H A R Y A N A

Steps to empower Haryana women
CHANDIGARH, Sept 14 — The Haryana Government today decided to observe 2001 as Women’s Empowerment Year, besides constituting a task force to prepare five-year action plan for empowerment of women.

Steps to empower Haryana women
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Sept 14 — The Haryana Government today decided to observe 2001 as Women’s Empowerment Year, besides constituting a task force to prepare five-year action plan for empowerment of women.

A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting presided over by the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, to discuss various issues concerning women empowerment.

Mr Chautala said the already constituted women commission would be assigned the task of preparing an action plan for empowerment of women and schemes to be formulated would be oriented in such a manner that their benefit percolated to real beneficiaries.

It was decided, in principle, to convert Women’s Awareness and Management Academy (WAMA) at Rai into a state-level gender training institute to apprise women about their basic fundamental rights. A number of functionaries of various departments, including social welfare, women and child development, police, education and health, would be trained to sensitise women about their fundamental rights.

The meeting also decided to double the strength of women constables in the state by recruiting 270 more such constables. A women redressal grievances cell would be set up in each district to pursue speedily cases of crime against women.

Ultrasound way to make money
From Raman Mohan

HISAR, Sept 14 — Looking for a viable business proposition? Buy a reconditioned ultrasound scanning machine and you are in one of the fastest growing businesses in Haryana. The ultrasound business community in the state is estimated to be over 6000 strong and still growing.

The business requires no formal training or qualification. Those in this business include doctors, nurses, graduates, pharmacists and matriculates with an entrepreneurial streak in them. The investment varies from Rs 2 to Rs 80 lakh, depending upon the type of machine you buy. The returns are staggering. At an average of Rs 300 for a stomach or a chest ultrasound scan and Rs 600 to Rs 1,000 for an illegal foetus sex determination test, you could easily be earning anything between Rs 5,000 and Rs 20,000 a day.

The extent of misuse of this excellent diagnostic tool can be gauged from the fact that a city of the size of Hisar alone has over 100 ultrasound scanning machines of various hues. Inquiries from representatives of manufacturers of these machines indicate that almost 80 per cent nursing homes in Haryana have ultrasound scanning machines. They say that although these machines are highly accurate diagnostic tools, but the error rate in Haryana is 50 per cent to 60 per cent since most of the machines are operated by unqualified persons.

It is learnt that in Hansi, near here, a diploma holder pharmacist is doing roaring business. In Yamunanagar, an arts graduates has been in the ultrasound business for more than 10 years and is earning even more than some of the highly qualified doctors. Likewise, in Rattia, a former auxiliary nurse and midwife (ANM) is rated as one of the best. In Pehowa, a matriculate has half-a-dozen machines in the area.

Mr Ranvir Singh, a qualified biomedical engineer, who has been selling these machines for several years attributed the right error rate to two factors: Firstly, those operating the machines are novices. Secondly, but more importantly, he said, obsolete machines are being used to diagnose ailments for which they have not been made. But since the patients are unaware of this, they pay through their noses to get the tests done.

Though foetus sex determination tests were banned in 1995, most ultrasound centres continue to perform these tests with grossly inaccurate results. The only difference the ban has made is that the cost of the test has been doubled. According to trade sources, this test is generally conducted in the case of second or third pregnancy. However, since the results are highly unreliable, half of those taking the test face the prospects of losing a male child nevertheless, ignorant people continue to be exploited.

It is learnt that even doctors are not, in fact, qualified to handle these machines since courses in sonography have been introduced in the country recently. Nevertheless, radiologists are considered better equipped to handle these tests than other doctors under the circumstances. However,of the 6000-oddpersons in this business, only 100 are radiologists.

Doctors admit, on the condition of anonymity, that not even 25 per cent of the patients who are prescribed these tests actually need to take these. The tests are prescribed because doctors get a hefty commission from ultrasound centres they patronise. Those who have their own machines, stand to earn more since the operational costs of ultrasound scanning are minimal, compared even to an X-ray.

