Panipat, January 28
A farmer was electrocuted and three others injured when they were zapped in the fields at Navada Paar village near here today.

A relative of the victims said they were trying to operate a tubewell by joining a severed electrical wire. The deceased was identified as Riasat (22), while the injured were identified as Haroon, Mohabbat Ali and Mosim.

According to Nawab Ali, a relative of the deceased, the wire supplying power to the tubewell was damaged last week and a complaint was lodged with the authorities.

However, no one from the electricity department came to repair the wire, which was causing delay in watering of wheat crops in the fields.

The four finally decided to join the wire themselves, said Nawab Ali.

The wire got entangled with other wires passing through the fields, which led to the electrocution and death of Riasat, he said.

Complaints of poor wiring on electricity poles have been received in the past.

Some people had died in a transformer blast at the busy Sanoli road a few years ago.

In another case, a live cable fell on children, who had assembled to get “prasad” outside a temple in a Sector of HUDA, killing three and hurting several others.

Last year, a labourer died when a live cable from an electricity pole fell on him in Sector 29.

Also, schoolchildren travelling by buses have been cheating death as drivers park their vehicles by the roadside while cables dangle dangerously low from electricity poles.

Executive Engineer (City) Rajpal Singh, while denying any information about the incident, said his department was in the process of replacing old wiring.

Around 1,000 km of conductor-length cable was found to be outdated, out of which work on 400 km length had been completed, he added.

Pajeton (Shahzadpur), January 28
Though he was tested positive for HIV over four years ago after the death of his parents due to AIDS, yet paucity of funds has forced the family to see him dying a slow death. Besides his elder sister, Chaman (name changed) is the fourth member of the family, led by his widow grandmother Mrs Banto Devi (75), who caught the infection from his parents.

A truck driver by profession, father of the boy (Madan Lal) reportedly caught the virus some where from Maharashtra, which subsequently got transmitted to his wife. The couple had been undergoing treatment at the PGI, Chandigarh, but it did not help as the disease had crossed the 
last stage.

While Madan Lal succumbed to HIV/AIDS on September 1, 2002, his wife had died six months prior to him. Their first daughter who was a class X student of Government Senior Secondary School, Patrehari, had too died of the same disease on December 28 last year.

Though Chaman, a class II student of Government Primary School, Pajeton, is shocked at the death of his eldest sister, yet playing with his cousin diverts his mind from the tragedy. Chaman was tested positive for HIV by the District Health Officer, Ambala, after the wounds on his leg did not heal for a long time in August, 2002.

The fate of two other siblings of Madan Lal is still uncertain as no blood tests have been conducted on them. Contrary to the claims of the Haryana Government for providing relief to scores of HIV patients, the cases have gone unnoticed even after four years.

Tears rolled down the cheeks of Banto Devi, grandmother of the boy as she recalled the dark days when her young son, daughter-in-law and their girl child died of the infection. “Nand Lal and his kin had been taking treatment from the PGI, Chandigarh.

The PGI authorities kept the treatment on but it was too late and they were confirmed as HIV infected,” she recalled. Mahipal Singh, a family member, claimed that the PGI authorities had taken blood samples of all the four children but the reports were of no avail.

Talking to The Tribune Banto Devi said after Chaman tested positive for the infection, he was given treatment by a Naraingarh-based medical practitioner since the medicines were not available at the government dispensary and hospitals.

“Since the family is unable to afford medicines Chaman had to do without medicines most often. His condition has been deteriorating day by day as boils appear on body parts overnight and start oozing puss when medicines are skipped.” The family members claimed that Chaman’s teachers often sent him home from school when boils started oozing out puss.

The family is virtually at the mercy of neighbours who generally pool in money for Chaman’s medicines and ration. The sympathetic women neighbours have been extending the best possible help to the family, especially to Chaman, who some time used to play in their laps.

Mr Suchha Singh, the village sarpanch, claimed that a case had been forwarded to the government for allotment of accommodation to the family under the Indira Awas Yojna but that too failed. He claimed that none of the officials from the Haryana Health Department or any NGO has come to the rescue
of the family.

After receiving the news from Mr Gurmail Singh and Mr Assa Singh Lotton of the Indian National Lok Dal, a Delhi-based social worker Subhash Sharma today visited the family and expressed his sympathy. He also extended monetary help for the treatment of the boy.

Kaithal, January 28
To ensure systematic development, there is a need to mobilise funds and resources for creating quality education infrastructure for the rural areas, said Shamsher Singh Surjewala, president, All-India Kisan-Khet Mazdoor Congress and local MLA, while addressing a press conference here yesterday.

Mr Surjewala said the country was moving on the path of progress but the gap between the rich and the poor was ever increasing.

The gap needed to be bridged or else it would adversely affect the social fabric, he added.

Around 96 per cent of the graduates in the agriculture sector came from the urban areas. He said in such a scenario if education facilities were not provided to the rural population, country’s progress was bound to remain confined to the privileged sections of society.

He suggested that the money acquired from disinvestment of companies like BSNL could be utilised in bringing about a revolution in the education sector by creating a quality education infrastructure in the rural areas.

He also suggested the conversion of present industrial training institutes (ITIs) to multi-technical institutes so that today’s youth could get best training.

