Chandigarh, August 27
These days in Haryana, not only the battle for votes is on but also the battle of airwaves is in full swing. The main characters in the battle are the Congress and the INLD. While the Congress is keen to retain the power for the second successive term, the INLD leadership, which is facing the toughest challenge, is fighting for its survival.

The Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led Congress government in the state has launched a blitzkrieg of publicity of its achievements in the past five years both in the print and electronic media. The budget is believed to be in crores of rupees. The Congress campaign, which was finalised early this month, however, saw the light of the day only around the dissolution of the Assembly on August 21.

The first party to join the issue is the INLD, the main opposition party in the last Assembly with eight MLAs and which ruled the state for about six years till March 2005. So far, its ads are being aired on radio. The INLD jingles naturally counter the claims being made by the Hooda government.

The INLD campaign has been chalked out under the direct supervision of Abhay Singh Chautala, younger son of the INLD supremo Om Prakash Chautala, who has many friends in Bollywood. Services of leading singers like Kailash Kher and Sukhwinder have been enlisted by the INLD for its jingles.

The INLD plans to increase the tempo of its campaign after the Election Commission of India announces the dates of Assembly elections in Haryana. With the announcement of the election schedule, the model code of conduct would come into force immediately, forcing the Hooda government to stop its ads.

Thereafter, it will be a level field for the INLD. Instead of having to compete with the government, the party would have a challenge from the Congress, if the latter decides to join the battle of airwaves.

So far, it is not known if other political parties like the HJC of Kuldeep Bishnoi, the BSP and the BJP are also planning to join the battle.

Meanwhile, Bishnoi has criticised Hooda for “wasting crores of rupees from the state exchequer on false publicity of his government”. He said the money should have been used for the development of the state or for providing subsidised essential commodities to the common man as the inflation under the Congress regime had skyrocketed.

Bahadurgarh (Jhajjar), August 27
All efforts of the district authorities to ease out traffic congestion on the National Highway-10 notwithstanding, the traffic scene at Lal Chowk and Jhajjar turn, located in the heart of the town, continue to inconvenience road users.

Encroachments by shopkeepers and vendors on both sides of the road is the main reason behind the traffic chaos. Though residents make complaints from time to time to the local municipal council (MC) in this regard, the latter has so far failed to take stringent steps.

Whenever the MC launches an anti-encroachment drive, it fizzles out within a couple of days following the non-seriousness of the officials concerned and intervention of politicians. Most of the shopkeepers have covered 3-4 ft portion of the road, which has made the movement of vehicles difficult.

The situation is aggravated by scores of vendors who keep moving up and down the road. This leads to a perpetual traffic jam during rush hours. A few years ago, a pavement for shoppers was constructed after removing encroachments on both sides of the road, but it did not work for long.

Following persistent complaints, the district administration had decided to carry out an anti-encroachment drive on both sides of the NH-10 in November 2008.

As per decision, a specified space in front of the shops on both sides of the road was to be earmarked for parking to ease congestion. A provision of imposition of penalty on those persons whose vehicles found parked outside this zone had also been made.

Moreover, before kicking off the campaign, the administration had also given a chance to the shopkeepers and vendors for removing encroachments on their own within a specified time. Interestingly, neither the shopkeepers cleared their encroachments nor the authorities carried out the drive efficiently. Even the road was not earmarked for parking vehicles.

Consequently, this anti-encroachment campaign, similar to earlier ones, turned out to be eyewash.

“The removal of encroachments on both sides of the road is the only solution, but the administration doesn’t take interest in sorting out the matter. That is why, every drive of the authorities failed,” said Praveen Sharma, a resident of the town.

Pramod Kumar, an employee, said “Owing to the non-serious approach of the authorities, the traffic problem on the NH-10 has gone from bad to worse”.

Another resident, Naresh Jain suggested that the administration should initiate stern action against those using the road for business purposes, if it succeeds in do that, there would be no need for the elevated road since the road, sans encroachments, would be wide enough to take care of any volume of traffic. Removing encroachments would surely provide respite to the public, he added.

