The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Poor implementation dents credibility of programme
Sushil Manav
Tribune News Service

Sirsa/Fatehabad, May 27
Recent incidents of schoolchildren taking ill after consuming Iron and Folic Acid (IFA) tablets distributed by the Health Department has dented the credibility of an otherwise well-intentioned programme of combating anaemia among adolescents.

Reports of children falling ill after consuming IFA pills supplied by the Health Department have been coming from several villages in Sirsa, Fatehabad and other parts of Haryana.

The incidents have not only shaken the confidence of children, but their teachers as well as the field staff of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), who are to implement the project, are also feeling helpless.

The fact that the health authorities have not been able to provide a satisfactory answer to the incidents so far has put a question mark on the implementation of the programme.

Anaemia is rampant among adolescent children in Haryana. Girls are more prone to anaemia and during Hb tests conducted by the Health Department, the number of girls suffering from anaemia was alarmingly high.

In recent Hb tests, 799 out of the 800 girls tested for haemoglobin (Hb) level in their blood were found anaemic in a college in Fatehabad.

Because of the gender and social conditioning, the girls are more vulnerable to
nutritional status.

Consequently, they are likely to suffer from chronic anaemia, miscarriages or give birth to low-birth weight babies after marriage,” tell medical experts.

Their efficiency or capacity of working goes down, learning and thinking skills are also affected.

Anaemia is considered as a contributing factor to maternal mortality. There are various reasons for iron deficiency. Infections and diseases are an important factor responsible for malnutrition, particularly in children and adolescents. Poor environmental sanitation and hygiene also lead to repeated bouts of infection.

The girls also lose a considerable amount of iron during menstruation thereby needing more iron.

Food habits, traditions, personal likes and dislikes preference for junk food, cooking practices and socio-economic facts contribute to anaemia in this age group, the medical experts add.

The government’s drive to combat anaemia included administration of Albendazole tablets to children to remove worm infections and give them Iron and Folic Acid (IFA) tablets to remove iron deficiency in them.

There is no denying the fact that the ongoing programme to free children from anaemia is very important, but due to improper implementation at the hands of ill-trained staff, little children have been suffering in hospitals.

In September last year, when the department launched a drive to give Albendazole tablets to children to free them from worm infestation, a number of children landed in hospitals.

Now, when the health authorities are distributing IFA tablets, children are again falling ill.

The health authorities give several explanations that the incidents are due to students taking pills on empty stomach, but they have no answer to the question as to why their field staff is not taking proper care by administering these pills to children after they have taken their midday meals.

Dr Rakesh Gupta, Mission Director of the National Rural Health Mission in Haryana clarified that the incidents of schoolchildren taking ill after consuming Iron and Folic Acid (IFA) tablets were isolated incidents and claimed that the drive aimed at checking anaemia among children was proving to be a huge success throughout state.

Dr Gupta said under a nationalwide programme to check high the incidence of anaemia among adolescents, particularly girls, Iron and Folic Acid (IFA) were to be given to 16.45 lakh children in Haryana under the Weekly Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation (WIFS) programme.

“Adolescent anaemia is a long-standing public health problem in India and it is estimated that more than five crore adolescents, 15 to 19 years are anaemic in the country. Anaemia is caused by iron deficiency. Adolescents are at a high risk of iron deficiency, and thereby anaemia due to accelerated growth and body mass building, poor dietary intake of iron and high rate of worm infestation. In girls, deficiency of iron is further aggravated with higher demands with the onset of menstruation and also due to the problem of adolescent pregnancy and conception,” said Dr Rakesh Gupta.

He said although the IFA tablets being distributed to children were already tested for their efficacy and contents, the NRHM was again getting the drug tested from a laboratory.

Police fails to trace abductors of 2 minor girls
Our Correspondent

Rewari, May 27
The dare devilish act of miscreants relating to the abduction of seven-year-old Parul, daughter of Rajesh Kumar of the nearby Cheemnawas village, from the Rewari railway station on May 4, followed by kidnapping of five-year-old Divya, daughter of Sonu Balmiki of Bhiwani district, from the station premises by an unidentified person on May 20, have added to the worries of the Government Railway Police, the Railway Protection Force as well as the Rewari district police. Efforts to trace the abducted children and the culprits have remained fruitless till date.

