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Rain hits wheat crop, farmers fear
worse
SAD-BJP rope in stars to brighten poll prospects
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Sukhbir calls Amarinder ‘absentee’ MLA
Preneet: CM should protect state’s waters
Amid wheat losses, Rajnath hardsells crop cover plan
Wary of spending limit, Khanna skips Rajnath’s Gurdaspur rallies
Approach NCB with drug info: Jaitley to Capt
Not neglecting cancer patients, says Harsimrat
Akalis want to legalise
drug trade: Amarinder
Teacher sends ‘anti-Akali’
SMS, faces harassment
Frame-up charge: NRI body seeks CBI
probe
Make roads safer or face action, High Court tells Punjab Police
Leader held soon after joining Cong
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Rain hits wheat crop, farmers fear
worse
Amritsar, April 19 Chief Agricultural Officer Dr Paramjit Singh Sandhu said the district received 32 mm rainfall last night. Agricultural experts said the rain along with the winds had led to the lodging of the crop. Besides, water has accumulated in the fields in low-lying areas and it will take time to dry up. As a result of it, the harvesting has got delayed by another 10 days. They said there was a forecast of more rain and if it does take place it will further damage the crop. More rain will lead to the discolouration of the grain and take a toll on the yield.
Ravinder Singh, a farmer from Attari, said his crop spread over 10 acres of land has suffered damage, while seeking adequate compensation from the government. Farmers Hardayal Singh and Baldev Singh also lamented the damage caused to their crop due to the unseasonal rain. Farmer leader Rattan Singh Randhawa has sought immediate ‘girdawari’ and compensation for the damaged crop to the farmers.
Moga: The harvesting of wheat has been delayed further in the district due to the recent showers. Heaps of wheat in the grain market here has not been lifted. A farmer said his crop had been lying in the market since Wednesday.
Khanna: Untimely rain has further increased the moisture content in the wheat crop brought to Asia’s biggest grain market in the town. Jagtar Singh, Mandi Supervisior, said, 9,166 tonnes of wheat had been purchased till date. Pungrain bought 422 tonnes, the FCI 1,514, Markfed 488, Punsup 707, Punjab Agro 761, Warehouse 1,978 and private traders 3,296. He said 11,964 tonnes had been bought last
year. Abohar: Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Sunil Jakhar urged Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to order a special ‘girdawari’ so as to compensate the affected farmers in the region within a fortnight.
Farmers ‘thrash’ staff of procurement agencies Patiala: The employees of purchasing agencies, Warehouse Corporation, Pungrain, Punjab Agro, Punsup and Markfed, went on strike after farmers allegedly thrashed two Inspectors of the agencies. Following the strike, no wheat was purchased and lifted in the district. The agitators under the banner of the Foodgrain Agencies Employees Coordination Committee demanded that the farmers, who manhandled the Inspectors, be booked. Vidhu Bhardwaj, senior vice president of the committee, said Kashmir Singh of Damanheri village thrashed Inspector Sukhdev Singh, while Darbara Singh, Sarabjeet Singh, Ram Singh, Bhola Singh and Vicky Bajwa beat up Markfed Inspector Harvinder Singh Sidhu after they refused to procure the farmers’ produce. Deputy Commissioner Priyank Bharti said he had directed the SSP to take adequate action in this regard. No case has been registered yet. —TNS Farmers block traffic Sangrur: Farmers on Saturday staged a dharna and blocked traffic on the local main road for about three hours near the grain market here. They were protesting against the alleged faulty moisture meters, being used by procurement agencies to check moisture content in wheat grain. They lifted the dharna after a meeting with Sangrur SDM Poonamdeep Kaur and DSP Gurpreet Singh Dhindsa. — TNS
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SAD-BJP rope in stars to brighten poll prospects
Chandigarh, April
19 Filmstars like Vivek Oberoi, Kirron Kher, Preeti Sapru and cricketer Gautam Gambhir have already campaigned for Akali-BJP candidates. Interestingly, while the Akali-BJP combine is getting these stars, besides its national president Rajnath Singh and BJP prime minister candidate Narendra Modi to campaign for its candidates, the Congress is banking on its party president Sonia Gandhi, vice-president Rahul Gandhi and senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad to boost the party’s campaign. Bihari Babu Shatrughan Sinha, who is contesting the elections from the Patna Sahib constituency in Bihar, has reached Amritsar to give a fillip to Arun Jaitley’s campaign. “The coming days will also see Anil Kapoor and two star sons of Vinod Khanna coming to Gurdaspur,” BJP state president Kamal Sharma said. Modi will address rallies in Bathinda, Hoshiarpur, Pathankot and Amritsar on April 25. Sources say that Sunny Deol will also campaign for Akali candidates in the coming days, although the date is not yet finalised. The Congress on the other hand is relying on its party president and vice-president’s charisma. Rajinder Kaur Bhattal said Sonia Gandhi would address a rally at Barnala in Sangrur on April 26. “We are also trying to make arrangements for her another rally in Moga. On April 28, Ghulam Nabi Azad will address rallies for party candidates. We are also trying to schedule rallies by Rahul Gandhi on April 25 or April 28,” she said.
