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CHANDIGARH

LUDHIANA

DELHI
JALANDHAR



THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS
50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS

Every Tuesday & Friday

Steep rise in crime against women in Gurgaon
Gurgaon, May 2
Six minors raped and four sexually assaulted last month in Gurgaon. Having registered 31 cases of rape so far this year as compared to 22 in the corresponding months last year, there is no stopping the horror. While the police has failed to act as a deterrent, it claims to had done its best in all reported cases.

Health-conscious Fatehabad residents opt for walk, yoga
Fatehabad, May 2
With people becoming health conscious, more and more residents are being attracted to morning walk, exercise and yoga sessions. Health freaks start flocking towards various walking points in Fatehabad town as soon as the day sets in.
A group of doctors work out at a park of Alfa City township on a Hisar road in Fatehabad A group of doctors work out at a park of Alfa City township on a Hisar road in Fatehabad. Photo by writer


EARLIER EDITIONS



HAU to hold admission tests on June 8, 23
Hisar, May 2
Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University (CCSHAU) will hold entrance tests for admission to different undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes on June 8 and June 23.

Auto-rickshaws' strike: HR plies buses in Rewari
Rewari, May 2
During the recent four-day strike by auto-rickshaw operators who insisted on withdrawal of one-way traffic restrictions imposed by the police administration to ensure hassle-free movement of vehicular traffic on the circular road here, the local Haryana Roadways authorities plied two buses on the circular road to provide requisite relief to needy citizens at a modest fare of Rs. 5 per single trip.
Rajiv Nagpal, general manager of Haryana Roadways, flags off a city bus in Rewari
Rajiv Nagpal, general manager of Haryana Roadways, flags off a city bus in Rewari. Photo by writer

Inter-personal relations key to success
Kurukshetra, May 2
At the prize distribution ceremony of Rostrum 2012, an annual public speaking competition at Kurukshetra University (KU) held here recently, chief guest Dr DDS Sandhu, Vice-Chancellor (VC), KU, said inter-personal relationships and good communication skills were the keys to success in every field including education.

Govt to strengthen healthcare facilities in state
Chandigarh, May 2
Haryana Chief Parliamentary Secretary Ram Kishan Fauji said there was a proposal to introduce a new public health cadre to strengthen the medical and healthcare facilities in the state.

Sonepat to get another railway over bridge to ease traffic
Sonepat, May 2
Decks have cleared for the construction of another railway over bridge (RoB) within the municipal limits of Sonepat town at a level crossing near the Sonepat cooperative sugar mill on the Delhi-Ambala section of the Northern Railway.

A view of traffic congestion at the level crossing near Sonepat cooperative sugar mill on the Delhi-Ambala section of the Northern Railway in Sonepat. Photo: BS Malik
A view of traffic congestion at the level crossing near Sonepat cooperative sugar mill on the Delhi-Ambala section of the Northern Railway in Sonepat

Power-distribution system
State to invest Rs 2,000 crore
Gurgaon, May 2
Aiming to do away with persistent power woes, Haryana will now invest Rs 2,000 crore in a special plan to be executed in the next two years. The plan aims at strengthening the power distribution system. The modalities of the ambitious plan were discussed at a meeting of Bijli Vitran Nigam officials.

Discoms earn 24 pc more revenue in 2012-13
Hisar, May 2
Power distribution companies (Discoms) in Haryana — the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam and the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam — have managed to increase their recovery of revenue considerably through concerted efforts.

248 micro-water sheds to be set up in seven dists
Hisar, May 2
Hisar and Bhiwani are among the seven districts of Haryana where the Haryana Rural Development Department will set up 248 micro-water sheds under its Integrated Water Shed Management Programme.

Declining groundwater table
Admn bans 'sathi' cultivation in Karnal
Karnal, May 2
The local administration has banned the sowing of high-water consuming 'sathi' variety of paddy crop up to June 15 and has warned the farmers against violating the orders. The ban has come after the growing concern over the fast depletion of groundwater in the region's rice belt.

USE OF FOOD PRODUCTS TECHNOLOGY
HAU inks four pacts with private firm
Hisar, May 2
Under its public-private partnership programme (PPP), Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University (CCSHAU) inked four pacts with a private sector company, DKS Incorporates, recently and granted a non-exclusive licence for use of its food products technologies.

Posters on Walls of Govt Schools
Take action, minister tells DEOs
Jhajjar, May 2
The state government has been taking steps to beautify buildings of government schools across the state. Action would be taken against those who are using walls of government schools for “publicity” by pasting posters and making paintings on the same.
Education Minister Geeta Bhukkal interacts with students during an inspection of Government Girls Senior Secondary School in Jhajjar. Photo by writer
Education Minister Geeta Bhukkal interacts with students during an inspection of Government Girls Senior Secondary School in Jhajjar

200 girls attend self-defence workshop
Kurukshetra, May 2
To overcome gender bias and encourage women empowerment, the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Kurukshetra, organised two events: A lecture-cum-interactive session on 'Living or Existing?' and a self-defence training workshop for girls on its campus recently.
Two girls participate in a self -defence training workshop at the National Institute of Technology (NIT) in Kurukshetra recently. Photo: DR Vij
Two girls participate in a self -defence training workshop at the National Institute of Technology (NIT) in Kurukshetra recently

Rewari lecturer honoured with Golden Educationist Award
Rewari, May 2
Dr Uma Shanker Yadav, an educationist and writer of the Rewari region and director of the Swaranjali Group of Educational Institutions (SGEI) here, has been honoured with the prestigious “Golden Educationist of India Award” for his meritorious services in the domain of education in Haryana and Rajasthan during the past four decades by the International Institute of Education and Management (IIEM), Delhi.

