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Dry spell leaves farmers dejected
Moga, August 2
With a deficit of 93 per cent rainfall during the months of June and July in Moga district, the farmers have started simmering over the delay on the part of the Centre in declaring it a drought-hit area.

Basmati transplantation has come to a halt in Moga. Basmati transplantation has come to a halt in Moga.

Hiding RTI info: MC officials face action
Fazilka, August 2
Deputy Director, Local Government, Ferozepur, has recommended disciplinary action against the executive officer, junior engineer and works clerk, Municipal Council, Fazilka, on the allegation of furnishing incomplete and misleading information to a Right to Information (RTI) activist, Amar Nath Chetiwal, of Fazilka.

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	Dry spell leaves farmers dejected Moga farmers wants area declared drought-hit Kulwinder Sandhu Tribune News Service Moga, August 2 With a deficit of 93 per cent rainfall during the months of June and July in Moga district, the farmers have started simmering over the delay on the part of the Centre in declaring it a drought-hit area. The farmers have themselves gone a step ahead and declared drought in these areas. They have demanded Rs 25,000 per acre as compensation for the losses they have suffered due to the looming power crisis and deficit rainfall. As per the details available, less than an average of 10 mm of rainfall has been reported in Moga district so far in the last couple of months. Usually, it used to be between 250 to 300 mm of rainfall during the monsoon period. "We, who are working day and night in the fields to save our crops from the scarcity of water know that it is drought, one of worst crisis that the area has faced in recent decades," said Ranjit Singh a farmer in Nihalsinghwala. "We are not getting even six hours of continuous power supply to irrigate our fields. Most of us are using generator sets, run on diesel, to pump out water and spraying more fertilizers to save our crops at extra costs," said Jaswinder Singh Aulakh, another farmer of Takhtuwala village in Dharamkot sub-division. The basmati transplantation, which was underway in some pockets of Moga has been halted due to lack of irrigation facilities. "An estimated 5000 hectares of land has been left desolate and basmati could not be transplanted due to non-availability of water," said Dr Jaswinder Singh Brar, Agriculture Development Officer. The agriculture department fixed a target of 1.70 lakh hectares for the cultivation of paddy including the basmati varieties but the dry spell has severely affected this target. "Even in areas where paddy has been transplanted, inadequate power supply and continuous dry spell has affected the paddy plants," he said. "The situation is worse in Moga-I and II blocks, besides the Nihasinghwala sub-division where the quality of underground water is very poor," he said. Meanwhile, Sukhdev Singh Kokri, general secretary of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU), has demanded that the union government declare the whole of Punjab as a drought-hit state. The farmers' organization has also demanded Rs 1000 crore to Punjab as drought relief to overcome the crisis. "Most parts of the state have not received even 25 per cent of the average rains this season period coupled with a looming power crisis, which clearly indicates drought,” he said. Kokri has given a call for holding dharnas at the offices of district magistrates across the state on August 7, if Centre does not declare Punjab a drought-hit area.
	Hiding RTI info: MC officials face action Our Correspondent Fazilka, August 2 Deputy Director, Local Government, Ferozepur, has recommended disciplinary action against the executive officer, junior engineer and works clerk, Municipal Council, Fazilka, on the allegation of furnishing incomplete and misleading information to a Right to Information (RTI) activist, Amar Nath Chetiwal, of Fazilka. As per the details, Chetiwal had sought 22 information regarding issuing of tenders between February 15, 2011 to May 30, 2011, from the local Municipal Council authorities. He had apprehended that while allotting the tenders, the norms were flouted. The Council authorities provided the requisite information to Chetiwal. But he was dissatisfied and disagreed with the information. Chetiwal, in a letter addressed to Deputy Director, Local Government, on June 8, 2011, demanded an inquiry into the matter from the appellant authority, the Deputy Director. The Deputy Director got an inquiry conducted and the allegations were reportedly found to be correct. Disciplinary action was recommended against the executive officer Sukhdev Singh, junior engineer Karnail Singh and works clerk Satish Kumar. Surprisingly, the applicant, Chetiwal was not aware of the development and no action was taken. Chetiwal then wrote to the State Information Commission. "On the intervention of the commission, the Deputy Director informed me regarding the action being taken,” he said. Executive Officer, Municipal Council, Sukhdev Singh, however, said he is not aware of any development in this regard.
	Apex court pulls up F’pur dist officials Ferozepur, August 2 The Supreme Court has pulled up the district officials including the DC and the SDM for non-compliance of its orders dated May 2, 2011 in which the court had issued directions to pay the balance amount of compensation to the owners whose land had been acquired by the state government for establishing an engineering college in 1993-94. The court directed these officials to explain their failure to award the compensation within the stipulated period. The state government had acquired agricultural land in an area falling under three villages, namely, Satiawala, Bazidpur and Butewala in Ferozepur for which the Land Acquisition Collector, on June 19, 1995, had fixed compensation of Rs 1.2 lakhs for the land within one acre of GT Road and Rs 1 lakh per acre at the rear. Dissatisfied, the land owners filed a petition in the local court following which the court on September 21, 1998 enhanced the compensation to Rs 3.5 lakhs per acre. The land owners again moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court, where on May 20, 2009 the compensation was hiked to Rs 5.91 lakhs per acre but one-third cut on the market value of the land was imposed as development charges. Thereafter, a Special Leave Petition was filed in the SC where the cut imposed by the HC was set aside and the land owners were allowed compensation to the tune of Rs 5.91 lakhs per acre. — OC
	Top Army commander visits military station Tribune News Service Bathinda, August 2 The GOC-in-C, South Western Command, Lieutenant General Gyan Bhushan was on visit to the Bathinda Military Station. He was also present during the visit of the Chief of Army Staff. Lt Gen Sanjeev Anand, Corps Commander, Chetak Corps, briefed him about the operational preparedness of the corps zone. Regional president of the Army Wives' Welfare Association (AWWA), Anju Bhushan also visited the Bathinda Military Station. During her two-day visit, she attended the Chetak Empowerment Centre and Asha School for special children. She was briefed about the welfare measures been instituted to empower ladies with vocational skills so as to make them self-reliant and progressive. Regional president, AWWA, Chetak Corps, Annie Anand accompanied her.
	Body found on rly track Tribune News Service Malout, August 2 GRP officials today found the unidentified body of a young boy lying under mysterious circumstances on a railway track near the cremation ground here. The police said the deceased, who appeared to be in his mid-twenties, was wearing blue jeans and brown shirt. The body bore injury marks on the head and neck, which led to suspicion over the cause of death. Senior GRP officials, including DSP Surjit Singh, reached the spot and started investigations in this connection. It may be mentioned that yesterday also, a lovelorn couple from a nearby village, Goniana, in Muktsar district, had allegedly committed suicide by jumping before a running train here. The bodies of the teenaged boy and girl were found lying on the railway track near Karampura Basti here. The deceased boy was identified as Satnam Singh, who worked as a labourer and the girl, Simran, was studying at a government school. The police said that the families of the deceased had not accepted their relations.