16022021-JTR-01.qxd 2/15/2021 10:56 PM Page 1 c m y b Jalandhar TRIBUNE PAGE 2 BABY SHOW: OVER 80 CHILDREN COMPETE FOR TOP HONOURS More than 80 students participated in ‘Spectacle de bébé’, a baby show, organised by CT World School. FORECAST MAINLY CLEAR SKY SOUTH INDIAN STARS DARLING & MILANA NAGARAJ GET HITCHED PAGE 3 ANIRUDDH DAVE & SHUBHI AHUJA BLESSED WITH A BABY BOY Darling Krishna and Milana Nagaraj, who were seen together in Love Mocktail, got married in Bengaluru. MAX 20°C | MIN 9°C | YESTERDAY MAX 23°C | MIN 10°C SUNSET TUESDAY 6:15 PM PAGE 4 Aniruddh got married to Shubhi in 2015. Shubhi Ahuja was seen in the TV show Y.A.R.O Ka Tashan with Aniruddh Dave. SUNRISE WEDNESDAY 7:07 AM TUESDAY | 16 FEBRUARY 2021 | JALANDHAR Now, grow veggies on your rooftop — ICAR-CPRI style GREEN FINGERS Institute comes up with cost-effective, patented technology for home production doing ❝We are providing training andfee andtheir handholding We after charging ~5,000 as licence signing of MoUs. Deepkamal Kaur have established about 15 service providers which are based in Jalandhar, Amritsar, Patiala, Kapurthala, Saharanpur, New Delhi and even Chennai. They have already started running the business in their respective areas and are installing the set up in houses on demand within two hours. Tribune News Service Jalandhar, February 15 Having developed technologies for farmers for potato cultivation all these years, the Central Potato Research Institute of the Indian Council for Agricultural Research here has now come up with a completely diversified training module. Based at Badshahpur village on Nakodar Road here, the institute has come up with VegFast. Bearing a tagline in Hindi ‘Ghar par ugayein taza khaien’, it is a technology for rooftop vegetable production, for which the institute has even sought patent. Developed by five Sukhwinder Singh, MEMBER, AGRI-BUSINESS INCUBATOR TEAM, CPRI ❞ Sukhwinder Singh from the CPRI demonstrates VegFast technique in Jalandhar. SARABJIT SINGH member agri-business incubator team comprising two engineers Dr Sukhwinder Singh and Dr Brajesh Nare, vegetable scientist Dr Sugani Devi, food technologist Dr Arvind Jaiswal and agriculturist Yogesh Gupta, the much-simplified technique has several new features. Team head Sukhwinder Singh explains: “In this cost- effective technique, we are planting vegetables in troughs made of iron mesh, which are 7 to 8 inches deep and layered with porous, tightly woven weed mats. A good soil mixture, which is rich in organic manure, and some cocopeat is added to these stands. Then healthy saplings of seasonal vegetables are planted, which can help give the first harvest within 15-20 days. Since production is very speedy because of use of saplings instead of seeds, we got the trademark ‘VegFast’ for it.” The institute, which is giving demonstration to visitors and is also holding online training modules for those interested in the technique for business purposes, is issuing licences to its service providers across the region for running their businesses. Dr Brajesh Nare showed how troughs have been designed by him in different shapes and sizes, including rectangular, circular, partitioned, in steps and even in several vertical layers for flats and houses with major space constraints. He explains: “The weed mats that we are using are UV-radiated, which ensures a longer life of at least three years. We also layer it with paddy straw before putting in the soil mixture. It has the perfect perforation, which does not allow the soil to pass through and only lets extra water seep down on days, when it rains heavily. Otherwise the troughs are so easily manageable and keep the roofs clean that there is no spillage around it. We even tell service providers to offer iron lines on the top of the troughs, where creepers of vegetables such as gourds, tomatoes can be hung and continued on page 2 Dist reports 40 new cases Support for farm stir reaches sky high Tribune News Service Aparna Banerji SELLING LIKE HOT CAKES Tribune News Service JAL ROUND-UP Samples collected 5,95,720 Negative 5,53,049 Positive 21,004 Active 208 Deceased 690 Discharged 20,106 Sample inappropriate 7,448 Results awaited 136 Home isolated 113 increased to 8,181 in Hoshiarpur district. With the death of a 70-year-old resident of Behlwal Yogan at a private hospital in Jalandhar, the death toll rose to 349. Of Monday’s patients, two belong to Hoshiarpur city, while the remaining six belong to various other health blocks of the district. — OC Jang-e-Azadi memorial reopens for public Tight security in place for counting in Hoshiarpur dist 1 dies, 8 +ve in Hoshiarpur With the arrival of eight new positive patients, the tally Our Correspondent The Jang-e-Azadi Memorial remained shut for around 11 months. FILE Tribune News Service Kartarpur, February 15 The prestigious Jang-e-Azadi Memorial was thrown open for public on Monday after remaining shut for around 11 months owing to the pandemic. The re-opening ceremony was performed by