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Monsoon misery revisits Mohar Jamsher
Admn team tours flood-prone areas in Sultanpur Lodhi
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XEN in dock for siphoning Rs
2.5 crore
Centre to blame for rotting grain: Badal
Lambi a privileged constituency, indeed
Sarna group wins elections to Takht Patna Sahib Board
Kuldip Nayar apologises to Sikhs
Zooming basmati prices bring cheer to farmers
Gidderbaha power project in limbo
Novel concept: ‘Talking library’ for visually impaired
Amritsar medical college preparing state cancer atlas
Government to appoint 225 coaches
State to have hockey clubs
Rain damages vegetables
in Patiala
‘Langar’ along Olympics torch route in UK
Lakra is chairman of engineering college board
NGO to launch plantation drive from July 20
10 months on, SGPC members yet to take charge
Agrochemicals responsible for uranium in water: PU experts
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Monsoon misery revisits Mohar Jamsher
Fazilka, July 15 Built over the Sutlej, the bridge is removed by the BSF every year during monsoon in anticipation of floods. The village is surrounded by Pakistan on three sides while the Sutlej flows on the fourth. BSF DIG AK Sharma said, “We dismantle the bridge in July due to security reasons. It is assembled again in September.” A villager, Surjit Singh, said, “The BSF should have removed the bridge after 15 days as transplantation of basmati paddy is in full swing. Moreover, there is no threat of flashfloods at present.” Though the paramilitary force calls it an annual exercise, the dismantling adds to the woes of the 700-odd villagers who for long have been demanding a concrete bridge. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh have visited the village on several occasions. A permanent bridge too was promised. But, nothing concrete has emerged so far. Des Singh, a villager, said, “Instead of spending a huge amount on assembling and dismantling the pontoon bridge every year, the government should construct a permanent bridge.” After the removal of the pontoon bridge, the villagers used to depend on a big boat for transportation. They even used to ferry their motorcycles and tractors on that boat as their fields lie on other side of the Sutlej. But, that boat, bought 10 years ago, too got damaged in floods last year, thus, leaving the villagers with a smaller boat, which can’t carry their vehicles. The residents have now demanded a new bigger boat. “It is very difficult for us to bring our tractors, crops and other belongings through the small boat. The administration should immediately provide us a big boat,” demanded Kulwant Singh, sarpanch of Mohar Jamsher. The miseries of the villagers do not end here. Each time they enter or leave their village, they have to seek permission from the BSF. “In our own country, we are treated as foreigners,” a villager said.
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Admn team tours flood-prone areas in Sultanpur Lodhi
Sultanpur Lodhi (Kapurthala), July 15 Headed by Sultanpur Lodhi Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Kuldeep Singh Chandi, the team comprised officials from irrigation, public works, drainage, health, animal husbandry and food supply departments. The officials interacted with the villagers and enquired about their grievances. The team also reviewed flood-protection measures and rehabilitation arrangements in flood-prone areas. The officials identified seven places where the Beas could cause havoc in case the water level rose. Chandi said river embankments in Bharoana, Baopur, Talwandi Chaudhariyan, Ali Kalan, Chulada, Bhagowal and Chakobi villages were found to be weak and needed to be strengthened. "The Irrigation Department has been told to initiate work for the strengthening of theses spots," he said. The SDM said round-the-clock health, rescue and rehabilitation arrangements had been made in villages cut off due to dismantling of the bridge. Officers of the Food and Supplies Department have been told to ensure sufficient stock of LPG cylinders and kerosene, he said. The administration has also arranged motor boats for evacuation in case of any eventuality, he said.
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XEN in dock for siphoning Rs
2.5 crore
Mansa, July 15 The XEN allegedly diverted the funds meant for repairing roads to renovate nearly 30 government schools of Mansa district, which never happened. Vigilance Bureau officials said XEN Joginder Singh was the main accused, but they were also probing the role of other employees of the treasury office. “We have investigated the matter and the report has been sent to the Chandigarh headquarters for the registration of a case,” said a senior Vigilance officer. He said the Vigilance sleuths could not trace the XEN, but he would be arrested once a case was registered. “The XEN had got funds released on the basis of two fake LoCs (Letters of Credit) for unsanctioned works. Even the unsanctioned works have yet not begun,” the officer said. “The money usurped by him could be between Rs 2 crore and Rs 2.5 crore,” he said. Superintending Engineer Madan Bansal said Joginder Singh joined the service in January 2008 and was suspended on July 22 last year. Bansal said the matter came to light when the money was released for the works, which were not yet allotted. A senior PWD B&R official said Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal was aware of the case and he had reportedly ordered the Vigilance Bureau to register cases against all corrupt officials without caring about their political connections.