Gurgaon, August 27
With the swine flu (H1N1) infection claiming lives across the country almost every day, the medical fraternity has begun to analyse its spread and penetration in specific groups.

The problem has assumed alarming proportions in cities like Gurgaon, which have a large number of malls, multiplexes, crowded office complexes and busy marketplaces, besides being home to a considerable number of globetrotters.

Apart from the aforesaid factors, the doctors have assessed that certain categories of persons like children (especially below 5 years of age) and pregnant women, are at a greater risk as compared to other individuals.

As per medical records, the swine flu virus can be relatively harmless for healthy persons, particularly adults and those with strong immune system. But swine flu isn’t a “moderate threat” for everybody.

Pregnant women are at a higher risk of complications from this pandemic flu. “There are many changes during pregnancy. For example, as the uterus grows, it pushes up the diaphragm, leaving less room for lungs. This decreases lung capacity. Immunological changes also render a pregnant woman more susceptible to certain viruses. If she suspects she has influenza, medical advice must be sought immediately and antiviral treatment administered quickly, preferably within 48 hours of initial symptoms,” says Dr Nikita Trehan, gynaecologist and laparoscopic surgeon at Artemis Hospital.

Children have been found most vulnerable to the H1N1 virus. Compared to healthy adults, children have weak immune system. Those under 5 years of age are especially susceptible.

The other high-risk categories include cancer and HIV/AIDS patients, heart patients, asthmatics, diabetics, obese persons, patients with lung diseases, patients with liver, blood or neurological disorders, patients on long-term cortisone therapy and elderly persons.

The condition of patients with heart, kidney and respiratory disorders can worsen if swine flu is contracted.

Cardiologist Dr KK Sethi, chairman, Delhi Heart and Lung Institute, advises: “While all patients must follow the standard guidelines, those with heart problems need to be especially careful. Maintain scrupulous hand hygiene through frequent washing with soap, avoid crowded areas, keep away from sick people, particularly those with flu-like symptoms, wear a form-fitting mask (called N95), when outdoors, and cancel foreign travel plans, if any.”

“Patients suffering from kidney diseases are at an increased risk of complications due to H1N1 infection. The more severe the kidney problem, the greater will be the risk. Renal failure patients on dialysis run the greatest risk among all patients with kidney disease. This is because they (like those with other chronic ailments) have a weaker immune system making them more susceptible to the illness and less likely to handle the effects of infection which makes it difficult for them to recover,” maintains Dr Vijay Kher, director, nephrology and renal transplant medicine, Fortis Hospital.

Jind, August 27
Having already received several prizes and awards for showing exemplary courage in thwarting a robbery bid at their house last year and nabbing two of the armed robbers, Kapil Bansal and Manish Bansal, both brothers, have now been given a scholarship worth Rs 30,000 by Luminous Power Technologies. The national-level scholarship, named “Chirag”, was provided to them at a function held in Delhi recently.

Both Kapil (20) and Manish (17), residents of Scheme-19, here, are pursuing B.Tech course in an engineering college. They hit the headlines last year when both brothers took on nearly empty handed four armed criminals, who had barged into their house for robbery.

On February 10, 2008, the Bansal family, comprising the two brothers, a younger sister and their parents, got a rude shock when they found four armed youths standing inside their house at around 8 pm. While one of them had a revolver, the other had a sword aimed at them demanding to hand over cash and valuables kept in the house.

Manish and Kapil did not lose time and pounced upon the robbers with whatever they could get in their hands, resulting in a clash. Two robbers, who perhaps did not expect such a rapid response from the youth, opened fire and attacked them with sword. Fortunately, the gunshot missed Kapil, who was able to hit one of them with a stick. Manish also kept his calm and applied full courage in dealing with the other robber who wanted to hack him with sword. Though the sword pierced Manish’s wrist, he kept on holding the weapon till the robber was overpowered by the family members and neighbours.

