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Rewari gets chinkara breeding centre
Rewari, October 6
Haryana Forest and Environment Minister Capt. Ajay Singh Yadav inaugurated a Chinkara and Peacock Conservation-cum-Breeding Centre at Jhabua village in Rewari district at a state-level Wildlife Week Celebrations Samaroh recently.

Eunuchs seek demarcated areas for ‘begging’
Indri (Karnal) October 6
“Madam ji hamare bhi khane kamane ke liye area baant do, taki hamein mangane me dikkat na ho” (Madam please demarcate area for us so that we can also earn livelihood by begging in our respective areas).

Cong councillors defer move to oust Faridabad Mayor
Faridabad, October 6
The rebel Congress councillors of the local Municipal Corporation have decided to defer their move to oust the Mayor, Ashok Arora, till the byelection to the Hisar parliamentary constituency, scheduled for October 13.



EARLIER EDITIONS


Honour for Haryana Red Cross
Chandigarh, October 6
The Haryana State Red Cross Branch has been honoured by the Indian Red Cross Society at the annual general meeting held in New Delhi under the chairmanship of Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is also the chairman of the society.

Sachin Tendulkar interacts with Sagar Dahiya during a TV programme in Mumbai. ‘Mini’ Sachin’s date with Master Blaster
Sonepat, October 6
It was a memorable moment for eight-year-old Sagar Dahiya, popularly known as mini Sachin, when he played Sachin Tendulkar’s favourite stroke straight drive on the Master Blaster’s bowling at a programme - “Support My School - Sachin Ki Pathshala” - telecast live on NDTV from Mumbai recently.




Sachin Tendulkar interacts with Sagar Dahiya during a TV programme in Mumbai. Photos by writer

Demand for HC Bench in Rewari gains momentum
Chandigarh, October 6
The demand for a permanent Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court at Rewari is slowly gaining momentum with the Forum For Power To The People, the organisation that is spearheading the movement, staging a padyatra to the Rohtak residence of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on October 2.

Winners of various events of “Talent Show - 2011” along with faculty members at the National Institute of Technology in Kurukshetra. Contests mark end of talent show at NIT
Kurukshetra, October 6
A three-day “Talent Show - 2011” concluded on the premises of the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Kurukshetra, here recently.


Winners of various events of “Talent Show - 2011” along with faculty members at the National Institute of Technology in Kurukshetra. Photo: D.R. Vij

Vijay Divas celebrated
Kurukshetra, October 6
“Vijay Divas”, organised by the Rashtriya Yodha Smarak Samiti (RYSS) in collaboration with the Vidya Bharati Sanskriti Shiksha Sansthan (VBSS), Kurukshetra, was inaugurated by Mahender Kumar, secretary to the Haryana Governor, and Vice-Chancellor, YMCA University
Dignitaries share the dais at a function to mark “Vijay Divas” in Kurukshetra.
Dignitaries share the dais at a function to mark “Vijay Divas” in Kurukshetra. Photo: D.R. Vij
of Science and Technology, Faridabad, at the Vidya Bharati Auditorium here recently.

IT firm selects 15 students from Mullana institute
Students of Guru Nanak Institute of Technology, Mullana, wait for their turn at a placement drive held by Maritime Services.Ambala, October 6
The Guru Nanak Institute of Technology (GNIT), Mullana, initiated the placement process for its B.Tech students by inviting a leading maritime service provider of India-Phoenix Maritime Services (P) Ltd for the recruitment of budding engineers passing out from this institute.

Students of Guru Nanak Institute of Technology, Mullana, wait for their turn at a placement drive held by Maritime Services.

World Tourism Day
Kurukshetra deserves world heritage city status, says Vice-Chancellor
Lt-Gen DDS Sandhu, Vice-Chancellor of Kurukshetra University, inaugurates the second-day celebrations of World Tourism Day in Kurukshetra.Kurukshetra, October 6
“Kurukshetra should be declared a world heritage city by the United Nations,” said Lt-Gen DDS Sandhu, Vice-Chancellor, Kurukshetra University, after inaugurating the second day concluding celebrations of a two-day World Tourism Day, organised by the Department of Tourism and Hotel Management, Kurukshetra University, on the university campus here recently.
Lt-Gen DDS Sandhu, Vice-Chancellor of Kurukshetra University, inaugurates the second-day celebrations of World Tourism Day in Kurukshetra. Photo by writer

Drip irrigation, intercropping boost sugarcane yield: Expert
Karnal, October 6
Drip irrigation and intercropping are important to the economics of sugarcane cultivation and the growers should adopt the emerging technologies and trends to supplement their income, said Dr AM Sheikh, vice-chancellor, Anand Agricultural University (AAU), Gujarat.