Additional Chief Secretary Tourism and Cultural Affairs Sanjay Kumar in the presence of Lok Sabha MP Chaudhary Santokh Singh, MLAs Pargat Singh, Sushil Kumar Rinku, Rajinder Beri, Chaudhary Surinder Singh, Avtar Singh Bawa Henry and Pawan Kumar Tinu, Deputy Commissioner Ghanshyam Thori, Commissioner of Police Gurpreet Singh Bhullar and Chairman PUNSUP Tejinder Singh Bittu. The Additional Chief Secre- tary said the memorial was a beacon for perpetuating the glorious contribution of Punjabis in national freedom struggle. He said keeping in view the threat of coronavirus, the memorial was closed on March 18 last year. However, Sanjay Kumar said with the weakening of Covid wave, the memorial was reopened for public after taking full precautions as per the existing protocol. The ACS said the historical memorial showcases the valuable contribution of Punjabis in the national freedom struggle. “This project is of immense importance and its re-opening will act as a catalyst to perpetuate the glorious legacy of Punjab to younger generations,” he said, adding that prior to its closing last year, the memorial witnessed huge footfall. Hoshiarpur, February 15 Deputy Commissioner-cumDistrict Election Officer Apneet Riyait on Monday reviewed the preparations and arrangements being made in view of counting of votes to be held on February 17 for 142 wards, including 50 of Hoshiarpur Municipal Corporation. She directed the officials to ensure adequate arrangements for the smooth conduct of counting at all places. Presiding over a meeting comprising civil and police officers at the District Administrative Complex, the DC instructed all Returning Officers and other officials to ensure smooth counting without any glitch besides requisite security arrangements at all 10 counting sites. Giving details, the DC said the strongroom for the 50 wards of MC Hoshiarpur had been set up in JR Polytechnic College where counting would be held in the presence of all five Returning Officers. She said for 15 wards of Municipal Council Dasuya, counting would be held at Guru Teg Bahadur Senior Secondary School, Dasuya, for 15 wards each of Tanda and Mukerian Municipal Councils, the counting would continued on page 2 Jalandhar, February 15 With young boys and men gearing up for a happy afternoon of fun on a sunny day in view of Basant Panchmi on Tuesday – kites featuring various farmer motifs and icons are selling like hot cakes. A strong imprint of the ongoing farmers’ protest is clearly visible on the festivities; kites bearing the tractor icons, farmers with a hull and bearing slogans ‘Kisan Ekta Zindabad’, ‘No Food No Farmer’ and ‘Ros’ (protest) remain hot favourites even among children. Besides, the icons of singers like Diljit Dosanjh, Babbu Mann, Karan Aujla ■ Kites featuring various farmer motifs and slogans are selling like hot cakes ■ Ones with the tractor icon sold the most ■ Ranging from ~5 to ~25, kites have been mostly made on the farmers’ protest. We have sold hundreds of them. Ones bearing the tractor icon are the hot favourite right now, says Parwinder Singh, kite seller TRIBUNE PHOTO: MALKIAT SINGH Jalandhar, February 15 The district recorded 40 new cases of Covid on Monday, taking the tally to 21,004 in the district. The number of deceased persons due to Covid in Jalandhar remained at 690. There are 208 active cases in the district so far and 20,106 persons have been discharged, while as many as 113 persons are under home isolation in Jalandhar. Meanwhile, Kapurthala district saw nine persons testing positive for Covid-19 on Monday. and Sidhu Moosewala – who have been supporting farmers all through – have also replaced the traditional kites. On the lines of the farmer union flags – green, yellow and white, kites remain the favourites among people. At some shops, children also get special discounts if they buy a farm protest kite. Simran Singh, 13, who has bought farmers kites worth Rs 600 for the big day, says: “Kisan date hoye hai Delhi border te. Oh tan jung jitt ke hi vapas aunge. (Farmers are staying out at the Delhi bor- der. They will only return after the battle is won.)” Simran says: “I love kites on farmers’ theme as we support the agitation. I got a discount of Rs 20 on the farmer kites that I bought. Many of my friends shall also be coming to join the kite-flying contest.” Sachin has also bought a bunch of yellow kites for the day. “Yellow and green are favourite colours for kite flyers as they denote spring, stand out against the clear blue March skies and look very pleasing to the eye too. And this year, these colours are also the symbol of the farm protests so it has only added to the fervour,” says Sachin. Women flay arrest of activists during agitation Tribune News Service Jalandhar, February 15 Women in Mehatpur on Monday held a protest against the three farm laws and against the arrests of activists during the farmers’ protests. Women protesters from Mehtapur held a protest march across the town and burnt an effigy of PM Narendra Modi at