Jhajjar, June 2
The recent three incidents of major fire at Part-B of Industrial Modern Township (IMT) in Bahadurgarh town, claiming three lives within three consecutive days have yet against exposed not only inadequate firefighting measures being taken by owners of industrial units but also the apathetic attitude of the district authorities in getting rules and regulations implemented.

Over 2,000 factories are being run in Bahadurgarh and most of them lack safety measures, which is a leading cause of fire incidents in these units.

Significantly, the fire incidents are occurring frequently, but neither the district authorities are showing any interest in tightening the noose around the violators nor factory owners are adopting safety measures prescribed under the factory laws to avoid such incidents.

The authorities wake up only after an incident takes place and they subsequently launch a drive to beef up safety measures in the factories by constituting committees to nab the violators. But, the committees conduct surprise raids as a formality and such drives turn out to be mere eyewash and fizzle out soon as the owners again start violating the rules.

Notably, three persons, including two labourers, were charred to death in a devastating fire broke out in a silicon-manufacturing factory at the MIE late on Tuesday evening. The incident took place following a blast in an LPG cylinder that was being used for manufacturing works in the factory. Several other cylinders that kept in the factory at the time of incident also exploded one by one killing a man who was on its way out of the factory.

A day before the incident, fire broke out in a paint factory and destroyed machinery and raw material worth lakhs. Fire also engulfed a godown located beside the factory, damaging material kept there. As many as 12 fire tenders were pressed into service which took over five hours to bring the rising flames under control. All laboures proved lucky as they had left for their homes nearly an hour before the incident after finishing their duty in the evening.

As per reports, a majority of industrialists have installed firefighting systems in their factories just to fulfill legal requirements, but they hardly bother about the maintenance of the systems.

The law requires the factory owners to maintain firefighting systems at regular intervals and also impart training to their employees. But, most of the owners do not take interest in following it.

However, there is a provision in the law for checking safety measures in the factories at regular intervals and initiating stringent action against erring units as well, but the authorities don’t carry out raids.

Meanwhile, the district authorities have claimed to carry out surprise raids at regular intervals to check safety measures in the factories. All factories located in Bahadurgarh town had fire extinguishers and other safety components required as per rules, it added.

Chandigarh, June 2
Counselling will be provided to new mothers in three district hospitals of Haryana soon. The state Health Department has launched a new scheme, “Yashoda”, under which volunteers would be deployed in district hospitals of Ambala, Panchkula and Faridabad to counsel the new mothers on infant and young child feeding. At these hospitals, more than 3,000 deliveries take place every year.

Giving details of the project, chief parliamentary secretary Ram Kishan Fauji said these district hospitals had been selected as the annual deliveries in Ambala were 3,200 cases, in Panchkula 5,542 and in Faridabad 4,200 cases. The scheme would soon be extended to all other government hospitals for which the government had earmarked Rs 12.8 lakh.

For each district, eight “Yashoda” volunteers would be employed on three shifts of eight hours each, supported by a pair as reliever. There would be one “Yashoda” per five to six women in each shift. Each volunteer would be provided with an incentive of Rs 100 per delivery. This would enable one “Yashoda” to earn Rs 3,000 to Rs 3,500 per month.

The volunteers would work under the supervision of a trained supervisor who would be a retired nurse. She would be paid Rs 7,500 per month. All volunteers and supervisors would be given five-day training. Awareness seminars would also be conducted at the state and district levels for generating awareness regarding correct feeding practices and the Infant Milk Substitute (IMS) Act amongst doctors and health staff. A booklet in Hindi would also be provided to each mother undergoing counselling with information on the benefit of bathing, early breastfeeding, exclusive breastfeeding, immunisation, complimentary feeding after six months and intake of healthy foods.

The volunteers would facilitate the registration of mothers at the time of women reaching the hospital for delivery, act as companion during labour and delivery and also help in cleaning, wrapping and putting identification tag to newborn, care of newborn, recording of birth weight, support to mother, early initiation of breast feeding to ensure colostrums feeding, counselling for exclusive breast feeding and watch for postnatal risks to mother and new born. Besides, they would ensure that the newborn received zero dose polio and BCG before discharge.

Yamunanagar, June 2
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum dismissed a complaint against SBI Life Insurance on the ground that deficiency in service was not proved.