To tackle the situation effectively, SP Pankaj Nain recently announced a cash reward of Rs 1 lakh each for those providing any information in both cases.

OP Singh, Inspector-General of Police, South Range, along with other senior police officials of Rewari, visited the station premises soon after Divya’s abduction on May 20 and took stock of the situation. A computerised sketch of the suspected kidnapper was subsequently released by the police.

Power Minister Capt Ajay Singh Yadav has also directed SP Pankaj Nain and SP, GRP, to solve both cases.

Village elders of nearby villages held a maahapanchayat at Cheemnawas village under the guidance of Dayanand Yadav, a former sarpanch of Dhamlawas village, recently in which they expressed resentment at the failure of the authorities in tracing the culprits in the two cases. They also resolved to hold another mahapanchayat of village elders of 101 villages on June 2 to chalk their future strategy.

Union Government to replicate Haryana's sports policy
Pradeep Sharma
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 27
The Central Government is all set to replicate the success of Haryana's sports policy. The Central Government has decided to construct 60,421 gram panchayat and 1,852 block stadiums in 28 states and four UTs under the Panchayat Yuva Krida Aur Khel Abhiyan (PYKKA). A sum of Rs 692.72 crore has been provided for this purpose and work on the project will begin next month.

This was stated by Union Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Jitendra Singh while speaking during a two-day conference of the Sports Ministers and Secretaries of states and union territories in New Delhi recently.

Commending the efforts of Haryana to promote sports in the state, especially in the rural areas of the state, Jitendra Singh said the Haryana Government had constructed 226 Rajiv Gandhi Rural Sport Complexes and 232 Rural Sports Stadiums all over the state under its sports policy.

The Union Minister also released booklet "Success Stories of Haryana Sports", published by the Sports and Youth Affairs Department of the Haryana Government, in the presence of Haryana Minister of State for Sports Sukhbir Kataria.

Amit Jha, Financial Commissioner and Principal Secretary, Sports, Haryana , said the PYKKA was being implemented in Haryana since 2008-09. The players from Haryana have participated in various national rural tournaments. In 2011-12 and 2012-13, players from Haryana won 33 and 35 gold medals respectively in national rural tournaments. Jha said the Haryana Government had constructed a sufficient number of rural sports stadiums across the state. He urged the Union Sports Ministry to provide financial grant to Haryana for laying synthetic hockey turfs and providing other modern amenities in these stadiums.

Hailing the decisi on of the Union Sports Ministry to increase the honorarium from Rs 500 to Rs 3,000, he said this would benefit the trainees at sports centres run under PYKKA, in 2,476 villages and 48 blocks all over Haryana.

Officials allowed to share full info under RTI
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 27
The Haryana Government has amended secretariat instructions to enable government servants to communicate to any person or organisation full and accurate official information, which can be disclosed under the Right to Information Act, 2005, in performance of his duties in good faith.

However, this cannot be construed as permitting communication of classified information in an unauthorised manner or for improper gains to a government servant or others. A circular to this effect was issued by the Chief Secretary’s office here recently.

The amendment has been made in compliance of the 2nd Administrative Reforms Commission, Government of India, first report titled “Right to Information-Master key to Good Governance”, which recommended for these amendments in the Central Secretariat Manual.

As per the old provision, government employees were prohibited from communicating to anyone, including fellow government employees without authority, any information acquired by them in the course of their official duties. Such unauthorised communication is also prohibited under the India official Secrets Act.

Priyadarshini Awaas Yojana
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 27
Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda would launch the Priyadarshini Awaas Yojana (PAY) throughout the state from Karnal on June 8.

This was informed at a meeting of the Haryana Rural Development Authority (HRDA) held under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister here recently. The scheme aims at providing housing facility in rural areas to eligible families on the pattern of the Indira Awaas Yojana being implemented by the Central Government.

No power, water crises this season in Rohtak
Bijendra Ahlawat
Tribune News Service

Rohtak, May 27
With the power availability crossing the 23-hour supply, both Power Department and consumers appear to be a happy lot in the absence of major cuts during the past one month here.

The total power consumption in the district, which was pegged at 35.73 lakh units on May 23, 2012, had risen to 41.83 lakh units on same day this year, showing an increase of over six lakh units, said VS Maan, Superintending Engineer, Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN), who claimed that the average power supply which was around 19.45 lakh units per day in the district last year has gone up to 23.07 hours daily, which has been a kind of record itself.

