Yamunanagar/Ambala, October 31
The financial constraints being faced by the state power utilities has led to a shortage of coal stocks at the three major thermal power stations in the state where the stocks have dwindled drastically, placing the plants in the supercritical category.

As per the daily report published by the monitoring division of the Central Electricity Authority Operation, the 1360-MW Panipat Thermal Power Station (PTPS), which has a daily linkage of 18.3 metric tonnes of coal, including 2 MT of imported coal and 90 MT of indigenous coal, has less than four days of coal stocks.

The 600-MW Deen Bandhu Chhotu Ram Thermal Power Project at Yamunanagar which is non-operational for the past several months and has a daily linkage of 6.8 MT of coal, has a stock that would last 37 days. Here the 300-MW unit no. 1 which has been out of operation since September 35, last year, is likely to be revived within a few days, following which coal consumption would pick up.

The 1200-MW Rajiv Gandhi Thermal Power Project (RGTPP) at Khedar in Hisar has been placed in the supercritical category as the stocks at present available here would not last more than four days. The plant has a daily linkage of 15.9 MT of coal.

The 1000-MW Indira Gandhi Super Thermal Power Project at Jhajjar, which has a daily linkage of 13.4 MT of coal, has stocks which would not last more than seven days. At the 1320-MW Mahatma Gandhi Super Thermal Power Project, Jhajjar, the coal stock is barely sufficient for one day, bringing this unit in the supercritical category.

As per the official records, less receipt of coal has been cited as the main reason for the shortage of coal at the thermal units. However, sources in the power utilities, say that financial constraints being faced by the utilities had led to the coal crisis.

The sources said Coal India had recently turned down the power utility's request for enhancing the coal linkage to various thermal plants of the state for the year 2012-13. The power utility had requested for the conversion of coal grade from 'F' to 'D' for its 2x600-MW Khedar Thermal Power Plant, which had also been denied, the sources said.

Meanwhile, the sources said the shortage of coal was to be met through import of coal. In order to bridge the gap between demand and coal availability, the power utilities were expected to import around 159 million tonnes (MT) to meet the shortage in coal supply from Coal Indian Limited (CIL). This quantity of imported coal would be in addition to the 54 MT coal likely to be imported by thermal power stations designed on imported coal. Therefore, the total quantity of coal to be imported was about 213 MT.

However, the CEA report states that the HPGCL had been assigned a target to import 2000 million tonnes of coal but practically it imported no coal because of the financial crunch, the sources said.

The shortage of coal is also likely to hit the upcoming thermal power projects in the state. The state is planning a 660-MW capacity additional unit to the thermal unit at Yamunanagar as an extension of two 300-MW units each. The state is depending upon the coal block at Mara-to-Mahan in Madhya Pradesh which has estimated coal reserves of 956 million tonnes that were allocated jointly to HPGCL and the Delhi government. However, the steps required to develop this coal block are still under way.

Chandigarh, October 31
Promising a responsive and an accountable police force, newly-appointed Haryana Director-General of Police (DGP) Sriniwas Vashisht said here today that the maintenance of law and order and safety and security of women and underprivileged sections of society would be his priorities.

Addressing mediapersons after formally taking over as the DGP from Ranjiv Singh Dalal at the Police Headquarters in Panchkula, Vashisht said a strict vigil would be kept on criminals and anti-social elements. The intenstive campaign launched by the police to keep a tab on the activities of the anit-social elements would be intensified in the coming days, he added.

Saying that the vacant posts would be filled soon, Vashisht informed that about 7,000 under-training police personnel would join the Haryana police to strengthen the police force.

Appreciating the efforts of his predecessor Dalal, the new DGP said innovative measures started during the previous years would be continued.

The outgoing DGP Dalal expressed satisfaction over his six-year-old tenure, claiming that several projects aimed at the modernisation of the police were initiated and completed during his tenure. 

Chandigarh, October 31
The Punjab and Haryana High Court today directed that Bhim Singh Ranga and other accused on bail in the Apna Ghar case should not be allowed anywhere near the children.

A Division Bench also made it clear that the court would take a serious view if any attempts to trouble the children surfaced. The Bench also directed that special counselling be given to children.

