The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Highest sex ratio in Kaithal
Rs 1-lakh reward for two villages
Satish Seth

Kaithal, December 19
Two villages of the district registering the highest sex ratio have been rewarded with Rs 1 lakh each. The sarpanches of the respective villages were also honoured by deputy commissioner A Mona Sreeniwas at a function held at the mini-secretariat here recently.

Various medical officers, Asha workers and social workers from these two villages were also honoured for their contribution in this social cause.

The award to Kithana village panchayat was given for 2009. This village registered the best sex ratio in the district as 1,124 girls were born against 1,000 boys. Mehna Devi, sarpanch of the village, received a cheque of Rs 1 lakh, a citation and a shawl.

Dr Kapil, medical officer; Suman Rani, ANM, Mukesh Devi, Asha worker; Rajesh Kumari, Anganwari worker; and Krishan Kumar, social worker; all working for the prevention of female foeticide were given appreciation letters by the DC.

Sat Pal, sarpanch of Habri village, received the cheque for Rs 1 lakh, a citation and a shawl. The village had registered the birth of 1,086 girls as against 1,000 boys in 2010. Dr Pardeep, medical officer; Kavita, ANM; Meena Devi, Asha worker; and Manjeet Kaur, anganwari worker; were honoured and given appreciation letters for their contribution to check female foeticide.

While appreciating the efforts of these two panchayts, the DC asked the Health Department officials to prepare a list of villages having the lowest sex ratio and said she would tour such villages and launch a movement to improve the sex ratio and check female foeticide. She warned that if the fall in the sex ratio continued, it would have disastrous effects on society.

Dr Surinder Nain, civil surgeon, said seminars would be organised and sarpanches and panches would be invited to create awakening among them against the social evil of female foeticide. He said a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh was being given by the National Rural Health Mission to the villages with population exceeding 5,000 which showed the highest sex ratio. He said any one giving information on foeticide would be given a cash prize of Rs 10,000. Dr Neelam Kakkar, deputy CMO; Dr Gaje Singh and other doctors and members of village panchayats were also present on the occasion.

Ahirwal region being ignored: Rao Inderjeet
Nawal Kishore Rastogi

Rewari, December 19
A large number of people from Bawal Chaurasi (a cluster of 84 villages), Rewari, Kosli, Narnaul, Mahendergarh, Pataudi, Farukh Nagar, Gurgaon and Mewat participated in a “Jan Chetna Rally” held under the auspices of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Smarak Samiti at Bawal, 14 km from Rewari, recently.

While Rao Inderjit Singh, Congress MP from Gurgaon and chairman of the Parliamentary Committee for Information and Technology, was the chief guest-cum-principal speaker, Dr Banwari Lal, District Congress Committee chief, Rural, presided over its proceedings.

Rao Inderjit Singh unveiled the statues of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Sukh Dev and Raj Guru, which had been installed there by the samiti, and paid homage to them.

The Congress MP lamented the “discriminatory” treatment being meted out to the Ahirwal region by successive state governments in the matter of development.

He highlighted the woes of the Ahirwal peasantry which had remained “deprived” of its share in canal water as well as requisite power supply.

Reiterating the Ahirwal farmers’ main demand for canal water, he said even the presidential reference made in regard to the validity of the Punjab Termination of Water Accords Act had been pending in the apex court for the past six years.

He said though a sum of Rs 25 crore had been allocated for the construction of Sainik School building at Pali Gothra village here, not a brick had been laid.

Stating that the Ahirwal region needed a fair deal in the matter of equitable distribution of canal water, development and government jobs, Rao announced that such rallies would be held in other parts of the state in the coming months to seek their participation in governance.

Former HPCC spokesman Ved Prakash Vidrohi, DCC president (Rural) Banwari Lal, Gurgaon Municipal Corporation Mayor Vimal Yadav and others also spoke on the occasion.

CCTV cameras to keep tabs on govt officials
Ravinder Saini

Jhajjar, December 19
With a view to bringing transparency in the functioning of government offices here, the district authorities have decided to install closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras at its offices which are directly associated with public dealing.

These cameras will not only keep a watch on the work being done in the offices, but also the deputy commissioner and the SDM concerned will be able to know the attitude of the officer concerned in disposing of the public work by sitting at their offices through state-wide area network (SWAN) connecting CCTV cameras.