Women dressed in traditional outfits on a busy road in Gurgaon.
Women dressed in traditional outfits on a busy road in Gurgaon. Tribune photo: Sayeed Ahmed
Actor Sanjay Dutt along with a team of Bollywood film “Rascals” in a festive mood outside a mall in Gurgaon.
Actor Sanjay Dutt along with a team of Bollywood film “Rascals” in a festive mood outside a mall in Gurgaon. Tribune photo: Sayeed Ahmed

Anna effect makes it tough for candidates
Hisar, October 6
Campaigning for the Hisar Lok Sabha byelection entered its last week, marking the start of the most crucial phase for the stakeholders.

Robbery cases on the rise in rewari
Panic grips traders
Rewari, October 6
With a massive spurt in the incidents of robberies in the Rewari region during the past about four weeks, while the district has apparently become a safe haven for criminals, irate traders and citizens too have virtually taken up the cudgels against the lacklustre functioning of the state government vis-à-vis the district police administration.

Victim fails to identify ‘kingpin’
Rewari, October 6
The Rewari district police received a setback when during an identification parade held at the city police station here yesterday, the victim of a robbery, Prahlad Bagri, categorically stated that the accused Hoshiar Gujjar, who was all along being described by the police as the kingpin of the gang of robbers, was not among the three miscreants who had looted cash and jewellery worth Rs 1 crore from Prahlad’s house here on September 30.

Fellowship for PGIMS professor
Gurgaon, October 6
Dr VK Katyal, senior professor of medicine at PGIMS, Rohtak, has been awarded a coveted fellowship of the Indian Academy of Echocardiography. The fellowship was conferred on Prof Katyal at the World Congress of Cardiology, Echocardiography and Allied Imaging here recently.

Arsh Shah Dilbagi (extreme left) with other team members after winning the 6th edition of the Indian Robot Olympiad held at Genesis Global School in Noida. City lad wins Robot Olympiad
Panipat, October 6
Arsh Shah Dilbagi, a student of Class IXth, DAV Public School, Thermal Colony, and his team of robot experts did the city proud by winning the 6th Edition of Indian Robot Olympiad held at Genesis Global School, Noida, recently.


Arsh Shah Dilbagi (extreme left) with other team members after winning the 6th edition of the Indian Robot Olympiad held at Genesis Global School in Noida.

Steel bar consignment disappears
Sirsa, October 6
A consignment of steel bars (saria) that started from Jaipur for a Sirsa-based trader disappeared on the way, allegedly in connivance with the truck owner.



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Rewari gets chinkara breeding centre
Nawal Kishore Rastogi

Rewari, October 6
Haryana Forest and Environment Minister Capt. Ajay Singh Yadav inaugurated a Chinkara and Peacock Conservation-cum-Breeding Centre at Jhabua village in Rewari district at a state-level Wildlife Week Celebrations Samaroh recently.

A sum of Rs 20 crore will be spent in the next 20 years on the maintenance and development of this centre, which has been developed on a huge piece of land measuring 80 acres.

Besides, CCTV cameras have also been installed to ensure the monitoring of chinkaras and peacocks here.

Reiterating the state government’s resolve for the preservation and procreation of wild animals, the Minister expressed concern over the fast declining habitation of certain species of wild creatures while exhorting the people to come forward to save them from extinction.

Stating that Haryana was the first state in the country where a Preservation-Cum-Procreation Centre for Vultures had been set up at Pinjore city, the Minister said to accomplish the linkage of people with the conservation of wildlife, the state government initiated an innovative project in January this year to enable the citizens to adopt animals and birds living in zoological gardens and deer parks in the state.

As regards the promotion and protection of medicinal farming in Haryana, Capt Yadav said as many as 36 herbal parks had already been set up in various parts of the state, whereas five such parks - one each at Karnawas, Dewlawas, Khalilpuri, Masani Barrage and Kakodia villages - were existing in Rewari district as well.

Simultaneously, expressing concern over the increasing threat of global warming, the Minister exhorted one and all to grow at least one plant each to save the environment and thereby avert the perils of global warming.

He also said a target of plantation of five crore saplings in the state had been fixed for the current year to decrease the environmental pollution.

Maha Singh, Financial Commissioner-cum-Principal Secretary of the State Forest Department, and other dignitaries also spoke on the occasion.