Before parting with the orders, the Bench added that the petitioner, Utsav Singh Bains, was at liberty to meet the counsellor to help in the process of children's rehabilitation and protection.

At the very onset, the CBI, entrusted with the task of probing the matter, also submitted a status report in a sealed cover. The report came just about a fortnight after the High Court asked the investigating agency to apprise the court of the progress in the matter by placing before it a status report.

The direction came on a petition for initiation of contempt proceedings against the CBI for its inability to complete the probe in the Apna Ghar case within the stipulated two-month period.

The High Court had on July 19 disposed of the PIL filed by Bains by handing over the probe to the CBI. The court had given two months to the investigating agency to complete its investigation.

Alleging inaction, the petition asserted: “The contempt petition has been filed in public interest and in the larger interest of administration of justice and in the earnest hope that the stream of justice will not be polluted and the administration of justice will remain independent, clean, fearless and impartial?.”

Bains added the CBI filed a chargesheet against seven accused --Jaswanti, Sushma, Jai Bhagwan, Satish, Sheela, Jaswant and Veena on August 7 --- before the Special Judicial Magistrate, CBI, Panchkula.

The remaining three accused, Harvinder Singh, Daya Nand and Bhim Singh Ranga have been granted bail as the investigation is still pending and no chargesheet has been filed.

Chandigarh, October 31
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered a probe into the allotment of plots meant for the poor to ineligible persons in Haryana.

A Division Bench has, in fact, asked the Kurukshetra District Development and Panchayat Officer (DDPO) to carry out investigations and take “corrective measures” for the cancellation of “wrong allotments”, if so established by the probe. A three-month deadline has been set for the purpose.

The directions came on a petition filed by Gaje Singh against the state of Haryana and other respondents by the Division Bench of Chief Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri and Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain.

He was seeking the quashing of allotment and registration of 100-square yard plots allotted to members of the backward class or persons below poverty line under the Mahatma Gandhi Gramin Awas Yojna.

Raising objections to the allotments, Gaje Singh had submitted that 35 plots were allotted to persons declared ineligible by the committee in 2008, that too without inviting applications.

His counsel told the court that the petitioner forwarded a representation dated February 28 in this regard to the Kurukshetra Deputy Commissioner. He, in turn, on March 20 forwarded the representation to the District Development and Panchayat Officer.

Disposing of the petition, the Bench added: “After investigation, if it is found that averments are correct, then corrective measures shall be taken to cancel the wrong allotments. The entire exercise shall be done within three months and the result thereof shall also be communicated to the petitioner”.

For preventing any attempts at pushing the issue under the carpet of secrecy by the powers that be, the Bench concluded: “If the petitioner is still dissatisfied, he shall be at liberty to approach the court again”

Sirsa, October 31
Runa (26), a Dalit woman from Chattargarh Patti locality of Sirsa town, is a distressed woman. Having lost her job following a decision of the new management committee of the school she worked in as a peon, Runa is facing a criminal case too slapped on her.

Her children Jannat (4) and Manav (3) have been forced to drop school as the school authorities allegedly backtracked from their earlier promise of providing free education to her children for a year even after her removal.

Bimla (48), another former class IV employee of the school, has a 24-year-old physically challenged child to look after.

With the only source of her livelihood gone, she too is in dire straits.

Runa and Bimla are among 11 former staffers of Maharaja Agarsen School, Sirsa, who were removed from their services on September 26 by the new management committee of the school that took over a day earlier.

All of them are very poor and the school’s decision to remove them summarily without any notice and then lodging criminal cases against them has left them devastated.

With criminal cases also registered against them, these poor former staffers are not even in a position to apply somewhere else for jobs.

Rajinder Ganriwala, new president of the school management committee, who removed these staffers, said the school was overstaffed.

He said the management lodged criminal cases against them as they created a ruckus in the school on October 5 and smashed some windowpanes.

“On October 5, the poor former staffers had gone to the school to know the reason for their summary removal, but a functionary of the management committee responded rashly, made some unsavoury remarks against a woman and pushed a woman, who fell on a window resulting in the breaking of a windowpane,” said Gaurav Kumar Sharma, counsel in the Sirsa courts.

