Chandigarh, November 7
Mr Chander Mohan, Haryana Deputy Chief Minister and elder son of former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal, has been dropped from a Haryana Government delegation visiting China.

A Haryana Government team led by the Chief Minister is set to leave for Shanghai in China on November 26. It will return to India on December 3 after visiting Beijing and other destinations in China. The members of the team include the Industries Minister, Mr L.D. Arora, the Education Minister, Mr Phool Chand Mullana, the Rohtak MLA and Chairman of the Agricultural Marketing Board, Mr Shadi Lal Batra, the Chief Parliamentary Secretary, Mr Dharam Bir, officials of the Haryana State Industrial Development Corporation and members of the Chief Minister’s personal staff.

What, however, has raised the eyebrows of government observers is the exclusion of Mr Chander Mohan’s name from the list of official delegates. The China trip by the Chief Minister and his entourage was slated to take place earlier this year and the Deputy Chief Minister had figured prominently in the list of official delegates. The inclusion of Mr Chander Mohan as a delegate for the trip was seen as a move by Mr Hooda to win over the son of the disgruntled Congress stalwart. The earlier trip was reportedly cancelled owing to it coinciding with some important functions of the Communist Party of China.

Since then the relations between Mr Hooda and Mr Chander Mohan have got soured following the episode relating to the posting of CID sleuths outside Mr Chander Mohan’s residence. Mr Chander Mohan and his associates one day allegedly got hold of one of the sleuths and roughed him up, saying that they suspected him to be a terrorist. Apparently, the incident convinced the Chief Minister of the futility of any attempt to win over the Deputy Chief Minister.

It is learnt that the Haryana team, which is going to China at the invitation of the government of that country, will primarily devote its time to studying the infrastructure developed by China to support industrial activities.

Contrary to an investment-seeking tour of Europe recently undertaken by a Haryana team led by the Chief Minister, the tour of China will be more in the nature of getting acquainted with China’s industrial economy. The tour is being organised under a treaty between India and China. Teams from Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh went to China earlier under the agreement.

Jhajjar, (Bahadurgarh), November 7
The rape and murder of a six-year-old girl has yet again shocked the residents of the town. The girl, a student of second standard, fell prey to the lust of a migrant youth who was living as tenant in the house where the girl also lived with his father. The occurrence of such ghastly incidents has raised serious concern over safety of girl child here.

According to information, Virender Gupta, working at a PCO booth, resided with his daughter as tenant on the first floor of the house. He belonged to Chapra district in Bihar. One room on the ground floor was rented out to the accused Shyam (24), who hails from Nawabgang in Uttar Pradesh.

Virender's daughter, Neha, came downstairs at about 6.30 am yesterday for defecation as she was to leave for school. When she approached the toilet on the first floor, the accused, Shyam, dragged her to his room. He reportedly strangled her after raping her. Then bundled the body in a gunny bag and put it on the stairs.

The doctors who carried the post-mortem examination said that she was brutally raped and then killed by twisting the neck.

The Bahadurgarh DSP, Mr Maan Singh Saharawat, said the accused was arrested and he has confessed the crime.

Ambala, November 7
Mr Omkar Nathi, Municipal Councillor, today strongly objected to the forwarding of Minerva complex issue to the Deputy Commissioner.

Mr Nathi said the Municipal Council was a competent authority to take up the matter of the Minerva complex.

He said by-laws clearly stated that a meeting could be called by the Municipal Councillors. He pointed out that despite the clarity in the by-laws, MC president had forwarded the matter to the Deputy Commissioner.

He said despite there being violations of the lease agreement, the administration had forwarded the case for renewal of lease.

It was an important issue that should be discussed in a special meeting of the House.

Mr Nathi said sub-letting had taken place in the complex which was a violation of the lease agreement.

It was revenue loss to the Municipal Council. 

Panchkula, November 7
Leprosy in Haryana is on the way out. Having brought down prevalence rate of the disease to .20 per 10,000 of the population, the disease has reached a stage of elimination in the state and is now moving towards complete eradication.

This has been achieved through constant vigilance in the state's four authorised colonies for leprosy patients as also by keeping an eye on patients settled in the state's 13 unauthorised colonies.

