Gurgaon, April 20
In a suspected case of honour killing, the police today booked the father of a 21-year-old BBA student, who supposedly died a natural death and was cremated on April 18. A friend of the girl had called up the police and alleged that she was killed owing to her friendship with a boy.

Police sources said Neha did not die a natural death and was murdered by her father for bringing a bad name to the family by being friends with a boy. She further alleged that her family had hushed up the death.

“The police have so far not confirmed honour killing and are awaiting all details,” said an investigating official, adding that the girl urged them to investigate the case and get justice for her friend.

Following the call, the police conducted a preliminary investigation and questioned the family.

The police grew suspicious after family members gave contradictory statements and no justification for the hasty cremation without postmortem.

“They said she had an epileptic fit. When questioned about not going to a hospital they said she died mid way and they had to return. The family cremated her at 7pm in a hurry. The statement of victim’s father, mother and her younger brother were contradictory,” said the investigating officer. The police also visited the cremation ground to collect the ashes of Neha.

The deceased’s friend refused to file a complaint, citing threat to her life from the victim’s family. However, the SHO became the complainant and following the investigation booked Neha’s father under sections 34, 201, 301, 302 and 506 of the IPC.

“We have booked the father of the deceased for murder but only further investigation can confirm or negate honour killing,” said Police Commissioner Alok Mittal.

Girl’s friend informed the police A 21-year-old BBA student, Neha, had supposedly died a natural death and was cremated on April 18 Sadar SHO got a call from a girl on Sunday alleging that Neha was murdered by her father for bringing bad name to family by being friends with a boy. Following the call, the police questioned the family. They grew suspicious after family members gave contradictory and dubious statements and no justification for hasty cremation without postmortem. The father of the deceased was booked for murder but only further investigation can confirm or negate honour killing. The police also visited the cremation ground to collect the dead remains and ashes of Neha

Jind, April 20
Khap panchayats will organise a mahapanchayat in New Delhi soon after the formation of the Central government in May.

The khaps are demanding an amendment to the Hindu marriage Act to ban “same-gotra” marriages. They will submit a memorandum to the new Prime Minister and launch a national-level campaign to spread awareness that they support inter-caste love marriages, but oppose “same-gotra” marriages.

Though the date of the mahapanchayat has not been finalised as yet, some khap leaders of the state confirmed that they would organise the mahapanchayat within the first week of the formation of the next government.

“We support inter-caste love marriages, but oppose same-gotra marriages. Girls and boys having same gotra are like brothers-sisters, that’s why we want an amendment (to ban same-gotra alliances) to the Hindu Marriage Act, which legalises such marriages and creates problems in society,” said Tek Ram Kandela, national convener of the Sarv Khap Panchayat.

He said they conducted a meeting with khap representatives of Uttar Pardesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and other states yesterday and decided to organise the mahapanchayat in New Delhi.

All khaps which have attended the meeting will participate in the mahapanchayat at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi.

The khaps will also launch a special awareness campaign against social evils such as female foeticide, dowry and use of drugs.

“We will start our national campaign against social evils from New Delhi as we want to show the real picture of khaps to the country,” said Kandela.

Chandigarh, April 20
The state Congress will soon have a disciplinary committee to take prompt action against leaders indulging in anti-party activity. With complaints of party candidates facing undercutting in their own constituencies in the recent Lok Sabha elections, the central Congress leadership had decided to constitute the committee to contain the damage from such dissidents during the Assembly elections scheduled for October.

Shakeel Ahmed, general secretary in charge of Haryana, said the committee would have a clear mandate to expel all those leaders who had worked against the official candidates in the Lok Sabha elections.

“We have already expelled 19 leaders, including those who contested the elections on the symbols of other parties and others who were indulging in anti-party activity. More Congressmen could face expulsion once the field reports come in by month-end, ” the Congress leader said.

HPCC president Ashok Tanwar expelled rebel leaders Rao Inderjit Singh, Dharambir and Ramesh Kaushik who contested the parliamentary elections on the BJP ticket and senior leader and MLA Venod Sharma who had announced his departure from the Congress.

Though this is being seen as a mere formality since they had already resigned from the party, Tanwar also expelled three block presidents from Sirsa for anti-party activity.

While the state-level disciplinary committee will tackle complaints of Congress leaders up to the level of district presidents, Ahmed is learnt to have asked Tanwar to deal with complaints of dissidence with an iron hand.

