Ludhiana, December 8
Groundnut is a viable alternative to paddy in Sangrur. This has been amply demonstrated by the PAU Directorate of Extension of Education, which undertook cultivation of groundnut on 344 acres in Kharif-2006 in five villages namely Wazirpur Badesha, Panjgarian, Tibba of Ahmedgarh and Majhi and Nagra of Bhawanigarh.

The Director of Extension Education, Dr S.S. Gill, who presided over a field day on diversification in agriculture in Inna Bajwa (Sangrur)village on Thursday, said the average per acre yield of groundnut was around 10 quintals. The varieties sown were: SG-99, M-522 and SG-84. The day was organised in association with Sir Rattan Tata Trust, Mumbai, that had provided financial backing for the project

Addressing the farmers and officials of the district administration from various development departments, Dr Gill said cultivation of groundnut involved low cost as compared to paddy and even in terms of irrigation, water requirement was lesser than that of paddy. The Minimum Support Price offered for groundnut (Rs 1520 per quintal) also acted as an incentive. Experts from the PAU educated farmers on the practices of cultivating groundnut and protection against diseases, insects and pests.

The farmers were impressed upon to plant at least five different fruit plants at their tubewells. As Punjab had approximately 11.68 lakh tubewells, this mass-scale plantation would not only bring additional area, approximately five lakh acres, under fruit trees but would also change the environment of the state. Besides, it would provide nutrition to the farming families. "Over a period of time, Punjabi’s, who were once known for their robust health, have lost much of the charisma. However, by supplementing their daily diet with fruits, they will regain their lost health".

Harnek Singh, Deputy Commissioner, Sangrur, Dr N.S. Bhutter, PAU Head of the Department of Entomology, and several progressive farmers were among others who spoke on the occasion.

Doraha, December 8
All private aided schools of Doraha block shall remain closed till the restoration of pension scheme to the teachers of these schools as stated by them in a press note issued here today.

These teachers have gone on an indefinite strike against the withdrawal of pension scheme already implemented by the state government. Apart from restoration of pension scheme, they have demanded the issuing of notifications of rural allowance, interim relief and medical allowance. They blamed that the statements given in their favour by the CM on various occasions have proved to be nothing less than a bundle of lies. Mr Nirmal Singh Bhangu, Block President, Mr Karamjit Singh Gill, Secretary and Mr Ajitpal Singh,a teacher leader, spoke against the 'shrewd' policies of the government and the step-motherly treatment meted out to them.

Meanwhile, the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers Union have also condemned the negative attitude of the government and have demanded the restoration of pension to the teachers of aided schools. Dr Kuldeep Singh, area secretary, Panjab University, Dr R.S. Brar, former president PCCTU and Prof Manjit Komal, district president, have asked for the immediate release of 680 teachers who have been detained. They have also sought assurance from the government to make the necessary amends.

The women convener of the PCCTU, Mrs Parkash Verma, too, has demanded the release of the detained teachers in which there were 295 ladies.

Ludhiana, December 8
Channan Devi Government Girls High School, Salim Tabri, Ludhiana, organised its annual function a few days ago. The function was organised with the help of teachers of the BCM College of Education under the guidance of Ms Indu Sehgal (organiser of the eco club) and Ms Harmeet Anand, a lecturer with the BCM College of Education.

Painting, drawing and poetry-recitation competitions were held on the occasion. A speech on the importance of sapling plantation was also delivered.

Ludhiana, December 8
The Punjab State branch of the Indian Red Cross Society today organised an AIDS awareness seminar in the Central Jail here today to educate inmates about preventive measures against the life-threatening disease.

Around 500 prisoners and undertrials attended the programme.

The seminar marked the conclusion of a comprehensive AIDS awareness project, carried out in connection with World AIDS Day at seven central jails at Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Jalandhar, Ferozepore, Patiala and Bathinda.

Inaugurating the seminar, Mr S.P. Khanna, Deputy Superintendent, Central Jail, exhorted the inmates to gain knowledge about preventive steps against AIDS and to follow them scrupulously so that the objective of creating an AIDS-free society could be achieved.

He said the threat posed by the till-now incurable disease was so huge that everyone had to chip in with his or her contribution towards getting rid of AIDS.

Mr Raj Kumar Kalia, Project Manager, AIDS, focused on the increasing incidence of the disease while emphasising the need to adopt a multi-pronged strategy for its prevention.

He explained the importance of safe sex, safe blood transfusion and several other safeguards against the AIDS infection.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Lajpal Singh Bains, a state-awardee, motivated the inmates to work for AIDS awareness and rid the society of other social evils.He also sounded a note of caution against drug addiction, which had emerged as a major risk factor for HIV-AIDS.

Dr Avtar Singh, Medical Officer, Central Jail, Mr Amrik Singh, Deputy Superintendent, and Mr Iqbal Singh Dhaliwal were also present.

Amloh, December 8
The Amloh block lifted the overall trophy with 56 points in the three-day District Sports Meet (Under 11) which concluded at Government Secondary School here last night.

The Khamano block with 26 points and the Sirhind-2 block with 21 points were placed at the second and third positions, respectively.

The results are:

KABADDI: Boys — Khamano block ( I ),Amloh block ( II ); Girls -Sirhind-2 block (I), Bassi block ( II).

Kho Kho : Boys-Amloh block ( I ),Sirhind-2 block ( II ); Girls-Amloh block ( I ), Khamano block ( II ). Wrestling- 25 kg ; Lakhi, Khamano (I),Sukhchain, Sirhind-2 ( II );30 kg Manvir Khamano (I),Lovepreet (II).

Ludhiana, December 8
The second edition of the annual sports meet of DAV Public School, Sarabha Nagar Extension, was declared open by Mr Ramandeep Singh Grewal, Deputy Director, Sports, Punjab Agricultural Univeristy, Ludhiana, yesterday. Results: Class IV: Boys: 100m race- Pranav Nagpal 1, Kashish 2 and Parth 3; backward race- Rohit 1, Jai Kanwar 2 and Yajur Goel 3; three-legged race- Karandeep and Mayank 1, Pranav Jain and Sulabh Kumar 2; Shubham and Tarun 3. Girls: 100m race- Aastha 1, Swarika 2 and Janvi Arora 3; sack race- Ambika 1, Shivangi 2 and Aditi 3; potato race- Shruti 1, Sakshi 2 and Aanchal 3.

Class V: Boys: 100m- Gagandeep 1, Nikhil 2 and Pushneet 3; sack race- Varun Pathak 1, Pushmeet 2 and Arham 3; obstacle race- Karanveer 1, Madhav 2 and Arun Dixit 3. Girls: potato race- Unik 1, Gundeep Kaur 2 and Nitesh Singla 3; obstacle race- Meenal 1, Swapandeep 2 and Gunjan 3.

Ludhiana, December 8
The Department of Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Extension, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, organized a dairy training course for the milk procurement staff of Reliance Industries Limited.

Information regarding dairy farming, milk testing, milk procurement, processing, storage, transportation, marketing, pricing and recordkeeping was given to the trainees. These trainees will be deputed in various districts of Punjab.