According to information, as many as seven offices located at Bahadurgarh and Jhajjar town have so far been chosen by the authorities where CCTV cameras would be installed in the first phase. These offices include e-Disha centre, land record office, tehsil in Jhajjar and vehicle registration office, reader to tehsildar office, tehsil and vehicle campaign service in Bahadurgarh town.

Jhajjar Deputy Commissioner Ajit Balaji Joshi said: The move aims at implementing the citizen charter efficiently, besides bringing transparency and pace in the system so that office work related to public dealing can be disposed of well in stipulated time and it is possible only when officers and their officials concerned will discharge their duty sincerely by sitting at office in working hours”.

“Transparency is essential to expedite every sort of official work, hence only those offices will be kept under CCTV camera surveillance in the first phase of this move where public comes often for a number of reasons,” said Joshi, adding that the cameras would also be installed at rest of the government offices here in the next phase.

The Deputy Commissioner said the functioning and conduct of the employees with public could also be observed through these cameras and stern official action would be taken against those officers found guilty of dereliction of duty. Joshi also said these cameras would also be installed at all ultrasound centres of the district so that the working of these centres could also be watched closely.

A communique in this regard had been shot off to the owners of these centres wherein they had been directed to install the cameras at their centres at the earliest, otherwise ready to face the music, he added.

Safeguard traders’ interests before allowing FDI: MP
Tribune News Service

Hisar, December 19
Girish Kumar Sanghi, MP, and chairman of the All-India Vaishya Maha Sammelan, has said the government should bring a strong law to safeguard the interests of traders before allowing FDI in the retail sector.

Addressing a meeting of the working committee of the sammelan at Agroha near here, he said the community was not opposed to FDI in the retail sector, but, at the same time, it wanted that it should not adversely affect the economic interests of the traders.

He said traders were opposed to FDI plans because they feared that their livelihood would be jeopardised by the entry of big businesses in the retail sector. Once a law to take care of their interests was in place, traders would not oppose the move.

Sanghi said his community favoured reservations on economic and merit basis. He said members of their community were denied reservation benefit even though they deserved the benefit. The vaishya community did not simply mean Aggarwals but also included 372 sub-castes which included lohar, teli, and halwais too.

Savitri Jindal, MLA, said theirs was a very vibrant community which had a special trait for business and commerce. She appealed to the community members to unitedly face every problem. She said the community was the most philanthropic community in the country which believed in helping everyone.

HUDA gets 560 acres to carve out residential plots
Tribune News Service

Hisar, December 19
The city’s costliest residential sector developed by HUDA is set to become the biggest residential colony.

The government has approved transfer of 560 acres of land belonging to the Government Livestock Farm to HUDA for expanding Sector 14, situated on the Sirsa Road. Though the number of plots to be carved in the additional area is yet to be determined, it is estimated that around 4,000 plots of different sizes would be developed there.

The sector already has 2,000 plots. With the expansion, the number is likely to rise to around 6,000. Sector 14 is the only residential sector close to the old city area. Businessmen who have their establishments in the old city areas prefer to build houses in this sector.

State identifying private schools under RTE Act: Bhukkal
Ravinder Saini

Jhajjar, December 19
Neighbourhood private schools are being identified in Haryana under the Right to Education Act. The tuition fee of under privileged children studying in these private schools would be refunded by the state government, said Education, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Geeta Bhukkal here recently.

“Information has been sought about the private schools which can provide quality education to the needy children,” she said.

The Teacher Recruitment Board has already been constituted and its chairman and members would soon be appointed. Many teachers would be recruited throughout the state, she said. One teacher for every 30 to 35 children would be appointed. The recruitment process in government schools was underway, she said.

The Chief Minister has announced a development package of Rs 300 crore for the Ratia Assembly constituency. The Chief Minister would soon visit the Jhajjar constituency and efforts would be made to get bigger package for the development of Jhajjar, the minister said.

Earlier, while addressing the people at a wrestling match organised to mark the 98th birth anniversary of great freedom fighter late Ch. Ranbir Singh Hooda at village Birdhana, Bhukkal said the state government would soon provide ‘Right to Play’ to the children on the pattern of Right to Education.

“The CM has honoured the outstanding sportspersons by appointing them to the posts of DSP, inspector and sub-inspector,” said the minister.

She also announced to give a sum of Rs 1 lakh from her discretionary fund to the Satpal Akhara.

78 students get placements
Tribune News Service

Ambala, December 19
Emax Group of Institutions organised a job fair, “Opportunity-2011”, in which about eight companies from various sectors took part.