Providing details, he said a sea change had come in matter of power cuts during the May in 2012 and 2013 as urban consumers who suffered power cuts of 113 hours during this month last year have faced a cut of just 1.40 hours this year. The total power cut period of 95 hours for rural domestic consumers last year has gone down to just 1.50 hours this year in May. The average supply to rural areas (domestic) has gone down to 14 hours this season instead of 10 hours last year.

The power supply to the rural agricultural sector has also gone up to 13 hours in comparison to 10 hours last year, Maan said.

Claiming that the power supply situation had improved drastically across the state, an official of the department said this was perhaps due to improvement in power supply from natural sources and efficient functioning of all power-generating units and plants in the state. The production in some of the units of the thermal plant at Panipat had to be suspended recently in view of the supply exceeding the demand during the past over a month. Describing it as a major achievement of the state government, a local leader of the ruling party said this development was a major relief to consumers. He said this was perhaps the first time that there was no protest over the issue of shortage of water and power supply, which were common during the tenure of previous governments.

Haryana notifies Non-Biodegradable Garbage (Control) Act
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 27
The Haryana government has notified the Haryana Non-Biodegradable Garbage (Control) Amendment Act, 2013.

While giving this information here recently, an official spokesman said the Act aimed at regulating the manufacturing, sale, distribution, stock, usage, transport and disposal of non-biodegradable material and prohibition of throwing and depositing of non-biodegradable material garbage in public drains, sewerage, roads and places open to the public view in the state.

He said as per the amendment, the non-biodegradable material meant the material which could not be decomposed or degraded by action of micro-organisms, sunlight or other natural actions and included goods made or manufactured from polythene, nylon or other plastic substances such as poly-vinyl chloride (PVC), poly-propylene and poly-styrene and included such other materials as specified by the state government by notification from time to time.

The spokesman said the state government might impose restriction or prohibition on the usage, sale, stock, distribution transport of things made of non-biodegradable material which was contrary to the norms, as the state government specified. Apart from this, the government might impose requirements on manufacturers, distributors and other persons who produced or handle commodities with respect to the type, size, labelling and composition of packaging material keeping in view, use and disposal, including standards or norms for material degradability and recyclability, he added.

He said under the Act, any person empowered by the state government would have a right of entry and inspection at all the reasonable times with such assistance as it considered necessary, any place for the purpose of performing any of the functions entrusted to him by the state government or for the purpose of determining whether directions served under the Act were being or had been complied with.

Authorities told to prepare village-wise list of works

Chandigarh, May 27
Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda recently directed the authorities to prepare village-wise list of works to be carried out under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) for providing large-scale employment to the people under the scheme. Hooda was presiding over the meeting of the State Level Vigilance Monitoring Committee of the Rural Development Scheme here.

Hooda said as the scope of the MGNREGS had widened, new works like construction of anganwadi centres and playgrounds would also be undertaken under the scheme.— TNS

Breast cancer cases up due to ignorance: VC
Our Correspondent

Sonepat, May 27
The women need to become aware of protection from breast cancer. If this menace was not controlled, the coming generations will not be lucky to have breast feeding.

Dr Pankaj Mittal (centre), VC, BPS Women University, Khanpur Kalan, addresses the participants during a workshop on breast cancer at the university. Photo: BS Malik

This was stated by Dr Pankaj Mittal, Vice-Chancellor of BPS Women University, Khanpur Kalan, while inaugurating a special workshop on breast cancer. The workshop was organised on the university premises under the aegis of the Rani Breast Cancer Institute, New Delhi.

Dr Mittal cautioned that breast cancer was increasing fast due to lack of awareness and hesitation among the women. "Timely detection and treatment of the disease can help in saving precious lives," she added.

The Registrar of the university, Prof Asha Kadian, said it was necessary to have healthy women for a healthy society. She said from the very beginning, the women should become aware of the prevention as well as early treatment to escape from the dreaded affects of the disease.

As a resource person, director of the Rani Breast Cancer Trust, Bittu Sandhu, explained about the symptoms and stages of the breast cancer. The director said it could infect women of any age.

Teachers and students of the university attended the work shop.

