Yamunanagar, February 11
The exploitation of the wetland area along the Yamuna has led to a significant decline in the arrival of migratory birds this year. The area is a natural habitant of birds which used to attract hundreds of birds every year.

Unscientific mining in the river belt and encroachment on the wetland area by villagers are the main reasons, allege bird watchers and ornithologists.

Besides Yamunanagar district, the whole belt of the wetland area including Asan barrage of Uttarakhand and Poanta Sahib in Himachal Pradesh, have witnessed decline in the arrival of migrated birds. From over 10,000 birds a few years ago, the wetland areas saw only a few hundred birds this year.

Different bird species come here from Siberia, Denmark, North of Europe, Holland and the cold areas of Pakistan. These include common red shanks, green red shanks, common sandpiper, spotted sand piper, coot, and large cormorant, ruddy shelducks, wigeon, barheaded geese and common poachard. The birds can be spotted in areas like Hathni Kund barrage, Tajewala headworks and Dadupur headworks, Asan barrage and near Poanta Sahib. The birds begin arriving here in the mid of November and stay till March.

The situation is alarming in the state due to continuous exploitation of the river belt for mining purposes. Ironically, the contract for mining of different sites in the district is given for Rs 40 crore per year. However, an estimated Rs 100 crore is required to repair the roads in the district which were mainly damaged by heavy vehicles carrying sand and stone from mining sites. Besides, neither the forest department nor the administration has given a thought to protect the wetland area, point out environmentalists.

Dr Rajiv Kalsi, head of the Zoology Department of MLN College, who has been keeping record of birds in this area for the past 19 years, said mining in Yamunanagar and in neighbouring districts of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh had already destroyed the natural habitant of birds. “Besides, villagers have encroached much of the area in the wetland for different activities. There is an urgent need to take steps to protect the wetland otherwise it would destroyed completely,” he said.

Dr Kalsi said, “After visiting the wetland areas in the district and Asan in Uttrakhand, we have witnessed much less migratory birds this year. The birds which I along with my team have seen so far since November include shoveller, ruddy shelduck, blue-winged teal, painted stork, Pallas fishing eagle, small blue kingfisher, red-created pochard, common pochard, little grebe, gadwall wigeon, common coot, large heron, pond heron, large cormorant and purple heron.”

Yamunanagar, February 11
Swaran Mehendru, member of the DAV College Managing Committee, New Delhi, and representative of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), has sought the intervention of Rahul Gandhi, General Secretary of the AICC, to confer the Padma Vibhushan Award to educationists founder of several educational and health institutions and freedom fighter late JN Kapur.

Kapur, who had done tremendous work for the cause of education, health services and freedom movement, is being ignored for the Award.

“I have ultimately written a letter to Rahul Gandhi to intervene to confer the award to her father, JN Kapur. Kapur was former vice-president of the DAV College Managing Committee, New Delhi, and founder of DAV Institutes, including colleges, schools and dental colleges, in Yamunanagar and also in Himachal Pradesh,” said Mehendru.

Giving details about the achievement of her father while talking to mediapersons at DAV Girls Senior Secondary School, she said after the Partition, her father started rebuilding DAV Institutions and had established the chain of DAV Institutions in Yamunanagar as well as in Solan (HP), including DAV Dental Colleges, DAV Institute of Physiotherapy, DAV College for Girls, and Maharishi Dayanand Hospital, by collecting donation single
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handedly from the people of India and abroad.

She said this school was established by her father in early 50s to impart education to girls, exclusively for the empowerment of women.

She said before the Partition, Kapur was closely associated with great patriots, freedom fighters and eminent educationists like Lala Lajpat Rai, Shaheed Bhagat Singh's family, Bhai Parmanand, Mahatma Hans Raj, Gopi Chand Bhargav and Prof Ved Vyas.

My father used to accompany Sardar Kishan Singh, father of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, to Arya Samaj, Lahore, so he took keen interest at very young age in the Arya Samaj and the DAV Movement, which was the movement of education and freedom.

