Hisar, February 28
Former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal and the Congress are fighting it out on his home turf and as of now the scores are tied.

While Bhajan Lal on Sunday managed to woo former Congress MLA and onetime confidant Amir Chand Makkar of Hansi back to his fold, two Haryana Janhit Congress MLAs who jumped on to the Congress bandwagon - Vinod Bhayana and Satpal Sangwan - stormed into his pocketborough, Balsmand, to try and pose some challenge to his hold over the Adampur assembly segment.

That Makkar was about to say goodbye to the Congress was apparent after Vinod Bhayana joined the party. But, it would happen so early was surprising. Makkar’s entry into the HJC is a shot in the arm for the fledgling political outfit still smarting under the defection of five legislators to the Congress.

Makkar has represented the Hansi Assembly segment thrice. His entry coincides with the statewide yatra of HJC supremo Kuldip Bishnoi. The virulent attack he is making on the Congress, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and the five legislators who deserted him has provoked the Congress to direct the five defectors to counter the Bishnoi assault.

Cabinet Minister Satpal Sangwan and Chief Parliamentary Secretary Vinod Bhayana thus held a public meeting at Balsmand on Sunday. It served no purpose other than to irritate the Bhajan Lal clan. The tit-for- tat exercise was ostensibly organised by two youths who had quit the HJC recently.

Both Sangwan and Bhayana are rank outsiders for Adampur. Neither of them commands any influence over the voters. Compared to Bhajan Lal, both outsiders are political pygmies. Under the circumstances, their anti Bhajan Lal and Kuldip Bishnoi rants carried little weight and fooled none.

Their main justification for defecting to the Congress was that Bishnoi wanted to strike a Rs 400-crore deal with Hooda for taking his flock to the Congress. They challenged Bishnoi to test his popularity by quitting the Adampur seat and seeking a repoll.

The duo claimed there was little chance of their disqualification on grounds of defection as they had split the party by a two-thirds majority. Had Bhayana and Sangwan said this in their own constituencies, it would make some sense. But, what purpose did this serve in the constituency of Bishnoi, is hard to understand.

Nevertheless, the two Sunday happenings are sure to intensify the war Bhajan Lal and the Congress are fighting.

Yamunanagar, February 28
M.Phil candidates have been hit hard by the decision of the state government notifying that only NET qualified or Ph.D degree holders or those registered till June 30, 2009 for pursuing Ph.D, are eligible to apply for the posts of assistant professor and lecturer in colleges and universities of the state.

In 2006, UGC had exempted M.Phil candidates from qualifying NET. From 2006 to 2009, M.Phil degree holders were selected in different colleges and universities of the state and were appointed assistant professor. Parents of a number of researchers said they had spent a huge amount taken from banks and financiers in the education of their wards and were in debt.

Surinder Singh and Gurjit Kaur, residents of Jagadhari, and parents of one of the candidates rued the fact that borrowing a huge amount from banks on a high rate of interest just to let their daughters get M.Phil degree, would not help their daughters’ cause after this notification. They demanded that MPhil degrees till June 2009 should be considered for the post. They further said the present notification was in contravention of the UGC notification of 2006. The aspiring lecturers and researchers expressed resentment against the government as the notification deprived them of their right to equality as enshrined in the Constitution.

The parents of the aspirants said an age bar of 40 years for college lecturership was unjustified as there was no such age limit for appointment in the university system.

Gurgaon, February 28
In compliance with the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the Gurgaon district administration has banned new construction in the notified area of 900 m around the local ammunition depot henceforth.

“If any new construction is found to be taking place in the said area, it will be instantly demolished and an FIR registered against the violators,” asserted Deputy Commissioner PC Meena, who also directed the police to take prompt action on the FIRs so registered.

Addressing a meeting of the officials concerned of different departments at his office recently, Meena said as of now, the new constructions in the notified area had been prohibited, while the ongoing constructions would be stopped and demolished.

The Deputy Commissioner maintained that the government departments would also not take up development works in such unauthorised habitations. He directed the authorities of the power utilities not to issue any electricity connection in the unauthorised areas of the district.

