Gurgaon, November 8
Working on computers has lately become a professional-cum-personal necessity for the youth. However, long hours of sitting before computers, coupled with not taking proper care of eyes, have started leading to various eye problems.

According to a recent survey conducted by Eye Q Hospital here, one out of every two residents of Gurgaon is suffering from Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS).

CVS is a term used to describe a variety of vision-related symptoms that may develop or aggravate by the use of computers for two or more hours a day.

The survey results are supported by a US study, which says that 85 per cent of the computer users suffer from eyestrain.

The study goes on to describe CVS as “the No 1 occupational hazard of the 21st century”.

Dr Ajay Sharma from Eye Q Hospitals asserts: “Timely diagnosis using a specialised vision-tester and usage of specialised computer eyeglasses can help control CVS. The specialised eyeglasses are different from standard reading glasses. One can also take care of the environmental factor contributing to this syndrome. The environmental factors include improper contrast and resolution of the display, improper adjustability of workstation, inadequate or improper room lighting and sustained viewing of the computer screen”.

The CVS is of a great concern to the corporate sector as it is inversely proportional to productivity at workplace. There have been increased cases of professionals working in the IT industry as well as other modern business establishments complaining of eye problems, the major reason for which is the CVS.

Vijay Shukla of Setu Ventures observes: “It is very important for you to take care of your eyes when working for long hours in front of computer screens. Even in consulting business like ours, we get to hear about increasing cases of eye problems due to prolonged usage of desktop and laptop computers.”

Dr Sharma maintains that with the increasing cases of CVS, it is very important to make employees aware of ways to avoid these. “Taking simple precautions like regular blinking of eyes and concentrating at distant objects after regular intervals can help a lot in reducing the dryness in eyes and CVS,” he adds. 

Kaithal, November 8
The three-story building of the 100-bed multi-speciality hospital at Sector 18, HUDA, touching the NH-65 here is ready and will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

However, neither new machines had been installed nor required doctors and paramedical staff had been appointed here so far.

According to deputy commissioner Amneet P Kumar, doctors, staff and machinery required for the hospital will be made available soon.

PWD and Public Health Minister Randeep Singh Surjewala said the hospital would be second in the state to have cancer treatment facility after PGI, Rohtak. A block had also been added to provide facility to attendants of patients coming from far off places, he added. As many as Rs 9 crore has been spent on the hospital building, residential houses for doctors, paramedical staff and other basic infrastructure. A sum of Rs 7 crore has been spent on installation of sophisticated machinery and other equipment.

The hospital would have departments like OPD, ECG, waiting hall, ENT, physiotherapy, operation theatre, CT scan, ultrasound, blood bank, dressing room and a trauma centre.

Hisar, November 8
The facility of online payment of electricity bills provided in 18 operation subdivisions of the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) in Gurgaon, Faridabad and Hisar districts is becoming popular, with the nigam receiving over `3 crore during the past three months.

A DHBVN spokesman said here that with the introduction of this facility, the consumers in Faridabad, Gurgaon and Hisar districts need not visit the nigam offices for payment of electricity bills. They could pay their bills at any time from home through Internet. The facility had been made available through DHBVN’s website to about six lakh consumers of 18 urban operation subdivisions in Faridabad, Gurgaon and Hisar.

For making online payment of an electricity bill, a consumer has to access DHBVN’s website www.dhbvn.com. On clicking the link ‘online payment’ it will ask for unique ID code of the consumer which is the ‘K number’ given on the bill of each consumer. After the K number is filled in, details of the consumer’s account will be displayed. The consumer will login and choose the service number and mode of payment (credit card, debit card, Internet banking).

Depending upon the choice of the bank, the website redirects them to the bank website for completing the transaction. However, the bank’s site will ask for user ID and password. On logging in the amount to be paid will appear. The consumer can press the button ‘pay’. A message will appear that ‘hot payment is successful’. Online receipt will be generated and print of the receipt can also be taken.

The debit cards available for online payment of electricity bills are BOI ATM-cum- Debit Card. All credit cards issued by various banks in collaboration with Diners Club International, Master Card and Visa are acceptable.