Subsequently, he became the youngest member of the DAV College Managing Committee at Lahore at the age of 24, she further added.

“My father was neighbour to Lala Lajpat Rai at Lahore. So he actively participated in the historic procession led by Lala to defy the Simon Commission. So his contribution for the Freedom Movement as well as for the Arya Samaj and the DAV Movement is unique,” she added.

“Kapur had a special role to play when the whole country was in the grip of communal frenzy. In Yamunanagar and Jagadhri, he, along with his team, took upon himself the task of preserving the age-old amity and goodwill that existed among different communities. He was a person whose efforts kept Yamunanagar and its surrounding areas free from communal insolence and disharmony. So he played a great role for the National Integration,” he added.

She added that the AAPI is helping the villagers across the country by providing potable water to them. In this connection, she has already met Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

Hisar, February 11
Education Minister Geeta Bhukkal has advised government officials to change their mindset and not discriminate against Dalit employees.

Addressing a function organised here by the Ambedkar Sabha to felicitate her she said it had been brought to her notice that certain Dalit employees faced problems as their seniors had a bias against them. She said reservation was a right given to the Dalits by the Constitution. This should not be held against Dalits.

She warned that if any official was found biased against Dalits, stern action would follow against him.

Bhukkal said reservations were the brainchild of Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar to help uplift Dalits who had faced social and economic bias for centuries.

She said last year 5000 students belonging to Dalit communities were given scholarships by the state government. This year, scholarships would be given to students starting from class VIII to the graduation level.

Besides, Dalit students studying in government schools would also be provided books free of cost from class I to class VIII.

She said the government was making sincere efforts to improve the standard of education. Some progress had been made but more needed to be done in this regard. She said more computer teachers would be recruited to ensure that the EDUSAT system functioned properly.

Former Finance Minister and Congress legislator from Nalwa Sampat Singh said he apologised if any of his actions had inadvertently hurt members of any community. This was his response to the opposition by the Chamar Sabha to his participation in the function.

He said apology never belittled anyone and he would never shy away from saying sorry for anything that might have created misunderstanding between him and any community. He said he had equal respect for all communities.

Chandigarh, February 11
The end of the academic session this year promises to be a special one for students studying in government schools. The Bhupinder Singh Hooda government has decided to "gift" libraries to 100 secondary and senior secondary schools of the state before the students join their next classes.

The idea is to introduce children to inspirational books that could turn their lives around, provide moral education, teach them to dream big and cultivate the much-needed reading habit among them.

At present libraries at government schools are devoid of infrastructure. With hardly any books available, these libraries, wherever they exist, are at the mercy of the staff and hardly used by the students they are meant for.

However, with this latest decision, each school will be stocked with new books bought from the National Book Trust. Though establishing a well-stocked library will take time, a room in every school will be designated as a reading corner where students will come at least twice a week to read books.

"We want the reading corners to be in place before this on-going session ends so that when the new session takes off, students know what the reading period is meant for. The reading corners will have a trunkful of books children can share and read. We are not going in for something that is expensive initially. In fact, we are opting for low-cost books that are high on information to widen the horizon of our students," remarks PK Das, project director, Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan.

The reading project will start on a pilot basis in 100 schools in the first phase for which procurement of books has already started. Based on the response and with improvement based on the feedback of these 100 schools, it will be extended in the remaining schools as well. Subsequently, more publishers, too, would be roped in.

Sirsa, February 11
An interesting war of words has begun between the ruling Congress and the main Opposition INLD, ever since the party led by former Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala won the Ellenabad byelection held on January 20.

Though the INLD is elated at its victory and is terming this as the beginning of the countdown for the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government in the state, the ruling party has termed the election results as its “moral victory”, claiming that its vote share in Chautala’s home turf has increased by over 10,000 in less than three months.

The INLD had claimed during its poll campaign in Ellenabad that the Congress government would fall immediately after Abhey Singh Chautala was declared elected.

Interestingly, rural people, despite claims of them being politically wise, have sometimes been noticed to be simple and innocent.

