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More girls studying in Fatehabad
Fatehabad, August 7 Statistics of the education department show that more girls are getting enrolled in schools and the number is increasing by the year. A total of 59,275 girls have been enrolled in government schools of the district during the current academic year. Out of these, 33,091 girls were enrolled in primary classes while 26,184 got admissions to classes from 6th standard to 12th standard. Last year, the number of enrollments was 57,932, out of which 34,112 were in primary classes and 23,820 in class sixth to class XII. "It has been on the increasing side since 2005," claims B.R. Vats, district education officer, Fatehabad. In 2005, the number of enrollment was 49,668 out of which 29,608 girls got admission to primary classes while 20,060 girls got admission to class VI to class XII, while in the next year, 51,828 got enrolled out of which 31,130 in primary classes. These figures pertain to girls enrolled in government schools only and those enrolled in private schools are not included. As a big majority of urban students get admission to private schools, the statistics also indicate that girls' education is on the rise in villages too. "The state government has announced several welfare schemes for girl students and the objective of all those schemes is to promote enrollment of more students in schools," Vats adds. He informs that education to girl students is free up to graduation level. Textbooks are also provided free to all girls. Those who have to come from a distance of 2 km or more are given a bicycle Besides, the government also provides workbook, schoolbags, uniforms, dictionaries, shoes and jerseys to girl students, Vats adds. "Girl child corners have been set up in 35 schools of the district under the National Programme for Girls at Elementary Level where we provide vocational training in embroidery, beauty parlour, and toy making," the DEO says. He adds that bank accounts of all SC and ST students have been opened and scholarships for these students are being provided through their bank accounts.
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Rohtak police ropes in auto drivers
Rohtak, August 7 In an innovative initiative, the Rohtak range police authorities recently thought of utilising the ubiquitous auto-rickshaws as well their drivers for some social cause. In the initial phase of the plan, the landline as well as mobile phone numbers of the police control room have been painted on the rear side all three-wheelers plying in the town. Now, the district police authorities have decided to make the auto-rickshaw As per the scheme, the drivers providing vital information about suspicious persons or unlawful activities would be rewarded with cash incentive. “The underlying idea was to streamline the plying of auto-rickshaws, simultaneously utilising the three-wheelers and their drivers for the benefit of the residents,” observes Rohtak IGP V. Kamaraja, who is the brain behind the plan. The drivers who provide information about any suspicious person or unlawful activity would be rewarded with a cash incentive of up to Rs 5,000. The PCR phone numbers — 100 and 9996464100 — have been written on three-wheelers so as to popularise these for the benefit of people in general. As many as 21 auto-rickshaw stands have been identified and the three-wheelers would ply only through these auto stands. There are only 823 auto-rickshaws registered in the police records, but the actual number is much more. This scheme aims at regulating the plying of auto-rickshaws and the selected auto-rickshaw drivers would also be apprised about the rules of traffic control. Subsequently, these auto drivers will also be issued special cards for their
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Bar on height of buildings removed
It has also decided to grant permission for four-level basements in-group housing, integrated and multistory commercial buildings and IT parks and cyber cities. Chief administrator HUDA T. C. Gupta says the decision to remove the height restriction has been taken in view of the fact that the National Building Code has de-restricted the height of the buildings and the latest technologies are available for structural design and fire fighting. Of course, there are certain conditions attached to the new concessions.
In the case of commercial complexes, this provision will be applicable only on those sites that are governed by the zoning plans and not by the architectural controls. In case of institutional sites, it will be applicable on institutional plots of size of one acre and above. Further, in case of these buildings having height of 30 meters and above, clearance from the National Airport Authority of India will be required. For the buildings of more than 60-meter height, the clearance from recognised institutions like IITs, Punjab Engineering College (PEC), Regional Engineering College and the National Institute of Technology regarding structural stability, and clearance from the Institute of
Fire Engineers, Nagpur for fire safety would be required. Gupta says in view of the increasing demand for parking and the latest technologies available for structural design, HUDA has decided to allow four-level basements for parking in the high rise buildings of cyber cities, cyber parks, IT parks, group housing sites, commercial complexes and institutional plots. The parking of each type of buildings has also been revised. For the group housing sites, 1.5 equivalent car space (ECS) for each dwelling unit will be required instead of the present one ECS for each dwelling unit.