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Eunuchs seek demarcated areas for ‘begging’
Bhanu P. Lohumi
Tribune News Service

Indri (Karnal) October 6
“Madam ji hamare bhi khane kamane ke liye area baant do, taki hamein mangane me dikkat na ho” (Madam please demarcate area for us so that we can also earn livelihood by begging in our respective areas).

This was how eunuchs explained their plight and raised their demand at the “khula durbar” (Open House to hear grievances) convened by Karnal Deputy Commissioner Neelam P. Kasani at Indri here recently.

The deputy commissioner was surprised at their demand as there is no rule or law for demarcating the areas for eunuchs where they can beg without any interference from other groups and simply asked them to apply for pension.

Disowned by their families in their childhood and ridiculed and abused by everyone as “hijra” or third sex, eunuchs earn their livelihood by dancing at the beat of drums and often resort to obscene postures but their pain and agony is not generally noticed and this demand is just a reminder of how hapless and neglected this section of society is.

Thousands of welfare schemes have been launched by the government but these are only for men and women and third sex do not figure anywhere and this demand only showed mirror to society.

As many as 175 complaints and issues were disposed of at the “khula durbar” and most of these pertained to the grant of pension, making ration cards and BPL cards, cleaning of village pools, allotment of 100 sq m plots, drainage of water and removal of encroachments.

Kasni said pension for September would be paid by October 10 and a fresh survey would be undertaken for new pension cases in November and asked all eligible persons to get their papers ready.

She said the process of deleting ineligible beneficiaries and adding eligible families would be completed shortly.

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Cong councillors defer move to oust Faridabad Mayor
Ravi S.Singh
Tribune News Service

Faridabad, October 6
The rebel Congress councillors of the local Municipal Corporation have decided to defer their move to oust the Mayor, Ashok Arora, till the byelection to the Hisar parliamentary constituency, scheduled for October 13.

Som Malhotra, a senior Congress councillor, who is leading the move to oust Arora, said his party’s councillors, pressing for change of guard, had decided to shelve the move temporarily to avoid possible negative publicity during the election campaign in Hisar. In any case, the final call on the issue had to be taken by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda who was busy in electioneering these days, he added.

The civic body has 35 councillors, with four hailing from the BJP, three from the BSP, one from the INLD and the rest either from the Congress or independents owing allegiance to it.

The rebels claim that they have the support of 22 councillors, two less than the two-third majority needed to oust the Mayor through voting during a possible no-confidence motion on the floor of the House. Malhotra claimed that those against Arora were also enjoying the support of non-Congress councillors.

Jagan Daggar, a BSP councillor, alleged that a majority of the members were not happy with the “dictatorial” style of functioning of the Mayor. Also, the Mayor was apathetic to the development of the city, he alleged.

Many of the rebel councillors alleged that the entire city was suffering due to the approach of the Mayor. The city needed immediate repair of its roads and proper sewerage system, they added.

About a fortnight ago, a majority of the councillors forced indefinite adjournment of a general meeting of the House. They objected to the Mayor presiding over the meeting as they asserted that he did not enjoy the support of the majority. They disrupted the proceedings of the meeting, demanding that the Mayor must first prove his majority.

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Honour for Haryana Red Cross
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 6
The Haryana State Red Cross Branch has been honoured by the Indian Red Cross Society at the annual general meeting held in New Delhi under the chairmanship of Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is also the chairman of the society.

Mohinder Kumar, secretary to Haryana Governor, received the running shield for the second position at the national level in Red Cross fundraising and membership for 2007-08. Dr JL Chaudhary, honorary senior vice-chairman, Haryana State Red Cross, got the running shield for the second position for 2008-09.

Dr Narveer Singh, director, general health services, Haryana, and deputy chairman, St. John's Ambulance (India), was honoured with the running membership shield for 2005-06 for promoting membership of St. John.

Col (Dr) GP Taneja, honorary secretary, Haryana State Red Cross Branch, was honoured at the national level with running training shield for doing excellent work in the field of first-aid during the period from 2004 to 2010.

J.N. Gehlot of the District Red Cross Society, Faridabad, was given Raj Kumari Amrit Kaur Medal for 2005-06. Ramesh Sharma, senior accountant, Haryana State Red Cross Branch, was honoured with gold medal for his outstanding contribution to Red Cross activities during 2008-09. DR Sharma, secretary, District Red Cross Branch, Yamunanagar, was given merit certificate for 2005-06 and Rishipal Tyagi, project in charge, rehabilitation centre, Yamunanagar, was given merit certificate for his outstanding work in the field of rehabilitation during 2005-06.