The colonies at Ambala, Jagadhri, Karnal and Rohtak are managed by the Hind Kusht Nivaran Sangh, a society presided by the Haryana Governor, Dr A.R. Kidwai. The unauthorised colonies in Ambala city and cantonment, Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra, Ghanon, Jind, Panipat, Faridabad, Gurgaon, Hansi, Bahadurgarh, Sirsa and Sonepat are mostly settlements of patients who have recovered though there are a handful among them who are still under treatment.

"Our health workers and District Leprosy Officers have been out among the leprosy patients. They visit the colonies regularly, distribute free medicines and educate the patients and their families to dispel myths like leprosy is a curse thrust upon them for misdeeds in the last birth," says Dr Vijay Garg who has recently taken over as the State TB Officer, also in charge of the leprosy programme.

Finding out patients suffering from leprosy and convincing them to get treatment is half the battle won for the officials. "Our officials deal with all sorts of problems and cater to their requirements. Right from maintaining cleanliness of the area to dealing with psychological problems these patients may suffer from, the health workers handle it all. We also provide patients with MCR slippers absolutely free of cost," he stated.

Also, the prevalence rate is the lowest in Haryana in the entire region. In India, while 24 states have reached the elimination mark of having cases less than one per 10,000 and the rate in 1.34, seven states have a prevalence rate of more than one.

"Punjab has a prevalance rate of .40, Himachal has .37, Chandigarh is at 2.77 and Delhi has a prevalence rate of 3.10 which makes us the lowest among our neighbours. Thankfully, we have had no cases of deformity though there are funds available for reconstruction surgery. The Commissioner, Health, has ensured fund-availability and is closely monitoring the scheme," the officer maintained.

The maximum number of leprosy patients have come in from Faridabad (92), Gurgaon (78), Sonepat and Karnal (38 each) while 56 patients from Panchkula are under treatment presently.

‘Punjab has a prevalance rate of .40, Himachal has .37, Chandigarh is at 2.77 and Delhi has a prevalence rate of 3.10 which makes us the lowest among our neighbours.’

Chandigarh, November 7
The incidence of anaemia in school-going children of Haryana has become a major cause of concern for the state health authorities. Almost 10 per cent of school-going children examined by the Health Department as part of the school health programme, have been found to be deficient in iron.

These children were also examined for dental caries, and about seven per cent of the children have been found to be suffering from poor oral health. A little more than one per cent of these children were also found to be suffering from defective vision.

Senior Health Department officials told TNS that so far only 5,17,908 children had been examined under the ambitious school health programme launched across all government schools of the state since July this year. Of these, 1,37,356 children have been found to be suffering from one ailment or another. A total of 20,73,939 children in the state will be examined under this programme.

“As we examine more children, instances of these diseases is expected to rise further. So we have decided to distribute Iron and folic acid tablets and de-worming tablets to the children,” said a senior official of the department.

Alarmed at the poor health status of children, the Health Department has now decided to rope in the Woman and Child Development Department and the Education Department for creating awareness about these ailments, their prevention and cure.

“The anganwadi workers will be roped in to create awareness about nutritional requirements of children, so that diseases caused by nutritional deficiency can be controlled and removed. We are also training teachers in schools to help detect eye infections. Teachers and pharmacists will also be imparting training to children about oral hygiene,” said the Financial Commissioner and Secretary, Health, Ms Urvashi Gulati. 

Hisar, November 7
The Hisar District Brick-Kiln Owners Association has refuted allegations regarding the burning of fodder, besides rubber and plastic waste in brick-kilns.

In a statement issued here today, Mr Balbir Singh Garhwal, president of the association, maintained that the kiln owners would follow all norms, provided the government ensured easy and cheap availability of coal to them.

The Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) has sought a ban on the burning of fodder in brick-kilns located in the state. The local unit of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) had also demanded action against brick-kiln owners guilty of using fodder, rubber and plastic waste to bake bricks.

Talking to The Tribune, the general secretary of the state chapter of the VHP, Mr Vijay Sharma, asserted that the Haryana Government should strictly enforce a ban on the burning of fodder ("toori") at brick-kilns to ensure its availability for cowsheds.

Meanwhile, president of the district unit of the SAD Sukhsagar Singh said the brick-kiln owners were using fodder, apart from rubber and plastic waste, to bake bricks.

Alleging that the brick-kiln owners had the patronage of the district authorities, the SAD leader maintained that the party would launch an agitation against the guilty kiln owners and the authorities concerned, if immediate action was not taken in this regard.