Dr Uma Shanker Yadav (fifth from left) being felicitated during a samman samaroh at Swaranjali School of Education in Rewari
Dr Uma Shanker Yadav (fifth from left) being felicitated during a samman samaroh at Swaranjali School of Education in Rewari. Photo by writer

Engineering students design tripod car with more mileage
Karnal, May 2
Pursuing the mission to make transportation easier, accessible, safe, comfortable and cheaper, ‘Team Centroid’ of mechanical engineering students of Ambala College of Engineering and Applied Research, hailing from Karnal, has designed a 'reverse-trike tripod car' which will be available in the market for Rs 1.50 lakh.

Hospital chain launches next-gen hospital in Gurgaon
Gurgaon, May 2
"Many of us do charity in some way or the other, though we may not talk about it. Some do it genuinely, while others just want to hog the limelight. But whatever the reason, we must do charity ?and try to do it directly."

Bollywood actor Salman Khan with Malvinder Mohan Singh and Shivinder Mohan Singh of the Fortis Foundation in Gurgaon. Tribune photo: Sayeed Ahmed
Bollywood actor Salman Khan with Malvinder Mohan Singh and Shivinder Mohan Singh of the Fortis Foundation in Gurgaon

Midday meal: Aid to schools raised
Chandigarh, May 2
The cooking cost given under the Midday Meal Scheme to all primary and upper primary schools in the state has been raised by 7.5 per cent. While stating this here recently, an official spokesperson said after the hike, the cooking cost would now be Rs 3..34 per day per student in all primary schools and Rs 5 per day per student in all upper primary schools.

127 undergo free eye surgery
Ambala, May 2
The Rotary Club of Ambala organised a three-day eye camp at Mahabir Dal Hospital, Ambala Cantt, recently. The camp was conducted by an eye specialist, Dr JR Saini, and his team of doctors. As many as 482 patients were provided with free medical aid out of which 127 patients underwent eye surgery.

Beating the heat: With the rise in mercury, these children enjoy swimming in a canal in Karnal
Beating the heat: With the rise in mercury, these children enjoy swimming in a canal in Karnal. Tribune Photo: Ravi Kumar

Oath-taking ceremony
Kurukshetra, May 2
Manish Papneja Memorial Public School, Ismailabad, organised its sixth oath-taking ceremony of students council for the session 2013-14 on its campus recently. Head boy Jagmeet and head girl Navneet Kaur took oath with all newly elected members of the council.

Kavita Dwibedi performs at Kurukshetra NIT
Kurukshetra, May 2
Sanatan Nritya Puraskar winner and famous classical dancer Kavita Dwibedi performed Odissi classical dance at a function organised by the students’ clubs of the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Kurukshetra, to mark the institute's golden jubilee year recently.

Placement drive at GNIT
Ambala, May 2
Guru Nanak Institute of Technology (GNIT), Mullana, held a placement drive on its campus yesterday. General Electric (GE) conducted interviews for the B Tech (Mechanical) students for the compnay's graduate trainee programme.

MOVIES THIS WEEK
Shootout at Wadala
Directed by: Sanjay Gupta
‘Shootout at Wadala’ is directed by Sanjay Gupta and is produced by Ekta Kapoor, Shobha Kapoor and Sanjay Gupta. The cast of the movie includes John Abraham, Tusshar Kapoor, Kangna Ranaut and Sonu Sood. Arif Zakarla plays the role of an editor of an Urdu newspaper in Mumbai.
A still from the movie, ‘Shootout at Wadala’

A still from the movie, ‘Shootout at Wadala’

There! You’re on my screen: Students of ITM University at the annual convocation function in Sector 23-A, Gurgaon
There! You’re on my screen: Students of ITM University at the annual convocation function in Sector 23-A, Gurgaon. Tribune photo: Sayeed Ahmed
Weighing sweetness! With the mercury rising, watermelons are in great demand in Karnal
Weighing sweetness! With the mercury rising, watermelons are in great demand in Karnal. Tribune photo: Ravi Kumar





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Steep rise in crime against women in Gurgaon
Sumedha Sharma
Tribune News Service

Gurgaon, May 2
Six minors raped and four sexually assaulted last month in Gurgaon. Having registered 31 cases of rape so far this year as compared to 22 in the corresponding months last year, there is no stopping the horror. While the police has failed to act as a deterrent, it claims to had done its best in all reported cases.

“In a majority of the 31 cases reported in the city this year, the accused were known to the victims. We have taken prompt action, right from arresting the accused to filing the charge sheets,” says Police Commissioner Alok Mittal.