The police had registered a case under Sections 427 (mischief causing damage) and 452 (criminal trespass) on the complaint of the school management.

“The poor do not have any say as the police did not listen to the injustice done to us at all,” said Vimla, a teacher who is among the 11 removed from the school and booked by the police.

School principal Shalini Verma, who did not oblige the management to give an adverse report on these staffers and offered to resign rather, was also booked -- for criminal trespass for sitting in her own office.

The police said the case was registered on the complaint of the school management and investigations were in progress.

Sirsa, October 31
With two new cases of suspected dengue coming to notice today, the health authorities in Sirsa have sounded an alert in the district.

Five cases of suspected dengue have come to notice in the past five days, all reported by a private physician of the town.

“We have sent blood samples of these patients to Hisar for testing and only after receiving the reports, we will be able to ascertain whether they actually suffer from dengue or not,” said Sheel Kaushik, Deputy Civil Surgeon (Vector-Borne Diseases).

Inquiries from some private doctors in the town, however, reveal that the number of patients with low platelets counts, a condition in dengue, is much more but many doctors avoid reporting these to the health authorities in view of the ‘hassles’ involved’.

Meanwhile, the increasing number of cases of malaria is also causing concern to the authorities. As many as 2,875 cases have been reported till date against 2,575 reported in the entire year in 2011.

Dr Daya Nand, Civil Surgeon, Sirsa said that the authorities had made elaborate arrangements to meet the challenge.

“We have set up an isolation ward in the Trauma Centre of the General Hospital where we have reserved seven beds for patients suffering from dengue,” Daya Nand said.

He said arrangements had made in cooperation with the town’s Shiv Shakti Blood Bank and Shah Satnamji Blood Bank to provide platelets to the patients at affordable rates.

He said rapid response teams had been set up in the district to ensure that blood samples of all suspected cases of dengue were taken and treatment was started immediately.

A control room had been set up in the General Hospital (telephone numbers 01666-240155 and 01666-241888) to get any information on dengue.

Rewari, October 31
Dr Ajay Singh Chautala, secretary-general of the INLD, has asserted that if the prevailing political scenario was any indication, mid-term elections of the Lok Sabha were imminent.

Addressing a press conference here today, he said with the collapse of the Congress-led UPA government, the Hooda regime in Haryana too would go sooner than expected.

About the state-level Samman Divas Samaroh to be held here tomorrow to mark the 99th birth anniversary of the late Ch Devi Lal, Ajay Chautala said the public rally would be a milestone and set several new records.

Recalling the world record of 70,000 citizens chanting the national anthem of Pakistan at a public meeting held in Lahore, Pakistan, he confidently said over one lakh citizens of Haryana would recite the National Anthem at the public meeting here tomorrow. This accomplishment would be recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records as well as the Limca Book of Records by their representatives who would be present at the rally.

Chautala said the convener of NDA coordination committee and president of JD(U) Sharad Yadav, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, union minister Farooq Abdullah, Telugu Desam Parliamentary party leader Nageshwar Rao and former Army Chief Gen VK Singh, would grace the occasion.

Chandigarh, October 31
Though Lok Sabha and state assembly elections are far away in 2014, yet the ruling Congress and the Opposition Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) will flex their muscles at rallies in the next three days. The Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) will also organise a state-level rally in Sirsa on December 2.

While Om Prakash Chautala-led INLD will renew its efforts to form Third Front at a state-level rally at Rewari on November 1, the Congress will showcase its strength at a rally in support of the foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail in Delhi on November 4.

Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who had brought enough embarrassment to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi through land deals of her son-in-law in Haryana, had left no stone unturned to convert the rally into a show of strength by the Haryana Congress. Hooda had asked the party workers to converge at the Delhi rally in a large number to give a befitting reply to the Opposition’s “false propaganda” against the Central and state governments.

Similarly, the INLD rally at Rewari, which coincides with the birth anniversary of former Deputy Prime Minister and INLD founder Devi Lal, is expected to give a boost to the formation of the Third Front at the Centre.

The rally would be addressed by National Democratic Alliance (NDA) convener Sharad Yadav and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Telegu Desham leader Nama Nageshwar, Republican Party of India (RPI) leader Ramdass Athawale and former Army chief VK Singh. The rally would be organised to ‘expose” various acts of omission and commission of the Hooda Government, particularly rise in crime and rampant corruption in the state.