Nearly 1,000 students from various colleges and institutes from all across the North India took part in the job fair, which saw various openings in the field of marketing management, financial management, mechanical engineering, IT and computer science engineering.

As many as 78 students from different stream were recruited by different companies.

Big corporate houses like Tata Teleservices, Vodafone, Solitaire Infosys Inc, Mind Excel Systems, Cheema Boilers Limited, Majestic Solutions and All-India Technical and Management Association participated in the fest.

The selection process started with pre-placement talk, followed by group discussions, written test and technical interviews.

Mohit Sharma and Bhupinder Sharma represented Solitaire Infosys and selected 12 students for Computer Science and Information Technology. Prabal Bhardwaj, HR, Mind Excel, selected three MBA Finance and Marketing students, Vodafone selected 28 MBA Marketing students, Sheetal, HR Head of Majestic Solutions, selected 15 candidates for marketing, Deep Chaudhary, HR Manager of All-India Technical and Management Association, selected 12 MBA candidates. Tata Teleservices selected eight MBA Marketing students and Cheema Boilers selected 20 Mechanical Engineering students as design engineers.

The selected candidates would be given a pay package ranging from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 4 lakh.

Pardeep Aggarwal, General Secretary of Emax Group of Institutions, said: “This year, our students have been placed by more than 50 companies across various sectors. It is a team effort of students, teachers and the Department of Placement and Training”.

The chairman, Om Prakash Aggarwal, congratulated the selected students and appreciated the efforts of the training and placement officer.

Mullana, Czech varsities sign MoU
Suman Bhatnagar

Tarsem Kumar Garg, Chancellor, MMU, welcomes delegates of Brno University of Technology, Czech Republic, in Mullana. A Tribune photograph

Ambala, December 19
A team from the Institute of Machine and Industrial Design, Brno University of Technology, Czech Republic, visited Maharishi Markendeswar University in Mullana. MMU Vice-Chancellor SG Damle greeted the guests and conveyed his best wishes.

Tarsem Kumar Garg, Chancellor, MMU, while welcoming the team of Brno University said the exchange of information and knowledge had become a necessary part of the education. He said the MoU signed between two universities would benefit the students.

Dimple Juneja, principal, MCA department, gave a presentation about the university. Prof Ivan informed the students about Brno University during his presentation. He said exchange programmes for the students, research scholars and academic staff will be conducted for research and higher education.

The Chancellor presented mementos to Martin Hartl, Ivan Krupka, Registrar HK Sharma, Pro VC NP Mehta, LC Gupta and MM Engineering College principal Dr Setia.

Ambala school holds science exhibition
Our Correspondent

Ambala, December 19
A science exhibition, Pratibha-2011, was organised at MDAV Senior Secondary School, Ambala City, today. Around 1,000 models were displayed in the exhibition from various fields of science, social sciences and languages.

It was inaugurated by Rajinder Nath, chairman, local DAV Management Committee.

The exhibition conveyed the message of energy and water conservation, energy production and measures against natural disaster.

A series of modern gadgets were the main attraction on the occasion.

Addressing the participants, Nath said every student had hidden talent in him and it was the duty of the teacher to give exposure to them.

Anil Pathak, principal of the school, also addressed the students.

Reena Nagrath, regional director, DAV Institution, Ambala Zone, was also present on the occasion.

Prerit gets Best Scouts Award
Our Correspondent

Kaithal, December 19
Prerit, a student of Class VIII of OSDAV Public School, was given the Best Scouts Award by Haryana Governor Jagan nath Pahadia at a function held in Chandigarh recently.

Principal of the school and regional director Suman Nijhawan said earlier Prerit had also participated in Scouts and Guide camp held in Shimla. For his outstanding role in promoting brotherhood, dedication and discipline, Prerit was given the award.

He brought laurels not only to the school but also to the state as well, Nijhawan said.

Google selects 15 students from GNIT
Tribune News Service

Ambala, December 19
The Guru Nanak Institute of Technology (GNIT), Mullana, organised a mega campus placement drive for its students on December 17. The institute invited Google, a world-renowned company, to the campus for placement.

The placement drive was conducted for B.Tech (IT, CSE and ECE branches) students who will complete their course in 2012.

Pawan Kumar and MP Shridhar, senior HR officials of the company, conducted the interview process.

Pawan said the company visited Guru Nanak Institutions campus because of the good quality of its students as well as high level of efforts, resources and infrastructure being committed by the institute towards this drive.

As many as 15 students were finally selected with a salary ranging from Rs 2.20 lakh to Rs 4 lakh per annum and would be placed in the company immediately after they pass their B.Tech next year.

