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Diarrohea outbreak in Ambala
Tribune News Service The authorities do not seem to have learnt any lesson from the recent diarrohea outbreak in Nurpur village in the Naggal area. More than 400 villagers had complained of diarrohea and vomiting. The outbreak has been attributed to a leakage in the main pipeline where it passes through the village pond. A visit to the Aloo Godam area showed that the drains are choked and they have not been cleaned for weeks together. Local residents say despite repeated requests, the authorities failed to get the drains cleaned. Similar problems are being faced in the outer areas of Ambala Sadar where drains remain choked and the situation worsens during rainy season. The diarrohea outbreak has caught the officials napping. The administrative machinery swung into action only after it learnt that three persons died due to the disease. Checking of water supply, cleaning the area and other such exercises are being undertaken. Deputy commissioner Mohammad Shayin took serious note of the Nurpur village incident and ordered the registration of a case against three officials. "An FIR has been registered against the SDO, JE and pump operator," he said. Mohammad Shayin said a cleanliness drive was being carried out in the affected areas and 50 persons had been temporarily employed for carrying out the job. "We will also carry out cleanliness drive in the adjoining villages,” he said. The deputy commissioner said the situation was now under control. “I have appealed to the local people to not to use polythene bags as it choke the drains,” he stated. Meanwhile, the water supply situation in villages in the district seems to be far from satisfactory that leads to villagers to use shallow hand pumps. For instance, in Samalkha village, out of three pumps, only two are operational. The situation is similar in Haldheri, Nauhani, Kharukhera, Mithapur, Gokalgarh and Langarchanni villages.
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Suicides in armed forces
Gurgaon, September 20 The officers would be imparted training in the latest management techniques, including man management, resource management and other management skills, which could be utilised by them in their day-to-day working. One of the faculty member of the MDI informed that the strength of the army personnel in the course would be larger as compared to officers of the naval and air force. MDI Director Dr Sujit K. Basu said the Defence Ministry had given the approval and the course was likely to commence from next month. He told that a request for initiating the course had been received from the Army Training Command, Shimla. He said the module of the course had been specially designed to facilitate the top brass, as they could not attend a long duration course. A retired army official said with the introduction of management course, the top officials would be able to learn new acumens to manage their subordinates, but if such course were introduced for junior and middle ranking officers it would greatly help the defence system. He said such programmes were the need of the hour as there was a lack of proper management in the Army. It would help in containing the increasing graph of suicide cases in the armed forces. He said in the past few years there had been a number of cases where a junior had killed his senior official. Like other professions, defence management also needed to brush up their skills to handle the personnel at every level, he added.
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Modern industrial estate for Rohtak
Rohtak, September 20 At the same time, it has also been decided to develop the old IDC and the proposed industrial hub (new IDC) into an integrated modern estate for industries on 152 acres. This will be the first integrated modern industrial estate of its kind in the state and is expected to cost Rs 35 crore to the exchequer. Disclosing this here today, deputy commissioner R.S. Doon informed that Rs 26 crore would be spent on the new IDC and Rs 7 crore on the old IDC and both would be collectively developed into the integrated modern estate for industries. Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda is expected to lay the foundation stone of the proposed estate on September 28. The deputy commissioner said the development of the modern industrial estate would also benefit persons manufacturing goods in their houses. “Such persons running small-scale and cottage industries may also get plots
to set up their industrial units at the industrial estate,” he added. Doon said a 60-metre road connecting Hisar Road and Bhiwani Road would also be made to provide better access to the industrial estate. The project also envisages the provision of basic amenities like water, power and sewerage facilities. State Industrial Institute managing director Rajiv Arora and HSIDC director Desh Raj Dhingra had recently visited the local IDC and discussed the problems of the industries’ association at a meeting. They were accompanied by the local deputy commissioner. Following this, the senior officials apprised the Chief Minister of the situation. Hence, to ensure better management and maintenance of the IDC, the Chief Minister decided to hand it over to the HSIDC.