These machines came into vogue in the eighties. Since then, they have been grossly misused. The most damaging effect these have had is on the male-female ratio in Haryana which today stands at 871 females for every 100 males.

Gurgaon to have DC model school
Tribune News Service

GURGAON, Sept 14 — Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala has given the nod for setting up a Deputy Commissioner model school here.

According to the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Apoorva Kumar Singh, presently there are only two such schools — one in Rohtak and the other in Panchkula. The school will be under the District Child Welfare Council with the direct supervision of the Deputy Commissioner.

Building for the proposed school will be provided by the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA). The HUDA has also agreed to provide a corpus fund with regard to the school.

There are plans to associate the private sector for the development of the school.

Canal brick-lining work in full swing
From Our Correspondent

SIRSA, Sept 14 — In order to provide better irrigational facilities to the farmers, the construction circle of the Irrigation Department here has completed the brick-lining of the 157 km-long canals with a lined area of 58.50 lakh sq feet so far during the current financial year under its modernisation scheme.

The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Amit Jha said here today that the circle had brick-lined the Sukhchain distributory, Mallekan Minor, Jandwala and Bani distributories under the modernisation scheme. The work for the remodelling of Kaluana and Mammerkhera distributories to increase the water discharge capacity under the raising and remodelling schemes was also proposed to be completed by December. In addition the raising of Asakhera Minor, Tejakhera and Bighar distributories was expected to be completed by June-end, 2001.

The rehabilitation of 26 channels is also proposed to be completed during the year, besides the completion of the ongoing work on new Ottu weir. These works would be completed at an estimated cost of Rs 36.54 crore.

He stated that with the modernisation and lining of the Sukhchain distributory about 4.37 cusecs of water would be saved from going waste and it would be used for irrigating 988 acres. Similarly, the lining of Mallekan Minor and raising of Kaluana and Mammerkhera distributories would increase the water discharge capacity by 30 per cent.

He further said work on Kheri distributory, Khuiyan, Munsiwala, Saktakhera, Math Minors, Mithari distributory, Asakhera, Bharukhera and Masitan minors had already been completed.

Mother, daughter recovered
From Our Correspondent

KURUKSHETRA, Sept 14 — A woman and her three-year-old daughter, who had been missing for the past about one month, have been recovered from the possession of carpenter Manoj Kumar alias Vinod Kumar, a resident of Halapur under Thana Ladwa in this district, from Lalru Mandi in Patiala district.

Stating this here yesterday the district police chief, Mr Desraj Singh, said that a resident of Niwarsi village under Thana Ladwa, Chandi Ram, lodged a complaint that the accused eloped with his wife when he (Chandi Ram) had gone to Hardwar to fetch the holy water of the Ganges. The police registered a case under Sections 363 and 366 of the IPC and deputed ASI Darshan Singh to the job. The ASI recovered the mother and daughter from Lalru Mandi.

Both the mother and her daughter had been restored to their relatives while the accused had been sent to judicial custody until September 29, 2000.

REC students call off stir
From Our Correspondent

KURUKSHETRA, Sept 14 — Following a written assurance by the local Regional Engineering College Principal, Dr N.P. Mehta, second year B.Tech students of the college called off their 14-day-long agitation today.

According to the assurance given by the Principal. “It has been decided that in the matters of campus selections, preference would be given to those students who got admission in Regional Engineering College, Kurukshetra directly. However, if our students have got the jobs and the companies still want to select more students, then students from REC Srinagar may be accommodated.

Dr Mehta also informed the students that he had requested the Ministry of Human Resource Development that the total number of students admitted in the second year should not exceed 25, as per students’ demands.