Incidents of abduction, eve-teasing and molestation have emerged as a greater threat to the city’s fairer sex as these have almost trebled as compared to last year. Gurgaon, till date, has registered 19, 22, and 41 cases of eve-teasing, molestation and abduction, respectively, as compared to six, four and nine last year.

“Women are now more aware and, hence, the registration of crime has increased. The first step to deal with any crime is to get it acknowledged and if we have got more complaints as compared to the last year that means we are a step ahead in dealing with crime,” says Deputy Commissioner of Police.

'Fear is now part of women's lives'

Rtunjya Gujral, a schoolgirl from the city, has won kudos for her blog, which states the condition of women in NCR, after the infamous December gang rape in Delhi.

“Curfews, personal guards and daily fear are now a part of women's lives in my homeland. I know people who have placed curfew hours for their daughters, and some have even appointed bodyguards for their security, even my own father. My guard is always with me when I go to school, with my friends or even to market with my mother. I love to be free but I am scared. I am scared of men who stare at me. I prefer not to go out alone without one of my parents," reads her blog.

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Health-conscious Fatehabad residents opt for walk, yoga
Sushil Manav
Tribune News Service

Fatehabad, May 2
With people becoming health conscious, more and more residents are being attracted to morning walk, exercise and yoga sessions. Health freaks start flocking towards various walking points in Fatehabad town as soon as the day sets in.

Residents, both men and women, can be seen taking brisk walks, doing jogging and workouts in the Town Park in Model Town and parks of Soma Township and Alfa City on the Hisar road in Fatehabad.

“A brisk walk for 40 minutes in the morning followed by a few normal exercises can keep you fit throughout the day,” said Dr Viney Singla, a local physician.

“It helps to control your diabetes, keeps your blood pressure within limits, strengthens your muscles and bones and keep you free from various ailments,” Dr Singla added.

Dr Nidhi Sandooja, a gynaecologist, said she had been a regular morning walker for the past over a decade.

Besides normal walking and jogging, she performs yoga and physical exercises for nearly 30 to 40 minutes everyday.

“This routine keeps my cardiovascular system in order, provides physical strength, give flexibility to my body and also helps me shed extra calories and extra weight,” she said.

“Morning walks and exercises are not merely for obese people. Even those with normal health can maintain their health by a daily routine of workout in the morning,” added Dr Dinesh Sandooja, an otolaryngologist.

He said he too had been a regular morning walker and the one-hour time devoted for this purpose keeps him happy and efficient throughout the day.

Doctors maintain that it promotes mental well-being.

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HAU to hold admission tests on June 8, 23

Hisar, May 2
Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University (CCSHAU) will hold entrance tests for admission to different undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes on June 8 and June 23.

The application process has already begun. The university will conduct entrance test on June 8 for four-year BSc Hons (Agriculture), and MSc programmes in Food Science and Technology, Bio-informatics and Molecular Biology and Biotechnology. On June 23, test for six-year BSc Hons (Agriculture) course will be conducted.

In other courses, including four and six-year BSc Hons (Home Science) and MSc programmes in various disciplines, students will be admitted on the basis of merit obtained in the qualifying examination. However, admission to BTech (Agricultural Engineering), MBA (General), and MBA (Agri-business) will be made as per the policy of the Haryana Government.Registrar Dr SS Dahiya said for the courses where entrance test would be conducted, the last date of submission of application was May 14 but with late fee of Rs 200, the candidates would be able to apply till May 21.

For four and six-year BSc Hons (Home Science) courses and MSc programmes in different disciplines, the last dates of submission of application are June 14 and June 24 respectively. The facility to apply online had also been made available to the candidates. — TNS

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Auto-rickshaws' strike: HR plies buses in Rewari
Nawal Kishore Rastogi

Rewari, May 2
During the recent four-day strike by auto-rickshaw operators who insisted on withdrawal of one-way traffic restrictions imposed by the police administration to ensure hassle-free movement of vehicular traffic on the circular road here, the local Haryana Roadways authorities plied two buses on the circular road to provide requisite relief to needy citizens at a modest fare of Rs. 5 per single trip.

Thus while the citizens got a provisional respite from the overbearing approach of the auto-rickshaw drivers in the matter of charging irrational fare from them, the roadways authorities, too, earned such dividends that stimulated them to start their city bus service here to meet a long-standing demand of the citizenry.

Thus Haryana Roadways' city bus service virtually came into vogue when its General Manager Rajiv Nagpal flagged off a city bus here on Monday.

While two special buses of Haryana Roadways will remain in operation from 6 am to 8 pm daily on the circular road here, it will charge from every passenger a fare of Rs 5 per single trip, whether it comprised the entire circular road or a part thereof.

Besides, while the bus stand will be the starting as well as the terminating point for these city buses, they will have their main stops at the Naiwali Chowk, the Railway Station and the Dharuhera Chungi. Simultaneously, the passengers will be able to make them halt at places of their need and choice as well.

Only time will tell how the city bus service of Haryana Roadways was going to affect the operation of the auto-rickshaws here.

