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Govt to encourage kinnow cultivation
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Farmers in both Punjabs suffering, says Pak Governor
Summit a waste of public money:
Capt
Govt submits to farmers’ demands
suicide by farmers under debt
Prove charge, Phoolka dares Sukhbir
BJP forms panel to end infighting
Release Bhullar, says SGPC
State's reply on DGP Saini
‘sent’ to EC
Job promise not kept, ASI’s widow protests
Army chief to attend YPS annual day
Empty coffers, yet state govt enhances DA
Food Dept inquires into oil hoarding
10 Indians detained in Nigeria may be released on Feb 25
Minister's son tried to stall raid: I-T officer
Redress grievances of the aged: HC
SIT probe on illegal mining fails to impress court
5 of family get life sentence
School bus driver, helper killed in Phagwara mishap
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AGRICULTURE SUMMIT 2014
Mohali, February 18 The government will not only be spreading awareness on this technique but will also be encouraging with incentives the farmers who go in for direct sowing. A decision to this effect was taken during a meeting held between Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and renowned rice breeder Gurdev Singh Khush. The duo met on the sidelines of the Progressive Punjab Agriculture Summit being held at Chappar Chiri near here. Sources said Khush stressed upon the Chief Minister to encourage direct sowing in a major way, which could help check the depleting water table. Badal has reportedly decided that the area under direct sowing of paddy would be increased substantially during the next paddy season. Of the 28.50 lakh hectares of area under paddy cultivation in Punjab currently, only 50,000 hectares is under direct sowing. In the remaining 28 lakh hectares, paddy is transplanted from nurseries and the fields are kept submerged so as to avoid growth of weeds. “This practice has led to a decline in the water table. It is thus that we are advocating the direct sowing of paddy as an alternative to transplantation,” Khush told The Tribune. Punjab is already giving a 50 per cent subsidy on paddy seed planters but in order to encourage direct-seeding, the government is reportedly considering increasing this subsidy to 75 per cent. Several corporate giants have also been promoting direct
sowing of paddy. Why the move
Cooperative farming The Gadri Baba Dulla Singh Giani Nihal Singh Foundation, Jalaldiwal, Ludhiana, has roped in 60 farmers from eight nearby villages to form a milk cooperative. “We are working on a no-profit-no-loss basis. The demand for milk has been on the rise. Selling quality milk through the cooperative has helped dairy farmers command a better price,” says Dr Harminder Singh Sidhu, coop director. The cooperative also prepares 3,000 saplings every year. Lighting hearths Dalbir Singh, a Dubai-based scrap dealer, set up a biogas plant at Bahadurpur village in Ropar district in 2012, supplying six hours power to the 75-odd houses everyday. When villagers expressed helplessness in supplying cow dung for the plant, he purchased 120 cows.
Stud farming Jaspal Singh from Takkhanwala village in Muktsar district, who owns a stud farm, has put one of his best horses on exhibition at Chappar Chiri. Hardeep Singh from Hamad village in Ferozepur says his ‘Nukra’ breed horse has won 13 awards. The daily diet of the horse includes 10 kg milk and pulses. Women entrepreneurs — Sanjeev Singh Bariana & Akash Ghai
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Govt to encourage kinnow cultivation
Chandigarh, February 18 As agriculture experts and policy-makers have asked the state government to promote horticulture, the state government has decided not only to promote kinnow cultivation, but also set up climate-controlled cold storages in the port cities of Kolkata and Mumbai for export. Talking to mediapersons, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said the state was exploring opportunities in exporting horses and high-yield cattle. "There has been a huge interest by agri corporates in the summit. Cargill India, which is setting up a feed plant in Bathinda, Taiwanese companies selling maize driers, the ITC, which is setting up an integrated food park at Kapurthala, are all participating in the summit," he said. Sukhbir declined to say anything on allowing FDI in retail. "We already have agri corporates in the retail sector, such as Reliance and Walmart, which are better than global retail stores," he said.
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Farmers in both Punjabs suffering,
says
Pak Governor
Jalandhar, February 18 Sarwar’s statement contradicts the Punjab Government’s claims (at the agriculture summit in Mohali) that it had transformed the lives of farmers. The visiting Governor was here today to meet his family friends. Speaking to The Tribune, he said the condition of the farmers in Pakistan Punjab was worst than their Indian counterparts. “The farmers of both the Punjab provinces feed around 80 per cent of their country’s population. Still, they have been suffering. Though India offers subsidies, there is no such mechanism in Pakistan… But in India too, sops like power subsidy hardly work as there is shortage of electricity during peak season,” he said.
