Sirsa, April 26
Amid allegations of some “much sought-after” varieties of Bt cottonseed being sold on the black market, hundreds of farmers today thronged the outlets where the Haryana Seed Development Corporation (HSDC) distributed seed to farmers in the district.

Long queues of farmers were seen outside two outlets in Sirsa town and one each in Kalanwali, Dabwali and Ellenabad, where the HSDC authorities sold packets of BG II 6488 variety of Bt cottonseed, manufactured by Shriram Bioseeds, to the farmers.

The farmers started queuing up in front of the outlets since early morning and the police had a tough time controlling them.

Hot conditions made the things worse for farmers, some of whom gave up amid a reported exchange of blows for their turn.

Two farmers fainted in the stampede-like situation, but were later taken out of the crowd and given first aid.

The HSDC authorities gave two packets of seeds to each farmer at the control price of Rs 1,000 per packet after seeing their ration card.

Ravi Punia, Joint Director (Cotton), Agriculture Department, Haryana, said the HSDC had received 17,000 packets of BG II 6488 Bt cottonseed.

“The authorities distributed 8,500 packets at two outlets in Sirsa, 3,000 at Kalanwali, 3,000 at Ellenabad and 2,500 at Dabwali,” Punia added. 

Chandigarh, April 26
The state government has modified the pay structure of certain categories of its employees.

As per a notification, senior and junior Braille, music, science, maths, general teacher and Braille-cum-typing instructor in Social Justice and Empowerment Department (Government Blind School, Panipat) will now get a grade pay of Rs 4600 instead of Rs 3600 in the pay scale of Rs 9300-34800 with effect from January 1, 2006 (notional) and with effect from April 1, 2010 (actual). Craft sighted teacher in the same department will get a grade pay of Rs 4200 instead of Rs 3600 in the pay scale of Rs 9300-34800 with effect from January 1, 2006 (notional) and with effect from April 1,2010 (actual).

The Joint Controller, Food, Accounts, in the Food and Supplies Department will get a grade pay of Rs 8000 in the pay scale of Rs 13500-17250. The Deputy Director (as a personal measure to present incumbent OP Pasricha) in the Treasuries and Accounts Department will get a grade pay of Rs.6000 in the pay band 3.

The Senior Town Planner in the Town and Country Planning Department will get a grade pay of Rs 8700 in the pay scale of Rs.37400-67000. The Assistant Town Planner would get a grade pay of Rs.5400 in the pay scale of Rs.15600-39100 at the entry level. After five years of regular satisfactory service as ATP, they would be eligible to get a grade pay of Rs.6000 in the same pay band and after 11 years of regular satisfactory service, Rs.7600 as a grade pay in the same pay band would be admissible to them. It would be limited to 25 per cent of the total cadre posts in the categories of ATP, DTP and STP. After 17 years of regular satisfactory service after entry as ATP and limited to 20 per cent of the total cadre posts in the categories of ATP,DTP and STP, the revised pay scale would be Rs 37400-67000) with a revised grade pay of Rs 8700. 

Yamunanagar, April 26
Deputy Commissioner Ashok Sangwan has directed the Subdivisional Magistrate of Bilaspur to ensure safe passage for tractor-trailers of the Stone Crusher Owners Association from Uttar Pradesh through the border near Laakar village.

The Deputy Commissioner told The Tribune here today that the Stone Crusher Owners Association had complained to him that residents of nearly a dozen villages were not allowing the movement of tractor-trailers carrying sand from Uttar Pradesh to Haryana. These villages were located in Hayana on the border with UP.

The Deputy Commissioner said in view of frequent clashes between crusher owners and villagers, he had promulgated ban orders, which expired last month.

Sanjeev Chaudhary, president of the Stone Crusher Owners Association, Yamunanagar, today said a deputation of the association had met Union Minister Kumari Selja on April 23 in this connection. She had promised that their problem would be sorted out in a couple of days. He alleged that even after four days of her assurance, the administration had failed to find a solution to this problem.

He alleged that their business had been badly affected by the villagers’ unauthorised action.

Following a ban on sand mining in Haryana, a large number of screening plants had shifted their base to Uttar Pradesh, just across the Haryana border. 

Karnal, April 26
With a mission to ensure that no child dies of cancer due to lack of money, a women’s car rally, organised by Cankids, an NGO, today reached Sainik School, Kunjpura, here.

The president of Cankids, cancer survivor Poonam Bagai, said 70 to 90 per cent of childhood cancer was curable. However, in India 70 to 90 per cent of the kids diagnosed with cancer died due to lack of money for treatment. “Apart from making people aware of the dreadful disease, we are also raising funds for the treatment of kids suffering from cancer,” she added.

