultivated 1121 Basmati variety of paddy for earning good fortune have started feeling dejected as there are no ready buyers of their produce. Nishan Singh Vice President Bhartiya Kisan Union, District Fazilka unit says that he is camping in the market for three days. His paddy is of good quality with long grain yet there is no body is coming forward to purchase. According to Secretary Market Committee, Vijay Madaan, 1121 variety of Basmati Paddy has been cultivated in 21,130 hectares in Fazilka block. As per official sources, the total paddy of this variety sold during last year was over 20 lakh quintals. Fazilka DC Dr Basant Garg says that efforts were being made to end the impasse between the commission agents and rice millers for the smooth sale of produce of the farmers.
	48 lakh MT of paddy bought in state so far Our Correspondent Ferozepur, October 19 Around 49.5 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of paddy has arrived in various grain markets of the state till date, of which 48 lakh MT has been purchased so far, stated Darbara Singh Guru, Principal Secretary to the Punjab CM, who was here to take stock of the procurement and lifting process. Guru said that of the total paddy purchased, 45 lakh MT has been purchased by government agencies, while the rest were purchased by private parties. He said that 30 lakh MT of paddy has been lifted from the grain markets while the rest will be lifted in the next few days. He said that the entire state has been divided into six sectors where the procurement was being monitored by a secretary-level officer. Guru disclosed that Ferozepur was topping the procurement chart with a purchase of 5 lakh MT of paddy so far.
	97 per cent payment made to farmers: Fazilka DC Fazilka, October 19 Deputy Commissioner Basant Garg has said that the government procurement agencies and private traders have purchased 38727 MT of paddy out of the total arrival of 39142 MT in the grain markets of Fazilka district so far. Of the total procured paddy, 97 per cent payment has been made to the farmers by the government agencies, disclosed the DC. Besides, arrangements for prompt lifting have been made, claimed the DC. Notably, the government agencies used to purchase the Parimal variety of paddy from the grain markets as the popular 1121 variety of Basmati paddy is purchased by the private traders, exporters and rice mill owners. On the other hand, the proposed visit of the Principal Secretary to the CM, Darbara Singh Guru to the grain markets of Fazilka was put off on the plea that the procurement process in the grain markets of the district was going on smoothly. “There is no heavy arrival of paddy and other produces in the market and the sale, purchase, lifting and payment process is going on speedily,” the DC said. — OC
	Public distribution of kerosene GPS system in supply vehicles to ensure transparency Anirudh Gupta Ferozepur, October 19 To bring transparency in the distribution of kerosene through public distribution system (PDS) network, the Food, Civil supplies and Consumer Affairs Department, has mooted a proposal to install GPS tracking system in all vehicles supplying kerosene in the state. The project on GPS tracking system was carried out on a pilot basis in Ferozepur in August this year. Buoyant over its success, the department has made it mandatory for all wholesale kerosene dealers supplying superior kerosene oil (SKO) in various parts of the state to install the black box (vehicle management system) in the supply vehicles. Parminder Singh, Deputy Secretary in the department, said the objective behind the move was to ensure that the SKO meant for PDS reached the targeted people, adding that the installation of black box will cut down the pilferage and unauthorised movement of the vehicles supplying SKO. He said there were over 200 vehicles engaged in supplying kerosene in the state of which the system has been successfully installed in around 60 vehicles so far. The department has fixed a deadline of October 31 for all the wholesale dealers to install the device in their vehicles. “We can now check the location of vehicles starting from the oil terminals right up to the village level depots,” he added. Gurjeet Singh, president, Punjab Wholesale Kerosene Dealers Association, said the wholesale dealers were extending all cooperation to the department. He said through the geofencing technology, if the vehicle changed the specified route, an alarm will be sounded immediately to the dealer and the officials concerned of the department. Gurjeet Singh, an Indian Oil dealer, said even the distance covered by the vehicles besides monitoring the fuel consumption was possible now following the installation of the black box in the vehicles. Santveer Singh Bawa, regional manager, Hi-techpoint Technologies, who has been authorised to install the GPS system in the kerosene supplying vehicles, said initially, there were certain issues in the installation of these devices in the trucks for want of awareness among the drivers and the wholesale agents. Bawa said the cost of installing the device was around Rs 8,500 in addition to the monthly recurring charges that were being paid by dealers.
