Project turns land into gold
From Our Correspondent

BHAGWASI (DERA BASSI), April 28 — There is an atmosphere of festivity in this sleepy village as farmers are harvesting their first-ever bumper crop of wheat. The poor crop-yielding agricultural land of the village has now become gold for the farmers, thanks to a project launched by the Chandigarh-based research centre of the Central Soil and Water Conservation Research and Training Institute.

This is not a success story of this village alone.Several hectares of uneven terrain in the neighbouring Aganpur and Musapur villages in Dera Bassi sub-division of Patiala district, which used to produce low yield, have been covered under an Integrated Wasteland Development Project ( IWDP), funded by the Central Government.

The project was started in June 1997, following a decision of the Ministry of Rural Areas and Employment to develop wasteland into cultivable land. A budget of Rs 22 lakh was sanctioned for the project. A total of 241 districts in different parts of the country were identified by the ministry where such projects were to be launched.

The research centre adopted three villages under the project. The project was one of its kind in the region, said Dr R.K. Aggarwal, Head of the institute. Out of total sanctioned budget, Rs 8 lakh had already been spent on the project.

Watershed development committees in both these villages were constituted to manage the funds of the project. The committees have a chairman and a secretary, with 12 other members.

Talking to the Tribune at the project site, Dr V.S. Katiyar, team leader of the group comprising experts from different fields, said the land in the villages was not high-yielding. The reason, he said, was that there was no provision to stop rain water, resulting in a lot of soil erosion.Farmers knew about the problems but did not have the knowhow to get rid of the problem. Initially they had to face opposition from the residents, Dr Aggarwal said.

Dr Katiyar said the main challenge before the team was to prepare the land for agricultural production. "We prepared the villagers by setting up several benefit programmes such as a tailoring-training institute, distribution of tools, carpet-weaving structures and training in bee-keeping among artisans of the village to seek their participation.

A farmer was also prepared to handle the nursery in the village," he said. He added that the farmer had been provided with 10,000 poplar trees free of cost, which would be bought back by the team after giving him Rs 10 per plant. These plants would be distributed among other farmers. " We had no prior experience in such an experimental field. We had to work hard to secure our entry into the village with the faith of the residents towards us," said Dr Aggarwal.

To seek the active participation of the residents, the team started with educating the farmers about the low yield and offered to maintain their fields. For this purpose, several acres was levelled, with the only condition that the farmer would also take part in the exercise. Dr Aggarwal said the reason behind this attitude was to to prepare farmers for the future, as after two years— by the time the project would be ended— they must know how to tackle the problems which were prevalent for past several years.

According to Dr Katiyar, the process started with the levelling of land to make embankments around fields to stop soil erosion. If the top soil is washed away, it affects the yield by more than 30 per cent.

Other works undertaken in the fields included bench terracing. This type of land could only be seen in hills. Rain water stagnated in the fields due to non-existence of any drainage system. The team has built various structures to save lands from soil erosion. Inwardly contoured sloping strips are made to give direction to water. Different varieties of grass such as bhabbhar, khas, vetiver and nepier have been planted on bundhs to make these resistant to water pressure.

Several check-dams have also been built on the shamlat land. Farmers' land is saved from the damage caused by the rainwater, with the construction of engineering structures. Brick-masonry check-dams, brick-masonry safe water disposal structures and gabion structures are useful in checking erosion of land due to rain. Farmers have also been provided with several plants, including guava, mango, karandha and poplar, free of cost.

Mr Inder, a farmer of the Bhagwasi village said though the farmers were in deep trouble as their land hardly produced sufficient crop.

"We had certain doubts about the project. Initially, we thought that officials were trying to grab our lands on behalf of government, but later, when they started work, we realised the true spirit behind it," he said.

Verification of stolen vehicles possible

CHANDIGARH, April 28 — Before buying a second-hand vehicle, one will now be able to verify if it is a stolen one or not. The Chandigarh police is now updating data of vehicles stolen from Chandigarh and feeding it into computer for the benefit of buyers of second-hand vehicles.

The facility known as 'Vehicle Auto Match System' will be provided free of charge. A telephone number will be provided for members of the public to ask for information. The data would be also be available on the internet, said the police authorities.

At present, details of vehicles stolen only from Chandigarh are being fed into computer. An attempt is being made to get data of stolen vehicles from neighbouring states and districts..

A police team is also studying if the database of the vehicle registering authority can be used by police computers. This will also verify ownerships of vehicles, enabling verifications of stolen ones to be made over wireless sets by the field staff.

'My MP must rise above personal gains'
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, April 28 — Young voters, including the first-time voters, have a lot of expectations from the MPs they are going to vote for in the forthcoming elections. They want them to be efficient, effective and sincere towards the cause of people, and not be working for petty personal and political gains.

Rajni, a BA (II) year student of Government College for Girls, Sector 11, says that an ideal MP is one who is able to assure masses of stability in his constituency and check the ills of inflation and poverty. He should take steps to bridge the gap between the rich and the poor. She expects the new MP to look into the problem of girls, particularly start bus service for them and start some self-defence programmes in colleges so that they are able to check eve-teasing.

According to Mamta, another student of GCG-11, who will be casting her vote for the first time, an ideal MP should be well qualified and should apply his mind while taking important public decisions. Her priority while casting the vote will be the candidate's background and capabilities and not just the party. He should represent the affairs of the state just as he would deal with his home affairs so as to bring about the desired improvement.

