Chandigarh, November 24
With women and their empowerment high on the agenda of the Haryana Government, 300 all-woman milk cooperatives are in the making in six districts of the state. The “provocation” for the women-run project has come from their USPs (unique selling points) of above board dealings, greater dedication to work, honesty and disinterest in politicking.

Prompted by the success of the 300-odd women-managed cooperatives, the Haryana Dairy Development Cooperatives Federation (HDDFC) has identified six districts to spread the cooperative movement. These are likely to generate employment for 10,000 women.

To be formed under a Rs 8 crore project submitted to the Government of India, these cooperatives will target Yamunanagar, Kaithal, Hisar, Mahendragarh, Gurgaon and Fatehabad. These are likely to become operational before the end of the financial year.

“The target is to have a cooperative in every village of Haryana and achieve cent percent coverage through them. In the first phase we tapped six milk-rich districts on an experimental basis. Women cooperatives have done exceedingly well here and there have been no management-related complaints of any kind from them,” says Mr Devender Singh, Managing Director, HDDFC.

With 85 per cent of milk production still in the unorganised sector in Haryana, the idea is to empower the women by providing a milk-marketing outlet in the village in the form of a cooperative.

“This way, at least, the women will get payments in consonance with the worth of the milk. As of now, their net realisation is much less and milkmen, who advance them loans in lieu of milk, are the real gainers,” he maintains.

The cooperatives are the federation's answer to these “middle men” who are pocketing the earnings from the “cream” at the cost of the real producers of quality milk in these scattered villages.

Besides, the federation will also install Automatic Milk Collection Units to pick up milk from villages and milk testers for small clusters of villages so that there is electronic fat determination of milk and the producer is not cheated of her due.

While each such society will get Rs 2 lakh, the federation also plans to train these women to be able to keep their cattle in good health and keep them updated about nourishing cattle feed for their cattle as also various subsidies available to them.

Subsequently, plans are afoot to install bulk milk coolers or chilling centres to ensure its flavour and quality is not lost during transportation from the collection point to the processing plant.

With the coming of these bulk milk coolers, transportation of milk that takes place twice a day can be done once a day, bringing down transportation costs considerably. 

Sampla, November 24
Former Haryana Chief Minister Om Parkash Chautala today predicted mid term Lok Sabha polls early next year.

Addressing a rally organised by the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) here on the birth anniversary of Sir Chhotu Ram he said the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre was unlikely to last long and a mid term poll was imminent.

He said a new Third Front would take shape soon to provide people with an alternative at the national level. Parties other than those attached to the NDA and the UPA were likely to come together for the purpose.

He asked his supporters to be prepared for a resounding victory in the next Lok Sabha poll. “Brave communities do not wait for years together for the change to take place. The opportunity is knocking at your doors and you will emerge victorious”, he added.

Mr Chautala said he would himself be in the fore front of a political struggle to bring about a political change in Haryana. However, towards the end of his speech he said he would launch the struggle only when the “people of Haryana realised their mistake of voting the Congress to power”.

The former Chief Minister accused the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government of “frittering away” the economic strength and infrastructure created during his five years of rule. Claiming that he had made Haryana a strong agricultural economy, he said.

He also claimed that most of the achievements the Congress government was crediting itself with were in fact achieved during the INLD rule. He claimed the rise in per capita income in Haryana was the highest during the last days of his government.

Mr Chautala accused Mr Hooda of neglecting the SYL Canal issue alleging the Chief Minister was unable to take a stand in front of Ms Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He said once the legal formalities were completed, he would ensure that the canal was constructed and if need be he would lead an agitation.

He also accused Mr Hooda of adopting double standards in providing compensation to different communities. He said while Gohana violence victims were paid up to Rs 40 lakh no such compensation was given to victims of Naya Gaon. Likewise, while the Kandela farmers were paid Rs 5 lakh each, the claim of Kadma and Mandiali farmers were simply ignored.

Others who addressed the gathering included former Finance Minister Mr Sampat Singh, Former Governor Mr Sultan Singh, INLD chief Mr Ashok Arora and former Chief Parliamentary Secretary Mr Ram Pal Majra.

Mr Shehzad Ali Khan son of the former Nawab of Malerkotla who had given the relics of Sir Chhotu Ram to the Haryana Government last year was also present. 

Hisar, November 24
The Indian Society for Veterinary Surgery (ISVS) has given two awards for the best research papers to the faculty of the Department of Veterinary Surgery and Radiology of Haryana Agricultural University (HAU) here.

The awards were announced at the annual congress of the society held at the Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, recently. The society has also bestowed one fellowship on an HAU faculty member.

Dr M.R. Fazili, Dr S.K. Chawla, Dr Jit Singh, Dr S.M. Behl and Mr Rishi Tayal have been chosen for the best research paper award in anesthesiology, while Dr R.S. Bisla, Dr Jit Singh, Dr S.K. Chawla and Dr D. Krishnamurthy were announced as winners for their research article published in the December 2004 issue of the Indian Journal of Veterinary Surgery. These awards shall be presented in the ensuing congress of the ISVS scheduled to be held at Bedar in Karnataka.

