The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Strike paralyses medical services Tribune Reporters Rohtak, May 25 A majority of members of the Indian Medical Association observed a strike here today in support of the students of the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS) protesting against reservation in institutes of higher education. A delegation of the IMA members went to Vijay Park on the PGIMS campus where the students had been sitting on relay fast for the past 10 days to express their solidarity. The IMA members’ clinic remained closed from 8 a.m. onwards. Members of the IMA, Bhiwani, also observed a day’s strike in support of the agitating medicos. In a communication to the Youth For Equality, the organisation of medicos organising the anti-quota stir, IMA, Bhiwani, leaders said the students’ fight against attempts to divide society along caste lines was reprehensible. In a similar communication the IMA, Kurukshetra, backed the agitation and asked the agitating medicos to continue to fight the divisive forces and political parties. It offered to send funds for the stir. Meanwhile, the Nurses Association of the PGIMS has directed all nurses to express their solidarity with the medicos by wearing black badges from May 26 to 29. While the 25 medicos who had gone on indefinite fast day before yesterday ended their fast late last night after a large number of PGIMS teachers appealed to them. The relay fast continued for the 10th day today. The agitating medicos also continued to run parallel OPDs on the PGIMS lawns. Work in the PGIMS continued to be paralysed with senior doctors manning only the emergency wards. Fatehabad: On the call given by the Haryana unit of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), all private hospitals and nursing homes in the town remained closed on Thursday in support of the striking medical students. The doctors kept their Out-Patient Departments (OPDs) and emergencies closed throughout the day. The striking doctors held a meeting, which was presided over by Dr Pawan Mehta, president of the district unit of the IMA. The doctors wore black badges on their arms and decided not to remove the badges till the government did not retrieve its steps on the reservation issue. The striking doctors gave a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner for forwarding it to the Governor. Hisar: Members of the local chapter of the IMA observed strike and staged a demonstration to register their protest against the Union Government’s move on caste-based reservation of seats in higher educational institutions. The protesting doctors kept their clinics, nursing homes, hospitals and medical laboratories closed, which diverted the patients to the local Civil Hospital. The National Integrated Medical Association, the Indian Dental Association, the Private Nursing Home Chemist Association, the Federation of Medical Representatives Associations of India and the Haryana Medical Representatives Association also extended their support to the stir. Dr M.R.Bishnoi, president, and Dr Inderjeet, state representative of the local unit of the IMA, claimed that as many as 13 members of the association observed a day’s fast in protest against the government’s move. Rewari: In response to a call given by the IMA as well as the Haryana branch of the IMA, as many as 80 out of 90 members of the Rewari unit of the IMA observed strike to express their solidarity with the agitation against reservation in higher educational institutions. However, emergency services were kept exempt from the strike. Condemning the reservation policy as envisaged and pronounced by HRD Minister Arjun Singh, they opined that it would divide the nation and society on caste basis. Led by their president, Dr Ashok Arora, they submitted to the Deputy Commissioner a memorandum in this regard. KAITHAL: Health services remained paralysed in the district due to a strike by doctors on Thursday. The chemists also kept their shops closed in support of demand of the doctors. As a result of this, all private nursing homes and clinics remained closed and the patients were deprived of the medical facilities. Yamunanagar: Continuing with their protest against the OBC quota, students of DAV Dental College burnt the effigy of Mr Arjun Singh and later locked the gate of the college. All the private hospitals and clinics remained closed against the reservation to OBCs. The drug stores also remained closed. Patients faced a lot of difficulties as all the OPDs of private hospitals remained closed. However, the bandh had no affect on emergency services. The students of the college held a rally. The raised slogans against Mr Arjun Singh.
