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50
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‘Technology must to improve yield’
Trade Fair: Punjab bags special award
‘Mistakes’ in question paper
Bungalow controversy: Sukhbir dismisses Bhattal’s security plea
Health care: Education Dept ties up with NGOs, private hospitals
Child abuse cases involving girls up by 19% in state
Dera row: Security up in Bathinda, Mansa
Shruti says she was under constant police pressure
PPCB rebuts Centre's charge on smog
Arms Licence to Namdhari
Vigilance probe into illegal sale of subsidised ration
Using loudspeakers banned during
Jor Mela
Rights panel notice to Civil Surgeon
Outdated equipment, staff crunch mar fire station working
Six of family booked for immigration fraud
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50
years of PAU
Lal, a professor at Soil Science, Carbon Management and Sequestration Centre in Ohio, said such a mechanism would not only benefit the soil’s health but would also prove to be an economically viable option for farmers in the long run. Speaking at the ‘International Conference on Agricultural Sustainability Food and Livelihood Security’ at Punjab Agricultural University, he said, “Instead of giving subsidies for agriculture, various governments and international bodies like the United Nations should encourage green practices in farming.” The conference was inaugurated by President Pranab Mukherjee. Lal said extractive farming practices, including removing crop residue for using it as fodder or household fuel, were the prime cause behind soil degradation. “Soil degradation is also caused by overuse of resources and ignorance and misunderstandings about the functioning of the ecosystem,” he said. He also raised concern over the excessive use of fertilisers and pesticides, which were the main reason behind the spread of chronic diseases. “Moreover, fertilisers also damage the soil’s health,” he said. Several other farm experts and scientists echoed similar views on subsidy for eco-farming. On the sidelines of the PAU conference Hiccups Inconvenience In lighter vein Disruption National Anthem School visit While interacting with students, the President asked each one of them as to what they want to be in their life? When a student said he wanted to be a dental surgeon, the President said: “Would you give me dental treatment when I get old?"
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‘Technology must to improve yield’
Ludhiana, November 27 “Precision agriculture is the keyword these days. Information about the variety of soil, its suitability for a crop, precise distances at which these can be planted etc is now available through a mobile phone or GPS system. There are methods that allow planting in such a manner that all the plants grow uniformly. “Combining these technologies of genetics and communication can go a long way in increasing agricultural yield. Production can be increased by expediting the photosynthesis process. Of the total sunlight energy that a plant receives, only 1 to 2 per cent of it is utilised by plants falling in C3 category. Around 90 per cent of plants fall in this category. The remaining 10 per
cent plants like maize and sugarcane fall in the C4 category that utilise more sunlight. “The process of photosynthesis started 350 million years ago when the atmospheric conditions were different. But the efficiency of the process has not changed over the years. The technology for increasing this efficiency is now available. “Even if the sunlight utilisation by plants can be increased 3-4 per cent by using better technology, production can be increased by about 50 per cent. “By the use of precision agriculture, plants can be grown in a way that none of the leaves shade the other and receive better sunlight. “The governments need to invest in such technologies at the grass-roots level to make agriculture more sustainable. Punjab, where the farmer is relatively more aware, can lead the way by adopting such technologies,” he added.
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Trade Fair: Punjab bags special award
New Delhi, November 27 Punjab and Rajasthan jointly received a special Commendation Award in the 'State Category'. The Punjab pavilion had bagged the third award in this category last year. "The Punjab pavilion saw participation by technical universities, state corporations and Pushpa Gujaral Science City, Kapurthala. The traditional jutties, phulkari, shawls and hosiery products displayed at the pavilion witnessed heavy sales,” said a spokesperson. The fair would be back in 2013 with a revised infrastructure to woo more visitors, Rita Menon, Chairperson and Managing Director, India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), said. “The fair registered over 8,000 business visitors during the first five business days, which indicates a 22 per cent hike since last year. Overall, the fair received 290 foreign visitors and foreign trade delegations from 44 countries," Menon said. Complimenting the awardees, Dr D Purandeswari, Union Minister for Commerce and Industry said: “The fair has been a highly productive forum for the promotion of goods made by rural industries, artisans and other micro enterprises wanting to enter both a pan-Indian market and to export their products abroad. Apart from generating meaningful business in different pavilions, the theme ‘Skilling India’ also received fair attention from various stakeholders.”
