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Farmer awarded for making best of waste
Police to probe XEN over cash and gold seizure
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Residents block Mansa road
DEOs told to make work paperless
Workshop debates waste management
Five of a family booked for demanding dowry
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Farmer awarded for making best of waste
Tungwali (Bathinda), September 2 Gurcharan Mann was bestowed the national award in Delhi last month by Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar. The award included a commendation certificate and Rs 1 lakh in cash. Mann was also a part of the team of farmers selected by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) last month who visited the beekeeping research institute in Pune. The 42 acres of agricultural land belonging to Gurcharan Mann has more than 10,000 full-grown trees of different varieties, medicinal plants, flowers, fishponds, bee rearing boxes, banana plants, raspberry orchard, birds in cages, bee rearing box manufacturing unit, statues depicting the Punjabi culture, buffaloes, goats and rented rooms under the farm tourism scheme of the Punjab government. It can take more than three hours to go around the farmhouse of Gurcharan Mann and view all the activities going on there. The female members of Gurcharan Mann's family are planning to visit Nainital next month to learn the art of polishing the painted material to improve their art of painting the waste material. The farmer's family sells painted rotten vegetables including pumpkin and cotton plants. The family members have recently started the packaging of honey for distribution as gifts. "We packed honey bottles as gift items and they sold like hot cakes and now we are occupied handling orders for the coming festival season. Instead of exchanging packets of sweets, people are now more interested in organic edible or home-made honey," Mann said. He said that unlike most farmers in the state, he stores the waste and utilizes it in a creative manner to earn or improve the soil fertility. A visit to his farm gives one a view of natural environment where birds, insects, animals and reptiles are seen in plenty. Using a 1988 model tractor for various purposes in his fields, Mann said he is utilizing every bit of the waste material at his farm including the tree leaves, waste iron and plastic material, rotten fruits and vegetables. He said the trees give him an income of Rs 1,000 everyday as its stems are dried up and sold at Rs 6 per kilogram. "Now, we are making statues depicting the heritage of Punjab with the aim of enlightening people who stay at the farm under the farm tourism project of the Punjab Government. Earlier, we failed to get a response despite building air-conditioned rooms with modern toilets and other basic facilities. So, we utilized the rooms for our family," said Mann He said now separate rooms are again being built after receiving a few queries from people evincing interest in staying at his farm. The farmer said he is thriving in agriculture because of his joint family comprising his brother,
sister-in-law, nephew and others. |
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Police to probe XEN over cash and gold seizure
Bathinda, September 2 Bathinda police had arrested Gurjeet Singh and his son Bhupinder Singh from their residence in Jhuttika Mohalla yesterday and recovered the unaccounted money, gold and opium from his house. The preliminary questioning of the father-son duo revealed that the suspended XEN, accused of pocketing more than Rs 20 crores of government money, had kept the gold and cash in their house. The XEN was arrested by Vigilance Bureau last month. Police said the accused had concealed the material in a clandestinely made foxhole covered with a sliding door under a double bed. Police received secret information about the material lying under the bed of the accused in the house. A heavy police force, headed by IG Nirmal Dhillon, SSP Sukhchain Singh Gill and other senior officials, was present along with an executive magistrate at the house of the accused yesterday. Rampura City SHO Gurjeet Singh Romana said he got a tip-off about the incriminating material lying in the house and passed on the information to senior police functionaries. The accused were produced in the court yesterday and then sent to one-day police remand. Inspector General of Police (IGP) Nirmal Dhillon said an in-depth investigation into the case would be conducted by getting the production warrant of the accused. The paper work in this regard is under process and the accused would soon be brought by the Bathinda police for further questioning. It is pertinent to mention here that the suspended XEN misused government funds by using fake signatures and other unfair means. He showed non-existent works as having been completed on paper. Sources in the PWD (B&R) revealed that a SAD leader is supporting the suspended XEN to save him from the clutches of the police and the Vigilance Bureau. Sources in the PWD (B&R) also said that a fake letter (a copy of which is in the possession of the accused) was sent to the office of the XEN Mansa wherein the office was told to withdraw Rs 9,66,687 to buy a car for the secretary under the CRF project. A faxed letter from the office of the SP, Vigilance, Mansa, on August 31 asks the executive engineer of the central works, Mohali, to ascertain whether they actually sent a letter to transfer Rs 9,66,687 to buy a car for the secretary. The Vigilance officials attached the copy of the 'fake' letter. In his reply, the executive engineer of the department in Mohali replied that the letter seems to be a fake as there were no instructions passed by the department to transfer funds to buy a vehicle. The executive engineer also pointed out that there is no CRF project is going on in their division. |