In her complaint, Shakuntla Devi had stated that her husband Arjun Dev got a policy from SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd, Sector-17, HUDA at Jagadhri in 2007 and the first premium of Rs 24,000 was paid. Her husband died on June 1, 2008, and despite completing all formalities, the claim was rejected on the ground that facts were concealed regarding ailment of diabetes and hypertension to the insured. The insurance company sent a cheque of Rs 12,767 as part payment under protest.

Shakuntla again approached the SBI Insurance and requested it to make the payment of balance insured amount, but the company did not pay any heed. Finding no other alternative, she sent a legal notice on January 27, 2009, which was not received by the company. She then approached the forum, alleging that there was a gross negligence and deficiency in service and prayed for directing the respondents to pay the insured amount along with interest till realisation and also pay compensation as well as litigation expenses.

Upon notice by the forum, the insurance company through its counsel appeared and filed written statement and stated that the life insurance contract was a contract of utmost good faith wherein the proponent was duty bound to disclose everything concerning his health, habits and other related matters, failing which the insurer had every right to repudiate the claim.

In this case, Arjun Dev committed a breach of the principle by suppressing the fact that he was suffering from hypertension and diabetes mellitus at the time of signing the proposal form. Hence, the complaint was not maintainable and prayed for dismissal of complaint.

The forum heared both the parties and went through the pleadings and perused the treatment chart of PGI where Arjun Dev remained admitted and died due to refractory septic shock type 2 diabetes mellitus. It got cleared from the record of PGI that the patient was suffering from diabetes mellitus for the past six years and hypertension for 10 years prior to the date of commencement of the policy.

Dina Nath Arora, president, Dr VK Sharma and Urmil Beniwal, members, of the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, in their order dismissed the complaint maintaining that there was no deficiency in service on part of SBI Life Insurance.

The major proposals received were from Bikaner Foods Pvt. Ltd. which has been sanctioned a loan of Rs 25 crore with an investment of Rs 52 crore for the manufacturing of food products in Rai Food Park, said Arora. Mars Mech-Tech Pvt. Ltd has been sanctioned a term loan of Rs 30 crore with an investment of Rs 37 crore for manufacturing building hardware at Mahilapur and sanitary ware at Bawal. A term loan of Rs 15 crore was sanctioned to BM Processing Industries for setting up a yarn dyeing unit at Bawal. Lakshmi Precession Screw Pvt. Ltd. has been sanctioned a loan of Rs 21 crore with an investment of Rs 37 crore for the manufacturing of fasteners at IMT Rohtak.

Among other firms, which were sanctioned term loans were Klassic Lamitex Pvt. Ltd., Ambika Knit Pvt. Ltd., Vineetaz Exports Pvt. Ltd., HB Electricals Pvt. Ltd., Trina Quebec Gears Ltd., Optus Hotels Pvt. Ltd., Palm Motors Pvt. Ltd., Joneja Bright Steels Pvt. Ltd., Logwell Forge Limited, Hind Hydraulics & Engineers, and Premsons Embroidery Pvt. Ltd. 

Kaithal, June 2
Rovers of the Haryana State Bharat Scouts and Guides Bhism Open Group are observing water conservation week from June 1 to June 7. Group leader Baksheesh Girdhar said during this period, rovers and scouts would go from house to house and tell the people about the importance of water conservation.

Darbara Nain, group patron and local municipal councillor, launched the campaign in HUDA sector 19-20 here recently.

The rovers and scouts went from house to house and distributed pamphlets. They told the residents about the judicious use of water and importance of its conservation.

Nain and other volunteers said: “Awareness among the people on this issue was very important as we have limited stock of underground water. Due to the overexploitation of underground water, water table is fast depleting which is a matter of concern and needs immediate attention of all of us. The existence of human life is impossible without water”.

Senior volunteer Tejinder Deep and his colleagues said each one of us should realise the gravity of situation arising due to the overexploitation of underground water and its wastage.

Mukesh Kumar, Mohit, Sohan Lal, Vikram Nain, Mohan Lal and Sunil Choudhry were among those who participated in this campaign.

Meanwhile, Rajeev Batish, XEN, Public Health, said special teams of the Public Health Department staff would be constituted to create awareness among the people about the conservation of water. He said such teams would reach people in the rural and urban areas to deliver the message of water conservation.