One such instance was noticed, when an aged villager approached Abhey Singh Chautala, when the latter was addressing a press conference at the residence of his elder brother Ajay Singh and asked with innocent simplicity, “Apna Raaj Aa Gayo Ke?” ( “Has our government come?”)

Chautala’s know that people’s expectations have increased after their party’s victory and it is due to this reason that they have now been explaining their “roadmap” for the installation of the INLD government in the state soon.

“A decision on the 5 HJC MLAs is expected soon. Going by the laws and precedents, there can be no other decision than their disqualification from the state assembly. Once that happens, the Hooda government will come in minority and fall paving the way for the installation of a government led by Om Prakash Chautala”. This is what both Abhey Singh and his elder brother Ajay Singh have been trying to explain to their support after the results of the bypoll.

Abhey Singh is also raising issue of the alleged “Bribing of voters” by the Congress in the bypoll.

The Congress, on the other hand, has been terming the INLD’s claims as “Mungeri Lal Ke Haseen Sapne”.

While, Deepender Singh Hooda, the MP from Rohtak, said the countdown had not begun for the Congress but for the INLD, state Congress spokesperson Ved Parkash Vidrohi alleged that Chautalas had “mastered the art of lying” and they have been trying to “befool” people even after the assembly byelection.

The Junior Hooda claimed that the Congress had been able to increase its vote share in the Ellenabad considerably between October, when Assembly elections were held in the state and January, when a bypoll was held in Ellenabad.

This, he maintained, was bad omen for the INLD and contrary to the Chautala’s claim, the countdown had begun for their own party.

While denying INLD’s charges of “bribing of voters”, the Congress had been accusing the Chautalas of distributing blankets and cash among voters to woo them.

Interestingly, while the Ellenabad byelection has ended, its ghost is still stirring the politics of Haryana.

Sirsa/Fatehabad, February 11
Sirsa and Fatehabad are among the 10 districts of Haryana where the Central government has sanctioned projects to improve literacy of people.

The 10 districts of the state, having 50 per cent adult female literacy or below, will be initially covered under the mission, according to an official spokesperson.

Later, the scheme is likely to extended to other districts. The outlay earmarked up to March 2012 for the 10 districts is: Kaithal Rs 9.72 crore; Jind Rs 11.10 crore; Hisar Rs 12.08 crore; Fatehabad Rs 8.7 crore; Sirsa Rs 11.80 crore; Karnal Rs 12.82 crore; Gurgaon Rs 9.88 crore; Faridabad Rs 7.25 crore; Bhiwani Rs 15.55 crore; and Mohindergarh Rs 10.60 crore.

Out of the allocation made under the mission, 75 per cent share would be borne by the Central government and 25 per cent would be borne by the state government.

The “Saakshar Bharat Mission-2012”, a centrally sponsored scheme of the Department of School Education and Literacy (DSEL), was launched by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the occasion of the International Literacy Day on September 8, 2009, the spokesperson said.

He said during the current financial year, 167 districts from 19 states would be covered under the mission. Initially, Karnal district has been selected in the state where about 1.26 lakh illiterate adults in 380 villages would be made literate. The mission aimed at imparting functional literacy to adults in the age group of 15 and beyond. It also aims at achieving 80 per cent literacy rate by March 2012 and reduce the gender gap in literacy to 10 per cent.

“But we would try to achieve the target before the target date,” he said.

The mission also aims at establishing a fully literate society through improved quality and standard of adult education and literacy and to reduce regional, social and intra-state disparities.

He said the state government, under the dynamic leadership of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, was fully committed to providing qualitative education to students.

The agenda of the Chief Minister is to make Haryana an education hub where students not only from the state, especially from the rural areas, but also from the country and abroad would get qualitative education.

He said at the district level, district administration and zila parishads would be responsible for the implementation of the programme. Lok Shiksha Kendras would be set up in each gram panchayat having a population of 5,000 and where the population is more than 5,000; two such kendras would be set up.