The Indian Society for Veterinary Surgery has also conferred upon Dr Kuldip Singh, head of the department, the fellowship of the society in recognition of his contribution to the veterinary profession.

Bahadurgarh (Jhajjar), November 24
The Congress MP from Rohtak, Mr Deepender Singh Hooda, has stated that the state government led by his father, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, has been following in the footsteps of great farmer leaders like late Sir Chhotu Ram as the government had taken some path-breaking steps for the betterment of the peasant community.

The MP was speaking at a programme organised by the Deen Bandhu Sir Chhotu Ram Dharamshala Society here today held to mark the birth anniversary of the farmer leader.

HISAR: The Haryana Finance Minister, Mr Birender Singh, has stated that on the birth anniversary of Sir Chhotu Ram to be celebrated on Basant Panchami, the Union Government would be urged to confer the Bharat Ratna award on the late farmer leader.

Addressing a ceremony organised by the Haryana Jat Sabha to mark the 125th anniversary of the Deenbandhu here on Thursday, Mr Birender Singh asserted that Sir Chhotu Ram had fought for the interests of the farmers and was instrumental in making the farmers land owners. 

Chandigarh, November 24
Haryana policemen, beware! Your wandering Director-General, Mr Nirmal Singh, is on the prowl.

If it was a police station in Ambala district last week, today it was the turn of the Panchkula police station in Sector 5 to receive a visit from Mr Nirmal Singh.

In a sting operation under his direct supervision and in which he was one of the main participants, Mr Nirmal Singh had caught, allegedly red handed, a Sub-Inspector while accepting bribe from a decoy, in Ambala.

At 6-15 a.m. today, Mr Nirmal Singh, instead of his usual morning walk, preferred to go to the Panchkula police station alone. There was no sentry on duty, though the wicket gate was open. He entered the main building unchecked and found the man in charge sleeping on a cot, though in uniform. No one recognised the DGP, though he was not incognito. He was recognised only when he asked for the SHO in charge of the police station.

Soon the Acting SHO, Miss Prerna Puri, who is otherwise a DSP under training, and the S.P., Mr Balbir Singh, reached the police station.

The DGP gave them several tips to improve the ambience of the police station as well as pointed out certain shortcomings.

The Ambala and Panchkula incidents are not solitary examples of Mr Nirmal Singh’s wanderings. A few months ago, he had visited certain police stations in Faridabad district incognito and saw the functioning of the police from the common man’s point of view.

When asked if these things were not relatively minor for a DGP, he said: “I believe that if one can not do big things, one can certainly do small things in a big way.”

Chandigarh, November 24
The resolution passed by the Haryana Cabinet yesterday seeking a separate high court for the state with territorial jurisdiction over Chandigarh and Hindi speaking areas of Punjab has received a mixed response from the legal community here.

While a majority of the lawyers voiced opposition to the demand, with many of them terming it "unrealistic", some felt that the resolution must be implemented.

"Why not? This is a long-pending demand of the people of Haryana. It is very genuine. If Haryana can have separate offices, separate civil secretariat, why shouldn't it have a separate high court. It would be in the fitness of things to bifurcate the present High Court complex into two separate High Courts, one each for Punjab and Haryana," says Senior Punjab and Haryana High Court advocate and former Advocate- General, Haryana, Mr Mohan Jain.

However, advocate Raman Walia had a different take on the issue. According to him, a separate high court for Haryana would result in lot of problems. "Look at the administrative issues involved. We are not talking about a government office. It will take months to just go through the pending cases and separate them state-wise. The entire exercise will lead to chaos," Mr Walia asserts.

Supporting him is Mr Atul Lakhanpal. Mr Lakhanpal, who is presently president of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association, says his views are his own and should not be linked to the post he holds.

"I personally do not support the demand. Though it is a long-standing demand, I feel the lawyers do not support it overwhelmingly. Lawyers from Punjab and Haryana practising at this High Court have very close ties. Having the same High Court is also beneficial for lawyers. We have had instances of lawyers hailing from Haryana becoming law officers, including Advocate-General, of Punjab and vice versa," he adds.

Mr N.S. Bhinder, a lawyer owing allegiance to the Haryana Government, too does not find much merit in the demand for a separate high court.

"Though it is a long-standing demand, it would not be in Haryana's interest in the long run. I am sure a majority of lawyers from Haryana support the demand, but nobody seems to have thought about the long-term ramifications. A separate high court will eventually weaken Haryana's claim over Chandigarh," he asserts.

Karnal, November 24
The district police claims to have unearthed a racket of illegally selling petroleum products with the arrest of four persons.

According to a police spokesman, the driver of an oil tanker Jaivir Singh of Hakikat Nagar, Jind, ran the racket in connivance with a teashop owner at Padana village on the Asandh-Jind road, Satvir, and his servants Raj Singh and Kashmir Singh.

The ASI of the Asandh police station, Mr Sat Prakash, nabbed all four accused red-handed after a tip-off. The police spokesman said a part of the diesel and petrol was being unloaded from the tanker on its way of the IOCL Refinery at Bohli village in Panipat to Jind at the Padana teashop. — TNS