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Punjab to face storage problem
Wheat arrival yet to pick up in Patiala, Sangrur
Procurement begins in Khanna
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Punjab taking credit for Central schemes: Bittoo
Manpreet: 5% vote share creditable feat
Manpreet Singh Badal
CM ends tour with Sulabh project
Gill: Trade benefits must go to
Punjab
Can assist CM in seeking funds for state:Jakhar
Chappar Chiri readies for another oath ceremony
Consult defeated candidates: Brar
Avtar S Brar
opening the trade floodgates with pakistan
49 trucks from Pak arrive on first day
Century-old miniature Guru Granth Sahib on display in Rajpura
Shashi Kant
Government nod to Centre’s cycle scheme
Case of honour killing, claims defence lawyer
Double murder: Rs 1 lakh offered to painter for changing number plates
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Punjab to face storage problem
Chandigarh, April 9 The wheat arrival is expected to begin only after Baisakhi, the state government's procurement agencies as well as the Food Corporation of India would face a tough task with 115 lakh metric tonnes of wheat expected to arrive in mandis of Punjab and 70 lakh metric tonnes of wheat expected to be procured by various agencies in Haryana. The godowns in the two states are already full to their capacity with the produce from last year having not been moved to the recipient states. Sources inform The Tribune that the total storage capacity in the state is 200 lakh metric tonnes. Already 51 lakh tonnes of wheat and 67 lakh tonnes of rice are lying in the state's godowns. With the state expected to procure another 115 lakh tonnes of wheat, it would have no space to store 32 lakh tonnes of the new wheat. Similarly in Haryana, the total food grain storage space is 90 lakh tonnes, of which 48.55 lakh tonnes is covered. But again the godowns are filled with 56 lakh tonnes of wheat, 12 lakh tonnes of rice and 90,000 tonnes of bajra in the godowns. With 70 lakh tonnes of wheat crop likely to be procured in this season, Haryana, too, will face a shortage of space to store the new grains. In the past three years, a little has been done to increase the food grain storage space in the two states. While Haryana has added only five lakh metric tonnes of new storage space, Punjab has added 12 lakh metric tonnes of new storage space till March this year. This is woefully less than the required space, and not even in consonance with the increase in crop production each year. What has made the matter worse is that more than 90 per cent of the total wheat produced in the two states will have to be purchased by the state procurement agencies as well as the FCI. This is mainly because of the high taxes on wheat being purchased by private traders, who have shunned the two states for buying wheat. As against the MSP of Rs 1,285 per quintal, a private trader has to cough up Rs 1,450 to Rs 1,500 per quintal in case he buys wheat from here, after including purchase tax, commission of commission agents and other expenses. He then finds it favourable to buy the crop from neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, where the wheat is sold, sometimes at prices below the
MSP.
Bumper harvest The total storage capacity of Punjab is 200 lakh metric tones Already 51 lakh tonnes of wheat and 67 lakh tonnes of rice are lying in the state's godowns The state government is expected to procure another 115 lakh tonnes of wheat. It would have no space to store 32 lakh tonnes of the new crop NABARD to extend financial support The NABARD is likely to extend financial support of Rs 500 crore to Punjab under the NABARD Warehousing (Refinance) Scheme, 2012. Under this initiative, the NABARD extends financial support to banks at a concessional rate of eight per cent for setting up warehousing facilities in the state. "The scheme was launched in September last year and we extended financial support of Rs 245 crore to banks in Punjab, which will help create 6.7 lakh metric tonnes of new storage capacity. This year, we are likely to double this line of credit. Interest subvention of 1.5 per cent is also given to those who make timely payments and those completing the warehouses on time," said Krishan Jindal, chief general manager, NABARD.