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‘Mini’ Sachin’s date with Master Blaster
BS Malik

Sagar Dahiya
Sagar Dahiya

Sonepat, October 6
It was a memorable moment for eight-year-old Sagar Dahiya, popularly known as mini Sachin, when he played Sachin Tendulkar’s favourite stroke straight drive on the Master Blaster’s bowling at a programme - “Support My School - Sachin Ki Pathshala” - telecast live on NDTV from Mumbai recently.

After appreciating Sagar’s talent at this young age, Sachin asked him about his future plans. Sagar replied that he wanted to be the world’s youngest cricket player breaking the record of Pakistani cricketer Hasan Raja who played at the international level at the age of 14.

During the break time, when Sagar, along with his father Surender Dahiya, met with Sachin in the studio, the master blaster gifted him a bat with his autograph as a gift on the eve of mini Sachin’s 9th birthday and wished him all success.

Sachin advised Sagar to work hard and also gave him some batting tips. “When we work hard and keep positive thinking, nothing can stop us from success. Cricket is a mind game and you have the cricket sense,” Sachin said, adding that it would help him to become an accomplished cricketer.

According to Surender Dahiya, Sagar was chosen for this programme after a nationwide talent hunt of NDTV and Coca Cola for such a mini cricketer who can give some glimpses of Sachin’s play in his batting. He was selected after a two day of intense trial here at Little Angel Public School, which had also arranged a bowling machine for this little cricketer.

Sagar played a state-level under-19 cricket championship at the age of six and on this basis, his name was registered in the India Book of Records.

So far, he had played more than 100 matches and while batting as an opener, he remained not out in about 90 matches.

Sagar so far has 15 half centuries to his credit. As a bowler also, he had claimed more than 60 wickets, including two hat-tricks.

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Demand for HC Bench in Rewari gains momentum
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 6
The demand for a permanent Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court at Rewari is slowly gaining momentum with the Forum For Power To The People, the organisation that is spearheading the movement, staging a padyatra to the Rohtak residence of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on October 2.

Raghu Yadav, who heads the forum, submitted a memorandum to Hooda, which was received by an official in the absence of the Chief Minister.

The memorandum said before the reorganisation of Punjab and Haryana as separate states, the region had 13 districts, which has now risen to 43 besides the Union Territory of Chandigarh. The appeals from the subordinate courts in these districts end up in adding to the arrears of the common high court of the two states. It was estimated that the number of pending cases in the high court was about 2.4 lakh (as on December 2009). Of these 80 per cent cases were more than two years old.

Haryana had been demanding a separate high court for the state at Chandigarh by bifurcating the existing premises of the high court. However, the Centre was of the view that the bifurcation was not feasible.

Yadav said a separate high court for Haryana could not be created at Chandigarh unless the issue of the capital between Haryana and Punjab was sorted out. Moreover, the issue of the high court’s jurisdiction over Chandigarh could also not be resolved.

He said the only feasible solution was to set up permanent Benches of the high court at separate places in the two states as provided under Section 36 (2) in the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966.

The establishment of benches in Punjab and Haryana could meet the needs of litigants of both states. Also there would be no need to bifurcate the legacy of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which was the successor of the Lahore High Court, which produced stalwart judges like Sir Shadi Lal, Bakshi Tek Chand and Mehar Chand Mahajan.

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Contests mark end of talent show at NIT
Our Correspondent

Kurukshetra, October 6
A three-day “Talent Show - 2011” concluded on the premises of the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Kurukshetra, here recently.

NIT director Prof Anand Mohan, who was also the chief guest at the valedictory function, appreciated the quality of events performed by the students. He also gave away prizes to the winners of different events.

The guest of honour, Prof VK Arora, Dean, Students’ Welfare, highlighted the importance of talent show and discipline and cooperation in the life of a student.

Prof SN Sachdeva, president, Students’ Clubs, discussed about AIDS awareness and mentioned the role of the National AIDS Control Organisation, New Delhi, and the Haryana AIDS Control Society, Panchkula, in this regard.

Various competitions like Mr and Miss Fresher, group dance, western solo, duet dance, literature and debate quizzes, rangoli making, etc., were held on the occasion.

The winners of this year’s Mr and Miss Fresher contests were Gaurav Jaggi and Sanchita. They won a cash prize of Rs 2,000 and a cellphone each.

Dean (planning and development) Prof SP Jain, Prof NK Gupta, Head of the Civil Engineering Department, and other faculty members, officers and a large number of students attended the valedictory function.