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Bungalow controversy: Sukhbir dismisses Bhattal’s security plea
Chandigarh, November 27 Bhattal was recently issued notices by the government asking her to vacate the bungalow. Bhattal, who has been occupying the bungalow for nearly 20 years now, had launched an attack on Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal accusing the latter of being responsible for registering false cases against her. Sukhbir, when questioned on the issue at a press conference here, said there was no policy to allot houses on the basis of a threat perception. He said the matter was being needlessly politicised.The Deputy CM said the current CLP Leader, Sunil Jakhar, had been allocated the bungalow but could not take possession as Bhattal refused to vacate it. On Bhattal’s claim that she could even reside in a tent but for the security threat faced by her, the Deputy CM retorted: " Good quality tents are easily available. They are even used to promote tourism”. Sukhbir denied any differences with the state BJP, claiming the parties enjoyed close ties. "On the other hand, the Punjab Congress has become totally demoralised and has even forfeited its duty to provide constructive Opposition in the state," he remarked.
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Health care: Education Dept ties up with NGOs, private hospitals
Chandigarh, November 27 The department has also tied up with NGOs Sight Savers to correct poor vision and Smile Train for cleft lip surgery, Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, Amandeep Hospital, Amritsar, and Oberoi Hospital, Jalandhar, for treating polio, cerebral palsy and congenital cases. "Efforts to get surgeries done at private hospitals have yielded encouraging results. The department is considering involving more hospitals to provide medical care to schoolchildren near their homes," said an official. He said many parents did not get their wards treated because of the cost factor.They did not have the means to travel long distances for getting their children treated. "At least 16 schoolchildren have died of cancer and at least 54 due because of a hole in their heart this year." Many parents were reluctant to have their wards operated upon and at least 27 had refused a cleft lip surgery on their children.
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Child abuse cases involving girls up by 19% in state
Chandigarh, November 27 There has been an 8 per cent decline in cases involving boys. But the number of cases involving girls have gone up by 19 per cent from 85 cases to 101 cases in a year. Out of the 101 girl victims, 9.4 per cent (10 children) were aged below 5. There were cases of two male children aged below 5 having been subjected to unnatural sex. At least 5 per cent of the children (seven out of 135) found dead or murdered were suspected to have been sexually assaulted. Of the total child abuse cases, 1.4 per cent were aged less than five, 5.9 per cent were in the age bracket of 5-10 and the remaining 9.3 per cent 0-14 years of age. No case of child abuse was reported from Barnala district. Ludhiana district reported 27 cases of child abuse in a year. Gurdaspur and Jalandhar districts reporting five cases each involving the male child. SAS Nagar with a population of a mere 3.55 per cent of the state population reported 7 per cent child abuse cases. The adjoining Ropar district with a population of 2.46 per cent of the state population reported 4.46 per cent such cases.
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Dera row: Security up in Bathinda, Mansa
Bathinda, November 27 Sources said the police officials who were on leave were called on duty in view of gurpurab celebrations coinciding with Dera Sacha Sauda’s congregation at its headquarters in Sirsa tomorrow. Armed policemen have been deployed in strength along the road and rail routes to Sirsa as a large-scale movement of dera supporters is expected. Earlier, Bathinda and Mansa had witnessed violent incidents between the dera supporters and certain religious groups in 2007.
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Shruti says she was under constant police pressure
Faridkot, November 27 "After his arrest, Nishan Singh was given a VIP treatment while in police custody.The police kept cooking up stories to defame me and my family so that there was no public support for us," read Shruti’s statement. Shruti's father Ashwani Kumar said the police, at a press conference, had tried to cast aspersions on his minor daughter. By doing so, it had flagrantly violated Section 228-A of the Indian Penal Code that laid down that the disclosure of the identity of a rape victim was an offence punishable by up to two years of imprisonment. “This also gave a peek into the mind of the police and how it viewed the raped and the rapist," said Shruti's counsel. “A dossier of 20 criminal cases against accused Nishan Singh in the last four years proves that if the offender is rich,he can get away with anything," said Joginder Dayal, CPI state secretary.