	Private doctors protest against quota Tribune Reporters Ambala, May 25 Private health services were paralysed in Ambala Cantonment as well as Ambala City following rallies organised by members of the Indian Medical Association against reservation today. Private medical practitioners shut their clinics and nursing homes all over the district. In Ambala Cantonment, medicos from MM Medical College, Mullana, assembled at the Civil Hospital. IMA unit secretary Dr Vivek Malhotra criticised the proposal for reservation in institutions of higher learning. The rally began from the Civil Hospital and passed through Cross Road No. 2, Sabzi Mandi, DC Road, Nicholson Road before heading to Ambala City. The medicos raised slogans against the government. They later met MLA D.K. Bansal who assured them of conveying their resentment to appropriate people. Mr Bansal opined that merit should be given importance in professional institutions. In Ambala City, the rally started from the Civil Hospital, Ambala City. Clinics and nursing homes remained closed. Sarafa Bazar too remained closed as shopkeepers extended support to the protesters. An effigy of Union Minister Arjun Singh was burnt. The doctors blocked the Amritsar-Delhi road for around two hours, which led to disruption of vehicular traffic. Incidentally, Civil Surgeon Dr D.P. Lochan claimed that the bandh by private medical practitioners did not have any adverse impact on patients as arrangements had been made at government hospitals, where doctors were present from 8 am to 6 pm. Patiala: On a call given by the Punjab unit of the IMA, hundreds of medical students took out a rally from the Government Rajindra Hospital to the local bus stand in protest against the proposed reservation policy of the government. The agitating students, wearing black armbands, staged a dharna and blocked traffic at the bus stand for nearly two hours. They later proceeded back to the hospital. They carried placards and shouted slogans against Human Resources Development Minister Arjun Singh. According to student leader Dr Gagandeep Sharma, the hospital’s OPD remained closed for the 11th successive day and emergency services at the hospital too were badly hit. In spite of the fact that the Punjab IMA had announced in advance that the rally would be a peaceful one, the District Administration had taken no chance and converted the hospital, the starting point of the rally, into a virtual cantonment. According to Punjab IMA president Dr D.S. Bhullar, the other organisations that joined today’s rally were the Punjab Chemists Association, Punjab and Chandigarh Bar associations, the Medical Representatives Union, the National Integrated Indian Medicine Association (NIIMA), the PCMS (Randhawa) and students of medical, dental and ayurvedic colleges. Chemist shops, laboratories and private hospitals in the town also remained closed for the day. The Patiala Beopar Mandal too observed a partial strike to support the striking students. The police had to step in to prevent an unpleasant situation from happening when both pro and anti-reservationists confronted one another near the hospital.
	Govt vindictive, allege INLD workers Our Correspondent Rewari, May 25 Activists of the INLD from Rewari, Jatusana, Bawal and other parts of the district participated in a demonstration organised here today in protest against the alleged vindictive activities of the Hooda government to victimise INLD leaders and activists. The rally, which was held at Makhan Lal Dharamshala here today, was addressed by former ministers Subhash Goyal, M.L. Ranga, district INLD chief Jagdish Yadav, district president of the women’s wing of the INLD Kamla Sharma among others. Citing instances of implication of Mr Abhey Singh Chautala, chairman of Sirsa Zila Parishad, Mr Umed Singh Lohan, state president of the youth wing of the INLD, former minister Jaswinder Singh Sandhu and several others in false criminal cases, the speakers alleged that a sustained campaign to harass and malign INLD leaders was being persistently launched by the Congress-led state government. They demanded unconditional withdrawal of cases registered against the INLD leaders. Later, they took out a march from the main markets of the town. It ended at the district secretariat.
	Sampat Singh for probe into deals by govt Tribune News Service Chandigarh, May 25 INLD leader and former Haryana Finance Minister Sampat Singh today demanded a high-level probe into purchases and sales being carried out by the Congress government in the state. The deals struck by the state government were actually big scams, he alleged at a press conference here. He said a power purchase agreement approved by the Cabinet at its meeting on May 3 was an instance of the “dubious” nature of the deals being struck by the present government. He said the item was placed before the Cabinet without prior notice and projected as an extremely urgent matter. Since the agreement was about receiving power from 2009 onwards, the urgency shown by the government to get Cabinet approval for the pact was baffling, Mr Sampat Singh said. He claimed the rates agreed to by the state government for paying the company — Rs 2.75 per unit for thermal power and Rs 2.48 per unit for hydel power — were on the high side. The thermal generation plant at Panipat was supplying power at the rate Rs 2.30 per unit. The NTPC plant at Faridabad was supplying power to Haryana at the rate of Rs 2.50 per unit. The state was paying the NTPC Rs 2.10 and even lower rates for the power received by it from other plants of the NTPC, he said. Mr Sampat Singh claimed the decision to pay Rs 2.48 as a fixed rate for hydel power for a period of 35 years was also bizarre. Hydel power progressively got cheaper as the running cost of hydel plants was not very high. The power received by the state from the Western Jamuna Canal project cost about 66 paise per unit, he said. He said the agreement was struck disregarding the national policy which made competitive bidding mandatory for the purchase of power. Significantly, the controversial deal was struck with a company (Lanco Group) founded by a brother of the Congress MP from Vijaywada, Mr Sampat Singh said. The former Finance Minister said the state government's step to renew the contract