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Wheat arrival yet to pick up in Patiala, Sangrur
Patiala, April 9 A visit to grain markets in Patiala, Samana, Sangrur, Rajpura and Nabha revealed that the wheat arrival was slow as compared to the same period last year. The authorities in Patiala and Sangrur have already set up 336 purchase centers with 104 in Patiala. However, authorities were worried, as with the sudden arrival of the crop, lifting the procured wheat from mandis would be a problem. "Usually procurement starts within five days from April 1 and thereafter it is slow, but steady. However, this year the arrival is very poor and though a bumper harvest is expected, the next week is going to be a hectic as arrival would suddenly jump," said a senior officer of the Rajpura grain market. "This would surely spell problems for us in terms of clearing the procured wheat and arranging more labour to store the wheat," he stated. Senior officers in the Food and Civil Supplies Department said that with sudden influx of wheat, the procurement agencies would have to store the procured crop in the open. "There has been no showers from the past almost a month and if it rains during procurement, things would be really tough. Let us pray for the smooth passage of the season," said an official. Meanwhile, farmers said that their crop was almost ready and it would hit the market in another week's time. "Prolonged winter season and rise in temperature just at the right time indicate a bumper harvest," said Nabha farmer Narpinder Singh.
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Procurement begins in Khanna
Khanna, April 9 Lakhowal said, "The present mode of payment to farmers, which is being paid through commission agents, will continue till the final outcome of a court decision in this regard. Although the arrival of wheat is late due to weather conditions, but bumper crop is expected this year." Alleging Centre's apathy towards Punjab, he said that the Union Government was providing more facilities to other states as compared to Punjab and not lifting the pending stock from the storage sites and thus creating problem for the state. Due to late arrival of wheat this year, only 12 tonne wheat arrived at the Khanna grain market so far, however, last year as many as 113 tonne wheat had arrived by this time. Procuring agency Warehouse purchased the first heap of wheat belonging to Balwinder Singh, a resident of Naraingarh village. Market Committee officials said that last year about 14,60,000 quintals of wheat were procured in the Khann grain market. This year, about 10% increase is expected.
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Punjab taking credit for Central schemes: Bittoo
Chandigarh, April 9 Reacting to an advertisement of the Social Welfare Department published today regarding the implementation of the post-matric scholarship scheme for the students of minority communities, Bittoo said that the UPA government in 2008-09 had started the scholarship scheme for the children of the minorities and funds were released to all the states. He said according to the data available from the Planning Department of the state government, Punjab also received Rs 54.93 lakh under this scheme, but the SAD and BJP alliance government did not implement it fearing that it would adversely affect the election results. Bittoo asked the Chief Minister to mark a probe into the publication of the advertisement. Bittoo said that he personally asked the concerned deputy commissioners about implementation of this scheme in his constituency, but none of the officers gave satisfactory reply.
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Manpreet: 5% vote share creditable feat
Nawanshahr, April 9 Manpreet said it was creditable that a party facing elections in the first year of its formation had succeeded in getting 5 per cent of the total votes polled. Besides, the PPP had made the main political parties - Congress and SAD-BJP- jittery. "The day people begin to take to the idea of effecting a revolutionary change in the system of governance, both these parties based on status quo will be wiped out,” maintained Manpreet. He exhorted the party workers not to be demoralised by the poll outcome but to strengthen the party organisation at grassroots level. The presidents of district units and various wings of the party would be nominated in two weeks. The party candidates in the recent assembly elections would be entrusted with the responsibility of constituting "constituency councils" in their respective segments by May 15. Each such council would have at least 300 members. A sum of Re 1 per day party fund would be charged from the members. Abhitej Sandhu, Darshan Lal Mangupur and Kamaljit Nahar were among those who spoke on the occasion.
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CM ends tour with Sulabh project
Muktsar, April 9 Before completing his five-day tour, Badal said the parties which could not come into power were now trying to defame the SAD-BJP government. On Manpreet's allegation of taping of his phone calls by the government, Badal said: "Why will we tape his phone calls? What is the need of doing it? The allegations are baseless. If he has some proof, he must come out with it". On Capt Amarinder Singh's allegation of fake criminal cases against Congress workers, Badal said: "Capt Amarinder must know that all the cases which he is now talking about were registered when the election process was on. Not even a single controversial case has been registered after that". Earlier, Badal visited a number of villages in his home constituency and addressed party workers at Malout. The Chief Minister laid down the foundation stone of a project of constructing 15,000 toilets by Sulabh International in rural areas. The toilets, to be constructed at a cost of about Rs 28 crore, would come up in areas such as Adampur block in Doaba, Ajnala in Majha and Sanaur, Lambi blocks in Malwa within a year.