The principal target of the mission was to impart functional literacy to 70 million adults (60 million female and 10 million male) in the age group of 15 and beyond.

The mission would focus on women’s literacy, especially those belonging to the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Minority Community and other disadvantaged groups in the rural areas.

The minister directed the officers to implement the centrally sponsored schemes with utmost priority so that more people living in the rural areas get the benefit.

Faridabad, February 11
Dr (Col) B. Kalra, a well-known heart specialist in the region, has been selected for the Fellowship of American Society of Echo-Cardiography (FASE).

The fellowship, one of the best in the field of medical sciences, has further lent credibility to the growing effectiveness of medical and health practices in Haryana. Dr Kalra, who has held several posts in various medical bodies and associations in the state, was once president of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) of Gurgaon chapter and state vice-chairman of the IMA (Allied Medical Specialities), Haryana. He was conferred with the Rajiv Gandhi Excellence Award in 2008, besides the best IMA president award.

Dr Kalra, who has been associated with leading hospitals, including Artemis Hospital, Artemis Health Institute and Apollo Hospital (New Delhi), has been selected by the American society in recognition of his contribution to the field of heart ultrasound and his skills and comprehensive knowledge of all important aspects of heart ultrasound.

Meanwhile, Dr Kalra attributes the achievement to the rapid advancement and progress in the field of medical sciences, especially heart related diseases in the country. “The “first world” countries which were considered to be the best in business in the field of medical care have now come to accept high standards attained by medical professionals in India”.

With regard Haryana, he said the state had made rapid progress in the past few years. He appreciated the steps and efforts of the state government to raise the standard of medical practices.

A native of the region, Dr Kalra has a word of caution for the people of areas which were once part of unified Punjab. According to him, people from Punjab and Haryana are susceptible to heart diseases on account of their rich and greasy food laced with high dose of dairy products, indiscipline in dietary habits and growing sedentary life style. He said there was an urgent need on the part of the polity to take up mass awareness campaign on the issue.

Kaithal, February 11
A calendar prepared by the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA), Kaithal, was launched by Randeep Singh Surjewala, PWD and Public Health Minister, at a function held in ITI Kaithal here recently.

After launching the calender, Surjewala highlighted various schemes launched by the government for the welfare of the people. He asked women to form maximum number of self-help groups so that they can have additional sources of income.

The Centre and state government had taken effective steps for the empowerment of women, he said.

He asked Anganwari workers, Asha workers and members of the Sakshar Mahila Samooh to make public welfare schemes successful so that maximum number of people could get benefits.

Ramesh Verma, chief executive officer-cum-ADC Kaithal, who prepared the calendar under the guidance of Deputy Commissioner Amneet P Kumar, said the schemes were being implemented for the betterment of various sections of society.

Verma said the main objective of this calendar is to create awareness among community about schemes such as the Indira Awas Yojna, the Swaran Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojna, the IREP, the Total Sanitation Scheme and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. The calendar depicts the slogans related to these schemes and objectives achieved by the DRDA Kaithal.

Our motto is to make community self-reliant by forming self-help groups and augment their income by getting employment through the NREGS, he said.

The calendar depicts the methods to conserve energy by using solar energy appliances such as solar lantern, solar cookers, solar water-heating system and CFLs. Through the calendar, people’s attention had been drawn towards the Total Sanitation Scheme, which is under execution in the district.

The aim of the scheme is to make villages defecation free by constructing toilet in every house.

He further said calendars would be circulated among all government offices in Kaithal district, all self-help group members, anganwadi centres, primary health centres, community health centres, hospitals and all village panchayats.

Ambala, February 11
Several councillors of Ambala City and Ambala Sadar municipal councils and a few leaders of the Congress and the BJP have opposed the formation of a municipal corporation (MC) by merging the two cities. Most of the residents of these cities have also been calling it an impractical move.

The Congress has its majority in both municipal councils. A few Congress councillors of Ambala City have been convincing other councillors to bring a resolution against the move. Congress sources said the recommendation of Ambala City MLA Venod Sharma would play an important role in this regard.

