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Punjab farmers cry foul over water depletion

          Chandigarh/Ludhiana: Medium and small-scale farmers in Punjab are crying foul over the gradual depletion of water levels following the termination of the 1981 water-sharing pact between their state and the states of Rajasthan, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. "The water level here has gone down by a further 10 to 15 feet. We had planned to grow paddy on eight acres of land, but as we are facing water scarcity, we can only use four acres of land to grow it. At present, we plough paddy on just one acre, and that too with huge problems," claimed Hardeep Singh, a farmer. "We are facing huge losses after installing one motor pump at a cost of around 50,000 to 60,000 rupees. In the season, two motors have already been damaged, and we have been forced us to install new ones," Baljinder Singh lamented. "On the other hand, officials say that because of bad rains they are unable to provide full electricity. We are getting electricity for eight hours and sometimes six or even four hours a day. In case of any more default, the condition could get worse," he adds.

          Since last Monday, when Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh announced the abrogation of the 1981 pact, the water- sharing dispute and the controversial suspension of the construction of the Satluj-Yamuna Link Canal has turned into a major controversy. "The fact of the matter is that Punjab cannot afford to leave nine lakh acres of its land dry and 16 lakh families without a livelihood. I have been at this issue for 31 years and I am not going to take Punjab one step back," Chief minister Amarinder Singh said. The groundwater table in Punjab has been falling drastically. Out of the state's total cultivable area of 5.03 million hectares, 4.03 million hectares are faced with a water problem. Punjab has constructed dams to preserve the water for irrigation and for generating power. The Shahpur Kandi Dam is one of them. "The Kandi Dam and other projects in the state are being constructed and activated with World Bank assistance. They are helpful of producing electricity and storing water for purposes of irrigation. Unfortunately, the lack of funds is preventing us from completing the projects. If the waste water can be used properly through these dams, things will improve," claims Gurbir Singh Dhillion, a water resource expert on Punjab. For a state where 70 percent of the economy depends on agriculture, the solution lies in a shift towards producing less water intensive non-cereal crop.

Lankan premier meets Chidambaram (Go To Top)

          New Delhi: Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse met Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram here Sunday. Rajapkse, on a three-day official visit, is expected to hold talks with top Indian leadership covering areas of mutual interest, including co-operation in agriculture and rural infrastructure. Rajapakse is accompanied by Lankan Trade Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle and Agriculture Minister Anura Dissanayake. Rajapakse, on his first visit to India as Prime Minister, is also likely to discuss his government's efforts to resume talks with Tamil rebels to end over two decades of civil war in the island nation during his meetings with Indian leaders. The rebels have said that they are willing to resume talks with the government based on a power-sharing proposal submitted last year.

Four Indian cricketers to get special training in Australia (Go To Top)

          Sydney: As many as four upcoming Indian cricketers will receive special training in Australia as a part of six-week Border-Gavaskar scholarship funded by the Australia India Council. The cricketers are: Shikhar Dhawan, Suresh Raina, Azhar Bilkhia and Y Venugopal Rao The annual scholarship provides an exciting opportunity to young cricketers to train at the Commonwealth Bank Centre of Excellence (CBCE) in Brisbane. "The current training at CBCE has given me an opportunity to concentrate on the backfoot against medium pace on Australia's bouncy wickets," said 18-year-old Shikhar who has played in the Under 19 World Cup in Bangladesh and has been playing for Delhi for the past five years.

Pak beat Hong Kong by 173 (Go To Top)

          Colombo: Pakistan beat Hong Kong by 173 runs to top group `A' of the Asia Cup at the Sinhalese Cricket Ground on Sunday. Batting first Pakistan scored 343 runs in 50 overs. Openers Imran Nazir and Imran Farhat went back to pavilion when the score board read 51 runs. Shoaib Malik and Younus Khan built Pakistan innings with 223 runs third wicket partnership with centuries. Shoaib Malik made with 118 runs while Younus Khan scored 144 runs. Hong Kong's Khalid Khan captured two wickets. Under Duckworth- Lewis target revised to 339 from 47 overs due to rain. Pakistan's bowling proved too much for the Hong Kong batting lineup as the team was all out on 165 runs total. Pakistan won the match by 173 runs. Shoaib Malik captured four wickets and he was declared man of the match for his all round performance. Imran Farhat taken three wickets.