The Congress is hoping to rein in its dissidents with such deterrents before the Assembly elections are announced.

Sources said the growing dissidence in the party was also a consequence of the party failing to act on complaints about anti-party activity in previous elections. Factionalism has been pointed out at general body meetings but the Congress leadership at the Centre has chosen to turn a blind eye. Sources said that “feedback” of a poor showing by the Congress in the state had finally prompted action.

Pehowa (Kurukshetra), April 20
Following continuous complaints of slow procurement and lifting, Finance Minister Harmohinder Singh Chattha today visited various grain markets and procurement centres of the district. During his visit to the Pehowa grain market, Chattha admitted that the procurement process was not going on smoothly and farmers were facing problems.

He said: “Commission agents are cooperating with the farmers and agencies but it is the non-cooperating attitude of the contractors which is creating problems in the mandis as they are not lifting the procured stocks on time. The contractors should ensure smooth lifting of the procured stock but they do not even have adequate vehicles to do so.”

Chattha heard grievances of farmers and directed the officials concerned and contractors to speed up the procurement and lifting process to avoid glut .

He asked the officials to make payments to farmers and arhtiyas within the stipulated time and also arrange more labourers to speed up the lifting process.

While checking the moisture content, Chattha said “Yes, the moisture content is on the higher side in some consignments but in many batches it is as per the norms. I have asked the DFCE, DM, Hafed, and DM, Food Corporation of India, to ensure smooth procurement. They have also been asked to redress the problems farmers are facing in the grain markets.”

“Strict action will be taken against officials found negligent and the contractors’ licences will be cancelled if they fail to lift the procured stocks on time,” the Finance Minister added.

He said if farmers and arhtiyas faced any difficulty, the officers concerned would be held responsible.

Over 2.16 lakh metric tonne wheat had arrived in various grain markets of Kurukshetra district till Saturday.

Karnal, April 20
Slow lifting of wheat from grain markets has created problems for farmers as well as traders. The farmers are finding it difficult to unload their stocks in the various markets of the district. Sold wheat bags are lying in the open while the weather conditions are adding to their woes.

As per the report of the market committee, Karnal, over 3 lakh quintals of wheat is lying in the Karnal grain market. The same situation is in another market, causing space shortage.

Mahinder Garg, president of the Karnal Grain Merchants Association, said “Illegal money is being charged by the drivers of lifting vehicles, which is an additional burden on traders.”

He alleged that procurement agencies also did not have sufficient vehicles to lift purchased wheat.

During the Deputy Commissioner’s visit to the grain market on Friday, they demanded to expedite lifting operations, but the situation is still the same, Garg added.

Conditions are the same in Nigdhu, Tarori, Sagga and Nilokehri grain markets. The purchased wheat is lying in the open and causing space shortage for farmers to put their newly-harvested crop. Because of this, the farmers are unloading their stocks wherever the space is available. At some places, farmers have unloaded their stocks on roads outside the grain markets.

Rajesh Kumar, a farmer, said “This is due to the slow tactics being adopted by the agencies to lift the purchased stocks”.

Jitender Singh, a farmer from Patanpuri village, complained of slow lifting by the agencies and said he was in Nigdhu Mandi since the last three days but there was no sufficient space available.

Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Balraj Singh today visited Nissing grain market and reviewed the procurement arrangements.

Expressing dissatisfaction over the slow lifting, he directed the officers concerned to speed up the work.

Naresh Maan, secretary, Karnal Market Committee, said 6,40,480 quintal wheat had arrived in Karnal market till Saturday as against 7,21,000 quintals till April 19 of last year. 

Sirsa, April 20
There seems no imminent end to the stand-off between HAFED and traders of the Kalanwali grain market in Sirsa even though the agency has suspended three officials for the imbroglio.

Traders of the grain market are firm on their stand that they would not allow HAFED to procure wheat from Kalanwali till the agency paid deduction of over Rs 25 lakh made last year.

On the other hand, RP Sahni, general manager (procurement and warehouses) of HAFED, who was in Sirsa today to resolve the issue, said the traders were putting undue pressure on the agency.

He said on the traders’ complaint, HAFED had today suspended its manager, Jagdish Chander, and two salesmen of the society through which the purchases were made last year.

Sahni said he had told the traders that the agency was ready to resolve the issue and redress their genuine grievances, if any.