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Centre to blame for rotting grain: Badal
Kolianwali (Muktsar), July 15 “The state government merely acts as a facilitator for purchasing
foodgrain. It is the responsibility of the Central Government to store, lift and transport foodgrain.The Centre has, failed to perform these tasks
efficiently”. Badal said despite repeated requests to top officials at the Centre, the state had not been given permission to set up new silos for storing
foodgrain. “Consequently, precious foodgrain produced by the state’s toiling farmers has been rotting,” Badal
said. Badal took exception to the announcement made by Union Water Resources Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal regarding the Centre's proposal to move the subject of water from the state list to the concurrent list of the Constitution. He said the Centre's move was against the basic spirit of federalism and would further weaken the states by encroaching on their rights. Badal said the Centre should desist from taking such an “undemocratic” step which would lead to widespread resentment among the states. “ The Centre should rather sincerely strive to resolve all inter-state water issues within the ambit of the principles of the riparian law that are accepted worldwide,” he
said. Badal said it was unbecoming of a senior statesman like P Chidambaram to have kept the Chief Ministers in the dark on the matter during the 26th meeting of Northern Zonal Chief Minister's Conference held in Chandigarh
recently. Badal said any attempt to deprive the state of its legitimate share of river waters would be opposed. He expressed support for the ex-servicemen’s demand for one rank, one pension. On illegal mining operations in the state, the Chief Minister said his government was preparing a new mining policy to check the menace. Suggesting an economical way to clean drains, the Chief Minister asked officials to spray herbicides on unwanted growth of plants inside the drains. Suggesting the idea to Vinod
Chaudhary, Chief Engineer, Drainage department, Badal said: “This method, suggested by some villagers, will prove to be much effective.” The Chief Engineer said the department would try out this method.
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Lambi a privileged constituency, indeed
Muktsar, July 15 In the past few months, almost every welfare scheme has started from Lambi, be it the electronic benefit transfer (EBT) system to disburse pension among the beneficiaries, construction of toilets, surveys to know about health problems being faced by the people or finding a solution to the problem of waterlogging. Besides, even the pace of opening zero balance bank accounts of students to provide them scholarships is also learnt to have much faster in Lambi villages as compared to other areas. Not only residents of other constituencies rue over the alleged discrimination, the officials concerned also admit that they have to take extra care of Lambi for it being the Chief Minister’s constituency. About the EBT scheme, Rajwinder Gill, District Social Security Officer, said: “We have covered the entire Lambi area under the scheme. We are now disbursing pension to the beneficiaries in the area under the new system”. The other three constituencies are, however, yet to be fully covered under the scheme, he added. The situation is almost similar in case of construction of toilets. In the first phase of the project, only Lambi block has been taken up in Muktsar district. Similarly, a fresh health survey being conducted by the Health Department has also been started from Lambi. Dr Sukhpal Singh, officiating Civil Surgeon, Muktsar, said: “We have been directed to first conduct the survey in villages falling in the Lambi constituency to know about the health problems being faced by the residents.” Asked if the department will conduct the same survey in other constituencies of the district, he said: “We don’t have any instructions in this regard as of now”. Even the Central team of experts toured Lambi villages to study the problem of waterlogging during its first visit to the state on July 2. Though the team was scheduled to visit some other villages of the district, it failed to do so. In another case of “discrimination”, the district administration held suvidha camps in six Lambi villages from July 10 to 12, where residents were able to make driving licences, ration cards, domicile certificates, SC/BC certificates and avail many other services, said Deputy Commissioner Paramjit Singh. Though the problems are almost same everywhere in the district, hardly any attention is paid to the rest of the areas.
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Sarna group wins elections to Takht Patna Sahib Board
Amritsar, July 15 The SAD had the support of five of the 15 board members. While SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar, a nominated board member, did not attend the meeting, the remaining four SAD supporters staged a walkout. Ahluwalia was pitted against former DSGMC chief Harvinderpal Singh Sarna who defeated him in a secret ballot. Sarna bagged nine votes and Ahluwalia four. Former DSGMC chief Harvinderpal said the elections were held according to norms under the supervision of the district judge, the SDM and the poll observers. He flayed Chief Khalsa Diwan president Charanjit Singh Chadha for “tarnishing the image” of the Diwan by trying to replace its nominated member on the poll eve. He alleged that the "move was driven by politics". On the other hand, SGPC chief Makkar said the senior vice-president had no right to summon the meeting. He said they had brought the matter to the notice of the officials concerned. “We cannot recognise this poll process that has been carried out against norms,” he added. Among the 15 members on the board, five are elected from Bihar, seven are nominated members and three are local leaders named by the district judge.