The selected students thanked the management, especially Dr Sachin Chawla, Dean of GNI Group, for conducting this drive.

Dr Chawla congratulated all the successful candidates and wished them a bright future ahead. He said the GNIT was committed to providing best career opportunities in world-class companies to all the budding engineers of this institute.

HR officials were extremely satisfied regarding their visit and said the company would visit the GNIT in future too.

Need to promote classical music, says vocalist
SD Sharma

Pandit Ganesh Prasad Sharma (right) along with his son Anil in Ambala. Photo: Dev Dutt Sharma

Panchkula, December 19
Hindustani classical vocalist, fine composer, academician and above all, a fine human being, sum up the multifaceted persona of Ambala-based Guru Pandit Ganesh Prasad Sharma. Of late, the 82-year-old musicologist and avid performer was bestowed with the national honour of Tagore Akademi Award by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi. The award would be presented to him by the President of India shortly, which carries a purse of Rs 1 lakh, a citation and a shawl.

Earlier, Guru Ganesh Prasad Sharma was conferred with Sharangdev fellowship (1993) by Sur Singaar Samsad, Mumbai; Harivallabh Samman (1996) by Punjab Governor; and Kalu Vibhushan by the Rajasthan Governor in 1997. Born and raised in Allahabad, he learnt music from Pandit Bhola Nath Bhatt, Ustad Wazid Hussain Khan and Pandit Vaaman Narayan Thakaar before taking up teaching assignment at Ambala.

“The national honour, though belated, has really rejuvenated me. I feel grateful to the National Akademi, Kamal Tewari, Bhai Baldeep Singh and Haryana cultural affairs,” says the maestro.

“Such honours remind you of your commitment to the performing arts, budding artists and of course, society,” he says, adding, “Both the budding artists and society are required to be educated on our rich musical heritage, meanings, subtleties and the influence it has been excercising over the world music since centuries. All my illustrious disciples have imbibed the best of discipline in music and life and brought laurels to me and the guru-shishya tradition. I am really elated to see my foremost disciple Alankar Singh getting Bismillah Khan Yuva Puruskar with me”.

Credited with 65 years of excellence in the realm of classical music, Ganesh Prasad had taught postgraduate classes as head of the music department at Arya Girls College in Ambala Cantt for over three decades while simultaneously running his institution Sangeetalok for the promotion and propagation of the Indian classical music in Haryana.

He has the distinction of creating two new ragas, Madhuyamini and Charutodi, besides authoring a book “Raag Parveen” and composing over 500 classical bandishes being sung by top maestros, including Kumar Gandharva, Vasundra Komkal, Mukul Shivputra, Dr Nivedita Singh, Dr Asa Singh, Anil Sharma to name a few.

“All of them are emulating my ideals into their ‘gayaki’ and carrying forward my legacy,” says Pandit Ganesh Prasad Sharma with a sense of pride.

Haryanavi poet gets Book Award
Our Correspondent

Sonepat, December 19
A book of Haryanavi poems, “Ankahe Dard”, penned by Sant Ram Deswal, associate professor of Hindi at CRA College, has received the Book Award-2010 in the category of Haryanavi poetry.

The book was released by Haryana Education Minister Geeta Bhukkal at a function in Jhajjar. For the award instituted by the Haryana Sahitya Academy, Deswal will receive Rs 21,000 from the academy, along with a certificate and “Angvastra”.

Critics like Dr Babu Ram of Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, Dr Sumitra Tyagi and Ramesh Vikas have praised the book.

Vikas described Deswal as the “first rubaikar” of Haryanavi dialect.

Kavi sammelan held at college
Our Correspondent

Rewari, December 19
Besides students, teachers and functionaries of the management of Baba Kheta Nath Mahila Postgraduate College, Bhitera (Rajasthan), 45 km from here, prominent poets from various parts of Rewari and Mahendragarh districts of the Ahirwal region participated in a kavi sammelan held at the college recently.

“Bol Bakhat Ke” (rhymes denoting prevalent connotations of the present day scenario) was the theme of the sammelan. It was distinctly dedicated to Satyavir Nahariya, a talented Haryanvi poet of the Rewari region.

Jagat Singh Yadav, a local educationist, was the chief guest whereas Balbir Singh Punia, a litterateur of Jhajjar district, presided over the proceedings of the event. While JS Yadav, Punia and college Principal Dr Uma Shanker Yadav, an educationist-cum-poet of the Rewari region, showered accolades on Nahariya for his contribution to the Haryanvi culture and poesy, the symposium commenced with an invocation to Goddess Saraswati presented by a group of college students.

