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Haryana Tourism restores Pinjore’s Bhima Devi temple
Special package sought for HMT
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Y’nagar civil hospital helping thalassaemic children
DHBVN introduces video-conferencing
Sirsa multiplex to screen IPL matches
Educational tour helps schoolgirls gain knowledge
Tenders invited for retail liquor licences
Surgery Scheme
Movie this week
Farm projects to focus on rural households
Blood camp on Holi
Litterateurs ‘must keep’ eco-concerns in mind
Hisar college wins quiz competition
Notice to BDPO under RTI Act
Ultramodern jail coming up in Jhajjar
Admn gets CM’s pat for drive against polythene
Bookish knowledge not enough
Not all insects are harmful, says expert
BK Joshi wins Indian Dairy Association Fellowship
Qawwals enthrall audience
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Haryana Tourism restores Pinjore’s Bhima Devi temple
Chandigarh, March 4 Keshni Anand Arora, Principal Secretary, Tourism, accepted the award on behalf of the Haryana Tourism Corporation (HTC), which renovated the temple to make it an exquisite museum as an added attraction for tourists visiting the well-known Yadavindra Gardens in Pinjore, near here. The temple is believed to be dating back to the 9th-11th century. Archeological evidence suggests that the ancient site of Panchpura and Bhima Nagar, as Pinjore was known at that time, must have been a place of considerable importance between the 9th and 13th century. Pinjore appears to be based on the mythological belief that the Pandavas had stayed here during their exile. It was later on also called Bhima Nagar - after a much-revered local temple that came to be located at this ancient site. There are reasons to believe that the ancient temple of Bhima Devi was systematically demolished repeatedly, possibly by Muslim invaders, with the last blow coming diring the rule of Aurangzeb. The adjoining Mughal Gardens was possibly constructed using the rubbles of the temple. During the scientific clearance of the site, three stone plinths of an ancient temple were recovered, along with several beautiful sculptural and architectural remnants. These plinths indicate that the temple was built in the “Panchayatan” style of temple architecture. “Panchayatan” means a group of five temples with the main shrine in the centre and four sub-shrines at the each cardinal direction. The architectural remnants and other fragmentary pieces like Chaitya windows, Bhadramukha, miniature turrets and scouting figures on the brackets of the pillars indicate that the temple might have been built in the then prevailing north Indian style of temple architecture. Some of the sculptures in the remnants carry striking resemblance with those found at Khajuraho. The deities are related to the Shiva cult leading to the presumption that the temple was dedicated to Lord Shiva. The interior of the temple possibly remained simple in striking contrast to the profuse carving and decoration on the exterior. The outer walls of the temple were decorated with the sculptures of gods and goddesses along with the depiction of social life prevailing at that time. A large number of sculptures depicting Shiva and Parvati, Agni, Varun, Surya, Vishnu, Ganesha, Kartikeya have also been found. The other decorative patterns include social preferences; floral designs; animal motifs; musicians and erotic scenes. A few notable stone inscriptions have also been found, linking the site with the name of Raja Ram Dev, possibly a local king of repute who patronised this temple. The HTC spent about Rs 2.5 crore to organise the excavated remains of the temple in a nicely constructed indoor museum adjoining a big and attractively landscaped lawn, which serves as the outdoor museum. The premises has been very artistically decorated and illuminated to make it live and vibrant during the night as well.
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Special package sought for HMT
Kalka, March 4 A joint delegation of the HMT Officers Association and the HMT Karmik Sangh recently met Pawan Kumar Bansal, Union Minister for Water Resources and Parliamentary Affairs. Pushpinder Sharma, general secretary of the HMT Karmik Sangh, said the delegation submitted a memorandum of pending demands, including wage revision 1997 and 2007, extension of retirement age from 58 to 60, payment of wage revision arrears of 1992 , payment of 200 per cent compensation of VRS and 20 per cent HRA to all HMT employees. Stating that HMT Pinjore, once a crown of Indian industry providing employment to thousands of people , both directly and indirectly, had been adversely affected by wrong policies , lack of working capital and investment in modernisation and technological upgradation , flight of talent to private sector, demotivation of the staff because of the non-revision of salaries since 1997. While the employees of other public sector units/state and governments had got two pay revisions, those of HMT had been awaiting pay revision since 1997 and working as per the on 1.1.1992 scales. The memorandum urged the union minister to take up the matter with the Ministry of Heavy Industry, Ministry of Finance and the departments concerned.