“Both criminals who had attacked us were overpowered and handed over to the police, while two others fled when the clash began,” claimed Kapil.

The two brothers have received about 12 awards and honours so far. The highest being the National Bravery Award for Children given by the President of India. It was given to Manish as he was minor at that time.

The local administration and the DAV College Managing Committee had also honoured them. Their father, Ishwar Chand Bansal, who runs a news agency in Jind, is proud of the courage exhibited by his sons.

Gurgaon, August 27
If all new buildings are designed in such a way that no artificial light is required, we could eventually cut global energy use and greenhouse pollution by more than 20 per cent and save money at the same time.

An example in this regard has been set by ITC’s Green Centre building here. It has been designed in such a way that it doesn’t require lights otherwise as the complex gets enough natural light to do the work.

The Green Centre is one of the 11 buildings in the country that have earned a lead partner designation, the highest designation one can get by the US Green Building council (USGBC).

During her visit to the city, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had also appreciated the building. She was so impressed that she equated the building with world famous monuments like Taj Mahal and India Gate.

"We know that there are wonderful monuments throughout India from India Gate to Taj Mahal and so many others. The ITC green building may not be a regular stop on the tourist map but it is a monument in its own right," Hillary had said.

There are so many features of this building that really demonstrate the viability of the kind of low-carbon, but very attractive and efficient approach to saving energy and doing it in a way that saves water and solid waste and certainly lowers the carbon footprint.

In collaboration with India, the US government and the USGBC were instrumental in helping to bring about this building. Besides, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), architects, various engineering consultants, an independent commissioning agency and Shriram Testing Centre were also consulted.

The ITC building has been awarded the Platinum Green Building rating by USGBC-LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) during the International Green Building Convention in Portland, Oregon, US in 2005, and later, the same was presented to them by the then President APJ Abdul Kalam.

The Gurgaon building, measuring 1,70,000 sq ft, comprises three parts - two office wings are held together by a central atrium, creating a large L-shaped structure which is focused on an external landscaped court.

The L-shape ensures that part of the façade is always shaded. The atrium serves to connect the entire building, both horizontally and vertically, encouraging a sense of community and interaction. With its octagonal dome, the atrium allows in glare-free sidelight, which provides natural light to the interiors without allowing direct heat gain from the roof.

Alwyn Noronha, executive vice-president (projects), ITC Limited, told The Tribune, “For getting natural light penetration, glare-free natural lighting in the interior peripheral offices with glazed interior partitions have been done. The building has been designed to maximise the use of natural light during the day, largely eliminating the need of artificial lighting. At the same time, glass used for the windows allow the light in, but does not allow heat. This not only keeps the building cool from the inside during the day, but also decreases load on air-conditioners. There is minimum use of exterior lighting to limit night sky pollution”.

“We ensure fresh and high-quality indoor air with the use of open-able windows that allow natural ventilation, when required,” he added.

“We have used recycled material like autoclaved aerated concrete block instead of brick, double-glazed windows, Portland pozzolana cement, ready mix concrete, medium density fiberboard, carpet made of recycled wool, high reflective roof coating and also lightening fixtures and lamps have been used all over the building. Even volatile organic compound paints, adhesives and sealants were used as this reflects the warmth of sun. All external walls are well insulated so that the building remains cool,” Noronha informed.

“Two-tier basement for parking has been designed in such a way that it reduces the surface area of paving required for parking normally,” he retreated.

Not even a single drop of rainwater is wasted in the premises as it gets recharged in ground as water-harvesting pits are spread all over.

There are 400 employees working in this building, including differently abled.

Devender Singh from Faridabad is deaf and dumb. Through his expressions, he explained that he had been working there for the past five months and was happy as all treated him just like a family member.

Karnal, August 27
The launch of a project under the National Agriculture Innovation Project (NAIP) of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) on “Decision Support System for Enhancing Productivity in Irrigated Saline Environment using Remote Sensing, Modelling and GIS” is on the anvil.