He, however, said the commitment to refund the entire deduction made by the district manager (DM), Suresh Jawa, was made by him under coercion, as the traders had made the officials hostages.

He said the DM’s commitment was between him and the traders and HAFED, as an agency, could not accept any “unfair” demand.

Sahni maintained that the traders had already lost a case they filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court in this connection.

A perusal of the order passed by Justice Ritu Bahri in a case, however, revealed that the court did not pass any order in view of the reply filed by the respondents, but at the same time gave the petitioners (traders) the liberty to approach the relevant authorities with regard to the deductions made from their payments.

Mahinder Jain, president of the grain market traders’ body, said though they were convinced with Sahni’s efforts to resolve the issue, they would not sell a grain to HAFED until they received cheques against the deductions.

Jind, April 20
As if wheat devastation caused by rain and delay in its purchase were not enough to trouble the farmers, now owners of combine harvesters, dry fodder-making machines from wheat stubble and crop threshers have increased their rates.

Since there is no official check over the rates of all these, owners are charging as per their wish from helpless farmers. During a visit to various villages and grain markets of district, many farmers alleged a sharp increase in user charges of crop machinery while many combine owners also confirmed the price rise.

Since rain has flattened wheat crop in many areas, the rates of combine harvesters have jumped to Rs 1,400-1,500 per acre from the earlier fixed rate of Rs 900-1000.

Taking advantage of rain and lack of labour for manual harvesting, owners of dry fodder-making machines have started charging Rs 1,600 per trolly against the earlier rate of Rs 1,200 while thresher owners are now charging Rs 3,200 per acre against Rs 2,800.

“We are facing double trouble as purchase agencies are not purchasing our wheat and we have to protect our harvested crop in the grain markets on our own. After the rain, combine owners have increased their rates by almost 50 per cent and are now charging Rs 1,500 per acre while earlier the rate was Rs 900-1,000 per acre” alleged Prabhuram, a farmer sitting at the local grain market.

Farmers alleged that this year many factors had come together to trouble them. They alleged that due to elections, migrant labourers of Bihar and UP were not coming and thus local laborers had increased their rates to Rs 3,500 per acre while last year they had charged Rs 2,900-3,000 per acre. Due to labour shortage, migrants have also increased their rates to Rs 2,800 per acre from Rs 2,200 last year.

Some owners of combines said before rain they used to harvest 55-60 acres daily. The rain had flattened crops and reduced their harvesting capacity to 20-25 acres. “It is impossible for us to meet our daily labour and machine expenses by harvesting only 20-25 acres. We do not have any other option, but to increase our rates,” said Jasbir, who along with his team of labourers and his combine machine has come from Patran in Punjab to Haryana to harvest wheat. 

Ambala, April 20
Wheat crop on seven acres of field got burnt at Saddopur village near Ambala City today. The incident occurred due to sparking in the overhead wires on the field, which is owned by a property dealer of Ambala City who had leased it to some farmers.

Villagers informed the fire brigade which rushed there immediately. A major part of the crop was destroyed in the fire. High-speed winds in the region spread the fire in surrounding fields.

Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Dr Saket Kumar has banned the burning of crop stubble and waste in the fields where harvesting is in progress.

Kaithal, April 20
Despite the Supreme Court directions issued to various state governments, including Haryana, to set up solid waste management plants, the plant project here has been hanging fire due to red tapism and the apathy of officials of the Local Bodies Department and the Pollution Control Board.

Recently, the Kaithal Municipal Council has selected 5 acre on the Khurana road here for setting up the plant. The MC has now started to dump garbage collected from various parts of the town at the selected site, providing relief to residents. However, the project is yet to begin.

The XEN local MC said they were considering various proposals to set up the plant.

“MC officials had visited plants functioning in other cities, including Pune. On behalf of the civic body, we have invited an expression of interest or tenders to set up the plant,” he said.

He said the gas produced from waste could be a source of income for the council and the garbage dumped at the site would be manually segregated and services of ragpickers might be taken for it.

Earlier, the municipal authorities had been dumping garbage at various places, including the Kaithal-Khanouri road, opposite to the Sadar police station and near two cremation grounds,in the vicinity of residential areas and on the out skirts of the town, causing health problems to residents. Whenever the public raised its voice against it, the authorities started dumping the garbage at an alternative site.