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Inter-personal relations key to success
Our Correspondent

Kurukshetra, May 2
At the prize distribution ceremony of Rostrum 2012, an annual public speaking competition at Kurukshetra University (KU) held here recently, chief guest Dr DDS Sandhu, Vice-Chancellor (VC), KU, said inter-personal relationships and good communication skills were the keys to success in every field including education.

Rostrum is organized under the aegis of Dean Students' Welfare, KU, since 2005.

Self confidence, body language, knowledge of the subject and eye-to-eye contact with the audience are the important factors that contribute to becoming a good orator, he added.

He also announced that from next year, regional languages, Punjabi and Sanskrit would also be included in the final stage of Rostrum.

The VC gave away prizes to the winners of slogan writing and poster-making competitions organised on the theme of eve-teasing, stop crime against women and improving perception about women.

Earlier, Prof Anil K Vashisth, Dean, KU Students' Welfare, welcomed the guests and informed that Rostrum was the biggest student event held annually on the campus which involved multi-stage activity, encompassing all the academic units.

Results:

Rostrum 2012-13:1. Atulya, Institute of Law, 2. Ashish, LLB and 3. Namrata, M.Sc. Chemistry.

Special Prizes: 1. Umang Goswami, 2. Amanpreet and 3. Harish.

Slogan Writing Competition: 1. Amit Kumar, 2. Ganesh and 3. Sitaram.

Poster Making Competition: 1. Shiv Kumar, 2. Monika and 3. Shruti.

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Govt to strengthen healthcare facilities in state
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 2
Haryana Chief Parliamentary Secretary Ram Kishan Fauji said there was a proposal to introduce a new public health cadre to strengthen the medical and healthcare facilities in the state.

Fauji said the move would help in bringing the health issues to the community level in villages, along with inter-sectoral coordination. Besides, with a view to make the health facilities available more effectively, there is a proposal to revise the norms for the recruitment of employees in hospitals.

He said people had developed a faith in government hospitals as a result of which 1.67 crore persons had availed medical facilities in government hospitals . He said 14.2 lakh patients had availed indoor facilities in 2012 in these institutes.

He said the government had laid a special emphasis on improving public health infrastructure in the state. During the previous year, Rs 75.14 crore had been spent on providing free medicines to patients, whereas during the current financial year Rs. 96 crore had been provided, he said.

The Chief Parliamentary Secretary said the present state government had set up a women medical college with 100 MBBS seats besides 500 bed hospital at Khanpur Kalan. He said construction of medical colleges at Nalhar in Mewat and in Karnal was in progress and they would become operational soon. He added that this would increase the number of government medical colleges in the state to four.

He said the state government had allotted 300 acres in Badhsa village in Jhajjar for the extension of AIIMS, New Delhi. The outreach outdoor patient department (OOPD) at the AIIMS-II has already become functional with an estimated cost of Rs 20 crore. Moreover, there were, at least, 11 dental colleges and over 100 nursing institutions operational in private and institutional sector and my more would come up in the state, he added.

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Sonepat to get another railway over bridge to ease traffic
Our Correspondent

Sonepat, May 2
Decks have cleared for the construction of another railway over bridge (RoB) within the municipal limits of Sonepat town at a level crossing near the Sonepat cooperative sugar mill on the Delhi-Ambala section of the Northern Railway.

The Haryana State Road and Bridge Development Corporation has floated tenders for its construction at an estimated cost of Rs 33.43 crore and the time limit for completion of the construction has been fixed at two years.

The corporation’s Deputy General Manager SS Pawar said the tenders will be opened on May 27 for allotment of the construction work of the project which was being funded by the National Capital Region Planning Board and the construction work will be started soon.

According to the approved dimensions of the RoB, it will have a length of 800 metres with a top height of 11 metres. It will be ascending descending in the ratio of one metre within a length of 35 metres.

This two-lane RoB will be of 7.50 metres width with a divider between the lanes. Besides, there will be a footpath of 1.50 metres width on its both sides for the use of the pedestrians and as a protective measure, there will also be 0.50 metre-thick railing of RCC on both sides.

This will be the third RoB within the municipal limits of the town. The first RoB was constructed long back on Rohtak road near old industrial area and the second RoB is under construction at a level crossing near Sonepat railway station and it is likely to be completed within one year.

With a rapid increase in the number of vehicles and for want of a bypass around Sonepat town, traffic congestion was a major problem which was being faced by the residents of the town.

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Power-distribution system
State to invest Rs 2,000 crore
Tribune News Service

Gurgaon, May 2
Aiming to do away with persistent power woes, Haryana will now invest Rs 2,000 crore in a special plan to be executed in the next two years. The plan aims at strengthening the power distribution system. The modalities of the ambitious plan were discussed at a meeting of Bijli Vitran Nigam officials.

Devender Singh, chairman and managing director, Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam and the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam, who chaired the meeting said from now on they would work towards "evacuation" of already available additional power to increase hours of supply, giving it a reliable and qualitative dimension by removing all system constraints and reducing aggregate technical and commercial losses considerably.