The Results:

Bharat Prashnotri: 1. Mohit Aggarwal; and 2. Dheeraj and Vivek

Abhivyakti: 1. Sajal; and 2. Reshu Jain

Rachnatmak Lekhan: 1. Pradeep Josh, 2. Kanika Goyal and Prabhav Shukla

Shabd Vyuh: 1. Alok Raj and Pradeep Joshi; and 2. Abhishek and Suvin

Masti Ki Pathshala: 1. Pranjal and Sarika; and 2. Pradeep Joshi and Krishankant

Vak Chaturya: 1. Gajender; and 2. Pradeep Joshi and Anoop

Talash-E-Kohinoor: 1. Anoop

Kavi Sammelan: 1. Pradeep Joshi; and 2. Sajal

Vad-Vivad: 1. Narender Tripathi; and 2. Sajal

Tattoo Making: 1. Yogesh and Neeraj; and 2. Vikash and Jyotirmay

Sketching: 1. Sumit; and 2. Shruti and Jyotirmay

Apparel Design: 1. Kiran and Jagvanti; and 2. Tamanna

Fresco: 1. Jyotirmay; and 2. Shruti

Rangoli Making: 1. Jyotirmay and Yogesh; and 2. Kirti and Priyanka

Poster Making: 1. Kirti; and 2. Sarika and Jyotirmay

Ad Hash: 1. Misha and Eleeka; and 2. Suchitra and Charvee

20 Q: 1. Aamir and Saurabh; and 2. Zuka

JAM: 1. Suchitra; and 2. Misha

Dumb-C: 1. Rishabh, Shubham and Chirag; and 2. Nikit, Shashwat and Himanshu

Brain Storm: 1. Pranshant and Saurabh; and 2. Shubham

Creative Writing: 1. Suchitra; and 2. Charvee

Instrumental Solo: 1. Sudeep Das; and 2. Shubhanshu

Skit: 1. Chelsea; and 2. Master Vivek

Solo Singing: 1. Abhishek; and 2. Rohit

Western Solo Singing: 1. Preeti; and 2. Saurabh

Duet Singing: 1. Sanchita and Preeti; and 2. Rohit and Shruti

Mr Fresher: Gaurav

Miss Fresher: Sanchita

Photoscavenger Hunt: 1. Deepak and Pratekk; and 2. Ankur and Geetajali

Spotlight: 1. Aman and Richa; and 2. Rohan and Sureeti

Wild Short: 1. Aman Bansal; and 2. Aditya.

Photo Quiz: 1. Ankit; and 2. Harshit

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Vijay Divas celebrated
Our Correspondent

Kurukshetra, October 6
“Vijay Divas”, organised by the Rashtriya Yodha Smarak Samiti (RYSS) in collaboration with the Vidya Bharati Sanskriti Shiksha Sansthan (VBSS), Kurukshetra, was inaugurated by Mahender Kumar, secretary to the Haryana Governor, and Vice-Chancellor, YMCA University of Science and Technology, Faridabad, at the Vidya Bharati Auditorium here recently.

Saroj Bala, senior Indian Revenue Services (IRS) and Commissioner, Income Tax, presided over.

The function started with the lighting of the traditional lamp and chanting of Vaidik hymns by the Brahmacharies of the Kurukshetra Vaidik Pathshala.

Introducing the programme, Darshan Lal Jain, a veteran social activist and the founder of the RYSS, said the samiti had organised many such functions to highlight the contribution of forgotten national heroes who remained unsung due to the apathy of politicians.

“Yudhvir Singh, a former IAS officer, Ajay Jain, senior advocate, and Kumud Bansal as well as Sudhir Bhargav belonging to the lineage of Raja Hem Chandra Vikramaditya are guiding the activities of this samiti, besides making people aware about the sacrifices made by such heroes,” he added.

Discussing many distortions in the history of the medieval India interjected by the British writers and the leftist thinkers, Dr Satish Mittal, an eminent historian and a former chairman of the History Department, Kurukshetra University, said: “The history of the medieval period is full of chivalric episodes of Indian heroes, whereas the text books depict this period as a saga of defeat”.

Dr Mittal revealed the astonishing fact that the lives of Mughal emperors were highly glorified in conventional text books, whereas they all were leading luxurious, amorous and indignant life.

In her presidential remarks, Saroj Bala said: “We are the heirs of the world’s most ancient civilisation”. Giving scientific evidences through a power point presentation, she said: “There are astonishing coincidences in the celestial position of stars shown by science and those mentioned in the Ramayana”.

She quoted the researches of Dr Ram Avtar who has located extensively the sites mentioned in the epic.