Hisar, April 20
Concerned over the crumbling walls of the 14th century monument Laat ki Masjid’ in the historical Hisar-e-Firoza palace in the town, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has decided to repair the outer surface of the structure by replacing the damaged red sandstone with fresh pieces to preserve the mosque.

It is for the first time in over seven centuries that masonry work will be undertaken at the mosque. Experts of the ASI are likely to start the repair work in a week.

Tarak Singh, conservation assistant at Hisar, told The Tribune that the damaged pieces of red sandstone would be removed and replaced with the same stone to keep the originality intact. “The ASI experts would start the repair work soon, as around 30 cubic meters stone has been requisitioned,” he said. A team of senior archeologists would also visit the site before the start of the work.

The Firoz Shah Palace was constructed by Firoz Shah Tuglaq of the Tuglaq dynasty, who was also the founder of Hisar town, in 1354. The masjid located in the palace complex comprises three parts-- the prayer hall, the ‘laat’ or the pillar, and the domed building. The main prayer hall has nine bays. The outer surface of the prayer hall has been falling apart for some years. The mosque courtyard has a ‘laat’, after which the mosque was named Laat ki Masjid. The ‘laat’ consists of two parts, lower one is of buff limestone and the upper portion is that of red sandstone.

In view of its historical and architectural importance, Firoz Shah Palace Complex was declared a monument of national importance in 1924 and now it is under the control of the ASI as a protected site.

Sirsa, April 20
A sword of Damocles hangs over the heads of nearly 350 outsourced employees of Chaudhary Devi Lal University after the outsourcing agency has served a notice expressing its intention to quit.

The Panchkula-based agency’s contract with the university ends on August 31, but, according to sources, it has served a one-month notice on the university, expressing its intention to rescind the agreement midway.

Nearly 350 officials of the university working in its offices and on the security duty have been employed through the outsourcing agency and their fate has hung in balance ever since the university received this notice served in March.

Satish Vij, estate officer of the university, however, said there was no reason to fear for the outsourced employees.

“The university has told the agency that it could not withdraw at a stage when the model code of conduct was in force and the authorities were not in a position to appoint a new one till May 16,” Vij said. He further said the outsourcing agency had also promised to continue working.

Controversies have been surrounding the outsourcing agencies ever since it started its term in September last year.

Faridabad, April 20
The District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), Faridabad, disbursed Rs 2.75 lakh as compensation among victims or their dependants under the Victim Compensation Scheme (VCS) of the state government in 2013.

A minor rape victim has been among the beneficiaries of the VCS. She has received Rs 1,75,000 as compensation under the scheme from the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM)-cum-Secretary, DLSA, Faridabad.

“The scheme was launched in 2008 after the Supreme Court had observed that if the state fails to protect the lives of the people, it cannot escape the liability to pay compensation to the victim. Therefore, Section 357A of the CrPC was inserted by way of the amendment in 2008 and then the state government enacted the Victim Compensation Scheme- 2013(VCS) for providing financial help to the victim or his or her dependants who have suffered loss and injury as a result of the crime and who require rehabilitation,’’ said Jasmine Sharma, CJM-cum-Secretary, DLSA.

She said the scheme aimed at providing assistance to the victims of crimes for their treatment and rehabilitation and the DLSA, Faridabad, received 10 applications under the scheme in 2013 and seven of them were expedited.

Reports say one of the beneficiaries was a rape victim, who had approached the office for medical and legal help. The girl was found to be six-month pregnant. The CJM-cum-Secretary, DLSA, Faridabad, appointed a panel to help her out and directed the Chief Medical Officer, Faridabad Civil Hospital, to provide medical help to the victim. While her pregnancy could not be terminated as it was dangerous for her life, she had to deliver the child under the medical and legal supervision. The accused in the case was arrested and convicted with the efforts of the DLSA, Faridabad, the reports said.

The DSLA also provided a compensation of Rs 50,000 to the legal heir of Suresh, a resident of Deeg village, who was murdered a year ago. The case has been decided and accused have been convicted by the court. In another case, a compensation of Rs 50,000 was given to a minor boy who was the victim of unnatural offence.

Jhajjar, April 20
Three members of a family were killed and two others injured when their car rammed into a stationary dumper near Bahadurgarh today. The deceased have been identified as Krishan, his wife Kaushalya Devi and son Rakesh of Hardev Nagar in Delhi. The injured - Sushil and his wife Manju- have been admitted to the PGIMS in Rohtak where their condition is stated to be critical.