"Power woes are all set to vanish as we intend to increase power supply by three hours in the next three months. The availability of power has already been arranged. The need is to strengthen the distribution system and reduce AT&C losses in villages. Villages which opt for the safe and reliable new model of power distribution and have AT&C losses less than 25 per cent will be treated as zero power-cut villages. Restrictions in supply will not be imposed in these villages over the urban area," said Singh.

Promising a power cut-free summer this year, the department claims that low-tension distribution system is being relaid and meters are being shifted to pillar boxes. The old bare conductor is being replaced with accident-free insulated cables."Under the new system, a proper energy audit and indexing of installations can be ensured. The AT&C losses have also reduced considerably, making the villagers eligible to get supply on the urban pattern.The new system of power distribution is being created on the first-come first-served basis," said a senior official.

The department also plans to hold camps in the villages to give on-the-spot connections and regularise 'kundi' connections.

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Discoms earn 24 pc more revenue in 2012-13
Tribune News Service

Hisar, May 2
Power distribution companies (Discoms) in Haryana — the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam and the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam — have managed to increase their recovery of revenue considerably through concerted efforts.

A spokesperson of the Discoms said owing to the special efforts made during the period from October 2012 to March 2013 under a special campaign, the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam and the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam earned 24 per cent more revenue in 2012-13 compared to 2011-12.

The power distribution utilities earned a revenue amounting to Rs. 11,117 crore during 2012-13 against Rs 9,855 crore collected in 2011-12.

A spokesman of the DHBVN said the increase in the revenue had been the maximum during the period from October, 2012 to March, 2013 as it was Rs 5,846 crore against Rs 4,940 crore during the same period in 2011-12.

He said the collection efficiency of the DHBVN, during the months from October, 2012 to March, 2013, was over 95 per cent.

The spokesperson said the rate of return on input of electricity received had also increased by more than 25 per cent and the aggregate technical and commercial losses had reduced by almost 2.5 per cent in 2012-13.

The management of the nigams has asked to the officers to reduce AT&C losses to the level of 15 per cent by strengthening power distribution system and improving collection efficiency.

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248 micro-water sheds to be set up in seven dists
Tribune News Service

Hisar, May 2
Hisar and Bhiwani are among the seven districts of Haryana where the Haryana Rural Development Department will set up 248 micro-water sheds under its Integrated Water Shed Management Programme.

The other districts where these projects are to be implemented are Rewari, Mahendergarh, Ambala, Panchkula and Yamunanagar.

These projects will cover an area of more than 1.79 lakh hectares and cost Rs 215.44 crore.

Under this programme, Rs 8.87 crore have already been spent up to March 2013, said an official spokesperson.

For 2013-14, the government has approved an area of 61,000 hectares in Gurgaon, Jhajjar, Mewat, Palwal, Rohtak and Sonepat districts under this programme to take measures for soil and moisture conservation.

Also, other activities like promotion of agriculture forestry and horticulture, construction of ponds in farms, community ponds, check dams and plantation of multipurpose plants will be undertaken.

He said under the Indira Awas Yojna, from March 2005 to March 2013, more than 1.22 lakh houses had been constructed for the poor people in the villages at a cost of Rs 451.72 crore out of which 74,340 houses had been built for members belonging to Scheduled Castes. Under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee (MGNREGA) Scheme, there was a provision to provide 100 days' employment to families in villages in a year. Under this, from March 2005 to March 2013, as many as 499,50 lakh labour days had been provided at a cost of Rs 1,251.35 crore. Out of the total labour days, 260.96 labour days were for members belonging to the Scheduled Castes and 108.38 for women.

He said during 2013-14, a target has been set to create 129.32 lakh mandays at a cost of Rs 488.91 crore. He said from March 2005 to March 2013, under the Swaran Jyanti Gram Swarojgar Yojna, self employment had been provided to over 1.70 lakh persons including 91,558 belonging to the Scheduled Castes at a cost of Rs 237.95 crore.

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Declining groundwater table
Admn bans 'sathi' cultivation in Karnal
Tribune News Service

Karnal, May 2
The local administration has banned the sowing of high-water consuming 'sathi' variety of paddy crop up to June 15 and has warned the farmers against violating the orders. The ban has come after the growing concern over the fast depletion of groundwater in the region's rice belt.

With harvesting of wheat coming to a close, the farmers had already started preparing the fields for sowing paddy crop. 'Sathi' which is a high-water consuming and early-maturing intermediate crop finds immediate favour among the farmers.

Renu S Fulia, Deputy Commissioner, Karnal, has cautioned the farmers that sowing two rice crops during the summer season would further lower the ground water table creating water scarcity. She has also asked the farmers not to raise 'sathi' nurseries up to May 15 and wait for the rainy season as it will save both water and electricity.

The Haryana Government has enacted the Preservation of Sub Soil Water Act, 2009, which provides for imposing a penalty of Rs 10,000 on violators.

About four years ago, the area under 'sathi' cultivation in Haryana was around 40,000 hectares but after the government launched a motivational campaign to stop 'sathi' cultivation, the area under cultivation was reduced to 1,249 hectare within a year.

