Crops
in Punjab damaged for want of rainfall
Ludhiana:
Facing deficient rainfall, Punjab has been facing a
drought like situation in many parts. The early delay in
monsoon has badly hit the Paddy crop, crippled the canal
network and electricity generation. The state government,
which came into action is trying to bring out the state
out of nature's fury. The meteorological scientists at the
Punjab Agriculture University in Ludhiana are keeping a
close watch on the weather, as 42 per cent of the geographical
area of the country has deficient rainfall. Extreme fluctuations
in the weather patterns have been felt frequently in the
past few decades, causing heavy damage to the agri-sector.
The
months of July and August are a crucial period for the farming
community in Punjab. The state which has around 2 million
hectares of land under paddy crop, spread over large and
small holdings, is dependent on the monsoon rainfall. The
amount of rainfall in the state ranges from 250 to 1000
millimetres. But all has not been well with the south-west
monsoon this year for less than 100 millimetres of rainfall
has been recorded so far. The small and medium farmers,
already facing heavy debts, are in a state of bewilderment
over the erratic rainfall. The majority of farmers in the
state grows paddy and their entire economy depends on its
successful production. Rajbir Singh, a farmer said, "If
the condition of rainfall remains so, the paddy crop will
come down drastically from 25 quintals per acre to 17 quintals
per acre". Another farmer, Kulbir said, "There will be a
crisis of Paddy crop this season. We are feeding crops with
tubewells. We are in crises with no rain and no electricity."
The
failure of the early monsoon has forced the Punjab State
Electricity Board to buy 48 million units of power everyday,
and this is still short of the total requirement of 140
million units. The absent rains have not only put the major
reservious in a preacrious position but has virtually crippled
the canal network in the state. Interrupted power supply
to farmers has led to a heavy damage of seasonal crops and
barring pulses. The state agriculture department responsible
for the welfare of farmers and their crops are yet to work
on precautionary measures. Punjab agriculture director,
Ajmer Singh said, "At this primary stage we can not figure
out the total loss to the farmers. They have just trans-planted
the crop and we can calculate the loss after sometime. No
decision has yet been taken by the state government of the
kind of compensation be given to the affected farmers, but
the Central government have some norms of relief for the
drought and flood affected areas. We have already worked
on those parametres". A smiling rain god holds out strong
hopes for a brighter future. The good rainfall last year
had brought some relief to the Punjab farmers, with a record
kharif production giving rise in state's economy graph.
If the monsoon is good this time, then only will be a win
-win situation for all.
Iraqi
abductors have no political motive, says Natwar (Go
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New
Delhi: External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh on Sunday
said that the Iraqi kidnappers, who have kidnapped three
Indian nationals, are not politically motivated jehadis,
but extortionists simply looking for money. Singh assured
that the crisis would be resolved peacefully and that the
government was making all efforts to secure their safe release.
"We are doing our best and we now believe that the kidnappers
do not have political affiliation but are instead outlaws
who kidnap people for ransom," he added. Meanwhile, the
Iraq hostage crisis enters its fourth day today with negotiations
still continuing. New Delhi has been in touch with the governments
of Iraq and Kuwait and has been able to persuade KGL, the
Kuwaiti transport firm employing the Indians, to cease operations
in Iraq, the first demand of the kidnappers. The kidnappers
have extended the deadline by another 48 hours and this
deadline ends on Monday. Now, the "Black Banners", the kidnappers,
is demanding release of Iraqi prisoners from Kuwaiti and
American jails. But, the government has assured the parents
and relatives of the hostages that it is doing everything
possible to secure the release of the hostages.
In another related development, Minister of State for External
Affairs Rao Indrajit Singh anticipated that the Indian hostages
will be set free soon. "Efforts and negotiations are on
through the Iraqi government but it would not be fair to
divulge the kind of steps India has taken on the matter,"
Singh told a press conference in Jaipur. "We are closely
monitoring the situation there and in constant touch with
Iraq," he added.
Two
Pak nationals feared kidnapped in Iraq (Go
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Islamabad:
At least two Pakistanis working for a Kuwait-based company
were feared kidnapped here Sunday Pakistan's Foreign office
spokesman said on Sunday. With this Iraqi hostage crisis
deepened even as at least 22 countries have been so far
affected by the wave of kidnappings. Islamabad said that
the two missing nationals, an engineer and a driver believed
to be working for the al-Tamimi Group, vanished on Friday
as they drove towards Baghdad. "There is no confirmation
yet that these two Pakistanis have been kidnapped. Our people
in Baghdad have informed us that two Pakistanis on Friday,
when they were going towards Baghdad, they got missing,
and nobody knows about their whereabouts. This information
has been given to us of... group of industries, a company
for which these two Pakistanis were working. And, we are
in touch with this company..........we are also in touch
with the local authorities and we are making all efforts
to get these two Pakistanis released if they have been kidnapped
but our first priority is that we must know where they are,"
Pakistan foreign ministry spokesman Masood Khan told reporters.