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Website on Panipat rural belt soon
Panipat, September 20 Sharing details of the project with The Tribune here, ADC Amit Aggarwal said the new website would contain information about the working of the district rural development authority (DRDA). Being the ex-officio chairman of the DRDA, the ADC claimed the website would be the first of its kind in the state with an exclusive focus on the rural belt. The website, www.drdapanipat.org.in, which is under construction, was expected to be launched in the next few days, he added. He said that once the full information was uploaded, an individual could get details of various
development activities, official grants, etc. It was aimed at bringing about more transparency as one need not to apply under the RTI to seek information on public funds utility in the rural areas of Panipat. Besides information on state-funded projects, details about central projects ,including the Indira awas yojna and the rural employment guarantee scheme, would also be posted on the site. The online information would make the village panchayats more accountable as complaints regarding the work of contractors executing development projects were common in various villages, he added. Villagers could also ensure that muster rolls were maintained for every piece of work separately. One could also download application forms for electric motors, loans for solar systems,etc. Also, the DRDA would invite online complaints, said Dr Aggarwal.
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citizen
first The sanitary conditions of the bus stands in the state are pathetic. The urinals and toilets are not properly maintained and stinking at most of the bus stands. The hygiene standards at the footstalls and tea stalls are worst. One such place is Pipli bus stand on the NH-1. A large number of buses halt there for refreshments. But there is litter all over the place and the passengers are forced to urinate in the open because of poor maintenance of toilets. There is foul smell all around. The food is served in unhygienic conditions. The contractors earn lakhs of rupees, but they do not take care to clean the premises. The passengers are helpless as the bus drivers and conductors halt the buses at the selective places only where they get freebies. The authorities must take care of the sanitary conditions at all bus stands and ensure that the eatables are kept and served in hygienic conditions. Puran Singh Assistant professor HIRD, Nilokheri Police excesses The recent incident of police action on students of Blind School, Panipat, is condemnable. The police personnel responsible for this act must be punished so that such incidents are not repeated in future. Whatever the circumstances, the visually challenged should be handled with extra grace and care. They deserve affection and compassion, not cane charges. Even bits of excesses on their part should be tolerable. In an acutely critical position as they are, they deserve sympathy and toleration. Nidhi Malhotra Lecturer, I.B. College, Panipat Readers, write in Make Haryana Plus your very own forum and do yourselves and your neighbours a good turn. Here is an opportunity to highlight civic and other public issues, and air your grievances about government negligence and ineffectiveness and the apathy of the officialdom. Send in write-ups, not exceeding 200 words, to Haryana Plus, The Tribune, Sector 29, Chandigarh. E-mail: adalat@tribunemail.com
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Inside Babudom
Chandigarh, September 20 IAS officers of the state have been critical about the step in private conversations. The incident, which outraged Hooda, unfolded like this: There was an important meeting on the commemoration of the 1857 revolt. The Chief Minister is interested in having some programmes to celebrate the event. Harbakhsh Singh had asked director S.N. Roy to attend the meeting, as his niece was ill. The meeting was postponed. Roy did not turn up when the meeting was finally held on September 11. He was reported to be ill. Harbakhsh Singh was still looking after the child. The axe fell on the latter, who was suspended and then reinstated after four days. Someone unfamiliar with the ways of the government may get the impression that archives department is playing a key role in planning the celebrations of the historical event. It is, however, not the case in Haryana. The archives department was not even called when another meeting on the celebrations was held on May 7 under the chairmanship of the then education minister Phool Chand Mullana. The public relations and cultural affairs department will run the 1857 show while the archives department, traditionally a neglected department in Haryana, will be simply asked to help them. It is another thing that the department has an excellent collection of materials, which are kept in good condition in the space allotted to the department in a building belonging to the irrigation department at Panchkula. The collection is particularly rich with regard to the period covering the decline of the Moghuls and the establishment of British supremacy in the region. The revolt is very much a part of the repertoire of the archives. On its own the archives department is publishing a book and planning to get a documentary done on the scene in Haryana in 1857. The book will be soon out but the same is not the case with the film. This is because the public relations department is also planning to make a documentary on the same subject.
