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Power Infrastructure
Chandigarh, December 8 Officials said the state government had sent a loan request to the World Bank for $1.1 billion, which would be disbursed in phases. In the first phase, the state would get $400 million for upgrading the power transmission and distribution network. Ashok Lavasa, financial commissioner and principal secretary, power, said a special team of six members of the World Bank recently visited the state on a pre-appraisal mission to review the loan
proposal. "The team met the heads of power utilities, transmission and distribution companies and the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission. We have requested that while $70 million each should be disbursed to the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam and Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam, $250 million would be required for upgrading transmission network and $10 million for capacity building,” he added. “Once the state receives funds from the World Bank, it can ensure proper electricity supply to the consumers, better power transmission and minimal distribution losses”. Lavasa further added that the UHBVN planned to use $70 million in implementing the Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Program-II (APDRP) of the central government to streamline the power distribution system and bring down the aggregated technical and commercial losses in the selected project areas to 15 per cent or below. The scheme would be implemented in Panipat and Yamuna Nagar towns in the first phase. KFW (Germany) had also promised to lend €70 million for the same purpose. The DHBVN, on the other hand, would be using the loan amount for strengthening the distribution network of districts in southern Haryana by installing high-voltage distribution system, segregating rural agricultural and domestic load systems, installing new feeders as well as commissioning new substations.
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In Panipat, water is toxic, air polluted
Panipat, December 8 The residents are struggling against the contamination of underground water caused by over 500 dyeing and printing factories that dump the wastewaters directly into the bore well rather then treating it before discharging. Besides, heavy vehicular traffic on the NH-1 and over 1,000 spinning mills have been leading to higher atmospheric pollution. Though the authorities have been making efforts to bring down the pollution levels, the results are yet to been seen. Even as big industrial units have been adopting some measures to deal with the problem and curtail pollution, smaller and medium units have not done much in this regard. In the city, the subsoil water has been contaminated. Water from hand pumps has already been declared unfit for human consumption as it had turned yellow in colour and emits foul smell. The residents have, therefore, preferred to use water from tubewells. But, here too the amount of fluoride content is comparatively huge. Rajinder Kumar, a local resident, said the authorities should concentrate on providing sewerage for complete discharge of all wastewater. Outside certain industrial units, wastewater has stagnated in open plots in the colonies, leading to increase in saline content in the drinking water and soil. Besides the residents of the city, population of villages like Raja Kheri, Ugrakheri and others on the outskirts of the city are left with no other option but to consume contaminated water. The installation of joint water treatment plant by industrial units in the old industrial area at a cost of Rs 2 crore a couple of years back has failed. The disposal of domestic and industrial wastewater of the area could not be treated at the plant as the number of pipes carrying it to the plant was
inadequate. Besides water, air and noise pollution has also become a cause of concern. The
proximity Thanks to these factors, a large number of local residents suffer from respiratory diseases such as tuberculosis (TB), asthma and others. Deepak Chhokar, another local resident, said it was increasingly becoming difficult to live in the city due to the rising pollution of all kinds. He said it was high time that the state government should come up with a comprehensive policy to deal with this problem and provide the residents with better living conditions.
