Chandigarh, July 15
Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today described the power problem in the state as a “legacy from past governments” and said his government had set up enough plants to make the state power surplus in two years.

He was addressing a meet-the-Press programme on the occasion of the 29th foundation day of the Chandigarh Press Club here.

He said the state was making rapid strides in various fields. “It is elating to see smoke billowing out of the chimney of our power plant at Yamunanagar whenever I am flying past that area,” he said.

He expressed the hope that Haryana would soon have its own high court in Chandigarh. He said he had met the Prime Minister and the Union Law Minister in this regard and had even got a favourable response.

Maintaining that he had done more than what the Congress manifesto had promised, Hooda admitted that one promise, however, was still unfulfilled. “We are having the Chatha Committee report legally examined for the creation of a separate SGPC in Haryana in accordance with the committee’s recommendations,” he stated.

“Committed to making” Haryana the number one state in the country, he rattled out statistics of per capita investment and per capita income, of bringing in investment of Rs 60,000 crore against Rs 40,000 crore investment till 2005, of foodgrain procurement, et al. He credited his entire team for Haryana’s success.

To a question about Finance Minister Birender Singh expressing his desire to be the Chief Minister, Hooda said it was very natural to desire the top job. “But there can be only one Chief Minister,” he said. On a lighter vein, in reply to another question about the scope for the much-publicised Cabinet expansion, he said, “That is always a possibility.”

Referring to the “weak Opposition in the state as an unhealthy sign for democracy”, Hooda said he had asked his own MLAs to play the part and raise issues of public interest. To another question, he said the INLD had deviated from its ideology which was why senior leaders like Sampat Singh and Dhirpal had deserted the party.

He said the matter of termination of the Inter-State Water Accords Act adopted by the Punjab Assembly was lying pending with the Supreme Court and Haryana had requested the court to decide this issue at the earliest.

Earlier, beginning his meeting by wishing the club a “happy birthday”, the Chief Minister recalled his long association with the club. He also announced to give a sum of Rs 11 lakh from his discretionary fund to the Chandigarh Press Club. 

Sirsa, July 15
Former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala today joined issue with his former party colleague Sampat Singh, who quit the INLD on Tuesday, over his reported statement that he was the real heir of former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal.

Chautala, who was talking to mediapersons here, said Sampat Singh’s statement was ridiculous as he, too, was present at the meeting in Delhi when Devi Lal named him (Chautala) the next Chief Minister as well as his political heir after his elevation as Deputy Prime Minister.

“Following the policies of Chaudhary Devi Lal, the Indian National Lok Dal has been taking up the cause of farmers, the poor and the downtrodden ever since my father handed over his political legacy to me, while Sampat Singh, who is claiming to be the real political heir of the late leader, has been working on the directions of the Congress — the party Chaudhary Devi Lal always despised for its anti-farmer policies,” Chautala said.

He advised Sampat Singh to desist from making false and baseless allegations against the INLD and its leaders.

He said he was pained at the exit of Sampat Singh as he had worked with him for over 30 years and was always given top posts, whether the party remained in power or out of power, and he wished he got a respectable place in the party that he joined.However, history suggested that any leader who quit his party became inconsequential politically.

He said his party was prepared to contest the Assembly elections and he had started constituencywise meetings of the workers for that.

He said his party would contest the coming elections on issues concerning common people like unemployment, rising prices, power and water shortage and corruption.

He said the party had analysed the reasons for its defeat in the Lok Sabha elections.Though there were several other reasons, defect in EVMs was the biggest reason and his party would fight the issue at the highest level to restrain the Election Commission from using EVMs in future elections in Haryana.

Later, addressing his party workers, he said he was not hungry for power but at the same time he could not see the farmers being ruined without power and water in the current drought-like situation.

Chandigarh, July 15
The Haryana Government has decided to construct the Faridabad-Ballabgarh road on a BOT basis and work has been entrusted to Reliance for 15 years. This is the first road of the state which is being constructed on a BOT basis on trial.

This was stated by the Haryana PWD (B&R) Minister, Capt Ajay Singh Yadav, while addressing a press conference at Haryana Niwas here today. Yadav said Rs 5,500 crore had been approved by the World Bank in phases to strengthen the road infrastructure in the state and Rs 1,750 crore had been sanctioned in the first phase.

The Minister said under the National Highways Authority of India not a single penny was sanctioned during the term of the previous government. Referring to the construction of government buildings, Yadav said under the present government, Rs 1,160 crore had already been incurred while Rs 281 crore would be incurred on the construction of new buildings during the next two years. He also enumerated the sum spend on the carpeting and repair of roads.

Besides, the renovation of various main buildings had been done, including the Haryana Vidhan Sabha, the Haryana Bhawan front block, the 8th floor of the Haryana Civil Secretariat, Benmore Guest House, Shimla, and the VIP guest house of Raj Bhawan.

The Minister said the state government had exceeded the target under the Rajiv Gandhi Bridges and Road Infrastructure Development Programme, which was to be implemented within three years up to March 2010.

Yadav said the department had laid special thrust on promoting infrastructure. The Minister said during the past four years, 650 km of new roads had been constructed while only 272 km of roads were constructed during the term of the previous government. Besides, a railway line between Hansi and Rohtak would also be laid at a cost of Rs 450 crore and the government would provide 50 per cent amount as share money.

He added the Yamunanagar-Karnal road would be widened to 10 ft and the tender for the same would be floated on July 20.

Hisar, July 15
The Chief of Army Staff, Gen Deepak Kapoor, said here today that infiltration of militants in Jammu and Kashmir had not come down.