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Gill: Trade benefits must go to
Punjab
Chandigarh, April 9 “I have been going through reports on the negative list. The natural benefits of opening an ICP should go to Punjab more than the states that are far off. “When I recently went to Pakistan I was amazed at long queues of trucks on our side of the border. For a further impetus to the bilateral trade, both road and rail links should be fully
utilised... If J&K has two land routes with Pakistan, Punjab should also have two. The Centre would do well by opening the Fazilka sector,”Gill said.
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Can assist CM in seeking funds for state:Jakhar
Abohar, April 9 Instead of condemning the Central government, the coalition partners in Punjab should sincerely utilise the funds under the flagship programmes launched by the Centre, he said. Speaking to mediapersons at the new grain market here yesterday, the three-time legislator reiterated that the CLP, comprising 46 MLAs, was determined to play a strong and constructive opposition. “We simply expect Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to mean whatever he says. All the promises listed in the election manifesto of the ruling coalition need to be honoured in letter and spirit,” he said. Jakhar urged the Chief Minister to ensure adequate arrangements besides time-bound payments on the purchase of wheat, as harvesting had already picked up. Transparency in supply of certified Bt cotton seeds at a fixed rate should also be ensured as the state had arranged 80 lakh packets this year, the leader of the opposition in the state Assembly said.
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Chappar Chiri readies for another oath ceremony
Chandigarh, April 9 Of the 21 legislators to be elevated, 17 are from the SAD and four from the BJP. Among them are seven first-time MLAs. Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal today administered the oath of office to Amritsar (East) MLA Navjot Kaur Sidhu, who could not take the oath during the Budget session on account of ill-health. The oath-taking ceremony took place in the Speaker’s chamber. She is one of the BJP legislators who will be elevated as Chief Parliamentary Secretary tomorrow. Others to be elevated to the post are Balbir Singh Ghunnas ,Ch Nand Lal, SS Thandal, Desraj Dhugga, Mantar Singh Brar, Harmeet Singh Sandhu, Mohinder Kaur Josh, Avinash Chander, Inderbir Singh Bolaria, Gurbachan Singh Babehali, Virsa Singh Valtoha, Amarpal Singh Bonny Ajnala, Pawan Kumar Tinu, Parkash Chand Garg, Sarup Chand Singla, NK Sharma, Nisara Khatoon (all SAD), KD Bhandari, Amarjit Singh Sahi, Som Parkash and Navjot Kaur Sidhu (all BJP). There can only be 18 ministers in the Punjab Cabinet (15 per cent of the House strength of 117, according to the 91st Constitutional Amendment). After the resignation of Bibi Jagir Kaur, Punjab now has 17 ministers, all in the Cabinet rank. After the swearing in of 21 CPSs, their number will be more than that of The Cabinet Ministers.This has invited criticism from the Congress which says the government has put unwarranted financial burden on the exchequer as the CPSs have all the perks but practically no work to do. Rebutting the criticism, Dr Daljit Singh Cheema, SAD spokesperson, says the Constitutional Amendment limiting the size of the Cabinet came in 2003 when Capt Amarinder Singh was CM. The Congress had then not only appointed Chief Parliamentary Secretaries and Parliamentary Secretaries, but even gone to the extent of amending the provisions of the Punjab State Legislature (Prevention of Disqualifications) Act: 1952 to declare the office of the CPS as an office of no profit. “It is surprising that the Congress is criticising the appointment of CPSs, knowing well that this precedent was set by none other than the Congress itself,” he added. Meanwhile, preparations were in full swing today for the oath ceremony. “We expect a gathering of about 5,000 people for tomorrow’s