The mishap occurred when the family members were returning to Delhi from Rohtak after attending a wedding function. Krishan, Kaushalya and Rakesh died on the spot.

Faridabad, April 20
The Abhibhawak Ekta Manch, a parents’ association, will launch an agitation against the hike in fee and other charges by private schools in the state. The manch organised a meeting chaired by KC Sharma, state vice-president of the manch, here today and criticised the fee hike announced by private schools from the 2014-2015 academic session.

It has resolved to file a writ petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court soon. Announcing to hold a demonstration outside the district headquarters here on April 25, it said the manch would submit a memorandum addressed to the Chief Minister to seek his intervention into the issue.

It alleged that many private institutions had violated rules and regulations, but no action had been taken by the state government or any other department to provide any relief to parents and their wards. Subhash Lamba, patron of the manch, and Kailash Sharma, general secretary of the manch, alleged that no school was following Sections 134 and 134-A of the Haryana School Education Act and many schools had failed to provide the details of their income and expenditure under Section 158(2) of the Act. They said most of the private schools had been operating from the land provided by the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA), an agency of the state government, at cheaper rates, but they were not following the rules envisaged by the authorities.

A spokesperson for the manch said, “The CBSE has permitted the fee hike only with the assent of the parents’ association of a school and the HUDA has banned the commercial use of the school premises, but these rules have been regularly violated.”

Sirsa, April 20
“Satta” (betting) trade is thriving in parliamentary poll this time, as hundreds of crores have already been put at stake on the 10 parliamentary seats in Haryana. With nearly a month to go for the counting of votes, sources in the trade believe these elections would witness the highest ever stakes placed on poll results in the state so far.

A prolonged gap between polling and counting of votes has provided a field day to punters, who are making hay while the sun shines.

Rates of various prominent candidates in the “satta” market, which define their winnability, have been fluctuating with each passing day.

The betting market, meanwhile, has been showing bright prospects for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Haryana ever since the rates opened after the polling.

Earlier, the punters were giving BJP five clear seats (Gurgaon, Faridabad, Karnal, Ambala and Bhiwani), INLD two seats (Sirsa and Hisar) and Congress one seat (Rohtak), while they were showing triangular contests on Kurukshetra and Sonepat. However, as the time progressed and more inputs arrived, the punters are now giving Kurukshetra and Sonepat too, to the BJP.

As per the current prevalent rates, the punters take BJP candidate Rattan Lal Kataria’s victory in Ambala for granted and they are not accepting any bets on this seat. Punters give editor-turned-politician Ashwini Kumar Chopra of the BJP very good chances of victory from Karnal, as he carries rates of 8 paisa to 10 paisa only.

The lower a candidate’s rates in the “satta” market, the brighter are his chances of victory.

As in the case of Karnal, if one is to put money on Chopra’s victory, he will be called “lagayiwaal” and will get merely Rs 8,000 for every Rs 1 lakh put on stake.

On the other hand, if one is to put one’s money on Chopra’s defeat, he will be termed as “khayiwaal” and will get Rs 1 lakh for every Rs 10,000 put on stake on the BJP nominee’s defeat in Karnal. Chopra’s victory prospects, which were never in doubt in the “satta” bazaar, have improved further as the days progressed, the rates have gone down from 15 paisa to 8 paisa in the past five days.

Similarly, the punters give CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s son Deepender Singh Hooda very bright chances of victory, as his rates in the market are 9 paisa to 12 paisa.

BJP candidates from Gurgaon and Faridabad Rao Inderjit Singh and Krishan Pal Gujjar, respectively, also have very good winning prospects as per the punters, as they carry rates of 13 paisa to 17 paisa and 12 paisa to 16 paisa, respectively.

In Sonepat, BJP candidate Ramesh Kaushik carries a rate of 30 paisa to 35 paisa, in Kurukshetra, Raj Kumar Saini of the BJP has rates of 33 paisa to 40 paisa while the “satta” bazaar gives rates of 40 paisa to 43 paisa to BJP candidate Dharambir Singh in Bhiwani. The market is giving Sirsa and Hisar seats to the INLD.

Charanjit Singh Rori of the INLD has rates of 20 paisa to 23 paisa in Sirsa, while Dushyant Singh Chautala of the party carries rates of 42 paisa to 46 paisa at Hisar.