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Y’nagar civil hospital helping thalassaemic children
Yamunanagar, March 4 There are 78 diagnosed cases of thalassaemia in the district and they have been transfused 816 times till date, said Vijay Dahiya, SMO and in charge of thalassaemia ward, Civil Hospital, Yamunanagar. “The service of blood transfusion thrice a week has been started from March 1 only. Earlier, we have blood transfusion twice a week. Moreover, a special programme is also being launched for the motivation of voluntary donors for these children,” Dr Dahiya said. Under the programme, healthy donors will be enrolled who will donate blood for these children on a rotation basis every Monday, Wednesday and Friday so that this fresh blood is transfused next day after compulsory screening, testing and group matching at the local blood bank. Such donors will be given a special donor card with the snaps of thalassaemic children saying: “We are grateful”. And it will carry the donation record of the donor, he said. Giving details, he said: “Similarly as regards control of thalassaemia, we are going to start a screening centre at the hospital to provide inexpensive tests like NESTROFT (Naked Eye Single Tube Red Cell Osmotic Fragility Test)”. The people will be screened for thalassaemia trait. Those found positive will be advised confirmatory test for carrier status of thalassaemia. Countries like Cyprus, Sardima, UK have controlled the disease by marriage counselling, prenatal diagnosis and abortion of affected foetus among thalassaemic carriers and such facilities exist in our country also. Talking about thalassaemia, he said this is a type of heritable disorder of reduced hemoglobin synthesis. Patients show variable degree of anaemia with evidence of haemolysis and ineffective red cell formation. Thalassaemia has been reported from several countries all over the world with the largest concentration in South East Asia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, North West India, Pakistan, Middle East Africa, Greece and Italy. As per WHO estimates, 4.5 per cent of the world’s population is carrier of thalassaemia. The frequency of thalassaemia gene in Indian population varies from 0.6 per cent to 15 per cent being particularly high in Gujaratis, Punjabis, Sindhis, Lohanas, etc. More than 30 million people are carrier of thalassaemia in our country and more than 10,000 thalassaemic children are born in our country every year, he added.
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DHBVN introduces video-conferencing
Hisar, March 4 The facility has been started at 10 locations, including its head office here, zonal offices of the operation wing headed by chief general managers at Delhi and Hisar, the circle offices of the operation wing headed by general managers at Sirsa, Hisar, Bhiwani, Narnaul, Gurgaon and Faridabad and the training centre of the nigam at Gurgaon. Strategic discussions and business meetings among the management at the head office and the zonal, circle and divisional heads at different locations have already started. The video-conferencing facility has enabled the DHBVN to hold ad-hoc meetings and short-notice strategy sessions. The facility will reduce travel expenditure and save time of officers engaged in operational activities.
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Sirsa multiplex to screen IPL matches
Sirsa, March 4 “The matches will be brought live through satellite under an agreement with UFO Moviez, the company that has exclusive rights for the purpose from the IPL,” Khemka added. He said all 60 matches would come live for the 45 days of the league starting from March 12 and the theatre has decided to price all categories of tickets at Rs 150. “Cricket fans can catch the heart thumping, adrenaline rushing experience of T-20 cricket right at their doorstep now. The UFO Moviez, world’s largest digital cinema network, is bringing the DLF IPL 2010 matches on theatre screens throughout the country,” said Kapil Arora, UFO Moviez. There is a huge difference between relay seen on television screen and the one seen through satellite. While the telecast is through low-definition feed, the one people would see in the theatre would be high-definition feed, Arora said. Further, the area of ground shown in the theatre is 33 per cent more than that seen on television screen. “With UFO T-20 “hungama” at a theatre, cricket fans can catch live matches with no interruption during playtime and can enjoy every moment of the match. The UFO has roped in Cinemax, FAME, INOX and many other multiplex chains across the country to enhance cricket viewing experience taking it to a different level,” he added.
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Educational tour helps schoolgirls gain knowledge
Fatehabad, March 4 “Over 100 girls from the cluster model schools, including 18 from the Fatehabad block, participated in the tour,” said Vinod Karwasara, assistant, Block Resource Centre (BRC), Fatehabad. “We enjoyed the tour and came back with some addition to our knowledge,” said Rashmina, a student of Government Girls High School, Dhangar. Sushila, block education officer, said Kapurthala Science City was a source of knowledge for students of science and the girls had got a lot of experience. Karwasara said the students visited Jalianwala Bagh, Durgiana Temple and Golden Temple in Amritsar and were exited when they reached Wagah Border. Children witnessed the parade at the time of closing of the border gates and raised patriotic slogans. “We wish such tours are made a regular feature
and more students are taken to these tours so that they can have a glimpse of the Indian culture and the world outside their own little world,” said Rashmina.