The Rs 306-lakh project, to be implemented over a period of three years, is an extension of the component-1 of the NAIP for three years. It aims at developing a GIS-based decision support system (DSS) for the Western Yamuna Canal in the state by integrating bio-physical resources and socio-economic data to delineate the areas of low productivity and generate realistic best management practices for enhancing productivity.

The focus of the programme would be on areas under irrigated saline environment, including deficit canal water supply, poor soil and water quality and waterlogging conditions. The stakeholders would have access to computer programmes on DSS for effective trainings, field demonstrations and interactive workshops.

Giving details of the project at its launch workshop, Dr Mruthyunjaya, national director, NAIP, stressed the need for making science relevant for the welfare of society with focus on poor sections.

“The socio-economic sense of science must be persuaded during the implementation of the project and the importance of adopting a multi-disciplinary approach for carrying out such a project, focusing on profitability and livelihood security should be clearly explained,” he emphasised.

Dr Ram Ajore, acting director, CSSRI said the technologies had been generated at the CSSRI for the reclamation of salt-affected soils and these would be included in the decision support system to be developed under the project.

Dr NT Yaduraju, national coordinator, NAIP, informed that 24 such projects were sanctioned under the component-I of the NAIP and highlighted the importance of the sanctioned projects.

Underlining the importance of information, communication and dissemination system (ICDS) as a thrust area in the component-I, he said research and developing new techniques was incomplete unless systematically disseminated to end-users.

Dr DS Bundela, consortium principal investigator, the project was in consortium mode for utilising expertises of three participating institutions with unique inbuilt features of problem modelling and stakeholder servicing to infuse confidence in the stakeholders.

A project brochure in Hindi and English has also been prepared to give the details of the project to stakeholders in easy and lucid manner. As many as 52 delegates, including project partners and associates from Water Technology Centre, New Delhi, National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee, and officers from the state line departments, participated in the workshop.

Panchkula, August 27
The local Aggarwal community has strongly opposed the idea of fielding any “outsider”, even if he or she belongs to the community, by any party from the Panchkula Assembly constituency.

A resolution to this effect was adopted by the newly formed executive committee of the Panchkula Aggarwal Sabha, which met under the chairmanship of president Kulbhushan Goyal here recently.

The resolution said the sabha would support the local candidate of the community fielded by any party in the forthcoming Assembly elections in the state and it would oppose any “outsider”.

The decision is being considered significant in view of the reported move of the Congress to field president of the Haryana Beopar Mandal, Bajrang Dass Garg, who belongs to Hisar, from Panchkula. Garg belongs to the community.

The sabha also decided to write to presidents of all parties to give the ticket to a deserving member of the community keeping in mind the number of Aggarwal voters in the Panchkula constituency.

Vipin Garg, a spokesman for the sabha, said if the parties did not accept its demand, the sabha would consider fielding an independent candidate belonging to it.

It was not the politics alone at the meeting. The committee also decided to take up a number of social projects. The sabha would give Rs 300 per month as pension to 30 widows belonging to the community and who are residents of Panchkula district from September 19, to mark the Aggarsain Jayanti. It will also provide an ambulance service in the town from its own funds.

The sabha urged the state government to allow it to run the sector 16 dispensary on government-approved rates and conditions so that quality medicare could be provided to people.

Goyal said the sabha would organise a Diwali Mela here from October 12 to October 17.

Chandigarh, August 27
The Gurgaon Municipal Corporation (GMC) has decided to involve NGOs in its fight against the menace of stray dogs.

The GMC has signed MoUs with two NGOs, Friendicoes and the People for Animals (PFA), for the sterilisation of stray dogs.

According to municipal commissioner Rajesh Khullar, as per the agreement, the city has been divided between these two organisations for sterilising dogs. Every month, Friendicoes will get 400 stray dogs sterilised whereas the PFA will get 300 dogs sterilised.

He said if any other similar organisation came forward, the jurisdiction of these two organisations would be reduced.