with the Bhilwara group to purchase hydel power at the enhanced rate of Rs 2.90 per unit was also strange. The group had sold hydel power to Haryana at the rate of Rs 2.30 per unit during 2002-05, he said. Mr Sampat Singh said the Cabinet memorandum regarding the power purchase agreement also mentioned the problem of shortage of gas needed for gas-based plants. He said this exposed the government's claim about setting up gas-based plants in the state. Work on a gas-based plant at Faridabad had not taken off even nine months after the foundation stone was laid by the Chief Minister, he said. He also criticised the state government for the delay in the construction of the power plant at Yamunanagar. He said because of the delay the state government would pay several crores of rupees extra to the Power Finance Corporation which was giving a loan for the construction of the plant. He said the government decision to refrain from implementing the clause about imposing a penalty on the contractors (Reliance Group) for the delay smacked of corruption. Mr Sampat Singh said 1,700 acres in Gurgaon district costing about Rs 8,000 crore in the market had been acquired by the government for handing over to Reliance for setting up an SEZ. Reliance would pay only about Rs 385 crore to the government for the land. The Finance Minister said ultimately Reliance would have a thriving real estate business as only 30 per cent of the land of an SEZ was supposed to be used for manufacturing units.
	high court Decks cleared for education city at Sonepat Our High Court Correspondent Chandigarh, May 25 The Punjab and Haryana High Court today cleared the decks for the construction of the proposed Rajiv Gandhi Higher Education City at Sonepat as it dismissed the petition filed by some land owners who had challenged the acquisition of their land for the city and development of a few new sectors of Sonepat. On March 2, the High Court had stayed any further activity with regard to the land acquired by the government from villagers for the purpose of setting up the education city. The government had proposed to acquire over 1948.52 acres of land. In their petition, Mr Jai Prakash and other villagers had challenged the acquisition of the land. The petitioners had challenged the notification dated November 17, 2005, under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act and another notification dated February 7, which said the land was being acquired for public purpose. They had claimed that the action of the government was illegal and without any purpose. Today, the Division Bench comprising Mr Justice Ashutosh Mohunta and Mr Justice Mahesh Grover dismissed the petition and vacated the stay. In its order, the Bench said it had not found that any provision of the law had been violated while making the acquisition. Re-examine fraud case The High Court has directed the competent authority of the Haryana Government to re-examine the matter relating to the alleged embezzlement of over Rs 20 lakh of Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited and Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited by some officers. Disposing of the petition filed by Mr Ram Kishan, a former Additional District Attorney, Haryana, the Division Bench headed by the Acting Chief Justice, Mr Justice H.S. Bedi, observed that one of the contentions raised by the petitioner was that the accused, who had been indicted by an inquiry officer, had been let off following the intervention of the previous Chief Minister. However, the Bench said since a new government had taken over in Haryana, the argument would no longer of available to the petitioner. Therefore, the petition was declared infructuous with a direction to the competent authority to re-examine the matter and take a decision as per law. In his petition, Mr Ram Kishan had stated that during his posting as Under Secretary (Legal), Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited, he had detected a fraud being played upon the state exchequer by some officers. The fraud related to cases pertaining to Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited. He further alleged that the guilty officers were let off without any penal action, allegedly on the intervention of the then Chief Minister, Haryana, Mr Om Prakash Chautala. Not only this, the petitioner, who had blown the lid off the scam, was made the scapegoat and retired from service compulsorily. Incidentally, he has also challenged the government action against him through another writ.
	Sewing machines yet to be distributed Tribune News Service Yamunanagar, May 25 As many as 400 sewing machines to be distributed among girls under the below poverty line are lying in a store of the BDPO as there is confusion regarding the beneficiaries and dispute among members of the Jagadhri Block Samiti. During a meeting of the samiti here yesterday members failed to reach any decision regarding the distribution of machines amid uproar. No other matter on the agenda could be taken up. Members said it was not clear who the beneficiaries were and when the machines should be distributed and by whom. Vice-Chairman of the Samiti Islam Gujjar said the list of beneficiaries had beem sent but certain people had altered the list. On the other hand, Chairperson Surinder Kaur said the delay in the distribution of the machines was because she was yet to receive the complete list. The members demanded that the machines should be distributed equally in all wards.