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Summit a waste of public money:
Capt
Mohali, February 18 Spending crores on this "drama" was not justified, especially when the financial condition of the state was dismal, he said. Renowned agriculture experts Dr MS Swaminathan and Dr Sardara Singh Johal had not been invited to the summit, he pointed out. Amarinder Singh said he stood by all his statements on Operation Bluestar. " Parkash Singh Badal gave his nod to the Army action at a high-profile meeting on March 27, 1984, attended by then Home Minister PV Narasimha Rao.These facts are documented," he said, adding he was ready for an open discussion with Badal on the issue.
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Govt submits to farmers’ demands
Bathinda, February 18 Compensation to landless labourers of Gobindpura village in Mansa will be given by February 20. Eligible families allotted five-marla plots by their village panchayats (if mutation is already done) will be given possession of the plots by February 25. Earlier in the day, more than 500 farmers blocked the four entrances to the District Administrative Complex (DAC), forcing the authorities to announce a holiday. Farmers under the banner of BKU (Ekta-Ugraha) and the Khet Mazdoor Union had been camping near the DAC for the past five days. State general secretary of the BKU (Ekta-Ugraha) Sukhdev Kokri said compensation for Gobindpura farmers was released two years ago but the money had not reached the landless labourers so far.
The govt-BKU pact
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suicide by farmers under debt
Chandigarh, February 18 The government has agreed to disburse financial assistance of Rs 64 crore among the affected families in two instalments. The first instalment is to be paid by March 31 and the second by July 31. The government released Rs 23.86 crore for the purpose in 2012-13. A compensation of Rs 1 lakh per family was disbursed on the basis of survey reports. Taking on record the latest undertaking given by the Punjab Government, the Division Bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Arun Palli set a two-month deadline for the purpose. On an average three farmers kill themselves every two days in Punjab. A survey by Punjabi University, PAU and Guru Nanak Dev University two years ago also revealed that an estimated 5,000 farmers and farm labourers committed suicide in the agrarian state in the last decade (2000-10). Of these, 3,000 committed suicide in just two districts of Bathinda and Sangrur. The directions came on a petition filed by Movement against State Repression. As the case came up for resumed hearing, counsel for the petitioners RS Bains insisted that the larger question of formulating a policy for giving financial assistance to the affected families was yet to be framed. Insisting that the disbursement was being made on ad hoc basis, he submitted that some of the states, including Andhra Pradesh, had already framed such schemes. He also suggested that the Andhra Pradesh module could be followed. The High Court directed the state and another respondent to "frame an appropriate scheme within a maximum period of two months preferably taking into account the module of Andhra Pradesh scheme". The High Court directed the state to place the final scheme before the court. The case will now come up for compliance on May 2.
Alarming facts
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Prove charge, Phoolka dares Sukhbir
Ludhiana, Februrary 18 "I challenge Sukhbir to prove his allegation within a week or resign from the Cabinet and the SAD," said Phoolka. Addressing a press conference here, Phoolka alleged: "I fought for justice against Congress leaders like Sajjan Kumar. Now I am up against those who destroyed the Shiromani Akali Dal, the party of martyrs". He said he would not file a defamation case against Sukhbir as court cases took a long time. "It is up to the media and the people to decide whether I have stood for what is right," he said.