Discoms to focus on power theft
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 27
To minimise the cases of electricity theft, the Haryana power distribution corporations have decided to strengthen the "theft informer scheme". The chairman and managing director of the UHBVN and the DHBVN, Devender Singh, said a toll free number would be made available along with an e-mail for receiving complaints of information about the theft cases.

The informer will be required to give complete address of the erring consumer, name of subdivision, timing of theft, modus operandi, snaps from the site of theft and the mode of payment of incentive.

The operator will issue a unique code to the informer and a secret code word to claim the reward. The complaints will be passed on to the vigilance wing on the same day for checking. A raid will be conducted within three days of receiving the complaint. The discoms will pay Rs 1,000 to the informer immediately after detection of the theft. In the cases of suspected theft, the amount will be paid after report from the metering and testing laboratory.

Devender Singh said the scheme would be applicable only above 5 KW load. The assessment of the penalty amount will be made within 12 hours after detection of theft or declaration of theft by the laboratory. The discoms will pay 20 per cent of the penalty to the informer. The identity of informers will not be disclosed by the discoms.

Achieve 100 pc coverage under child health programme: Principal Secy

Chandigarh, May 27
While emphasising the importance of immunisation, Haryana Principal Secretary, Health, Navraj Sandhu, said here recently that 100 per cent coverage should be achieved under child health and immunisation programme. Sandhu was presiding over the first meeting of the state task force organised by the Health Department for child health and immunisation.

The meeting was conducted with an objective to improve the health of children by improving on the measures like immunisation, essential newborn care and facility based and home-based newborn care.

She also sought support from the Departments of Women and Child Development, Labour, Panchayati Raj and Urban Development in this regard. Speaking on the occasion, Rakesh Gupta, mission director of the National Rural Health Mission, asked the participants to percolate the message through panchayats for staying in the institution for at least 48 hours after delivery. — TNS

HAU begins issuing online admit cards
Tribune News Service

Hisar, May 27
Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University (CCSHAU), which has scheduled entrance tests for admissions to different undergraduate and postgraduate courses, will issue admit cards to candidates on May 27. These will be available on the website from where candidates can download their admit cards.

The university from this year has introduced online application for admissions to all the courses it offers.

It will hold entrance tests for four-year BSc (Honours) agriculture, MSc degree programmes in food science and technology, molecular biology and biotechnology and bio-informatics on June 8 and for six-year BSc (Honours) agriculture programme on June 23.

According to Dr SS Dahiya, Registrar, the admit cards would be available on website http://ams.mycollegeform.com/ccshau/admission from where the candidates could be able to download the cards from May 27.

He said candidates who instead of online had applied offline would also have to download admit cards from the aforesaid website. However, in a circumstance when it was not possible to download the admit card, it would be issued personally to the candidate on request up to one day before the entrance test, he added. Such a candidate should bring along an attested copy of the photograph fixed on the application form, he said.

Workshop on predictive mathematical models in science held at Kurukshetra NIT
Our Correspondent

Prof Anand Mohan, Director, NIT, Kurukshetra, addresses the gathering during a workshop at the institute. Photo: DR Vij

Kurukshetra, May 27
The Department of Mathematics, National Institute of Technology Kurukshetra (NITK), organised a two-day workshop on “Predictive Mathematical Models in Science and Engineering (PMMSE 2013)” here recently.

About 60 participants from premier technical institutes like IITs and NITs attended the workshop.

In the inaugural session of the workshop, NITK director Prof Anand Mohan was the chief guest while Professor Karmeshu, Dean of School of Computational and Integrative Science, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and Professor VK Sehgal, Dean, NITK, were the guests of honour.

While addressing the seminar, Professor Mohan highlighted the use of mathematics in various fields of science and engineering. He said one should not only use mathematical models but also find best solutions to problems using mathematics.

He suggested that the Department of Mathematics should take the initiative in forming a core group of subject experts who could facilitate setting up of an advanced centre in mathematical modelling and simulation in the institute.

Professor Karmeshu traced the historical background of mathematical models and explained how the use of these models was increasing in various fields. Professor Sehgal touched upon the use of mathematical modelling in engineering.

Dr Paras Ram, coordinator of the workshop, welcomed the guests and the participants and briefly spoke on the theme of the workshop while Dr Sarasvati Yadav, co-coordinator of the workshop, proposed the vote of thanks.

