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Another pest attack on wheat crop
Potato farmers stare at losses
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SGPC writes to Centre on House session
Clear dues or no books for SC students: PSEB
EC allows transfer of cops to Ludhiana
Railway Ministry favouring transport lobby, says Chawla
Pollution board raids six
industries in Dera Bassi
Staff crunch hits working of health dept
Govt can change use of acquired land: HC
Sukhi Chahal bail plea adjourned to Feb 25
Cong leader sets man on fire, booked
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Another pest attack on wheat crop
Muktsar, February 18 Jassid is a sucking pest that sucks nutrients of the crop. It is in its initial stage as of now. Gurjant Singh, a wheat grower, who had come to Muktsar to purchase a pesticide to control the pest, said, "At present, jassid is in its beginning stage. We can control it by spraying pesticides. However, once it spreads in the entire field, it becomes very difficult to control the pest that can ruin the entire crop". He said the pest caused a major affect on the yield or granule. Similar views were echoed by Dyal Singh, a farmer of Aspal village. He said, "The department should immediately conduct a survey so that the farmers could be given expert advice on how to save their crops". The local authorities of the agriculture department also accepted the fact that jassid has began to attack wheat crop. They said they had been receiving phone calls from the farmers wanting to know ways to control the pest. Kuldeep Singh, Agriculture Development Officer, Muktsar, said, "In the past few days, I have received a number of phone calls from the farmers asking about a solution to get rid of this pest". He said the farmers confronted with this problem should immediately spray pesticides recommended by the department. About jassid Jassid is a sucking pest that sucks nutrients of the crop. It is in its initial stage as of now. However, once it spreads in the entire field, it becomes very difficult to control the pest that can ruin the entire crop
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Potato farmers stare at losses
Jalandhar, February 18 Farmers like Malkiat Singh of Dalla village, near Lohian, have even ploughed their standing crop to make way for the next crop. In their case, unseasonal rains that lashed the region three weeks ago, came at a time when they had already irrigated their crop. The rainwater thus inundated their fields, leading to a crop failure. In view of the non-remunerative prices for the third year in a row, such farmers could find no economic sense in spending money on draining out the accumulated water. Those who were able to save some of their crop hope that it doesn't rain in the coming days. Baldev Singh of Hajipur village is keeping his fingers crossed as the skies are overcast these days. "The fields are still slushy due to the third watering cycle and the previous rains. If it rains again, fully ripened crop on more than 50 per cent of the area will rot and will have to be ploughed," he says. For Deep Singh of Karalan village, who also owns a cold storage, says, "The situation is so bad that we had no option to spill the previous stored produce onto the roads to draw attention of the government towards our plight and the latter's apathy, especially in Doaba, the potato hub of the region". Another farmer, Surinder Singh says, "This year too, the prices have not gone beyond Rs 300 per quintal that will not even cover our input costs. DAP has become costlier by Rs 1,000 and the labour cost too has risen. This, coupled with rise in prices of other inputs, small farmers will not even break-even and will resort to distress selling to cut their losses". In fact, some farmers who sold their prices at a higher price are yet to get their money from the middlemen, he adds. Potato farmers in the Kapurthala belt are unanimous that the damage to their crop is between 35 and 40 per cent in many areas. But given the huge stocks lying in Punjab and a bumper crop in other parts of the country, it will be a repeat of the previous season when the produce was dumped on the roads. It is high time that the state comes out with a comprehensive policy to open more procurement/marketing avenues for the farmer, they say. Reaping losses
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Dera chief’s case put off again
Bathinda, February 18 Heavy police force was deployed around the court complex here in view of the case hearing today. The case was deferred as Chief Judicial Magistrate Harjeet Singh was on leave. Karan Garg, judicial magistrate, who was the duty magistrate today, fixed the next hearing of the case on March 17. Gurmeet Ram Rahim allegedly hurt sentiments of the Sikh community by wearing robe similar to Sikh Guru Gobind Singh and imitating the guru in all acts during a sermon at Salabatpura dera in Bathinda. Advocate Navkiran Singh, pleading the case against the Dera Sacha Sauda chief, said the case had been heard thrice in Bathinda, but it failed to bring any result. Earlier, the case was delayed by the police in "connivance with senior political leaders" of the state government, he alleged. He said the case was withdrawn near the Vidhan Sabha elections and now it was getting late again. "We have filed the case in May last year and since then we are making rounds of the court, but to no avail," Navkiran said. Meanwhile litigants visiting the court today witnessed heavy deployment of police force and felt harassed due to unprecedented security.
