Punjab farmers expect good season for grapes

ABOHAR - Farmers in Punjab are expecting a good season for grapes this time, as the weather remains favourable.

Punjabi durbar programme of Radio Pakistan loses its ‘Durbar’

ABOHAR - Radio Pakistan in its latest broadcast of Punjabi Durbar seems to have lost its ‘Durbar’ mood and expressed sympathy for the ‘condition’ of farmers in India who, in reality, have been able to get the government absolve them from paying their loans.

A call centre for farmers in Punjab

ABOHAR - In a first of its kind initiative in the country, a call centre named Zamidara Farmsolutions has started functioning in Punjab.

Radio Pakistan dismayed that Indian minority leaders occupy important positions!

ABOHAR - Punjabi Durbar programme of Radio Pakistan has been finding it embarrassing that members of the minority communities in India have chosen to occupy important positions in the Government.

Self-help groups help rural women in Punjab

ABOHAR - A large number of women in Punjab are gaining self reliance with the help of self-help groups (SHGs) operating under the Swarnajayanti Gram Swarozagar Yojana (SGSY), a poverty eradication scheme launched by the Government of India to promote employment opportunities.
In Muktsar district of southwest Punjab, women are getting vocational training in designing, embroidery, knitting and making of stuffed toys, thanks to the `Swaranjayanti Gram Swarazagar Yojana’, a scheme under which assistance is given to the poor families living below the poverty line in rural areas.
“Many self-help groups are engaged in dairy farming. There are two stages of giving them loans. Primarily, they are given a loan of 200 USD. After six months, when the group makes a tie-up with the banks with their savings, another loan of 4,000-5,000 USD is given to them. There are a total of 98 self-help groups in the area, who have been given big loans,” said Varun Rujum, Addl. Deputy Commissioner, Muktsar.
Muktsar district has over 330 self-help groups in operation to help rural women take-on stitching, embroidering and pickle making.
Kuldeep Kaur, a differently-abled woman, runs one such self-help group.
She herself is a beneficiary and today she is engaged in enabling others become self-reliant.
Self-help groups have been able to provide sustainable income to the rural poor while building upon their potential entrepreneurial activities.
The groups even enable the women to discuss their personal and other social issues.
“The sales are very good. By learning different skills here at the training center, we can start our own business in the future and earn a livelihood. We are imparting training here to be able to stand on our feet, and will not face any problem in the future,” said Suman Rani, member of the Self-Help Group.

Gurudwara Gurusar Sahib narrates the saga of Sikhs’ chivalry

ABOHAR - The travels of the Sikh Gurus, their miracles and achievements in battle fields are all inextricably linked with various Gurudwaras.

Balbir Chotia popularising Punjabi folks songs

ABOHAR - For centuries folk songs have treasured people who passed it on from one generation to another. People still feel enjoy listening to folk songs.

Is Radio Pakistan trying to influence Indian elections?

ABOHAR - A question that is being asked here is whether Radio Pakistan’s Punjabi Durbar programme will be questioned by the Indian Election Commission for conducting campaigns.

Radio Pakistan comes to the aid of Dalits in India

ABOHAR - Instead of looking at its country’s depleting reputation in the world for being a haven for terrorists and the Taliban in Swat Valley, Radio Pakistan’s prime concern is the welfare of lower caste people in India.

Radio Pakistan keen to reform Indian elections

ABOHAR - While the world press is projecting Indian elections as an event where millions of people are exercising their democratic right to choose their representatives to the national parliament, the Pakistan radio seems to be worried that it is not perfect.

Punjab wildlife sanctuary officials seek more government aid

ABOHAR - Officials of a sanctuary near Abohar in Punjab have sought more government aid.

Sanctuary guards do not have proper uniforms or licenses to protect the animals from poachers.

Border security increased with the start of wheat harvesting in Punjab

ABOHAR - The Border Security Force (BSF) has increased patrolling near the India-Pakistan border in Abohar of Punjab with the start of wheat harvesting.

Indira Awaas Yojana delights needy families in Punjab

ABOHAR - Several needy families in Punjab’s Abohar city are today a happy lot after getting benefited from the Central Government’s Indira Awaas Yojana, a national housing scheme.

Women redefining farming in Punjab

ABOHAR - For centuries, women in India have contributed to the family income by working in fields shoulder to shoulder with men of their families. Today, they are trying to give farming a new definition in Punjab.

Radio Pakistan says Sikhs in India are forcibly converted

ABOHAR - Facing criticism both internationally as also at home over the increased number of attacks against peaceful citizens, Radio Pakistan has been trying hard to project that India too is facing similar problems.

Punjab villagers resent Radio Pakistan allegations

ABOHAR - People living on the border villages of Punjab are fed up with the malicious anti-India campaign being carried on by the Radio Pakistan at a time when the people of the country are becoming victims of Taliban terror.

Radio Pakistan says Hindus suppressing Hindus in India

ABOHAR - The Punjabi Durbar programme of the Pakistan Radio seems to have run out of ideas in the preparation of their programmes. With the country facing increasing criticism for giving harbour to fundamentalist forces, the Radio is trying to spread the word that India too is faced with similar problems.

Punjab’s rural womenfolk gaining empowerment with self employment scheme

ABOHAR - To enable rural girls to become self-reliant, the Department of Science and Technology in association with the North India Technical Consultancy Organisation Ltd (NITCON) has organized special training camps in Punjab.

Radio Pakistan allergic to Congress party, calls it anti-minority

ABOHAR - While the Bharatiya Janata Party, the main Opposition party in Lok Sabha, blames the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre for ‘dolling out’ reservations and other benefits to minority section off and on, Radio Pakistan views the Congress as anti-minority.

BSF recovers 14 kg heroin from Punjab border

ABOHAR - The Border Security Force (BSF) recovered nearly 14 kg of heroin worth millions of rupees in the international market from the Abohar sector of the India-Pakistan border Monday.