A Delhi court on Wednesday granted bail to five persons, including a Class X student, in a case related to the violence on Republic Day during farmers’ tractor parade against the Centre’s three new agricultural laws. The court said they could not be kept in custody merely on the apprehension that they might again commit similar offences. — PTI
Land record ‘must’ for wheat purchase
Chandigarh, March 4
The Food Corporation of India (FCI) has said it will go in for direct payment into farmers’ bank accounts for the wheat crop arriving in mandis next month.
So far, the payment was credited to commission agents (arhtiyas), who further transferred it to the accounts of farmers. This year, the FCI will procure 130 lakh metric tonnes of wheat, for which it will pay over Rs 24,000 crore to farmers.
However, it has made it mandatory for farmers to furnish their land record for this procurement season. A letter to this effect was sent by the FCI to the Department of Food and Supplies, Punjab,
Though the rationale behind demanding details of land records is to account for each grain procured by the Centre and ensure no wheat from outside the state is purchased on the minimum support price (MSP), farmers and arhtiyas say it is not feasible for a state like Punjab, as almost 40% of the land has been leased out by owners to other farmers.
They maintain this is another assault on the state, which is leading the charge in the protest against the Centre on the three farm laws.
Talking to The Tribune, Vijay Kalra, vice-chairman, Federation of Arhtiya Association of Punjab, said the Centre’s move was aimed at punishing the state farmers and arhtiyas for the agitation on the Delhi border against the laws.
“No one in Punjab will upload details of land ownership. More than 40% of land, including that owned by NRIs, has been leased out. This means, the landowner not tilling the land, but declaring its ownership will get the MSP, not the cultivator. We have no option but to go on a strike in mandis from April 1. When the procurement season starts, there will be no labour to lift the grains and no arhtiyas to help in procurement,” he said. — TNS
Farmers protest at the Singhu border near Delhi. Mukesh Aggarwal
Sukhmeet Bhasin
Tribune News Service
Bathinda, March 4
It’s been nearly 100 days since farmers began their agitation on the Delhi borders. The families of young farmers who lost their lives during the stir are yet to come to terms with the loss.
Farmer Jatinder Singh (22) of Fatta Maluka village in Mansa district died in a road mishap on way to Delhi.
In order to show solidarity with the protesting farmers, he took his tractor-trailer and headed towards Delhi in December along with a few villagers but on the way, a Canter hit his tractor and killed him near Hisar.
Sukhpal Singh, Jatinder’s father, said, “I had to go to the Delhi protest, but Jatinder told me that his friends from the village were going there so he will join them. So I dropped my plan.”
He says if he had gone to Delhi that day instead of his son, the latter would have been alive.
Gursewak Singh, village sarpanch, said the family was inconsolable. Jatinder had got married just a month and a half ago. “This is the worst that can happen to a newlywed couple,” he added.
Jaspreet Singh (18), a resident of Chauke village, in the Maur tehsil in Bathinda, is probably one of the youngest of the casualties that took place during the farmers’ protest at the Singhu and Tikri borders.https://dda17a3291c7d0966b5737f3c70a6a01.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-37/html/container.html
Around two months have passed since his demise but his parents are in a state of mourning and still can’t believe their son is no more.
Gurmail Singh, father of Jaspreet, said, “We still don’t believe that our only son is no more. He was preparing for Army recruitment as he wanted to serve the nation. He was of the view that one member of every farmer family should participate in the protest as the laws were against the farmers.”
Gurmail says they never thought that the farmer agitation would change their life forever, and now, they were left with nothing
Srinagar, March 4
An Army jawan was found dead here on Thursday in a suspected case of suicide, officials said.
Rifleman Anup Kumar (28), who was posted on sentry duty at the Badamibagh cantonment in Jammu and Kashmir, was found hanging from the ceiling of the sentry post at the main gate at Batwara here with a light machine gun’s loop.
Kumar hailed from Haryana’s Bhiwani, the officials said, adding that the reason behind his taking the extreme step was not immediately known. – PTI
Local RJs roped in
The community radio station is being run by local radio jockeys from north Kashmir
Will serve as a platform for people of all age groups to share experiences
Will also spread awareness about drug abuse and other social causes
Srinagar, March 4
The Army on Thursday launched the first-of-its-kind community radio station in north Kashmir’s Sopore town, an official said.