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SGPC writes to Centre on House session
Amritsar, February 18 SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar said, "We have written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram, Sikh Gurdwara Election Commission and the state government to ensure the SGPC session as early as possible so that the new team can be elected. We will need over a month to complete our process for clearing the annual SGPC budget before March 31”. He said any delay in calling the SGPC session now would cast its shadow on the process to pass the annual budget.
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Clear dues or no books for SC students: PSEB
Chandigarh, February 18 Free schoolbooks are given to all SC students from classes I to X. These books are printed by the PSEB. The Welfare Department has been
defaulting on the payment for these books for the last three years. Sources say the supply of books starts by February 15 so that these reach schools before the start of the new session. However, this time there are problems in even getting the books printed because the printers are demanding their payments, which the PSEB is unable to make. PSEB Chairman DS Dhillon had requested the government and also met the Finance Secretary on the issue, but to no avail. The sources say if the situation continues, the board will find it difficult to run its 10 Adarsh Schools as well as to meet its salary requirements. The Welfare Department owes Rs 2 crore to the board for books supplied in 2008-09, Rs 20 crore in 2009-10, and a further Rs 25 crore accumulated because of non-payment on the same account, taking the total pending bill to Rs 47 crore. Besides, the Welfare Department also owed Rs 30 crore to the board on account of examination fee borne by it for Scheduled Caste students for the last many years. The board claims that it has been spending Rs 4 crore per annum on account of examination fee. It says it is being reimbursed only Rs 1 crore per annum. The Welfare Department has asked the Finance Department to pay the money due to the Education Board so that free books can reach the students before the start of the next session. It has also asked the finance wing to increase the allocation for free books from Rs 18 crore per annum to the actual cost incurred on this account.
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flexing muscles
Kapurthala, February 18 Citing an example, Kant said he had submitted details about the recovery of 721 mobile phones from inmates lodged in various jails last year but "nothing much was done to pursue the case". On his visit to Theh Kanjla jail near here, the DGP (Jails) said, "Though no case (as per law) can be registered against the prisoners using mobile phone in jails, the Punjab Police could have easily traced the drug mafia through the details of their calls and SMSes." Levelling allegations of inaction in the case, he said: "The details provided by the prison authorities have been lying in the waste paper basket of the Punjab Police." Stressing on the need for acting tough against the drug mafia, the DGP (Jails) said, "A number of personnel deployed with various security agencies, including the BSF, Punjab Police, narcotics department and even prison wing, have to crack on the drug mafia….Though a few low-profile politicians have been taken into custody from time to time for promoting the racket, no big fish was ever caught." Shashi Kant said drug de-addiction centres would be set up in various prisons of the state. Besides, said he, similar centres, should come up in rural areas so that prisoners continued to remain away from drugs even after their release from jails. Replying to a query, he said, "I am trying to hit at the drug mafia by creating a public opinion against the menace. Punjab has become a route of drug smuggling. The international drug mafia is nowadays using Afghanistan, Pakistan, Punjab and Delhi route for smuggling drugs to the US, UK and other countries whereas earlier they were using the Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran route."
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EC allows transfer of cops to Ludhiana
Chandigarh, February 18 These four officers, a DSP and three inspectors, will soon be transferred as the EC has allowed the government to bring them back in the city. These policemen, Surinder Mohan, Balwinder Singh, Prem Singh and a DSP, who have spent more than a decade in Ludhiana, were transferred before the elections. CEO Kusumjit Sidhu said the EC had given a green signal to the state police on its plea that it required these officials in the town to solve the murder case of Gill and Monica Kapila, who were brutally done to death at a farm house in Ludhiana. The murder was committed on February 1, but the police has not been able to get a breakthrough in the case even after 18 days. It has worked on several theories, besides interrogating a number of persons, but to no avail. "It is such a sad state of affairs that the police now wants its cops back who were transferred out a few months ago. It has to depend on a handful of officers to crack such a high-profile case. It indicates that the police is still depending on the age-old style of policing and does not work on scientific system of investigation," said a senior cop requesting anonymity.