function,” said Varun Roojam, Mohali Deputy Commissioner, who was at Chappar Chiri to supervise the arrangements. Earlier, Punjab Chief Secretary Rakesh Singh held a meeting of the top officials at the site. The police claims to have prepared a special route plan for the visitors. “We don’t want to inconvenience the common people, so a special route plan has been prepared for them,” said a top police official. Altis not for all All the 21 new Chief Parliamentary Secretaries being sworn in tomorrow at Baba Banda Singh Memorial at Chappar Chiri will not be coming in Toyota Altis cars that they are entitled to. Some of the new CPSs will be using Toyota Innovas. The number of CPSs has gone up from 14 in the previous government to 21 now.Sources in the Transport Department said apart from the Innovas, some used Toyota Camrys had been given a facelift. However, most of the escort vehicles being provided to the CPSs were new. Officials said they had a hard time arranging for the vehicles. Appointments challenged Chandigarh: A day before the swearing in of 21 Chief Parliamentary Secretaries, a petition against their appointment was filed before the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Monday. Taking up the petition, Justice Rameshwar Singh Malik fixed April 16 as the next date of hearing. The petition has been filed in public interest by advocate Jagmohan Singh Bhatti. A petition earlier filed by him on the issue already stands admitted. Bhatti has all along claimed that MLAs are being Chief Parliamentary Secretaries though no such post exists “under the Constitution of India or under any statute or Act passed by Parliament or any state legislature”. Bhatti has been seeking directions for restraining the finance department from bearing “the expenses of these illegal appointments”. Directions have also been sought to withdraw all facilities extended to the CPSs. — TNS It is surprising that the Congress is criticising the appointment of CPSs, knowing well that this precedent was set by none other than the Congress itself — DS Cheema, SAD
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Consult defeated candidates: Brar
Chandigarh, April 9 Gurdaspur MP Partap Bajwa has requested the committee to elicit the views of all Lok Sabha MPs before submitting a report to the Congress president. Bajwa said the committee had promised to consider the demand as the MPs stood to lose most if “proper” feedback on the reasons for the party’s debacle was not given to the party high command. A three-member committee led by Antony, including Sushil Kumar Shinde and Sheila Dikshit, is looking into the reasons for the party’s defeat in Punjab. Brar, who has sought time from the committee tomorrow, alleged a meeting meant for defeated candidates was turned into a social gathering to ensure none could speak out against the PCC chief. He claimed a majority of those who had lost the elections were against the PCC chief and would say so openly if there individual views were taken by the high command. The senior leader who lost the assembly election from Faridkot alleged that an attempt was being made to give the impression that a vacuum would be created in case Amarinder was removed from the post. He said Amarinder alone did not represent the Congress in Punjab. Brar said he would tell the high command that Amarinder was not capable of taking on the Badal family and that it would be suicidal to keep him on the post till the parliamentary elections. Brar is apparently miffed at the manner in which the PCC chief has projected former PPP leader Kushaldeep Dhillon, who was inducted into the Congress in the run-up to the elections. Brar said Amarinder had first tried to make Kushaldeep the party candidate from Faridkot. When he failed to do so, Kushaldeep was appointed OSD to Amarinder, then general secretary attached to the PCC president and then star campaigner. “This honour was given to someone who had victimised Congress men and was not even a primary member of the party”, Brar added.
