<p>Additional reply by Greater Mohali Area Development Authority in Original Application No 739 of 2023 in the matter of Environment Protection Society SAS Nagar & Others Vs Ministry of Environment,
Dry irrigation canals in the Malwa heartland of Punjab have made agriculturists weep. Most of the canals and tributaries in the area have been lying dry and causing drinking water crisis for the past two months, farmers cry. The farmers also lament that they are forced to buy drinking water as the filtration tanks are almost dry. Karnail Singh of Jajjal village said: "It is unfortunate that residents of this area in Punjab, known as the land of five major rivers of the country, are now quenching their thirst by buying water from neighbouring Haryana.' Another resident of the area Gurmail Singh said a tractor owner of Takhatmal village was selling 5,000 litres tank of water to them for Rs 450. The farmers cry that their crops will be affected in case steps are not taken to immediately release water in the canals. The canal water is the main source of drinking water in many of the villages in the area. They point out that the underground water in the area is not fit for consumption because of heavy content of pesticides. The water being procured through private sources is unfiltered that lead to many diseases. The filtration plant constructed with foreign knowhow near Talwandi Sabo township is also lying dry. The small farmers in the adjoining Malkana, Gyana and Lalewal villages are also facing acute shortage of drinking water. Gurmail Singh said residents of Jajjal village did not get adequate supply of drinking water even during normal times as no overhead tank had been built by the Water and Sewerage Board in the area. The water pumped by the filtration plant did not reach the tail-end residents, he added.
The Department of Agronomy, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, and the Farm Advisory Service Scheme (FASS), Sangrur, organised a convention on "Alternative cropping systems to rice-wheat in saving of irrigation water' at Majhi village near Bhawanigarh, under the leadership of Dr Mandeep Singh, district extension specialist, Sangrur, yesterday. Dr Nachhattar Singh Malhi, director, Extension Education, PAU, was the chief guest. Dr Malhi called upon the farmers to reduce area under paddy to save Punjab from becoming a desert. He stressed on timely transplanting of paddy and cultivation of varieties especially PAU-201 and PR-118 to check receding underground water table. He suggested sowing of water-saving crops like groundnut, Bt cotton and maize etc as their irrigation requirement was less compared to paddy. He also motivated farmers to launch village-wise campaign for the eradication of weeds so that mealy bug could not harm cotton crop during the next kharif season. Dr Krishan Kumar Vashist, senior agronomist, PAU, said central Punjab with 400-800 mm rainfall and coarse textured soils was not fit for paddy cultivation. The local population was not rice eating. The alternative cropping systems to rice-wheat, therefore, could play a great role in saving water by replacing the area under paddy, he added. ADC (Development) Harnek Singh laid emphasis on kitchen gardening model and adoption of subsidiary occupations by farmers to augment farm income. Presiding over the function, Dr U.S. Walia, head, Department of Agronomy, PAU, stressed on diversification by bringing more area under pulses and oilseeds. Dr A.S. Sohi, Dr Surjeet Singh, Dr G.S. Rattan, Dr T.S. Dhillon, and Dr Jagdish Grover, deputy director, Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Kherri, also spoke. The FASS and the KVK held an exhibition for the farmers.
The Central Silk Board (CSB), the apex body of the Indian sericulture industry, is involved in developing new hybrids to improve bivoltine silk production in sub-tropical Northern India. Among northern states, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttaranchal are the traditional bivoltine silk producers in the region. Despite more potential for bivoltine silk in these states, their combined contribution remains low, when compared to other states like Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. One of the major reasons for such a low production is lack of region-specific and acclimatised productive hybrids, CSB officials said. Currently,
Even as the Union government is struggling to boost the country's agriculture extension system, pesticide and crop chemical manufacturers have joined hands with rural ngos to promote safe and judicious usage of pesticides among the farmers.
AJ. Philip's survey of primary health centres in Punjab (Feb 4, 5 and 6) has brought out the pathetic neglect of the basic healthcare. The Bhor Committee (1943) has laid down the three-tier health setup for the country with the primary health centre as the pivot for providing preventive and curative services at the grassroots level. District hospitals and specialised higher medical institutions were to provide the secondary and tertiary care service. Instead of strengthening the PHCs and district hospitals with adequate staff, equipment and drugs, the government continues to hoodwink the public by announcing new schemes which hardly make any impact. People, especially the poor, continue to be denied the basic healthcare as enshrined in the Constitution. No doubt, Punjab is lagging behind in social service indices, of which health services is an important segment compared with many other states. Having closely observed the working of PHCs in Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, I feel that the system is best for the country if appropriate steps are taken to strengthen it and plug the loopholes in its working. Instead of wasting financial and human resources in unproductive activities like realty development, it would be better to improve the existing peripheral health services to provide succour to the suffering rural folks of the state. Brig H. S. SANDHU (retd), Panchkula
The Planning Commission on Tuesday suggested a slew of measures to reform Punjab's power sector, including charging differential peak and non-peak tariffs for commercial users in the state. At a meeting to finalise the state's Annual Plan for 2008-09 on Tuesday, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal discussed at length the issues concerning the power sector with Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia.
Punjab calling: Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal calling on Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia in New Delhi on Tuesday. NEW DELHI: The Annual Plan of Punjab for 2008-09 was on Tuesday finalised at Rs.6,210 crore at a meeting here between Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and State Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal. The Plan outlay includes an additional Central assistance component of Rs. 200 crore for the priority projects of the State.
Leading power companies, including Larsen & Turbo, Reliance Energy, Tata Power, Nagarjuna Construction, GVK Infrastructure and Sterlite Industries have expressed interest in taking up the construction of Rajpura thermal and Talwandi Sabo mega power projects in Punjab. The projects are proposed to be awarded to developers on build, own and operate (BOO) basis, through tariff-based international competitive bidding (ICB). For both the projects, Power Finance Corporation has been appointed as the consultant resulting in such a tremendous response.
eleven peafowl found dead in Punjab were killed by food contaminated with pesticides. Nine peahens and two peacocks died in Ladhowal forest area near Ludhiana on December 26. The state forest
The report: "Independent, Third Party Assessment of Coca-Cola Facilities in India' By: The Energy and Resource Institute, Delhi Tested plants: Kaladera (Rajasthan), Nemam (Tamil Nadu),