Ambala, June 2
Lt Gen Amarjeet Singh Chabbewal assumed the command of the Kharga Corps at Cantonment here.

Prior to his appointment, Chabbewal was Commandant, Armoured Corps Centre and School, Ahmednagar. The new General Officer Commanding (GOC) has a distinguished record of holding various appointments. He is also an alumnus of the Defence Service Staff College, Wellington, and Higher Command Course at Mhow. He has also held the appointment of Colonel General Staff of an actively involved Mountain Division in the Kargil Sector during the operation “Vijay”.

He has replaced Lt Gen Anil Chait, GOC, Kharga Corps, who is now transferred to Mhow as Commandant of Army War College after his 15 months’ tenure at Ambala Cantonment.

Sonepat, June 2
The Training and Placement wing of the Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram University of Science and Technology, Murthal, organised its third appointment letter distribution function recently. HS Chahal, vice-chancellor of the university, distributed placement letters among 315 students of different streams in the university.

Speaking on the occasion, Chahal said in the prevailing scenario and in the new emerging situations, there were plenty of opportunities for youths, but for achieving success one has to go through tough competitions. He said there was no shortcut to success except hard work and dedication.

For bringing all-round personality development of the students of technical and engineering streams, the vice-chancellor said the university was planning to start short-term courses in personality development and communication skills. He exhorted the students to come true to the expectations of their wards as well as of society and the nation.

RK Arora, registrar of the university, congratulated the students on their achievement.

TPO Dr Virender Ahlawat said out of the 372 students, as many as 48 students of computer science and engineering, 44 students of electrical engineering, 52 of electronics and communication engineering, 55 of mechanical engineering, 88 of B.Tech, 25 of chemical engineering and eight students of business management from the university got placement during 2010-11 in different institutions. Besides, as many as 54 students of MBS, M.Sc and B.Arch got placement with an annual package ranging from Rs 3.54 lakh to Rs 12 lakh, he added.

Dr MS Dhankhar, controller of examination, and chairmen of different departments of the university were also present on the occasion.

Kurukshetra, June 2
As many as 18 students were selected during a placement drive organised by the Kurukshetra Institute of Technology and Management (KITM), 8 Km from here, recently.

According to Mohit Gupta, public relations officer, KITM, 18 students got selected by Achievers Business Corporate and spot offer letters were given to the selected students.

Another 10 students from the IT branch were selected, whereas 4 each students from computer science and engineering (CSE) as well as electronics and communication engineering (ECE) were offered jobs.

Apart from this, a written test was organised on the KITM campus by Icon Controls Pvt. Ltd., Noida, for the students of electronics and communication engineering in which students from colleges like Haryana College of Engineering, Jagadhari, and Maharshi Markandeshwar Engineering College, Mullana, along with the host KITM, Kurukshetra, participated.

About 60 students appeared in the test, out of which 48 were shortlisted for group discussion. The successful students will be called for an interview by the company at its office in Noida shortly.

Director-principal Dr PJ George and managing director Sudarshan Aggarwal congratulated the students on this achievement.

Ambala, June 2
An annual prize distribution 
function was organised at PKR Jain Vatika, Ambala City, here recently.

AD Gandhi, a social activist, was the chief guest. The function launched with “Navkar Mantra” to spread a wave of God’s blessing on the school campus.

President of the management committee Bharat Bhushan Jain congratulated the students who got prizes in the function. He asked students to keep honing their skills to attain their goals.

The chief guest, while distributing prizes, said schools should involve students in various games apart from their regular studies.

Principal Uma Sharma briefed the achievements of the school. A colourful cultural show was also organised on the occasion.

Kurukshetra, June 2
To sensitise law enforcers and people, a district-level capacity building workshop on tobacco control, organised by an NGO “AIDENT” with technical support from another NGO “HRIDAY”, was inaugurated by additional deputy commissioner Sumedha Kataria on the premises of the Panchayat Bhawan here recently.

Being extremely concerned and informed about the ever-growing tobacco epidemic in the state and the district, Kataria appreciated this initiative and promised to carry out this campaign as a mission.

Despite staff being overburdened, she urged all law enforcers to take this as a challenge and give their best. She promised the gathering that in the coming days, she would chalk out a concrete work plan to make the city free of this malice.