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Tenders invited for retail liquor licences
Chandigarh, March 4 A bidder could apply for any number of vends of any district and the state. The list of vends having details of vend name, vend code, location, command area, if applicable, reserve price, quota had been made available in the office of the DETC(X) of the district as well as on the department website www.haryanatax.com. He said the date of receipt of tender forms in the districts of Gurgaon, Narnaul, Panipat, Jagadhri, Mewat, Jhajjar, Jind, Kaithal, Hisar, Sirsa and Karnal had been fixed as March 2 to March 5. The date of opening of tender forms would be March 8 at 9 am. The date of receipt of tender forms in the districts of Faridabad, Palwal, Rewari, Sonepat, Ambala, Fatehabad, Bhiwani, Panchkula, Kurukshetra and Rohtak had been fixed as March 8 to March 12. The date of opening of tender forms in these districts would be March 15 at 9 am. On the last day, in each district, all in queue at 5 pm would be given chits to ensure the submission of bid by DETC(X)). The entire process of bid submission and tender opening would be videographed.
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Jind on the top
Bijendra Ahlawat Tribune News Service
Jind, March 4 The department concerned facilitates all tests and medicines to patients at nominal rates. The surgery is free of cost and the medicines are provided to the patients at subsidised rates, said a spokesperson of the local administration. This has been a ‘no profit-no loss’ programme, with the sole motive to assist people, he added. The scheme covers all medical facilities to women, including delivery and eye operation. It is reported that 1,280 surgeries have been done so far, of which around 265 cases belong to the BPL category that include 335 at Narwana and 134 at Safidon sub-divisions, respectively. The department proposes to launch such scheme in the Uchana and Julana blocks of the district where Community Health Centres (CHC) had been functional.
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Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge
Directed by: Ashwni Dhir Starring: Ajay Devgan, Paresh Rawal, Konkana Sen Sharma Plot: A story of a happily married couple whose life takes an interesting turn when a relative turns up unannounced. The guest overstays and the couple comes with various plays to hasten his departure. What to watch out for: A different laugh-riot, Paresh Rawal, Ajay Devgan, Konkana Sen performances and Pritam’s music. The film opens today at Sun City-Hisar, Minerva, Fun Cinema (Ambala), Sheila-Rohtak, PVR MGF, PVR Ambience, PVR Sahara, Big Palam Vihar, DTCC, DTMM, SRS Omaxe, SRS Wedding Mall (Gurgaon), PVR Crown Plaza, INOX Leisure, Bulls Eye, MTMM, MTCM, SRS Pristine, SRS Shubham (Faridabad), Harsha, Movie Time (Karnal), Fun, Cinemax (Panipat), Glitz-Kurukshetra, Fame Shalimar-Panchkula. — Dharam Pal
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Farm projects to focus on rural households
Hisar, March 4 Inaugurating an AICRP workshop at Haryana Agricultural University's College of Home Science, Vice-Chancellor KS Khokhar said so far a majority of these projects focused mainly on health issues, but the focus now would be on the development of rural surroundings as a whole. He said different research studies to be undertaken under these projects would also lay emphasis on women empowerment by enhancing their skills and capabilities through practical training. So far most of the research and extension programmes had focused on male farmer-related technologies whereas nearly 60 per cent farm operations and 100 per cent household jobs were handled exclusively by women.
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Blood camp on Holi
Sirsa, March 4 However, local residents, who went to celebrate Holi with deputy commissioner Yudhbir Singh Khyalia, were taken aback when they noticed stretchers laid in his camp office and visitors are celebrating the festival by donating blood. Some others, who knew it in advance, went especially to donate blood on the occasion. “It is a healthy tradition and if administrators take the lead and arrange such camps on festivals, it will help a lot towards the blood donation moment,” said Sanjay Gupta, who runs an NGO DOST and was among those who donated blood on the occasion. Khyalia can be termed as the torchbearer of voluntary blood donation in the country. He initiated his movement of promoting voluntary blood donation while he was posted in Faridabad district after he had to face difficulty in arranging blood for a class four employee of his office who was in dire need of blood. He realised that if it is so difficult to arrange blood for any officer, the situation must be even more difficult for a common man. Then he made it a mission to promote voluntary blood donation. Till date, he has mobilised over 1.5 lakh people for donating blood and his name has figured in the Limca Book of Records for organising the largest blood donation camp in Sirsa.
