Ludhiana, September 13
Yesterday’s heavy rain that washed out the first day of Kisan Mela organised by Punjab Agricultural university has led to the transfer of two Assistant Professors of the Agro Meteorology Department, who had failed to give accurate weather forecast for the mela.

Visitors cautiously tread on the mela ground on the PAU campus during Kisan Mela. tribune photo: Himanshu Mahajan

One Assistant Professor has been transferred to Nawanshahr while another (a female) has been shifted to Noormahal.

The heavy rain caused major losses to vendors and a lot of inconvenience to the visitors during Kisan Mela. The main function being held at the Open Air Theatre was disrupted as the tent started leaking in the heavy rain. The chief guest, Tota Singh, Agriculture Minister, Punjab, had to stop his speech midway. Audience ran towards the stage to save themselves from the heavy rain. Within no time, rainwater got accumulated in the mela ground and the area where stalls were set up.

The worst sufferers were the vendors who had set up stalls by paying a hefty fee to the PAU authorities.

It was learnt the Vice-Chancellor, Dr Baldev Singh, was not satisfied with the role of the Agro Meteorology Department in predicting the weather for Kisan Mela. The Registrar of the PAU issued the transfer orders at 9 pm yesterday.

According to information, a few days ago professors concerned had sent a mail to the Extension Department regarding the possible western disturbances on September 12 but they did not inform the authorities verbally.

As per the forecast released by the Agro Meteorology Department on September 11, there was no likelihood of heavy rain.

The forecast for September 12 released by the School of Climate Change and Agricultural Meteorology, PAU, reads: “The weather is expected to remain partly cloudy with possibility of thundershowers at isolated places in Ludhiana and its adjoining areas during the next 24 hours”.

However, the heavy rain, which started pouring down yesterday at around 12:30 pm, flooded almost the entire PAU campus. According to the report of the School of Climate Change and Agricultural Meteorology PAU, 33.6 mm rainfall was recorded in the city.

Registrarspeak

Dr Rajinder Singh Sidhu, Registrar, PAU, said: “We have transferred two Assistant Professors from the Agro Meteorology Dept to outstation on Friday. However, I don’t know the reason for their transfer”.

Ludhiana, September 13
A five-year-old girl was mercilessly beaten up by her teacher at a government school here. The girl now says she does not want to study and is scared of going to school.

Ananya, a student of class II at Government School (No. 5), College Road, here was beaten up by her teacher as she had not done her homework. Renu, the mother of the child, alleged that both her ears pained and the doctor said there might be some damage in one of the ears.

“Yesterday, she came home crying loudly. She was accompanied by her brothers. Both her cheeks were red and swollen with marks of slap, which are still there. She was scared and kept crying. I took her to the doctor, who gave her medicine. She told me that since she had not done her writing work, the teacher slapped her mercilessly. She is such a small child. She could have been told to complete the work but such thrashing is uncalled for. We are poor labourers and work hard to provide education to our children. If this is the attitude of teachers in schools, nobody will like to send his children to schools,” she said.

Ananya said: “I do not know. Perhaps, I had not done the work. But, it was very painful”.

Ludhiana, September 13
Dharminder, alias Dharamvir, who along with Major Singh, was involved in many cases of snatching in the city, was arrested by the CIA police today. Major Singh has absconded

Dharminder is a resident of Muzaffarnagar, UP.

According to police, Dharminder was arrested by Inspector Rajesh Kumar, in charge, CIA 2, on a tip-off provided by an informer from Pulli Gunda Nullah here. Dharminder, after preliminary investigation, admitted to having committed more than 12 snatchings in the city. He took the police to the room on the Tibba road from where stolen gold ornaments, including earrings, chains and a ring, were recovered. Both the accused had taken rented the room on the Tibba road.

Dharminder was arrested by the police in the Gopal Nagar area where he was waiting for a buyer for the stolen chains. Major Singh escaped. Two gold chains were found on him on the spot.

The police have registered a case under sections 382 and 84 of the IPC at the Basti Jodhewal police station.

Ludhiana, September 13
The Punjab Civil Medical Services (PCMS) Specialists Doctors’ Association will observe a two-hour strike on September 19. Doctors across the state will wear black badges and suspend work from 11am to 1pm and protest outside their district headquarters.

The announcement has been made by the PCMS Specialist Doctors’ Association after their pending demands have not been met. Doctors said the careless attitude of the state government had forced them to adopt the path of agitation.

