B A T H I N D A    E D I T I O N

No more levying of octroi in F’pur cantt
Ferozepur, March 16
The long-pending demand of the local residents and traders regarding the abolition of the octroi in the cantonment has finally been given the nod by the Ministry of Defence (MOD).

PSEB Class XII examinations
16 cases of copying detected in Fazilka dist
Fazilka, March 16 
A team of officials of the Education Department and the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) conducted raids at different examination centres and detected 16 cases of copying in Fazilka district.

Villagers’ protest ensures shifting of ‘licentious’ school principal
Muktsar, March 16
After a strong protest by the villagers demanding immediate suspension or transfer of the principal of the Government Secondary School in Tamkot village, for his alleged “immoral” activities, the education department today transferred him to Malout.

Union Budget disheartens eco-warriors
Faridkot, March 16
It is not just the opposition which is rubbishing the Union Budget as disappointing. Environmentalists and organic farmers in Punjab are equally unhappy with what they term is a mere “lip service to promoting organic farming.”

Anti-farmer: SAD MLAs
Faridkot, March 16
The union government’s proposal for cutting subsidies to two per cent of the GDP to trim the fiscal deficit has come under sharp criticism from some Akali MLAs.

Finance Minister dashes employees’ expectations
Moga, March 16
Employees, the common man and those running their own business feel there is little in the Union Budget to cheer about.

10 hurt as bridge being built on Gang Canal falls
Abohar, March 16
Nine daily wage earners along with a government employee sustained injuries as a slab of the bridge, under construction on the Gang (Bikaner) canal, collapsed in village Sadhuwali located on the Abohar-Sriganganagar road (NH-15) late last evening.

Rampura Phul man charred to death
Sriganganagar, March 16
A man from Rampura Phul (Bathinda), who had been using a part of the “Ahimsa Park” on the Tulsi Marg near Sukhadia Circle here, as night shelter, lost his life in a fire last night.

No more levying of octroi in F’pur cantt
Anirudh Gupta

Ferozepur, March 16
The long-pending demand of the local residents and traders regarding the abolition of the octroi in the cantonment has finally been given the nod by the Ministry of Defence (MOD).

Following the approval, the Cantonment Board (CBF) has now began the process for the suspension of collection of octroi within its limits for which it has invited objections and suggestions from the public for which a notification has already been released. 

According to the information available, to abolish the octroi, the board has decided to enter into an agreement with the state government to suspend the collection octroi on goods except on electricity, petrol, diesel or liquor entering within or transiting through its limits.

It is pertinent to mention that notwithstanding the abolition of octroi in other parts of the state several years ago, the same was still being levied in this cantonment area due to which the traders were feeling harassed.

However, as the cantonment area does not fall under the administrative control of the state government, the matter was taken up with the MoD which took a long time to decide on the issue and has now finally given its consent for its suspension.

Confirming the development, JV Singh, CEO, Cantonment Board, said, “ The state government had assured of compensating the board to the tune equivalent to the amount of octroi being collected in the cantonment area following which the proposal was sent to the higher authorities.”

Singh added that after making certain changes in the draft agreement to be signed with the state government, the proposal has been finally approved by the ministry now.

The CEO further said that after receiving objections and suggestions from the public, the proposal will be finally sent to the ministry for final approval to enter into an agreement with state government for the suspension of octroi.

As per the information, the Cantonment Board is generating revenue worth Rs 3 crores per annum on account of collection of octroi, which will, henceforth, be compensated by the state government with a provision for over seven per cent annual increase in the same.

PSEB Class XII examinations
16 cases of copying detected in Fazilka dist
Praful Chander Nagpal

Fazilka, March 16 
A team of officials of the Education Department and the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) conducted raids at different examination centres and detected 16 cases of copying in Fazilka district.

The team conducted raids on 20 different centres during the English paper of Plus II exam being conducted by the PSEB in the afternoon session on Thursday.

Hans Raj, in-charge of a team comprising five members including Gurnam Chand, Tajinder Kaur, Suman Bala and Jai Chand, told The Tribune that a maximum of nine cases of copying have been detected at the examination centre at Tagore Public School village, Abhun, in Fazilka subdivision.