Birendra Kumar from AIDENT highlighted the broader points of this tobacco initiative, while Abhinav Bassi and Deepti Singh from HRIDAY explained various legal provisions of tobacco control laws.

Some of the best practices in tobacco control being implemented in other parts of the country were also shared with the people present on the occasion. Nodal officer Dr Yogendra, Tobacco Control for Kurukshetra, highlighted the need for effective implementation of tobacco control laws in the district.

He reiterated that there was an urgent need to curb the menace of tobacco and implement the provisions of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act with true spirit.

Representatives from various key government departments such as police, health, food and drug administration, transport, etc., along with several NGOs attended the workshop.

Rewari, June 2
Citizens, with a nationalistic bent of mind, participated in a conference held under the auspices of the Veer Savarkar Manch, a voluntary organisation, to commemorate Veer Savarkar’s Jayanti in the Bal Bhawan here recently.

While Himani Savarkar, granddaughter-in-law of late Veer Savarkar, was the chief guest, former state BJP chief Om Prakash Grover presided over it.

Stating that Veer Savarkar has become a perennial source of inspiration for nationalists in the country and abroad, Himani asserted that his life was completely dedicated to Hindi, Hindu and Hindustan.

She said while his vibrantly patriotic exploits had shaken the then British empire to its very foundation, he remained a champion of the cause of Dalits as well.

Narrating his soul-stirring memoirs, she lamented that the depreciation of the Hindi language in Hindustan, as per the assertions of Veer Savarkar, was responsible for the devaluation of the Indian culture.

Prior to this, Himani was accorded a rousing reception by the activists of the Veer Savarkar Manch led by its founder president Shri Niwas Shastri.

Describing Savarkar as the pride and prestige of India, Prof Ram Bilas Sharma, a former minister and the main speaker at the conference, regretted that while a celebrated revolutionary like Veer Savarkar, who scripted history during the British regime, had been pushed to the realm of obscurity, men like Afzal Guru and Kasab were being given a preferential treatment.

Simultaneously, two resolutions seeking the inclusion of Savarkar’s memoirs in school and college curriculum as well as the official consecration of the Cellular Jail of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, where Savarkar was kept in prison by the then British government, as a place of pilgrimage put forward by Hari Ram Arya, chairman of the Haryana Swatantrata Senani Samman Samiti were unanimously adopted at the conference.

Besides, national poet Saraswat Mohan Manishi paid homage in verses to the celebrated revolutionary.

Jhajjar, June 2
With the arrest of four youths, the police claimed to have solved a one-and-an-half-month-old case of looting wherein unidentified armed motorcyclists had looted Rs 12.50 lakh from employees of the Nirmal petrol filling station located on the outskirt of Dariyapur village on the Jhajjar-Badli Road here.

The police also recovered Rs 2.90 lakh, two Pulsar motorcycles worth Rs 1.40 lakh, pistols and live cartridges from the youths.

While interacting with mediapersons at his office here recently, Jhajjar SP Sourav Singh disclosed that the arrested youths included Naveen and Rahul of Badli village, Saveen of Dariyapur village and Ravinder of Delhi Gate in Jhajjar.

“As per the police investigation, six youths were involved in the robbery. Four have been arrested, while two others identified as Rahul alias Tinku of Bhapdauda village and Rahul of Dariyapur village are still absconding. The police team is carrying out simultaneous raids at their possible hideout and they will be nabbed soon,” said the SP, adding that all the accused were apprehended during the police checking being done by the CIA staff.

The youths were on two motorcycles when the CIA staff recovered illegal weapons from their passion during the checking. The youths, during the police interrogation, revealed that they had committed a loot of Rs 12.50 lakh from the employees of the Nirmal petrol filling station on April 18 last, said Sourav.

“Naveen is the kingpin of the gang and all the accused had assembled at Ravinder’s home after perpetrating the crime to share the looted amount. Later, the accused had purchased two Pulsar motorcycles from the same amount,” said the SP.

Three armed youths, wearing masks, had looted Rs 12.50 lakh at gunpoint from two employees - Surajmal and Om Prakash - of the Nirmal petrol filling station when they were going to Jhajjar city for depositing the cash in a bank. Om Prakash, who was riding pillion, was carrying the bag containing the cash. The masked youths, who were on a motorcycle, forced them to stop at gunpoint and fled from the spot after snatching the bag from Om Prakash. The police had filed a case against three unidentified youths at that time, but now it had been established that six youths were involved in the crime.