In spite of the ban in Haryana, reports of raising ‘sathi’ rice nurseries for further transplantation have been pouring in from Karnal and its adjoining districts. The government implemented the Haryana Preservation of Sub Soil Water Act three years ago under which, the Agriculture Department had to destroy ‘sathi’ nurseries raised on a 100-acre area in Indri and some other places in the district last year.

To wean away the farmers from cultivating ‘sathi’ paddy, the state's Agriculture Department has propagated ‘moong’ as an alternative crop to supplement the farmers' income.

However, the people of Indri are demanding from the administration to lift the ban as 'sathi' fetches an additional Rs 15,000 per acre to them.

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USE OF FOOD PRODUCTS TECHNOLOGY
HAU inks four pacts with private firm
Tribune News Service

Hisar, May 2
Under its public-private partnership programme (PPP), Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University (CCSHAU) inked four pacts with a private sector company, DKS Incorporates, recently and granted a non-exclusive licence for use of its food products technologies.

In a function chaired by the Vice-Chancellor, Dr KS Khokhar, Director of Research, Dr SS Siwach, on behalf of the CCSHAU, and Anurag Sharma on behalf of DKS Incorporates signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU).

Under the pact, the company will use food product technologies developed by the Foods & Nutrition Department and the Centre of Food Science & Technology of the university for the preparation of Bajra biscuits, Bajra cakes, extruded snacks and beverages (two variants each) besides shelf-stable Bajra flour and Brahmi biscuits.

Speaking of the occasion, the Vice-Chancellor, Dr Khokhar, expressed the need of promotion of processing as well as value addition technology in agriculture.

He said today only 7 per cent of the agriculture produce was being processed while 3 per cent was given value addition in the country.

This, he said, was quite meagre for economic benefit of the farmers. Secondly, the scope of export of agriculture produce from the country was also very little as nearly 98 per cent of the farm produce was consumed in the domestic market only.

Further emphasising the need of processing technology, he said that in the 12th Plan, the focus of the government would also be on creating storage facilities for which primary processing at field level would be most essential.

Dr Khokhar said today a wide range of processing and value-addition technologies were available in farm varsities but their promotion would be possible only with the collaboration of the private sector.

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Posters on Walls of Govt Schools
Take action, minister tells DEOs
Ravinder Saini

Jhajjar, May 2
The state government has been taking steps to beautify buildings of government schools across the state. Action would be taken against those who are using walls of government schools for “publicity” by pasting posters and making paintings on the same.

Haryana Education Minister Geeta Bhukkal stated this while interacting with mediapersons during her surprise visit to a Government Girls’ Senior Secondary School here recently.

She said the Education Department had received several complaints stating that boundary walls of government schools were being used by people to publicise their products or enterprises at various places in the state.

“Taking a serious view of the complaints, I have directed district education officers (DEOs) of all districts to take legal action against those indulging in this act,” said the minister, adding that motivating slogans would be written at these walls to encourage people for ensuring their contribution for noble causes.

She also interacted with students and staff members of the school. The minister also motivated the students to toil hard with dedication for a bright career.

Expressing concern over rising incidents of crime against women, Bhukkal said though both Houses of Parliament had enacted strict laws to deal with cases of crimes against women effectively, there was an urgent need to implement the same in a right manner.

Provision of severe punishment should be made in such crimes through fast-track courts, she added.

“All political parties should launch campaigns and raise voice against incidents of exploitation against women,” she said.

Bhukkal later visited Government Polytechnic Institute and Industrial Training Institute (IIT) here and directed the institutes’ managements to provide all sort of basic facilities to students, besides ensuring proper sanitation condition on campuses.

She also announced to open a canteen in both institutes so that students could not go outside for buying eatables during study hours.

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200 girls attend self-defence workshop
Our Correspondent

Kurukshetra, May 2
To overcome gender bias and encourage women empowerment, the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Kurukshetra, organised two events: A lecture-cum-interactive session on 'Living or Existing?' and a self-defence training workshop for girls on its campus recently.

Interacting with students, Tapan K Mishra, an expert on science and practical spiritualism from Odisha, said youth today lacked concentration, enthusiasm, confidence and commitment because of which they faced so many challenges.

He said: "When people, situations and events cannot be altered by any means, it is an intelligent act to work upon one's own mind."

During the three-hour interactive session, Mishra emphasised that people should live life to the fullest.

The self-defence training workshop was organised by the Shri Krishna Martial Arts Sansthan, Kurukshetra. Rajesh Sharma, sansthan director-cum-chief instructor, taught girls different techniques of self-defence such as 'hand-grab defence', 'neck-grab defence', 'holding-from-behind defence' , 'slap defence' and different forms of martial arts like taekwondo, karate, kudo, karav maga and aikido.

About 200 female students participated in the workshop.

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Rewari lecturer honoured with Golden Educationist Award
Nawal Kishore Rastogi

Rewari, May 2
Dr Uma Shanker Yadav, an educationist and writer of the Rewari region and director of the Swaranjali Group of Educational Institutions (SGEI) here, has been honoured with the prestigious “Golden Educationist of India Award” for his meritorious services in the domain of education in Haryana and Rajasthan during the past four decades by the International Institute of Education and Management (IIEM), Delhi.