Five cases of copying have been noticed in the Punjab Public School Moolianwali and one case each have been detected at DAV Senior Secondary School Fazilka and Naveen Public Senior Secondary School in Jalalabad sub-division.

Hans Raj said the students caught copying have been barred from appearing in any of the examinations for three years.

The team members have recovered note books, papers and other teaching material from the possession of the students.

Surprisingly, the team members also seized some bags full of teaching material lying outside three examination centres in different schools. It is believed that the material was to be used for copying in the examination. But they destroyed the material with the help controllers of the local examination.

“It is not within the jurisdiction of the team to initiate any action against the invigilators responsible for copying. The Education Department authorities shall take action against them if they are found to be involved in copying ,” said Hans Raj.

“We have also recommended to the Controller of Examinations, PSEB, to install CCTV cameras to check the menace of copying at all the exam centres,” disclosed Hans Raj.

As per information gathered by this correspondent, CCTV cameras have already been installed at about 250 examination centres in the state. In Fazilka district, only half a dozen examination centres have been provided with the CCTV cameras. The officials said CCTV cameras have been proving fruitful in checking copying.

On the other hand, District Education Officer, Fazilka, Sandeep Dhurial also visited different examination centres but cases of copying were not detected.

“The crusade against the menace of copying would continue in future also and the Education Department would make all efforts to check it,” said Dhuria.

A team of officials of the Education Department and the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) conducted raids at 20 examination centres during the English paper of Class XII on Thursday.

The maximum of nine cases of copying have been detec-ted at the examination centre at Tagore Public School, Abhun village in Fazilka sub-division.

The students caught copying have been barred from appearing in any of the examinations for three years.

Villagers’ protest ensures shifting of ‘licentious’ school principal
Archit Watts
Tribune News Service

Muktsar, March 16
After a strong protest by the villagers demanding immediate suspension or transfer of the principal of the Government Secondary School in Tamkot village, for his alleged “immoral” activities, the education department today transferred him to Malout.

The villagers had gathered outside the school in the morning alleging that Gurpreet Singh Kataria, principal of the Government Secondary School, Tamkot village, lured a young girl student to an undisclosed place in his car yesterday.

Sensing the gravity of the situation, officiating District Education Officer (DEO), Muktsar, Davinder Kumar, reached the school and pacified the protesters. He gave an assurance that he would take action against the principal.

The DEO said, “We have shifted the principal and a departmental inquiry has been marked in this regard to ascertain the facts.”

Union Budget disheartens eco-warriors
Balwant Garg
Tribune News Service

Faridkot, March 16
It is not just the opposition which is rubbishing the Union Budget as disappointing. Environmentalists and organic farmers in Punjab are equally unhappy with what they term is a mere “lip service to promoting organic farming.”

Instead of settling a debate on excessive use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers in Punjab and Haryana, a byproduct of the Green Revolution, the Union Budget has increased the allocation from Rs 600 to Rs 1,000 crore in the next fiscal to promote Green Revolution in eastern India also, said Umendra Dutt, executive director, Kheti Virasat Mission (KVM),  a voluntary organisation promoting natural farming in Punjab.

“The finance minister should have declared support incentive of at least Rs 5,000 per acre of ecological farming, per annum. This is based on the rationale that chemical fertilizer subsidy is equivalent to Rs 5,000 per hectare over the net crop area in the country. This would be higher if taken on a per acre basis for the actual cropped land using such chemical fertilizers. The proposal argues for at least an equivalent of this amount to organic farmers,” said Umendra Dutt.

Out of 528 major districts in India, fertilizer consumption in 78 districts is over 200 kg/ha and Punjab tops all these districts in the use of fertilizer with a heavy subsidy of up to 70 per cent. But over 500 farmers in Punjab who have adopted natural farming, are getting no incentive or bonus to save biodiversity, soil and water conservation, chemical mitigation, said Harjant Singh, a farmer with vast acreage under natural farming in Rai ke Kalan village in Faridkot.

“Though the government had been doling out thousands of crores in the name of subsidies to agriculture, natural farming is deprived of the benefits of fertilizer subsidy. This anomaly can only be rectified by giving subsidies to organic manures that we farmers use,” he said.

