J A L A N D H A R    E D I T I O N

Rain brings cheer to farmers, but fear of more looms large
Amritsar, August 6
With various parts of the region receiving moderate to heavy rainfall, the farming community is all smiles. But, they are apprehensive too that more rain could spell doom for those having their crop in low-lying areas.

A farmer drains out water from his paddy field at Verka village in Amritsar on Tuesday. Photo: Vishal Kumar

No illegal mining in Sujanpur, Pathankot: Stone crusher’s body
Pathankot, August 6
The Pathankot Stone Crushers Association, apparently reacting to dharnas and other forms of protests being regularly staged by the state Congress against illegal excavations in the mining rich areas of Pathankot and Sujanpur, said there was no illegal mining being done in the area and the crusher industry was doing business solely on material being brought from the neighbouring state of J&K after paying proper royalty.

Man duped of Rs 90,000
Hoshiarpur, August 6
A fake travel agent has duped a gullible person of Rs 90,000 in the name of sending him to Iraq. According to police, Gurdeep Chand, a resident of Begampur (Jandiala), alleged that Rajinder Saini, a resident of Una (Himachal Pradesh), took Rs 90,000 for sending him to Iraq.

Chain hunger strike by employees enters Day 2
Tarn Taran, August 6
Teachers and other employees under the banner of the Punjab State Government Aided School Teachers and Other Employees Union organised chain hunger strike and held a rally in front of the Deputy Commissioner's office on the second of their four-day agitation here today.

Rain brings cheer to farmers, but fear of more looms large
Perneet Singh
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, August 6
With various parts of the region receiving moderate to heavy rainfall, the farming community is all smiles. But, they are apprehensive too that more rain could spell doom for those having their crop in low-lying areas.

Amritsar received a downpour right since the morning, recording a rainfall of 115 mm during the day. Chief Agriculture Officer Dilbagh Singh Dhanju said though the rain was beneficial for paddy as of now, it could cause damage, particularly in low-lying areas, in the coming days if it continued to pour at the current pace. “If rainwater remains stranded in paddy fields for three-four days, it can damage the crop,” he said.

However, the rainfall has already taken a toll on maize and pulses. He said maize had been adversely hit due to rains while seed formation was not taking place in pulses.

The farmers in Amritsar have, under the state government’s crop diversification plan, sown maize in around 700 hectares of land. He denied any crop loss in villages adjoining the Ravi in Ajnala.

But Dalbir Singh, a farmer from Ballarwal village, said water from the Ravi had damaged their paddy and maize crop. He said farmers in Kotli and Talwandi villages had also suffered losses as these were situated in low-lying areas.

Farmer leader Satnam Singh Ajnala said the Ravi had been in spate for the last couple of days, though the water flow had subsided to some extent now. He, however, said the state government’s failure to tame the Kiran Nullah was causing damage to the crop in some pockets even though Rs 118.05 crore had been sanctioned for the purpose in 2008.

“Ranjit Sagar Dam is also full to the brim, which can wreak havoc in Gurdaspur and Amritsar districts if water is released from the dam,” he feared. In neighbouring Tarn Taran district, the farmers claimed they had suffered losses due to the increased water level in the Sutlej and the Beas, though the administration denied the same.

Former Gharka village sarpanch Gurwail Singh claimed around crops on 125 acres had been damaged in their village due to increased water flow in the Beas.

Kisan Sangharsh Committee’s Punjab convener Kanwalpreet Singh Pannu claimed crop on 100 acres of land in Charagwala and Bagowal villages, 110 acres in Karmuwal village, 1,500 acres in Chamba village, 1,200 acres in Kamboh Dhaewala and 150 acres in Gatti Harike had been damaged. Tarn Taran chief agriculture officer Dr Sukhdev Singh Sandhu dubbed the rainfall beneficial as it was ridding the paddy crop of leafroll blight.