Mr Surjewala added that he had apprised AICC president Sonia Gandhi of the prevailing situation and requested her to take some bold initiatives to change the present trend.

DCC president Kavi Raj Sharma was also present.

Yamunanagar, January 28
Around 2,300 trees in 13 local orchards, which were in the thick of controversy after these were auctioned to be felled for a mere Rs 18 lakh three years ago, were yesterday re-auctioned for a whopping Rs 83.5 lakh.

Three years ago, the then Zila Parishad and Chhachhrouli Block Samiti had auctioned these trees for Rs 18 lakh. But objections were raised over the auction.

As per sources in the district administration, it was alleged that certain officials during the then INLD government had given the orchards for a song to a person with close links to politicians.

The auction of the trees in nine orchards of the Zila Parishad in Chhachhrouli and four orchards of the samiti had generated lot of hue and cry then.

It was alleged that the auction was manipulated and underhand payments to certain officials and politicians were made.

When the matter reached the then Chief Minister Om Parkash Chautala, he intervened and stopped the felling of trees in the orchards.

The matter remained in files for several months. The contractor who had the final bid later moved court.

The new Congress government ordered the re-assessment of the trees in the orchards.

Yesterday, Ambala’s Balwinder Singh took the right to nine orchards of the Zila Parishad with a bid of Rs 60.10 lakh. Another person from Ambala, Satnam Singh, got the remaining four orchards for Rs 23.40 lakh.

Thus, the exchequer earned Rs 65 lakh more than what the recent assessment of the Forest Department had suggested, said sources.

Fatehabad, January 28
In a late evening swoop, the police yesterday nabbed three persons who were allegedly betting on the India-West Indies ODI match being played at Chennai.

The police seized three mobile phones, a colour television set and a betting amount of Rs 24,750 from the accused.

The police, according to sources, received a tip-off that certain persons sitting in the office of India Bulls, a finance company, situated on the Sirsa road, were betting on the India-West Indies limited over cricket match being played at Chennai.

A cop was sent to the office in civil dress to take stock of the situation inside the office.

After getting signal from the cop, a police party led by Sub-Inspector Hukam Singh, in charge of the local bus stand police post, raided the office.

The police found that Sachin Gupta, branch manager of the local branch of India Bulls was betting on the cricket match along with Vijay, a son of Diwan Chand, and Pradeep, a son of Gopal, all local residents.

The police also took in custody two other persons sitting in the office, but they were later released, when it was found that they were not betting.

Hisar, January 28
The crime branch of the district police has unearthed a unit where spurious milk was being manufactured by using skimmed milk, vanaspati ghee, liquid detergent and certain other chemicals.

Three persons, including Dinesh and Vikas of the local Mahavir Colony and Harender of Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh, have been arrested in this connection.

Acting on a tip-off, a police team raided the factory premises located in Mahavir Colony.

On seeing the party, some persons involved in the production of chemical milk fled the scene.

However, three of them were nabbed by the police.

SSP Arshinder Singh Chawla said the gang had been supplying fake milk to several urban and rural localities in the district as well as nearby areas. “They have been playing with the health of unsuspecting consumers, especially children, and stern action under the law will be taken against them,” Mr Chawla asserted.

The gang used to buy skimmed milk from villages at Rs 5 to 6 per litre.

They then mixed vanaspati ghee, liquid detergent and other chemicals in it while heating the mixture.

After the mixture became viscous, they diluted it with water and sold it to local residents, thereby making huge profit. Large quantities of spurious milk, vanaspati ghee, chemicals and other equipment used in the production have been seized by the police from the factory premises.

While three persons have been arrested, another Raju of Tohana is at large. A case has been registered. — TNS

Rewari, January 28
Niranjan Singh (52), a junior engineer of the State Warehousing Corporation (SWC) here, reportedly committed suicide by consuming poison in his rented accommodation in Hans Nagar Colony here on Friday (January 26).

The police seized a suicide note from his pocket, which stated that Mr R.K. Agarwal, SDO of the SWC, was responsible for his suicide.

On a complaint made by his son, Jitender, who alleged that his father was being persistently harassed by the SDO as well as a local contractor of the SWC, the Model Town police has registered a case of abetment to suicide under Section 306 of the IPC against the suspects.

Niranjan Singh, who was a resident of Prem Nagar Colony of Rohtak and was a retrenched employee of the Haryana State Minor Irrigation and Tubewells Corporation, had joined the SWC here recently.

Ambala, January 28
Former Union Minister and senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj today observed that SAD-BJP combine would come to power in Punjab while the BJP would form the government in Uttaranchal.

Talking to mediapersons here today, Ms Sushma Swaraj said in Punjab, urban as well as rural voters had made up their mind to bring SAD-BJP combine to power. She said the electorate was all set to ensure the defeat of the Congress in Punjab.

To a query, she said she had sought that more women should be given the party ticket for the Punjab poll. She said all parties must come together and decide in favour of granting more women ticket for contesting the elections. She stated that the Congress-led UPA government had failed to generate a consensus in this regard.

She claimed that the Congress was a communal party which was following a policy of Muslim appeasement. She said the Sachar Commission had to study the Muslim socio-economic condition. She said even the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, had spoken about rights of Muslims over national resources during his speech at the National Development Council.