“Every year, the Central Government spends crores on chemical fertilizer subsidies but there is not even a single penny on subsidy, incentive or bonus to farmers who have shifted to ecologically sustainable natural farming,” said Dr OP Rupela, agriculture scientist and former member of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

Anti-farmer: SAD MLAs

Faridkot, March 16
The union government’s proposal for cutting subsidies to two per cent of the GDP to trim the fiscal deficit has come under sharp criticism from some Akali MLAs.

Terming the budget as ‘disappointing’, Faridkot MLA Deep Malhotra apprehends that the freezing of subsidies was not only to adjust the petroleum prices, as the Prime Minister claimed, but also fuelled a fear of steep rise in the price of fertilizers in the coming days. As the fertilizers are highly subsidized, every increase in the consumption or price of subsidized goods like petrol and diesel, will give a fillip to the cut in the subsidy of other items, including fertilizers.

While this budget offers nothing to the farmers in Punjab who are neck deep in debt, there are threats of increase in the cost of inputs in agriculture. To promote the production of paddy in the eastern states, the union budget has given an allocation of Rs 1000 crore (in 2011-12, it was Rs 600 crore) for the next fiscal. But there was no incentive for the paddy growers of Punjab who use the precious and scarce water resources of the state to feed the nation, said Mantar Singh Brar, SAD (B) MLA from Kotkapura. — TNS

Finance Minister dashes employees’ expectations
Kulwinder Sandhu/TNS

Moga, March 16
Employees, the common man and those running their own business feel there is little in the Union Budget to cheer about.

A disappointed Jagtar Singh Sandhu, president of the Government-Aided College Teachers Association of Moga district said the employees were expecting an income tax relief of up to Rs 3 lakh. A meagre hike in the income tax ceiling from Rs 1.80 lakh to Rs 2 lakh would not benefit employees. Sapandip Singh and Yadwinder Singh working in the Food and Civil Supplies Department said the Budget had nothing for employees.

Manjit Kaur, librarian at the local Guru Nanak College, said the Finance Minister had disappointed the women employees as there should have been extra benefit for the women employees on the tax exemption limit.

Dr Jaswinder Brar, agriculture scientist, said the reduction in the Employee Provident fund interest rate from 9.5 % to 8.25 % had come as a big shock to the employees.

The budget had come as a big disappointment for the 'aam admi', particularly employees, said Rajinder Singh who works in a bank. "The proposals are not encouraging and will not promote growth. The increase in service tax will have a cascading effect. No special tax relief has been given to the industry in Punjab. And with industrialists shifting to other states, the state will see a rise in unemployment, said Ashok Bansal, who runs a finance company.

10 hurt as bridge being built on Gang Canal falls
Our Correspondent

Abohar, March 16
Nine daily wage earners along with a government employee sustained injuries as a slab of the bridge, under construction on the Gang (Bikaner) canal, collapsed in village Sadhuwali located on the Abohar-Sriganganagar road (NH-15) late last evening.

Civil engineering experts along with students of the Abohar-based Radiant Institute of Engineering and Technologies visited village Sadhuwali this afternoon to study the causes for the collapse of the slab during construction work.

Engineer SS Sidhu, who led the team, said samples of the material used for construction have been taken.

Eye-witnesses said about 15 workers were engaged to construct an RCC slab to connect two walls of the bridge at RD 36 of the feeder canal behind Bishnoi Mandir. The shuttering caved in resulting in explosion that caused panic among the villagers. All the workers fell from the 40-feet high bridge but five of them escaped with bruises.

Senior civil and police officials from Sriganganagar visited the site.

The incident has raised a question mark over the quality of work as hundreds of heavy vehicles have to pass through the bridge after its completion.

Rampura Phul man charred to death
Our Correspondent

Sriganganagar, March 16
A man from Rampura Phul (Bathinda), who had been using a part of the “Ahimsa Park” on the Tulsi Marg near Sukhadia Circle here, as night shelter, lost his life in a fire last night.

Some persons who noticed the badly charred body this morning informed the police.

DSP Deeksha Kamra visited the park to initiate the investigation. SHO Narinder Poonia later shifted the body to the Civil Hospital. “We will wait for kin of the victim for identification, the police said.

Sources said the man had introduced himself to his neighbours as Satpal of Rampura Phul who had been deserted by his family, forcing him to take shelter here. He had reportedly become an addict.