Eminent experts in the field of applied mathematics, including Professor Pradeep G Siddheshwar, Bangalore University, Prof Ramajayam Sahadevan, Ramanujan Institute for Advanced Studies in Mathematics, University of Madras, Prof T Som, IIT BHU, Varanasi, Prof Raj Rani Bhargava, IIT-Roorkee, and Prof YN Reddy, NIT Warangal, acted as resource persons at the workshop.

Bank donates ceiling fans to school
Tribune News Service

Bhiwani, May 27
Under its corporate social responsibility (CSR), the Anaj Mandi branch of the State Bank of Patiala recently donated fans to Government Girls Senior Secondary School in Bhiwani.

Dr KC Bhardwaj, Chairman, Board of School Education (centre) and chief manager Harish Khurana (left) give away ceiling fans to Ramesh Bura, Principal, Government Girls Senior Secondary School (extreme right), and block education officer Vinod Gaba in Bhiwani. A Tribune photograph

At a function organised here recently, Dr KC Bhardwaj, Chairman of the Board of School Education, Haryana, gave away ceiling fans to Ramesh Chander Bura, principal of the school.

Vinod Gaba, block education officer, Bhiwani, was the special guest.

In his address, Dr Bhardwaj said it was heartening to learn that besides performing banking services, State Bank of Patiala was doing social services too.

He said the social gesture of the bank would motivate other banks and business organisations to come forward and provide help to government schools, where children from poor families studied.

Harish Khurana, chief manager of the bank, who also presided over the function, said with 1,121 branches all over the country, the State Bank of Patiala was doing a yeoman service to society in every field.

He said before this, the bank had given water purifiers to schools across the country.

Gaba said the bank had performed a noble job by selecting a girls’ school for donating fans.

D Hazarika, manager, and Pawan Bhatia, assistant manager of the bank, were among those present.

21 NITK students participate in BAJA 2013
Our Correspondent

Kurukshetra, May 27
Team Nitrox from the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Collegiate Club, National Institute of Technology Kurukshetra (NITK), participated in a national-level event, BAJA 2013, along with 262 teams representing eminent colleges of the country.

The NITK team that participated in ‘BAJA 2013’. Photo: DR VIJ

The team comprised 21 students from various streams of BTech, who designed an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) under the guidance of Professor Surjit Angra and Professor Jaideep Gupta, Mechanical Engineering Department, NITK.

An ATV is a four wheel vehicle mainly designed for an exhilarating experience off the road. BAJA is an event which was organised by the SAE in many countries with its origin at Baja, California, US, in 1976. The event had its inception into India in 2007 with a total participation of 26 teams. The latest edition in 2013 featured designs of 262 teams from various institutes across the nation. Out of those, only 120 designs were selected to convert their theoretical designs into tangible vehicles.

The team cleared the preliminary design evaluation rounds held at Bangalore, Karnataka, from August 24 to 26, 2012, and technical inspection at college level. Furthermore, the team performed exceptionally well throughout static and dynamic events, including manoeuvrability, acceleration and hill climb tests, thereby reaching the final endurance race event at the National Automotive Test Tracks (NATRAX) facility at Indore and Madhya Pradesh.

The team bagged 8th position in the race and 10th overall, which was a remarkable milestone for the club as well as the institute.

Director of the institute Professor Anand Mohan congratulated the team and expressed hope that this would encourage more students of the institute to involve themselves in practical and research-oriented work.

Geeta Niketan students excel
Our Correspondent

Kurukshetra, May 27
As many as 199 out of 228 students of the local Gita Niketan Awasiya Vidyalya who appeared in the CBSE Senior School Certificate Examination held this year clinched first divisions.

Stating this to mediapersons here today, the Vidyalya Principal, Rishi Goel, claimed that out of the total students who appeared for the exam, 12 science students and nine from the commerce stream scored more than 90 per cent marks while 101 students scored above 75 per cent marks.

Harsh Bajaj of the commerce stream topped the school lists scoring 96 per cent marks while Ashutosh Nagpal and Nidhi shared the first position in the science stream with 94.4 per cent marks each. However, the first three positions in the school were won by commerce students.

The Vidyalya President, Dr Vishav Raj, and the manager, Dr Pawan Saini, have expressed their delight over the results and have conveyed their greetings to the successful students and their parents.