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IT firm selects 15 students from Mullana institute
Tribune News Service

Ambala, October 6
The Guru Nanak Institute of Technology (GNIT), Mullana, initiated the placement process for its B.Tech students by inviting a leading maritime service provider of India-Phoenix Maritime Services (P) Ltd for the recruitment of budding engineers passing out from this institute.

Dr Sachin Chawla, dean of the Guru Nanak Institutions (GNI) group, here, said the company shortlisted 15 students who would be appointed as trainee marine engineers at a package of Rs 15 lakh to Rs 20 lakh per annum.

He said the selected students would undergo a four-month training and thereafter they would be placed in the organisation.

The company offers its services in all areas of ship management like technical management, fleet personnel management, commercial management, ship handling, shipping agency, manning and crewing activities and consultancy services.

This placement drive was held for the students of the electronics and mechanical engineering branches.

Sagar Deshpandey, head of Maritime Services, especially came from Nagpur to conduct the interview process.

Dr Sachin Chawla congratulated the selected students on their achievement.

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World Tourism Day
Kurukshetra deserves world heritage city status, says Vice-Chancellor
D.R. Vij

Kurukshetra, October 6
“Kurukshetra should be declared a world heritage city by the United Nations,” said Lt-Gen DDS Sandhu, Vice-Chancellor, Kurukshetra University, after inaugurating the second day concluding celebrations of a two-day World Tourism Day, organised by the Department of Tourism and Hotel Management, Kurukshetra University, on the university campus here recently.

Dr Sandhu said: “There is an urgent need for heritage conservation in general and that of Kurukshetra in particular. The university and the state government will support this cause,” he added. He also congratulated the tourism fraternity on the eve of the World Tourism Day.

Col. Manbeer Chaudhary, a dynamic personality of the Indian hospitality industry, who was the chief guest on the occasion, pointed out the trends in the Indian hospitality industry which, he said, were bound to grow in the coming times.

His optimism for growth was based on the changing lifestyles and standards of Indians who, as consumers, were the real ambassadors of the hospitality industry.

Col. Chaudhary called upon the students to work hard as it has no shortcut and substitute in professional life.

Harbans S. Shekon, CEO of Noor Mahal, a five star hotel at Karnal, was also present.

Prof SS Boora, chairman of the Department of Tourism, highlighted the importance of the occasion and emphasised the need to make an introspection of the ongoing tourism practices world over.

The inaugural session came to an end with the vote of thanks presented by Dr Mohinder Chand, associate professor in the Department of Tourism and Hotel Management.

In the second half of the programme, cultural dance and songs were performed by the students of the department. Prof SS Boora distributed prizes among the winners of different events.

Prof Boora said the World Tourism Day was celebrated every year on September 27 on different themes. He said the theme for this year was “Tourism: Linking the Cultures” and the purpose of the celebration was to foster awareness of the importance of tourism for tourists, entrepreneurs, government and host communities.

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Drip irrigation, intercropping boost sugarcane yield: Expert
Tribune News Service

Karnal, October 6
Drip irrigation and intercropping are important to the economics of sugarcane cultivation and the growers should adopt the emerging technologies and trends to supplement their income, said Dr AM Sheikh, vice-chancellor, Anand Agricultural University (AAU), Gujarat.

Inaugurating a conference on “Vision 2020: University-Industry Interaction” for sugarcane at the Regional Research Centre of CCS Haryana Agricultural University here, he said the sharing of knowledge and experience was the key to increasing yield and production.

He also released a book on 30 years of sugarcane research and inaugurated a web link. An MoU was also signed between the HAU and Anand Agricultural University for sharing the technologies developed by the two institutions.

Dr RP Narwal, director, research, CCSHAU, said higher returns from the rice-wheat cropping system compared to sugarcane were weaning the farmers away from cane growing and the area under sugarcane was also shrinking, leading to decline in sugar production.

Lauding the efforts of the scientists, he emphasised the need to further evolve tissue culture and biotechnology tools. Vimal Chandra, MD, Sugar Federation, Haryana, focused on the development of high-yielding sugar varieties, bringing sugarcane productivity on a par with southern states and Maharashtra and adopting appropriate sowing techniques.

Dr RS Balyan, project director, CCSHAU, said the Karnal regional centre had released 11 varieties and another six were at an advanced stage of testing. The production, productivity and sugar recovery in Haryana had been consistently higher as compared to the neighbouring states of Punjab and UP by 10-15 per cent.

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Anna effect makes it tough for candidates
Campaigning in Hisar enters last week
Raman Mohan
Tribune News Service

Hisar, October 6
Campaigning for the Hisar Lok Sabha byelection entered its last week, marking the start of the most crucial phase for the stakeholders.