To sterilise stray dogs, Friendicoes would take such dogs to either Harsaru or Bhimnagar village, whereas the PFA would take the dogs to Sadrana village. These organisations would keep the dogs at these places for three to seven days and thereafter release them in the same locality from where they were picked up. A cut would be made on the ear of each sterilised dog for identification.

Khullar urged the resident welfare associations (RWAs) to contribute Rs 10 for sterilisation and immunisation of each stray dog to ensure citizens’ participation in this campaign.

While taking the dogs for sterilisation, these organisations would get the number of dogs crosschecked by representatives of the RWA of the respective area. Also, the representatives of the RWA could visit the places of sterilisation to see for themselves whether the dogs were being sterilised.

Khullar said instead of killing stray animals, they should be sterilised to reduce their number. However, he added that the dogs suffering from incurable diseases would be killed. The dogs suffering from other diseases would be treated and efforts would be made to cure them.

After one year, these organisations would again immunise those dogs that were sterilised and had the identification mark.

He said to check the problem of stray cows, a gaushala was being constructed over an area of 6 acre in Carterpuri village, which would be completed by January 2010.

He also urged the people not to kill snakes or other wild animals. He said in case, they saw any snake or other such wild animal, they should dial helpline numbers 09871963535 and 09818201987 of the Wild Life SOS organisation. On getting the phone call, representatives of this organisation would come for their help and catch the wild animal.

Panipat, August 27
In order to seeking divine intervention to prevent the spread of swine flu, a “501 kundiya havan” was held at DAV Public School, Thermal Colony. Special “samagri” comprising various herbs, which have been termed as effective in controlling and preventing various diseases, especially swine flu, was used in the “havan”.

The importance of this age-old practice has now been strengthened by research scientists also. The NBRI, Lucknow, has been showing its belief in “havan” as a preventive measure against many diseases. Keeping this in mind, this “havan”, having many medicinal properties, was performed under the guidance of Dr D. Vidyarthi, regional director, DAV Schools, and presided by acharya Naresh.

Sirsa, August 27
The seven-day NSS camp organised by Chaudhary Devi Lal University concluded here recently.

RK Sehgal, Registrar of the university, presided over the valedictory function.

Speaking on the occasion, Sehgal said the country had the largest number of youth and by making them utilise their energy positively, “we could get wonderful results”.

The NSS, he said, provided the right kind of platform to the youth to utilise their energy.

NSS volunteers of Chaudhary Devi Lal University volunteered their services for a seven-day special activity camp in Govt Middle School, Chattargarh Patti, Sirsa.

The camp was held under the supervision of Dr Vishnu Bhagwan, programe cordinator of the NSS unit, while Dr Harish Kumar was the programme officer of NSS.

During the camp, NSS volunteers planted more than 200 saplings in the school building.

They organised a Jan Jagran rally to male people aware of the blood donation, swine flu, tree plantation, vaccination, CFL, water conservation, environment protection etc.

They also organised a rally, “Anti-polythene Campaign”, in the area and made people aware about the ill effects of polythene.

They also motivated the people about literacy programmes and missions run by the government and different agencies.

On the valedictory function, a blood donation camp was organised by the NSS unit where 35 units of blood were donated by volunteers.

Sirsa, August 27
Sirsa residents will soon have a treat of Twenty-20 cricket in the town in which teams from India, Sri Lanka, UAE and Hong Kong will showcase their prowess.

The Jan Nayak Chaudhary Devi Lal National Cricket Academy (JCDNCA) will organise the JCD International Cricket League (JCDICL), a Twenty-20 cricket tournament, at JCD Vidyapeeth, Sirsa, from September 1 to September 9.

Digvijay Singh Chautala, president of the academy, informed this to mediapersons here recently.

The tournament is being organised to mark the birth anniversary of former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal, which falls on September 25.