Also a minimum of 75 per cent of the total car parking has to be covered parking. In the integrated and multi-storey commercial buildings, one ECS for every 50 square meter of the covered area will be required instead of the existing norm of 75 square meter. Further, 15 per cent of the total parking requirement will have to be at the surface level and remaining 85 per cent in the form of covered parking. Similarly in the cyber parks, IT parks and cyber cities, one ECS for every 50 sq m of the covered area will be required. The covered parking in the basement or in the form of multi-level parking above ground level will not be counted towards floor area ratio (FAR). However, the footprint of separate parking building blocks will be counted towards ground coverage. In case of provision of mechanical parking in the basement floor and upper storeys, the floor to ceiling height of the basement or floor will be maximum of 4.5 mts. The misuse of the covered parking space will attract levy of three times the The basement can be used for air-conditioning handling unit (AHU), utilities and services connected with the building and the parking spaces. No storage and commercial activity will now be permitted in the designated In case a part of the basement was used for generator room, electric sub-station and transformer room, it will be segregated from the rest of the basement through a masonry wall, at least 4 ½" thick.
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Poll alliance
Hisar, August 7 Although Chautala distanced himself from the UNPA after SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav’s volte face, his son Ajay Chautala, MP, had attended the meetings at Mayawati's residence where almost every party leader projected the UP Chief Minister as their nominee for the post of PM. However, within days after that Chautala refused to accept her as the UNPA's choice for PM clearly indicating that he would rather woo the BJP than align with a party whose mass base is not a natural ally of the INLD. In fact, Chautala's predicament is his own creation. Even though he knew that he could not storm into the office of the Haryana Chief Minister without the BJP, his treatment of his longstanding poll partner has left the BJP leadership disillusioned. Chautala's brief affair with the UNPA was more of an indication to the BJP that he was willing to be the suitor again rather than a serious political move to ride the UNPA bandwagon. Sources say the party may now be willing to offer a majority of Lok Sabha seats They say the BJP is at the moment obsessed with elevating L.K. Advani to the PM's office at any cost and it is willing to forget Chautala's misadventures in the past. On the other hand, state BJP sources also concede that their party and the INLD are natural allies, which compliment each other's vote banks. They say an electoral alliance with Chautala would stand it in good stead as The other political corporate eyeing a share in murky political backwaters of So far as Bishnoi is concerned, the BJP and the BSP are equals in so far as the vote economics is concerned. His own vote bank is the same as the BJP – non-Jats. A poll arrangement with the BSP will also get him a share of Dalit votes, which may not be substantial. Amidst all such political calculations, the Jat heartland in the state once again becomes the deciding factor. If it weans away from the Congress, these calculations will matter. If it does not, then the whole thing is a wasteful exercise.
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E-Disha — a step in right direction
Kaithal, August 7 This was stated by state power minister Randeep Singh Surjewala, who inaugurated the centre recently. Local MLA S.S. Surjewala, Kalayat MLA Geeta Bhukkal, deputy commissioner Vikas Gupta, SSP Anil Kumar Rao, Vibhu Kapoor and Deepak Khurana of district information centre, Kaithal, were among those present on this occasion. A large number of people who visited this place for various works and used to wait for hours standing in queues can now avail the services of the air-conditioned centre and get their job done in a friendly and conducive environment. Throwing light on the objectives and services to be rendered at this place, Gupta told The Tribune that higher efficiency, increased transparency, elimination of corruption, greater convenience to the people, revenue growth and making available services at nominal cost were some of the objectives kept in mind while setting up this kendra. Various services to be provided at this centre had been selected keeping in view the needs of the citizens without which e-governance would have been fruitless. This centre would provide services regarding driving licence, vehicle registration, caste\residence certificate, copies of revenue records, passport application receipt, issuance of arms licence and additions and deletions and transfer of ownership, receipt and processing of applications of various social welfare schemes, including old age and widow pension etc. It will reduce the clerical work and eliminate issuance of bogus and fake licences and other documents. Separate counters have been set up of each service where every formality is completed. The receipts issued for received documents bear the date of delivery of services or documents. The National Informatics Centre has developed the software for these services. The NIC, Haryana center, Chandigarh and NIC, Kaithal, have played a major role in providing technical inputs for this project, the deputy commissioner added.