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Sukhbir calls Amarinder ‘absentee’ MLA
Chandigarh, April 19 He said it was strange that Amarinder was now claiming that he was not a "reluctant" candidate from Amritsar. "Amarinder recently made this statement in an interview to a national television channel despite the fact that the interviewer made it clear to him that the statements issued by him prior to being made the candidate from Amritsar were otherwise," he
said. Badal said either Amarinder was suffering from "amnesia" or he was "deliberately lying" on the issue. "I think the second contention is the right one because Capt claims he is in good mental and physical
health." He said, "You made the following statement and I quote verbatim - Even if I (Capt Amarinder) contest and am elected as an MP from Amritsar, I will not be able to do justice with people there as compared to someone who would be a local. Besides being an outsider, I don't know Amritsar as much as someone from that area. I will not be able to spend required period of time there."
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Preneet: CM should protect state’s waters
Patiala, April 19 She said, “We shall not allow the Haryana Government to puncture the Bhakra Main Canal to join the Hansi-Butana canal since the matter is sub judice and the final decision will be taken by the court.”
The Supreme Court on Tuesday had accepted Haryana’s plea for an early hearing of its application for vacating the 2007 order, restraining the state from using the 109-km Hansi-Butana canal for meeting the drinking water and irrigation needs of drought-prone areas in the south-western region of the
state. Haryana had spent Rs 354 crore on the construction of the intra-state canal for effective utilisation of its share of water from the Bakhra Main Line
(BML). Preneet said Punjab would turn into a desert if the rivers emerge as one source as touted by BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra
Modi.
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Amid wheat losses, Rajnath hardsells crop cover plan
Mukerian, April
19 Addressing an election rally in favour of BJP candidate from Hoshiarpur Vijay Sampla, Rajnath said the scheme was envisaged during the Vajpayee regime “but the shelved it on assuming
power”. Rajnath, who reached the rally venue two hours late, said, “Under the scheme, the minimum support price (MSP) for crops will be fixed before sowing and in case of any damage, the insurance company will pay compensation as per the MSP.” He said 75 per cent of the premium for the insurance would be borne by the Union Government whereas the rest would have to be paid by the state.
“The Punjab farmers have contributed the maximum to the country’s food bowl and we will ensure that their interests are taken care of,” he said.
On unemployment in Punjab, he said the NDA government would set up special skill development centres to impart specialised training to the youth so that they could start their own business or set up industrial units. “We will also ensure that for starting their business, the youths get loans from banks at an interest rate of just 2 to 3 per cent,” he
said. Gurdaspur: Rajnath claimed that the BJP and its allies would bag more than 300 seats in the General
Election. Rajnath was to address a rally in favour of BJP candidate Vinod Khanna in Dinanagar, 10 km from here, but changed his plans at the last minute due to his tight schedule. He, however, addressed another rally, held at Babbehali village. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and BJP state president Kamal Sharma too were
present. Addressing a press conference at a local hotel before heading for Babbehali village, Rajnath said, "The Modi wave blowing across the country will enable the BJP and its allies to form government at the
Centre." On ties with Pakistan, he said differences with neighbouring nations would be sorted out. "The UPA government was a failure on all fronts and the people know this. This is the reason why the BJP will win the elections with a thumping majority," he said.
