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four-day cii agro tech fair gets underway
Canadian province offers technical help to farmers
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AAP leaders join protesting Punjabi University students
Bajwa has failed to take everybody along: Tewari
Terrorism-hit families rue paltry relief
United Sikh Movement turns political
Man who filmed Tarn Taran assault missing
31 more arrested under NDPS Act in Moga
Kapurthala factory rolls out 17 high-speed rail coaches
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four-day cii agro tech fair gets underway
Chandigarh, November 22 The signs of acrimony that everyone noticed after their previous meetings, the first at the swearing-in of Khattar and the second at a lunch organised for Commonwealth delegates by the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, were missing today as the two Chief Ministers shared notes during the event. Ever since the SAD had supported the INLD in the recently held Haryana Assembly elections, its alliance partner in Punjab and the Centre, the BJP seemed to have not taken too kindly to the Akalis joining hands with its political opponent in Haryana. The two Chief Ministers ensured that the first person they addressed while giving their speeches was their counterpart from the neighbouring state. The agrarian economies of the two states are almost beset with similar problems. The two leaders — one a veteran in politics and the other a first-time Chief Minister — spoke at length about the agrarian crisis facing the two states with farm incomes depleting, productivity and land holdings shrinking and indebtedness leading to farmer suicides. While Badal spoke about the need to implement the Swaminathan report, which the BJP had promised in its manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections, and ensuring that farmers make profit after the rising input costs are taken into account while fixing minimum support price (MSP) of crops, Khattar said he agreed to this demand raised by Badal. The two leaders also asked the industry to invest in research and development for agriculture and find a link between the old and modern agriculture practices to be successfully transferred to the farmers. Brad Hall, Premier of Saskatchewan (a Canadian province), Ashish Bahugubna, Secretary, Agriculture, Union Government, Dr Pawan Goenka, chairman, CII Agro Tech 2014, and Executive Director, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, were also present on the occasion. Saffron aroma draws visitors Kashmir and Kashmiri saffron have always found favour with the Punjabis. No wonder a stall put up by All J&K Saffron Growers and Development Marketing Cooperative Association selling Kashmiri saffron drew large crowds. Abdul Majeed Wani, chairman of the association, rued that because of floods, the saffron production had trickled to just 2-3 per cent of the output. As against 32,000 hectares under saffron cultivation in Pampore in 2013, saffron was cultivated on just 1,500 kanals this year. "We have been assured of some compensation by the Centre, but it has not come so far," he said. Something for small farmers too Agro Tech 2014, a biennial four-day event, has often been criticised for catering to the needs of only rich farmers. This year, small and marginal farmers, who thronged the venue on the first day, were all praise for display of small farm equipment at the fair. Gurcharan Singh of Thuha village in Patiala and Bhag Singh of Fatehpur Garhi near Rajpura said the wide array of seed drillers, rotavators and small harvesters were useful for them. But Didar Singh of Nepra lamented that the farm equipment had become costly and in the wake of poor response to farm cooperative societies, each farmer was buying these on his own, thus adding to their debt burden. Stubble burning alternative Lemken India Agro Equipment, which has launched hydraulic equipment that ploughs paddy straw back into the earth, got a good response. The company had set up its plant in Nagpur in 2013 and in one year, it managed to sell 1,000 units. "In Punjab, we have sold 100 units in a year. The Punjab Government has agreed to give a subsidy of Rs 35,000 to farmers for buying this plough, which costs Rs 2.07 lakh. Since the equipment is made using the best technology, it is fuel efficient and economical. A farmer can recover the cost of buying the plough in just one year," said Arvind Kumar, managing director of
Lemken.
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Canadian province offers technical help to farmers
Chandigarh, November 22 Saskatchewan, which can be referred to as the food bowl of Canada, will also be helping the two states diversify into swine and cattle rearing. The province has also sought permission to export live animals to the two states, besides Gujarat and Maharashtra. The Premier of Saskatchewan, Brad Wall, while talking to The Tribune on the sidelines of the inaugural function of CII's Agro Tech 2014, said his talks with the Chief Ministers of the two states were successful. "Both the chief ministers were very supportive. We discussed various areas of technology transfer. We would like to help the two states in animal genetics, specifically swine and dairy animals. Our
federal ministry is already talking to the Government of India for allowing export of live animals,"
he said. Agriculture makes up 6.8 per cent of Saskatchewan's GDP. The province grows wheat, canola, flax rye, lentils and barley. "We can help Punjab and Haryana get the best agricultural practices for these crops and adopt them here to enhance productivity. Since I am told that the soil health in Punjab and Haryana has deteriorated, Saskatchewan could help restore it by exporting potash here," he said.
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AAP leaders join protesting Punjabi University students
Patiala, November 22 Aam Aadmi Party leaders, Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann and Patiala MP Dharamvira Gandhi, today joined the dharna and condemned the police action on students. Congress leader Hardyal Kambhoj and NSUI state president Daaman Bajwa also visited the students to extend support. One faction of the students agreed to call off stir while another faction decided to continue their strike till all their demands are accepted and implemented. Sources said Patiala Deputy Commissioner Varun Roojam, Superintendent of Police (City) Pritpal Thind and Dean (Academics) AS Chawla today met student leaders. The student leaders demanded written assurance from the police that the FIR against students would be cancelled. Thind reportedly said only wrong cases would be cancelled. "These are pressure tactics by the police to force us to withdraw the agitation. We do not want police presence on university campus. All cases against students should be cancelled and the responsibility of the officers be fixed," said Sumit Shammi, a student leader. The university campus still has a heavy police presence as many leaders are visiting the university in view of the ongoing crisis.