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PPCB rebuts Centre's charge on smog
Bathinda, November 27 Dr Babu Lal said that on the given dates, the suspended particles were measured at 136 RSPM (respirable suspended particulate matter) over Patiala and at 300 RSPM over Delhi. Talking to mediapersons later, he said Punjab was being wrongly accused of causing the smog in Delhi. " Delhi has a higher concentration of vehicles and industries. How can they blame Punjab or Haryana for the smog, " he asked. He said despite a round-the-clock monitoring by the pollution board, no river in Punjab had Grade-A water, which was the best for human consumption. "The Satluj has Grade-D water.The Beas water borders on Grade-A and the water in the Sutlej at Harike is Grade-B," he said. Dr Babu Lal said the two distilleries near Bathinda had installed treatment plants. "These are zero liquid discharge distilleries. We don't think they are causing any pollution," he said. Dr Jai Rup Singh, Vice Chancellor of the Central University, drew Dr Babu Lal's attention to the air and water pollution in Malwa. He also asked the board to check noise pollution. He said that students of the Department of Environmental Sciences and Technology would conduct projects along with the PPCB to find ways to check pollution.
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Arms Licence to Namdhari
Mohali, November 27 The Mohali police has not been able to get the related files from the Deputy Commissioner's offices in Ropar and Mohali. The Delhi police believes that Namdhari had used a mauser in the shootout for which he had obtained a licence on a Kurali address in 1995. Mohali police personnel had visited the Ropar Deputy Commissioner's office to procure the relevant file (No.276/Kurali/DM/Ropar) but in vain, reliable sources said. They said that the file relating to the renewal of the arms licence on March 30, 2010, by the then Mohali Additional Deputy Commissioner also could not be found. It seems that Namdhari had given an incomplete address with no mention of the house number. It simply stated: "Sukhdev Singh Namdhari s/o Roor Singh r/o Master Colony, Kurali-Chandigarh Road, Kurali." “We will be able to get the particulars, including the address of persons who verified the details, only after we get the relevant file from the Ropar DC’s office,” said the Superintendent of Police (Headquarters), Darshan Singh Mann. Significantly, during a re-verification drive of all licence-holders before the Punjab Vidhan Sabha elections in January this year, the police had reported that no person with the name of Sukhdev Singh Namdhari was residing there. Namdhari owned three weapons, a 12 bore pistol, a 315 bore rifle and a 7.62 mauser.
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Vigilance probe into illegal sale of subsidised ration
Patiala, November 27 Sources said the bureau would soon lodge an FIR against certain millers and officials of the Food and Civil Supplies Department. The probe comes after the bureau received numerous complaints on the alleged official-miller nexus. “The scam could involve illegal transaction worth crores,” said a VB officer. The sources said the scam came to the fore when Vigilance officials came across a case where government ration was being shifted to private millers in Nabha. “Once we started investigating the matter, it came to light that such practice was being adopted by ration depot holders in other districts as well,” they stated. Vigilance officials said questioning of some accused in the Nabha case confirmed that subsidised wheat, rice, kerosene oil, pulses and other items were sold in the open market in connivance with government officials. “Private millers and officers involved in this scam have been making lakhs of rupees while the poor people have to suffer due to artificially created short supply. This not only promotes hoarding by depot holders but also deprive the poor of their right,” they said, adding similar cases were earlier reported in various parts of the state. A senior officer said preliminary investigations suggested private traders conspired with government officials and sold subsidised wheat in the open market. “This way, they are pocketing a profit of Rs 1,200 per bag of wheat. In a majority of the districts, Food and Civil Supply officials are doing nothing to stop this practice,” he said. Pritam Singh, SSP, Patiala Vigilance Bureau, said they would soon register an FIR as preliminary investigations indicated scam worth lakhs in every district.