Spreading the message, “childhood cancer is curable”, 22 women, including housewives and professionals, would drive to parts of Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.

Members of the rally gave a presentation, highlighting the best possible treatment and care for cancer patients as well as social, economic and emotional support that can be provided to them.

Ambala, April 26
Education Minister Geeta Bhukkal has announced that the state government has undertaken measures to revamp technical education in Haryana and the infrastructure in industrial training institutes (ITIs) would be upgraded.

Speaking at the inauguration of a state-level exhibition of ITIs at Ambala City yesterday, Bhukkal said the institutes played a pivotal role in imparting technical training to students to prepare them for self-employment.

The minister disclosed that there were 25,856 students in 76 ITIs in the state. She said special kits were made available to girls students undergoing training at these institutes and 30 per cent seats had been reserved for women.

Bhukkal said Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had assured her that funds would not be a constraint for upgrading infrastructure at these institutes.

Sonepat, April 26
“Haryana, despite being one of the smaller states of the country, has become an educational hub of North India and is contributing immensely to promoting technological, engineering and allied technical education for the youth of the entire country,” said Haryana Governor Jagannath Pahadia while addressing the first annual convocation of the Shri Balwant Institute of Technology last evening.

Stressing that technical and professional education was a major component in human resource development with a potential to provide better services to improve the quality of life, the Governor said the technical institutes in the state were established with a vision to develop centres of excellence for value-based engineering education and research comparable with the best in the world.

The Governor reminded students that Indian scientists and engineers had already gained a position of eminence in the world and urged the students to maintain this tradition.

Degrees were conferred on 200 students of the institute by the Vice-Chancellor of the Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram University of Science and Technology, Murthal, HS Chahal.

Five meritorious students of the institute - Chitra, Enna, Minakshi, Vinay and Amit - were honoured with the gold medal, a cash prize and commendation certificates by the Governor.

Chandigarh, April 26
The state government will launch a special drive to fill the backlog of posts reserved for the blind by the end of 2011.

This decision was taken at a meeting of the Committee on Employment for Blind Persons chaired by Chief Secretary Urvashi Gulati here.

As many as 290 posts reserved for visually challenged persons were lying vacant in various departments, boards and corporations of the state government. It was also decided that the statutory recruiting bodies like the Haryana Public Service Commission and the Staff Selection Commission Committee would be urged to speedily fill the backlog of posts reserved for the blind. 

Rohtak, April 26
Functioning at the emergency and OPD of the PGIMS remained paralysed for the second day today as the hospital authorities and the protesting doctors failed to resolve the matter.

The Resident Doctors Association (RDA) have been seeking adequate security for the doctors in the causality ward and sacking of the Medical Superintendent and the security officer of the largest government-run medical institute and hospital in the state.

Hundreds of patients and their attendants had to turn to private clinics in view of the strike at the PGIMS visited by over 2500 patients daily.

Dr SS Sangwan, Vice-Chancellor of Pt BDS Health University, said the strike was likely to called off later in the day today following an assurance to resident doctors on their demand. Meanwhile, the striking doctors continued their dharna outside the office of the Director of the institute in support of their demands.

The doctors’ strike resulted in severe inconvenience to hundreds of patients who could not get medical attention. A teenaged girl, who reportedly fell from a moving train near Sonepat this morning and was admitted to the hospital, could not get due care. However, the hospital authorities claimed that the girl having a serious head injury had been provided proper care and treatment. The girl, stated to be a sportsperson, was shifted to the emergency ward after she was found lying adjacent to the rail track this morning in a critical state. She is still unconscious. 

Chandigarh, April 26
Private schools in Haryana are reluctant to earmark 25 per cent seats for students belonging to the economically weaker sections as has been made mandatory by the Haryana School Education Rules, 2009.

Rule 134-A of these rules say that the recognised private schools “shall reserve 25 per cent seats for meritorious students belonging to the economically weaker sections. The school shall charge the same fee from these students as in government schools.”

The private schools do not have much problem in admitting 25 per cent students of the economic weaker sections up to class VIII because their fee is reimbursed by the state government as provided in the Right to Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009.

However, the schools feel constrained to deny admission to meritorious students belonging to the economically weaker sections in classes IX, X, XI and XII. The reason: “There is no provision for reimbursement of fee of students of these classes in the 2009 Act.

The private schools have moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court also for redressal of their grievance.

A Rohtak-based voluntary organisation, “2+5 Mudde Janandolan”, through its convener Satvir Singh, has also joined the issue in the High Court. Satvir Singh, an advocate, alleges that the private schools have not made any meaningful effort to take on their rolls students of the economically weaker sections to the extent of 25 per cent of their capacity.