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no laughing matter
Bathinda, September 2 "Piracy is a monster that artists alone cannot fight. Government support is must to root out this menace as has been done in the South Indian film industry. Even before a singer's hard work is out in the market, it goes viral on the internet and is openly available in the market for free." He added that with singers turning into actors, Punjabi cinema has got new dimensions and a young brigade to work. Talking about the rejuvenation of Punjabi film industry, he said it was the Punjabi diaspora from which the industry has derived its sustenance financially. Bhalla felt Canada, Australia, England, America and New Zealand are the countries where the Punjabi film industry has not been let down. Punjabi movies have become such a rage at these places that the cinemas and multiplexes showing Hindi films there now screen Punjabi films. "In fact, even Bollywood considers not releasing a Hindi movie in the north Indian market when some big Punjabi film is to be released to avert a clash," he added. He added that the Punjabi movies have a bright future ahead provided the directors and producers keep churning out clean and entertaining cinema for the family. Talking about the changing role of comedians and the significance these artists have gained over the past decade, Bhalla said comedians have come a long way from being fillers to pillars of Punjabi cinema. "No Punjabi movie is complete with the 'tadka' of comedy provided the comedy can be viewed with the family," he said. Bhalla is known to add his own flavour to dialogues given to him in the movies. In the recent hit film, 'Carry on Jatta', where Bhalla plays the role of advocate Dhillon, the one-liners and phrases are his own. "I add my own flavour to every dialogue, because this is what people demand. In fact, 'Carry on Jatta' is being considered as our famous album 'Chhankatta' on the big screen," said the veteran comedian of the Punjabi film industry.
Fact file
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Residents block Mansa road
Bathinda, September 2 Residents of the area noticed some unidentified persons carrying dead chicken and fish in a jeep near the rivulet adjoining Harbans Nagar. Manvinder Sekhon, Manveer and Jagdeep Singh, all local residents, said the stench from the carcass was troubling people who have been living in the area for many years. An announcement was made in the gurudwara and people came out on the roads to protest against the setting up of the solid waste management plant near their houses. The men in jeep carrying the meat were taken to a nearby police station to avoid any untoward incident. Policemen and officials of the district administration reached the spot and pacified the agitators following which the blockade was removed. The agitators were told to reach the office of the Deputy Commissioner at 8 am tomorrow to redress their grievances. Meanwhile, the residents of the area have started digging trenches along the canal to stop any vehicle from passing that way. |
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DEOs told to make work paperless
Bathinda, September 2 In a communiqué sent to the Director, State Council for Education Research and Training (SCERT), all the DEOs and school principals, the DGSE has strictly mentioned that most of the schools send information through e-mails, but in many districts, the schools are asked to send the same detail through hard copies. The DGSE has decided to take action against official who seek hard copies in addition to e-mails. All officials have been directed to strictly comply with the orders. "Seeking hard copies is useless when we have soft copies of the whole record. Hard copies are to be sought only from those institutes that are yet to get internet connections," the instructions mention. Most of the main offices, district offices, block offices, government high schools, senior secondary schools and middle schools have got internet connections. The DEOs have been instructed to ensure that schools get enough time to respond to queries sent to them, which would help them in giving information comfortably and the unnecessary rush and confusion could be avoided. Meanwhile, teachers at the government schools are happy with the directions. "Earlier, we had to e-mail the proforma and for hard copies, one employee had to be specially deputed for delivering the papers at the DEO office," said a teacher. One of them added that not all employees at the DEO offices are computer literate. "Even the simple work of logging in and downloading files is a Herculean task for them. It is these people that seek hard copies of the data required," added another teacher. The teachers further stated that all instructions and proformas are passed on in PDF format, which cannot be edited after downloading. "Most of the time, we have to re-create the entire proforma, tables and other data tabulating worksheets, which takes a lot of time. We have been repeatedly requesting people at the DEO office to provide us with simpler and editable versions but to no avail," the teachers added. Even the Computer Teachers' Union had raised the point during a meeting with the district education office. |
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Hoteliers fume at govt move to levy taxes on them
Bathinda, September 2 Chief Parliamentary Secretary (CPS) and MLA from Bathinda (Urban) constituency Sarup Chand Singla was also present at the meeting. He tried to pacify the members by saying the matter would be taken up at the cabinet meeting in the presence of the chief minister. Terming himself a part of the association, Singla said he too owns a marriage palace and knew the problems of the trade. Later, talking to media,