A noted satirist, Halchal Haryanvi (Rewari), made a dig at rampant corruption and inflation through his poetical composition, while a prominent versifier, Rohit Yadav (Mahendragarh), graphically portrayed the increasing social callousness in his verses.

While Nahariya presented a poetic commentary on the fast-vanishing rituals of marriage and other social festivities, a rising humourist, Alok Bhandoria (Rewari), highlighted the ills of the usage of mobile phones.

Meanwhile, Dr Uma Shanker Yadav lyrically exhorted students to live a life of prominence. Dr Kavita Yadav, Sheela Kakas, Bharpoor Singh Bharpoor, Ashok Yadav, Data Ram Yadav and Seema Chauhan regaled the audience with their poetic comments on the present day ills of society. College lecturer Mamata Gupta conducted the proceedings of the symposium.

History scholars converge at Kurukshetra University
D.R. Vij

Lt Gen Dr DDS Sandhu, Vice-Chancellor, Kurukshetra University, speaks at the inaugural session of a refresher course in Kurukshetra. Photo: DR Vij

Kurukshetra, December 19
A three-week refresher course in history was inaugurated at Kurukshetra University recently. A scholar-historian with expertise on Dalits and Depressed Classes in Punjab, Prof Joginder Singh, Head of Namdhari Guru Ram Singh Chair, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, said the protagonists of the Bhakti Movement like Kabir, Guru Nanak and Ravi Das belonged to the depressed classes and attacked the caste system to bring equality in Indian society.

Earlier social leaders galvanised society but today's so-called spiritual leaders are busy enjoying specific rights, spiritual and temporal statusand supremacy over their respective followers.

Managing their properties and estates, they have mustered support from government functionaries and political parties after converting their ‘deras’ into estates, Dr Joginder Singh said.

In his inaugural address, Lt Gen Dr DDS Sandhu, Vice-Chancellor Kurukshetra University, said that many socio-religious movements concentrated on caste and class equality and succeeded to a great extent in their mission.

Welcoming the guests, Professor Chattar Singh, Chairman, History Department said that the department had organised a three-day national workshop on 'New trends in Indian historiography' recently for the first time in north India. Dr Singh hoped that an international seminar would be organised early next year on the topic of 'Ethnic roots of the people of SAARC countries' .

The 3-week refresher course is being organised jointly by the UGC-sponsored Academic Staff College and History Department of the university in which about 40 teachers of history from colleges and universities of Haryana, Punjab, Himachal, Chandigarh, UP, Delhi, Orissa and Assam are participating.

Equal rights for women ‘a far cry’ in India
Raman Mohan
Tribune News Service

Hisar, December 19
Jagmati Sagwan, working president of the All-India Democratic Women Association (AIDWA), has said equal rights notwithstanding, women in India faced discrimination at every step.

Addressing a seminar on women’s issues organised here as part of the All-India State Government Employees Federation’s 14th annual conference, she said women faced discrimination in the home as well as work places. Equal rights existed only on paper whereas in reality women were being denied their due, she added.

Sangwan said such discrimination was not restricted to a particular state, but women were facing the problem of sexual harassment, dowry, domestic violence and honour killings throughout the country.

She said reservation for women in elected constitutional bodies had not become a reality as yet due to opposition by several political parties. Likewise, several laws of the country were loaded against women.

Her views were supported by representatives of women organisation from all over the country.

Madhuri Vyas from Assam said dowry was a big menace in her state. Though an anti-dowry law was in place, the number of dowry-seekers was growing by the day, she added.

Neelan Kumari from Bihar said women in her state faced harassment at work places. Domestic violence, dowry deaths and female foeticide was on the rise. She also complained of women being forced to enter the flesh trade.

At the end of the seminar, resolutions were passed for demanding 33 per cent reservation for women in elected bodies, stringent laws against harassment, dometic violence and discrimination.

Shaurya samman samaroh held
Nawal Kishore Rastogi

Rewari, December 19
Ex-servicemen, politicians and distinguished citizens participated in a Shaurya Samman Samaroh held under the auspices of the Vijay Divas-cum-Rezang La Shaheedi Samaroh Samiti (RLSSS) to commemorate the Vijay Divas at the Rezang La Shaheed Park here recently.