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Kuldip Nayar apologises to Sikhs Amritsar, July 15 "I have always raised my voice in favour of the Sikh Panth and have been a votary of Punjab, Punjabi and Punjabiat. I have no intention of hurting anybody’s sentiments. “As such, I have decided to delete portions of my autobiography on which objections have been raised. These parts shall not be there in the next edition of the book," Nayar said. The columnist said he had raised his voice against the excesses committed on the Sikhs during Operation Bluestar and the November 1984 riots. The veteran journalist had invited the ire of Sikh radicals, claiming in his book that Bhindranwale and the Dal Khalsa had the “blessings” of the Congress. The book also claimed that the Sikh Student's Federation chief, Bhai Amrik Singh, who died during Operation Bluestar, was an "IB agent".
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Remove Capt, reiterates Kataria
Bathinda, July 15 Kataria said Amarinder had lost the moral right to lead the Congress in Punjab and as such he should resign. If he did not do so, the party high command should sack him. He said the Congress had first lost the assembly elections, then the municipal elections and now the Dasuya byelection. This, Kataria said, had demoralised the party rank and file. “There is a need to revamp the party, if the ruling alliance is to be taken head-on in the coming Lok Sabha elections,” Kataria added.
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Zooming basmati prices bring cheer to farmers
Chandigarh, July 15 This year, with the global prices of basmati soaring and the government having done away with the minimum export price, the farmers are hopeful of reaping a rich harvest.
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Gidderbaha power project in limbo Patiala, July 15 In a letter dated August 5, 2011, addressed to the then Punjab Chief Secretary SC Agarwal, NTPC CMD Arup Roy Choudhury had stated that they want to set up only two units of 660-MW each against the earlier envisaged capacity of four units of 660-MW each. Another major amendment sought in the MoU by the NTPC was to reduce the land acquisition for the project from 1,999.12 acres to 1,000 acres. Inquiries made by The Tribune have brought to light that PSPCL authorities have replied back to the NTPC letter clearly stating that they have to stick to the terms and conditions mentioned in the MoU. "Since then, there is no written communiqué between the NTPC and the PSPCL authorities. However, there had been verbal talks on the issue but that too are inconclusive till now," said a senior officer of the PSPCL. Sources in the Power Corporation have stated that the NTPC itself is not interested in undertaking the Gidderbaha project. "The amendments sought by the NTPC are in complete deviation from the terms and conditions of the MoU and are practically not feasible. In reality, seeking the amendments in the MoU is nothing but a deliberate attempt so that the Power Corporation scraps the MoU," said another senior officer of the PSPCL. Neither NTPC nor PSPCL officials were willing to comment on the issue on account of sensitivity of the matter, technocrats working with the PSPCL said it would be better to terminate the MoU. Pointing out that lack of seriousness over undertaking the project could well be gauged from the fact that it has been more than one and a half year since the MoU was signed and there is no further progress, PSEB Engineers' Association president Baldev Singh Dran said NTPC was not keen to take up the Gidderbaha project. "We are demanding for a long time past that the MoU should be scrapped and the project should be undertaken in the state sector", he added.
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Ex-servicemen hold demonstration Patiala, July 15 Addressing the protesters, association president Col Kuldip Singh Grewal (retd) said, “One-rank-one-pension (OROP) is our right and not concession.” Grewal said during the past few decades, four committees were set up to look into the anomalies in fixing pension of the ex-servicemen (ESM) and also recommended means to sort out irregularities with justification. He added that all these committees gave their recommendations for grant of OROP but for the reasons best known to the Union Government, reports of these committee are gathering dust in government offices. Grewal said, “The manner in which the Union Government is treating us is unfortunate.” Because of protests by the ESM organistions all over the country, the government had again constituted a Rajya Sabha Committee to prepare a report on the OROP. The committee submitted its report on December 19, 2011, with recommendations in favour of early grant of the OROP but the Centre has not yet taken any action on the report, he claimed. Grewal said, “They have got information that another panel comprising secretaries has now been constituted by the government to look into the matter, which implies that the Rajya Sabha Committee report has also been kept aside.” “This kind of indifferent attitude makes it clear that the Union Government is not sincere in solving the problems of serving and retired soldiers,” he said. During the three-hour protest, members of the association raised several other issues pertaining to the ex-servicemen.