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Litterateurs ‘must keep’ eco-concerns in mind
Gurgaon, March 4 Haryana-cadre IPS officer Rajbir Deswal, also a writer, inaugurated the seminar by lighting the traditional lamp. Addressing the participants, he maintained that in order to motivate their readers towards environment conservation, the litterateurs should keep the environmental concerns in mind while penning their thoughts. “The vital significance of environment in our life cannot be over-emphasised…but it is very upsetting to note that man has disturbed the environmental balance due to his short-sighted approach and immediate gains,” observed Deswal, currently posted as DIG (CID) at the Haryana Police headquarters. The writer-cop pointed out that eminent litterateurs and poets like William Wordsworth and PB Shelley wrote extensively on nature, but they never talked about environment conservation because in their times, the condition of environment was not as critical as now. Deswal, who has been raising environmental concerns through his write-ups in various English dailies, quoted several excerpts from the ancient scriptures as well as folk literature which underlined the importance of nature’s priceless gifts - flora and fauna.
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Hisar college wins quiz competition
Fatehabad, March 4 Over 50 colleges participated in the competition, which was sponsored by Kurukshetra University. “The competition was organised in two phases. Under the first phase, all students appeared in a written test to select six teams for the finals,” said Dr Mamta Chaudhary, principal of the host college. The first two teams were given cash prize of Rs 4,000 and Rs 2,400, respectively, for their efforts.
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Notice to BDPO under RTI Act
Sonepat, March 4 Under the Act, Rajinder of Kalpa village under the Kathura block in the district had applied for some information on May 25, 2009. When he did not get any reply from the BDPO, who is designated as Information Officer, within stipulated time, he appealed to the DDPO on July 1, 2009. The DDPO directed the BDPO on August 3, 2009, to give information to Rajinder. Even then, Rajinder was not supplied with the information. Later, Rajinder filed an appeal to the State Information Commissioner who issued notices to the DDPO and the BDPO, but both officers did not reply to the notice. However, during the hearing of the appeal, Rajinder informed the commissioner that he had not been supplied with the demanded information; but the SEPO, who represented the BDPO before the commissioner, informed that the required information had already been sent to Rajinder on June 15, 2009. Considering that the given information was not complete and correct, the commissioner directed the BDPO to provide the required information free of cost within 15 working days and submit his report of compliance and his reply by April 14. In his written order, the commissioner has directed to serve an explanation notice to the BDPO stating why not the penalty of Rs 250 per day for the delayed period be imposed on him for the delay in providing information to the applicant.
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Ultramodern jail coming up in Jhajjar
Jhajjar, March 4 The justice also directed the authorities to ensure its completion in due time. During the visit, KN Bhatt, executive engineer, told the justice and other officers accompanying him that the jail would be constructed over an area of 48 acres with an estimated cost of Rs 22 crore. "The jail having the capacity to accommodate 1,078 prisoners will be equipped with all modern facilities like a multipurpose hall, factory shed, hospital building, library, canteen, two godowns and a school for the children of prisoners," said Bhatt, adding that an overhead tank would be constructed for the regular supply of water besides a watch tower to keep a vigil on the prisoners. He informed that a power substation would also be constructed for uninterrupted power supply and as many as 45 staff quarters were also being constructed. The construction work would be completed by June, he maintained. Earlier, speaking as a chief guest at a function organised by the Jhajjar Bar Association, Justice Garg called upon advocates to help the courts disposing of pending cases so that justice could be provided to aggrieved parties at the earliest. "Advocates act as a bridge between plaintiff and judiciary. Hence, it is their moral responsibility that they cooperate with the courts for early settlement of cases by taking personal interest keeping in view the reliability of the judiciary," he said. He also took stock of the cases pending in various district courts and issued direction for their early disposal.
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Admn gets CM’s pat for drive against polythene
Panipat, March 4 The administration started the drive against the polythene carry bags in October, 2008 and after having successfully completed the first two rounds of the drive, it launched the third phase of the movement in January this year. The administration has received a tremendous response from local residents, who decided to take up the cause of environment and shun the use of polythene carry bags. A number of NGOs were also roped in to make the drive a success. Deputy commissioner Vijay Singh Dahiya said despite being a government programme, it turned into a social campaign that showed positive results. Being a non-biodegradable product, polythene goes on polluting the environment for years together. It makes soil infertile and unfit for other uses. It releases harmful toxins and restricts seepage of water and prevents recharging of groundwater leading to a decline in the water table. Besides, by blocking the drainage system, it also puts the city to the danger of flood during heavy rain. He said during the third phase of the campaign, emphasis would be to fight the plastic pollutant by reshaping the public perception regarding its use and impact on the environment. A number of social as well as government organisations such as the Indian Medical Association, Indian Oil Corporation, owners of shopping malls and many NGO’s working in the field of environment protection have joined hands with the administration in the campaign. The DC said before implementing a ban on the use of polythene carry bags, the administration had initiated an awareness campaign to generate public opinion in favour of jute carry bags so that the residents themselves gave up the use of plastic carry bags. The administration had even distributed thousands of jute bags to promote the drive.