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Shortage of doctors plagues hospitals
Jind, September 20 Safidon, a subdivisional town, and Julana, a tehsil headquarters, which have a Civil Hospital and a Community Health Centre (CHC), respectively, have no full-time doctor to attend to patients. While Safidon subdivision has a population of about one lakh, the CHC at Julana caters to the population of about 40 villages falling in the block. “Due to the problem, residents here have to turn to private hospitals and clinics, which fleece them,” said Jagmesh Sindhu, a member of the Zila Parishad, Jind. He said despite the fact that the CHC at Julana had been in existence for about 25 years, the department had not been able to provide the full strength of doctors so far.He said there was a shortage of drugs and patients had to procure these mainly from the market. He said doctors did not attend their duties regularly and local residents had brought the matter to the notice of the authorities. The issue of shortage of doctors and their absence from duty, especially those posted in rural pockets, had also come up during the meeting of the Zila Parishad on various occasions. Against the sanctioned strength of five doctors, the CHC, Julana, has none at present.
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Yoga boy owes his flexibility to fixed regime
Yamunanagar, September 20 "He has a great flexibility in his body which is quite amazing,” claims B.S. Dhillon, principal of the college. Subhash says he was a student of local Government School where yoga coach Kiran Gulati of sports department selected him among others. “I was in class V at that time and started practicing since that day,” recalls Subash, who belongs to a poor family. His mother Pushpa Rani and elder brother Naresh Kumar motivated him to do yoga. “I was not able to win any contest even after eight years of hard practice. I even started thinking of leaving it,” he says. “In 1999-2000 state yoga championship held at Kaithal, I had a last chance to participate in 11-14 years age group, but I failed again. At that time my coach Kiran Gulati motivated me and asked me to practice with even more dedication.” His efforts and dedication paid and he won a bronze in 2001 school national games. In 2003, he won a gold in all India inter-university competition. Then came a silver medal in a championship held in Spain when he was in B.Sc.-I (sports science). In 2004, Subhash was declared the best sportsman of Kurukshetra University and was honoured with the Governor Award. In 2005, he won one gold and one silver medal in world championship held in Italy. In 2006, Subhash won two silver medals and one bronze medal in world cup held in Delhi. "Bhupinder Singh Jauhar, chairman of the Guru Nanak Khalsa education institutions, did every thing for my career and education. He gave me financial as well as moral support,” says Subhash. The “rubber boy” says due to conflict among various yoga federations, the players are facing a lot of problems and the government is also not encouraging the sport.
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Plantation drive turns into mass movement
Yamunanagar, September 20 President of the HES S.L Saini, who is a lecturer in MLN College here, ensures that none of the saplings get damaged and it grows into a full-fledged tree. "I had started this project with Rs 15,000 and with the help of a few friends,” recollects professor Saini, also known as the “green man”. He has succeeded in his efforts because he makes sure that every sapling grows and if a sapling is damaged, he ensures that it gets replaced immediately. He has also employed a photographer, who keeps roaming in Jagadhri and Yamunanagar to click pictures of trees which people damage or fell for petty interests. “I had made several representations to the authorities concerned when trees were cut or damaged, but no one bothered to take action,” complains Saini. He had also filed a public interest litigation in the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the court had directed the municipal councils and corporations to ensure that trees planted in their areas be given protection and looked after in a proper way. “Even after the court orders no one bothers to book the
culprits,” rues Saini. Recently, the Yamunanagar MC gave a notice to the society for the alleged violation of the advertisement bylaws. Private companies that donate tree guards to the HES had displayed their advertisements on it. “The HES depends on public for funds and several companies which had donated tree guards pasted advertisements on it. Now, we are going to remove the advertisements,” he says. Saini planted his first sapling in 1996. Today, the HES has grown into a full-fledged movement. It has planted trees in Yamunanagar, Ambala and Panchkula districts. Saini has adopted a novel way to exhort people to plant trees. He approaches a family if there is a marriage or birth in the family and makes it plant a sapling. He also motivates people to plant saplings on various national or international days. The principal of his college, Dr Ramesh Kumar, too, has done his bit by providing him a nursery in the college hostel. Saini has also set up several parks in the district with the help of the public.