Faridabad, June 2
The industry here has made a strong pitch for a state-level industrial committee comprising of industrialists so that it could provide firsthand inputs relating to welfare and growth of the industry.

The industrialists also want that the proposed committee should hold quarterly meetings which must be presided over by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

The industry is of the strong view that though the present government is apparently in favour of further industrialisation of Faridabad, some of its policies and administrative decisions were out of step to take the growth of the sector to the higher level. It cites the recent withdrawal of concessions to industrial units with regard to supply of power.

The Faridabad Industry Association (FIA) had recently put forward the suggestion of setting up of the committee before the Chief Minister during an interaction between him and local industrialists recently.

According to SK Jain, president, FIA, the idea of the committee was not new. Such an arrangement, albeit at an informal level, was put in place during the initial days of the first stint of the Congress government in 2005. However, the arrangement was abandoned after being in practice for more than one year.

The FIA’s case was that recognised bodies of industrialists should be invited for the quarterly meetings of the committee. This would help the Chief Minister get feedback from the grass-roots level, which would further help the government have integrated and holistic developmental approach towards the industry.

Faridabad, June 2
Dr Satya Prakash Yadav, a noted urologist of the region, and his successful surgery on a patient to remove the “heaviest” mass of stones from his urinal bladder, find mention in this year’s Limica Book of Records.

Many in the field of medical science see the achievement of Dr Yadav, who is also the managing director, Pushpanjali Hospital (Gurgaon), as the growing prowess of Haryana in the field of medical and health care.

The citation published in the Limica Book of Records hails Dr Yadav for removing a mass of stones weighing 1.22 kg from the urinal bladder of Mahavir Singh, a resident of Saman village in Meham tehsil of Rohtak district. The surgery was conducted on February 1 last year at Pushpanjali Hospital.

The salient feature of the case is that Dr Yadav had conducted surgery on the patient in 1994 at Medical College and Hospital, Rohtak, for the first time to cure him of cancer in his urinal bladder. The doctor had conducted the surgery vide orthotopic method, which was considered a rarity in medical field at that time in the country. The patient’s bladder was removed and a new one was formed from his intestine and anastomosis done with normal urethra. In ordinary parlance, the new bladder was created out of organic materials from the patient’s intestine and connected with urinary system of his body.

As per the available records, following installation of totally new bladder in his body, the patient was passing urine through his normal urethra and his physical functions were normal till the time he reported of some discomfort. Diagnosis by the doctor revealed formation of mass of multiple stones in the bladder.

The removal of the mass of stones from patient’s body drew the attention of the Limica Book of Records as the chunk was the “biggest” and “heaviest” ever removed from urinary bladder of a person. Earlier, the maximum weight of the mass of stones removed was 600 g in the country. At the international level, the heaviest was said to be 1126 g removed from a patient’s bladder in a similar situation at Derbrecen’s Kenezy Hospital (Israeil).

A native of Rewari district, Dr Yadav is a member of several international medico organisations, including the Society Internationale D’ Urologie (SIU), Canada. He also has several awards, including the Indira Gandhi Priyadarshini Award (2007) and WHO fellowship (1996) to his credit.

Ambala, June 2
With the efforts of students of Chaman Vatika, a newsletter “Scholastic Nerves” and a newspaper called “Scholars’ Scroll” was released during a programme here recently. These two are reflection of myriad colours and richness of vision with which a student views the world around him. In the newsletter and the newspaper, one will find articles, poems etc. penned down by students of the school. The typing, designing and complying of the newspaper will be done by students of the Editorial Board Club.

On the occasion, students also showcased their skills in an inter-house choreography competition. In this competition, a mix of traditional and modern dance styles was performed. The enthusiasm of the dancers was matched with the appreciation from the audience who cheered and enjoyed the performances.

Radha Krishnan House was adjudged first followed by Bhabha as second and Raman third.

Rajinder Nath, chairman of the school, said, “It is a great opportunity for the students to take ownership of their own learning and to add new elements that they may have seen elsewhere or performed by others. It is a great way to share and to showcase ideas as well as gain experience of selecting choreography rehearsing and performing their own work”.

Principal Michael D’Souza said, “The students are the most precious gems and it is important to let them explore their talent”.