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Chander Mohan’s second marriage
Hisar, December 8 The reaction to his second marriage after converting to Islam in his home
town Adampur in this district has been that of shock. Adampur has been his father former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal's pocketborough for more than four decades and the constituency has always stood by him. Bhajan Lal's supporters from Adampur have been playing a crucial role in Chander Mohan's election campaigns from Panchkula eversince he shifted his political base there. Going by the reaction against his actions, it seems unlikely that he will find many supporters from Adampur the next time he contests an election. The negative reaction to his second marriage is not limited to Adampur. The Bishnoi community is mainly confined to parts of Hisar, Fatehabad and some bordering districts of Rajasthan. According to reports received here from neighbouring Rajasthan villages, the community members feel greatly let down. The former Deputy Chief Minister's first wife, Seema, hails from Rajasthan and the reaction among community members from Rajasthan has been very negative. Even otherwise, the Bishnois are a very closely knit community and nobody expected a member of the community's topmost family to let down a fellow Bishnoi woman. A gloom descended on the Bhajan Lal family's sprawling residence here after the news of his second marriage was aired on television channels last evening. Though no one wants to talk directly about the incident, the strange silence that has engulfed the otherwise bustling Bishnoi home here is indicative of the sense of shock among Bhajan Lal supporters. It is too early to say whether the incident will have any impact on Bhajan Lal and his political heir younger son Kuldeep Bishnoi politically. However, going by the initial reaction among long time political supporters of this family, a negative political impact appears unlikely although the social embarrassment the marriage has caused cannot be wished away easily. So far, most Haryanavis believed that Chander Mohan was not joining his father's political outfit as a deliberate tactic to keep him in his post. But now it has become clear that Chander Mohan was not in the HJC (BL) because of the differences among family members because of his personal life. Most Bhajan lal watchers here say the events that have unfolded now make it clear that Bhajan Lal had anointed his younger son as his political successor for good
reasons.
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HJC workers heave sigh of relief
Chandigarh, December 8 They claim that this development in the family of former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal has a silver lining for their party. Ever since Moti Lal Vora, AICC treasurer, took over as in charge of the party affairs in Haryana, there had been a speculation in political circles that in view of old close ties between Vora and Bhajan Lal, the Congress might reopen its doors for the former Chief Minister and his younger son. With Chander Mohan already as Deputy Chief Minister in the state, many suspected that he could persuade his father to rebuild his bridges with his parent party, which had given so much in politics. The party not only made Bhajan Lal a Chief Minister and a union minister, it also made his two sons and the wife MLAs and MP, respectively, not to mention the grant of status of Deputy Chief Minister on his elder son. Even a senior state minister claimed about a week ago before his supporters at a marriage that it was highly likely that Bhajan Lal would be persuaded by Chander Mohan to rejoin the Congress, putting a big question mark on the future of the HJC. Such a possibility, naturally, made the HJC workers, most of whom have left the Congress, worried about their future. With Bhajan Lal severing his "family ties" with his elder son following his misdemeanor, HJC workers feel that this would set at rest the apprehensions of sceptics. They admit that the continuation of Chander Mohan as Deputy Chief Minister in the Hooda Cabinet often led to an embarrassing situation for Bishnoi. With Chander Mohan's sacking, Bishnoi would not have to make unconvincing excuses for a dichotomy in his family. Now the people know that this dichotomy is not merely political - the two brothers are really on separate courses.
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INLD terms cut in petro prices insult
Kurukshetra, December 8 The INLD, in support of its demand for decreasing the rates of petrol and diesel proportionately to the decrease of prices of petroleum products in the international market, would demonstrate in front of Parliament in New Delhi on December 10, he added. Describing the central government as sympathiser of the capitalists, he alleged that the decrease in prices of diesel, which is mainly used by the poor farmers, is less in comparison to the petrol that is used by the majority of the rich people. The rates of aircraft fuel had already been decreased. When asked about recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai, Chautala said the government should have resigned on the same day of the Mumbai attacks on the moral grounds, so that the people of the country could have elected a strong new government with able leadership. He also termed the government as a weak government. Chautala further alleged that the government has not been serious for the national security because a large number of graves have been constructed along the GT road and majority of them have been constructed over night near the bridges. These graves could prove dangerous to the national security, but the government has not been serious about it, he alleged. He claimed that in five out of six states, where assembly elections have been held recently, opposition would be formed there. These comprise Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Chhatisgarh. Congress would be swept from these states, he affirmed. INLD state president and former Haryana transport minister Ashok Arora, former finance minister Sampat Singh, INLD discipline committee chairman Sher Singh Badshami, former member parliament Kailasho Saini, former Haryana agriculture minister Jaswinder Singh Sandhu, INLD youth state general secretary Manoj Kaushik and INLD state executive member Maya Ram Chanderbhanpura were among those who were present on the
occasion.