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opening the trade floodgates with pakistan
Amritsar, April 9 The project
Spread over an area of 120 acres, the project has come up in almost two years at a cost of Rs 150 crore. Equipped with the state-of-the-art technology, the ICP is a completely sanitised zone with dedicated terminals for both passengers and cargo. The ICP has one gate each on the Indian and Pakistani sides while the passage for cargo and passenger terminals are bifurcated. The double-storey passenger terminal in the new ICP has an area of 9,658 sq m and a capacity of 1.5 million passengers per year. Similarly, the cargo terminal is spread over 4,697 sq m. It has a static capacity of 800 trucks (import) and 320 trucks (export). At present, 100-150 trucks cross over to Pakistan daily, but with the ICP becoming operational, this number may increase manifold. There are two "jatha sheds" to accommodate a large number of persons on pilgrimage or leading a delegation to either country. Each shed has a capacity of 500 passengers. From there, they can move to the passenger terminal in batches for customs and immigration clearance. The premises also boasts of green belt measuring 5,000 to 6,000 sq m on either side. While the first floor of the ICP has offices of customs, immigration and BSF officials, the ground floor is serving as an operational area. The ICP has adequate customs and immigration counters, metal detectors, CCTVs, passenger amenities such as currency exchange, Internet facility, dispensary, banks, isolation bay, parking, cafeteria and other public utilities in a single modern complex. It also has amenities like a dormitory block, power substation, generator sets for 24-hour backup and sewage treatment plant. The ICP will have a host of other facilities too which will come up in near future once it gets inaugurated on April 13. These include a separate quarantine building equipped with a lab to check the import of infected plants and animals. There is also a provision for a bomb disposal facility, besides watch towers for the BSF. The ICP at Attari is one of the 13 ICPs which the Union Government had decided to set up at identified entry points on the international borders of the country under the 11th Plan at an estimated cost of Rs 635 crore. This is also the only ICP to be set up on the Indo-Pak border. The expectations
The ICP will change the way bilateral trade is conducted between India and Pakistan forever. First, there will be no time constraint. The reason being the coming up of a new gate along with the ICP is that earlier, there was only one gate for entry and exit on the Attari-Wagah border which used to witness heavy rush of tourists for the retreat parade every evening. The trade was conducted only between 8 am and 4 pm. Now, the cargo movement between the two countries can take place for 12 hours daily between 7 am and 7 pm as against the eight hours earlier. This means more trucks can land in India and cross over to Pakistan on a daily basis. The ICP has resulted in building of a massive infrastructure on an area of 120 acres as compared to the old check post which was operating on an area of a mere 8 acres. The capacity of the ICP is a huge 1,500 trucks (import and export) which is five times more than the old post's capacity of 300 trucks. Similarly, the storage facility is also much better as the ICP facilitates bigger warehouses with proper stacking facility. The storage capacity for imports is 20 times more and for exports it is 10 times more than the old infrastructure. All these factors coupled with the EDI system, which will soon be installed at the ICP, will speed up the movement of cargo into and from India, translating into huge benefits to the traders on both sides of the border. Teething troubles
As it happens with a new project, the ICP, too, has its share of initial problems. Firstly, the passenger movement is not taking place through the new gate connecting the ICP, as Pakistan doesn't have customs and immigration counter facility at the new gate on its side. To counter the problem, the Indian authorities have hired three buses for facilitating the passengers to commute between the ICP and the old gate. Sources say the distance between the old gate and the new gate is 600 metres and India had even offered a dedicated bus service for facilitating the passengers to commute this distance on the Pakistan side. Deputy Commissioner, Customs, RK Duggal says the Union Ministry of Home Affairs is already in talks with the Pakistan government over the issue, hoping that it will be sorted out soon. Another glitch is that of delay in installation of ultra-modern scanners meant for the cargo terminal. Due to the delay, the scanning of trucks coming from Pakistan is being done manually during the trial run. Duggal says this issue is also under the process and the authorities are aware about it. Agencies involved
Apart from the existing lot of BSF, customs and immigration, two more agencies have come into the picture with the ICP going functional. These are the Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI) and the Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC). While the CWC has taken over the charge of the warehousing facility, the LPAI will look after the entire paraphernalia at the ICP, besides ensuring better administration and cohesive management. Pak plays spoilsport