While Anil Shastri, late Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri’s son, and a former Union Minister and a member of the Congress Working Committee, was the chief guest, Power, Forest and Environment Minister and patron of the RLSSS Capt Ajay Singh Yadav presided over its proceedings.

Paying tributes to martyrs of the 1971 Indo-Pak War and other such armed hostilities, Anil Shastri specifically recalled the historic battle of Rezang La in which 114 Ahir jawans, including the company commander Major Shitan Singh, of the Charlie Company of 13 Kumaon, had made the supreme sacrifice while valiantly fighting the Chinese at the Rezang La post in the Chushul Sector of Ladakh region on November 18, 1962.

Paying homage to the martyrs who made sacrifices for the sake of the motherland, Power Minister Capt. Ajay Singh Yadav proudly said Ahirwal region was an acclaimed nursery of soldiers and every tenth jawan in the Indian Army was a Haryanavi.

Similarly, rifleman Udai Singh Chauhan, who was recently awarded Shaurya Chakra for his outstanding gallantry by the President of India, was presented a cheque of Rs 10 lakh.

Sewing machines and blankets were distributed among 135 war widows. Besides, distinguished sportspersons and gallantry award winners were also honoured on the occasion.

Schemes for safai workers
Plea to hold awareness camps
Tribune News Service

Panipat, December 19
Hari Ram Sood, a member of the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis, has called upon the district administration to launch a special campaign to generate awareness amongst safai workers about special schemes introduced by the Union and state governments.

Sud said that under various schemes the government was offering financial assistance up to Rs 10 lakh for each student from the weaker sections of society. However, the beneficiaries of these schemes largely remained unaware of the benefits they could draw from such schemes.

He said the district administration and the lead bank should organise seminars, workshops and camps to create awareness about such schemes to benefit these sections of society.

NZ delegation visits Panipat school
Tribune News Service

Panipat, December 19
To develop congenial international relations, GD Goenka Public School, Panipat, invited a special delegation from St. Bernard’s College, New Zealand, to hold interactions with the local students under a cultural exchange programme.

Peter Fava, principal of St. Bernard’s College, along with faculty member Rakesh, visited the school where they were accorded a warm welcome by RK Walia, principal of GD Goenka Public School. Walia said in the age of globalisation, cultural exchange programmes were significant to enable the students have a better understanding of international cooperation.

He said education had no boundaries and barriers and the school would be promoting similar cultural exchange programme for its students.

A special assembly was organised by the school in which Fava addressed the students and organised a visual presentation of the cultural life of his country.

He also invited the students and the teachers of the school to his country to learn about their culture.

Jagjit Singh remembered at mushaira
Our Correspondent

Panchkula, December 19
Rich poetic tributes were paid to ghazal samraat Jagjit Singh at a trilingual mushaira organised by the Kidar Adabi Trust at the trust complex here today. Notable poets who read out their poems included Siri Ram Arsh, Sham Singh, Manjit Indra, Ganesh Dutt, SL Dhawan Kamal, SS Jolly, Kedar Nath, Tarvinder Singh, and Gurtej Parsa.

Poets read out poems on the themes of political and socio-cultural relevance highlighting the day-to-day problems. Rajan Mittal and MP Chawla were the guests of honour on the occasion.

FAI Best Paper Award for 4 HAU scientists
Tribune News Service

Hisar, December 19
The Fertiliser Association of India (FAI) Best Paper Award (2010-11) has been conferred on four soil scientists of Haryana Agricultural University (HAU) - RS Antil, RP Narwal, Balwan Singh and JP Singh - for their article on long-term effects of farmyard manure and nitrogen application on soil health and crop productivity under pearl millet-wheat cropping system.

The award was presented by Union Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers Srikant Jena at a three-day annual seminar of FAI held at New Delhi.

The article chosen for the award is based on findings of an experiment running in the Department of Soil Sciences of the university since 1967.

The results indicated that combined application of farmyard manure and fertiliser N increased productivity and profitability of pearl millet-wheat cropping system and maintained soil fertility.

It has been predicted that for each unit (0.1 per cent) increase in soil organic C, the productivity of pearl millet could be increased by 273 kg per hectare and that of wheat by 1,591 kg per hectare.

Application of farmyard manure was found to be more beneficial in rabi (winter) season as compared to its application in kharif (summer) season. Further, application of PK and micronutrient fertilisers (except N) could be avoided with the application of 1.5 tonne farmyard manure per hectare per year in conjunction with recommended dose of N.