The award was presented to him by Mahan Vir Tulli, chairman, IIEM, at a samman samaroh held at IIEM’s office complex at the Dilshad Garden in Delhi, recently.

Dr Yadav was also honoured earlier with the distinguished “Bharat Gaurav Award” for his valuable services in the fields of education, social utilities and literature by the All-India Achievers Foundation, Delhi.

After putting in 33 years of service in government colleges of Haryana, he retired in September 2009 following which he joined Baba Kheta Nath Mahila Postgraduate College, Bhitera in Alwar district of Rajasthan, as its Principal.

He worked with the college for about three years after which he recently joined the SGEI here as its Director.

His authorship of several novels and anthologies of poems in English as well as Hindi has established his credentials as a writer as well.

Soon after the conferment of the “Golden Educationist of India Award” on him in Delhi, a samman samaroh was also held in his honour at Swaranjali Public School in Devlawas, near here, recently. On the occasion, Surender Yadav, Chairman of the SGEI, said it was a matter of pride for them that a dedicated and seasoned educationist like Dr Yadav was at the helm of affairs in the SGEI.

The SGEI Chairman also felicitated him for his accomplishments in the domain of education and literature.

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Engineering students design tripod car with more mileage
Bhanu P Lohumi
Tribune News Service

Karnal, May 2
Pursuing the mission to make transportation easier, accessible, safe, comfortable and cheaper, ‘Team Centroid’ of mechanical engineering students of Ambala College of Engineering and Applied Research, hailing from Karnal, has designed a 'reverse-trike tripod car' which will be available in the market for Rs 1.50 lakh.

The tripod car, christened as “transporter”, is a concept car designed and aimed to be the next cheapest car with a seating capacity of two adults. It can run on a two-wheeler engine and used for inter-city commuting purpose.

At present being a concept, its engine is a 150 cc four-stroke Bajaj Pulsar 150 D-Tsi which gives a top speed of 90-km/h and a mileage of 42 km/l. The team is continuously working to improvise the design and upgrade the technology to ensure that with a petrol engine it gives a mileage of 60 km/l and a top speed of 100 km/h.

The idea of “Team Centroid” originated in 2011 and the team is headed by a Karnal boy, Kashish Malik, and Nitish Sharma as the co-head and Amit Sheoran and Vikram Yadav as members.

The car is based on the ‘reverse-trike design’ that means that two wheels are in the front and one wheel, which is the power wheel, is at the rear. Unlike the conventional auto-rickshaws in India and some other countries, its design is totally reverse.

The advantage of this design is that it has more stability and even load distribution on all three wheels instead of two wheels of a two-wheeler, which gives it more speed and less load on the single rear power wheel increasing fuel efficiency.

The reverse-trike car has several advantages over the four-wheeler conventional car as it is low-cost, has less weight due to a lighter gear box and transmission, more mileage, low-maintenance cost, cheaper spare parts and service, less pollution and a lower running cost.

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Hospital chain launches next-gen hospital in Gurgaon
Do charity directly, advises Salman Khan
Sunit Dhawan/TNS

Gurgaon, May 2
"Many of us do charity in some way or the other, though we may not talk about it. Some do it genuinely, while others just want to hog the limelight. But whatever the reason, we must do charity ?and try to do it directly."

This was stated by famous movie actor, style icon and philanthropist Salman Khan at the launch of The Little Hearts campaign of his altruistic initiative Being Human in collaboration with Fortis Memorial Research Institute (FMRI) here recently. The campaign aims at curing 500 children suffering from heart ailments.

"Rather than donating money somewhere where you don't know how it will be utilised, it is better to make direct charity like funding a child's education," observed the film star.

The campaign launch marked the opening of Fortis Healthcare's flagship hospital, the Fortis Memorial Research Institute.

The hospital has a capacity of 1,000 beds, of which 450 have already been provided for in the initial phase, he added. The institute boasts of a team of medical experts coming from premier public as well as private hospitals across the country.

"Located in Gurgaon, FMRI claims to provide the next generation of multi-disciplinary super-specialisation in oncology, trauma and paediatric care with embedded centres of neurosciences, minimal-access surgery, cardiac sciences and orthopaedics," said Dr Ashok Seth, chairman, Fortis Escorts Heart Institute.

Speaking at the launch of the flagship institute, Dr Dilpreet Brar, regional director, FMRI, said, "We offer clinical and allied services at the cutting edge of science and technology to treat patients across a spectrum of super-specialties. I am confident that the institute will become a landmark of medical care in Asia and beyond."

Services and facilities for patients and their attendants include a swimming pool, a well-equipped gymnasium and spa, a mini-theatre, a multi-cuisine food-court and outlets for retail therapy and alternative remedies.

Some of the milestone technologies at the hospital also include a pioneering pilot project for precision radio-surgery in the world, integrated operating and procedure rooms, digitised critical-care cubicles, advanced cath-labs, transplant rooms, endoscopy suites, private birthing centres, a state-of-the-art radiation wing and an advanced stem cell lab.