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Mumbai terror attacks
Hisar, December 8 Given the disenchantment with the UPA government's handling of the terror problem, the Congress leadership in Haryana is already mulling over different strategies to prevent a backlash during the Lok Sabha elections due in the next six months. Outwardly, party leaders are maintaining that there would be no impact as the public anger over brazen terror attacks will wear off in the months to come. They also maintain that the visible steps the UPA government is planning to tackle the terror menace will greatly help in countering the public anger in the months to come. The Congress leaders also maintain the current public anger is limited to urban voters and the terror issue is unlikely to affect the sentiment in the rural areas where caste factor plays the biggest role. But at the same time, they concede that urban voters can make all the difference. On the flipside, post-terror attacks, the Bhartiya Janata Party
(BJP) in Haryana is heaving a sigh of relief as its grassroots workers now appear more likely to accept the party's alliance with the Indian National Lok
Dal. BJP workers had been severely opposed to this alliance from the very beginning. However, party leaders are now trying to convince the cadres not to oppose the alliance as the party's chances of benefiting from the UPA's poor track record on terror were greater than ever before in the changed scenario. The plea appears to be working as the opposition to the alliance has visibly gone down over the past few days. Both the INLD and the BJP are planning to up ante and launch a joint anti-Congress campaign on the terror issue once the public anger moderates in the weeks to follow. The INLD leadership is now hoping that if the alliance fares well in the Lok Sabha elections, it will greatly help the INLD in the next Assembly elections. Political opinion is, however, divided on whether the current situation or a possible win in the Lok Sabha elections can benefit the INLD-BJP combine in the Assembly elections. Observers say the terror issue is bound to impact the Lok Sabha elections, but it can never be used as a political tool at the state level where issues will be altogether different. They say the issues during the Assembly elections will remain the same as ever - unemployment, power shortage, corruption and development.
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Terror in Mumbai
Gurgaon, December 8 While parties and other "social" organisations have done their bit by organising protest demonstrations against the terror strike, anger is more intense in the common man. The Tribune talked to a cross-section of residents of the millennium city to know their feelings in this regard. "Apart from exposing the lack of preparedness of our country's bosses in dealing with such situations, the Mumbai episode has shown how corrupt we have become. It is really shameful that some of us do not mind compromising even with the country's security for a few bucks," observes Rajpal, a government official. Endorsing his views, Utkarsh, who works for a multinational company, maintains that if the political leaders of the country do not take concrete and effective measures to curb the menace even now, people would have to do some serious rethinking at the time of the general election. "If they can be together on issues like their own security and allowances, what stops them from coming together for the sake of national security and sovereignty?" he questions. Alpana, a woman entrepreneur, also feels that it is high time that the country's managers put their foot down to settle the matter once and for all. "On our part, we should also not consider our responsibility over by casting our vote, but we should maintain constant pressure on our elected representatives by forming pressure groups so as to fix their public accountability," she asserts.
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Boom in pisciculture
Sirsa, December 8 Efforts of the fisheries department in the district during the past some time have yielded results and more and more water bodies have come under fish culture, also called pisciculture. "In all 700 hectares of the water area has come under pisciculture in the district by now. A breeding centre in 7.5 acre of water body is being developed at Ottu in this district," informed district fisheries officer Rajinder Kumar while talking to The Tribune. "The objective of the fisheries department is to bring all water bodies in the district under fish farming. The department has also been encouraging the farmers to excavate their own new ponds for this purpose. The old ponds of the villages are also been given on lease to farmers for fish farming," he said. Fishery officer Brij Mohan Sharma informed that youths in villages were being trained in pisciculture. The training has been provided in the Aquaculture Research and Training Institute (ARTI), Hisar, where the prospective fish farmers have been given 10-days’ residential training. "The department provides loans of Rs 2 lakh each to the farmers for excavation of pond in one hectare of land. The loan carries a subsidy of 20 per cent. Another loan of Rs 30,000 per hectare of water body with 20 per cent subsidy is provided for inputs to the farmers," Sharma informed. Seed of the fish, which are actually small size fish, have been provided to the farmers at a rate of Rs 65 per 1000. The farmers have to put in some other inputs like mustard oilcakes, rice bran, single super phosphate manure, urea and some other articles as feed for the fish. Interestingly, lesser feed is required in old ponds, where people take their cattle for bathing because the stool and urine of the animals also serves as feed for fish. The feed has to be 2 per cent of the total body mass of the fish in the water body. "Four different varieties of fish seed are provided to the farmers so that the whole water of the pond can be covered. Katla variety of fish lives on the surface of water, the mirgal variety of fish remains on the bottom of the pond, the roha variety lives in the middle and the common carp variety remains on the columns of the ponds. As the fish take oxygen for their respiration from the oxygen mixed within the pond water, the farmers have to enrich the water with oxygen by shaking the water. Pond, where domestic animals are taken for bathing gets shaken automatically and is hence rich in oxygen, but in others the farmers are advised to use aerators or where these are not available, they beat the water surface with bamboo sticks.