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After 26/11, first Hindu
jatha leaves for Pakistan
Amritsar, February 18 Led by Yamunanagar-based Kendriya Sanatan Dharam Sabha president Shiv Pratap Bajaj, the pilgrims would celebrate Mahashivratri at ancient Katasraj temple (related to Mahabharata period) on February 20. They would return through the same route on February 23. Katasraj is believed to be the place where discourse between Yudhishtir and Yaksha took place, as referred to in Mahabharata. Among the pilgrims is Dharamvir Beniwal, a physically challenged person who was upbeat about having got an opportunity to visit Katasraj. He said there were other prominent Hindu shrines too in Pakistan, the main being Sheetla Mata temple built before the invasion of Alexander. It would be for the first time after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks that a Hindu jatha has left for Katasraj through the Attari-Wagah route. Earlier, a ban on Hindu jathas to Pakistan had been imposed in 1999. Another pilgrim, Jaswant Singh, who has been to Katasraj earlier as well, said the earlier ban on Hindu jathas going to the neighbouring nation had seen deterioration of ancient temples there. The first batch of Hindu pilgrims had left for Katasraj in 1982, 35 years after the Partition, following the signing of a pact between the leaders of India and Pakistan. Headed for Katasraj Katasraj is a holy place in Pakistan, which is believed to be related to the Mahabharata era. A discourse between Yudhishtir and Yaksha is said to have taken place in Katasraj. The first batch of Hindu pilgrims had left for Katasraj in 1982. The pilgrimage was snapped after the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. Earlier, such a ban was imposed in 1999.
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Railway Ministry favouring transport lobby, says Chawla
Amritsar, February 18 Interacting with mediapersons, Chawla said, “We managed to get Duronto on track after a long struggle, but what is its benefit to the common man? It doesn’t halt at Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Sirhind and Mohali. It has a stoppage at Sirhind for technical reasons, but there too nobody is allowed to alight or embark on the train. Its losses are mounting which shows that the government doesn’t have the intent to continue the train”. She also demanded that the train’s departure time from Chandigarh be changed to 5 pm keeping in view convenience of the commuters. At present, it starts from Chandigarh at 7 pm. She said railway ministry officials should visit the city and talk to the people to get their feedback for initiating corrective measures. The minister said if there was no concept of stoppages in Duronto then the Railways should change the name of the train. “It is nothing but mere eyewash to run such a train which is of no use to the commuters,” she said. Chawla also stated that they had demanded a train connecting the two cities for the common man and not the VIPs. “The passengers should not be forced to take breakfast in the train. The facility should be restricted to those travelling in AC coaches”. Poor response The Duronto Express was launched amid much fanfare on August 24 last year. It had 16 coaches, including two AC chair cars. It received a lukewarm response right from the beginning. Initially, it ran five days a week except Friday and Sunday, but from November 4, the Railways increased its frequency to all seven days a week, hoping to cut the losses. However, the move didn't yield desirable results and the Railways was forced to withdraw five coaches, including an AC coach, on December 21 last year.
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Pollution board raids six
industries in Dera Bassi
Patiala, February 18 PPCB Chairman Ravinder Singh said, "As many as six teams, headed by Environmental Engineers posted at various regional offices of the board, were constituted. The teams were directed to conduct raids to ascertain whether pollution control devices are operational in the industrial units and to verify whether industries are following the prescribed pollution control norms." As per the preliminary reports, one industry was found discharging its effluent directly into the mushroom growing area. "Effluent Treatment Plant
(ETP) in one industry was not working properly. In rest of the industrial units, violations pertaining to the maintenance of the plantation area and the defunct water meter, were detected by the raiding teams", said PPCB Deputy Director (PR) Dr Charanjit Singh. Board officers said that the air and water samples of all the six industrial units had been collected and sent to the Central Laboratory of the board for the analysis. "Once the analysis results are received, action in accordance with the laid rules will be initiated against the defaulting industries", said another senior officer of the board. While making it clear that no industrial unit violating the pollution control guidelines would be spared, the PPCB chairman said that appropriate action, amounting to even the closure of the erring unit, would be taken by the board.
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Staff crunch hits working of health dept
Patiala, February 18 One of the employees of the department said that the department was short of staff nurses but despite that a few of them had sought postings at small units where their services were not required. "Rather than doing ward duties at community health
centres, they are sitting at small dispensaries and working in OPDs, which is not their job. As a result there is staff shortage in the hospitals and other health employees are made to do extra work to handle the working of the department. These units can easily be handled by Lady Health Visitors
(LHVs) and Public Health Nurses (PHNs), but still these nurses are not ready to leave the station," she added. Sources said that the health officers had several times prepared lists of vacancies but to no avail. "The department has been assuring of filing these posts since years but no step has been taken so far," he added. The condition is equally dreadful in the case of Multipurpose Health Worker Male. There are six primary health centres in the district and the number of vacant posts is so high that despite every possible effort, the health centre in-charges are incapable of handling all programmes of the department. More than 50 per cent seats of Multipurpose Health Worker Male are also lying vacant in Patiala district. Only two workers are available at Kauli out of 26 and seven at Dudhan Sadhan out of 31. At Harpalpur there are 14 vacant seats out of 22. At Kalo Majra there are only 10 filled posts out of sanctioned 22. Only two centres have vacancy less than 50 per cent. Shutrana centre has 13 vacant seats out of 46, while in Bhadson there are only 4 vacancies out of total 25. Civil Surgeon Dr Virinder Singh Mohi said that they had already written to the senior authorities about the vacant positions in Patiala and had been assured that the department would fill the posts soon.