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BJP forms panel to end infighting
Batala, February 18 Fissures surfaced in the BJP ever since its alliance partner SAD decided to field its candidate from Batala assembly seat in the 2012 elections. The BJP had been fielding its candidate since 1952 till the Akalis decided to field LS Lodhinangal in the 2012 elections. This divided the BJP into two factions with one group supporting Lodhinangal’s candidature and the other opposing it. The saffron party again hit a roadblock when Kishen Baldev Suri was removed as the Batala city unit president following his differences with Suresh Bhatia, chief of the Batala unit. The Batala unit comprises Batala city and Fatehgarh Churian. If this was not all, the sacking of Vijay Mahajan by Bhatia as the Batala Yuva Morcha Chief for “anti-party activities” without giving him a show-cause notice did not augur well for the party. In view of the increasing differences, Sharma has constituted the core committee that includes four former district presidents, a former chairperson of the Improvement Trust and a former president of the Municipal Committee. The first thing the committee did was to smooth Suri’s ruffled feathers by appointing him the Batala unit vice-president yesterday. But he resigned today citing his differences with Bhatia. Insiders claim that it had become imperative for the party bigwigs to put the Batala unit in order as during the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, Congress sitting Gurdaspur MP Partap Singh Bajwa had ran up a lead of 18,000 votes from this assembly seat. The inclusion of former legislator Jagdish Sahni back into the party fold is a pointer to the senior leadership wanting to strengthen the party at every level. Sahni was the Batala legislator when he left the party to join the Congress ahead of the assembly elections. After hectic backroom parleys, he has been persuaded to rejoin the party. He, along with former Union Minister and cinestar Vinod Khanna and industrialist Swaran Salaria, is eyeing the party candidature from the Gurdaspur parliamentary seat. His detractors admit that Sahni holds sway over the transporters lobby and industrialists and also enjoys a good rapport with the lower and middle strata of society which would help the BJP during the elections. Fissures to the fore
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Golden Temple plaza to open soon
Amritsar, February 18 Sources say the construction of the marble flooring of the plaza has picked up pace. The temporary ‘jora ghar’, which was raised to facilitate the plaza construction, has been demolished to make way for more open space. When opened, the area measuring 8,250 sq metres in front of the main entrance of the holy shrine will ease congestion as it is visited by thousands of devotees daily. Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal is personally monitoring the project. The government had partially opened the plaza during Diwali last year to ease congestion at the main gate of the shrine. It had also placed benches around the trees for the pilgrims’ convenience. Besides, the new ‘jora ghar’ (shoe-keeping facility) and ‘gathri ghar’ (baggage room) were also opened. However, it will take a little longer to set up the facilities in the basement of the plaza. Among the underground facilities are a state-of-the-art interpretation and information centre for tourists, VIP lounge, bank, ATM, airlines and railway inquiry, a multipurpose hall, security and services area, toilets and other public conveniences. As there is a lot of VVIP movement at the Golden Temple, the plaza will have a separate lounge to accommodate dignitaries and their entourage. An auditorium with a seating capacity of 100-150 persons would be built so that a visiting dignitary could address the media. At present there is no designated area in the Golden Temple complex where mediapersons can interact with the VIPs. The plaza has been designed in view of the fact that thousands of devotees visit the shrine daily and they need to have access to basic amenities. During special occasions such as Gurpurb, the number of devotees crosses 1 lakh. The project began in in May 2011.
About the project
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Release Bhullar, says SGPC
Sangrur, February 18 Makkar said Bhullar, who was mentally ill, should be released forthwith or else the Sikhs would come to believe that the Centre was discriminating against them. He said raising Operation Bluestar Memorial in the Golden Temple complex was purely am SGPC decision and th Chief Minister had nothing to do with it. Makkar laid the foundation stone of an administrative block of a gurdwara. The block will be raised by kar sewaks under the leadership of Baba Jagtar Singh Tarn Taran Wale.
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State's reply on DGP Saini
‘sent’ to EC
Chandigarh, February 18 He said the file was voluminous and would comment only after going through it. The complaint was filed by PPCC spokesperson Sukhpal Singh Khaira seeking Saini's transfer to ensure a free and fair election. He had alleged that DGP Saini had been chargesheeted by a Special CBI Court of Delhi for kidnap, abduction and disappearance of three citizens under Sections 342, 343, 364 and 120-B of the IPC.
Govt reply erroneous: Cong
Khaira, in a communication to the CEO today, alleged the government's reply was full of "grossly erroneous facts". Seeking DGP's removal, a Congress delegation had yesterday submitted a complaint to the Election Commission of India. The delegation comprised CLP Leader Sunil Jakhar, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Manish Tewari, Sangrur MP Vijay Inder Singla, MLAs Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi and OP Soni, former MP Surinder Singla and former minister Harminder Jassi. Former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh has also supported the Congress demand. The SAD lashed out at the Punjab Congress leadership, including Capt Amarinder Singh, for "unnecessarily raking up the issue of Saini's transfer". "Instead of demanding the transfer of the DGP, the Congress should ponder over change of its leadership if it wants to win elections," it said.
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Job promise not kept, ASI’s widow protests
Amritsar, February 18 Simarjeet alleged the government did not keep its word and did not extend any monetary compensation to her. She alleged since her children too were not provided free education up to graduation level as promised, it was a struggle to make ends meet.