The association has been demanding the introduction of an academic allowance for specialists and a special allowance for such doctors since long.

Dr Avinash Jindal, president of the Ludhiana chapter of the association, said: “The main demand of the PCMS doctors is that the state government should

give wages to specialist doctors on the pattern of the Central Government. At present, PG doctors are not being provided allowance despite repeated representations to the state government.”

“We demand 50 per cent of the basic pay as PG allowance on every increment for all PG doctors. The allowance should come into force as soon as a specialist doctor joins duty,” added another member of the Punjab Civil Medical Services.

Since June 2001, the state government has been giving a higher education allowance - 15 per cent of their basic pay - to doctors pursuing their postgraduate degrees after May 2001. Doctors who have completed their PG degrees before the said date were given an allowance on a par with those without the PG degrees.

The association has also been opposing the 10-year bond made mandatory by the government for doctors at government hospitals. A doctor who decides to leave his service in between must pay Rs 50 lakh.

A doctor who had to leave his service in between due to various circumstances finds difficult because of the hefty fine. The government should instead focus on giving more facilities to government doctors.

Due to these mandatory terms of the state government, young doctors were reluctant to join government hospitals, which were now facing a acute staff crunch. The terms of service therefore, must be relaxed, added another member.

Ludhiana, September 13
To crack a whip on illegal buildings mushrooming in the city, the Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Pradeep Aggarwal, constituted 37 teams for about 37 blocks in Ludhiana.

The teams were sent to all blocks today and were asked to report by 4pm. The teams, having SDOs, XENs and Superintendents, were told to report how many buildings were being constructed in their respective blocks.

Giving details, the Commissioner said each team had been given one block to find how many buildings were being constructed in their respective blocks.

“We have reshuffled the officials and they have been told to conduct random surveys in the blocks and report by evening. Particular pro formas have been given to them to fill and report back,” said the Commissioner.

He said building branch officials had also been asked to report in the evening.

“We will have the list from each block and the building branch officials and inspectors will be asked to produce the records having details like - if building plans have been approved, challans have been issued, approval of plans is pending or not. They will be given a few hours and we will have record of each and every building and will act accordingly,” said Aggarwal.

The aim of the exercise was to have everything in black and white as regular complaints regarding illegal buildings were being sent to the civic body on a regular basis.

“We are trying to catch the violators of building bylaws and the officials, if any, supporting such buildings,” added Commissioner Pradeep Aggarwal.

Jagraon, September 13
Two groups of Dholan village, located on the Jagraon-Raikot road, clashed in the village today. Swords and other sharp weapons were used by the members of both groups while a few shots were also fired during the clash.

At least two persons were injured in the clash. The victims have been identified as Harjinder Singh, alias Jinder, and Hardeep Singh, alias Deepa, both residents of Dholan village. Harjinder Singh suffered a bullet wound on his leg while Hardeep Singh suffered multiple sword injuries on his head and other parts of the body.

Harjinder Singh has been admitted to the Civil Hospital, Jagraon, while Hardeep Singh has been undergoing treatment at a private hospital. However, the condition of both the victims is stated to be out of danger.

According to sources, the incident took place after a minor argument between two supporters of both the groups. Heated arguments soon took an ugly turn when a large number of supporters of both the groups assembled there and attacked each other with swords, sticks and other sharp weapons. A few shots were fired by the members of one of the groups.

According to information, the reason behind the clash was an old rivalry between both the groups. The supporters of both the groups have clashed with each other many times.

After some time, a police team, lead by Mullanpur Dakha SHO Mandeep Singh, reached the spot and brought the situation under control. The DSP, Mandeep Singh, also visited the village.

The SHO said the police had recorded the statements of both the victims and investigation was under way. However, no arrest was made till the filing of this report. “An appropriate action will be taken against persons responsible for this clash. We are conducting raids to nab the people who were involved in the clash and they will be arrested very soon,” said the SHO.

A farmer carries plants and (below) schoolgirls sit on a tractor displayed at the two-day fair in Ludhiana

Farmers a harried lot

Despite efforts by the PAU authorities to remove the slush and water accumulated on roads and grounds, the visitors faced inconvenience. The condition of the mela ground was worst. The farmers had to walk barefoot to go from one stall to another.

Ludhiana, September 13
Due to the alleged poor arrangements during the Kisan Mela, the Punjab State Agricultural Implements Manufacturers’ Association has announced to boycott the next Kisan Mela if the PAU authorities do not improve infrastructure on the mela ground.

