Sukhbir Badal: Door-to-Door ‘Chittar’ (sandals) Await AAP Leaders Across Punjab SAD President Cautions Govt Employees: Kejriwal & Mann are both thugs, don’t believe them till you get your entire DA Announces creation of a New Jalalabad, medical and veterinary college & an end to road tax on ‘gareeb da gadda’ (motorcycle) once SAD forms the govt Jalalabad/Chandigarh 18 September ( Ranjeet Singh Dhaliwal ) : Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal today hit out at the Aam Aadmi Party who announced their door-to-door campaign earlier today. Speaking at the ‘Punjab Bachao’ rally in Jalalabad, Sukhbir Badal said, “Door-to-door Chittar (sandals) await all the leaders of AAP. Let them start going to villages and see what happens to them when the police is not there to protect them! People of Punjab who are demanding accountability on drugs and the total collapse of law and order will show them stars!’ He further appealed to Punjabis to unite to rid Punjab of...
BKU (Mann) urges Punjab CM to reconsider E20 resolution
Punjab cannot seek crop diversification while weakening markets for maize, sugarcane and paddy straw : Bhupinder Singh Mann
Chandigarh 11 August ( Ranjeet Singh Dhaliwal ) : Former MP, BKU (Mann) National President and All India Kisan Coordination Committee Chairman S. Bhupinder Singh Mann has written to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, urging him to reconsider and clarify the Vidhan Sabha resolution seeking suspension of mandatory E20 petrol for vehicles not designed or certified for it. Copies of the letter have been sent to Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, whom an AIKCC delegation met on August 4 and 5, respectively. Mann said the memorandum submitted to the Agriculture Minister also covered MSP, debt restructuring for Punjab and Haryana farmers, modern seeds and the need for a comprehensive National Agricultural Policy.
Mann said consumer concerns over mileage, compatibility, warranties and fuel quality were legitimate but should not become grounds for rolling back ethanol blending. “Punjab should demand scientific testing, transparency and consumer safeguards, not oppose a policy that can support farmers and crop diversification,” he said. He pointed out that ethanol blending was not introduced suddenly. Pilot projects began in 2001, the national programme followed in 2003, E10 was achieved in June 2022 and E20 was introduced at outlets in February 2023. Mann said Punjab could not ask farmers to leave the wheat-paddy cycle while weakening an emerging market for alternative crops. Maize requires far less water than paddy, and the State is offering ₹17,500 per hectare to promote it. “Subsidising maize with one hand while weakening its market with the other is a clear policy contradiction,” he said.
Ethanol can improve the viability of sugar and cooperative mills, enable timely payments to cane growers and create demand for sorghum, damaged grain and agricultural residue. Mann urged that concessional FCI rice should not be allowed to undercut maize and called for a stable five-year feedstock policy prioritising low-water crops and crop residue. He said second-generation ethanol could turn paddy straw into industrial raw material and additional farm income. The 100-KLPD Bathinda plant should anchor an organised system for straw collection, baling, transport and assured purchase.
Mann also sought reforms enabling FPOs and cooperatives to hold equity in ethanol projects so farmers become owners in the energy value chain. He urged the Government to publish model-wise test data, strictly monitor fuel quality and, where feasible, offer E10 or unblended petrol to incompatible vehicles at transparent market prices. “Punjab should demand better implementation, not suspension. Protect consumers, but do not sacrifice farmers, the environment and national energy security,” Mann said.
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