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Wary of spending limit, Khanna skips Rajnath’s Gurdaspur rallies
Dinanagar, April
19 The move is being seen as an attempt to allegedly hoodwink the EC. If Khanna was present at the rallies, the entire expenses incurred on holding these would have been added to his poll expenditure account. The rallies were held at Dinanagar and
Gurdaspur. The maximum expenditure limit stands at Rs 70 lakh. The EC rules suggest that if a candidate is present at a rally, the expenses are to be credited to his account. But if he is not present and the event is held in his support, the expenses will be credited to the party’s account.
Khanna is already under the EC scanner and has been served a notice by Gurdaspur Deputy Commissioner-cum-Returning Officer Dr Abhinav Trikha. The reason: The shadow register being maintained by the EC’s expenditure observer does not tally with the one with the candidate.
A three-time MP, Khanna has been asked to file his reply by tomorrow. The expenditure observer’s register shows that the film star has so far spent Rs 30.24 lakh on his campaign. This includes expenses incurred on rallies by the Chief Minister and his deputy Sukhbir Badal. However, the candidate’s register puts the figure much lower at Rs 5.14
lakh. Poll officials said if Khanna failed to reply by 5 pm tomorrow, it would be presumed that he does not have to say anything and the expenditure reflected in the shadow register would be credited to his
account.” On April 10, the film star was inadvertently caught on wrong foot when he attended four rallies addressed in a day by Sukhbir. “His presence at these rallies meant that Rs 24 lakh was credited to his account. Khanna was not aware of the EC’s directives on expenditure then. Had he known he would have definitely skipped the proceedings,” admitted a BJP leader.
Khanna’s Congress rival and sitting MP Partap Singh Bajwa too was served a similar notice last week. Under EC scanner Vinod Khanna skipped the rallies to "hoodwink" the EC. Had he attended the rallies, the entire expenses incurred on holding these would have been added to his poll
account He has conceded defeat: Bajwa PPCC chief Partap Bajwa has ridiculed Vinod Khanna for absenting himself from rallies addressed in his favour by Rajnath and Badal on the "pretext of keeping his poll expenditure in check". Bajwa claimed that Khanna's absence from these rallies held at Bhoa, Sujanpur and Pathankot on Friday and Dinanagar and Gurdaspur on Saturday only proved that he had "conceded defeat".
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Approach NCB with drug info: Jaitley to Capt
Amritsar, April
19 Replying to media queries regarding Amarinder’s argument about “homegrown drugs”, Jaitley said if he had so much information about the drug trade he should get the NCB authorities to initiate action against all those involved in it. “Their UPA government is in power till May 16 and they still have time to act tough against such elements. Instead of going to the media, he should knock the doors of the
NCB”. Jaitley said he was totally against narcotics. It was only recently that he had virtually blamed the Centre for the drug menace in Punjab, saying that it was “absence of vigilance at the border” that was allowing drug smuggling into the state.
The BJP leader again targeted Amarinder on the issue of property tax, terming his claims as “white lies”. He also produced some documents to corroborate his claim that it was the previous Congress government that signed the memorandum of agreement for it with the
Centre. Akbar supports Jaitley In Amritsar to support Jaitley, noted journalist MJ Akbar on Saturday said: “Captain Saheb wins on the day of nomination but loses on the polling day.” He, however, could not give a convincing reply on the issue of Sikh farmers in Gujarat and those about the Amritsar constituency.