By doing so, there was a net saving of 100 per cent of PK and micronutrient fertilisers. Thus expenses on these chemical fertilisers could be reduced. The continuous application of farmyard manure improved physical, chemical and biological properties of soil as well.

Locating Brahmavart key to track Vedic era, says research
Sunit Dhawan
Tribune News Service

Gurgaon, December 19
Many researchers, including European scholars, have been trying to demarcate Saraswati and other revered Indian rivers mentioned in the Vedic scriptures like Rigveda, Manusmriti, Mahabharata and Shatpath Brahmin for a long time.

However, ascertaining the location of Brahmavart province and the course of the Drishadvati (now Sahbi) river is the key to determine the time frame of the Vedic era and track the revered Saraswati river.

This was stated by Sudhir Bhargava, convener of the Brahmavrat Foundation, Rewari, who has done considerable research on the subject, while giving a presentation to Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) members at the Power Grid auditorium here yesterday.

Bhargava, who is also the convener of the Rewari chapter of INTACH, observed that the Vedic-era province of Brahmavart was the place where a number (even generations) of saints and sages composed the holy scriptures that constituted the foundation of the Sanatan Hindu religion.

“Manusmriti indicates that Brahmavart was located at a place between the Saraswati and Drishadwati rivers. The Brahmavart state is also referred to as “dev bhumi”, a land created by Gods themselves.

This was the place where Vedas, Manusmriti and Upanishads were written and many revered sages like Manu, Bhrugu and Chyavan lived,” maintained Bhargava.

He said the Saraswati river flowed from the Himalayas to the Rann of Kutch during the Vedic period over 8,500 years ago and formed the western boundary of Brahmavart, the northern boundary of which was formed by the Drishadwati river.

“According to the Shatpath Brahmin, the Drishadwati started its journey from the “Pot of Brahma”, a description for the Pushkar lake near Ajmer.

Pushkar has the only ancient temple of Brahma. Drishadwati flowed from Pushkar towards north, amidst the Aravalli mountain range. Reaching the plains on the present day Rajasthan-Haryana border, the river took a turn towards the west to meet Saraswati river, which came from the North. This confluence formed the Brahmavart state,” Bhargava asserted.

He pointed out that the Manusmriti mentions that Kuru Pradesh was a neighbouring state of Brahmavart.

“However, modern researchers depict Brahmavart within the Vedic state of Kuru Pradesh,” he said, adding that this wrong depiction had done much damage to the efforts for time-framing the Vedic period civilisation correctly.

“Harappan inhabitants were from Brahmavart and adjoining Vedic states and not from Central Asia, as was told to us. The government should take concrete steps to unravel this controversy and develop the religious sites in the real Brahmavart area in South Haryana and adjoining Rajasthan, which is the birth place of Hinduism,” said the researcher.

He further argued that a sincere effort to locate the Vedic-era Brahmavart would help to solve the controversial Aryan Invasion Theory as well.

“It was from the Brahmavart area that the Vedic people migrated to far-off places in the entire country and places like Central Asia after the Drishadwati changed its course and the Saraswati dried.

“They took along the Vedic scriptures and as well as the Sanskrit literature,” Bhargava maintained.

Kurukshetra institute completes DRDO project
D.R. Vij

Kurukshetra, December 19
The Kurukshetra Institute of Technology and Management (KITM), 12 km from here, has successfully completed a project on “Design of capacitive micro-machine ultrasonic transducer for underwater acoustic imaging” funded by Naval Physical Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Government of India, within the stipulated period of one year.

Claiming this here recently, KITM principal and project coordinator Prof PJ George said the unique point about this project was that KITM was the first and the only private college in this region which was awarded a R&D project by the DRDO a year ago.

Talking about the project, Prof George said: “This is a technique by means of which we can get information about an object by sending sound waves. During this process, it neither damages the object nor destroys the properties of the object. The sound waves travel in a straight line and then hit the object. After this, some energy from the waves comes back and some energy penetrates through the object. The speed of the waves is then measured and it eventually gives us a fair idea about the distance of the object and its dimensions”.

He said: “At present, most of the ultrasonic transducers are made up of piezoelectric elements. Since these machines have developed some faults, the KITM team has used a different technique. The device made by using this technique is called “Capacitive Micro-machine Ultrasonic Transducer”. This device will be used in Navy warships, Naval submarines, mines and torpedoes for underwater imaging by sound waves”.

Dr Anil Arora and Dr Aarti Arora, investigators of the project under the guidance of Prof George, had designed this device which would be delivered to NPOL, Kochi.