And through the December 2 rally at Sirsa, Kuldeep Bishnoi-led HJC would try to make a dent in Chautala’s stronghold.

Karnal, October 15
The Karnal police today claimed to have solved the blind murder of Ranjeet Singh, whose body was recovered in a jute bag from Vikas Colony on Meerut road on October 15, a day after he went missing.

The police arrested Sanjeev Jha from his native place in Guda district in Jharkhand. Sanjeev used to work as a chowikadar at Ujjwal Public School in Vikas Colony and stayed in a room in the school premises along with his family.

The accused confessed that he had a fight with Ranjeet a few days ago. On the night of October 14, he called Ranjeet to his room, made him unconscious by serving drinks, hit him on the head with a brick and then killed him with a sharp-edged weapon in the bathroom.

The accused packed the body in a jute bag and threw it in Vikas Colony before fleeing to his native place with his family.

The needle of suspicion pointed towards Sanjeev when it became known that he and his family had left Karnal.

The accused, who was remanded in six-day police custody, said he killed Ranjeet for eying his wife.

Meanwhile, the father of Shweta(21), who allegedly committed suicide by hanging herself in her room, was booked under section 302, IPC, for murder today.

Faridabad, October 31
Mayor of Municipal Corporation Faridabad (MCF) Ashok Arora and joint commissioner of the civic body Anita Yadav today accused each other of accepting bribe to allow and condone unauthorised constructions in the municipal limits of Faridabad.

The spat between the two took place at a meeting of the District Public Relations and Grievance Redressal Committee which was presided over by Faridabad Deputy Commissioner Balraj Singh.

Among others, a local Congress MLA and the Faridabad Congress president, respectively, Anand Kaushik and BR Ojha, were present on the occasion.

The background to the mayor-officer confrontation was a complaint made by a member of the committee against the failure of the authorities to check unauthorised constructions.

The mayor accused officials of taking bribe to condone unauthorised constructions.

When asked by the deputy commissioner to identify the guilty officials, the mayor pointed his finger at Anita Yadav, joint commissioner, NIT Zone.

The mayor alleged that three unauthorised factory-buildings were allowed to be completed in the NIT Zone about two months back. He further alleged that the officials of the civic body took action only against common persons and looked the other way with regard to illegal construction of big buildings.

Anita Yadav hurled a counter-charge against the mayor. She said when a demolition squad went to demolish illegally constructed houses in NIT-1, some residents told the officials they had given bribe to the mayor to save their illegally constructed houses.

When contacted, the mayor confirmed the developments. He said he would apprise Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda about the development.

Karnal, October 31
A 25-year-old youth today alleged that three policemen forced him to consume some poisonous substance at the Assandh police station in the district.

In a statement before Magistrate Jagdish Chand, Khushi Ram stated that the police was torturing him for the past six months at the behest of Kalu of the same ward and on Sunday, Head Constable Sanjay and Constable Ravi picked him up from his house and took him to the police station.

"They demanded Rs 20,000 from me and when I refused to give the money, they threatened to frame me in some case and then Sub-Inspector Shamsher forced me to consume some poisonous substance while Sanjay and Ravi caught me," he alleged in his statement.

On getting information, Assandh DSP Shyam Lal Kaushik reached the police station and took him to a hospital. Relatives of the youth also reached the police station and levelled serious allegations against the police. In the absence of proper treatment, the relatives took Khushi Ram to a private hospital at Kaithal.

However, the police said on October 27, a case was registered under Sections 392 and 506 of the IPC on the complaint of Sarandeep of Malikpur Dera. Sarandeep alleged that when he was on his way back from Assandh along with his nephew Harvinder on the evening of October 22, four persons with their faces covered looted Rs 84, 500 in cash and gold chain from them and also injured them.

During investigations, two policemen went to Khushi Ram’s house, who came under suspicion, today to serve notice under Section 160 of the CrPC, but he refused to sign the notice and told them that he would come to the police station.

The police claimed that Khushi Ram came to the police station and said: “You policemen are troubling me at the behest of Kalu and I have consumed celphos tablets.” The police immediately rushed him to the hospital.