The payment can be made through credit card and debit card of 27 banks. These are: Axis Bank, Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait, Bank of Maharashtra, Central Bank of India, Corporation Bank, deutsche Bank, Development Credit Bank, Dhan Lakshmi Bank, Federal Bank, ICICI Bank, IDBI Bank, Indian Bank, IOB, Indus Bank, Karnataka Bank, Karur Vysya Bank, Lakshmi Vilas Bank, OBC, PNB Corporate, PNB Retail, Shamrao Vithal Co-op Bank Ltd., South Indian Bank Ltd. State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of India, Tamilnad Mercantile Bank, Vijaya Bank and YES Bank.

Sirsa, November 8
Sanjhi, a folk art of Haryana, is fast diminishing due to lack of interest by the younger generation to learn the traditional skills. However, the Public Relation Department has been keeping this art alive by organising a Sanjhi competition every year.

Sanjhi is a traditional art that had been immensely popular in parts of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and western UP.

This involves women, especially girls, creating a replica of goddess Sanjhi with mud and decorating it with colours on the wall of the house.

Mud is collected from a dry area of village pond. The mural is then decorated with images of stars, moon, trees, sun etc and cow dung is applied to the wall to cleanse the area.

Sanjhi, which literally means “shared by all”, is also embellished with paint and goddess Sanjhi is adorned with bangles, necklace, bindi etc. Sanjhi is also known to be a ritual to worship goddess Lakshmi.

A Sanjhi-making competition was organised by the Information and Public Relation Department here recently. Young women from the rural areas came with their creations.

Dr Suman Gulab, principal of Government National College, Sirsa; Dr Deepti Dharmani, associate professor, Chaudhary Devi Lal University; and Kamlesh Chahar, district child welfare officer, acted as judges.

Satish Mehra, district information and public information officer, Sirsa, informed that Sanjhi made by Sangeeta Nanda, a lecturer in the local CMK National PG College, adjudged the best and she was rewarded with a cash prize of Rs 2,500. Rekha, an anganwadi worker, and Bimla Devi got cash awards of Rs 2,000 and Rs 1,500 for second and third positions, respectively.

Ambala, November 8
The Municipal Mahavir Park of Ambala City has become a deserted site these days. The park is located in a lake spread in 25 acres of land. It seems that the Municipal Council has discarded it.

A few years back it was the most beautiful park of the city. The green lawns, mini zoo, boating facility, mini train for children and a restaurant located on the bank of the lake were the main attraction of the park. Unfortunately, it has now turned into a grazing ground due to poor maintenance and gross negligence of the council.

Most of the concrete benches meant have broken. The huge fountain is in a state of ruin. The water of the lake smells foul as residents of nearby areas have started throwing sewage into it.

The children corner of the park where the mini train and various swings earlier attracted children in hordes has vanished. The Municipal Council seems to have converted this site into a garbage dumping ground. The greenery of the park is also disappearing gradually. No flowers bloom even in the spring season. Except for a few senior citizens, none likes to visit this park. Young couples have also disowned this park as the lover lane constructed close to the lake is a shambles .

Though the Municipal council is the owner of the entire land of the park and lake, some influential persons has encroached upon a part of it running into thousands of yards . Even though the MC authorities are aware of some illegal constructions raised on its land, no action has been taken in this regard. The MC should conduct a revenue survey of its land and put a fence around it to safeguard the remaining valuable commercial land of the park from the land mafia.

The Centre has recently sanctioned Rs 2 crore for the renovation of this park. Union Tourism Minister Selja recently announced that this park would be developed as a major tourism centre of the state. Let us hope colourful flowers start blooming in the park once again.

Narnaul, November 8
Jal Mahal, which represents architectural marvel of the Mughal era, is once again ready to display its splendor. After a gap of more than 100 years, the tank surrounding the monument has been filled with water up to its brim.

It was not less than a wonder to fill water in the mammoth sarovar of the fort, which is located in the most dry and sandy area of Narnaul. However, due to the efforts of the state government, water is now touching the pillars of the fort, which stands in the middle of the sarovar.

Earlier, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had visited historical places of Narnaul after the Independence Day function on August 15. After seeing the dry tank here, he enquired about the water availability in the area and directed the authorities to fill the tank to add splendor to the historical place.

The work of filling water started on September 27 and after 15 days, the Irrigation Department succeeded in its effort. The water has been filled from the Shahbajpur distributory through Narnaul minor.