IGP gets tough with negligent traffic policemen
Ravinder Saini

Jhajjar, May 27
Expressing deep dissatisfaction with the performance of traffic policemen posted in the district, Anil Rao, Inspector-General of Police (IGP) of the Rohtak Police Range, has directed Jhajjar Superintendent of Police (SP) to review the traffic challans at regular intervals with an intention to keep a tab on the performance of traffic in charge and his other subordinate officials at all levels.

He has also asked the SP to mention their dismal performance in their annual confidential report (ACR) if they are found to be irresponsible towards discharging their duty.

A communiqué in this regard has recently been shot off to the Jhajjar SP by the IGP office wherein it has been stated that declining percentage of traffic challans in Jhajjar district indicates that neither the traffic in charge is taking any interest to act against traffic-rule violators nor the Deputy Superintendent of Police (Traffic) is carrying out any supervision to maintain smooth and hassle-free traffic in the
district.

In the communiqué, Rao said the district witnessed a significant 49 per cent increase in the cases of fatal road accidents during the first five months of the year in comparison to last year. In 2013, as many as 85 cases of fatal road accidents were registered under Sections 279/304 A of the IPC against 57 similar cases in 2012.

Likewise, 27 per cent hike had been reported in the cases of non-fatal road accidents this year. As many as 74 cases of non-fatal road accidents were booked last year whereas the number had gone up to 94 this year, said the IGP.

"Analysis of figures in both categories has clearly shown that the DSP (traffic) and the SHO (traffic) are not paying any heed to act against traffic-rule violators. Hence the accident cases are persistently shooting up in an alarming proportion, which could be reduced to a large extent by acting tough against rule violators," said Rao while talking to The Tribune in this regard.

Besides these categories, the traffic policemen had also failed to control drunken driving, triple riding, underage driving, wrong parking, dangerous driving, school buses violating direction of the high court, carrying persons on top of bonnet/ outside the body of vehicle, wrong side and without helmet driving, he added.

All these categories have also witnessed a 63 to 86 per cent decline in issuing challans by the traffic police, which points toward the "laxity" being committed by the traffic police personnel in discharging their duty," said Rao, adding that such an "irresponsible" attitude of the traffic policemen would not be tolerated in any manner and action would be taken against shirker policemen.

Rao maintained that the SP had also been directed to send a comprehensive report on monthly basis about individual performance of the traffic police personnel so that dissatisfactory performance of sloppy traffic policemen could be written in their ACRs while honouring cops who have been working with full dedication and toil.

"I have also planned to carry out surprise visits to inspect the working of traffic policemen in Jhajjar and Bahadurgarh town and to take stock of the traffic situation there," said the IGP.

8 students clear JRF exam
Tribune News Service

Hisar, May 27
Eight students of Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (LLRUVAS), Hisar, have cleared the Junior Resident Fellow (JRF) examination conducted by Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR).

PK Kapoor, public relations officer of the university, said the students, Rekha Yadav, Arun Nehra, Kulvir Dalal, Snehil Gupta, Manoj Verma, Narender Langyan, Anil Chitra and Arun Kumar Varun, had been selected for the JRF.

The students will get Rs 8,000 or Rs 12,000 according to their merit during their postgraduation, said Dr Suresh Chander, Dean, College of Veterinary Sciences.

School celebrates Green Day
Our Correspondent

Kurukshetra, May 27
Green Day was celebrated at Greenfield Public School here recently. A colourful programme was presented by the students with the theme ‘Green Day’ with the students coming in green outfits and recited some lines on the theme.

The school also organised a magic show for the students. Principal of the school Shiwani Dhaman told the students to complete their holidays’ task in a creative manner.

CDLU initiates verification of teachers' documents
Sushil Manav
Tribune News Service

Sirsa, May 27
College and university teachers who have obtained their jobs on the basis of PhD degrees from CMJ University, Shillong, and some other private universities may find them in soup soon as Chaudhary Devi Lal University has initiated the process to take action against them.

Dr Suresh Kumar Gahlawat, Dean of Colleges in Chaudhary Devi Lal University, has initiated the process of verification of PhD degrees of teachers working in colleges affiliated to the university to find out whether their degrees are genuine or fake.

Dr Gahlawat has written to the Vice-Chancellor, Dr ML Ranga, seeking orders to the colleges affiliated with the university, asking them to verify documents of teachers who have secured jobs on the basis of these degrees.