Value-based education ‘need of hour’
Tribune News Service

Yamunanagar, December 19
Vijay Kapur, chairman of DAV Schools, has called upon Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda to give due importance to the school education and solve the problems of the aided schools.

He said the country should give top priority to the school education as schools were the launching pad for the higher education and the foundation of the students was laid in schools. He said value-based education at the school level was the need of hour.

He said Union Human Resource Minister Kapil Sibal deserved appreciation for laying stress on the Right to Education Act. “This Act is for helping students in their education at the school level”.

Kapur said the society must remember the late JN Kapur, former vice-president of DAV College Managing Committee, New Delhi, and former youngest member of DAV College Managing Committee, Lahore, besides Mahatma Hansraj, Bhai Parama Nand, Dr Gopichand Bhargav and Prof Veda Vyas who established a chain of DAV institutions by collecting donations from the public after the Partition.

Kaithal MP reviews development works
Our Correspondent

Kaithal, December 19
While presiding over the district vigilance and monitoring committee meeting and reviewing various on-going and completed development works here recently, MP Naveen Jindal appreciated work done by the field officials.

He also took to task the officials who had submitted misleading reports about completion of some development works with funds provided under the MP’s local area development funds.

He praised the irrigation department officials for the cleaning of canals under the MNREGA. Some reports submitted in the meeting suggested that works, for which the funds were allotted, had been completed. However, the ground reality was quite contrary to the submitted reports.

The MP directed Deputy Commissioner A Mona Sreeniwas to initiate action against those responsible for submitting false reports. Businessman-turned-politician Jindal showed mirror to some of the officials and pointed out various acts of omission and commission by them.

For the ground-check about utilisation of funds, Jindal had pressed into service his own staff which went to the field and collected information about various works and sites. In some cases, works shown to have been completed with the funds were either not completed or had not even begun. When all this was shown on the projector in the meeting hall, the concerned officials had to eat a humble pie.

The MP had allotted Rs 40,000 for construction of shed at the cremation ground in Ajit Nagar village of Guhla subdivision in 2007. The Siwan panchayat officer had submitted his report about completion of this work, whereas the shed had not been constructed. In two other similar cases, Jindal had allotted Rs 1.97 lakh for the construction of Harijan chaupal in Pisole village and Rs 45,000 for construction of cow ghat in Junaidpur village. The officials had submitted reports about completion of these works, but these were not even started.

He exhorted the health department officials to streamline functioning at the health centres of the district so that benefits could percolate to the deserving people.

SP Simardeep Singh, ADC PK Sharma and other district officials were also present on the occasion.

Five get 5-yr RI for dacoity at filling station
Our Correspondent

Rewari, December 19
RS Chaudhary, Additional Sessions Judge, here, has sentenced five gangsters, Arshad Pahalwan, kingpin of the gang, Mitthal, Tundu, Iqbal, all residents of Alwar district of Rajasthan, and Jabba, alias Javed, of Mewat district, to rigorous imprisonment for five years each in a case of armed dacoity which they, along with five other accomplices, had perpetrated at Arvind Filling Station at Kund, 23 km from Rewari, on November 7, 2010. Besides, the judge has also imposed a fine of Rs 1,000 on each of the five convicts.

While two of the 10 gangsters, Mubin and Salim of Alwar district, were earlier arrested by the police and sentenced to seven-year RI by the court, three others, Kasim Pahalwan, Mubin, alias Rama, and Atti, all residents of Alwar district, were still at large.

According to the prosecution, the above-mentioned 10 armed miscreants had looted a safe containing Rs 2.06 lakh from the petrol station in November, 2010.

They broke open the safe, took out the money and then abandoned the broken safe at a deserted spot in Alwar district from where it was subsequently recovered by the police.

ADC for curbing female foeticide
Our Correspondent

Rewari, December 19
Elected women representatives of zila parishads, panchayat samitis and village panchayats of the district participated in a district-level conference held under the auspices of the Haryana Rural Development Institute, Nilokheri, at the Hem Chandra Vikramaditya Hall here recently.

Additional Deputy Commissioner Mahender Singh Yadav called upon the women functionaries of the Panchayati Raj Institutions of the district to create awareness about the “Beti Bachao” agenda among all sections of society.

Emphasising the urgency of curbing female foeticide, he exhorted parents to eschew bias against daughters and provide them good education and ensuring well-balanced development of society.

Highlighting the benefits of MNREGA, he urged the functionaries of the village panchayats to implement it in letter and in spirit.