The trading community, which was on cloud nine in view of two major developments in the form of the upcoming inauguration of the ICP and Pakistan shifting to the negative list regime for trade with India, has recently received a jolt from the neighbouring country. The notification issued by Pakistan regarding the negative list for trade with India while on hand mentioned 1,209 items which it cannot import from India and on the other it has a list of 137 items "importable from India via Wagah-Attari land route". The notification shocked the trading community which was hoping that the lifting of the trade barriers with the negative list as well as the inauguration of the ICP will give a big boost to their businesses. The traders feel that the raising such a huge infrastructure will be a futile exercise if the trade is restricted from the land route. Unfulfilled wish
Traders have long been demanding a transit route under which they are seeking access to Afghanistan, CIS nations and beyond, as it will help them expand their trade to other countries as well. Pakistan doesn't allow access through its territory for goods consigned to these countries. Interestingly, Pakistan is allowing Afghanistan to export its goods to India through Wagah. At present, India and Afghanistan are following an alternative trade route (for India's export to Afghanistan) that bypasses Pakistan and goes through Iran, the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea. Gunbir Singh, former CII Zonal Council chief, says the transit route offers a huge potential for Indian traders to export goods to Afghanistan, CIS nations and Persia, and for Pakistan to earn major revenues. If opened, it will be a win-win situation for both sides, he says. About icp Spread over an area of 120 acres, the ICP has come up in almost two years at a cost of Rs 150 crore The ICP is a completely sanitised zone with dedicated terminals for both passengers and cargo The passenger terminal has an area of 9,658 sq m and a capacity of 1.5 million passengers per year The cargo terminal is spread over 4,697 sq m. It has a static capacity of 800 trucks (import) and 320 trucks (export) The ICP has adequate customs and immigration counters, metal detectors, CCTVs, and passenger amenities Old CP vs ICP Trade timings will be 7 am to 7 pm against the earlier 8 am to 4 pm Area: The old check post is spread over 8 acres while the ICP over 120 acres Capacity: At present, 100-150 trucks cross over to Pakistan daily. This number may increase manifold Warehousing: 20 times more (import) and 10 times more (export) at the ICP
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49 trucks from Pak arrive on first day
Amritsar, April 9 The trucks started moving into the ICP through the new gate early in the morning as the authorities have changed the timings for trade to 7 am to 7 pm as against the earlier time of 8 am to 4 pm. A total of 49 trucks, mostly loaded with gypsum, arrived from Pakistan. The movement of trucks from India to Pakistan was slow apparently due to the new system of documentation introduced by the Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) at the ICP. Meanwhile, the passenger movement continued through the old gate for the second day today as Pakistan continues to remain adamant on its stand due to lack of infrastructure on its new gate. The passengers coming from Pakistan are alighting at the old gate from where they are taken to the ICP in special buses. Similarly, the Pak-bound passengers board these buses after getting their custom and immigration clearance to reach the old gate from where they cross over to Pakistan. The Lahore-Delhi but got delayed by around three hours today due to the new system in place at the ICP and also more luggage with its passengers who were heading to Delhi for an exhibition. Overall, more than 200 passengers crossed over to Pakistan, while around 175 arrived in India via the ICP. Meanwhile, the preparations have begun for the inaugural ceremony of the ICP with a huge pandal being erected on its sprawling premises. The security arrangements are tight at the ICP with a battalion of the BSF being deployed there.
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Century-old miniature Guru Granth Sahib on display in Rajpura
Patiala, April 9 Head granthi (priest) Bhai Kashmir Singh and granthi Kulwinder Singh of Gurdwara Maithan Sahib in Agra, who are in Rajpura with this holy book along with a 224-year-old Guru Granth Sahib, written using dyes made out of rock, and a 275-year-old Guru Granth Granth Sahib, handwritten by Baba Deep Singh and Bhai Mani Singh, were overwhelmed by a large number of devotees thronging the gurdwara to see the holy books and narrated the story of how these holy scriptures reached the Agra
gurdwara. Narrating the history of the miniature manuscript, Kulwinder Singh said in 1913 when the World War-I was going on, the Indian Army (then British Indian Army) was called to fight for the common cause. “During that time, soldiers of Sikh Regiment of the Indian Army said they would not go to the battleground without taking Guru Granth Sahib along with them. Therefore, the British Government got 13 miniatures of Guru Granth Sahib prepared from a printing press in Germany for these soldiers. Each of these was 1 inch in size and contained 1,430 pages, which were carried by the soldiers. There used to be a special lens for reading the holy book. One of these is safely kept at Gurdwara Maithan Sahib in Agra,” he said. He said the 224-year-old holy book made from rock dyes was prepared by two Muslim brothers in five years seven months and three days and weighs around 28 to 30 kg. Moreover, the handwritten Guru Granth Sahibh has a few pages written using gold, ruby and sapphire. He said, “These books are currently on a tour of various cities to provide Sikhs in other parts of the country an opportunity to see and learn from the history of their religion and scriptures. We brought these books to Ludhiana on January 21 and it was displayed for the first time at Shaheed Baba Dalip Singh
Chowk, Model Town, Ludhiana. Later, it was taken to Khanna, Jalandhar,
Kapurthala, Nakodar and now it will be in Rajpura for 15 days.”
