Sirsa, September 17
Continuing attacks on his own party’s government in the state, the Congress MP from Bhiwani, Mr Kuldeep Bishnoi, has accused the Chief Minister, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, of misleading the people of Haryana on the SYL canal issue.

Talking to newsmen after addressing a meeting of party workers here today, Mr Bishnoi remarked that the government had failed to complete the SYL canal even though the Congress was in power at the Centre as well as in Punjab.

“Instead of making sincere efforts for the completion of the SYL canal, Mr Hooda is trying to mislead the people by talking about the Hansi-Butana canal to divert their attention,” he said. Mr Bishnoi, who was accompanied by his father and former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal, announced that they would organise a rally at Rohtak by the end of December or in January next year.

“Our policies, programmes and future strategy would be disclosed at the Rohtak rally,” he said, adding that by then, they would continue holding meetings at district headquarters to know the feelings of their supporters and people in general.

The Congress MP maintained that the law and order situation in the state was deplorable, while the position of power supply had worsened as compared to that during the previous regime.

He challenged the Chief Minister to an open debate on the special economic zone (SEZ) deal, asserting that Mr Hooda had been falsely claiming that the deal would fetch a profit to the tune of crores of rupees for the state.

Chandigarh, September 17
The Haryana Roadways buses will soon be connected through the Global Positioning System (GPS) through satellites on the pattern of international airlines.

This was disclosed by the Haryana Transport Minister, Mr Randeep Singh Surjewala, while addressing commercial officers of his department here today. He said with the GPS system it would be easy to detect the position of buses plying on their routes.

Mr Surjewala directed all General Managers (GMs) to put more emphasis on maintenance, renovation and hygienic conditions in bus depots. The department had allocated Rs 10 crore each for this purpose during the past as well as the current financial year. He said some bus depots should try to get ISO 2000 certification. He emphasised the need for private participation in the development and maintenance of bus stands on the build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis.

He said on an average11 lakh passengers travelled through the state Roadways daily. Being the Goodwill Ambassador of the state, the Roadways should try to increase its profitability, kmpl and behaviour of its staff. He said proper training should be imparted to the Roadways employees so that they would be courteous to the commuters. He said the department was trying to increase the frequency of CNG bus services in the NCR region.

He said the department was planning to open new driving training centres in the state. He praised Haryana Roadways Engineering Corporation (HREC) for making buses of international standard. He said the new PCOs of modern designs would be installed in the Roadways buses. The driver and conductor would get 5 per cent commission on the calls made from these PCOs.

The Parliamentary Secretary, Transport, Rao Dan Singh, said the department should become a trend-setter for the whole country within four years.

The Financial Commissioner and Principal Secretary, Transport, Mr Ramender Jakhu, said with a 0.1 increase in kmpl, the state Roadways saved Rs 5 crore. He directed the GMs to identify those drivers who were giving low kmpl and send them for training to teach them fuel efficiency.

Hisar, September 17
On the basis of statements recorded and information gathered during the course of investigations, the police has initiated legal proceedings against the Principal of the local Vishwas Senior Secondary School, Ms Maya Mishra, and the chairman of the Vishwas Education Board, Rishi Gautam Vishwas, under Section 176 of the IPC.

The Director of the school, Rishi Sagar Vishwas, who is facing charge of sexual exploitation of girl students, is already in police custody.

The police will state in the court tomorrow that the Principal as well as the chairman also knew about the matter but did not inform the police authorities about the cognisable offence.

The SSP, Mr Arshinder Singh Chawla, told The Tribune that the Principal had informed the chairman about the matter.

He said the police was also investigating the fact that on what grounds was Rishi Sagar Vishwas, who claims to be just a matriculate, was appointed Director of a senior secondary school.

The Director will also be produced in the court of the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mr Sukarm Pal, as his police remand expires tomorrow.

Ambala, September 17
Dr Udey Vir Singh was today elected unopposed president of the Haryana College Teachers Association (HCTA).