Talking to mediapersons here after inaugurating a new course on defence journalism started by the Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology, he said at present there was no scope for reducing the strength of the security forces in the valley.

Asked what the Army would do in case Pakistan created another Kargil-like situation, the General said the security forces would respond suitably.

Earlier, inaugurating the new course, he said news organisations needed to train journalists to cover complex areas of defence and national security. He said there were few journalists with the skills, knowledge and experience necessary to report on defence and national security issues.

Moreover, dissimilar types of international conflicts in many countries continued to occur at an alarming rate. Such situations required journalists with special skills and a deep understanding of the complex issues involved for proper coverage, he said.

The COAS said it was necessary to keep the general public properly informed about defence and national security matters. However, a great degree of caution was necessary while reporting these issues so that there was no chance of complicating matters unnecessarily.

He lauded the university for introducing a special course on defence journalism which, he said, would help in producing journalists specialising in this field.

Devinder Dayal Singh Sandhu, Vice-Chancellor, said the course content had been designed to train journalists to report on military affairs, national security issues and strategic problems. He said the public evinced great interest in defence matters and it was necessary to have specialists to report on matters pertaining to military affairs.

Rakesh Datta, Chairman, Department of Defence and National Security Studies, Panjab University, Chandigarh, said the media had grown exponentially over the years and there was an increased demand for skilled professionals. Increasing competitiveness had made journalism a high-stress job. 

Faridabad, July 15
First substantive spell of rain of the season today exposed the preparedness of the Municipal Corporation of Faridabad (MCF) and the district administration, as many areas of the city got submerged in water.

The two-and-a half-hour spell of shower initially brought cheers to the resident, but their joy started fading as the rain water started accumulating on the roads.

Although a number of areas witnessed the same problem, but the main areas affected were the sectors of HUDA, Sector 15, 15 A, 16 and market of Sector 7-8. Even the Sector 12 leading to the mini-Secretariat was submerged in water. The vital junctions and roundabouts of the city, including crossings and T-Points on the Delhi-Agra National Highway, YMCA and the Ajranda Chowk presented the same situation. In the inner parts of the city, the scene was similar at the Neelam Chowk, one of the main areas of the city.

The situation was dismal in the old and unapproved colonies, including Bharat Colony, Shastri colony, Bhood Colony, Basalwa Colony, Kissan Mazdoor colony and Indira colony appeared to be worst hit, as the water entered the bylanes and streets.

The reason behind such a pathetic situation was allegedly the poor managerial skill of the MCF and the district administration in handling situations like this.

Jhajjar, July 15
The three-day-long 'gotra' controversy over the marriage of Ravinder Gehlout of Dharana village here to Shilpa Kadyan of Siwah village in Panipat district took a fresh turn today when the Kadyan Barah khaap reportedly decided to ask Shilpa's parents to agree for the divorce of their daughter on the plea that the marriage was not acceptable to the khaap.

Earlier, a meeting of representatives of the khaap was held at Dubaldhan village here today and it was also attended by some members of Ravinder's family to find a way out of the controversy.

After discussions, the khaap decided to send a delegation to the bride's parents to get their consent for divorce. The groom's family, facing social boycott over the 
marriage, had agreed to the  khaap’s proposal.

Talking to The Tribune, SSP Saurabh Singh said he had received information that the khaap and Risal Singh's family had reached an understanding to end the  controversy amicably.

He, however, did not give any details of the so-called agreement, saying that it would be made public only after the parties to the controversy gave something in writing.

The khaap panchayat, after deliberations for several hours, pronounced its decision describing the marriage against social norms and asking the entire family of the youth's grandfather Risal Singh to dispose of the property and leave the village within 72 hours if the marriage was not dissolved.

Ravinder’s father Rohtash, son of Risal Singh, along with other members of the family submitted an application to the SSP on Tuesday seeking security for the life and property of the family and legal action against 18 residents of his village and other members of the Kadyan Barah Khaap panchayat committee.

He had alleged that these persons had hatched a conspiracy to eliminate the family on the pretext of the gotra issue with the intention of grabbing the land and other property of the family. 

Karnal, July 15
A large number of villagers went on the rampage in Faridpur village in the district after a dental doctor of the village was crushed to death under a truck late last evening. The accident took place outside the village following which the villagers set on fire three trucks and a motorcycle.

According to the police, Dr Anil Barana, a resident of Faridpur village, who was on the way to his home after finishing the day’s work, was hit by a truck ferrying sand from a mine in the vicinity. As the word spread, villagers gathered there in large numbers and torched the truck that had claimed the doctor’s life. The mob then stopped two more trucks coming from the sand mine and set them ablaze. The Barana-Faridpur road was then blocked by the villagers for hours together. Police teams rushed to the spot, but had to face the wrath of the villagers who raised slogans to vent out their ire.

Considering the gravity of the situation, the district police sent more teams to the village which managed to bring the situation under control. Senior police officials remained stationed at the site till late in the night and were able to pacify the agitating crowds through dialogue.

The villagers, who held the protest, said they had been demanding that the sand mines located in the vicinity of the village should be closed down. They stated that it had become a major problem for them as heavy vehicles frequently plied through the village making it risky for the locals to travel on the road. However, they alleged that their pleas had fallen on deaf ears and no action was initiated by the authorities concerned.

Meanwhile, the body of Dr Barana was shifted to the mortuary of the Civil Hospital for a postmortem examination after which it was handed over to relatives of the deceased and was later cremated in his native village.

ASP Ved Parkash said the police had registered a case against the driver of the truck that had caused the accident.