ASI Kulbir Singh, in charge police post Manochahal, had died under mysterious circumstances at Jeobala village in Tarn Taran while conducting raids to arrest farmers on the eve of their stir on March 6 last. Thereafter, the Cabinet in a meeting had approved that she be employed as a government teacher on compassionate grounds. She possesses a BEd degree and has four years of teaching experience. The Home Ministry had also forwarded a letter to this effect to the Education Department on May 8. But, the department refused to giver her a job, stating she had to meet the mandatory prerequisite of clearing the TET (Teachers’ Entrance Test). Subsequently, she met the Director General of Police (DIG), Punjab, who promised to employ her as a Sub-Inspector on compassionate grounds. The office of the
DGP, in its letter dated July 2 to the Principal Secretary (Home), had recommended the job of Sub-Inspector for her. However, she continues to be unemployed. “On both the occasions, I was given false assurances. With no source of income, it has become increasingly difficult to survive,” Simarjeet rued. Her daughter is in BSc first year while her son in Class IX.
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Army chief to attend YPS annual day
Patiala, February 18 The school authorities have received a confirmation from the office of the General. Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur and scion of the Patiala royal house and senior SAD leader Malwinder Singh will also attend the function. — TNS
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Empty coffers, yet state govt enhances DA
Chandigarh, February 18 But the cash-strapped government will keep the DA arrears from July 2013 to January 2014 pending while paying the enhanced DA for February and March. The employees get DA twice a year, in January and July. Punjab had announced an 8 per cent DA hike in January and a 10 per cent hike in July. This was to keep parity with the DA announced by the Union Government. Sources said the DA arrears since July 2013 totalled Rs 1,000 crore. The state had promised to release 30% arrears of the revised salaries and pensions (as decided by the Fifth Pay Commission) before March 31. Earlier, the 8 per cent DA announced in October (for January-October) too was released partially. The remaining amount has now been deposited in the provident fund accounts of the employees.
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Food Dept inquires into oil hoarding
Abohar, February 18 There have been allegations of fair price shop owners denying kerosene oil to nearly 12,000 persons for the past one year. To protest against this, physically challenged Rati Ram had launched an agitation in December last year. He has alleged that local officials were hand in glove with the shop owners. The owners had said that they stopped the supply of oil as they were on strike against the state government’s wheat scheme. But inquiries made from wholesale traders indicated that kerosene oil was supplied to retail fair price shop owners in rural and urban areas and they were not distributing it further. Sunil Jakhar, CLP leader, had last year placed nearly 12,000 affidavits signed by BPL persons in the assembly, alleging that they were not supplied oil for a year. The CM had promised an inquiry, but it was still awaited.
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10 Indians detained in Nigeria may be released on Feb 25
Hoshiarpur, February 18 The case may be decided on the next hearing on February 25 and the 10 Indians may be released after it, Rani Malick, First Secretary (Consular) and Head of Lagos Office of Indian High Commission in Nigeria, reportedly said. Gaurav, brother of one of the detainees Gagan Kumar, told The Tribune that a week ago, they had sent some documents asked by the High Commission. Later, Gagan called to give them Malick’s number, asking them to call her. “Gagan told us that Malick has met the 10 detainees and that she was in the court during the hearing,” Gaurav said. He tried her number a couple of times, but could not connect. At 7 pm (2.30pm Nigerian time), Malick picked up the phone. “She told us that the documents sent by us have been received and that the case was at the stage of final arguments. The next date
of hearing is scheduled for February 25 and the case would be decided on that day.” He asked her about the assurance from the Indian Consulate that the 10 detainees had legally entered Nigeria. To this, Malick reportedly said the assurance would be given. According to Gaurav, Malick said: “Hopefully, they will be released on the next hearing on
February 25.”