Over the past 15 months, nationals from nearly two dozen
countries have been kidnapped in Iraq, sometimes by criminal
gangs, but increasingly by militants seeking to put pressure
on governments and foreign companies to pull out of the
country. Abductions have sharply increased since April,
when several dozen people were seized in one month. Around
60 people have been taken hostage since then, officials
say.
Eight
killed in LTTE attack near Colombo (Go
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Colombo:
At least eight people were shot dead at a Tamil Tiger
safe house near here on Sunday in an attack blamed on the
months-old split in the senior ranks of the rebel leadership.
According to the LTTE website www.tamilnet.com, those killed
were supporters of renegade LTTE commander Vinayagamoorthy
Muralitharan, known as "Karuna", and included one of his
deputies. Police confirmed the killings, but said they could
not say who was dead or who was responsible for the attack.
The website said that the assailants were believed to be
gunmen from the main faction of the LTTE. The police official
said the killings took place at a residence believed to
be a Tamil rebel safe house in Kottawa, an outer suburb
of Colombo. Residents said they heard bangs a few hours
before dawn on Sunday, but thought it was fireworks set
to stop monkeys from raiding orchards. "We heard gun fire
but we did not take any notice because people are lighting
fire crackers everyday to keep monkeys away from the fruit
trees. So, we thought it was fire crackers. In fact, when
I heard the noises I told my husband that we should also
buy some fire crackers," said local resident Samanthi Lanarole.
They further said that the house had been rented about two
weeks ago by a man believed to be a key Karuna associate.
Karuna, one of the most senior Tamil commanders, split from
the LTTE earlier this year thereby prompting a crisis in
the rebel group. Although the LTTE has regained control
of the eastern areas commanded by Karuna, the group accuses
the government of supporting him in order to drive a wedge
through their ranks.
Kashmiris
should be involved in talks, says European Parliament (Go
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Islamabad:
The Kashmiris must be included in the Indo-Pak talks
while resolving the K-issue, an ad hoc delegation of the
European Parliament on Kashmir has said in its latest report.
According to the Dawn, a significant observation made by
the EP delegation is: "We believe there are three parties
that have a legitimate interest in finding a solution to
Kashmir problem. They are: the Indian government, the Pakistan
government and the Kashmiri people and their representatives,
and therefore all three should be fully involved." The report
added that all the three parties must be fully involved
in the resolution of the Kashmir issue. Stating that Kashmir
was a "regional issue with international implications",
the delegation underlines that the European Parliament must
continue to engage with Kashmir, by keeping open the lines
of communication and continuing to follow from close quarters
the process underway. Thus, it strongly recommends that
the Foreign Affairs Committee of the EP consider appointing
a 'Standing Rapporteur on Kashmir' to continue its engagement
with all parties concerned.
Pak
helped Osama to set up base: 9/11 Report (Go
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Washington:
The final report of the 9/11 Commission has said that
during his entire time in Sudan, Osama bin Laden had maintained
guest houses and training camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
It added that these were part of a larger network used by
diverse organizations for recruiting and training fighters
for Islamic insurgencies in such places as Tajikistan, Kashmir,
and Chechnya. It said that Islamabad held the key to Osama's
ability to use Afghanistan as a base from which to revive
his ambitious enterprise for war against the US.
"Pakistani intelligence officers reportedly introduced Osama
to Taliban leaders in Kandahar, their main base of power,
to aid his reassertion of control over camps near Khost.
In doing so, Pakistani generals hoped that Osama would expand
the camps and make them available for training Kashmiri
militants," the Dawn quoted the report as saying. The report
said that Pakistan military leaders turned to Islamic groups
for support, and fundamentalists became more prominent.
It added that the Pakistan military rulers found "ardent
young Afghans" educated at privately madressahs "a source
of potential trouble at home but potentially useful abroad."
They believed that the Taliban movement could bring order
in chaotic Afghanistan and make it a co-operative ally.
Pakistani generals also thought that the Taliban might give
Pakistan greater security on one of the several borders
where Pakistani military officers hoped for what they called
"strategic depth," the report added.
Hinting that Pakistan had links with Osama, it said: "It
is unlikely that Osama could have returned to Afghanistan
had Pakistan disapproved. The Pakistan military intelligence
service probably had advance knowledge of his coming, and
its officers may have facilitated his travel." According
to the report, Osama went initially to Jalalabad, probably
because it was in an area controlled by a provincial council
of Muslim leaders who were not major contenders for national
power. He found lodgings with Younis Khalis, the head of
one of the main Mujahideen factions.