A meeting of office-bearers of the Punjab State Agricultural Implements Manufacturers’ Association was held on the mela ground today.

The president of the association, Baldev Singh Amar, said, “We have been installing our stalls in Kisan Mela for last 20 years to exhibit farm machineries and make the farmers aware about the new technology and its use. The PAU authorities increases 10 per cent rates on stalls every year but the facilities being provided are the same as it used to be 20 years ago.”

“Yesterday, rain ruined our stalls. No one wants to visit fair on the muddy ground. We got 75 per cent less response due to this reason. We paid Rs 40,000 per stall and spent Rs 2 lakh on each stall each to exhibit our machineries. We also spent Rs 2 lakh extra on each stall to decorate it,” he added.

The association has demanded carpeting of the mela ground and access to the ground.

“The PAU charges more than any other university in India but do not even provide rain shelter. If they will not provide us with facilities we will boycott the mela from next time onwards,” said Amar.

They also alleged that the PAU gives priority to automobile and other non-agricultural companies.

“Priority should be given to small agricultural machinery manufacturers instead of automobile and multinational companies. The PAU should charge less from us than others as we provide machines to the farmers,” he added.

Baldev Singh Amar has also refused to accept the prize for his personal firm during the mela.

Ludhiana, September 13
Book by Kuldip Manak, Hardev Dilgeer remained the favourite among farmers during Kisan Mela, which concluded here today.

Hardev Delgeer, commonly known as “Dev Thrike wala” compiled book titled ‘Tere Tille Ton’ in which he has included all the lyrics (kisse and Lok gatthas) sung by Kuldip Manak throughout his life.

Hardev Dilgeer dedicated this book to Manak and has also written briefs about each folklore tale.

The visitors from rural areas at Kisan Mela, who knew about Kuldip Manak and listened to his songs made sure to buy the book.

Hardev Dilgeer, lyricist, said, “Hundreds of people, who love the folklores of Punjab asked me to compile the folklore tales in a book form. The songs, however, had been recorded in Kuldeep’s voice but people wanted to keep it as a record in their libraries. So we have decided to publish a book last year. It is good that the people of the state are responding well to my effort.”

Gurvinder Singh, a visitor at Kisan Mela, said, “It is a good effort that the lyrics of Kuldip Manak are now available in a book form.”

The Kisan Mela also witnessed a good sale of farm literature. The Communication Department of the PAU sold farm literature amounting to cash worth Rs 6 lakh. The subscription of the PAU’s monthly journal “Changi Kheti” also reached 3,500.

The private publication also sold a good number of books on the second day of the mela.

The publishers were, howver, disappointed due to the rain. Summit Gulati, a publisher, said, “We used to sell 40 per cent of books on Day 1 of the mela. But the rain spoiled the day. The number of visitors coming to the mela is quite good today. But all the book stalls witnessed less sale as compared to last years’ sale.”

Ludhiana, September 13
Pashu Palan Mela of Guru Angad Dev Veterinay and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU) concluded with a message to develop livestock farming as an impressive and effective option of diversification.

The Vice-Chancellor, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Dr AS Brar, was the chief guest on the occasion. Dr BS Dhillon, VC, PAU, also visited the mela. The event attracted a huge gathering.

The university, along with contributing to the field of education and research, is also promoting livestock professions with its extension activities. To develop livestock professions, university has extended its services, support and training to every economic category. Besides, delivering services to commercial farmers it is also disseminating all the techniques to medium and lower category of livestock community in order to provide equal opportunities to farmers. It helps them to earn benefits with their limited resources. These views were expressed by Dr VK Taneja, Vice-Chancellor, GADVASU. He said farmers should come forward to establish their self help group as entrepreneur.

Dr SNS Randhawa, director of extension education, said some of our departments are providing services for rearing livestock where as others are in the field of value addition of livestock products. A dedicated stall for testing the brucellosis in human beings was also undertaken and many farmers/vets/workers handling animals were tested for brucellosis.

On the spot, mastitis test was also done on the milk samples brought by farmers for diagnosing the one of the costliest disease of dairy animals. Milk testing kit was also available in the mela.

Milk adulteration was also carried out. Value added products developed by vet varsity related to milk meat, fish and eggs were also sold on the occasion. Nitrate/nitrite/toxicity is common problem in the fodder causing heavy mortality in the animals so the nitrate testing facility was also available for the farmers.