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National Games
Gurgaon, December 8 HOA director Hanuman Singh Bhadhu has directed the state sports associations to furnish the required information before December 20 so that arrangements for sending the Haryana contingent to Jharkhand can be made. The HOA has further asked the units affiliated to it that if their discipline/individual are qualifying for the national games, the state associations should conduct their championships for selecting the players. In case, the state associations feel that the holding of the state championships are not possible at this time, they could hold selection trials before December 31. After selection, a coaching camp for the selected players should be conducted for at least three to four weeks’ duration. Meanwhile, NGOC organising secretary S.M. Hashmi in his letter addressed to the president/secretary general, HOA, has said, "Please prepare the list of the qualified contingents of our state to participate in the national games and send the entries for making the accreditation card well in advance”. A meeting of all state Olympic associations will be held in the last week of December. Competitions will be conducted in aquatics, archery, athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, canoeing and kayaking, cycling, equestrian, fencing, football, gymnastics, handball, hockey, judo, kho-kho, kabaddi, bowling, netball, rowing, rugby 7s, shooting, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, triathlon, volleyball, weightlifting, wrestling and wushu. The events of archery, boxing, canoeing & kayaking, handball, rowing and weightlifting will be held at Jamshedpur and the rest of the disciplines will be held at
Ranchi.
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Gurgaon school celebrates sports day
Gurgaon, December 8 The function started with the lighting of the lamp followed by march past in which children were divided into groups according to their houses (peace, unity, integrity, fraternity). Students of Bal Sthal (an evening school for the underprivileged) enthralled the audience with a patriotic song. Principal Indu Shastri read the school annual report and informed the parents about the future plans of the school. The chief guest praised the holistic approach of the school and appreciated the talent and hard work of the students. The final of various athletic events was held which was followed by a prize distribution function. The students presented a number of items going with the theme of the programme - peace and harmony. Tiny tots dressed in colourful attire presented a rhythmic drill conveying love, unity and oneness among all.
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Shifting of dairies
Ambala, December 8 The plan of shifting the dairies was chalked out by the previous government. Required land was acquired in adjoining Khatoli village and the government had also provided sufficient funds for making available basic amenities for the dairy owners. However, most of the dairymen are not willing to shift as it would affect their business. The municipal council too feels helpless due to political pressure. The council claims that it has provided all basic amenities at the new site, but the dairy owners are not satisfied. The MC had called around 24 meetings with the dairy owners in the past five years but it failed to yield any result. Meanwhile, the newly appointed deputy commissioner, Samir Pal Saro, has announced that the dairies would be shifted soon. He has warned that plots allotted to the dairymen at subsidised rates would be resumed if they failed to follow the order. In fact, he had also summoned a meeting with them, but it ended without any result. At present, there are around 100 small and marginal dairies in the city. Most of them discharge animal waste in drains leading to blockage of sewerage pipes. They also leave their cattle in the city areas and open fields for grazing, thus create traffic problems. The deputy commissioner has announced to launch a campaign against stray cattle from December 10. During this campaign, stray cattle will be caught and sent to gaushalas. The owner of the cattle will have to pay Rs 500 as penalty and fodder expenses at the rate of Rs 100 per day if he wants to take back his cattle. If his cattle were found wandering on the streets for the second time he would be imposed a penalty of Rs 2,000. For the third time, he would have to pay Rs 3,000 and the fourth time, his cattle would not be returned.
