Gurgaon, June 30
Acting on directions of the Central Election Commission (CEC), the Gurgaon district administration has prepared a draft schedule for the proposed intensive revision of electoral rolls of 76 Badshahpur and 77 Gurgaon Assembly constituencies.

“A proposal in this regard has been sent to the CEC authorities for approval. After getting the commission’s nod, the task of intensive revision of rolls will be taken up,” disclosed deputy commissioner PC Meena in a statement issued here.

The deputy commissioner recently held a meeting with representatives of political parties, resident welfare associations (RWAs) and officials concerned for preparing the draft schedule of proposed intensive revision.

Meena said as per the proposal, the intensive revision would start from July 10. For the first 10 days, booth-level officers (BLOs) will mark house numbers in their respective areas and identify the left-out houses. They will also distribute forms among the youth who have attained 18 years of age to enroll them as voters.

By July 31, the names of voters will be arranged as per house numbers and marking of sections according to spot compactness and rationalisation of polling stations will be done.

By August 10, voters’ lists will be generated for comparison after integrating the supplements. Then, by August 16, the work of comparison and marking of corrections will be taken up by the administration.

Door-to-door survey of voters will be conducted from August 24 to September 30. The data received during the survey will be computerised by October 31 and voters’ lists generated by November 5. Meena maintained that corrections could be made in the lists up to November 12 and a draft publication of voters’ lists will be done on November 21.

After that, claims and objections will be invited up to December 5 and a special campaign will be launched on November 26 and 27 as well as on December 3 and 4. During the campaign, the BLOs and senior officers will remain available at the polling stations.

Meena said the electoral registration officer (ERO) would dispose of the claims and objections by December 14 and the task of data-feeding, merging of photographs of voters, preparation and printing of supplementary lists would be completed by December 19. The comparison and correction of voters’ lists will be done by December 21 and the final publication of electoral rolls of both Assembly constituencies will be done by January 5, 2012.

The deputy commissioner sought cooperation from the RWAs and political parties in preparing error-free electoral rolls. Observing that the upper strata people usually exhibit reluctance in getting themselves registered as voters, Meena asserted that the preparation of error-free electoral rolls was must for the smooth and fair functioning of a democratic set-up, so every citizen was duty-bound to provide correct information to the electoral staff.

Panipat, June 30
The registration of land deals at the district headquarters has come to a standstill as the state authorities have failed to appoint a regular tehsildar here for the past two-and-a-half months, causing inconvenience to the general public.

The last incumbent tehsildar Subhash Mehta was placed under suspension by Minister for Revenue Consolidation and Disaster Management Satpal Sangwan after he conducted a surprise check of the tehsil on April 19. The minister had stated that he had received a number of complaints regarding the working of Panipat tehsil, following which action was initiated against the tehsildar in public interest so that commoners did not have to suffer.

However, after tehsildar’s suspension, no one was appointed here and the work was handed over to a naib tehsildar. This affected the registration of land deals, causing inconvenience to the general public and also loss of revenue to the state exchequer.

Sources in the tehsil stated that earlier, about 30 to 40 land deals were registered at the tehsil every day, but for the last two months the work had been largely affected. The sources said this had also helped corrupt commission agents active on the tehsil premises, as they had started charging hefty amounts from the general public in lieu of getting their deals registered.

Karam Singh from Baburpur village, who had been coming to the tehsil for the last three days to get a piece of agricultural land bought by him in Asan Kalan village registered in his name, said the working of the tehsil appeared to have come to a halt. He said every time he came here, he was told that deals could not be registered as the official concerned was not available or was occupied.

Rajinder Jaglan, another villager from Adiyana village of the district, who also came to get a land deal registered at the district head quarters, said it was unbecoming of the state government not to appoint a regular tehsildar here as it was creating problems for the commoners.

Sources in the tehsil said Subhash Mehta, who was suspended twice by the government, had been reinstated and transferred to a tehsil in Bhiwani district, but the whole exercise had left Panipat bereft of a tehsildar. This has not gone down well with a large number of individuals who have to visit the tehsil everyday for various jobs. They have been demanding that a tehsildar be soon appointed here to save them from unnecessary harassment.

Rohtak, June 30
Though the authorities have announced to provide free food to runaway couples in the district for a period of about 15 days, the NGO managing the shelter here seems is worried about the funds as no budget has been announced so far.