It may be added that Rs 1100-crore South-Western Corridor is coming up in this area and the 200-km-long corridor would pass through Bhiwani to Mahendragarh Narnaul to Jaipur-Delhi Highway. Jal Mahal can be converted into a major tourist destination in view of this upcoming corridor. Jal Mahal was built by Shah Quli Khan, an officer of Akbar and the ruler of Narnaul, in 1591 over an area of 11 acres.

Yamunanagar, November 8
After preparing a strategy and surveying every nook and corner of Yamunanagar and Jagadhari, it took Dr SL Saini about four years to prepare his own plant nurseries, tree-guard workshop, spreading awareness among his close friends and winning their confidence for launching his a massive tree plantation campaign.

In 1994, he formed Haryana Environmental Society (HES) and started planting and protecting saplings in public parks and lanes of Yamunanagar. After fieldwork in three districts - Yamunanagar, Ambala and Panchkula - nearly 65,000 plants of about 60 species were planted and nurtured till their healthy maturity.

The efforts of this professor, who is popularly known as “green man” in the area, motivated people to join his campaign and a team of about 15,000 people from all walks of life, including eunuchs, are there in the form of donors, volunteers and field workers.

The uniqueness of the project is that it is being run under the banner of Haryana Environmental Society, an NGO, headed by Dr Saini, without any financial or other help from the district or government agencies. The society has got its own tractor, water tankers, trolleys and a team of gardeners along with a nursery and a tree-guard workshop, sources say.

Dr Saini says, “People associated with us are now habitual of celebrating their personal, social or national occasions by planting trees. We plat trees on all occasions including commemorating the visits of dignitaries here. Recently, trees were planted by Swami Ramdev during his visit to Yamunanagar”.

Over 90 per cent of green belt area of the twin towns has been covered through this public participation activity. However, Dr Saini laments the apathy of the local administration, which he claims does not bother at all about giving legal protection to the green cover which is frequently being targeted by some for their own personal benefits.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court, on a PIL filed by the society regarding enacting a tree protection Act in the urban areas of Haryana in 2006, had directed the district authorities to give legal protection to healthy trees within the municipality limits.

There is no let up in illegal felling of trees despite giving memorandum to Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and writing letters to state Governor and district authorities, Dr Saini adds.

Sonepat, November 8
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has said economic reforms initiated in the 90s has made the country’s economy more competitive in the international market and India has been emerging as one of the fastest growing economic powers in the world.

He said this while addressing an inaugural session of a two-day international conference on “Globalisation in India and US: Law, Governance and Business”, jointly organised by OP Jindal Global Law University and Yale University, USA, on the premises of the law university, near Rathdhana, here recently.

Hooda said the state had been one of the favourite and preferential states in the country to attract foreign investment in infrastructural development and the state had utilised these initiatives for meeting new challenges in the fields of social justice, health, etc.

He said the World Bank had praised the state in 2009 for its labour policy and land acquisition process, adding that the globalisation had brought India and the US closer to each other in many fields. This alliance should grow further by increasing people-to-people contact of the two countries, he added.

Union Law Minister M Veerappa Moily, who was also present on the occasion, said the country had emerged as a leading country in the IT and many other fields.

“The period between 2010 and 2020 has been chosen as a ‘Decade of Evolution’ by the Union Government for achieving the desired growth,” he added.

He stated that transfer of technology, opening of markets and further liberalisation of policies were necessary for the growth and progress of the country.

India could learn from the established democracies like the US to ensure an over all development of the country, he added.

Union Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Salman Khursheed said globalisation had brought economic improvement in some sections of society, adding that international laws that confront each other posed as the biggest threat to the globalisation.

Moreover, he said understanding of moral, social and cultural values of a society must be protected and regarded while liberalising economic policies.

Kurukshetra MP and Chancellor of the university Naveen Jindal, president of Yale University Richard C Levin, and Vice-Chancellor of the university C Raj Kumar, also addressed the session.

Yamunanagar, November 8
A national seminar on ‘Ethical Issues in Teaching’ was organised by DAV Girls College on its premises here recently. The seminar was sponsored by the Directorate of Higher Education, Haryana.

Dheera Khandelwal, Commissioner of Higher Education, Haryana, and Dr Shelley Walia, Director of Academic Staff College, Punjab University, Chandigarh, were also present on the occasion. Khandelwal, while discussing the ethical issues in teaching, said, “Moral values begins when an individual turns into a teacher. Thus, arises the demand for a teacher to adopt moral sensitivity as he or she is going to act as role models for their students”.