“Similarly, the basic amenities like drinking water, sewerage and storm water drainage will also not be provided in the unauthorised areas,” Meena stressed, pointing out that any official who violates these directions will be held responsible for the same. He directed the hydrologist not to issue licence or permit for digging of borewells anywhere in the district.

The Deputy Commissioner constituted a joint patrolling team to check the illegal constructions in the notified area. The team comprises representatives of the local HUDA administrator, DCP West, SDM, Chief Engineer (Enforcement) of the Municipal Corporation Gurgaon, DTP (Enforcement), Executive Engineer of the PWD (B&R) and the Director, Air Force Station.

Meena also directed the officials concerned to abide by the guidelines and avoid encroachments around the Air Force Station at Arjungarh.

Kurukshetra, February 28
The local Kaleshwar Temple Trust recently donated a unique stone idol of Lord Kuber to Srikrishna Museum, here.

Rajesh Purohit, deputy director of the museum, said, “The idol belongs to the Pratihara dynasty of the ninth century that ruled here. The inscription of Mahendrapala is a testimony to the fact. Kuber’s wife, Riddhi, representing the journey of life, is shown on his left side”.

“In the right hand, Kuber is holding a ratna-patra (jewel-pot) and ball-like objects perhaps ‘modak’ or sweetmeat ball in the left. Nidhi treasures, Padma and Shankha, stand beside him in human form with their heads emerging from a lotus and a conch, respectively. The Agni Purana states that Kubera should be installed in temples as seated on a goat, and with a club in his hand”.

“Kubera is often depicted as a dwarf having fair complexion and a big belly. He may also carry a sheaf of jewels or a mongoose. He is described as the embodiment of both artha (wealth/prosperity/glory). Kubera’s left eye is yellow”.

The idol has been found from an area close to Kubera tirtha of Kurukshetra on the banks of the Saraswati, which used to flow on the northern side of Kuruksheta.

“Unlike other ferocious images of Yaksharaj Kuber, the idol found recently is a sober and beautifully carved image. It seems that the idol had been in water for a considerable time and needs to be preserved,” he added.

Sirsa, February 28
Several activists of the Lal Jhanda Bhatha Mazdoor Union, an association representing brick-kiln labourers, have been booked for rioting, wrongful restraint and causing damage by mischief even as the brick kiln owners as well as the labourers proceeded on an indefinite strike from Friday.

While the brick-kiln owners have accused the leaders of the union of creating trouble, the association leaders allege that the owners are exploiting the labourers.

Bhim Jhunthra, president of the District Sirsa Brick Kiln Owners, who had lodged an FIR under Sections 147, 148, 310 and 427 of the IPC against union activists Kewal, Pappu, Bansi, Dewan and some other unidentified labourers, alleged that these activists came to his kiln on Thursday and damaged over 50,000 unbaked bricks lying there.

He said the kiln owners had already been paying more wages than what was prescribed by the Haryana government, but the union activists terrorised them and instigated the labourers.

Jhunthra said the brick kiln owners would remain on strike till the authorities assured them that there would be no interference from the union activists.The brick kiln owners of Fatehabad district have also gone on strike against the “unreasonable demands” of the Lal Jhanda Bhatha Mazdoor Union.

Vijay Dhukra, district secretary of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), however, alleged that the brick kiln owners had been exploiting the workers and had not been paying them their real wages. He said the union had given a memorandum to the authorities demanding wages of Rs 400 per thousand for making of kutcha bricks and corresponding rise in wages for other jobs in the kilns. Dhukra alleged that despite the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the brick kiln owners had not been cooperating with the authorities in the preparation of below poverty line (BPL) cards for the labourers.

He further alleged that the owners were not even ready to recognise the labourers as their workers in official matters and hence the issue of their BPL cards was hanging fire. He said the labourers would remain on strike till their demands were met.

Yamunanagar, February 28
Around 50 per cent of the country’s national income is being generated through the service sector. It has superseded industrial and primary or the agriculture sector in the last decade.