While two couples are lodged here at present, officials have asked the beneficiaries to pay for their food after the designated free stay period. There are, however, no lodging charges.

As the Police Department is yet to set up a permanent home for runaway couples in the police lines or on its own campus, the facility at present is being provided by an NGO, Bharat Vikas Sangh, which has been primarily providing shelter to orphans and destitute women.

The authorities have roped in the NGO which has its building at the local Srinagar Colony to provide shelter to runaway couples. Two couples are presently lodged here. Around 31 couples have already completed their stay here since November last year.

“The average stay of a couple ranges from two weeks to a month,” said Jaswanti Devi, manager of the protection home. Regarding the expenses incurred on the lodging and boarding of the couples, she said the NGO had been bearing the expenses while round-the-clock security was provided by the police.

Claiming that food was being made available free for a period of two weeks, she said some of the couples had been getting food from outside also with the help of their kin and friends. She, however, added that the district authorities were yet to respond to the request made by the NGO for financial help in order the bear the expenses on food for the couples. A budget was yet to be set up by the Department of Social Welfare in this regard.

It may be recalled that the Punjab and Haryana High Court had directed the state police to set up protection homes for runaway couples at the district level and provide them security and support till the threat to their life was over.

Faridabad, June 30
Attribute it to changing mores in the fast altering socio-cultural landscape of Haryana or advancement in technology coupled with the prowess of the business of product advertisement, there is a rising trend among couples, at least in south Haryana, to adopt assisted reproductive techniques to overcome infertility.

The trend, according to sociologists, would go a long way in strengthening the institution of marriage and bonding of familial ties in society.

According to experts, major parts of Haryana, especially South Haryana comprising Faridabad, Palwal, Gurgaon, Rewari, Mahendragarh etc, started showing signs of modernisation about 15 years ago, but the advancements, by and large, remained physical in nature. It was urbanisation of villages and infrastructural development laced with industrialisation of the hinterland. At the mental level, the hidebound and conservative approach of society towards technology refused to melt and the old socio-cultural ethos, especially related to adopting assisted reproductive techniques, continued.

A gynaecologist active in the region and affiliated to the Federation of Obstetrician and Gynaecologist Society of India, Dr Suman Yadav, is of the view that though there is an encouraging trend in favour of the assisted reproductive techniques, it has yet to cover satisfactory grounds. A larger section of men appears to be touchy when it came to admitting their own biological deficiency with regard to fertility and the subsequent treatment. According to many, the male reservation could be ascribed to values of a traditional society and the social stigma associated with it. In a patriarchal order of society, it was hard on the part of men to accept defeat or biological deficiency.

Dr Suman, who is also director of Gurgaon-based Pushpanjali Hospital, says in-vitro fertilization (IVF) or test tube baby related to overcoming infertility among women is getting good response, but the technique of ICSI designed to overcome male infertility is less popular. In ICSI technique, a single sperm is injected directly into oocyte to achieve fertilisation. To substantiate her stand, she cited the case of Murti Devi, a native of Sikanderpur village, who became mother for the first time a few days ago at the age of 56 years. She conceived after 40 years of marriage following treatment at IVF centre in Puspanjali.

Seema Tirkha, who has academic background in psychology, and is a social worker in Faridabad, says besides strengthening the institution of marriage, the new techniques, if harnessed well, could go a long way in rectifying the skewed sex ratio. Also, the new assisted techniques have imbued a sense of security assuredness among women.

Ambala, June 30
The admission process for various degree and professional courses is in full swing in Ambala these days. IT and commerce courses are seem to be the first choice of the students. The students intended to join technical courses in government and private polytechnics are preferring electronics and mechanical courses. The students intended to join B.Tech in future are preferring non-medical stream.

Most of the management colleges in the district running MCA and MBA courses are not much comfortable this year. Some of these professional institutions have retrenched their faculty following the poor response of admission in these courses. The managements of these institutions have been forcing staff members to bring more students for admissions. Some of the institutions have engaged professional counsellors for this purpose.

The chairman of a professional institution said it seemed that the trend of slump in management courses would continue for the next two to three years and the institutions, which did not have solid financial background, would face the problem of survival.

The admission rush in various degree colleges can be witnesses these days. Students, along with their parents, are busy in contacting counselling agencies to know about the job prospects of various courses.