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Not neglecting cancer patients, says Harsimrat Bathinda, April 19 She said the government had introduced a cashless facility for patients in government and empanelled private hospitals in January this year. Earlier, Congress candidate Manpreet Badal had said SAD MP Harsimrat failed to provide low-cost cancer treatment to the poor of the area and was unable to give free cancer treatment. Meanwhile, Harsimrat said the state government had allocated 50 acres for the Rs 450 crore Tata Memorial Cancer Institute at Mullanpur. — TNS
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Bathinda Faridkot Sangrur Amritsar Chandigarh
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Akalis want to legalise
drug trade: Amarinder
Amritsar, April
19 Addressing a series of public meetings in Rajasansi assembly segment, Amarinder referred to the recent statement of senior Akali leader and Faridkot MP Paramjit Kaur Gulshan in which she had said that she along with several Akali MLAs had met Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal demanding that ‘bhukki’ (poppy husk) trade be legalised and licences be issued for the
same. The former Chief Minister said it only vindicated his stand that the drug trade was being run with the patronage of the Akalis. “Now an Akali MP has confirmed it herself,” he pointed out, condemning such thinking would only be a step towards devastation of the social fabric of the
state. He said the Akalis had a design in it. “First they spread the drug addiction among the youth and made them dependent on drugs and now they are seeking the licence to trade in drugs.” Code violation alleged The Congress has sought an inquiry and action against Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Guru Nanak Dev University V-C for alleged violation of the model code of conduct for elections by holding election-related meetings on the campus in the university guesthouse.
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Teacher sends ‘anti-Akali’
SMS, faces harassment
Ropar, April 19 Malwidner Singh Maali, the teacher deputed at Government Senior Secondary School at Gardale village, has been served with three notices, one each by the Barnala police, DPI (Senior Secondary), and the Ropar Returning Officer, for "campaigning" in favour of a
candidate. Malvinder has already appeared before the police at Barnala, DPI office in Mohali, and Returning Officer, Ropar, to give an
explanation. Malvinder alleged his harassment started after he sent an SMS on March 29 to his friends. The SMS read: "Today's quote: Bhagwant Mann wanted to join the Shiromani Akali Dal, claims Sukhbir. Gappi da ik haur gappaurh. But why? Isda arth eh hai ke ajj Dhindsa har riha
hai." The complaint, lodged by few residents of Barnala, stated that Maali was a native of Sangrur and through his SMS, he campaigned in favour of Bhagwant
Mann. "The SMS was in a lighter vein. I am being victimised as I had exposed misdeeds in the state Education Department much to the annoyance of a local politician concerned," alleged
Maali. ‘Had exposed a leader’ Malwinder Singh Maali, schoolteacher, said the SMS was in a lighter vein. “I am being victimised as I had exposed misdeeds in the state Education Department much to the annoyance of a politician concerned," he alleged.
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Frame-up charge: NRI body seeks CBI
probe
Chandigarh, April 19 Satnam Singh Chahal, executive director, NAPA, said: "Documents submitted by Basra raises questions on the police. She has named Patiala SSP Hardial Singh Maan in the matter. She has alleged during a sting operation conducted by her, investigating officer Dalbir Singh Grewal and other officials allegedly confessed to have taken Rs 1 crore from Manpreet and involving him in a false case".
He said it was a matter of a great concern for the NRI community and was needed to be probed by the CBI.
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Make roads safer or face action, High Court tells Punjab Police
Chandigarh, April
19 Refusing to take the claims without a pinch of salt, Justice Rajive Bhalla also called for a general report on compliance of the provisions of the Act by the authorities concerned. The directions came after the authorities tried to paint a picture of road safety in affidavits submitted to the court on the compliance of directions issued from time to time and relevant
rules. “In my prima-facie opinion, the affidavits do not reflect the true picture as it is well known that in almost every town, provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, are violated with
impunity. Apart from issuing challans, the police do nothing to ensure that provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 are implemented. In order to verify the affidavits, the Secretary, Legal Services Authority, in each district, shall submit a general report about the state of compliance with provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, orders passed by this court from time to time”.
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Leader held soon after joining Cong
Hoshiarpur, April 19 They alleged the police had falsely implicated former panch of Chohal village Balwinder Kumar Bhatti in a case under the Excise Act soon after he joined the Congress yesterday. Arora alleged: “Bhatti is being victimised. Two men brought him to the police station. Later, five policemen brought some liquor bottles and claimed that these were seized from Bhatti’s house”. The protesters demanded Bhatti’s immediate release and action against the erring policemen. — OC
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accompanied by strong winds that lashed different parts of the region over the last couple of days has flattened the wheat crop, while water has accumulated in the fields in low-lying areas. 
Chandigarh, April
19
Wooing the farming community, BJP national president Rajnath Singh today claimed that if the NDA came to power, it would implement a “credible” farm insurance scheme to ensure monetary support to the community in case of crop damage.