This was stated by Dr MK Sehgal, chairman, Shree Siddhivinayak Group of Institutions, Bilaspur, on the second day of a management development programme being organised on the campus.

“For the strategic economic development of our country, the first generation entrepreneurs should work on think global, act local strategy,” he said while focusing on the service sector.

He said putting theory into practice was the key to entrepreneurship development. He cited examples of many successful entrepreneurs from Yamunanagar.

JC Handa, a management consultant, highlighted the growth in exports through concentrated research and development. He told participants that with a view to promoting exports and enlarging the hi-tech export basket, the Export Import (EXIM) Bank was all set to roll out a plethora of initiatives.

A scheme has already been launched on pilot basis in areas like pharmaceuticals, textiles and plastics engineering because bank finance in research and development in these areas are not forthcoming, he said, adding that small and medium enterprises would be provided ecosystems to achieve their business goals.

Vinay Aggarwal from MSME Development Institute, Karnal, focused on team building and leadership for getting better results. He also informed about government schemes for allotting plots and excise exemption, capital market subsidy and single window clearance system.

Karnal, February 28
SGPC senior vice-president Raghujeet Singh Virk has questioned the dubious role of the Centre and the Haryana government during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, especially in the cases of the massacre of 32 Sikhs in Hondh-Chillar village in Rewari, and reiterated the demand for a high-level judicial probe into the incident.

“The investigations made by the SGPC team that visited the village revealed that the people who attacked the innocent Sikh families were equipped with arms and came in a Haryana Roadways bus and a truck. How the state transport bus was allowed to be used by rioters must be explained,” he said.

Asserting that both the Centre and Haryana had the Congress governments in November 1984 when anti-Sikh riots took place, Virk said culprits must be identified and all those who connived in the heinous act or abetted the crime must be brought to justice.

Maintaining that the role of the police was partisan, he said at least 32 people had died but the FIR registered in the local police station mentioned only 22 persons and even their identity was not known.

Virk said the SGPC on its part was committed to provide all possible help to the families of the victims and would do whatever was possible, but the perpetrators of the crime must be punished to instill confidence among Sikhs.

He said the demand for the probe would be raised at all forums and the SGPC would not rest till justice was given to the victims.

Kaithal, February 28
Haryana Lokayukta Justice Pritam Pal while addressing the district officials, mediapersons, advocates and judicial officers in separate meetings gave a call to eradicate corruption from society. He said undue delay with ulterior motives in disposing of official work and causing harassment to common man visiting government offices should not be tolerated and any official found guilty would have to face action.

Addressing officials in mini-secretariat hall, Justice Pritam Pal, who was on his first visit to the district recently, said the appointment of Lokayukata had been made to strengthen the democratic system and ensure transparency in functioning of different organs of the government.

Justice Pritam Pal said anyone could file complaint with his office supported by an attested affidavit and a judicial stamp worth Rs 1000 affixed on the complaint. In exceptional cases, the fee could be waived by him on a separate application by the complainant. But he warned that following inquiry if any complaint was found to be false the complainant would face legal action.

Yamunanagar, February 28
A national symposium-cum-workshop on “Excellence through quality in higher education: Measures for the sustenance and enhancement” was organised at the local Guru Nanak Khalsa College recently.

Ramesh Verma, deputy commissioner, Palwal, was the chief guest.

Speaking on the occasion, he put emphasis on the current scenario of education. Verma, also a former student of Guru Nanak Khalsa College, shared his experience as a student.

He advocated that one should not compromise with the quality of the education and knowledge. According to him, a teacher is the only person who has the power to transform innocent children into successful human beings.

Bhupinder Singh Jauhar, chairman of the Guru Nanak Khalsa Institutes, congratulated the staff and the management for conducting the seminar. He said, “We too have to work hard in the field of education as per the guidance of teachers and lecturers”. Dr Verinder Kaur, principal, thanked the chief guest and shared the achievements of the college.

Dr PK Malik, an assistant professor, focused on the quality and excellence for the development of any organisation. He said quality circles developed humanity and were necessary in every field.

Prof SD Vashishtha of MD University, Prof RK Mittal of Kurukshetra University, Prof HL Verma of GJ University, Hisar, also addressed the gathering.