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Bookish knowledge not enough
Ambala, March 4 Schoolchildren presented a cultural show. Folk and western dances were the main attraction. The students also presented a skit on patriotism. Fancy dress show by nursery students, incarnations of goddess Durga and Holi rasleela of Mathura thrilled the audience. The chief guest said besides studiers, students should actively take part in cultural and sports activities. He said bookish knowledge was not sufficient for all-round development and one should be strong enough to face challenges in life. The commissioner suggested them to work hard to achieve their goals. He also gave away prizes to meritorious students. Chandra said DPS had recognised itself as an institution of quality education in the country and parents felt proud to give education to their children in DPS. Jain gave several tips to students to excel in life. He said one should be excellent in his field if he wanted to reach the top.
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Not all insects are harmful, says expert
Jind, March 4 Aphid is an insect that has specially adapted mouth parts for piercing and sucking sap from plants. Many aphids transfer viruses from plant to plant as they feed. The family of such insects is known as aphididae. “We need not be afraid as every insect in crop canopy is not a pest,” says Manbir Redhu, an expert and a progressive farmer. He says chrysopa, lady beetles and hover flies were much active this year and controlled the growth of aphids in wheat, barley, methi and mustard crops. Resembling bees and yellow jackets, the insects with bright stripes of yellow, brown and black colors are syrphids/hover flies, says Redhu, adding that the name hover fly had been given because of its distinctive way of flying - hovering at place for a few seconds and then darting off suddenly to hover at another place. The syrphids are harmless and friendly insects. Larvae of these hover flies are voracious feeders of aphids. These larvae do hard work day and night and control the growth of aphids in various crops so that farmers enjoy
bumper crop.
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BK Joshi wins Indian Dairy Association Fellowship
Karnal, March 4 The award was presented to him in the inaugural session of the 38th dairy industry conference, presided over by Dr NR Bhasin, president, Indian Dairy Association, at Bangaluru on February 17. With vast experience in research and education related to genetic improvement of cattle and buffalo and conservation and management of farm animal genetic resources, Dr Joshi has worked in various capacities at the National Dairy Research Institute and National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources, Karnal. He has handled 25 research projects related to animal production and contributed in establishing elite herds of high-producing breeds like Sahiwal, Tharparkar and Karan Fries cattle as well as murrah buffaloes at the NDRI, Karnal. Dr Joshi (58), who also served as a consultant for designing breeding plans for native livestock in Bhutan, was nominated as a member for the dairy sector (farming) on the science and programme coordination committee by the Indian National Committee of the International Dairy Federation (IDF). He has handled 25 research projects and published 226 papers. He also rendered services as Director, Centre for Advanced Studies (Animal Genetics & Breeding) and Head of Division, Dairy Cattle Breeding Division, NDRI, among others As in charge the Livestock Farm, he monitored breeding and management of over 1500 cattle, buffaloes and goats and germ plasma repository.
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Qawwals enthrall audience
Sirsa, March 4 Niyazi is a son of renowned Sufi singer Inam Ahmed. He has sung in the film "Khosla Ka Ghosla", besides singing for some tele-serials. The group has also performed in several countries like the UK, Scotland, Pakistan, New Zealand, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Iran, Tanzania, Dubai and Muscat, claimed Niyazi. Winner of Qawwali Samrat Award at the hands of former President Giani Zail Singh, Niyazi has also been honoured by Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit. Dr Rajinder Singh Sra, chairman of the institute, Om Parkash and
Surender Goyal, both directors, and N Mahadevan, principal of the institute, were present on the occasion.
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The Bhima Devi temple of Pinjore, which was in a state of virtual neglect till a few years ago, shot into limelight after the Union Ministry of Tourism conferred the prestigious “Best Maintained Tourist Friendly Monument” award on it early this week.
Directed by: Ashwni Dhir
With novel architecture, Jhajjar jail would be the ultramodern as compared to other ones in other districts of the state. On completion of its construction, the jail would not only be supportive in reducing the load of its surrounding jails like
Rohtak, Bhiwani and Sonepat to a large extent but also be helpful for undertrails of this district during court hearings. Justice Rakesh Garg of the Punjab and Haryana High Court stated this.
The growing use of pesticides and chemical fertilisers on crops has been a cause of concern for most of people who are aware of the side effects of such inputs. While the use of some pesticides is necessary to save crops from insects, there are many insects who act as friends of farmers.
Karnal, March 4