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Bajwa has failed to take everybody along: Tewari
Ludhiana, November 22 Tewari’s comments came when he was questioned about the alleged differences between the Bajwa and Congress Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha Capt Amarinder Singh camps. He was evasive when asked whether he had raised the issue with the party high command: “It’s an internal matter. I don’t want to comment.” He said the only objective of the Punjab Congress should be to work towards getting rid of the Akali “misrule”. About the BJP government at the
Centre, he said, “It be the foreign or economic policy or other domestic issues, the NDA government is yet to spell out what new it has to offer.” About the
SAD-BJP alliance in Punjab, he said the saffron party should withdraw its support if it was unhappy with the functioning of the
Akalis. “Both the parties are, in fact, trying to befool the state people. Their aim is to divert attention from their failures and the problems facing the common man,” he said. Among those present with Tewari were Congress MLA Rakesh Pandey and ousted district unit chief Pawan Dewan. Punjab Congress spokesman Sukhpal Singh Khaira too was in the city to attend an event organised by the Chamber of Industry and Commercial Entrepreneurs. On the “rift” in the ruling alliance, he said the BJP should part ways with the Akal Dal if it was serious against the “poor governance” of the SAD. “If they are serious, they have to come on the roads to protest openly,” he said.
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Terrorism-hit families rue paltry relief
Jalandhar, November 22 Harbhajan Kaur of Valtoha said her husband Beant Singh, who was with the Home Guards, was killed in 1988. “Even 26 years after my husband was killed, I have not got any ex gratia or a government job as compensation. I am also not being paid any monthly pension like other terrorism-affected families. I was 40 years old then and was left to fend for myself and my two sons. I had to return to my parents’ place. Now, my son is 30 years old but is jobless for I could not pay for his studies beyond matriculation,” she said, seeking help from the
visiting team. Sumitra Devi, whose husband Harish Kumar was killed on April 23, 1988, near Kartarpur, said she was getting a meagre Rs 350 as pension, which too came after four to six months. Showing her bank passbook, she said her last pension came on July 9. Ruby Balim, who works at the Deputy Commissioner’s office here on a compensatory job, said she was just 19 years old and had a year-old son when her husband Parmod Kumar was shot dead at Khudda Karala near Tanda. She said the subsequent governments had failed to even enquire about her well-being or extend any aid.
BJP leader demands welfare board
Former minister Dr Baldev Raj Chawla on Saturday said he had demanded setting up of a welfare board for terrorism-affected families from the government. He said he had been working in this direction for a long time and felt that delay in providing relief could be addressed in a better way if a special board is constituted. He said he would write to the PM to seek Rs 781 crore for the purpose.
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United Sikh Movement turns political
Amritsar, November 22 Bhai Mohkam Singh has been made convener and Gurdeep Singh Bathinda secretary of the party at a programme organised here. Former Khalistan Commando Force leader Wassan Singh Jaffarwal was among others who joined the party, which would have its organisational structure in place within a month. Bhai Mohkam said Punjab was passing through a critical phase as its youth were hooked to drugs, unemployment was rising, economy was in a mess and farmers were in debt trap. — TNS
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Man who filmed Tarn Taran assault missing
Tarn Taran, November 22 Ramandeep Kaur, Jagjit’s wife, reported the matter to the police that her husband was missing since Friday. She has expressed fear that her husband may have been kidnapped. Sources said Jagjit was upset for the last few days. They said he had even written to the authorities, lamenting that his photography business had been ruined as no one was ready to book him for photography due to his security cover. Senior Superintendent of Police Manmohan Lal Sharma could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.
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31 more arrested under NDPS Act in Moga
Moga, November 22 Ramesh Grover, president, District Bar Association, said the police must verify the facts brought to their notice by the informers before registering cases on charges of heinous crimes. “Rules suggest if the investigating officer fails to recover drugs from a person against whom a case has been registered, the officer will be booked for fabricating a false case,” he said.
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Kapurthala factory rolls out 17 high-speed rail coaches
Officials said though they had rolled out same-speed rakes for Shatabdi too, the latest ones would have additional features, including automatic sliding
doors between compartments and a GPS-enabled public address system. The cost of each coach is Rs 2.5 crore, a budget allocation for which had been made by the Union Government for running high speed trains. Public Relations Officer Virender Vij said the factory had handed over 17 coaches to the Railway Board, which included 12 AC chair cars, three executive chair cars and two power-generating cars.
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The district administration today agreed to "review FIRs" registered against students of Punjabi University following a clash on its campus on Thursday.
The university authorities have agreed to send dean, student welfare, provost and security in charge on 15 days' leave in addition to forming a committee to look into the demands of the students in 15 days.
About 30 women, who had lost their husbands or sons during militancy, met members of the Rashtriya Suraksha Samiti led by former minister Dr Baldev Raj Chawla in Jalandhar today.
Jagjit Singh, an eyewitness in the Usma episode in which a Dalit girl was allegedly assaulted by the police in full public view, has reportedly gone missing from his residence under mysterious circumstances.
Jagjit had filmed the alleged assault with his video camera. The erring policemen were suspended after the footage was aired on news channels. He was provided security on the directions of the Supreme Court.
Jalandhar, November 22