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Govt can change use of acquired land: HC Chandigarh, February 18 A Division Bench has asserted: "The public purpose for which the land is acquired can always be changed to another public purpose by the state government for optimum utilisation of the land. The requirements of the community keep on varying. The schemes can be varied to meet the changing needs of the public". The ruling comes just about five months after 36 farmers accused the State of Punjab of illegally and fraudulently transferring land from Baba Farid University of Health Sciences to the Punjab Urban Development Authority. In their petition, Jagtar Singh and other petitioners had alleged the decision was "in direct violation of the stated and agreed purpose for which the land was purchased from the petitioners, under threat of forcible and compulsory acquisition of land". Taking up the petition, the High Court held: "If the state government has decided to consolidate the land of different departments with a view to optimum utilisation and functionality of the same, we find that there is no fraud much less any illegality or irregularity, which may warrant any interference by this Court in its writ jurisdiction." In its detailed order, the Division Bench of Justice Hemant Gupta and Justice AN Jindal asserted: "In the present case, 70 acres were transferred to the Department of Home Affairs and Justice (Jail Branch) for construction of Modern Jail Complex at Faridkot. On the land, jail has been constructed. Not a little finger was raised at that point of time. Since the land has been now transferred to the PUDA for carving out the plots, the erstwhile landowners have woken up." "The PUDA is a local authority and an instrumentality/agency of the state government. The land could be acquired for developing a residential complex for or on behalf of the PUDA… Therefore, mere change of purpose does not entitle the land owners to dispute the sale deeds…." Dismissing the petition, the Bench added: "We may mention that in the sale deeds, there is no condition in respect of use thereof, though, it is recited that land has been purchased for the purpose of university. The university has no objection for the transfer. Therefore, the petitioners, who have parted with their land and accepted compensation more than a decade earlier cannot be permitted to dispute the transfer of land".
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Sukhi Chahal bail plea adjourned to Feb 25
Ludhiana, Feburary 18 Chahal’s promise formed part of the affidavit in the court of Additional Sessions Judge Karamjit Singh Kang where his bail application was taken up for hearing. It was placed on record by Sukhi's lawyer Harpreet Sandhu. Before this, the former minister recorded his statement before the court that he had no objection if the court grants bail to the accused. But he had stressed for filing an affidavit by the accused. The court adjourned the bail application for final arguments to February 25. Birmi said, "I have pleaded no objection on humanitarian ground, as his family is passing through a tough time." Earlier, Chief Judicial Magistrate Balwinder Kumar Sharma had dismissed the bail application of the accused on January 27. He had observed that Sukhi was declared proclaimed offender (PO) on July 2, 1997. There was no reasonable explanation as to why accused absented from court for about 15 years.
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Cong leader sets man on fire, booked
Ludhiana, February 18 Harwinder Singh (24), a resident of Nawa Mohalla, who sustained 60 per cent burns and is currently battling for his life at a multi-specialty hospital, has told the police that Komal Khanna and his two aides set him on fire by pouring some inflammable material on him when he was standing outside his house here last night. He was rushed to the hospital by colony residents. Kotwali police station SHO Ashwani Kumar said a case under Section 307 of the IPC has been registered against Komal Khanna and his two aides. No one has been arrested in the case so far. On the other hand, Congress leader Amarjit Tikka said that Khanna was a victim of some conspiracy. "He was raising his voice against illegal liquor trade, gambling rackets and land mafias. He has been falsely booked in the case as some anti-social elements might be trying to settle a score with him," said
Tikka.
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The wheat growers in Muktsar are busy finding ways to save their crop from jassid (kala tela). Earlier, they were confronted by yellow rust.
It is the third bad season for potato growers of the region as most of them have suffered a loss of crop due to untimely rain while the remaining produce will fetch them a low price
due to a bumper crop elsewhere in the state and rest of the country.
flexing muscles
Amritsar, February 18