Obscene ad: court summons editor
From Our Correspondent

KURUKSHETRA, Sept 14 — The Kuruksehtra Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mr R.K. Songhi, in an order here yesterday summoned the Editor of the Navbharat Times for publishing an obscene advertisement on August 28, which is punishable under Section 292, IPC, read with Section 34, IPC. A complaint in this regard had been filed by Mr Brij Gopal Sharma, Mr Nirmal Singh, Mr Bipin Kumar Tiwari and Mr Chhabeg Singh Hundal, all advocates.

The advertisement was first published on the first page of the paper on August 28 and since then the paper had published it three-four times in a month.

Dowry case against woman’s in-laws
From Our Correspondent

ROHTAK, Sept 14 — The police today registered a case against the in-laws of a woman on the charge of harassing her for dowry.

Ms Meenakshi stated in an FIR that she married Sudhir of Mansa in Punjab in December, 1998. She alleged she was harassed by her in-laws to bring more dowty and was driven out of the house.

The police has registered a case against the husband, sister-in-law, father-in-law and mother-in-law of the complainant.

No arrest has been made so far.

In a separate incident, some thieves stole jewellery and household aritcles worth Rs 50,000 from the house of one Mr Ashok Jain on the railway road here.

A case has been registered.

In another incident, the police seized 210 pouches of illicit liquor during raids at four different places today.

Sanskrit seminar inaugurated
From Our Correspondent

KURUKSHETRA, Sept 14 — The Vice-Chancellor of Kurukshetra University, Mr R.S. Chaudhry, said Sanskrit language and literature had a significant place among languages not only in India but also in the world.

Mr Chaudhry was inaugurating a three-day national seminar being organised by the Department of Sanskrit, Kurukshetra University, to commemorate Sanskrit Year. The topic of the seminar was “Sciences of Agriculture, Commerce and Animal Domestication in Sanskrit literature”.

Prof S.D. Sharma, a scholar of Sanskrit, physics and mathematics, stated that we should work hard for restoring glory to Sanskrit.

Earlier, the Chairperson of Sanskrit Department, Kurukshetra University, Dr (Mrs) Usha Gupta, welcomed the chief guest. She gave brief report of various activities of the department.

Another STD code for Faridabad
From Our Correspondent

FARIDABAD, Sept 14 — Faridabad will also be accessible on the new STD code of 01191 in addition to the existing code from September 15.

According to a press note issued by the office of the General Manager, Telecom, here, the new facility will start functioning from 4 p.m. tomorrow.

The facility has been provided to “decongest” lines during peak hours. However, Delhi will continue to be available on 91 on both sides.

Open darbar held at Madloda
From Our Correspondent

PANIPAT, Sept 14 — At least 263 applications were received at a block-level open darbar conducted by the district administration, 20 km from here, at Madloda yesterday. The Deputy Commissioner, Mr M.R. Anand, presided.

At the darbar eight widows from Madloda were sanctioned widow pension of Rs 200 per month each.

The DC ordered the Executive Engineer, Public Health Services to ensure proper water supply to different localities of Dumania, Ghirana and Madloda.

Chahal panel itinerary
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Sept 14 — Justice G.S. Chahal who was appointed to enquire into the circumstances leading to imposition of prohibition in Haryana and subsequent withdrawal, will hold its public sitting at the P.W.D. Rest House at Bhiwani on September 25 and 26 and the Canal Rest House at Rohtak on September 27 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

An official spokesman said the Commission will hear and record complaints of interested persons on the subject.

Polytechnics to introduce sports
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Sept 14 — The Haryana Government today made it mandatory for polytechnics to introduce sports and extra-curricular activities in the curriculum of students.

Official spokesman said a decision to this effect has been taken keeping in view of the state government’s. thrust on the development of sports.

He said all polytechnics had sound infrastructure and qualified staff for the promotion of sports. Inter-polytechnic tournaments and annual athletic meets of the polytechnics would be arranged from this year. Earlier, he said, it was not compulsory for the private polytechnics to participate in inter-polytechnic sports and athletic meets.