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Balhara’s new album released
Chandigarh, December 8 Credited with acting in five movies, playback singing in 16 films, lyricist of 10 films and albums, he is again on the reckoning with his latest audio-video album “Chhora Jhaat Ka”. The album packed with power of Haryanavi folksy and pop flavour in its eight songs is a blend of folk tradition and modernity. While Balhara has penned the lyrics, music has been composed by his sons Ankit and Sanchit making it a family affair. Produced by Charan Thakur for Cosmo Royalz Music, the album was released by K.K. Khandelwal, IAS, in Chandigarh yesterday. Coming from an affluent family of Kiloharad, a sleepy village in Sonepat, Balhara was greatly influenced by the Haryanavi music, especially the folk dance-based dramas. He grew learning raaginis and watching saangs based on historical events and myths, all immortalised by legends like Pandit Lakhmi Chand and Pandit Mange Ram among others. His prowess in music and dramatics achieved higher dimensions proportionately as his academic career from schooling at CRZ School, Sonepat, to graduation DAV College, Chandigarh, and later Kurukehstra University for a degree in law. As per the wishes of his parents, now Balhara became a practicing lawyer at Chandigarh, but the artist in him revolted only to see him at Bombay Lab studios recording songs for a Haryanvi feature film “Bahurani”. This happened when veteran music director J.P. Kaushik was in need of a fresh vibrant voice with strong Haryanavi texture and found the right choice in Balhara whom he had heard on many occasions. It was a grand beginning and all else is history, says Balhara with reverence to his mentor Kaushik and wife Mukta Choudhary, an actor and athlete. Balhara turned to acting in Haryanavi blockbuster film “Chandrawal” which made him a jubilee star of Hayanavi films both as an actor and singer. Its songs like “Nain Katore”, “Bhadurgarh ka Bam”, “Mein Sooraj tu Chandrawal”, sung by Balhara are still trendy. Riding on the popularity wave, Balhara turned producer director hero with a romance filled film, “Chhail Galiyan Jaangi” and also played lead roles in “Mhari Dharti Mhari Maa”, “Bairi”, “Bahurani”, besides Hindi feature films “Laagi Chhute Naa” and “Adoora Milan”. Though his professional commitments as project director in the information and public relations department, Haryana, keep him awfully engaged but the singer in him is still alive in full bloom.
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Convention on higher education at KU
Chandigarh, December 8 According to the general secretary of HFUCTO, Dr Rajbir Parashar, on the occasion, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda will be honoured by the teaching fraternity of colleges and universities in the state. Dr Parashar said here today that HFUCTO was highly appreciative of the state government for declaring 2008 as the year of education in the state. His organisation was also thankful to the government for strengthening the autonomy of the universities, which, however, still needed more safeguards. The teaching community was happy that the Hooda government had allowed recruitment in the colleges and universities after several years. This would lead to recruitment of about 600 teachers in these institutions. The government had also conferred Class I status on teachers of government colleges. State Assembly speaker Raghubir Singh Kadhian, education minster Mange Ram Gupta, MP Ram Prakash, KU vice-chancellor Dr R.P. Bajpai, will be among the prominent persons who would participate in the convention.