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Work on Plaza picks
up pace
Amritsar, July 15 Public Works
Department executive engineer Jasbir Singh Sodhi said they had raised
the basic structure on 2,500 square metres. The total project area was
8,200 square metres. He said the remaining area would be covered by
the year-end. The area where construction is underway is right in
front of the main entrance of the Golden Temple. Earlier, the area had
a green belt, which was developed after shifting the Ghanta Ghar
Market. As the project proceeds, the area will be integrated with the
space in front of the SGPC’s information office and the road that
separates the two parts will be eliminated. Sodhi said he was
confident that they would be able to meet the Diwali 2013 deadline for
completing the project. Work on the project started in May last year.
It took the agencies almost four months to complete pre-construction
activities, like shifting of cables and water and sewerage lines. FACILITIES
Among the underground facilities at
the plaza will be a state-of-the-art interpretation and information
centre for tourists, a VIP lounge, a bank, an ATM, an airlines/railway
inquiry counter, a multipurpose hall, toilets and other public
conveniences. The ‘jora ghar’ and shops will be at the ground
level. GREEN
COVER
The plaza will have a green cover on
one-third of its 1.75 acres to facilitate devotees in the hot summer
months. The plaza’s flooring will have a radiant cooling and heating
system so that the devotees can walk barefoot without any discomfort
during extreme weather conditions. The Golden Temple attracts over 1
lakh visitors on week days. The shrine witnesses a lot of VVIP
movement which will be streamlined once the plaza comes up.
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Novel concept: ‘Talking library’ for visually impaired
Chandigarh, July 15 DASCFT, which was formally launched in 2002 and headquartered here, has diversified its expertise in the fields like health care, education, agriculture and banking where it is creating awareness on growing problems faced by local communities. DASCFT has introduced an innovative project for the visually impaired. It adopted the concept of audio books. Around 97 individuals in Chandigarh are using the “talking library”. The books are audio recorded through a mike and made into an audio file. The recording is later edited and mastered for students to listen. These recordings are kept in an archive from where the children can listen to any book available. The foundation is also in the process of getting a Braille embosser and a special scanner to help visually impaired students, said JS Cheema, chairman of the trust. “JAWS (Job Access with Speech) enables the visually impaired to access books. The software reads out what is written on the screen. Through DAISY, students have got access to digitalised books that can be heard through JAWS. Therefore, students can now study without cassettes and CDs and can opt for mobile phones or computers,” said Bani Cheema, executive director, DASCFT. DASCFT has held numerous seminars, workshops and conferences since 2002, bringing farmers together with experts, policy makers, researchers and people from the private sector. The trust is now preparing to hold a special function on the 30th death anniversary of Dr Cheema that falls on July 18.
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Amritsar medical college preparing state cancer atlas
Amritsar, July 15 The college is compiling the figures in a document called 'Atlas of Cancer in Punjab'. Once completed, the ICMR would get to know the accurate prevalence of cancer cases in Punjab. Dr Amarjeet Singh, professor and head of pathology department at the Government Medical College, says that all cancer cases would be registered online under the project. "The atlas will help in monitoring cancer cases in different parts of Punjab over a specific period. We will get to know exact information about the number of patients, types of cancer and casualties and survival rate," says Dr Singh, who has been designated principal investigator under the project. The data can facilitate the government in identifying the cause behind prevalence of the disease in a particular area. Cancer claims a large number of lives worldwide and its incidence has increased in Punjab, especially in the Malwa region, in recent past. The reason behind occurrence of the fatal disease in Punjab has been found to be contamination of underground water and increasing use of insecticides and pesticides. About the project
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Government to appoint 225 coaches
Chandigarh, July 15 An official spokesperson said the government would recruit 225 coaches for 29 disciplines. These included 23 for athletics, 18 for basketball, five for lawn tennis, 18 for volleyball, three for shooting, four for cycling, two for fencing, 17 for football, 25 for hockey, three for kabaddi, 19 for wrestling, 12 for weight lifting, 11 for boxing, 11 for handball, 11 for judo, two for cricket, eight for swimming, six for table tennis, 10 for gymnastic, three for kho-kho and one coach each for archery, softball, golf, skating, power lifting, horse riding, chess and roping.