Bhupinder Singh, a law student of PU, lamented that none of the politicians who are elected time and again live up to the expectations of the people. He is of the view that a person who is elected MP should be sincere and have the welfare of the masses dear to his heart. He should be readily available and not disappear once he is voted to power, which is the normal practice. He should at least make all possible efforts to provide basic amenities to the people of his area.

Similar views were echoed by Amit Gupta, who is doing his masters in computer applications at PU, and is looking forward to a stable government which lasts for five years. He opines that MPs should rise above personal gains and work sincerely for the development of the areas they represent. It is equally important for an MP to belong to an area he represents as only then he will be able to identify the problems in a better way. No doubt the party he represents is also to be kept in mind, but the person's past record and achievements should also be taken into account at the time of casting vote.

Contrary to this, some of the voters still continue to give more weightage to the party they wish to have at the centre while choosing the representatives at the state level.

Reshu, a BA (III) student who is a supporter of the BJP government, said that she would vote for the BJP candidate so that it once again forms the government. She is of the view that a candidate should fulfill the promises made to the people in the election manifesto and not change colours.

Nazia Haleem, a B Sc II ( Hons) student who will also be casting her vote for the first time feels, that a candidate should be sincere and honest be able to win back the faith of the people in democracy. According to her, an ideal MP from here will be able to take all possible measures to keep the city beautiful. Expressing her disgust with coalition governments, she hopes that people vote for one party with a clear majority.

Another student, Gurpreet, is of the view that an ideal MP should not depend on the vote bank in slums to come to power. He should strive to remove slums which have mushroomed all over the city and are spoiling its character. "I will vote for a candidate who has been working for the public even when he was not in power,'' he says. His priority should be the interest of the people and not of his party.

Gurjot Singh, a post graduate student of computer applications maintains that all voters should cast their vote so as to bring the right candidates in the fray. Leaders who are dedicated and devoted to their work should be voted to bring about the desired stability at all levels. He should be a man of character who does not change his loyalties every now and then.

Revised rozgar yojana to benefit banks
From Yoginder Gupta
Tribune News Service

PANCHKULA, April 28 — Bankers here are hopeful that the revised Prime Minister’s Rozgar Yojana (PMRY), which came into force with effect from April 1 last, will help them boost credit take-off which has been on a lower side for the past two years.

The scheme has been in operation for the past five years. During this period, it was felt that certain parameters of the PMRY like conditions such as age and educational qualifications were coming in the way of expanding the coverage of the scheme. Similarly, the total financial assistance per case was found to be insufficient in case of certain viable activities.

While keeping the age limit of 18 to 35 years for educated unemployed beneficiaries, the government has given a relaxation of 10 years for Scheduled Castes, scheduled tribes, ex-servicemen, physically handicapped and women beneficiaries.

Earlier, the beneficiaries should have either passed or failed in matric or have passed an ITI course or should have undergone a government-sponsored technical course for a minimum period of six months.

Now all those who have passed class VIII would be entitled to receive loans under the scheme. However, preference would be given to those who have been imparted training for any trade in an approved institution for at least six months.

A person who has already availed himself of loan under any subsidy-linked government scheme has been debarred from the PMRY. Earlier, the scheme covered only the industry service and business activities. Now all economically viable activities, including agriculture and allied activities, excluding direct agriculture operations like raising crops or purchase of manure, have been covered under the PMRY.

The project cost has also been raised from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh, but for the business sector the limit will be Rs 1 lakh.

If two or more eligible persons join hands, projects up to Rs 10 lakh will be covered under the scheme. However, the total assistance will be limited to individual admissibility.

The bankers have been allowed to take margin money from the entrepreneur varying from 5 per cent to 16.25 per cent so as to make the total of the subsidy and the margin money equal to 20 per cent of the project cost.

Waiting for buses in the open
From Our Correspondent

ZIRAKPUR, April 28 — Commuters have to tolerate the vagaries of the weather due to the absence of a bus queue shelter, here on the Zirakpur-Patiala National Highway (NH-64).

The commuters to Patiala, Rajpura and Banur, have to wait for buses, either on the roads or by seeking shelter in shops.

A rain shelter, which was built about 25 years ago by the local panchayat, was demolished by the Public Works Department (PWD) last year while widening the road, leading to Patiala.

The residents of the area complain that after demolishing the rain shelter, the authorities have ignored them by not thinking of any shelter here.

Mrs Usha Devi, a commuter, laments that during the hostile weather, women have to take shelter in various shops, dhabas and kiosks. When they take shelter in different places, some persons often pass comments upon them, she complains.

Mr Malkiat Singh, a commuter, says that sometimes the shopkeepers allow them and sometimes they are ignored.

Mr Devinder Singh, who runs a cold drinks stall, says that his business has declined for the last one year. Same is the statement of a sweet shop owner.

Mr Sunehari Lal, President of the Zirakpur Shopkeepers Welfare Association, complains about the roads in poor condition and has demanded public toilets in the town. While Mr Narinder Sharma, the Sarpanch of Lohgarh village, has demanded a local bus stand so that the traffic hazard created by various buses may be reduced.

When contacted, the Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO), Mr K.S. Bhinder, said that all the encroachments on this highway were removed as per the directions of the High Court. The shelters on bus stops were removed as the road was being widened to make it a national highway. A provision of bus stops on the Chandigarh-Delhi and Zirakpur-Patiala highways was under consideration. He added that national highways do not have bus stops.