According to the report, PAU has not found any suitable land for both the Laddowal as well as Bathinda land.

The state government had sent a list of around 400 pieces of land in the form of a CD to PAU to choose from.

“We have not been able to earmark any land that PAU can take in exchange for the Laddowal farm and the land in Bathinda. We have identified a few sites for setting up Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) in districts like Mansa, Barnala, Mohali and Taran Taran. Since the varsity has KVKs in all other districts of Punjab, we are looking for land in these four districts.”

Dr Malhi also said that a KVK is set up on at least 20 to 25 acres of land.

The two-page report prepared by Dr Malhi has been submitted to PAU Vice-Chancellor Dr M S Kang. “I have received the note and will go through it to finalise the report.”

According to Dr Kang, the deadline set by PAU for submitting the report to the state government is January-end.

Talking about the report, Dr Malhi added, “Besides watching the CD, we also visited a number of sites. We had to reject land at many places due to poor quality of soil. Some land was not for fit for cultivation or under heavy litigation. We could also not find any land fit for seed production, which is at present under way at the Laddowal farm. “

Meanwhile, PAU officials, who have prepared the report, on the condition of anonymity, said, “The CD sent to us by the state government was a very shoddy work. There were some pieces land pieces that measured in kanals or marlas and were marked in acres. Selecting a piece of land from the CD was not an easy task.”

Scientists clamour for cyberspace too
Internet may have become a household name across the country but when it comes to the Punjab Agricultural University, it is a different story. This abode of scientific research and training is reeling under connectivity crisis. The varsity spends more than Rs 4 lakh every year as the fee for its internet connection. The connectivity is so poor and inadequate that sending large files is just not possible. The varsity has around 600 computers on its campus.

A senior scientist at the varsity said, “Internet connection is no more a luxury. And its importance for scientists is immense. While other institutes are working towards installing WiFi, ours is one such institute where attaching simple files becomes an uphill task.”

Another scientist on the condition of anonymity said, “We have no backup facility or UPS installed in our computers. With frequent power cuts, all the data that we store on our PCs is lost the moment there is a power cut. Strangely, the institute that has a mandate of research and extension is actually not connected to the outside world via the cyberspace.

The varsity got this connection way back in 1998 after spending Rs 8 crore for fibre layout on the campus. The main aim of this layout was to connect all the computers running in the varsity which will help one computer source data from another and so on. However, it has been learnt that the facility is not reliable.