In his letter to the VC, Dr Gahlawat has mentioned a complaint received from Ram Parkash Goyal, a resident of Tohana on May 15.

In his letter, Goyal had alleged that certain teachers working in Fatehabad district had been procuring fake degrees from such private universities.

Goyal has mentioned the name of a college in Tohana, where, he alleges, certain teachers had procured fake PhD degrees from CMJ University, Shillong, for Rs 2 lakh each.

Dr Gahlawat said Goyal had requested investigation by the university as well as by the police to verify how these degrees had been procured.

Dr Gahlawat has also mentioned a news report, "Fake Meghalaya PhD degrees, Teachers' jobs in peril" published in Haryana Plus (The Tribune) on May 17, 2013, in this regard.

The report said that some teachers in Chaudhary Devi Lal University and colleges affiliated to it were also in jobs on the basis of these degrees.

Meanwhile, media reports from Meghalaya suggest that CMJ University, Shillong, that had been raided following a complaint by the Governor's Secretariat is in for a fresh trouble.

The university, which is under the scanner for awarding over 430 PhD degrees in the last academic year, could be dissolved for committing irregularities, with Governor RS Mooshahary pulling up the university for violating UGC norms.

"The irregularities and violations clearly amount to mismanagement, maladministration and failure in accomplishment of the objectives which attract dissolution of the university," Principal Secretary to the Governor MS Rao was quoted having said, according to media reports.

Taking strong exception to the university's violation of UGC norms for setting up campus centres and distance education across and outside the country, Rao said such actions were contrary to the provisions of the Meghalaya Private Universities (Regulation of Establishment and Maintenance of Standards) Act, 2012.

The Governor in his capacity as Visitor of all private universities in the state has also directed the university to refund all fees charged together with interest within 15 days to students who wished to withdraw from CMJ University.

Sources said the list of PhD guides approved by the university was misleading as a list of 85 guides was sent by the university to the Governor's Secretariat. The guides, however, denied having given their consent.

The Governor also directed the university to furnish the names and addresses of all students who were awarded PhD degrees and guides along with their consent letters and addresses, media reports from Meghalya said.

State collects Rs 1,928 cr revenue in April
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 27
The Haryana Excise and Taxation Department has collected revenue of over Rs 1,928.12 crore in April 2013 during the current financial year, which is 13 per cent higher as compared to the collection of Rs 1,706.26 crore in the corresponding period last year.

While stating this here recently, Excise and Taxation Minister Kiran Choudhry said collection of Value Added Tax (VAT) during the first month of the current financial year was over Rs 1,226.94 crore which was 10.98 per cent higher as compared to the collection of the same period of previous year.

Similarly, collection of Central Sales Tax (CST) during the same period is over Rs 138.72 crore which was 8.33 per cent high as compared to that of corresponding period of the previous year. She said the CST of over Rs.128.05 crore was collected in April during the last financial year.

The minister said excise collection was about Rs 496 crore in April 2013 which was 20.10 per cent higher as compared to collection of same period of the last financial year.

The department had collected excise of over Rs 413 crore during April 2013, she added.

Choudhry said the department had recorded a 40.37 per cent hike in collection of entertainment tax in April 2013 by collecting more than Rs 4.47 crore as against the collection of over Rs 3.18 crore during the same period of the last financial year.

The passenger and goods tax collection was more than Rs 59.06 crore during same period, which was 8.25 per cent higher as compared to the collection of same period of the last financial year, she said.

She said a sum of over Rs 2.49 crore was collected as luxury tax in April 2013 which was 69.65 per cent high as compared to the corresponding period of the last year.

Engineering students develop low-cost AC
Nawal Kishore Rastogi

Rewari, May 27
Amit Dalal, Sombir Dalal, Praveen Kaushik and Ravinder Kumar, all mechanical engineering (third year) students of Prannath Parnami Institute of Management and Technology (PPIMT), Hisar, have successfully developed a low-cost indigenous air conditioner (AC)recently.

The efforts of these four mechanical engineering students, who had been working at the above project for the past about one year under the guidance of Prof Prem Sagar, have now been crowned with success.

The geographical phenomenon that subterranean temperature at a depth of about 20 feet constantly stands at 20 to 25°C has formed the basis of this project that comprises two pieces of cement or plastic pipes - each about 23 feet in length and interlinked at the underground level.

