B A T H I N D A    E D I T I O N

Harvest fest meaningless in water-logged village
Mann (Mukstar), April 13
While Baisakhi is celebrated across the state to welcome the harvesting season, the festival has lost its meaning for the farmers of this water-logged village, about three km from the residence of the Chief Minister. 

A farmer shows his water-logged fields at Mann village in Muktsar district on Friday. Photo by writer

Labourers’ protest hits wheat procurement, storage of rice
Faridkot, April 13
To create space for the storage of this season’s wheat and the coming season’s rice, Punjab is seeking the union government’s intervention for expeditious shifting of the previous stock of foodgrain to other states. But an indefinite strike by contract labourers with the state procurement agencies for the last two weeks has further increased the food and supply department’s problem for transportation and storage of foodgrains.

Implicated in case for exposing scandal, alleges whistleblower
Faridkot, April 13
A whistleblower, who exposed a scandal in the functioning of some private educational institutions and unravelled how these institutions were preparing fake salary statements and submitting bogus record to various government departments to avoid financial liabilities, is now facing a reprisal at the hands of some of the accused, allegedly in connivance with the police.

Pulse polio drive begins in Fazilka on April 15
Fazilka, April 13
As many as 1,66,300 children (below five years of age) would be administered anti-polio drops in Fazilka district during a three-day pulse polio campaign that begins on April 15.

Harvest fest meaningless in water-logged village
Archit Watts/TNS

Mann (Mukstar), April 13
While Baisakhi is celebrated across the state to welcome the harvesting season, the festival has lost its meaning for the farmers of this water-logged village, about three km from the residence of the Chief Minister. Now, Baisakhi only holds religious significance for them.

"We are three brothers and own six acres of agricultural land and all is water-logged for the past three years. Except for some bushes, the land produces nothing. There is no point celebrating the harvest festival when we are even unable to manage even two square meals a day," said Chhabeg Singh. He said he used to reap paddy and wheat in his once fertile land.

He added, "We are surviving on the meagre compensation that the state government pays for our water-logged fields. We also work in the fields of others, so that we earn some money to feed our kids and run our households."

Jeet Singh, another farmer, said, "Officials often come to inspect our inundated fields, but a solution to the problem is yet to come by."

The villagers said during his recent 'thanksgiving' tour, the CM visited their village and assured them of finding out a permanent solution to the problem of water-logging.

When contacted, Rajinder Singh, superintending engineer, Drainage circle Gidderbaha, said, "I visited the spot yesterday to see what could be done to drain out water from the fields. Besides this village that has nearly 200 acres water-logged, a number of other villages are also badly affected with the problem. Efforts are on to drain out the water from the fields before the rainy season sets in."

He admitted that nearly half of the villages in the district were affected by the problem.

Labourers’ protest hits wheat procurement, storage of rice
Balwant Garg
Tribune News Service

Faridkot, April 13
To create space for the storage of this season’s wheat and the coming season’s rice, Punjab is seeking the union government’s intervention for expeditious shifting of the previous stock of foodgrain to other states. But an indefinite strike by contract labourers with the state procurement agencies for the last two weeks has further increased the food and supply department’s problem for transportation and storage of foodgrains.

Since March 26, thousands of contract labourers in several districts of the state have stopped loading and unloading of foodgrains for its transportation and storage.

Due to the strike, while the food and supply department is highly apprehensive of a glut-like situation in mandis with the increase in arrival of wheat in the coming days, the rice millers have also stopped shelling paddy as the already-milled rice is yet to be stored and was lying outside the government stores.

Over 500 consignments, each of 270 quintal rice, are lying under open sky in Faridkot district, waiting for its stacking in godowns. With every passing day, its quality was being adversely affected, said Tarsem Singh, a rice miller.

For the loading and unloading of foodgrains and its stacking in government stores, every year there is a labour contract at district-level. Political influence played a major role in the allotment of most of such contracts.

“While the state government pays the agreed contract amount to the contractors, the latter further pays wages to the labourers as per his whims, thus pocketing a huge sum,” alleged Khushi Mohammad, the state president of the All India Food and Allied Workers’ Union, adding: “We demand the suspension of contract system and the wages be paid to the labourers directly.”

But problem with the state government is that if the labourers’ demand was accepted, the government would have to contribute its share of provident fund to the labourers’ accounts.

“Last week, labourers even opposed the allotment of labour contracts. Before the assembly elections in November last year, the Punjab Food and Supplies Minister had promised to accept our demands. But now the promise is not being honoured,” said Sanjay Kumar, a labourer leader in Faridkot.

The labour was on strike in Faridkot, Moga, Ferozepur, Muktsar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Gurdaspur and Malerkotla, said Mohammad.

The District Food and Supply Controller in Faridkot, Kulwant Kaur, said the department was persuading the labourers to end the strike. “We are hopeful of labour resuming the work in a day or two,” she said.

Implicated in case for exposing scandal, alleges whistleblower
Balwant Garg/TNS

Faridkot, April 13
A whistleblower, who exposed a scandal in the functioning of some private educational institutions and unravelled how these institutions were preparing fake salary statements and submitting bogus record to various government departments to avoid financial liabilities, is now facing a reprisal at the hands of some of the accused, allegedly in connivance with the police.

In a complaint to the Chief Minister and the DGP, Punjab, Vipan Kaushal, a typist in the district court complex in Faridkot alleged that at the instance of the owner of an educational institution, the police implicated him in a criminal case.

“In his original complaint to the police and the civil administration, the owner of the educational institution had demanded a legal action against me on the defamation charge. But after tampering with the complaint, the statement of the complainant and the official record, the police booked me for the offences of forgery, defamation and possessing illegal weapon,” alleged Vipan Kaushal.

Along with his complaint, Kaushal had submitted the original and the tampered documents to the CM and the DGP. The latter has deputed the SP (H), Faridkot, to investigate into the allegation.

Kaushal said, “A probe was ordered in the scandal I had exposed. Following the inquiry, huge penalty was slapped on one of these educational institutions. To avenge the same, the educational institution lodged many fake complaints against me but I was given a clean chit every time.”

“Some days back, another complaint was lodged against me for defaming the institution. But since the charge did not entail a harsh punitive action, the original complaint and other official documents were tampered with later, which now claimed that I also possessing an illegal firearm,” alleged Kaushal.

Pulse polio drive begins in Fazilka on April 15
Our Correspondent

Fazilka, April 13
As many as 1,66,300 children (below five years of age) would be administered anti-polio drops in Fazilka district during a three-day pulse polio campaign that begins on April 15.

Fazilka Deputy Commissioner Dr Basant Garg said out of the total population of 10,61,605 in the district, nearly 1,71,294 households would be covered under the national programme for eradication of the dreaded disease.

For the purpose, 553 booths have been set up. Besides, 1,106 teams, 15 transit and nine mobile teams have been constituted for administering the polio drops in the district.

“The team members have been directed to ensure administering of polio vaccine to the children of the labourers working in factories and brick kilns and living in slum areas,” added the DC.

The activists of NGOs would assist in making the campaign successful.

Meanwhile, issuing separate orders, the District Magistrate, Fazilka, has prohibited traders, shopkeepers and industrialists from recruiting migrant labourers before prior permission from the authorities concerned.

Further, a complete ban has been imposed on private lotteries besides lucky and monthly draws.