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Rs 36 cr will be spent on cleaning drains: Sekhon
Bathinda, April 9 Stating this, Punjab Irrigation Minister Janmeja Singh Sekhon said today directions had been issued to the authorities concerned to clean the drains within the given time. He said Rs 36 crore would be spent for the purpose. Sekhon said since several areas were prone to floods, all arrangements would be made in advance to protect the people during the rainy season so that they did not suffer losses to their property or life. The minister visited various villages of the Maur constituency. These villages included Gehri Bara Singh, Harkishanpura, Mandi Khurd, Nandgarh, Jhanduke, Mansa Khurd, Gill Khurd, Daulatpura, Kotra, Bhunder Dhade, Ballianwali and Tahla Sahib. He heard problems of the people and assured them to resolve these at the earliest. He said though he was an outside candidate, the people had trusted him and given him the mandate. He assured them that steps would be taken for the overall development of this constituency. Sekhon said new roads, canals, drains etc would be constructed. He also claimed that the people of the state would see a revolutionary change in the irrigation system in the years to come. Sekhon also listened to the problems being faced by village panchayats. He assured the panchayats that development-oriented steps would be taken. He also directed the officers concerned to solve the problems of the people on priority. Sekhon today completed his thanksgiving tour of all 66 villages of the Maur assembly constituency.
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State takes to embryo technology
Chandigarh, April 9 The ETT involves a process of super evolution of eggs in premium HF cows, which are flushed out and separated. These embryos are then implanted in cows to produce calves or bulls of the same quality as their mother. The State Animal Husbandry Department has initiated a twin ETT strategy. It has imported 118 embryos with the aim of producing prize bulls on its own so that it does not have to go in for importing semen from abroad. The department had recently imported 3.2 lakh semen straws from various countries. Similarly, calves born under this process will be used as donor animals for high- quality embryos. As many as 40 calves have been inseminated using this technology and births of four calves and two bulls reported. While the move is aimed at creating superior animals for the state farms, modern dairy farmers can also take advantage of this technique, says Dr Gagandeep Kaushal, who is administering this technology. Veterinarians identify high-yield cows and then flush out embryos which are then implanted immediately or freezed for later use. This ensures that the characteristics of high- yielding cows are replicated. Animal Husbandry minister Gulzar Singh Ranike said Punjab had HF cows and bulls capable of producing offspring with an average lactation of around 10,000 to 11,000 litres per year. He said the embryo technology allowed for producing calves or bulls with the ability of producing offspring with an average lactation of more than 12,000 litres per annum. Dr Kaushal said the ETT was being adopted at modern dairy farms as part of an extension service to popularise the technique. “We hope more people will take to it.” He said farmers going in for the ETT were being given funds for the upkeep of the animals. Jagat Jot Singh of Kirpal Sagar dairy farm in Rahon said the embryo transfer technology had been successful in four of the five cases at his farm. He said embryos had been taken from their prized cow yielding 42 litres of milk daily. “Now we have even more superior calves”, he added. About ETT The technology involves a process of super evolution of eggs in premium Holstein Frisian cows. Embroyas are flushed out and separated and then implanted in cows to produce calves or bulls of the same quality as their mother State Animal Husbandry Department has imported 118 embryos with the aim of producing prize bulls on its own Calves born through this process will be used as donor animals for high- quality embryos
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Facilities to Bibi
Jalandhar, April 9 Hinting at a clean chit to jail officials, the DGP said the inquiry did not bring to forth any major violation by the Jail Superintendent and other staff members. Regarding the use of a private vehicle for transferring Bibi Jagir Kaur to the jail, he said: “ The IG has put on record certain letters from the security wing which say that Bibi being a dera leader had to be provided security personnel. The Jail Superintendent has stated that he had asked the local SSP to send force and a vehicle which, perhaps, he did not.” On the LCD and dish facility for Bibi, he said a jail employee had bought these items for his own self. Kant said the IG had quoted the jail manual which, he said, gave special powers to the Jail Superintendent to facilitate meetings with the convict anywhere in the premises under his supervision. On the supply of food items, the DGP said: “Since we have allowed it to other prisoners as part of welfare measures, Bibi is no exception.” The IG Jails, Jagjit Singh, said he had submitted his inquiry report to the DGP.