The election of the HCTA was held at SD College here this evening. Dr Singh, who is head of the Department of History at the college, was elected unopposed to the post of president. Dr Singh is a noted historian and he has been active in raising issues pertaining to college teachers in various forums.

The office-bearers of the HCTA also elected, including general secretary—Dr Rajbir Prashar of RKSD College, Kaithal. Finance secretary—Dr Hari Prakash Sharma of Khalsa College, Yamuna Nagar. Vice-presidents—Dr Ram Pal Sainia of SD College, Panipat (Kurukshetra University zone), Dr Surinder Rana of Tika Ram College of Education, Sonepat (MDU Rohtak zone); secretaries—Dr S.S. Dhull (KU zone), and Dr Inder Singh (MDU zone).

Earlier in the day, the Haryana Finance Minister, Mr Birender Singh, was the chief guest at a convention of the Haryana college teachers held at the SD College.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Birender Singh said demands raised by the college teachers would be looked into. Their demands include timely payment of salary, medical reimbursement, leave encashment, implementation of career advancement scheme, restoring the autonomy of university in academic affairs, solving of problems related to Provident Fund and proper regulation of unaided/self-financing institutions and courses.

Mr Birender Singh said college teachers must devote their energy for giving direction to the society. He said teachers could help in checking rampant corruption and other ills of the society. He said the role of teachers was much larger. It was the role of the teachers to show correct path to the students. He opined that the teachers should not get involved in petty issues.

He suggested that job oriented courses should be introduced in the colleges. He further said fiscal management of Haryana was the best in the country and coffers were overflowing. Money would not be a constraint for any development project in the state, he added.

Chandigarh, September 17
Haryana expects over 45 lakh tonnes of paddy production this year. The state government has arranged Rs 1,000 for purchasing about 41 lakh tonnes of paddy expected to arrive in 172 mandis during this kharif season.

The Deputy Chief Minister, Mr Chander Mohan, said here today the procurement season of bajra and paddy would start from October 1. He said 31 lakh tonnes of paddy would be leviable while 10 lakh tonnes would be basmati. The six procurement agencies of the state were expected to purchase about 22 lakh tonnes. He said officers of the Food and Supplies Department had been directed to ensure that the farmers did not face any difficulty in selling their produce and that they received payment within 48 to 72 hours.

Mr Chander Mohan said the production of bajra was expected to be 9.75 lakh tonnes, out of which about 2 lakh tonnes was expected to arrive in the mandis. Arrangements had been made for the procurement of 1.50 lakh tonnes of bajra.

Sonepat, September 17
Four armed persons allegedly shot dead a middle-aged woman, injured her daughter and kidnapped her brother-in-law after entering the house at Gohana late last night.

The police has registered a case on that complaint of victim Birmati’s injured daughter, Asha, against Asha’s two brothers-in-law and two others, but no arrest has reportedly been made so far.

According to the complaint, Asha’s two brothers-in-law, Jasmer, alias Popa, and Ashok of Joli village, under Gohana police station entered the house around 8 pm on Saturday and started beating up the family. When her mother resisted, Jasmer allegedly fired at Birmati from a countrymade pistol and shot her dead. However, Asha escaped by jumping from the roof of her house. The armed persons have allegedly kidnapped Birmati’s brother-in-law who had come to the house from his Baproda village in Jhajjar district.

Asha has informed the police that a case of dowry against her in-laws was pending in the court and she was being allegedly warned not to give her statement in the court. She also told the police that her husband, Sumer, was in jail for allegedly firing at her maternal uncle, Mahipal, on January 30, 2006.

Asha was married to Sumer on April 24, 2004, but after some days both started quarrelling with each other and she started living with her mother in Sonepat. Suspecting illicit relations between Birmati and Mahipal, Sumer and Jasmer allegedly fired at Mahipal on January 30, 2006.