Faridabad, August 10
A probe has been ordered into the boat tragedy that took place at Chhainsa village of Ballabhgarh subdivision on August 6.

The District Development and Panchayat Officer (DDPO) has been asked by the Deputy Commissioner to inquire into the matter and submit report in a week. Four persons, including two women and a girl, had drowned in the Yamuna after a boat capsized in it.

Meanwhile, supporters of Ballabhgarh MLA Sharda Rathaur held a panchayat at Chhainsa village today. Denying that she was manhandled after the incident, Ms Rathaur has asked the district administration to drop cases registered against the residents of the village as they had felt sorry for the mess and misbehaviour on that day.

Eyewitnesses to the incident and those having any information regarding the tragedy have been asked to meet the inquiry officer.

Though the ferry contractor and his two associates have been already arrested by the police, it has come to light that the real contractor was different and the person arrested had not been named as the contractor in the official records.

According to the records, the annual contract of ferrying had been given to one Babbar, son of Lala Ram, for Rs 2.5 lakh for 2006-07. Babbar reportedly died about a couple of months ago and the work was being now done on by Kaptan Singh of the same village.

There was no life guard there at the time of the incident. The residents were being allegedly overcharged for transportation across the river. The initial reports submitted by the authorities here have indicated that the boat was being rowed by untrained persons.

The village panchayat adopted a resolution exonerating the local MLA of the responsibility of the incident. Sarpanch Rajender Singh claimed there was no manhandling of the MLA, but admitted fault of the villagers in creating confusion by exaggerating the figures of those dead or missing.

Chandigarh, August 10
The firebrand Congress MLA from Palwal, Mr Karan Singh Dalal, has accused the Delimitation Commission of having drafted proposals for delimitation of Assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies in Haryana "arbitrarily to suit the political interests of some favoured persons".

In a letter written to the Chairman of the commission, Justice Kuldip Singh, Mr Dalal has desired that his dissent be published along with the draft proposals of the commission.

He said in view of gross violations of the Delimitation Act and the guidelines framed by the commission, demographic and geographic experts and the Chief Electoral Officer of Haryana should be asked to examine the draft proposals vis-a-vis the guidelines in public interests. He also demanded that the draft proposals be scrapped immediately.

Mr Dalal alleged that the commission arbitrarily changed the methodology of delimiting constituencies circulated by it earlier. "Even a cursory look into the draft proposals reveals that the Assembly constituencies in almost all the districts, excepting a few, have been delimited neither as per the amended methodology of starting from North to North-East nor as per the pre-amended methodology of starting from North to North-West..."

Giving instances in support of his allegation, Mr Dalal, whose constituency is proposed to be reserved for the Scheduled Castes, said in Faridabad district the delimitation process started from Hathin in south-west and then proceeded anti-clockwise to Hodal in South and then in a zig-zag manner ended at Tigaon in the north-east side. He said as per the guidelines, the process should have started from Faridabad and then Mewla Maharajpur constituencies in the north and should have ended at Hodal and Hathin in the south.

Similarly, he said in Gurgaon district, the process started from Pataudi in the west and proceeded clockwise to Dundahera in the north. In Rewari, the process started from Bawal in the south and proceeded clockwise to Kosli in the north-west. In Bhiwani, it started from Loharu in the south and proceeded anti-clockwise to Badhra, Dadri and ended at Bawani Khera in the north. In Hisar, the process started from Adampur in west and proceeded clockwise to Uklana in north. In Sirsa, the process started from Kalanwali in north and proceeded anti-clockwise as per pre-amended methodology to Dabwali in the west.

Mr Dalal alleged that it appeared that instead of following the guidelines framed by the commission, "some external agency crafted the constituencies with political and extraneous considerations to suit the political interests of a person. Had the commission followed its own methodoly of starting the process from the north, the proposals would have been totally different and there would have been no bone of contention."

The Palwal MLA further pointed out that though Para 5(v) of the guidelines and methodology stated that efforts would be made to ensure that as far as practicable, subdivisions and tehsils would be kept intact, in reality every effort was made to break unnecessarily subdivisions and tehsils. He again quoted several instances in support of his contention.