the Mehatpur bus stand. They questioned the arrest of farmers and activists and said the Central Government was crushing every voice, which was being raised against the policies of the government. Women leaders said first an FIR was lodged after environment activist Greta Thunberg raised a voice in favour of farmers, then activist Nodeep Kaur was not released despite widespread condemnation and now, climate change activist Disha Ravi was also arrested. They said this was being done to muzzle the voices of ordinary people, who were siding with farmers. They said those speaking openly against the government’s policies were either labelled Khalistani or Maoist and now the voices from abroad in favour of farmers’ struggle were being termed conspiratorial. They said under the garb of these cases, intellectuals, writers, social activists, journalists, different leaders, were being targeted. They said similar targeting has been witnessed in c m y b Farmers to protest at Nawanshahr railway station on February 18 FIR ❝First anvoicewas lodged after environmental activist Greta Thunberg raised her in favour of farmers, then activist Nodeep Kaur was not released despite widespread condemnation and now, climate change activist Disha Ravi was also arrested. This is being done to muzzle the voices of ordinary people, who are siding with farmers Women leaders ❞ Say Centre crushing every voice, which is being raised against the policies of the government the Bhima Koregaon, JNU student attack and Shaheen Bagh protests against the CAA. Leaders demanded that those arrested in the course of various protests be promptly released. Pendu Mazdoor Union, Kirti Kisan Union and Istri Jagriti Manch leaders Baljit Kaur, Bakhsho Rani, Surjit Kaur, Paramjit Kaur, Kuldeep Kaur and Anita Sandhu among others also spoke on the occasion. Jalandhar: Ground-level meetings are taking place in Nawanshahr, wherein youngsters from various villages are being asked to join and add strength to the farmers’ protest in the coming days. Members of the Kirti Kisan Union on Sunday held a meeting, where it was decided that the union members would sit at the Nawanshahr railway station from 12 noon to 4 pm in protest against the three farm laws on February 18. In the meeting where at least 35 members were present, it was decided that an appeal would be made to people to go to the protest site under the leadership and guidance of farmer unions and not get distracted by any outsider. Ground-level strategies are being made daily and mobilisation being planned. Kirti Kisan Union members have been holding several activities to garner support and strengthen the movement. They recently took 300 farmers on their tractor trailers towards New Delhi from Nawanshahr on January 23 to take part in the January 26 march. Several rehearsals had also been conducted ahead of the big movement. Tractor-trailer marches were organised by the women wing and youth wing of the Kirti Kisan Union. TNS Observe February 23 as ‘Kisan Day’, says retd prof Jalandhar: While expressing support and solidarity with the ongoing farmers protest all over the country, Professor Chaman Lal, Honorary Adviser, Bhagat Singh Archives, Delhi, has urged the farmers’ organisations and people in general to celebrate the 140th birth anniversary of great freedom fighter and peasant leader Sardar Ajit Singh on February 23, by declaring it a ‘Kisan Day’ and holding memorial meetings, lectures and processions and focusing on farmers demands to mark the day. Sardar Ajit Singh, uncle of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, was born on February 23rd, 1881 at Khatkar Kalan village, in a family of freedom fighters. Chaman Lal, who retired as a professor from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), said, Ajit Singh’s grandfather Fateh Singh was a part of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s army and continuing the tradition, all three brothers Kishan Singh, Ajit Singh and Swarn Singh were a part of the freedom struggle, all suffering long jail terms and Ajit Singh remained exiled for 38 years and had returned to India only in March 1947 at the invitation of interim Prime Minister of India-Jawahar Lal Nehru. “Ajit Singh was known as a fiery peasant leader due to 1907 Pagdi Sambhal Jatta movement of farmers of Punjab against three black laws of that time and was sent on an exile first to Mandalay in Burma along with Lala Lajpat Rai and then to South America and other countries. Due to his powerful speeches, in 1907, all three black laws were withdrawn by the colonial government. The farmers’ movement of 2020-21 against present three black anti-farmer laws is inspired by Ajit Singh’s earlier 1907 Pagdi Sambhal Jatta movement. It will be an appropriate tribute to the great patriot and peasant leader by the farmers in organising various events on the day,” he said, adding that the Punjab Government should also organise events in schools, colleges and universities and declare the day as Kisan Day. TNS