On the growing commercialisation in society, she said, “Nowadays, we value each and everything in terms of money. Today, the decision-makers throw students in the undesired educational streams that in turn curb the innate creativity of the students. This leads to the alarming rate of suicides among students”.

She added, “It is quite essential for teachers to develop a sense of distinction between ethical and unethical values. Students should be given the authority to decide between right and wrong”. She made this concept clear by narrating her own composed poem ‘Bahar se Mashhoor Zindagi aur Ander se Naasoor Zindagi’.

In order to promote education, one must respect parents and teachers as it was not restricted to books only, she said. The keynote speaker, Shelley Walia, said a teacher must enter the class only after extensive preparation of his lecture.

Walia stated that learning should be multi-dimensional, adding that liberalism should be provided to the education system in order to flourish the existing creativity amongst students. He said honesty and sincerity should dominate one’s views. He also quoted renowned writers such as Shakespeare, Robert Frost and many more in order to make the concept clearer.

Dr Sultan Singh from Chaudhary Devi Lal University chaired the second session. Sanjay Kaushik, Punjab University, Dr Neelam Dhandha and Dr AS Chaudhary threw light on the ethics in teaching. Dr MS Turan and Harbhajan Bansal from Guru Jambheshwar University, Hisar, and Dr Rishi, Kurukshetra University, chaired the third session of the seminar.

Geeta Pillai chaired the fourth session. Dr Sangeeta, Kurukshetra University, Dr TK Mishra and Dr Jai Kishan, Delhi University, were the honorary speakers. 

Karnal, November 8
The Horticulture Training Institute, Uchani, has taken a lead in imparting training to gardeners and supervisors and has emerged as pioneer institute in the state to start such vocational courses for the farming community.

The trainer, Dr SP Aggarwal, says the six-month gardener course and one-year horticulture supervisor course were started in 2008-2009 and till now, two batches of supervisors and four batches of gardeners have passed out.

During the training, methods and techniques of vegetable, fruit and flower cultivation were taught. Besides, students were acquainted with different aspects of commercial cultivation, and were given knowledge about the diversification of horticulture and landscaping. There were vast employments avenues in the public and private sectors in gardening and supervising, in and outside the state and a large number of farmers, who were themselves working in the fields, have opted for the courses. Moreover, the courses give boost to horticultural activities and supplement the income of farmers.

The minimum qualifications for gardener and supervisor courses are middle and plus two and till now, 42 horticulture supervisors and 75 gardeners have successfully completed the training and passed out.

To attract students to these courses, students were given Rs 800 and Rs 1000 as scholarship, subject to the condition that they attend 80 per cent classes. — TNS

Ambala, November 8
In a unique exchange programme, two educationists from Liverpool, UK, visited DHD SD Public School, Ambala Cantt, on November 3.

Steve Peach, Principal of Older Shaw School, and Don Williamsoli, School Work Force Development Officer, Liverpool, praised the facilities and discipline maintained in the school.

A fancy dress competition was also organised on the occasion.Steve Peach praised a new concept of shopping for students in a super market recently introduced in the school by teachers. Young shoppers, carrying tiny shopping baskets, were given an idea as to how to do shopping, how to make payment at the counter and how to choose the articles they want to buy.

A cracker show was also organised in the school on this occasion.

Chandigarh, November 8
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda will inaugurate the new HCL Technology Hub in Manesar of Gurgaon district on November 12.

An official spokesman said here that the Manesar HCL Tech Hub housed in nine lakh square feet of eco-friendly buildings would employ over 3,200 persons and generate Rs 1,000 crore in export revenues.

Kapil Sibal, Union Minister of Human Resource Development, would be the guest of honour and Chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on IT, Rao Inderjeet Singh, MP of Gurgaon, and Deepender Hooda, MP of Rohtak, would be the special guests at the inaugural function.

The spokesman said HCL started building its network of technology hubs all over the country with the launch of its first technology hub in Noida in 2007. The vision behind this unique initiative was to create a web of seamlessly networked tech-hubs across the country where the best and brightest minds would come together to create technologies of the future, building India’s potential to become a technology source for the rest of the world.

