Rohtak, January 6
Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda today laid foundation stones of development projects in 14 villages of Hassangarh Assembly constituency which were sanctioned by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda at the Sampla rally on November 3.

These projects will cost Rs 5 crore and the government has released the funds. The MP also inaugurated a few development works completed at a cost about Rs 2.5 crore in the area.

Laying the foundation stones of Ayurvedic dispensaries in Naya Bans and Kasarainti villages, he said the state government had decided to open Ayurvedic dispensaries in all Civil Hospitals.

Till now, such dispensaries were functional in Gurgaon, Hisar, Ambala and Jind hospitals.

Mr Hooda said a proposal for developing a herbal garden in Ismaila village of this district had been sent to the government for approval and Ayurvedic dispensary at Nindana village would be upgraded to primary health centre.

Chairman of the Ayurvedic Unani Board Sanjay Attri said all Ayurvedic Medical Officers in the state would be imparted training in yoga and panchkarma at Sri Krishna Ayurvedic College, Kurukshetra. After training, they would teach yoga to villagers. He said the state government had changed the name of the Ayurvedic Department to Ayush and it would now cover Ayurveda, Yog, Siddha and Homoeopathy disciplines.

Mr Hooda also laid foundation of stadia in Ismaila, Nonand, Kharawar and Karontha villages. Each of these would cost Rs 40 lakh. Besides, rooms would be constructed at a cost of Rs 10.72 lakh in Government Boys Senior Secondary School, Ismaila. He also laid foundation of Veterinary Hospital-cum-Breeding Centre to be built at a cost of Rs 11.49 lakh at Karontha village.

The MP unveiled statutes of martyr Jaibeer Singh Malik at Kasarainti village and martyr Kanwal Singh at Ritoli village. 

Ambala, January 6
None of the relatives or acquaintances of the young woman who was kidnapped from Delhi and abandoned here yesterday came forward to meet her even as she was given police protection today.

The woman was left at Ambala Cantonment after being kidnapped from Delhi on December 4.

A police official said a case had been registered under Sections 307, 364, 342, 120 B and 34, IPC, against six persons, including two unidentified women and driver of the vehicle used in the crime.

He added that a medical examination of the young woman was carried out today.

It is learned that three police teams have been dispatched to various destinations to look into the case.

While two teams have gone to Delhi, the third has been sent to Punjab.

Social organisations have also come forward to help the woman.

Members of different organisations stated that they were extending full support to the woman in her fight for justice.

Narrating her tale of woe, the woman levelled allegations of sexual exploitation against her father.

She claimed that she had been living separately from her parents for the past few months. A case of sexual exploitation had earlier been registered at the Tilak Nagar police station in Delhi.

She said she was feeling safe in the Civil Hospital under police protection.

She said the Women’s Commission in Delhi had been apprised of the matter.

Kurukshetra, January 6
Four scientists, Prof L.M. Patnaik, Prof Vijayan (both from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore), Prof G.R. Desiraju (University of Hyderabad) and Prof M. Lakshmanan (Bharathidasan University), have been selected for the Goyal Prize-2005.

The co-chairman of the Goyal Prizes' Organising Committee, Prof S.P. Singh, said a decision to that effect was taken a meeting of the committee. The meeting was held under the chairmanship of Prof R.P. Hooda, Vice-Chancellor, Kurukshetra University, last week.

Prof Singh said these scientists would receive a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh each, besides a medal and a citation.

Besides them, three scientists below the age of 45 years have been selected for the Rajiv Goyal Prizes for Young Scientists. They are Dr S. Chandrasekhar (Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad), Dr Soniya Nityanand (SGPGI, Lucknow) and Dr V.P.S. Awana (NPL, Delhi). They would get a cash prize of Rs 50,000 each, besides a medal and a citation.

Prof Patnaik got the prize for his contribution in the fields of computer science, electronics and information technology, while Prof Desiraju has made significant contribution to structural and supramolecular chemistry.

Prof M. Vijayan is a distinguished scientist working in the field of molecular biophysics and structural biology, while Prof M. Lakshmanan is a well-known authority in nonlinear dynamics and theoretical physics.

The three young scientists were doing excellent work in chemistry, biology and physics, respectively, added Prof Singh.