Stray cattle a threat to residents
Our Correspondent

Ambala, May 25
The menace of stray cattle continued to haunt the residents of Ambala City and the cantonment. Three persons have already lost their lives and several injured in accidents caused due to stray animals.

Although both administration and the local municipal council are aware of the fact, no steps have been taken to get rid of this aggravating problem. The residents had lodged complaints with the administration a number of times but in vain.

Stray cattle can be seen everywhere in Ambala city especially near Ambika Devi Mandir Road, Anaj Mandi, Jagadhri Gate, Grain Market, Manav Chowk and Railway Road. Similarly in Ambala Cantonment hoards of stray cattle can be noticed in Sadar Bazar, Nikalson Raod, Mahesh Nagar and Rai Market.

According to a report, there are around 800 stray cattle, including 200 bulls in the twin city. There are two goshalas in Ambala City, which have a limited capacity and resources.

When contacted, the Chairman of the Ambala City Municipal Council, Mr Harish Sasan, said the council had engaged a private agency, which would catch the stray cattle and would recover heavy penalty from the owners of the cattle. He said a drive in this regard would be launched soon and no stray cattle would be allowed in the area.

HCS (Judicial) exam results
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 25
Thirtynine candidates have cleared the written examination of the Haryana Civil Service(Judicial Branch) examination, which was held from April 6 to 8 last, under the supervision of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

According to the member-secretary of the Selection Committee, interview letters to the successful candidates will be issued shortly.

The candidates with the following roll numbers have cleared the written examination: 3, 69, 77, 132, 147, 209, 596, 649, 754, 795, 964, 1015, 1069, 1308, 1309, 1339, 1368, 1433, 1475, 1561, 1715, 1787, 1835, 1866, 1871, 1937, 1943, 1974, 1986, 2108, 2180, 2198, 2255, 2261 and 2732(all candidates belong to the general category).

The candidates bearing the following roll numbers belong to the backward classes: 2995, 3484, 3805, 3830.

College denies refusing admission
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 25
Reacting to news-items carried in these columns on April 11, April 23 and May 2, Dashmesh Educational Charitable Trust has clarified that no deserving student was ever denied admission to the dental college run by them at Gurgaon.

In a communication to The Tribune, the Public Relations Officer of the Trust, Mr Ashok Kumar, has asserted that the names of the “deserving candidates”, allegedly denied admissions, have not been mentioned in the news-reports.

Describing the news-items as “slanderous” and “unfair”, he has further claimed that Mr Bharat Gupta of Ambala, referred to in one of the reports, never applied for admission, as evident from the college records.

He has added that the statements of the college authorities and the Trustees in defence of the admissions carried out in the management quota have also been “twisted” in the reports without making any attempts to reach the bottom of the truth.

The Tribune Correspondent adds: I stand by my story. The correspondence between the Dental Council of India and the college is the basis of the initial news-reports and the follow-up news-items. Some of the follow-up news-items are about the progress of an inquiry being conducted by the Haryana State Admission Committee (Medical Education).