The INLD and the BSP have not opened their card in this matter so far while elections to the municipal committees and municipal councils in the state are due in April.

Recently, the government made an announcement for the formation of municipal corporations in seven major cities of the state, including Ambala, but the notification has not been issued so far.

Anil Vij, Ambala Cantt MLA, said the BJP would oppose the move of constituting three municipal corporations by merging Ambala City and Ambala Cantt, Panchkula and Kalka and Yamunanagar and Jagadhri in the forth coming Assembly session.

He said Ambala City and Cantt were two separate cities both facing different problems. Moreover, geographically both cities were not interconnected as a big portion of land between the two cities was owned by the Army, he added. The distance between the two cities was around 10 km and in case, the office of the municipal corporation was set up at Ambala City, residents of Ambala Cantt would have to face problems in visiting the office for their day-to-day work. Similar would be the position of Ambala City residents if the office was in Ambala Cantt, he added.

Vij said elected Mayor from either city would prefer the development of his own city. He said he was in favour of setting up of separate municipal corporations for Ambala City and Cantt whenever both cities fulfilled the criteria of required population on their own. He alleged that the move of constituting municipal corporation might suit the Congress but it would not be in the interest of public.

Hisar, February 11
All deputy general managers of the operation wing of the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) will hold open darbars on February 15, 16 or 17 to attend to consumer grievances.

A spokesman for the DHBVN said 68 such darbars would be organised this month in Sirsa, Fatehabad, Hisar, Bhiwani, Mahendragarh, Rewari, Gurgaon, Mewat, Palwal and Faridabad districts.

The darbars would take up complaints on a first come, first served basis. All types of complaints, including those pertaining to meter reading, correction of bill, change of meter, new connection, replacement of electrical installations, system improvement and power supply would be entertained.

The relevant record would be available at the darbars to redress the complaints on the spot.

The darbars would be held on February 15 at Kuttabadh, Ellenabad and Assa Khera in Sirsa district, and Customer Care Centre New Colony Gurgaon, Customer Care Centre Badhsahpur in Gurgaon, sub divisional office, Pataudi, sub divisional office at Taoru and sub office Nagina.

Similar darbars would be held on February 16 at the operation subdivision, Mundhal, Operation subdivision office. Bawani Khera, operation subdivision, Dighawa, and operation subdivision, Jhojju Kalan,in Bhiwani district.

On February 17 the darbars would be organised at DGM offices at Narnaul and Mahendragarh in Mahendragarh district and Rewari and Dharuhera in Rewari district.

In addition, 48 darbars would be organised by general managers, deputy general managers and assistant general managers in Faridabad district this month on dates to be notified later.

Panipat, February 11
Millennium School hosted a winter carnival, “You and Your Child” on its campus here recently. The carnival saw family fun with different activities and contests like drawing and painting, dance, and fancy dress.

The event served a platform for young talent to demonstrate their skills in an environment filled with fun. The day saw various entertaining events like magic show, Mickey-the bouncy, tattoo-making, pooh and joker.

Som Lahri, a senior representative of the school, said the school was amongst the first few in the country to have implemented “One-on-One” computer learning system and also to introduce the advanced learning system called the millennium learning system (MLM).

Students participated in the drawing, dance, JAM and fancy dress competition. Winners of these contests were awarded. On-the-spot competition stole hearts of gathering at the carnival. Lot of gifts and exciting prizes were given to winners of array of fun activities at carnival.

In “Just a Minute” category, Nishant (3-5 years), Tarush (6-9 years), Shaurrya Prabhakar (9-13 years) were adjudged winners in their respective categories. In fancy dress completion, Arnav Adhlakha (2-4 years), Puisha Bansal (5-7 years), and Udday Bhatia (8-13 years) won. In drawing competition, Chetna Soni (4-9 years) and Ujjmal Soni (10-13 years) were adjudged winners and in dance competition, Sparsh (4-6 years), Harman (7-9 years), and Vineet (10-13 years) were adjudged winners.