Principals of various degree colleges of Ambala City, including DAV College, SA Jain College, MDSD Girls College and Dev Samaj Girls College, are hopeful that they would get sufficient number of admissions this year, too. Some of the colleges have also started job-oriented courses to attract more students.

Pardeep Sharma Snehi, principal, SA Jain College, said most of the students were preferring commerce stream, but the average students, who did not have enough choices, would ultimately join arts stream.

Kiran Aangra, principal, MDSD Girls College, said students wanted that besides academic degree, they should also be provided with some job-oriented skills. She said postgraduation degree course in yoga and health therapy had been introduced in the college this year.

The first cut-off list of various degree colleges would be released soon. The list of polytechnic institutions would also released by the next week.

Rohtak, June 30
Apathy seems to have taken its toll over the upkeep of the Mansarovar Park here which serves hundreds of residents by providing them a serene environment away from the hustle and bustle of traffic and pollution.

A majority of the new benches in the park have given way within a few days of their installation. The park might soon turn into a water pond in view of the monsoon as the renovation work is getting delayed. Located near the mini-secretariat, the park, which gets thousands of visitors each month, looks like a parched land.

“The authorities had announced that Rs 2 crore would be used to fill up the park bed which is deeper by several metres in comparison to the ground level of the adjoining areas. Due to low-lying bed, the park turns into a huge pond in the rainy season,” claims Ranbir Singh Panchal, head of the Mansarover Park Welfare Samiti.

He alleges that the work has been going on at a slow pace despite an announcement made by the Chief Minister that there would be no shortage of funds for the improvement of the park. He says while sand (earth work) valued over Rs 50 lakh has been dumped in order to raise the ground level, the authorities have failed to take care of certain points suggested by the residents.

He says the broken benches at the park speak volume of the poor quality of work since they were installed only a few days back. Claiming that as there is no permanent gardener, he says the maintenance of the park has been suffering. The park is dotted with wild grass. Besides, litter lies all over the park since no dustbins have been installed. Ranbir Singh says morning and evening walkers have to bear foul smell when they pass from the western side of the park where a garbage dump is located nearby.

Besides, the martyrs’ memorial has become a favorite spot for children who like to slide on its walls and there is no one to check, says Sanjay, another resident. It would be no surprise if the park turns into a pool in the rainy season, he claims.

Meanwhile, the authorities were earlier stopped from acquiring land of the park as they wanted to use the park space for widening an adjoining road. Had the proposal been cleared, the park would have lost about 60 trees, it is claimed. 

Rewari, June 30
With the onset of cultivation season for kharif crops, deputy commissioner Ajit Balaji Joshi has come out with a package of pertinent advice to the farmer community in the district.

Stating that the availability of cultivable land stood at 1.20 lakh hectares in the district currently, he informed that the Agriculture Department had set a target of 65,000 hectares and 9,000 hectares for the sowing of bajra and jawar, respectively.

Mentioning about the adequacy-cum-advantageousness of pre-monsoon showers which the Rewari, Bawal and Jatusana areas of the district experienced recently, the deputy commissioner told the farmers to go for the sowing of the twin crops positively by July 15. Emphasising the need for adopting the latest agricultural techniques as per the suggestions of agronomists, he wanted the farmers to make judicious use of quality seeds, organic manure and pesticides to ensure optimum produce.

Besides advising the farmers to go for the cultivation of pulses, vegetables, flowers, herbal plants and sugarcane as well for their financial betterment, Joshi specifically enumerated subsidised projects which had been launched by the National Horticulture Mission for their welfare. — OC

Chandigarh, June 30
Paddy plantation in Haryana has touched the 3-lakh hectare mark and the target set for the current year is likely to be achieved soon. Also, the farmers have been advised to complete plantation of paddy before July 15 so as to avoid the spread of ‘badra’ disease.

Timely rains in the state during June had ensured the possibility of an increase in the production. As against an average rainfall of 24.2 mm recorded in 2010, till now an average rainfall of 72.6 mm had been recorded this year which is 25 mm more than the normal rainfall, a spokesperson for the Agriculture Department said.

He said the target for sowing of paddy in the current year had been set for an area of 12 lakh hectares as against the target of 12.45 lakh hectare area in 2010-11. At the same time, the target for the production of paddy had been set at 3,250 kg per hectare for this year as against the target of 2,789 kg per hectare last year. Significantly, the production of rice in the state had increased from 2.23 lakh tonnes in 1966-67 to 34.72 lakh tonnes in 2010-11.