HCL’s Technology Hubs were also coming up in Bangalore and Chennai. The hubs would be among the finest in the world and catalyze many such more in the future journey of Indian technology and IT creation, he added.

Sirsa, November 8
The Haryana State Warehousing Corporation (HSWC) authorities did not perform any laboratory tests on 65,000 bags of decayed wheat before sending it to the public distribution system, alleges Dr Kirit Somaiya, national secretary of the BJP and a former MP.

The allegations, if true, are of serious nature as the decayed wheat can have perilous effects on people eating it. The storehouse of the HSWC at Bani in this district had come under 10 to 12 ft water during floods that hit the area in July this year.

As many as 1,70,000 wheat bags were stacked in the storehouse and the entire stock remained under water for over a month.

Out of the 1.7 lakh bags that had been damaged by floods, the HSWC authorities had maintained that 65,000 bags had been send to the FCI as these were found fit for use.

The wheat had remained submerged under water for more than a month before the HSWC started sorting it in the middle of August.

ML Verma, district manager of the HSWC, said the wheat bags had been accepted by the FCI only because these were fit for consumption. However, he did not confirm whether any laboratory tests had been performed on the wheat before putting it into the PDS channel.

The authorities had sorted the damaged wheat into various categories depending upon the quality and offered different lots for open bids recently. After sorting, the authorities had found that 95,340 bags (4,767 MT) of wheat were of dumping category for which the highest bid received by the authorities was 62 paisa per kg.

Only 2,280 bags were found of feed one quality for which the highest bid received by the authorities was Rs 940 per quintal.

Around 4,920 bags were found with more than 60 per cent damage to the grains and these, classified as manure quality, attracted maximum bid of Rs 216 per quintal.

Dr Somaiya, while castigating the authorities for putting the untested wheat into the PDS channel, has also expressed apprehensions that the highly putrid wheat for which highest bid of 62 paise per kg had been received, might also be used in the manufacturing of liquor.

Meanwhile, Dr Mahabir Jaglan, chairperson of the Geography Department of Kurukshetra University, has expressed apprehensions at the safe disposal of the highly decomposed wheat still lying in the storehouse at Bani.

“My apprehension is that it may not be disposed of safely. The disposal process may create an environmental hazard,” Jaglan said. Jaglan added that the authorities and the government should take stock of the situation that how much food grains was allowed to be rotten owing to the sheer negligence of officials.

“Foodgrain production is done at a great environmental cost as it requires huge amount of water and energy. Then it is allowed to rot to the level that it becomes an environmental hazard and huge embarrassment to the society and modern mechanisms of governance,” Dr Jaglan added.

Rewari, November 8
Besides distinguished citizens from various walks of life, prominent poets from Delhi, Alwar (Rajasthan), Gurgaon, Narwana and Rewari participated in a poetic conclave held by the Rewari district unit of the Akhil Bharatiya Sahitya Parishad here recently.

While Dr Manoj Kaushik, District Education Officer (DEO), was the chief guest, Dr Indu Sharma, Associate professor at Dronacharya Government College, Gurgaon, presided over it.

The kavya goshthi commenced with a paean sung in the praise of Goddess Saraswati by noted lyricist Vipin Suneja.

While Dr Uma Shankar Yadav, RC Siddharth, Gopal Sharma, Mukut Agarwal, Ramesh Kaushik Anjan, RC Sharma, Mahesh Vaidya (all from Rewari), Shyam Sunder Yadav (Alwar), Indu Sharma (Gurgaon),Rajesh Kaushik ( Narwana) regaled the audience with their poetic compositions, eminent lyricist Vipin Suneja (Rewari) recited his ode depicting the yawning gap between the Diwali celebrations of the affluent and the underprivileged sections of society.

Similarly, noted Haryanavi poet Satyavir Naharia (Rewari) gave a graphic description of the fast-declining traditionally cherished rural civilisation in his rhymes whereas Ram Chander Rag, an eminent lyricist of Delhi, portrayed the playful activities and chaste pranks of childhood days in his verses.

A new edition of a monthly Hindi journal ‘ Shiksha and Dharam Sanskriti ‘ edited by Rajesh Kaushik (Narwana) was also released on the occasion by Dr Manoj Kaushik, District Education Officer (DEO) of Rewari.