For the Congress, Chief Minister Bhupinder on Tuesday evening concluded his gruelling nine-day whistlestop tour of the entire constituency in which he covered all nine assembly segments. Hooda has extended his stay in Hisar till October 10 to intensify the campaign.

INLD leaders have also covered the entire constituency. However, the INLD, known for its professional style of campaigning, plans to keep up the momentum. The party will now concentrate on the weaker areas.

The third main candidate, HJC-BJP nominee Kuldeep Bishnoi, who had a head-start in campaigning, has so far maintained a balance between campaigning in the countryside and Hisar city. He and his family will now try to win back supporters whom the Congress or the INLD had won over during campaigning.

However, the coming week will be nightmarish for the candidates. Call it the Anna side effect or whatever, there are a large number of voters who say they will vote only for the candidate who seeks their vote either personally or through a credible intermediary.

This is the first time that such a demand has been raised by voters. This phenomenon is more pronounced in the urban constituencies like Hisar where participation in the Anna Hazare stir was the maximum.

This trend had first manifested on a micro scale during the 2009 assembly poll when a large number of urban voters changed their mind on the polling day itself and went on to vote for the candidates whose supporters approached them minutes before voting began. But, the trend has caught up this time in a big way. The general refrain among the voters is that they want to make sure that if need be they can approach a candidate they vote for should he win. They want it to be one-to-one relationship.

This has left the candidates flummoxed. The number of such voters is so large that they can neither ignore the demand nor possibly meet it. But the parties are devising ways to address the issue to the extent possible.

Meanwhile, Mirchpur village, which saw violence against the Dalits last year and which has cast a long shadow on the byelection by way of a Jat and non-Jat divide, has become an anathema for the candidates.

No candidate has visited the village so far and there is little chance of anyone seeking votes there in the coming week. Another salient feature this time is that supporters of various parties are reluctant to hoist flags on their rooftops.

The trend is also on the decline in the rural areas. This has added to the woes of the parties as they are not sure how many households in a particular area back them openly.

Post-Anna Hazare fast, democracy appears to be finally coming of age.

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Robbery cases on the rise in rewari
Panic grips traders
Nawal Kishore Rastogi

Rewari, October 6
With a massive spurt in the incidents of robberies in the Rewari region during the past about four weeks, while the district has apparently become a safe haven for criminals, irate traders and citizens too have virtually taken up the cudgels against the lacklustre functioning of the state government vis-à-vis the district police administration.

Over 10 incidents of looting of traders and firing at hapless victims by armed miscreants have been reported from various parts of the district in the past 25 days.

Notable among these incidents include looting of over Rs 8 lakh and gold jewellery worth lakhs of rupees by three armed miscreants from goldsmith Prahlad Bagri’s house here on September 30, injuring of a fruit vendor with a pistol by two miscreants here on October 1, robbing a driver of his truck by armed looters on the Delhi-Jaipur Highway here on September 22, looting of over Rs 1 lakh from a cellphone dealer of Peethrawas village on the Rewari-Narnaul road near here by robbers on September 21 and looting of jewellery and a motorcycle from a goldsmith on the Gothra-Lisan Road by armed looters on September 8.

The two incidents pertaining to the robbery committed at a goldsmith’s house here on September 30 as well as the reckless firing by miscreants on a fruit vendor here on October 1 sent a wave of anger among the traders and shopkeepers who observed a bandh consecutively on September 30 and October 1. Besides, they also held a protest at Moti Chowk here.

Thus, when the local Minister Capt. Ajay Singh Yadav came to Moti Chowk to mollify frayed tempers, he, too, had to face the ire of infuriated traders who flayed the police administration for its lackadaisical approach towards the criminals.

Meanwhile, Sunder Lal Agarwal, president of the Rewari Beopar Mandal, announced that their relay dharna at the Moti Chowk here would continue till the apprehension of looters as well as the full-fledged recovery of the stolen cash and jewellery.

Simultaneously, enraged at the injuring of a fruit vendor with a pellet pistol by some miscreants, the irate shopkeepers and vendors of the New Sabzi Mandi here observed a strike and also resorted to a traffic jam at the Naiwali Chowk here on October 2.

The demonstration was led by Ashok Grover, president of the Fruit and Vegetable Dealers’ Union, and Shiv Dayal Saini, Chief of the Vendors’ Union.

Derogatory remarks reportedly uttered by traffic in charge SI Veena Rana against the agitating fruit and vegetable dealers added fuel to the fire.