	WC Kabaddi players to undergo dope test: Dy CM SP Sharma Tribune News Service Bathinda, October 19 Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today said that all the 18 teams participating in the World Cup Kabaddi tournaments in Punjab shall have to undergo the dope test. The tournament that would showcase Punjab will be inaugurated here on November 1 and thereafter, matches would be played in 20 districts of the state. Sukhbir said that 14 teams of men and four of women from various countries will participate in the tournament. The women teams would be from Iran, USA and Britain, besides India. The semi-finals would also be held here on November 14. He said that a total budget of about Rs.15 crores will be involved in organising the tournament. Of this, a sum of about Rs 6 crores would be the prize money. Except for the prize money, the other expenditure would be sponsored by the corporate sector. Sukhbir described the tournament as a “historic event” for Punjab. He inspected the renovation work at the stadium and held a meeting with the deputy commissioners of the area, including those of Ferozepur, Bathinda, Patiala and Faridkot where the tournament would be held. Sukhbir said that work on the state-of-the-art hockey stadium here is also progressing fast and international events will be organized in the near future.
	Cong will meet its waterloo in Punjab, says Sukhbir SP Sharma Tribune News Service Bathinda, October 19 Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal today described the crushing defeat of the Congress in the Hisar parliamentary by-election as a “mini-referendum” against the party and said “they” will meet a similar fate in Punjab in the coming assembly elections. Sukhbir told media persons that the Congress’ defeat in Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra where by-elections were held for various assembly seats indicated that “it was the most hated party throughout the country”. He said the third front set up by Manpreet Singh Badal with Surjit Singh Barnala, the CPI and the CPM as its constituents would not build up as a factor in the elections. He said the electorate would keep in view the performance of the SAD-BJP combine government that has concentrated on the overall development of the state. Sukhbir said whatever project he promised has either been completed or was in an advanced stage of completion. “I do not believe in witch hunting and mud-slinging on other political parties. I pursue a positive agenda and not of victimisation,” he added. Sukhbir said he had nothing personal against the state Congress chief Captain Amarinder Singh and would not hesitate in embracing him as he did during a recent function at Chandigarh. He flayed the Congress-led UPA Government at the Centre for ordering the decontrolling of fertilizer prices that was a severe blow to the farmers. He alleged that the move aimed at benefiting a few big corporate houses. He also said the Rs19, 000 crore Guru Gobind Singh refinery near here would be formally inaugurated after successful completion of its ongoing trial run.
	Mechanic’s engineer daughter scripts success story Raj Sadosh Sriganganagar, October 19 Even when Rai Singh Dahiya of village Thaldaka could not get school education, he long back developed equipment that generated more power by using bio-waste than the units operated by diesel. His daughter Neeru picked up the technique and developed it further. She has recently returned from South Africa where the exhibitions of her inventions were inaugurated in different cities by the dignitaries, including Finance Minister Jacob Madonna and Middle city mayor JK Pilani. The stage for the exhibition abroad was set by a Chennai-based engineer Venkatesh Prabhu, who was highly impressed by her innovative creations displayed at Jaipur. She has further improved the biomass gasifier into sky rai biogasifier. Neeru explained that the biomass gasifier works on the principle of gasification. It can be defined as the process of transforming carbonaceous material such as biomass, into a mixture of carbon monoxide and hydrogen. This biomass gasifier system is a mechanism with the help of which any bio-mass waste/residue can be converted into inflammable gas which in turn can be used to run an engine, stove or furnace, etc. The 12 KW gasifier genset with a canopy is energy efficient, easy-to-use, operate and maintain. Biomass gasifiers can be used in rural as well as in urban areas. “Four to six kg of biowaste put in the hopper can generate 4,000 watts of power that is sufficient to run a tubewell or flour milling unit,” she claimed. Notably, in a study of the biomass gasifier for village electrification, NH Ravindranath, HI Somashekar, Dasappa and CN Jayasheela Reddy of the Bangalore-based Centre for Sustainable Technologies had observed that biomass-based decentralized power generation system has shown the technical and operational feasibility and acceptability by the rural community. Among the renewable energy technologies, biomass gasifier-based power generation holds great promise for meeting rural energy needs.