He claimed that most of the delimited constituencies "were not only ugly in physical features but will also put the public at great inconvenience", which was in violation of Para 5(vii) of the guidelines.

Mr Dalal said in Haryana, population in certain districts had increased disproportionately due to migration from other states and areas, as a result of industrialisation. In this scenario, the additional constituencies should have been delimited in the vicinity of the concentrated population. However, the draft proposals had done totally opposite of it. 

Chandigarh, August 10
The Haryana Government should have appointed a full-time Chairperson of the State Women Commission (SWC), Ms Rajni Patil, Chairperson of the Central Social Welfare Board, said at a press conference here today.

Ever since the Congress came to power in the state, the post of Chairperson of the SWC has remained with the Secretary of the Social Justice and Empowerment Department as the Chief Minister, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, has apparently failed to make up his mind regarding who should be nominated by the state government to the post.

Ms Patil, who met the Press to announce a conference of chairpersons and secretaries of social welfare boards from all over India beginning here tomorrow, however, appreciated the steps initiated by the Haryana Government to curb female foeticide. “ The government alone cannot fight the menace. It is the collective responsibility of all citizens and institutions to fight against this practice”, Ms Patil added.

Ms Patil, who was flanked by the chairpersons of the Social Welfare Boards of Haryana (Ms Renu Poswal), Punjab ( Ms Ratna) and Chandigarh (Ms Lalit Joshi), said the two-day conference was being held to prepare a blueprint for the central board's thrust areas during the 11th Five Year Plan. The funding pattern for the existing programmes would be reviewed and the potential of revival of closed schemes looked into, Ms Patil said.

She said while activities like pickle and papad making, carried out by women under the aegis of the Social Welfare Board, still had immense relevance, some new schemes would also be taken up in view of the changing times.

Ms Patil, granddaughter of freedom fighter and martyr Vishnu Ganesh Pingle, said the conference would also focus on the issue of female foeticide and female infanticide which were causing an alarming change in the sex ratio.

Ms Patil, a former member of the Lok Sabha, said NGOs and voluntary organisations were funded by the Central Social Welfare Board and its counterparts in various states and union territorries for taking up welfare schemes as well as for sensitisation and awareness generation programmes. She said a four-member taskforce would be constituted in the states and at the Centre to monitor fund utilisation by NGOs.

Ms Patil also announced that a National Children Commission would be set up to act as a watchdog body for children's rights. She said the 33 per cent reservation for women implemented in panchayati raj institutions should be replicated in the Lok Sabha as well. She said the representation of women in the Lok Sabha had now come down to 7 per cent from 13 per cent earlier.

Hisar, August 10
The two-day national conference “Challenges in agriculture development: role of Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs)” organised at Haryana Agricultural University (HAU) has recommended the reformulation of the work strategy of KVKs.

The speakers at various sessions of the conference were of the view that the newer challenges arising in agriculture had necessitated the paradigmatic change in the overall work planning of these kendras.

The participants of the workshop held intense deliberations on the issues hindering agricultural production in different zones of the country. For improving the productivity and profitability of the farmers by removing these obstacles it was recommended that the public sector, private sector, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), self-help groups and banks were required to join hands for strategic planning of these kendras.

The Haryana Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Minister, Mr Har Mohinder Singh Chattha, who was the chief guest at the valedictory session, called upon farm scientists for developing technologies which might help the farmers in obtaining higher yield through disease-resistant and early-maturing crop varieties. He maintained that due to increased input cost in the recent years, agriculture was no more a profitable occupation for the farmers. The minister also expressed concern over excessive and imbalanced use of water and chemical fertilisers by the farmers.

He said that if timely steps were not initiated to stop the wasteful use of water both in rural and urban areas, an acute shortage of water was expected in the next 10 years.

Earlier, inaugurating the workshop, the Haryana Agricultural University (HAU) Vice-Chancellor, Dr J.C. Katyal, said that the Union Government had also decided to open one KVK in each district of the country in the Ninth Five-Year Plan.

The HAU Director of Extension Education, Dr R.K. Malik, said an exhibition highlighting the achievements of various KVKs in dissemination of farm technology was set up on the occasion and three books authored by extension scientists on promotion of new technology and livestock rearing were released.