However, the situation was averted from taking an ugly turn after DSP Krishan Lal intervened and assured the shopkeepers that Veena Rana would be shifted to some other place.

Simultaneously, the blockade, which lasted for about two hours, was lifted after DSP Krishan Lal and City SHO Ram Kumar assured that the culprits would be apprehended expeditiously.

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Victim fails to identify ‘kingpin’
Our Correspondent

Rewari, October 6
The Rewari district police received a setback when during an identification parade held at the city police station here yesterday, the victim of a robbery, Prahlad Bagri, categorically stated that the accused Hoshiar Gujjar, who was all along being described by the police as the kingpin of the gang of robbers, was not among the three miscreants who had looted cash and jewellery worth Rs 1 crore from Prahlad’s house here on September 30.

While two of the miscreants had been identified as Rohit and Dinesh Saini by Prahlad, he had failed to identify their third accomplice.

However, the Rewari police took the custody of Hoshiar on production warrant from the Bhondsi Jail on October 1 and simultaneously made it known that Hoshiar, who was the kingpin of the gang, was a big catch.

It is noteworthy that Hoshiar, who was earlier lodged in the Bhondsi Jail in a case of attempt to murder and was presently out on bail, had got his bail cancelled on September 30 and was again sent to the jail on September 30. Such coincidence had convinced the Rewari district police about his complicity in the robbery.

The police produced him in a local court on October 1 which remanded him in police custody for three days.

Thus, when he was apparently subjected to third-degree treatment during interrogation, Hoshiar, visibly in a fit of desperation, made a bid to commit suicide by striking his head against the iron bars of a window in the lockup on October 2. Subsequently, Hoshiar, with his self-inflicted head injuries, was hospitalised here.

Soon afterwards, he was again produced in the court which extended his police remand for two days.

However, the police held an identification parade during which Prahlad spilled the beans by clearly stating that Hoshiar was not among the perpetrators of the above robbery.

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Fellowship for PGIMS professor
Tribune News Service

Gurgaon, October 6
Dr VK Katyal, senior professor of medicine at PGIMS, Rohtak, has been awarded a coveted fellowship of the Indian Academy of Echocardiography. The fellowship was conferred on Prof Katyal at the World Congress of Cardiology, Echocardiography and Allied Imaging here recently.

Dr Navin C Nanda, president of the International Society of Cardiovascular Ultrasound, presented the award, comprising a medallion and a certificate, to Dr Katyal during the four-day international conference attended by nearly 2,000 delegates from 26 countries.

Prof Katyal was awarded this fellowship after a tough international competition in which the fellowship jury selected six physicians/cardiologists after considering 76 applications.

Dr Katyal is engaged in non-invasive cardiology for about 25 years at the PGIMS and has been performing echocardiography for 15 years. He also has 85 papers in noted national and international journals to his credit.

This couple with his clinical work in the field of cardiology was the basis of his selection for the fellowship, which is the fourth in his career.

Apart from heading a unit of the Medicine Department at the PGIMS, Prof Katyal is in charge of the ICCU and Non-Invasive Cardiac Lab managed by the department. He also runs a heavily attended cardiovascular clinic at the institute.

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City lad wins Robot Olympiad
Tribune News Service

Panipat, October 6
Arsh Shah Dilbagi, a student of Class IXth, DAV Public School, Thermal Colony, and his team of robot experts did the city proud by winning the 6th Edition of Indian Robot Olympiad held at Genesis Global School, Noida, recently.

The team comprising Hargunbir Singh (St. John’s School, Chandigarh) and Arnav Malhotra (St. Columbus, Delhi) presented a pre-programmed robotic vehicles capable of ascending and descending on uneven steps and transport patients safely to their destination.

The team participated in the junior high category in which 45 teams all over the world participated. Last year, the same team had bagged the first position in the elementary category of the 5th Edition of Indian Robot Olympiad and represented India at Manila and the Philippines.

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Steel bar consignment disappears
Tribune News Service

Sirsa, October 6
A consignment of steel bars (saria) that started from Jaipur for a Sirsa-based trader disappeared on the way, allegedly in connivance with the truck owner.

The police has arrested truck driver Gulab Singh and cleaner Satpal, both residents of Khetri (Rajasthan), under Sections 406 and 420, IPC.

Nand Kishore, owner of Jai Ambe Traders and a resident of Old Housing Board, Sirsa, had lodged an FIR in this connection.

He alleged that the consignment booked for his firm had been misappropriated by the driver, the cleaner and the truck owner.

The police said efforts were on to arrest truck owner Sita Ram, a resident of Loha Mandi, Jaipur.

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