In an effort to achieve the set targets, the state government had launched a village-level seed treatment campaign throughout the state so that the farmers could have low-cost disease-free crops. This would not only lead to better production, but improved quality, too. More than 60 per cent of basmati rice being exported from the country was from Haryana.

The spokesperson suggested the farmers to follow area-based advice of agricultural experts and departmental officers in the selection of the kind of seeds for the sowing of paddy crop. The seeds ought to be treated before sowing and proper distance should be maintained while planting the same.

He added that weedicides should be used and crops should also be protected from the use of too less or too much watering in fields.

Rewari, June 30
Senior citizens are agitated over the erratic disbursement of old-age pension in various villages of the district.

The discontent simmering in old-age pensioners is attributed to the lackadaisical functioning of the private company to which the entire work pertaining to the disbursement of pension has been assigned.

There are complaints that while the preparation of biometric cards has been going on at a tardy pace, the reported disappearance of names of a number of pensioners from the newly prepared lists of beneficiaries has also caused embarrassment to them.

Meanwhile, Vikas Verma, district convener of the company, informed that while cards of over 70,000 elderly people had already been devised, the work in regard to preparation of biometric cards of over 10,000 others was in progress.

Hundreds of elderly residents of Rajpura Khalsa, Naya Gaon Daulatpur, Katopuri and several other villages of the district complained that owing to such circumstances, they had not received their old-age pension for the past two or three months.

They rued that it was agonising that their requests made to the authorities concerned had failed to evoke requisite relief for them.

Aggrieved elders of the villages, in separate groups, met the Deputy Commissioner here recently and apprised him of the predicament being faced by them.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Commissioner has directed the officials concerned to do the needful expeditiously.

Ambala, June 30
Tata Motors announced the launch of its new vehicle Tata Venture at Metro Motors in Ambala Cantonment recently. While addressing a press conference, product manager Himanshu said: “Tata Venture is a multi-purpose vehicle with the footprint and manoeuvrability of a hatchback car and the interior space of a utility vehicle which can comfortably accommodate eight passengers in three front facing rows having ample luggage space”.

“Focused on safety and luxury features in the vehicle, this is one of the safest vans. The collapsible steering and side impact beams protect occupants in an exigency. It meets crash safety norms applicable in the domestic market,” he added.

Himanshu said the vehicle was powered by a 1.4-lt turbo diesel engine delivering 71 PS power with the mileage as certified by the ARAI 15.42 kmpl. He said the vehicle would be on sale in 19 outlets in the state priced in the range of Rs 4.20 lakh (ex-showroom, Ambala).

Kurukshetra, June 30
India has made a record progress in the field of science and technology after the Independence and that is why countries like the US and Europe are interested to invest in India.

This was stated by Prof N. Sathyamurthy, director, Society for Promotion of Science and Technology in India (SPSTI), Mohali, while addressing the valedictory function of a summer school organised by the SPSTI on the premises of Panorama and Science Centre here recently.

Prof Sathyamurthy said the progress of a nation was adjudged by its progress made in the field of science and culture and India had made its separate identity in the field of science.

He advised the students to work hard to become good scientists and by doing so, they would be able to serve the nation in a better way. They should have clear vision and confidence to achieve their goal.

Welcoming the chief guest, Dharambir, chairman, SPSTI, and Chief Election Commissioner, Haryana government, said it was necessary to boost science and technology for the better future of children. Girls should get education in good institutions and become self-sufficient, he added.

He laid stress on career counselling for children and informed that such summer schools would be organised at Panchkula and Hisar, too.

Deputy commissioner CG Rajinikanthan said organising summer school was a useful step. Prof KL Arya, Dharambir and Satpal Sharma, secretary, Parshuram College Managing Committee, Kurukshetra, also spoke on the occasion.

Among the participants of the summer school, Shalu, Deeksha and Nainsi were given the first, second and third prize, respectively.

SPSTI chairman Dharambir honoured the chief guest Prof Sathyamurthy, Deputy Commissioner CG Rajinikanthan, additional deputy commissioner Sumedha Kataria and other educationists by giving them mementos. As many as 52 girls drawn from poor families participated in the summer school.