Incidentally, both have improved their position in the “satta” bazaar since April 10, when they carried rates of 22 to 26 and 43 to 50 paisa, respectively.

Punters’ predictions The betting market has been showing bright prospects for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Haryana ever since the rates opened after the polling. The punters are giving BJP five clear seats (Gurgaon, Faridabad, Karnal, Ambala and Bhiwani), INLD two seats (Sirsa and Hisar) and Congress one seat (Rohtak) A prolonged gap between polling and counting of votes has provided a field day to punters. Rates of various prominent candidates in the "satta" market, which define their winnability, have been fluctuating with each passing day

Sonepat, April 20
Resentment prevails among truck operators of Gohana against government wheat procurement agencies for using tractor-trailers in transportation, loading and unloading of foodgrains.

They alleged that by using tractor-trailers, the agencies had violated the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Justice Rakesh Kumar Garg banned the use of tractor-trailers in commercial activities on February 5, 2013.

In a protest against violations of high court orders, many truck operators of the Gohana Truck Union demonstrated at the union’s gate yesterday and demanded a ban on use of tractor-trailers in commercial activities.

Union president Baljit Singh Malik said government agencies, including the Food Corporation of India (FCI), Food and Civil Supplies Department, Haryana Warehousing Corporation and HAFED, had assured the court that tractor-trailers would not be used in loading, unloading and transportation of foodgrains.

Sirsa, April 20
A government teacher and an Right To Information (RTI) activist today alleged that the police were pressuring him to withdraw his complaint of pilferage of drinking water against the junior engineer of the Public Health Department and threatening to book him if he did not comply.

Kartar Singh, a lecturer in English in Government Senior Secondary at 
Darbi village of Sirsa, has sent e-mails to the Director General of Police, Haryana, the Senior Superintendent of Police, Sirsa and other senior officers of the district seeking their intervention in the matter.

Singh said in his official capacity as officiating principal of the school, he had lodged a complaint against the junior engineer on March 12.

The junior engineer, he alleged, deliberately let the drinking water flow through the school ground towards a pond on the other side to benefit fishing contractors.

He added that three new rooms couldn’t be constructed in the school in the last fiscal as the site remained completely waterlogged.

Kartar Singh further alleged that Ding police station in-charge Jangir Singh accused him of filing a false complaint against the engineer and threatened to put him behind the bars, if he did not withdraw the complaint.

Jangir Singh, however, denied the allegations and said he had summoned Kartar Singh under Section 160 of the CrPC on a complaint received from the JE.

He, however, failed to tell what action has been taken on the school’s official complaint.

SSP Saurabh Singh said he was not aware of the matter and would personally look in to it.

Yamunanagar, April 20
The Haryana Government has shelved the proposal of four-laning the road from Yamunanagar to Karnal through Ladwa. The fact has come to the light from the information got under the RTI Act by former president of District Bar Association, Jagadhri (Yamunanagar), Ram Kumar Radauri.

As per the information, the decision to shelve the development of Yamunanagar-Ladwa and Ladwa-Karnal sections of the State Highways-6 and 7 was taken in a review meeting held on March 18, 2013. Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda was aware of the decision taken in the review meeting.

The government had initiated the process of acquisition of land for the four-laning of the state highways and approved the funds for payment to the land owners.

This 53.5-km road was to be four laned on the design, build, finance, operate and transfer basis in the PPP mode under the viability gap funding scheme. The bidding process had also been started for selection of a bidder for awarding the project.

The width of the road in Yamunanagar district is 6.71 m, though the stretch from Kurukshetra (Pipli to district boundary of Kurukshetra to Yamunanagar) had been widened up to 10 m. When Radauri asked why the road was not widened in Yamunanagar under the RTI Act, the Public Works Department (B&R) replied that there was no proposal for widening of the road to 10 meters.

“I will soon file a PIL in the Punjab and Haryana High Court to know the reason why the project was shelved. Why the stretch falling in Yamunanagar district was not widened,” said Radauri.

Project goes off track The government had approved four-laning of 53.5-km road falling in Yamunanagar-Ladwa and Ladwa-Karnal sections of the State Highways-6 and 7 The bidding process had also been started for selection of a bidder but in the meeting held on March 18, 2013, the government decided to shelve the project