Dr Randhawa said a large number of farmers visited the stalls and showed keen interest in the measures to be adopted for the control of parasitic diseases of livestock. The Department of Animal Nutrition developed a number of nutritional technologies for the dairy animals of the state, which were displayed in the mela. Good quality mineral mixture and uromin lick prepared in GADVASU were sold at economical price.

The Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine addressed the commonly prevalent disease of the dairy animals of Punjab.

The College of Fisheries displayed varieties of fish such as carp fish, cat fish and ornamental fishes and ducks. The experts are working on high value fish species without bone or lesser bone.

A number of farmers maintained that the Pashu Palan Mela is a good platform to meet experts of different animal husbandry departments of state, scientists of university, technical experts of different companies and financial institutions, collectively.

Farmers also registered their names for monthly magazine. The Judgement Committee of university judged the stalls and declared All 4 Pets-first, Mankind-second, and Livestock Products Technology and the College of Fisheries on third position.

Ludhiana, September 13
Jaswant Singh Cheema, in charge, Shiromani Akali Dal (A), here has alleged that the police had failed to take any action against those who had attacked him. Instead, an FIR was lodged against him only.

Briefing mediapersons here today, Cheema alleged that on August 24, he was attacked by some influential persons. The police, under pressure from the ruling party, had registered a false case against him (Cheema) and he was being falsely implicated in it.

Cheema said he was extending a helping hand to a poor and needy family when a few persons attacked him.

District president, SAD (A) (Rural), Tarlok Singh Dalla, said Cheema was badly beaten up by miscreants and the Salem Tabri Police had registered a false complaint against him.

Dalla alleged that since the Modi government came to power in the Centre, minorities were in trouble. Dalla said they would resort to agitation if the case against Cheema was not withdrawn.

Ludhiana, September 13
A singer from the city, who migrated to Canada in 2009, is reconnecting with her roots by bringing out a music album.

Jyotika Singh, a budding singer from the city, was here for the release of her debut album ‘Shades of Love’.

“I am a versatile singer and my album comprising Sufi, ghazal and rap dance tracks, both in Hindi and Punjabi, reflect my quality,” she said.

One of the songs was dedicated to both India and Canada, she said.

The album, comprising six Punjabi and Hindi tracks, has music of different genres.

Jyotika said she was a dentist by profession but her interest in music since childhood had become a passion.

She learnt music from her grandmother who had been a constant support and source of inspiration to her, the singer said.

She said she had been doing music concerts for a long time now. NRIs settled in Canada and other foreign countries miss their culture. Hence, support and encourage Indian music and artistes.

Though she moved to Canada for dentistry, but thanks to the love and encouragement of her fans, she is into live singing and music shows there.

“My fans believe more in me, than perhaps I do. It is because of their appreciation, that I have been able to make a mark in music,” she said with a smile.

A 15-year-old-boy from Tajpur Road has been diagnosed with dengue. Total dengue patients in city hospitals has reached 17. — TNS

Ludhiana, September 13
Simranjit Kaur from Ludhiana and Dapasha of Jalandhar stamped their superiority as they advanced into the semi finals in the girls’ singles U-17 and U-19 categories on the penultimate day of the Punjab State Inter-District Badminton Tournament that is being held at Shasrtri Hall near Guru Nanak Stadium in Ludhiana.

Ludhiana, September 13
Sudhir from the Ludhiana division proved his mettle finishing at the victory podium in the North Zone Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) Athletics Tournament held at Jaipur recently.

Athletes from 17 LIC divisions from North India competed in various track and field events during the meet. Giving details of Sudhir’s achievements, secretary of the LIC Employees’ Sports and Recreation Club Maan Singh said Sudhir, who joined the LIC as an assistant under the sports quota in 2012, was adjudged the best athlete at Jaipur. He has been bagging the honour for the past three years.

At Jaipur, Sudhir competed in three events and won gold medals. He finished ahead of others in the 100m sprint, 200m race and long jump to be named the best athlete. Sudhir, a national-level athlete, participated in the All-India LIC Games and also in the All-India Public Sector Athletics Meet last year, in which he bagged the third position.

Sudhir was accorded a rousing welcome on his arrival at the LIC Divisional Officer, Dugri. He was received by members of the LIC Sports and Recreation Club. Sudhir was felicitated at a function organised at the LIC office. Rajendra Kumar, senior divisional manager, LIC, Ludhiana, was the chief guest on the occasion.

He appreciated Sudhir’s performance and congratulated his coach Amritpal Singh. He wished Sudhir more success during the forthcoming All-India LIC Games stated to be held at Pune in November this year. — OC