Singla said those paying hefty amounts for solemnizing marriages should pay a few thousand as taxes. “Without imposing taxes, the government will not be able to fill the empty coffers for various development works in the state,” he said. The members speaking at the meeting said marriage is the biggest custom in the life of a person but the government has imposed heavy taxes on marriage palaces. “We force our customers to pay VAT and other taxes despite their inability to pay,” said the owner of a marriage palace from Mansa, Manish Kumar. President of the association Satish Arora said the Punjab government is imposing taxes and harassing the hotel industry on the pretext of getting court orders. “If given some time, we will surely fulfill all the requirements including adequate parking space and abiding by the pollution norms as well,” Arora said. He said the industry is already reeling under heavy taxes imposed by the state government and now fresh taxes have broken the back
of the hoteliers, restaurant and marriage palace owners. He said the commercial land use (CLU) charge in Bathinda is around Rs 12. 5 lakh per acre and the external development charges (EDC) is nearly Rs 16 lakh per acre for the marriage palaces. The dismay among the hoteliers in the city comes at a time when other sections of society have also expressed their displeasure over the decision of the government to levy additional taxes. |
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Workshop debates waste management
Bathinda, September 2 The event was organized under the Wealth from Waste mission by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI) in association with the Earth Engineering Centre, Columbia University, New York. Dr Manjeet Bansal presented his technical paper on “Removal of heavy metal from aqueous solution using agricultural waste”. He said the workshop was organized to debate on existing waste management system in India and abroad in general with a focus on waste to energy opportunities available in India. The workshop was attended by 238 delegates who are working in the field of research and development in the waste management sector. Scientists, researchers, service providers and entrepreneurs from different countries like the United States, China, Thailand, Mauritius, Germany, Hong Kong and India were present at the workshop. The workshop itself was divided into different sessions including the inauguration, invited lectures and technical sessions. Dr Bansal delivered his lecture at the technical
session which was appreciated by the delegates. |
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Five of a family booked for demanding dowry
Bathinda, September 2 Police have registered a case under sections 498-A and 406 of the IPC at the woman police station against Gurvinder Singh, Jaswinder Singh, Karamjit Kaur, Baljinder Singh and Manveer Kaur, all residents of Daulatpura in Bathinda. No arrests have been made. Man booked for illegally uploading songs
Police have booked a resident of Goniana for uploading songs in a mobile phone without getting the licence from the music company concerned. The case has been registered on the complaint of the area manager of United Digital Media Entertainment, Ludhiana, Gurmeet Singh. A case under sections 52-A, 63, 65 of the Copyright Act has been registered against the accused at the Nehianwala police station. No arrests have been made so far. Rampura resident arrested with revolver
Police have arrested a resident of Rampura for possessing a countrymade pistol of .315 bore and three live cartridges from near Mehraj village. The accused, Manpreet Singh, was brought to the police station for questioning where he failed to give satisfactory replies in connection with the pistol and cartridges. Police then registered a case under sections 25, 54, 59 of the Arms Act against him at the Rampura city police station. One arrested with illegal liquor in Rampura
Police have arrested a Rampura resident with 10 litres of illegal liquor.
The accused, Gagandeep Singh, was carrying the liquor in a plastic can. The accused was arrested from Mandi Rampura. A case under sections 61, 1, 14 of the Excise Act has been registered against him at the Rampura city police station. One arrested with 25 gram smack in Talwandi Sabo
Police have arrested a resident of Talwandi Sabo for possessing 25 gram smack. The accused, Surinder Singh, was arrested from near Talwandi Sabo and was brought to the police station where a case under sections 21, 61, 85 of the NDPS Act was registered against him. Woman beaten up over land dispute
Police have booked two residents of Kanakwal village for beating up a woman. In her complaint to the police, Charanjit Kaur alleged that Maheep Singh and Hardevinder Singh attacked her with an iron rod and beat her up. She accused the duo of tarnishing her image in the area over a land dispute. She also accused the assailants of damaging two cars parked in the area. Police have registered a case under sections 452, 354, 323, 506, 427 and 34 of the IPC at the Rama police station. Two killed in mishaps
Three people lost their lives in separate incidents in the last 24 hours. Volunteers of the NGO Sahara Jan Sewa said they helped in shifting three people who were reported dead by the doctors at the Civil Hospital. President of the NGO Vijay Goyal said a woman, who appeared to be the patient of a chronic disease, was sitting on a rickshaw and fell down. She was rushed to the hospital in a critical condition where she died. Though so far no relative of the woman approached the NGO, the slips recovered from her possession reveals that her name is Shanti Devi. In another incident, an unidentified man died near platform number one of the railway station. |
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