Hisar, June 30
Even though the byelection to the Hisar Lok Sabha seat, which fell vacant due to the death of former Chief Minister and sitting member Bhajan Lal, is yet to be formally notified, the think tanks of all major political parties have already begun framing their strategies for the impending poll.

This is because the bypoll is crucial for all major players. The Congress will spare no effort to win the seat both to end the hegemony of the Bhajan Lal clan on this seat and to prove that there is no anti-incumbency wave against its government.

The INLD will likewise go all the way to ensure that the Congress does not win this seat. A win for the INLD will help it to project itself as the party in power next.

Kuldeep Bishnoi’s Haryana Janhit Congress (BL) will do all it can to retain the Bishnoi family’s hold over this seat. A defeat will effectively put an end to Bishnoi’s political ambitions for all practical purposes.

In the 2009 election, Bhajan Lal had defeated former minister Sampat Singh who was then in the INLD by about 7,000 votes. Sampat Singh has since joined the Congress and is now a legislator from the Nalwa constituency. Congress candidate Jai Parkash had faired poorly and had lost by around 44,000 votes.

So far as the Congress is concerned, it will not have a cakewalk. The only advantage it has over others is that it is the ruling party and that factor alone can convert an electoral loss into a win. But, several factors dilute this advantage. Hisar is unrepresented in the Hooda cabinet. The only legislator holding a political office is chief parliamentary secretary Vinod Bhayana, who was elected on the HJC ticket and defected to the Congress.

As for the INLD, it will obviously leave no stone unturned to win the seat and try to prove that it is fast gaining ground in the state. It seems certain that a member of the Chautala clan will contest this seat. The fact that its 2009 nominee Sampat Singh lost by a thin margin is an added advantage, except for the fact that realignments in the vote base after the departure of Sampat Singh will also matter.

Coming to the HJC, the Bhajan Lal family has already made it known that it plans to keep the seat within its fold. Though the death of Bhajan Lal has changed the scenario considerably, the Bishnoi clan has immense support. Much will depend on who among the Bishnois will contest the seat and on what platform.

Given this scenario, the outcome of the bypoll will have far reaching political consequences for all big players.

Sirsa, June 30
Sirsa is the first district in northern India to have a 100 metric tonne (MT) per day capacity grading, waxing and packing plant for six types of citrus fruits.

A spokesperson for the Horticulture Department said the plant had been set up at Abubshahr village in the district. It had a capacity of 10 MT for grading and waxing per hour.

The setting up of this plant had not only been instrumental in increasing the fruit production in the district but also in providing separate identity to the district for qualitative processing and marketing of the fruits.

He said many schemes had been implemented in the state to give impetus to the production of horticulture crops. As a result, the district had made vast strides in the production of horticultural crops. In fact, Sirsa has become the frontrunner district in the production of kinnows.

He said similarly, an Indo-Israel project was also set up in Mangeana village in 2009-10 jointly by the Centre and state government at a cost of Rs 9.70 crore over 50 acres for developing new varieties of mango, kinnow, pomegranate, and jaitun plants. He said 933 community tanks have been set up in Sirsa district at a cost of about Rs 50 lakh for providing irrigation facilities to the farmers so that they could increase the production of fruits.

The sprinkler system has been adopted over an area of 4706 hectare in the district and Rs 11.68 crore had been given as 50 per cent subsidy to the farmers for adopting this water-saving system.

Kurukshetra, June 30
Dr. Salil Sethi, an alumnus of Geeta Niketan Avasiya Vidyalaya, Kurukshetra, has been selected for fellowship in cardiology at the University of Texas in San Antanio, US.

Claiming this here recently, Dr Salil’s father Dr SN Sethi told mediapersons that this university was famous for producing the world’s most useful medical device in cardiology in the form of Palmaz stent which was invented in this university.

Cardiology is one of the most sought-after branches of super-specialty of medicine and this fellowship is equivalent to Doctorate in Medicine, he added.

Dr Salil completed his MBBS from the University College of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, in 2006. After completing his MBBS, he migrated to the US to study Masters in Public Health (MPH) and CPH from the University of Texas.

He did research in cancer at the world famous Anderson Cancer Institute. He is presently doing residency in internal medicine at Shreveport, University of Lousiana, in the US.

His parents, Dr SN Sethi and Dr Suman Sethi, are happy over the achievement of their son. Dr. Salil gives the credit to his parents and wife Artee for this achievement who all have stood through thick and thin in his days of struggle.