Kalka, February 11
To make students aware of various job opportunities available in the IT Sector, the Placement Cell of Smt Aruna Asaf Ali Government PG College, Kalka, recently held a seminar on the “Latest Trends in IT and Job Prospects” for the students of BCA/BBA/BSc.

The seminar was conducted by the HCL CDC, Chandigarh, under the aegis of SK Manocha, principal of the college.

Informing this, Harpreet Kaur, PRO of the college, said Pankaj from the HCL CDC elaborated on the thrust area and mentioned various tailor-made courses to keep students abreast with the latest trends in IT; the knowledge of which will facilitate them to secure a job in the IT sector.

In their endeavour to acquaint and train the students on the latest operating system such as Red Hat Linux, they conducted a two-day workshop on Red Hat Linux from February 4 in the Computer Science Department during which they provided training to the students.

Parveen Kumar from the HCL CDC conducted a seminar on “Career Opportunities in IT” for Arts students who gained useful information from these personnel through interactions.

Rakesh Goyal, Sunil Taneja and Inderjeet Ranga, coordinators of the workshop from the college, extended the vote of thanks to HCL CDC team members.

Producer: Dharma Productions
Director: Karan Johar
“My Name is Khan” is being marketed and distributed by Fox Star in India and has acquired global rights of this different movie which has sufi tracks, beautifully composed by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy trio.

Story: Rizwan Khan is an Indian who suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome. He falls in love with Mandira in India despite stiff opposition from their families. They get married and move to San Francisco. Things go awry in their lives. Rizwan begins a journey across the country to win back Mandira.

What to watch out for: Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol performances, outdoor locations, direction and sufi songs from composers Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy.

The movie opens today at OHM-Sirsa, Fame Shalimar, KC (Panchkula), Fun Cinema (Panipat), Movie Time, Harsha (Karnal), Glitz-Kurukshetra, Everest-Rewari, Fun Minerva (Ambala), PVR Crown Plaza, SRS Pristine, SRS Sector 12, SRS Shubham, INOX, India Bulls, Movie Time MM, Movie Time CM (Faridabad),PVR MGF, PVR Sahara, DTCC, DTMM, SR Wedding Mall, SRS OMAXE, PVR Ambience, Big Palam Vihar (Gurgaon), Sheila-Rohtak, Anand-Sonepat, Sun City-Hisar, Harsha-Kurukshetra.
— Dharam Pal

The Hooda government is reportedly contemplating the constitution of seven new municipal corporations ahead of the upcoming civic elections scheduled for April by upgrading the status of their existing municipal councils. 

Two years back, the government had elevated the municipal council of Gurgaon to a Municipal Corporation, making it second such body after Faridabad. If approved, the new additions would be Ambala, Hisar, Karnal, Panchkula, Panipat, Rohtak and Yamunangar. The contention of the government in setting new corporations is that pace of urban development would get a boost in these cities. But whether the upgradation of above-mentioned municipal corporations strengthen their functional and financial autonomy is anybody's guess ? Take the example of the municipal corporation of Faridabad, which though constituted way back in 1994, has not been able to achieve any significant distinction in the area of effective and efficient municipal governance. A serious appraisal of the working of this first municipal corporation in the state is a must before constituting such bodies in another towns. A glance over the pitiable financial health of municipalities reveals the true picture. The lack of resources available to state municipal bodies after the abolition of octroi in 1999 and more so after the waiving of house tax and less revenue avenues like fees, taxes and tolls have make these bodies almost bankrupt. These municipal bodies are sustaining on government grants. Worst, these grants are both inadequate and untimely. Sometimes it becomes difficult for a municipality even to pay salaries to its staff in time, what to talk of development and maintenance works? The state should first take bold and effective steps to improve the financial health of municipalities rather than creating new large municipal corporations. The state government should shun the idea of constituting new municipal corporations at least for the time being and focus only on improvement, empowerment and overhaul of the existing urban local government structure so as to make them autonomous as well as financially strong and viable enough to discharge their functions effectively.

Hemant Kumar, Ambala City

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