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Chandigarh, July 15 He said the to promote the national game, Punjab had decided to set up hockey clubs at Jalandhar, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Faridkot, Ghudda (Bathinda) and Mohali. Besides holding inter-club competitions, special camps would be held where players from other countries would be invited. Sukhbir said the government would take the help of former hockey stars and Olympians to restore the glory of the sport. — TNS
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Rain damages vegetables in Patiala Patiala, July 15 "Due to torrential rains that occurred for a couple of days, vegetable crops are the worst hit," said Harpreet Singh, a farmer from Sanaur. “My chilli and bitter gourd crops have been damaged,” he said. Experts said damage was caused to vegetable crops, including chilli, tomato, pumpkin, bitter gourd and ladyfinger. "The worst hit areas include villages from Sanaur, Devigarh, Samana, Nabha and Patiala, which were lashed by heavy rains," they said. "Heavy downpour has adversely affected the flowering of pumpkin, bitter gourd and chilli flowers. There are still some chances if the rains are divided into regular spells and fields get time to drain out water,” said the experts. “The next few days are crucial and if the downpour is not sudden, then some vegetable plants still have a chance to sustain their flowering period”, they added.
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‘Langar’ along Olympics torch route in UK Jalandhar, July 15 To show the importance of community food, the United Sikhs, a Sikh organisation, said free vegetarian food would be served to people along the 30-mile Olympic Torch Relay route. The motive of serving langar was to show the world as to how community food brings people from all walks of life together for the welfare of the mankind. Wearing yellow T-shirts, specially designed with Fauja Singh's image, each of the volunteers from the Sikh community and those invited from multiple faiths and backgrounds would join hands to serve free meals, said Mejinder Pal Kaur, the project director of the Langar-2012 in a statement. Maninder said there would be several langar service points in each of the five boroughs and each of these points would be serving at least 1,000 vegetarian roti rolls within two hours. The “veg roti roll langar” would reach thousands of people who would turn up to cheer the torch reached Newham, where Fauja Singh would carry the torch.
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Lakra is chairman of engineering college board Chandigarh, July 15 An official spokesperson of the government says Lakra has been working as president of the Laghu Udyog Bharti. “Besides this, RS Khandpur, Director of the Pushpa Gujral Science City, Kapurthala, has been elected as Chairman of the Board of Governors of Beant College of Engineering and Technology, the official spokesperson of the Punjab Government.
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NGO to launch plantation drive from July 20 Patiala, July 15 The campaign will get underway on July 20. A representative of the forum, Anil Bharti, says during this time of year, the weather is suitable for tree plantation. “Hence, we have decided that from July 20 to September 20, as many as 2,000 saplings will be planted in Patiala. Apart from this, SMSes will be sent to 20,000 persons, exhorting them to participate in the tree plantation drive”, he said. Underlying the need for afforestation, Bharti said their organisation had also resolved to involve school students in the campaign. “We will visit schools and request the students to plant a sapling on their birthdays and nurture the same for at least 20 months”, he added.
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10 months on, SGPC members yet to take charge Amritsar, July 15 Talking to The Tribune, former SGPC general secretary Bibi Kiranjot Kaur, who is also a member of the new SGPC House, said it was unfortunate that the elections were held and even the new members were notified in the government gazette, but hurdles cropped up when the new House was to be called. She said it was ironical that the SGPC, which was formed after numerous sacrifices during the British regime, was today entangled in legal complications in Independent India. She said it seems that the issue has not been taken on priority while adding that the ruling SAD should pursue it on precedence. “The court has empowered a panel to run day-to-day affairs of the SGPC. But ideally the new SGPC House should have been allowed to function,” she said, adding that whatever be the verdict on Sehajdhari issue, it should be implemented in future and not in retrospective effect. “If the decision is implemented in retrospective effect, then even the SGPC House elected in 2004 will also become null and void,” she added. Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA) Chairman and SGPC member Manjeet Singh blamed the Central Government for the prevailing scenario. “When a notification was issued in 2003, barring Sehajdhari Sikhs from voting in the SGPC elections, it was the Centre’s responsibility to make it a law, but it failed in its duty.” He alleged that first the Centre attempted to sabotage the SGPC elections by putting up Panthic Morcha and when it didn’t succeed in its design, it created a situation, which saw the premiere Sikh body getting embroiled in a legal tangle. Bawa Singh Gumanpura, another SGPC member from Amritsar, said what had happened with them was unprecedented. “It has never happened in the history of the SGPC that the elections were held, results declared and winning candidates issued certificates, but still the new House is yet to come into being.” He dubbed it as “policy of harassment” of the Union government. He said when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had visited Amritsar they had taken up the matter with him, but there was no response from the government, which shows it was a "deliberate move".