Satvir Singh has been leading activists of his organization in staging dharnas outside the offices of the District Education Officers at various district headquarters these days to press his demand for admission to economically weaker students.

The Director, Secondary Education, Haryana, has also written to all District Education Officers and District Elementary Education Officers to ensure that Rule 134-A of the Haryana School Education Rules, 2009, is implemented in letter and in spirit. He has sought a report from them in this regard by May 11.

While considering the writ petition of the private schools, the High Court said the issue of reimbursement of the fee of students of the economically weaker sections admitted in Classes IX, X, XI and XII could be considered only after the details of such students admitted to these classes was available after the last date of admission. The court has told the schools to furnish the details before the court. The court would take up the case for further hearing on May 19. 

Sirsa, April 26
Property dealers of the district are up in arms against the authorities concerned over their efforts to bring the dealers under the Haryana Regulation of Property Dealers and Consultants Act, 2008.

The property dealers, who find the provisions of the Act too cumbersome, have decided to oppose the efforts of the authorities in this regard. Krishan Bathla, a convener of the opposition movement of the property dealers, alleged that the authorities had been harassing them in the name of this Act.

He said a meeting of the dealers have been convened for April 4. Registration under the Act has been mandatory for all property dealers in Haryana.

However, the property dealers allege that the registration fee of Rs 25,000 provided under the Act for individuals was too heavy and was not affordable for many of them, who eked out a living on commission through small land deals.

According to official sources, there are over 300 property dealers in Sirsa town and despite notices served to them, merely 10 of them have registered them under the Act. 

Chandigarh, April 26
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has granted bail to Deveshwar Dayal, a senior HCS officer, sentenced to five years rigorous imprisonment after being held guilty in October last by a Karnal court in a corruption, cheating and forgery case.

Dayal contended in his petition that “the complainant did not support the prosecution version and deposed that he had never paid the amount to any authority”.

Bedi added: “It is not a trap case, where the accused is caught red-handed. So, in the case the complainant did not support the prosecution case, there is no other evidence against him”.

Bedi further claimed the whole prosecution case was based upon a document, which had not been exhibited. Hence, it ccould not be taken on record as evidence. “So, conviction cannot be on the basis of inadmissible evidence”.

He concluded: “The appellant has undergone more than two-and-a-half months of sentence and the final disposal of the present appeal will take considerable time….Under these circumstances, it is prayed the substantive sentence of the applicant Deveshwar Dayal may kindly be suspended and he may be released on bail during the pendency of the present appeal”.

Fatehabad, April 26
Irate villagers blocked vehicular traffic on the Ratia-Bhuna road near Chando alleging an erratic supply of power to their village.

Led by their sarpanch, Som Nath, the villagers alleged that they had given land for a power substation in the village on the promise by the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam that the village would get 24-hour power supply.

However, power supply to the village, they alleged, had deteriorated.

The villagers alleged that power to the water works at the village was being supplied from Raipur substation of the nigam, which had aggravated their problems as were getting insufficient supply of drinking water due to erratic power supply.

They demanded that the village water works should be connected to the 31-KV power substation at Ratia.

While the police failed to pacify the angry villagers, they relented after an SDO of the DHBVN assured them that the authorities would soon prepare estimates for providing 24-hour power supply to the village.

The SDO also assured them that the power supply to the village waterworks would be improved.

Sirsa, April 26
A combine harvester fell into the Sirhind canal at the Lohgarh head near Dabwali town in this district today, in which two persons were feared killed.

Rescuers have so far been able to take out one body and retrieve the combine from the deep waters of the canal and efforts are on to locate the other victim.

According to BL Yadav, DSP, Dabwali, who is heading the rescue operations at the accident site, the combine fell into the canal when its steering developed a snag while taking an L-turn on the Lohgarh head of the canal.

Four persons, who were sitting on the combine, fell into the deep canal waters with the machine.

While two youths, Kala and Sukha, managed to swim to safety, the remaining two, Soni and Beant Singh, failed to do so. Rescue teams reached the accident site soon, as Dalbir Singh, a youth, following the combine on his motorcycle, informed the police.

The DSP said three cranes were pressed into service to retrieve the combine. Over 20 local divers searched for the bodies. By the evening, the divers had found the body of Beant Singh, while there was no clue of Soni yet. 

Faridabad, April 26
The police today claimed to have busted a call girl racket with the arrest of three persons, including a woman, in the Ballabgarh area near here.

Acting on a tip-off, the police raided Rajiv Gandhi Complex, a residential premises, in Sector 7. While it arrested two youths and a woman, the kingpin of the racket, Jungli, alias Himanshu, and another member of his gang managed to escape.

According to the police, the gang members are known “land-grabbers” and have a criminal record.