Sonepat, February 28
A three-member delegation from the UK, comprising Prof Ann Priest, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Nottingham Trent University, Sandra Hollis, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (International and development services), Anglia Ruskin University and Prof Mariann Baker, Head of International Relations, St. Marry University College, Twikenham, UK, recently visited BPS Mahila Vishwavidyalaya, Khanpur Kalan.

The delegates formed a part of the team of the officials from various universities in the UK that is visiting India as part of the joint operation of the India-UK Higher Education Leadership Development Programme organised jointly by the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development and the British High Commission under an MoU.

The delegation was welcomed by vice-chancellor Dr Pankja Mittal in the University Conference Hall. Pro-vice-chancellor Balbir Kaur expressed the desire of BPS Mahila Vishwavidyalaya entering into collaboration with UK universities which should benefit the educational institutions of both the countries.

The meeting was attended by the deans and heads of various departments and institutions. This was followed by a presentation by Prof Kapil Kapoor, visiting professor, Department of English, who elaborated on the university's ambitious project of Centre of Society-University Interface and Research which aims at connecting the rural potential to the intellect of the institutions.

Manju Pawar gave a presentation on the Department of Social Work and highlighted the department's commitment towards uplifting the lives of the rural people in the vicinity of the university. Prof PK Hari gave a presentation on fashion technology showcasing various specialities of different states of the country.

Dr Sanket Vij gave a presentation on the School of Management Studies which was followed by a discussion on the possible areas of collaboration.

The delegation then went around the campus and was impressed by the ambience surrounding the area. The serenity and the pollution-free atmosphere impressed them the most. The delegation wrapped up its trip to the university with a visit to the Live Museum in the university called "Mera Gaon" which gave them a glimpse into the culture and the life of Haryana.

The delegation expressed its pleasure regarding the visit and expressed confidence that the universities in the UK would be glad to associate with BPS Mahila Vishwavidyalaya for joint projects and ventures.

Chandigarh, February 28
The state government has invited applications from SC girl students for giving them scholarships under the Annusuchit Jati Chhattraa Uch Shiksha Protsahan Yojna for 2010-11.

A spokesman for the Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes Department said applications had been invited from SC girl students studying in undergraduate or postgraduate classes in the science, commerce and professional courses in private aided or unaided and government institutions or colleges or universities which were not covered under the state plan schemes launched by the Higher Education or Technical Education Departments.

The main objective of the scheme is to arrest the dropout rate of SC girl students and to encourage them to pursue higher education after the 10 plus 2 class and also to bridge the gap of the adverse female sex ratio.

Under the scheme the hostellers studying for diploma in technical or professional courses after 10 plus 2 are entitled to get a scholarship of Rs 7000 and non-hosteller Rs 5000; hosteller students studying in graduation in the commerce and science streams are given Rs 9000 and non-hosteller of this category Rs 7000.

Similarly, hosteller students studying in graduation in technical or professional courses were given a scholarship of Rs 11000 and non-hosteller Rs 9000 and hosteller students studying in postgraduation in commerce or science courses were given Rs 12,000 and non-hosteller Rs 10000, he added.

The spokesman said that the hosteller students studying in postgraduation in technical or professional courses were given a scholarship of Rs 14000 and non-hosteller Rs 12000.

He said SC girl students, who were bona fide residents of Haryana and whose annual family income was above Rs 1 lakh but less than Rs 2.40 lakh were eligible for scholarship under the scheme. The students who were awarded scholarship under the scheme would not be entitled to get scholarship under any other scheme except for meritorious scholarship or incentive. Similarly, the students who avail scholarship under the Government of India “post-matric scholarship scheme for SC students” or any other scheme would not be eligible to get benefit under the scheme.

He said the eligible students should submit their applications in the prescribed proforma along with all relevant documents to the head of the institution concerned so that the same could be forwarded to the District Welfare Officer concerned by March 10, 2011. Those who had already applied earlier under the scheme were not required to apply again.