Dobhi/Siswal, August 10
Mr Prahlad Singh Bhari, son of Malu Ram of Dobhi village in Hisar district, whose leg had to be amputated following an accident with a Haryana Roadways bus and who later died, has welcomed a recent decision of the Punjab and Haryana High Court regarding the case.

On March 16, 1985, the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal (MACT), Hisar, had asked the state government to pay Rs 33,500 to the victim, Malu Ram, as compensation for the loss of his leg. However, the then District Attorney (DA) of Hisar opined that the amount was high as the mishap victim (who was then 70) was a “spent cartridge and a burden on his family and society". He also recommended the state government should challenge the MACT order in the High Court.

This recommendation was cleared by the Legal Remembrancer and the state government moved the High Court. The case was recently decided after a gap of 21 years.

In his order, the Acting Chief Justice of the High Court, Mr Justice H.S. Bedi, criticised the “obnoxious” remarks of the DA. Dismissing the appeal of the state government, the Judge also imposed costs of Rs 10,000, which would be recovered from the DA.

On being asked about the matter, Mr Bhari, who is posted as a DHBVN substation attendant at Siswal village, expressed ignorance about the recent judgment. When he was told about the order and shown the report published in The Tribune, he expressed satisfaction and welcomed the verdict.

“I feel fully satisfied that finally, justice has been done. I appreciate the stance adopted by the honourable court,” he said, adding that the verdict would be a lesson for the legal officials and others concerned.

Mr Bhari, who had fought a long legal battle in this regard, stopped pursuing the case after his father’s death." The judgment has vindicated my stance that an elderly person is not a burden on his family or society, but a respectable figure who should be cared for as a moral responsibility,” he maintained.

About the costs imposed on the DA, Mr Bhari said even a fine of Re 1 fine was enough for conveying a point and underlining a cause. “Finally, my efforts have borne fruit and I feel deeply obliged to the honourable High Court as well as to The Tribune for supporting a noble cause,” he said.

On being contacted, Mr D.S. Kajal, who was the District Attorney of Hisar at that time, said he was trying to procure the relevant records from the High Court and would be in a position to comment on the matter only after that.

He, however, maintained that the recommendation had been made in the state‘s interest and not because of any personal reasons. Mr Kajal pointed out that the Legal Remembrancer (LR) had also granted approval to the recommendation and no objection had been made by the state Advocate-General. He asserted that if need be, he would move an SLP in the Supreme Court in this regard.

Sonepat, August 10
A young housewife was killed and her husband and two children were injured when their motor cycle was knocked down by a truck on the GT Road near Bahalgarh late last night. The injured have been admitted to a private hospital here and the police has registered a case.

According to information, Sandeep of Sewli village, alongwith his wife Jyoti (25) and two children, Khushi (3) and Ayush (10 months), was returning to his village. When they reached Devi Lal Park on the GT Road, a truck coming from behind hit the motor cycle, causing fatal injuries to Jyoti and serious injuries to others. —OC

Kaithal, August 10
The Additional District Judge, Mr Subhash Goel, here has sentenced Mohinder Singh Lathar, a former DFSC of Kaithal, to three years’ imprisonment and fined him Rs 5000 after convicting him under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The court has ordered that in case the convict failed to pay the fine, he will have to undergo further imprisonment for two months.

Chandan Singh, a labour contractor from Pundri, had complained to the then Deputy Commissioner, Anurag Agarwal, and the then SP, Mr Arshinder Singh Chawala, that the margin money of his three firms was lying with the department. He alleged that when he met the then DFSC, Mr Mohinder Singh Lather, for the refund of the said margin money, he demanded bribe. 

Rewari, August 10
A 13-year-old boy of Yadav Nagar here was lured and then locked in a house where he was subjected to unnatural sex on Tuesday by a teenager (19), who also threatened him not to speak to anyone in this regard.

However, as soon as the boy returned home he made it known to his parents who then made a complaint, following which the police registered a case of sodomy, wrongful confinement and criminal intimidation under Sections 377, 342 and 506 of the IPC. The boy was medically examined which confirmed the offence.

The police has arrested the accused, Vikas, alias Sonu.