Dip in mercury takes toll on sugarcane yield

Fatehgarh Sahib : A sudden dip in the temperature and attack of fungicides has decreased sugarcane yield in the district by 40 to 50 quintals per acre. Farmers had brought in more area under sugarcane cultivation after it fetched good prices last year. “Last year, I managed to earn Rs 400 quintals per acre, however, this year the yield has dipped to 350 quintals,” said Harvinder Singh, a farmer from Salana village. The price of the produce has also decreased as compared to last year, farmers rued. Last year farmers sold their produce to the sugar mills at Rs 280 per quintal against government price of Rs 180. This year the rate has gone down to Rs Rs 190 to 200 per quintal, depending on the variety of sugarcane crop. The prices had increased last year due to an increase in the sugar prices. Farmers from the district sold their produce to mills in Morinda in Ropar and Amloh in Fatehgarh Sahib. The cost of harvest also increased from Rs 18 last year to Rs 25 this year as farmer shad to shell out extra money to pay wages to labourers. According to Agriculture Development Officer (ADO) Jaswinder Singh, Due to inclement weather, the yield has decreased between 25 to 50 quintals per acre as compared to last year,” he said, quoting a survey by the agriculture department. “The yield decreased despite adequate use of pesticides and other medicines by the farmers,” he said. A worm, top borer-(fot da garuan), attacked the crop in July resulting in a drastic decrease in the yield, he said. The worm devours the tip of the sugarcane plant resulting in hampered plant growth.

Cold wave continues in region

Jallandhar : Despite a rise in the mercury at many places, North India has been reeling under extreme cold conditions. It has been three days since a cold wave started in the region. While the mercury hovered around 8°C at most places, the cold wave in the northern region has been giving a tough time to people, especially the destitute. Bathinda remained the coldest in the plains with a minimum temperature of 8.1°C followed by Amritsar (8.5°C) and Halwara (8.8°C). Chandigarh saw a low of 8.9°C, Pathankot (9°C) and Adampur reeled under 9.2°C. In Haryana, Ambala recorded a minimum temperature of 9°C. In Jammu and Kashmir, Srinagar was at minus 6.7°C followed by Udhampur with a minimum of 4.9°C and Jammu recording a low of 8.3°C. In the upper reaches of the valley, Leh recorded a freezing low of minus 23°C while Avantipora remained a freezing low of minus 9°C. The Met Department at Adampur Air Force station has predicted a mainly overcast sky with occasional mist in the morning and evening in the next 24 hours.

Daduwal, 11 followers shifted to Ferozepur Jail

Ferozepur : Hardline Sikh preacher Baljeet Singh Daduwal, who along with his 11 followers was arrested by the Mansa police yesterday after a clash with policemen at Bhikhi town, was today shifted to the Ferozepur Central Jail under heavy security arrangements. A case under Sections 107 and 151 of the CrPC against Daduwal was registered at the Jaurkian police station of Mansa district. Later, he was arrested formally along with a section of his followers who indulged in violent activities. Sources said Daduwal and his 11 followers had been kept in separate barracks under special security arrangements. “Except the jail staff, no one is allowed to enter their barrack. An officer of the rank of assistant superintendent and subordinate staff and jail guards have been deployed,” said jail superintendent (Ferozepur) LS Jakhar. “The jail authorities have allowed them to go to temple or gurdwara but under special security arrangements. Their kin will be allowed to meet them only from 12 noon to 2 pm daily,” he said. When asked why restrictions had been imposed on these 12 inmates, Jakhar said as there were nearly 1,800 inmates in the jail, the authorities were bound to keep a check on all inmates so that they could not commit any mischief.

Act against guilty : Jathedar Sri Akal Takhat Sahib

Amritsar : Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh today condemned the clash in Bhikhi and sought action against those who disrupted the programme of Baba Baljit Singh Daduwal as well as police officials who cane-charged peacefully protesting Sikhs. Talking to mediapersons here, he said: “Every person in this country has a right to propagate his religion. Daduwal had planned a religious programme at Gurdwara Patshahi Nauvi in Bhikhi, but the police not only put off his public address system but also allowed followers of the Dera Sacha Sauda to hold a discourse near his venue.” He said Daduwal should be released immediately without any condition and it should be investigated as to “why his programmes are always disrupted”.