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Panipat- Jalandhar LPG pipeline
Panipat, December 8 According to official sources, the pipeline was completed at a cost of Rs 158 crore against an approved cost of Rs 186.72 crore. The commissioning was completed with the delivery of LPG to IOC's Jalandhar terminal. The Panipat-Nabha section of the pipeline had already been commissioned on November 13 with the delivery of LPG to the Nabha terminal. According to the company, the company is likely to save over Rs 35 crore annually by transporting gas through the pipeline. The other intangible savings would be in the form of reliability, lower transit losses and safety in road transportation. With this commissioning, the IOC has joined the select group of companies, which own and operate LPG pipelines. According to the company, the total length of the pipeline network, including crude oil and product pipelines, had now gone up to about 9,600 km. IOC plans to add about 4,000 km of new pipelines by the end of the Eleventh Plan period (2007-12). Of these, about 1,150 km length of pipelines are being commissioned in the current fiscal. The Panipat-Jalandhar LPG pipeline, which is 275-km long, has an intermediate delivery station for feeding IOC's LPG bottling plant at Nabha (near Patiala). It has been designed for an initial capacity of 0.7 million tonnes a year to optimally transport LPG from Panipat to Nabha and Jalandhar on a long-term basis and meet the LPG requirements of IOC's bottling plants at Jalandhar and Nabha in Punjab, at Una and Baddi in Himachal Pradesh and at Jammu and Leh in Jammu and Kashmir. Till now, LPG produced at IOC's Panipat refinery was being transferred through a 7-km pipeline to its bottling plant at Kohand. After meeting the requirement at the Kohand LPG bottling plant, the rest of the product was being despatched to other bottling plants at Nabha, Jalandhar and Jammu by road through 'bullet trucks'. The Panipat-Jalandhar LPG pipeline system has been implemented in-house by IOC's pipelines division, which has the expertise to undertake cross-country projects from concept to commissioning.
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Power utility extends VDS till Dec 31
Sonepat, December 8 According to a spokesman for the nigam, the scheme evoked a good response from the consumers and more than 25,000 had voluntarily declared about 260 MW of load so far. The procedure of regularisation has been simplified for the convenience of consumers. For regularisation of domestic and non-domestic load, applicants would be required to submit an application & agreement form. There would be no need of submitting the term & conditions form or affidavit. However, the applicant would have to give an undertaking that he would abide by all the terms and conditions of the power supply. For the regularisation of the extended load, there would be no need to submit the test report if the existing and extended load is up to 20 KW. The extended load would be regularised after having the necessary certificates from the applicants, who would be required to deposit consumption security, fixed connection charges etc. The unauthorised load of agricultural consumers would also be regularised on receiving the application and agreement form. The applicant, who has extended the existing electricity supply to the new bore, would also be covered under this scheme. In such cases, no case of unauthorised use of electricity or theft of energy would be initiated against the applicant and the supply to the new bore would be regularised as per instructions. The industrial consumer would be required to submit a test report along with advance consumption security for
regularisation.
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Mauritius Prez to attend
NIFAA conference
Karnal, December 8 The one-day conference is being organised by the National Integrated Forum of Artists and Activists (NIFAA), a leading socio-cultural organisation of the region, which extended an invitation to him to visit India. Chairman of NIFAA Pritpal Singh Pannu, who is also the official coordinator of the tour, said Jugnauth, who would reach here on December 14, would also inaugurate the Panipat branch of Shemrock Karan School after the conference on December 15 and attend a cultural evening “Ek sham Bharat-Mauritius dosti ke nam”as the chief guest. Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda would preside over the function. Educator and motivator Shiv Khera would deliver the keynote address on the theme of universal brotherhood while prominent personalities who had made outstanding contribution to bring people of different sects together would be felicitated on the occasion.
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‘Collective’ encroachment
Erecting iron gates on the roads in Urban Estates (HUDA) has become a common practice in Karnal. Residents of these areas, in the name of welfare association join together, take decision and erect gates, thereby putting road blockades for the commoners on the public land. This is in violation of rules. The residents have started treating the public land as their private property. Such gates have become common in Sector 13 and 14 of Urban Estate, Karnal. Previously,
individuals used to fence the common area in front of their houses. Now, this collective encroachment on public property by erection of iron gates has started with impunity. This is the right time for taking action against such encroachments before this practice assumes alarming proportions. Puran
Singh Readers are invited to write to us. Send your mail, in not more than 200 words, at adalat@tribunemail.com or write in at: Letters, Haryana Plus, The Tribune, Sector 29, Chandigarh-160030.
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