Gurdaspur Chief Agriculture Officer Dr RK Sabharwal said the district had received almost three times the rainfall as compared to the previous year. He said though the rainfall was good for paddy, it was posing a threat to maize and vegetables. Maize is a delicate crop and the area under it has increased by 2,200 hectares in the district as against last year. He denied any major crop loss due to the increased water level in the Ravi.

(With inputs from Gurbaxpuri in Tarn Taran)

No illegal mining in Sujanpur, Pathankot: Stone crusher’s body
Asks Union Government to give environmental clearances
Tribune News Service

Pathankot, August 6
The Pathankot Stone Crushers Association, apparently reacting to dharnas and other forms of protests being regularly staged by the state Congress against illegal excavations in the mining rich areas of Pathankot and Sujanpur, said there was no illegal mining being done in the area and the crusher industry was doing business solely on material being brought from the neighbouring state of J&K after paying proper royalty.

Members of the Pathankot Stone Crushers Association, who held a press conference here today, claimed that the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) chief and Gurdaspur Member of Parliament, Partap Bajwa, and his colleagues were regularly coming out with ‘false and frivolous’ statements about illegal mining being conducted in the area. “We are getting raw material from J&K after we pay proper mining royalty and in return, we get proper receipts for that. On several occasions, the Pathankot Deputy Commissioner, SSP, officials of the District Industries Department and the Vigilance Department have made independent inspections to see if any illegal mining was being done in the area. Till date, not even a single case of illegal mining has surfaced in either Pathankot or Sujanpur,” a spokesman of the association claimed.

The members claimed that the crusher industry was dying a slow death following a ban on the mining activity in the state. “We are buying raw material from J&K at exorbitant costs, but are selling the crushed material at rates decided by the authorities concerned way back in 1995. “Instead of blaming us, the PPCC should urge the Union Environmental Ministry to give quick environmental clearances so that quarries can be auctioned. More such quarries are auctioned, the better it will be for the people engaged in the construction industry,” claimed members of the association.

Man duped of Rs 90,000
Our Correspondent

Hoshiarpur, August 6
A fake travel agent has duped a gullible person of Rs 90,000 in the name of sending him to Iraq. According to police, Gurdeep Chand, a resident of Begampur (Jandiala), alleged that Rajinder Saini, a resident of Una (Himachal Pradesh), took Rs 90,000 for sending him to Iraq.

But that never happened. When Gurdeep Chand demanded his money back, Rajinder Saini gave two cheques for Rs 45,000 each to him. When he presented these cheques in the bank concerned, they were not honoured due to insufficient balance in the account.

The Bulhowal police has booked the accused under Sections 406 and 420 of the IPC.

Swindler arrested

Tarn Taran: The Bhikhiwind police has arrested a swindler for decamping with lakh of rupees from innocent persons luring to double their amount.

According to the information, the accused has been indentified as Mukha Singh, alias Mukha, a resident of Guru Har Sahai (Ferozpur). A case under Section 420 of the IPC has been registered against the accused, the police said.

Sewak Singh, a resident of Chuslewar village near Patti, alleged that the accused decamped with an amount of Rs 10 lakh from him luring him to double his amount.

The accused collected the amount during the period of Jan 2012 till May 28, 2013 .

Investigating Officer (IO) ASI Ajmer Singh said the accused was produced in the judicial court at Patti and has been sent for a two-day police remand.

Chain hunger strike by employees enters Day 2
Our Correspondent

Tarn Taran, August 6
Teachers and other employees under the banner of the Punjab State Government Aided School Teachers and Other Employees Union organised chain hunger strike and held a rally in front of the Deputy Commissioner's office on the second of their four-day agitation here today.

District Secretary of the union Narinder Singh said that the organisation had been demanding for the release of their monthly salary which has not been paid to them from more than six months, besides filling up vacant posts in the aided schools.

The employees’ union demanded to merger of aided schools in the Education Department.