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No takers for govt’s dairy shifting scheme
Ballabgarh (Faridabad), September 20 A large number of dairy owners who were allotted plots in the modern dairy complex in Mirzapur village, about 5 km from here, to shift their unit out of the town, have either sold them or let it out on rent. Rather, they have re-established their business in the town like before, giving a thumbs down to the government. The dairy units were shifted for about two months and they returned back to towns. The complaint of the dairy owners was that they were losing out on their business as customers found these dairies to be far off. The government had devised a scheme for the cities and towns of the state, especially those in the National Capital Region (NCR), to shift the existing dairy units at distant places. A state-of-the-art dairy complex was set up by the state in Mirzapur having 112 plots of sizes ranging from 100 sq yards to 333 sq yards. Significantly, dairy units are functioning in the complex by persons who were not the original allotees of the plots. The return of the original allottees with their business in the township has once again thrown up the civic problem. A large number of new operators have also set up units here. The result of the ugly development is that the sewerage system has gone for a six as the dairy units release dung and filth. Also, the owners of the units throw dung on the streets. Also, they consume most of the water supplied by the Municipal Corporation of Faridabad (MCF). There are about 50 colonies in this town and a large number of them have dairy units of varying sizes. These units have become a nuisance for the residents. Residents of this area are having a tough time. The residents feel that the colonies are a breeding ground for mosquitoes and like problems. A number of dairy owners have unity and have developed political links. A councillor of the Municipal Corporation of Faridabad (MCF), who is responsible to remove the units from the township, is not doing much because his son runs one of the largest dairy unit in the Mahavir Colony. Authorities also challenged the unit, which has more than 25 buffaloes.
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Citizens’ Grievances
The state government has been stressing upon and asking the plot holders to construct houses. I own plot no. 1008 in Sector 23-A, Gurgaon, and wanted to start construction at the earliest. I submitted the building plan with HUDA office, Gurgaon, in November 2006, but despite follow up time and gain, I could not get the plan approved. While the district town and planning department blames HUDA for not providing the required information, HUDA officials fail to give any satisfactory reply. I request the administrator, HUDA, to look into the matter and get my building plan approved at the earliest to enable me to start construction work.
Aditya A. Gaur
Plot no. 1008, Sector 23 A, Gurgaon Title deeds not released I mortgaged the title deeds of my property with Punjab National Bank, Sector 22, Chandigarh, against a loan. I repaid the loan and the no objection certificate was issued by the bank on 19.04.2003, but the title deeds were not released. I reported the matter the higher authorities of the bank, but to no avail. I also approached the banking ombudsman in Sector 17, Chandigarh, but nothing helped. More than four years have passed and I am yet to get the title deeds back. Joginder Kumar Singal, Kalka
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Pension plan boon for poor
Rohtak, September 20 Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda stated this while distributing cheques amounting to Rs 1 crore to 103 kin of mishap victims. A brief ceremony was organised by the district administration in this regard at the local Canal Rest House here recently. Deputy commissioner R.S. Doon revealed that Rs 2.28 crore had been provided in 2006-07 to as many as 228 families of the district whose earning members had been killed in accidents. As per the provisions of the scheme, if any person (male or female) aged between 18 and 60 years is killed in a mishap, his/her family will get a compensation of Rs 1 lakh. But to get this amount, postmortem report of the deceased, registration of an FIR and issuance of death certificate are mandatory. The compensation under the scheme is given in case of death caused in road or rail accident or due to lightning, snakebite, animal attack or while using some agricultural equipment. If the deceased belongs to a BPL family bearing yellow ration card, his family gets an additional amount of Rs 10,000 under the National Family Welfare Scheme. Moreover, the widow of the deceased in such cases is also entitled to a widow pension as per the government rules. Apart from this, a monthly allowance of Rs 100 each is provided to two children of the deceased.