With the tagline “Radio Chinar 90.4, Har Dil Ki Dhadkan”, the radio station was inaugurated by General Officer Commanding (GoC) Chinar Corps Lt Gen BS Rana. The reach of the station will be Sopore, Bandipora and Baramulla districts, the Army official said.
The official said the aim was to revitalise the connect within different segments of the community. “This will provide a good platform for a community dialogue, sharing of information, art and culture. It will build a community environment, which is better connected with issues which are local and important to the community,” he said.
This community radio station will be highlighting and showcasing the hidden talent of north Kashmir, especially local entrepreneurs, musicians, sportsmen and artistes, to the people of Kashmir and the rest of the world.
The station will also be available on social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube and Internet radio so as to provide uninterrupted service to a wider audience, the official added. PT
JCOs, jawans to participate in conference for first time
Prime Minister Narendra Modi. File photo
New Delhi, March 4
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a conference of the country’s top military leadership in Gujarat’s Kevadia on Saturday.
The conference will witness the participation of jawans and junior commissioned officers (JCOs) for the first time, senior officials said.
They said the jawans and JCOs would be attending specific sessions related to human resource issues during the three-day Combined Commanders’ Conference that started on Thursday. — PTI
CDS General Bipin Rawat. File photo
New Delhi, March 4
CDS General Bipin Rawat has warned against a belligerent China saying the neighbour seeks to establish a dominance in the Indian Ocean Region and the countries surrounding India. He was speaking at a webinar organised by the College of Defence Management, Secunderabad. He set the tone for the Combined Commanders’ Conference that began on Thursday. — TNS
Dharnas at Delhi border on Women’s Day
Photo for representation only
Sanjeev Singh Bariana
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, March 4
Despite the death of 300 farmers since they shifted their agitation to the Delhi border on November 26 last year, protests have not lost steam. Besides the permanent camps at the Delhi border, Punjab is also witnessing massive gatherings all over the state.
The next major step will be the “dharnas” at various protest sites on the Delhi border, particularly Singhu and Tikri, on March 8.
An elaborate plan is being made to observe International Women’s Day as an occasion to force the withdrawal of “draconian anti-farmer laws”.
President of the Bharti Kisan Union (Rajewal) Balbir Singh Rajewal put the figure of the dead at over 300. BKU (Ugrahan) general secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan said about 250 persons had died due to different reasons, including cold, heart attacks and road accidents, during this period. “We got busy with other activities during our ongoing struggle, so we were not able to maintain a proper record of the deaths. We will surely do that,” he added.
Collective decision
All unions have decided to hold protests on International Women’s Day to show that even women stood with us against anti-farmer laws. —Balbir Singh Rajewal, BKU (Rajewal) chief
Following massive gatherings at Jagraon and Barnala “kisan mahapanchatays” recently, farmer unions have chalked out elaborate programmes to carry forward their protests at other places. Confirming the March 8 programme, Rajewal said, “All unions have decided to hold protests on International Women’s Day to show that even women stood with us against the anti-farmer laws. This will be preceded by blocking the KMP Highway on March 6 for five hours (11 am to 4 pm).”
BKU district president Shingara Singh Mann said, “The government was trying its best to show that the farmers’ struggle was losing steam. It has, however, failed miserably in its propaganda. They are threatening our volunteers in various ways, including arrests. Even the celebrities supporting us have not been spared.”
Kisan Mazdoor Sangarsh Committee general secretary Sarwan Singh Pandher said, “We may be seen as a separate group during the agitation. However, we are fighting for the same cause. Our eighth ‘jatha’ is leaving for the Delhi border. We will participate in the programme on March
Pandher said, “We will hold a rally at Shahkot Mandi in Jalandhar, another one at Kapurthala on March 14 and at Ferozepur on March 15. The government has underestimated our dedication to the cause. We will fight till the end.”
New Delhi, March 4
Bengaluru topped the list of 111 cities in the government’s ‘Ease of Living Index’ on Thursday, followed by Pune, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Surat, Navi Mumbai, Coimbatore and Vadodra.
According to the index released by Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Shimla was ranked top in the category of cities with ‘population less than million’.
New Delhi Municipal Council topped the ‘Municipal Performance Index’ list in the ‘less than million population’ category.
Dhaka, March 4
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday met his Bangladeshi counterpart AK Abdul Momen and held wide-ranging discussions on ways to take forward the bilateral relations.
As part of India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy, Jaishankar arrived here on a day-long visit to prepare the ground for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit to Bangladesh.