Further, while these two pipes, interconnected at the subterranean level, are lowered at a depth of about 20 feet in the room or hall concerned, an exhaust fan is pressed into service, which pushes the hot air of the room into one of the pipes.

This drained hot air gets chilled at the subterranean level and then comes out through the other pipe and makes the room cold in 10 to 20 minutes.

These young achievers successfully tried out this indigenous project recently in the PPIMT complex as well as Chaudhariwas village, in the vicinity of the college. They claimed that the cost of its installation and usage was within the reach of even middle class families.

Felicitating them for the achievement, Rajesh Bansal, Principal of PPIMT, hoped that this low-cost indigenous air conditioner would bring cheer to the life of the common man.

239 candidate in fray for Karnal
Tribune News Service

Karnal, May 27
A mini Mahabharata is on the cards in Karnal with 239 candidates left in the fray for 20-member Municipal Corporation.

Thanks to 33 per cent reservation for women, a record number of 84 women candidates are contesting the elections.

About 67 women candidates are in contest from seven wards reserved for women while 17 women candidates are contesting from unreserved wards.

A maximum number of 18 candidates are in the field from Ward No. 14, which has the highest number of voters (13,115), followed by Ward No. 9 and 2, in which 17 candidates from each ward are contesting the poll. Ward No. 5 with 9,538 voters has 16 candidates.

Ward No 16, with 7,357 voters has 15 candidates in the fray. About 10 contestants are trying their luck from Ward No 20 that has the second lowest number of (7,951) voters.

Only six candidates are in the fray from Ward No 19 and seven candidates are in the fray from ward No 12 that has 11,049 voters (reserved for women). Ward No 8 with 9,371 votes while Ward No 10 and 18 with 11,090 and 11,419 votes, respectively, have eight candidates each.

Ward No 3 with 9,048 votes has nine candidates while 11 candidates are in the field from Ward No. 17 and 4, reserved for scheduled caste women.

As many as 12 candidates are in the fray from Ward no 6 and13 candidates from Ward No 7.

The electioneering has reached a feverish pitch as the candidates and their supporters are sweating it out in sweltering heat even though the voters prefer to stay indoor during the day. The electioneering will come to an end on May 31this month.

150 examined at oral hygiene awareness drive
Our Correspondent

Sonepat, May 27
The Department of Dental Surgery of BPS Government Women Medical College, Khanpur Kalan, has launched “Oral hygiene awareness campaign” among the students in the schools of the adjoining villages.

The campaign was started recently from government primary and middle schools at khanpur village in which about 150 students were examined by a team of three dental surgeons under the supervision of associate professor of the college Dr Sunita Malik.

During the camp, Dr Sunita said the campaign was started on the initiative of the college Director, Dr RC Siwach, whose endeavour was to spread a healthy smile among the students from village schools. The students would be made aware of their oral hygiene and necessary steps to be followed for keeping their teeth and gum healthy, she added.

“Proper check-ups will be done and diagnosis reports will be prepared,” she said, adding that for treatment, the students would visit the department of the college during the upcoming summer vacation where they would be treated on a priority basis.

Dr Sunita highlighted the importance of this initiative considering the rural set up because long term measures to prevent dental problems must begin by targeting the younger population at the grass-roots level.

Youth Congress holds candlelight march
Our Correspondent

Youth Congress leaders take out a candlelight march in Ambala. A Tribune photo

Ambala, May 27
The Ambala unit of the Congress took out a candlelight march to protest against the Chhattisgarh Naxal attack, in which several Congress leaders were killed recently. Amit Sihag, president of the Haryana Youth Congress demanded the resignation of Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh for failing to provide security to the Congress leaders. He said the innocents killed in the incident should be given the status of martyr.

He said it was an unfortunate incident and the sacrifices of the Congress leaders would not go in vain. He asked the the Youth Congress leaders to continue their fight against terrorism. He said the party under the dynamic leadership of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi would continue its struggle against such incidents.

The Youth Congress leaders started the candle march from the rest house at Ambala cantonment. They were carrying placards and banners, criticising the Chhattisgarh government. The march concluded at the Vijayratan chowk after passing through various markets. A condolence meeting was organised, in which tributes were paid to the victims of the Naxal attack.