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Poor storage eats up 30 pc of food
Gurgaon, September 20 Dr Suri Shegal, agricultural scientist, and the founder of NGO Shegal Foundation, reveals that as per the available data, around 30 per cent of the food products go waste annually because of the lack of storage. If states like Haryana and Punjab motivate entrepreneurs to set up food processing units in SEZs, it will make optimum usage of bumper food production, besides generating employment for the local youth. He says the landholdings are decreasing due to the division of land among the family members. In 1971, the average farm size was 2.28 hectares, which went down to 1.06 hectares in 2002-03. He says 60 per cent of the population is involved in agricultural sector, but the production is stagnant. Dr Shegal says due to small landholdings farmers are not able to adopt new techniques and modern implements for increasing production. He emphasises the need of water management as the water table is continuously dropping due to excessive extraction. He says it is surprising that as an agro-based country we still depend on rains and failed to device methods to
harness water. The agriculturist says we should revive our old system of water storage in the rural areas that could be utilised for drinking as well irrigation purposes. He says if the yield per acre is not increased we would have to import more food grain in the future to meet the need of our growing population.
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Dhabas catch fancy of Hisar residents
Hisar, September 20 Dhanis are different from traditional dhabas as these occupy more area and have rural themes. The environs are landscaped beautifully and food quality is impeccable. Most have huts for seating families. Eating out in this area was restricted thus far to affluent families that too in a handful of restaurants in the towns. Eating at dhabas by driving down a few kilometres outside the town was almost non-existent. However, the new dhabas are now giving the city restaurants a run for their money. The oldest and the most popular dhaba here is still located in a centrally located market. But its patrons are tourists, students, and bachelors. The new trend began a few years ago when buses from Rajasthan en route to Delhi began halting at a dhaba on the outskirts of Hansi, 25 km from here. This dhaba maintained its traditional look for several years, but the patronage by Rajasthan buses forced it to expand and model it on the pattern of dhanis. This has triggered a trend resulting in dhani-type dhabas mushrooming on all highways. Among professionals, local doctors are the single largest group frequenting the dhabas. Most of them get free from work late in the night and a meal with family and friends at a dhaba is their way of relaxing and recharging their energies. Students from two local universities are also thronging these eateries. A leading local physician, Dr P.S. Verma, says the new dhabas are great places for dinner especially in summers when eating in the open amidst greenery is a very relaxing experience. He says he has never experienced any problems even late at night mainly because the patrons are very decent people. At the end of the last academic session in April, most of the farewell parties by students of two local universities and numerous colleges were organised at these dhabas, which offered them discounts and also arranged special themes and DJ dance floors. Even ladies’ clubs now prefer to hold its kitty parties in these eating joints.
Socialite Anshu Leekha says these dhabas are a better option for kitty parties for their rates are less than restaurants despite good food and they do not charge rent for the facilities. Of course, the open-air atmosphere is a value addition, she quips.
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Groundwater depletion
Chandigarh, September 20 All five blocks of the district have been categorised as “over-exploited” as per the latest assessment of groundwater resources by the Chandigarh-based Central Groundwater Board, which is demanding to notify the district for the regulation of all groundwater abstraction structures. When the annual extraction of groundwater is more than 100 per cent, it is described as “over-exploited” and there has been a significant decline in water table. The board carried out the assessment in Panipat, Samalkha, Madlauda, Israna and Bapoli blocks. Board director Anita Gupta says Samalkha block, where the exploitation of groundwater is 177 per cent, has already been notified for groundwater regulation. “The situation is grim in the entire district. Recent studies reveal that groundwater is declining sharply in the district, especially in Bapoli block. The annual utilisation of water resources in the block is more than 186 per cent. The board is recommending to notify the district so that over-utilisation can be checked,” she explains. The average utilisation of groundwater in the district is 152 per cent, while Ambala district has 76 per cent. Studies conducted by the board say the depth of water level varies from 1.9 m to 34.6 m during pre-monsoon and 1.06 m to 35 m post-monsoon. The water level is falling at a rate of 2 to 151 cm per year. The maximum fall is observed in Panipat town.
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