The police said doctors had stated that his condition was stable and a case under Section 309 of IPC for attempt-to-suicide had been registered against him. Earlier, a case under the Arms Act was also registered against him, the police added.

Sirsa, October 31
Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) chief Phool Chand Mullana today alleged that the opposition parties and some other forces were out to destabilise the country by their negative politics.

Talking to mediapersons at Sirsa and Fatehabad today, Mullana said a phase of negativism that had crept into politics was affecting farmers, labourers, Dalits and poor the most.

He maintained that the negativity in politics was also affecting the economy of the country thereby weakening India. Mullana was here in connection with the mobilisation of people for the November 4 rally of the Congress in Delhi.

Mullana alleged that the opposition parties had developed a habit of criticising the government’s policies for the sake of opposition.

Mullana remained evasive on questions regarding Robert Vadra deals in Haryana and said the November 4 rally being organised by the Congress in Delhi would give answers to all “misleading propaganda” being spread by the opposition parties.

Terming the opposition parties in Haryana as “private limited companies” of political families, Mullana alleged that the only aim of these parties was to grab power. He claimed that Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda would form the next Congress Government in Haryana.

Sonepat, October 31
Representatives of various voluntary organisations, including Shiksha Adhikar Parishad, Haryana Abhibhawak Ekta Manch and Chhatra Abhibhawak Sangh, led by convener of the “2+5 Mudde Jan Andolan”, Satbir Singh Hooda, today organised a protest in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s office here demanding implementation of Rule 134-A of the Haryana School Education Rules-2003 in all the private schools.

Hooda said on February 6, 2012, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had ordered the implementation of the Rule 134-A under the supervision of a five-member committee headed by the DC concerned in every district. But, he said, no steps had been taken by the supervisory committees so far.

“On September 27, the high court has demanded a list of the eligible students of economically weaker sections in Haryana whose annual income is below Rs 2 lakh and seeking admission in private schools by November,” he said adding that the list of such students of 14 district had already been prepared and the list of remaining districts would also be prepared before November 7.

Meanwhile, a delegation of the district unit of the Haryana United Schools’ Association led by district president Ajmer Singh today handed over a memorandum to Additional Deputy Commissioner SB Lohia against implementation of Rule 134-A. Almost all private schools in the district remained closed for the third consecutive day today.

Ambala, October 31
The Haryana Private Schools’ Association today sought intervention of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hood for finding an appropriate solution to the problems being faced by them in implementing the Right to Education (RTE) in more than 15,000 schools across the state.

In a memorandum addressed to the Chief Minister after observing a three-day strike during which private schools affiliated with the body remained closed, the association stated that unaided private schools were incapable of bearing the expenditure of providing free education to 25 per cent students from the economically weaker sections of the society.

The state government had incorporated an additional clause in the RTE Act under Rule 134-A of the Haryana School Education Rules, 2003.— TNS

Gurgaon, October 31
In protest against lockout in Eastern Medikit Limited for the past nearly six months, workers today organised a protest rally and submitted a memorandum to Badshahpur MLA Rao Dharampal demanding immediate commencement of company operations and payment of pending salaries.

The protesting workers said the company's virtual closure had left them and their families dejected. "Nobody is listening to us. Now, we are left with no option but to continue with our hunger strike. We have knocked every door but of no use. If the authorities continue to be indifferent, we will intensify our stir," said a union member.

Trouble had started brewing in the company in July this year, one of the oldest units Gurgaon, when workers of the medical equipment manufacturing company accused the management of rendering them unemployed after making them to work for almost two months without electricity and water.

Ambala, October 31
Two BTech students of MM University, Mulana, were killed while another student was injured seriously when their motorbike collided with a truck on the Ambala-Jagadhri road near Mulana late last evening.

The deceased were identified as Rishabh Mahajan (19) and Richard Guerra (25). Rishabh belonged to Gurgaon while Richard was a resident of Shimla. The injured student, Kuldeep, is admitted to MM Medical College.

All friends were going toward Mulana on a motorbike. Their bike collided with a truck coming from the Yamunanagar side. Some passersby took the students to MM Medical College.