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Cong out to woo Brahmins
Chandigarh, August 7 A large number of the Brahmins, considered to be on the top of the social order, voted for a party, which is associated with those who are considered to be at the bottom of the order, following the successful social engineering experiment in UP by the BSP, which hopes to repeat this “unprecedented” phenomenon in other states. With this aim, the party is making overtures to the Brahmins of Haryana, who have also responded positively to it. Ever since the elevation of Mayawati as the UP CM, the state Congress is taking steps to counter her influence in the state. First, a Dalit, Phool Chand Mullana, was appointed as the party chief, with Kuldip Sharma, a Brahmin, as the working president. Then the party nominated a Dalit, Ishwar Singh, and a Backward, Dr Ram Prakash, to the Rajya Sabha. Realising the need to do more in this regard, the Congress has now asked its senior Brahmin leader and former minister Venod Sharma to devote more time to check the growing alienation of his community with the party. Venod, known to be an aggressive campaigner, carries other Brahmin leaders of the party to the meetings of the community he addresses. Sources close to him say so far he has addressed 16 meetings, primarily attended by Brahmins, in the state in the past three months. Venod is deploying different planks for organising meetings - varying from honouring freedom fighters and martyrs to “shramdan” at Valmiki temples in Dalit colonies. He takes his Brahmin supporters to these colonies and helps Dalits in reconstructing their dilapidated temples. Meanwhile, Venod, who was rumoured to replace Chander Mohan as the Deputy CM, may have to wait a little more. Hooda is yet to hold formal discussion on the cabinet reshuffle with Sonia Gandhi. First, there was a crisis for the Manmohan Singh government following the withdrawal of support by the Left. Now, she is pre-occupied with the Jammu and Kashmir crisis.
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Inside Babudom
Chandigarh, August 7 While the file of the “chosen one” moves from one table to another, a case challenging the rationality of giving a vigilance clearance to Ram Niwas, one of the four candidates in the race has been challenged. The year seems jinxed for the post because it began with all efforts of the then home secretary Krishna Mohan to seek an extension coming to a naught. With his return to Haryana in March this year, the race for the others got underway. Haryana sent a panel with the names of Jyoti Arora, Rajesh Khullar and Roshan Lal. The ensuing fight for the post, where Arora and Khullar had emerged as frontrunners, ended with the most unexpected result. The ministry of home affairs rejected the entire panel on grounds of lobbying for the post. The second round of the race began on an equally high note, with Haryana forwarding a panel comprising of three SC officers and one from the backward class. This new panel was the outcome of a court case, where it had been pleaded that the Haryana government did not forward names of any SC candidates for the post. Here, too, Ram Niwas and RR Jowel emerged as the favourites and the run-up began to hot up. In the midst of all this, anonymous complaints began doing the rounds of the power corridors and newspaper offices. At this juncture, acting on a past case, the election commission of India wrote to the Haryana government to take action against Jowel for playing truant while on election duty in Tamil Nadu in 2006. While the matter was quietly swept under the carpet and continues to lie there, the next hiccup in the clearance of one name by the MHA came with the uncertainty over the fate of the Congress-led government which was put through a trust vote on the nuclear issue. The new roadblock has come by way of challenging of the empanelment of the name of Ram Niwas for the post. Most officers are of the view that the panel can be rejected on grounds of lobbying, the same fate should be meted out to the second panel as well because lobbying has touched a new high with the involvement of courts as well. While the debate on lobbying or not, may rage on, here’s hoping the wait for a “suitable boy” will end soon at least for the sake of Chandigarh if not for the officers “on the run” in the race.
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Development plan for Jagadhari
Yamunanagar, August 7 While the central government will be contributing Rs 166 crore in different phases, the state government will give Rs 20.81 lakh and Jagadhari MC is expected to contribute Rs 20.81
lakh. This was highlighted in a report submitted to the district administration for the development of infrastructure in Jagadhari town. The report was sought as the town has been selected among 74 towns of the state by the state urban development department under urban infrastructure development scheme of the central government for small and medium towns. The report pointed out that for overall development of the town there was a need to develop proper infrastructure to provide water supply facilities to all residents. Besides, there was a need to develop sewerage system, solid waste management, roads, and slums and streetlights. There would also be a need for widening the roads, including the national highway no. 73 passing through the town, state highways and construction of flyovers, and construction and maintenance of internal roads. An amount of Rs 74.46 crore would be required for widening the roads.
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Power shortage hits life in Ambala
Ambala, August 7 The urban areas of the district have been getting electricity supply for hardly 10 to 12 hours daily.