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Using loudspeakers banned during
Jor Mela
Fatehgarh Sahib, November 27 Deputy Commissioner (DC) Yashvir Mahajan is holding meetings with heads of various departments in the district to take stock of the duties assigned during the
mela. Forty five to 50 lakh devotees from across the country and abroad pay obeisance at the historic Fatehgarh Sahib Gurdwara and Jyoti Swarup Gurdwara on this occasion. Addressing officers during a meeting at Bachat Bhawan today, the DC said proper security and parking arrangements would be made in the town so that devotees do not face problem. He said community kitchens would not be allowed except in the Fatehgarh Sahib Gurdwara and Jyoti Sarup Sahib
Gurdwara. No liquor vends, sale of tobacco or gambling stalls will be allowed during the occasion, he added. No stalls or shops will be allowed to be set up on road from Jyoti Sarup chowk to Roza Sharif for the smooth flow of traffic, the DC
said. Fatehgarh Sahib SDM Arvinderpal Singh Sandhu, Bassi SDM Pathana Sukhdev Singh, Khamano SDM Prem Chand and Amloh SDM Sanjeev Kumar, Fatehgarh Sahib Gurdwara manager Jaspal Singh, DSP Surinderjit
Kaur, District Revenue Officer Jatinder Singh and Civil Surgeon Jaspal Singh were among those present in the meeting. — TNS
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Rights panel notice to Civil Surgeon
Patiala, November 27 The PSHRC had passed the orders following a complaint filed by Rajya Sabha MP Avinash Rai Khanna who had highlighted a report published in The Tribune wherein it was stated that patients were being fleeced and the Mata Kaushalya Hospital, Patiala, was running without a chemist shop. The Commission has said if the surgeon concerned failed to appear before its panel, it would be compelled to take stringent action against him. Following these orders, neither the report was submitted nor any request for extension of its submission was sought. The Commission had even granted more time to ensure that the report was submitted before September 25.
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Outdated equipment, staff crunch mar fire station working
Sangrur, November 27 The municipal fire brigade has been facing staff shortage for the past few years. It has just one station fire officer, two sub-fire officers, two leading firemen, two firemen, five drivers and three daily wage drivers. The staff crunch takes toll particularly during Divali and wheat
harvesting season when most of the fire incidents are reported. Sources in the Sangrur municipal authorities said they needed at least four latest technology fire tenders and a requisite number of staff. They said there was a need for four leading firemen, 14 firemen and four drivers for each fire tender. The local municipal authorities had earlier written to the Director, Local Bodies, Punjab, requesting for more staff, sources added. The director, however, had asked the civic body to pass a resolution in this regard. The council passed a resolution and sent the same to the director but a response is still awaited. A written request was earlier sent to the District Disaster Management Coordinator for providing two new fire tenders, a turntable ladder, a Bolero jeep, an ambulance and four breathing apparatuses, a municipal official informed. The fire brigade authorities are still awaiting a response from the coordinator in this regard.
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Six of family booked for immigration fraud
Muktsar, November 27 The victims, Kuldeep Singh, his wife Manpreet Kaur, brother Harpreet Singh and neighbour Pritpal Singh, belonged to Gulabewala village near here. They alleged Major Singh along with his family members took Rs 20 lakh from them by promising to send them to New Zealand where his daughter was living. “We were instead sent to Cyprus where we were given jobs in an animal yard. We had to return after the visa expired in three months,” they said. A case has been registered against Major Singh, his wife Jasveer Kaur, two daughters Amandeep Kaur (who lives in New Zealand), Kirna, son Darshan Singh and Gori. No arrest has been made so far.
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An expert at a university in the US, Dr Rattan Lal, has suggested that only those farmers should be given subsidies who practise farming in an eco-friendly manner.
Lal, a professor at Soil Science, Carbon Management and Sequestration Centre in Ohio, said such a mechanism would not only benefit the soil’s health but would also prove to be an economically viable option for farmers in the long run.
A week after her custody was awarded to her parents, Shruti Sachdeva today appeared before a large gathering at a public park here. Thanking the people for their support, she alleged that the police had constantly pressurised her not to go with her parents.
Ludhiana, November 27
Technological developments need to be implemented as a step towards sustainability, he said, adding the discovery of genetic code technology can help increase production by bringing strengths of different crop varieties together. 
Earlier, the process of preliminary check-ups was carried out at the PGI, which was long and tedious. This inevitably led to a delay in surgeries and even medication, largely because of the rush at the PGI. Saving time on preliminary verification with health check-ups at the medical colleges, the Education Department has tied up with Dayanand Medical College and Christian Medical College, both in Ludhiana, and Fortis, Ivy and Silver Oak, Mohali, for surgeries.