Eight teams, including Hong Kong Cricket Board team, Colombo Cricket Club team from Sri Lanka, Sharjah Cricket Council team from UAE, Henseburg Cricket Club team from South Africa, Indian teams like Indian Air Force, Life Insurance Corporation, Chandigarh Challengers, and the host JCDNCA team, will compete for the JCDICL Trophy.

Digvijay said all preparations had been completed and it would be a successful event like the previous year.

He said the tournament would be played on a round-robin league basis and all eight teams had been divided into two groups. Four teams would qualify for the semi-finals which would be played on September 8 and the final would be played on September 9.

The inaugural match, the semi-finals and the final would be telecast live on Doordarshan Sports.

He said the winner and runner-up teams would get Rs 4.5 lakh and Rs 2.5 lakh as prize money, respectively. The Man of the Match award would carry prize money of Rs 21,000. The Man of the Series player would get one motorbike from Yamaha.

The stadium where the matches will be held has been built as per the international specifications. On the pattern of Mohali Cricket Stadium, the stadium has floodlights of the Philips India, an air-conditioned pavilion and change rooms for players.

It also has VIP enclosures and press enclosures and provision of day and night matches.

The academy was set up under the aegis of Chaudhary Devi Lal Vidyapeeth here last year to promote cricket in the area.

Last year in September 2008, the JCDNCA held its first-ever international T-20 cricket tournament in which eight teams, including those from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, UAE, participated, and Lahore Lions from Pakistan lifted the trophy.

Eminent personalities like former cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu, Olympic medallist Bijender Singh, Bollywood stars Sanjay Dutt, Sunil Shetty and Shefali Zariwala, along with many more, were the centre of attraction of the tournament.

Sirsa/Fatehabad, August 27
The Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture among Youths (SPIC-MACAY) organised a performance of Birha, a genre of folk music, in Manhohar Memorial College of Education, Fatehabad, and JCD College of Education, Sirsa, recently.

Kailash Yadav and his troupe enthralled the audience by their soulful performance in the Fatehabad College .Birha is a popular folk song genre of Uttar Pradesh and the basic theme revolves around the separation of the lover and his beloved. Birha in Hindi means separation. The history of this song genre is not very old and the earliest reference goes back to the 17th century. The possible origination of this song genre is credited to the incidents where mostly men from small villages used to migrate to cities in search of livelihood. Often they had to leave their newly-weds in the village. The lament of separation and carnal desire among the womenfolk of the village led to the birth of Birha.

Birha is popular among farmers and labourers in eastern UP and Bihar. There was an abrupt rise in its popularity in the mid-nineteenth century when thousands of labourers from eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar were taken to Caribbean as sugar-plantation labourers.

Sonepat, August 27
Taking into consideration the rate of inflation and rising prices of essential commodities, deputy commissioner Ajit Joshi has fixed the new minimum monthly and daily wages for different categories of the working class for the current financial year.

The new wages are higher than last year’s wages and also recommended by the Labour Department.The monthly wages for agriculture labourer, beldar, barber, book binder, chowkidar, safai karamchari, helper, washer man, shift attendant, generator operator, machine man, gardener, munshi, sweeper-cum-gardener, sweeper superviser and other similar categories have been fixed at Rs 4,200 against last year’s wages of Rs 3,860. The daily wages of these categories are fixed at Rs 162. The semi-skilled “A” category workers, including tailor master, ticket conductor, plumber (class-2), painter grade-3, counter salesman, warden, sanitary supervisor, storekeeper, and printing press composer, will get minimum monthly and daily wages of Rs 4,660 and Rs 180, respectively.

The semi-skilled category “B”, including grade-2 carpenter, mason, painter and electrician, pump operator and plumber class-1, will get minimum monthly and daily wages of Rs 5,500 and Rs 212, respectively. The first-grade carpenter, painter, mason and electrician will get monthly wages of Rs 6,600 in comparison to the last year’s wages of Rs 6,000.

Field investigator, work inspector, site superviser and shift superviser will also be entitled to monthly wages of Rs 6,600; whereas junior programmers with three years’ experience will get monthly wages of Rs 6,800.