The position in the rural areas is even worse. Though early and good rains proved helpful for the paddy crops, more water is required for irrigation for which farmers are left with no option but to use diesel-run generator sets to keep tubewells running. Some of the farmers have been using their tractors to save their crops. A farmer of Naggal, Kulwinder Singh, could not irrigate his three acres of land out of total 20 acres, as he could not arrange water for the entire field. He said the electricity department had not been providing uninterrupted power supply even for two hours. Though the department had issued power-cut schedule for the urban and rural areas, it failed to adhere to it. Another farmer Lachman Singh said the cost of production would increase this time as tube wells were being run on generator sets for longer time. He said insufficient irrigation would lead to lesser yield. Former MLA of Naggal Jasbir Malore said unscheduled cuts and improper supply of power had caused great loss to the farmers of this area. Former BJP MP Rattan Lal Kataria alleged that a part of state electricity was being supplied to Delhi. Industrial units in the district, too, have been suffering due to power cuts. A Entrepreneurs are of the view that if the power problem continued, more industrial units could shift to the neighboring states. The acute shortage of power has hit small traders and the common man, too. People in the rural as well as urban areas have lodged their protest against the unannounced cuts a number of times. In
Naraingarh, an agitated crowed had set a police post on fire for which around 24 persons were arrested. Reports of ransacking of powerhouses in Mulana, Naggal, Ambala City and Ambala Cantt were also received during the past two months. The situation has improved to some extent during the past few days. Meanwhile, officials of the UHBPN said sufficient power supply was being made in the rural areas for paddy cultivation.
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Waterlogging
Faridabad, August 7 In a meeting of the officers of the MCF here recently, the commissioner expressed anguish over the accumulation of storm water in various areas of the city. He told the MCF personnel to pull up their socks and work for cleaning the choked sewerage lines. The MCF has purchased a super-sucker machine at a cost of Rs 1 crore which is considered to be an effective instrument to clean the sewerage lines. The machine has already been pressed into service in the NIT area.
Finding the machine adequate in view of the large expanse of the city, the MCF has already placed order for three more such machines to be hired
on rent. The machines will be pressed into service in NIT, Ballabgarh and Old Faridabad. The other three are expected to be harnessed by the end of this week. Khullar directed the officers to report to him on daily basis about the areas where the machine was being used. The action came in the wake of reports of choking of sewerage lines leading to flood-like situation in various parts of the city. A resident alleged that although Faridabad and Gurgaon were the premier cities of the state, the government did not bother in taking preventive measures to facilitate passage of storm water in city’s
main drains. At a number of places, including sector areas, there are reports of main sewage getting choked and backflow of the filth into
the houses. The commissioner also directed the officers to check collection of taxes under the heads of property, house and
licence. He reviewed the quarterly collection of the annual income and said taxes had to be collected in a better way in view of expanding expenditure of the
civic body.
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Leopard attack causes panic among villagers
Yamunanagar, August 7 The wild animal continues to attack the people, mostly at night. Leopards have reportedly killed goats, dogs and taken away other animals also. Recently, a leopard strayed into Fejpur village and terrified the villagers. Earlier, a leopard had entered in a village and killed three goats.
Spotting the leopard, labourers raised an alarm. A number of villagers rushed to the spot, but the leopard managed to escape with two goats.
Last year, six incidents of leapord attack came into light in this region. The reason for straying of the wild animal into the villages is said to be the lack of enough food in the forest area that forces leopards to move out. Moreover, lack of proper security arrangements and deployment of guards, are also some of the reasons behind frequent leopard attacks that continue to terrify the villagers and kill their livestock. The villagers said they should get a compensation of Rs 300 per goat and Rs 800 for a cow when killed by the wild animal. However, they first have to prove that their animals are being killed by leopard or are taken away by it. The pugmarks of the leopard from the spot support their claim for the compensation, they added.
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Movie this week
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Om Puri, Sonu Sood, Kirron Kher, Jaaved Jafferi, Neha Dhupia, Kamal Chopra, Ranvir Shorey. The keenly awaited romantic comedy of 2008, "Singh Is King" opens this week at KC Panchkula, Nigar-Ambala Cantt, KR-Karnal, Sheela-Rohtak, Sarang-Sonepat, Fun Multiplex-Panipat, Fun Multiplex-Ambala City, Cinemax India-Panipat, PVR Crown Plaza, SRS Multiplex, SRS Pristine, PVR Europe, INOX Leisure, Shubham Tower,
Movie Time Manhattan Mall Movie Time City Mall (All Faridabad), PVR MGF 2, SRS Omaxe, PVR Sahara, PVR Ambience, DT City Centre, DT Mega Mall (All
Gurgaon),
Sun City-Hisar. Story: The story revolves around a gang of crooks transformed by a good man and his selfless love for a beautiful girl. Special attraction: Vipul Amrutlal Shah's fourth film with his lucky man Akshay Kumar. Director Anees Bazmee repeats Katrina Kaif after "Welcome". Shot in the Gold Coast this action comedy has foot-tapping musical score from
Pritam.
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Chandigarh, August 7
Producer: Vipul Amrutlal Shah