The convener of the Goyal Prizes' Organising Committee, Prof N.K. Matta, said these prizes would be given in a ceremony to be held at Kurukshetra University in February. The founder of these prizes, Mr Ram S. Goyal, would reach here from the USA to attend the ceremony. The announcement for the Goyal Prize-2006 would be made soon, Prof Matta added.

Chandigarh, January 6
The Haryana Government has made a provision of Rs 11.50 crore for the construction of health institutions in the state during the ongoing financial year.

An official spokesman said Rs 3.30 crore had been earmarked for the construction of Community Health Centres, Rs 4.50 crore for Primary Health Centres, Rs 3.50 crore for hospitals and Rs 20 lakh for health sub-centres.

He said Community Health Centre buildings had been constructed at Kurali in Faridabad district, Nahar in Rewari district, Chiri in Rohtak district, Gharaunda in Karnal district, Jakhal Mandi in Fatehabad district and Nissing in Karnal district.

Besides, residential buildings had been constructed for health employees at Uchana in Jind district.

Two 100-bed hospitals were under construction at Bahadurgarh and Jhajjar while second phases of BK Hospital, Faridabad and Government Hospital, Mahendragarh were also under construction. Health sub-centres were under construction at Dayar, Kharatikhera and Hindwala in Fatehabad, Kabrecha in Jind, Baljatan in Panipat while four trauma centres were under construction at Sirsa, Rewari, Ambala and Yamunanagar.

He said 40 Primary Health Centres were also being constructed to provide health services to people.

Chandigarh, January 6
The Haryana Government will organise Youth Week from January 12 to19 and celebrate the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekanand on January 12 as Youth Day.

An official spokesman said Youth Day would be celebrated at the block level while Youth Week would be observed at district level. He said on January 12, functions would be organised at Yamunanagar, Rohtak, Fatehabad and Narnaul (Mahendragarh).

He said the principles propogated by Swami Vivekanand would be highlighted during these functions so that the youth could derive inspiration from him. He added that scholars and eminent personalities of the Ram Krishan Mission would deliver lectures.

Youth Clubs would be activated and the Sarpanches and Panches motivated to take part in the week-long programme, he said.

Rewari, January 6
Four armed gangsters looted Rs 1,31,450 from a branch of Punjab National Bank at Mirpur village, about 10 km from here, yesterday and fled in a Maruti Zen car.

The police control room was immediately informed about the robbery, following which police personnel, led by the district police chief, Mr Ram Singh Bishnoi, erected a naka around the Mirpur area.

The speeding Maruti Zen, carrying the gangsters, was spotted on the National Highway No 8 near Asalwas village, about 10 km from here. When a police party chased the car, the gangsters abandoned it near Ibrahimpur village, about 15 km from here, and fled into the fields.

The police nabbed two robbers along with Rs 20,000. The police also seized two pistols and four live cartridges from them.

The police impounded the Maruti Zen car (RJ 14- CB- 8066), which the gangsters had reportedly taken away from its owner at a spot near Behror town of Alwar district in Rajasthan recently.

The apprehended gangsters have been identified as Anil Yadav of Bhagwanpur village, near Mirpur, and Desh Raj Yadav of Kooni village of Pataudi tehsil in Gurgaon district.

During interrogation, they reportedly revealed that their two other accomplices Hemant and Satpal, both residents of Kooni village, along with the remaining booty, had got down from the Maruti Zen en route to Asalwas village. They also disclosed that their gang had been active in Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

Cases have been registered.

Kaithal, January 6
A former District Congress Committee president, Mr Dharam Pal Sharma, and his son, Umesh, and two servants were injured when a few armed persons attacked them at Pundri, 15 km from here yesterday. Those injured were rushed to the local Civil Hospital. Meanwhile, Umesh was today referred to the PGI, Chandigarh, for further treatment.

Mr Sharma, a close confident of the Finance Minister, Mr Birender Singh, runs a banquet hall at Pundri. A school, Shweta Royal, reportedly run by Mr Yash Pal Walia is located in the back of this banquet hall. Mr Walia also has some share in the land on which the banquet hall is situated. A panchayat was also held yesterday to settle the dispute over the ownership of the land. But it failed to resolve the issue.

Yash Pal, Paramjeet, Balwinder, Darshan Singh, Deepak, Gurvinder, Ajvinder and Neki Ram, who attacked Mr Sharma and his son have been arrested. The assailants also razed demolished the wall of the banquet hall with a tractor. As the news of the attack on Mr Sharma spread a large number of his supporters rushed to the hospital.