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Midday meal: Aid to schools raised

Chandigarh, May 2
The cooking cost given under the Midday Meal Scheme to all primary and upper primary schools in the state has been raised by 7.5 per cent. While stating this here recently, an official spokesperson said after the hike, the cooking cost would now be Rs 3..34 per day per student in all primary schools and Rs 5 per day per student in all upper primary schools.

Earlier, the cooking cost was Rs 3.11 per day per student in all primary schools and Rs 4.65 per day per student in all upper primary schools.He said over 20.88 lakh students were being covered under the Midday Meal Scheme in the state. A sum of Rs 352 crore has been earmarked for the Midday Meal Scheme for the current financial year. — TNS

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127 undergo free eye surgery
Our Correspondent

Ambala, May 2
The Rotary Club of Ambala organised a three-day eye camp at Mahabir Dal Hospital, Ambala Cantt, recently. The camp was conducted by an eye specialist, Dr JR Saini, and his team of doctors. As many as 482 patients were provided with free medical aid out of which 127 patients underwent eye surgery.

Club president Dr KK Jain said the Rotary International had 78 Rotary Clubs spread over five states, including Chandigarh, and had fixed a target of carrying out about 3,000 eye surgeries this year. However, the Rotary Club of Ambala had committed to complete a major share of the 500 surgeries this year.

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Oath-taking ceremony

Kurukshetra, May 2
Manish Papneja Memorial Public School, Ismailabad, organised its sixth oath-taking ceremony of students council for the session 2013-14 on its campus recently. Head boy Jagmeet and head girl Navneet Kaur took oath with all newly elected members of the council.

Jagdish Papneja, chairman of the school, encouraged the students to uphold the values of school and to shoulder their duties with loyalty, truth and honour.

Principal Amita Sachdeva hailed the new students council and said it should adhere to the values of honesty and service before self. — OC

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Kavita Dwibedi performs at Kurukshetra NIT
Our Correspondent

Kurukshetra, May 2
Sanatan Nritya Puraskar winner and famous classical dancer Kavita Dwibedi performed Odissi classical dance at a function organised by the students’ clubs of the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Kurukshetra, to mark the institute's golden jubilee year recently.

The show commenced with a brief introduction of the evolution of the Odissi dance form followed by Saraswati Vandana by students.

Dwibedi explained various dance poses of the Indian Natyashastra and the nine emotions (rass) of the Indian Literature. She then performed ‘Pallavi’ and 'Gajodhar’ dance and enacted ‘Draupadi’s Cheerharan’.

During the show, she was joined by Suresh Kumar as the background singer, Praful Kr Mangraj on the mridul and Agnimitra Vaheriya on the violin.

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Placement drive at GNIT
Our Correspondent

Ambala, May 2
Guru Nanak Institute of Technology (GNIT), Mullana, held a placement drive on its campus yesterday. General Electric (GE) conducted interviews for the B Tech (Mechanical) students for the compnay's graduate trainee programme.

Vikas, senior HR official of the company, and his team visited the GNIT for the drive. He said: "GE is searching for diligent candidates with the right skill set to become a part of the prestigious company. As many as 20 students have been shortlisted who will be appointed as graduate trainee engineers in the company. We are extremely satisfied regarding the placement drive and assure that we will continue visiting the GNIT in future also."

The selected candidates have been offered a salary of up to Rs. 3.50 lakh per annum.

Earlier, top companies like Google, Infosys, Citibank, IBM Technologies and Wipro had come to the GNIT campus for a series of placement drives.

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MOVIES THIS WEEK

Shootout at Wadala

Directed by: Sanjay Gupta

‘Shootout at Wadala’ is directed by Sanjay Gupta and is produced by Ekta Kapoor, Shobha Kapoor and Sanjay Gupta. The cast of the movie includes John Abraham, Tusshar Kapoor, Kangna Ranaut and Sonu Sood. Arif Zakarla plays the role of an editor of an Urdu newspaper in Mumbai. It is a prequel to ‘Shooout at Lokhandwala’ and is based on the book, ‘Dongri to Dubai’, written by Hussain Zaidi.

While ‘Shootout at Lokhandwala’ featured a real-life gun battle between gangsters and the Mumbai Police at a housing complex based in Lokhandwala, Mumbai, ‘Shootout at Wadala’ is based on the first-ever registered encounter by the Mumbai Police. Manya Surve was shot dead in Wadala, Mumbai, on November 1, 1982. The film has a new star cast except Tusshar Kapoor, who has been retained in this film. It releases all over Haryana on Friday.

Chhota Bheem And The Throne of Bali

Directed by: Rajiv Chilaka

Green Gold Pictures is ready with their second animation film after ‘Chhota Bheem’. Titled ‘Chhota Bheem And The Throne of Bali’ is a Yash Raj Films production, which will hit the theatres in Haryana on Friday.

In this animation film, viewers will see ‘Chhota Bheem’ coming to help the King of Bali and the crown prince. So enjoy a well directed animation film at theatres near you.

— Dharam Pal

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