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Government nod to Centre’s cycle scheme
Chandigarh, April 9 The Centre had sought the views of the state in this regard. Sources said in the first phase, free cycles would be given this year to girl students of Class IX across the country in an effort to check the dropout rate at the high and secondary school level. The distribution of cycles is expected to start after the summer break. Sources said the cost would be shared on a 50:50 basis by the Centre and the state governments concerned. The number of girlstudents in Class IX in Punjab is said to be more than 1 lakh. In due course, the scheme will be extended to students of other classes, it is learnt. A few months before the assembly elections, the SAD-BJP government had given away cycles to girl students of Class XI and XII. The Opposition had opposed the Chief Minister’s photo on the cycles. The photos were later removed on the directions of the Election Commission. The cycle industry in Punjab will also gain from the Central scheme. Punjab has a good number of cycle manufacturing units at Ludhiana. Such units are likely to get orders from the Centre for its scheme. Earlier, the state government had procured cycles from Ludhiana units for its much publicised Mai Bhago bicycle scheme.
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Case of honour killing, claims defence lawyer
Ludhiana, April 9 Defence lawyer BP Singh Gill further stated before the court of Judicial Magistrate Amarinder Pal Singh that the accused were falsely implicated in the case, just to solve the case. He submitted that they apprehend false implication of accused in many more cases. However, convinced with the submissions of the prosecution, the court extended the police remand of Harwinder Singh, alias Binder, Pritpal Singh, alias Ladoo, and Umesh Karda, all residents of Talwara village, till April 11.
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Double murder: Rs 1 lakh offered to painter for changing number plates
Ludhiana, April 9 The accused had even threatened Davinder that he would also meet the same fate if he would utter a word to the police. The painter revealed this during investigation. Davinder Singh, a resident of Sidhwan Bet runs a shop at Hambra road and paints registration number on vehicles. The police picked him up two days ago for helping the accused in changing the number plates of the DSP's vehicle. Davinder told the police that he had contacted the accused when a group of investigating officers visited his shop in connection of double murder case. He told the three that the police was suspecting his involvement in changing the number plates of DSP's vehicle. He further told them that if he would be grilled then he would reveal their names. Umesh, Pritpal and Harwinder got panicked and offered Rs 1 lakh to Davinder. They even threatened Davinder to kill him like the DSP and Monica. Davinder got terrified and feigned complete ignorance about the double murder when he was called at the CIA office for questioning. He then told the police that he had not changed the number plates of the vehicle. The police today arrested one more person for helping the accused in hiding the stolen material. Jung Singh of Talwara village was arrested and stolen material was recovered from his possession. Accused in 2-day police remand
Umesh, Pritpal and Harwinder were today produced before the court and sent to two-day police remand. Police has also booked the three in a theft case and recovered generator, LCD, computer, cooking gas cylinder and stolen motorcycle. Police said the accused had stolen the articles from offices of property dealers located on Hambran road and Golf Link area.
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The Baisakhi season may not bring much cheer to various government agencies procuring wheat in Punjab and Haryana. 
Nawanshahr, April 9
All roads will lead to Chappar Chiri tomorrow where 21 legislators of the SAD-BJP alliance will be sworn in as Chief Parliamentary Secretaries
(CPSs). Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal will administer the oath of office.
Chandigarh, April 9
It was a historic moment when trucks from Pakistan crossed over the new gate on the Attari-Wagah border to enter the newly constructed Integrated Check Post
(ICP) on the first day of its trial run for cargo movement today. It will become India's first ICP to go operational on April 13.
Facilities to Bibi
The Punjab Government has given the nod to a Central Government scheme to give free cycles to girl students belonging to minority communities.
The Centre had sought the views of the state in this regard. Sources said in the first phase, free cycles would be given this year to girl students of Class IX across the country in an effort to check the dropout rate at the high and secondary school level.
On Cong Criticism