UT schools get RTE directives sans Patil's nod

Chandigarh : While the UT District Education Officer has already begun issuing instructions to city private schools for the implementation of various postulates of Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (2009), the draft rules are yet to reach UT Administrator Shivraj Patil for his approval. According to a highly placed administration official, the draft rules or guidelines have not been approved so far either by the Advisor or the Administrator. “The education department has formed the rules but they have not been approved as yet. The Act may have been notified in the country but our local draft rules are yet to be given a final nod. As per information provided by the education department they are still being deliberated upon,” the official said on condition of anonymity. Reacting to the ongoing tiff between private schools and the UT Education department over the conditions laid down in the Act, the official concerned said, “ Its not just in UT but everywhere in country. Confusion continues to haunt the ACT and even MHRD officials, who are unclear about various postulates. What is creating trouble between the Education department and city schools is the fact that each claims to be an expert on the Act. They need to solve their queries amicably,” he said. Meanwhile, Education Secretary Ram Niwas, District Education Officer Chanchal Singh and DPI (S) PK Sharma failed to answer to repeated phone calls made to them. An official of the education department said, “ As far as the rules are concerned the deliberations are on but we are forced to issue instructions. The private schools will go ahead with admissions and complete them without accommodating provisions of the Right To Education Act. Once the admissions are over, we will be left helpless so we want relevant postulates to be incorporated now.”

Fog affects traffic flow, accidents on the rise

Rajpura : Dense fog has been leading to frequent traffic disruptions on the Delhi-Amritsar highway for the past several days. Situation goes almost chaotic during peak traffic hours in the morning and evening. Several accidents have been reported on this busy stretch of the highway so far. Two persons lost lives in an accident last week. Commuters say there are not enough ambulances to deal with such situations and even the police patrolling is not adequate on the highway. Traffic police officials maintain that rescue operations also get affected in winters as reaching the spot becomes difficult due to fog. “Traffic often gets disrupted due to fog during morning and evening hours. Two-wheeler riders are the most vulnerable to accidents in such situations,” said Jaswinder Singh, a resident of ITI Chowk, Rajpura. “Visibility is severely hit due to fog in remote open areas. Sometimes it gets reduced to just around 50 feet, thereby increasing the chances of accidents,” he added. Traffic police officials at Sirhind said poor visibility during evening hours made drivers switch on headlights. “Many people drive vehicles at high beam, making it difficult for drivers coming from the opposite direction to see properly. Few drivers use fog lamps and defoggers,” said an official. In charge of the traffic education cell at Fatehgarh Sahib Sub-Inspector Rajesh Kumar said though the department had been trying to educate commuters to drive slow, very few people obeyed such instructions and the traffic rules. Besides road traffic, rail traffic has also been hit in the area due to bad weather conditions. Many trains are running behind schedule. Railway officials at Sirhind and Rajpura said passenger trains were the worst-affected. These were running five to 10 hours behind schedule. The Bandra-Amritsar Deluxe train was running 17 hours behind schedule.

Hero's welcome for Kamal on reaching home

Patiala : It was a heroes welcome for singing sensation Kamal Khan, winner of Zee TV’s “Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Singing Superstar” contest as he reached his hometown after winning the contest.Son of a class IV employee working with the health department in Patiala, the youngest in the family from Reethkherhi village, Khan left his studies midway to pursue his dream. Kamal also sang the background song for the movie ‘Tees Maar Khan’. Kamal said he has a few offers in his kitty. “I learnt a lot from the judges of the show and owe my success to them,” he added. Judges of the show renamed him Kamal Khan from Kamal Dewana. His mother Sarabjit Kaur and father Jaswant Singh said their days of struggle and poverty were over. Kamal thanked his uncle Shauqat Ali Dewana and for their encouragement. Residents honoured Kamal Khan at various places in city on his arrival today.