Kurukshetra, February 28
The women cell of Markanda National College, Shahabad-Markanda, organised rangoli, modelling and musical chair competitions at its premises, 25 km from here, recently.

Sumita Roy, deputy general manager and head of circle office, Punjab National Bank, Kurukshetra, was the chief guest on the occasion.

After inaugurating the competitions, Roy called upon the girls to not to depend upon reservation only, but to work hard for achieving success in all walks of life.

She also motivated girl students to go for jobs after completing their education and become financially self-reliant in life.

Earlier, Dr Vinay Malhotra, principal of the college, welcomed the chief guest and apprised her of the activities of the women cell.

Shalini Sharma, Manju Gupta and Sadhna Kohli highlighted the aims and objectives of the women cell of the college. Roy also gave away prizes to the winners.

The winners:

Rangoli (girls): 1 - Meenakshi; 2 - Ritu Chhahal; and 3 - Kavita and Gaurav

Modelling (boys): 1 - Sumit; 2 - Ranjit; and 3 - Munish

Modelling (girls): 1 - Ritu Chhahal; 2 - Santosh Saini; 3 - Kavita

Muscial Chair (girls): 1 - Meenakshi; 2 - Manish; and 3 - Puneet.

Karnal, February 28
Dr Avtar Singh, principal scientist at NDRI, has been bestowed with the Dr D. Sundaresan Award on the occasion of the 9th Convocation of National Dairy Research Institute (Deemed University), Karnal, by Padam Bhushan, renowned agricultural scientist Dr RB Singh, president, National Academy of Animal Sciences, New Delhi, for his outstanding research contribution in the field of Animal Genetics and Breeding. The award carries commendation certificate, citation and cash prize of Rs 10,000.

Dr Singh contributed significantly to the development of breed descriptors of Kherigargh and Ponwar breeds of indigenous cattle, development of computer-simulated excel-based software for the analysis of techno-economic feasibility of dairy farming, development of new criterion for selection of young dairy Karan Fries bulls, molecular characterisation of SRY (sex determining region of Y chromosome) gene in Murrah buffaloes and leptin gene in Yak (Bos grunniens).

Dr Avtar has published over 75 research papers/reviews in journals of national and international repute and two books "Pashu Anuvanshiki Ke Sidhant" published by the Haryana Sahitya Academy, Chandigarh, and "Dairy Farming" published by the Directorate of Information and Publications of Agriculture (DIPA), the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi.

As a resource person, he contributed to the preparation of "Country Report on Animal Genetic Resources" published by the FAO, Rome.

Dr Avtar has already been conferred with the "Bharat Excellence Award - 2006" and the "Rising Personality of India Award - 2007" for overall achievements in the field of Animal Genetics and Breeding.

He has won several Best Paper Awards, Best Poster Awards and Best Paper Presentation Awards. He has the honour to be appointed to the "Research Board of Advisors" by the American Biographical Institute, North Carolina, USA, since 2001.

Kurukshetra, February 28
Eminent economist and first ICCR Chairman of Indian economy in South Korea at the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS), Seoul, Prof Goel has suggested the replacement of “mid-day” meals in schools with “breakfast meals” for better concentration of students while studying in schools.

“Although the Mid-Day Meal Scheme has shown some results in arresting the dropout rate in schools, there is an economic logic to replace it by “breakfast meals” as it leads to better efficiency and productivity of any individual,” Prof. Goel said before leaving for Seoul.

Prof Goel said he was being served free breakfast at HUFS, Seoul, with the same menu consisting of Korean carrots cut into matchsticks during the five working days throughout his stay and Korean example should be a good lesson for India.

Observing that there was no concept of free lunch in economics as free rider was a problem, bringing inefficiencies and wastage of resources, Goel said there was a strong case for serving breakfast in educational institutions for staff, which could certainly ensure attendance at 9 AM on all working days.

Pleading for the creation of human resource development (HRD) ministries in the states for effective implementation and coordination of HRD programmes, he said it was necessary as education was on the concurrent list but no state in India had thought of it so far. Let Haryana take a lead in this direction and become the first in showing concern for knowledge economy, he added.