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Agrochemicals responsible for uranium in water: PU experts Faridkot, July 15 “Besides making irrational use of chemicals and fertilisers, farmers in Malwa region use maximum of canal water and there is limited use of groundwater. The less use of groundwater is adding to the problem of waterlogging and salinity in the groundwater, thus making the groundwater stale,” observed the research group. More and more salts are adding to the groundwater with irrigation with canal water. “While this water evaporates, salts are left behind and this is the reason that most of soils in Malwa region have high salt contents. The excessive use of fertilisers further contributes to chemicals in the groundwater,” they said. The high groundwater table due to waterlogging and formation of bicarbonates in the region due to percolation of carbonic water through soils rich in calcium carbonate contents, leads to many fold enhancement in its efficiency for leaching uranium from soils, observed the research group led by Dr Devinder Mehta, Department of Physics, Panjab University. “So, there is an urgent need of continuous replacement of the logged water to avoid further chemical poisoning of the groundwater. Usage of groundwater is to be encouraged by making cyclic use of canal and groundwater,” recommend the research team. At present, farmers of the region are pampered with canal water irrigation, which will result in further poisoning of the groundwater. There is no way to get rid of salinity in groundwater except to dilute it or remove it. It requires exhaustive collective effort by people and the government. Advising the state government to provide RO treated and canal based drinking water supply in the whole region on priority basis, the team recommended the regular use of natural critic acid available in the form of citrus fruits, like orange and lemon as it provides a viable solution to detoxify human body.
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The residents of Mohar Jamsher would be leading a life of isolation for the next three months: its only link with the mainland, a pontoon bridge, has been dismantled by the Border Security Force.
Sultanpur Lodhi (Kapurthala), July 15
With no end to the deadlock between the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) over the issue of amendments in the terms and conditions mentioned in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed to set up a 2,640-MW coal-based thermal power project at Gidderbaha, the fate of the much-publicised power project seems uncertain. After signing of the MoU in October 2010, the project, the estimated cost of which was Rs 15,000 crore, is yet to take off.
Addressing a gathering on the second day of his Sangat Darshan programme in the Lambi assembly constituency, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today held the Centre responsible for the rotting foodgrain in the state.
Ranjeet Singh Gandhi, a Patna-based Sikh leader backed by the SAD (Delhi) headed by Paramjeet Singh Sarna, was today elected unopposed as president of Takht Sri Patna Sahib Management Board.The SAD members staged a walkout , terming the meeting called to hold the elections as “invalid.” Ranjeet Singh Jeet was elected senior vice-president, Maharaja Singh junior vice-president, Charanjeet Singh general secretary and Mahinder Singh Chhabra secretary.
They contended that the meeting was called by outgoing senior vice-president Mahinder Singh Chhabra instead of the outgoing president, Mohinder Singh Romana, in violation of Section 19 of the constitution of the board. Hence, it should be cancelled. However, the remaining 10 members went ahead with the poll process. The election result was as expected. Unlike the previous years, the SAD (Delhi) had the upper hand this time.This was evident when senior BJP leader SS Ahluwalia, who had the support of the SAD, lost the election for board membership last month. 
The area under basmati this year is expected to be over 7 lakh hectares in Punjab and over 7.50 lakh hectares in Haryana with the PUSA 1121 variety covering 50 per cent of the area in the two states. Owing to the huge losses incurred by basmati growers last year, it was feared that the area under basmati would shrink. The international prices of basmati had dropped last year to an abysmal $ 700 per tonne and farmers in the region were forced to export their produce at half the price they had got the year earlier (in 2010). From Rs 2,400 per quintal in 2010, the prices had crashed to Rs 1500-Rs 1700 per quintal (for PUSA 1121) in 2011. In case of traditional basmati variety CSR 30, the prices had crashed from Rs 2,750 per quintal in 2010 to Rs 1,400- Rs 1,670 per quintal in 2011. 
Taking an initiative to spread awareness among youth, particularly students, about the significance of enhancing the green cover, an NGO — Pollution Free India Project Intellectual Forum — will undertake a two-month awareness campaign in Patiala.