The issue
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Abohar, February 18 Protesting outside the Sub-Divisional Complex here, they alleged that the affected farmers were not given the compensation and, instead, BJP and SAD workers were benefited. During his Sangat Darshan in neighbouring Sappanwali village two days ago, CM Parkash Singh Badal distributed cheques to farmers who, protesters said, were not affected by the breach. The protesters alleged that the survey undertaken to identify the affected farmers did not include them. — OC
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Minister's son tried to stall raid: I-T officer Jalandhar, February 18 Phillaur denied that his son or his gunmen had put pressure on the I-T officials or interfered with their work. Balwinder Kaur alleged that Damanpreet arrived at the store with two gunmen. He claimed he was there to “observe” the raid and left only when questioned about his connection with the firm. However, Income Tax Commissioner Sanjay Mishra claimed that I-T surveys at Goraya, Nakodar and Phagwara were going on “smoothly” without any obstruction. Simultaneous raids were conducted on Uppal Cold Store in Goraya, PK Paper Mill in Nakodar and Birji Electricals in Jalandhar. Owners of a Phagwara grain marketing firm, JP Pubby and KR Pubby, surrendered Rs 1.5 crore.
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Redress grievances of the aged: HC
Chandigarh, February 18 “This problem is widespread and needs to be addressed immediately,” Justice Paramjeet Singh has asserted while taking up an appeal in a parents versus progeny case. The parents, Bhagwant Singh and his wife Amarjit Kaur, had initially moved the court for directing their son Ashwinder Singh and daughter-in-law Sukhwinder Kaur to hand over the vacant possession of a house and to pay Rs 1,500 per month as occupation charges from the date of filing the suit till the actual delivery of possession. The suit was decreed by the court in January 2013 and the appeal by the son and the daughter-in-law was dismissed by the lower appellate court in December last year. Taking up the appeal, Justice Paramjeet Singh asserted: “This unfortunate regular second appeal is a poignant reminder of decaying social values and traditions in our country. “The case is telltale story of how children have become detached in today's commercialised world and are making attempts to throw out their aged parents from the property which the parents have acquired during their lifetime.” Before parting with the orders, Justice Paramjeet Singh directed the son and his wife to hand over the vacant possession of the property in dispute and not to interfere in the life of their aged parents.
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SIT probe on illegal mining fails to impress court
Chandigarh, February 18 The HC also asked the state counsel to seek instructions and specify the government’s stand on the issue. As the case came up for resumed hearing, the High Court in the open court said that the SIT had failed to reach at any conclusion on the matter.
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Ropar: The district court today awarded life sentence to five members of a family for the murder of a woman and her daughter. The convicts are Lalit, the husband of deceased Manisha, his brother Vikas, their parents Bimal Kumar and Brij Bala and Vikas’s wife Kavita. Manisha and her one-year-old daughter Divanshi were found dead on June 5, 2009 at their house in
Ropar.
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School bus driver, helper killed in Phagwara mishap
Phagwara, February 18 The school bus belonged to Delhi Public School,
Jalandhar. While 16 schoolchildren escaped unhurt, four sustained minor bruises, the police said. Two students, Aryan (5) and Mehul (5) were brought to local Civil Hospital, but were discharged after they were given
first-aid. Ramandeep Singh, Station House Officer, Chiherru, said the driver of the
Patiala-bound private bus, belonging to Kartar Transport, lost control over the vehicle which fell on the other side of the highway and collided with the school bus. The deceased were identified as Yadav Rai of Khotrra Road and Paramjit of
Rurrka. The driver of the private bus, Ravinder Singh, fled the spot. The injured
Ramanpreet, Hardeep Singh, Nirmala, Dev Raj, Kamaljit, Harkirat Singh, Parminder Singh, Kuldip Singh, Tirlochan Singh, Gurjeet Singh, Palwinder Singh and Vipin were admitted to the local Civil Hospital. The police has registered a case against the Ravinder Singh.
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Facing a crisis due to over-exploitation of water resources, the Punjab Government will soon arm itself with a new policy for direct sowing of paddy.
Mohammad Sarwar, the Governor of Punjab province of Pakistan, has said that post-Partition, both India and Pakistan had ignored their farmers, a majority of whom were living in eastern and western Punjab.
Sarwar’s statement contradicts the Punjab Government’s claims (at the agriculture summit in
Mohali) that it had transformed the lives of farmers.
Ludhiana, Februrary 18
Assistant Sub-Inspector
(ASI) Kulbir Singh’s widow Simarjeet Kaur today protested against the government outside the Inspector General’s (border) office. She alleged the state government and the Punjab Police had failed to keep their promise of employing her.
The driver of a school bus and his helper were killed while 12 passengers of
a private bus were injured in a collision between the two vehicles near
DAV College here this morning. The school bus belonged to Delhi Public School,
Jalandhar. While 16 schoolchildren escaped unhurt, four sustained minor bruises, the police said.
