Karnal, February 12
With the mature potato crop starting to rot in the fields waterlogged for the past two days due to heavy rainfall, farmers of the district and adjoining areas are a distressed lot.

In the past two days, Karnal experienced a heavy downpour of 161 mm, a record high in the past 30 years.

Information gathered by this reporter revealed that crops of potato and peas were among the worst hit. Following heavy showers and hailstorm in several districts including Kurukshetra and Kaithal, farmers and horticulture officials apprehend enormous loss of other vegetables also.

Satyadev Sharma, a farmer at Daha Jagir village, near here, said the rainfall had ruined the standing vegetable crops, mainly potato and peas. He said the mature potato crop, which could not be harvested due to sudden rain, has now started rotting.

According to district officials, the rainfall, considered good for wheat, has caused severe damage to vegetable crops.

The District Horticulture Officer (DHO), Mr Rampal, confirmed the reports of damage to vegetable crops of potato, peas, garlic and tomato.

Around 23,000 hectares are used for vegetable cultivation in Karnal district. Potato is sown on 2500 hectares land and peas on 900 hectares.

The DHO estimated over 50 per cent loss to the vegetable crops if the area witnessed another heavy shower. He said more rain would further damage the capsicum crop sown a few days ago in the area.

Sham Lal had sown peas in his fields, but these stand little of survival due to waterlogging.

Another farmer Gyan Chand is regretting the loss caused to cauliflower, tomatoes and garlic in his fields.

Rohtak, February 12
The government has ordered a special girdawri of crops damaged due to hailstorms in four villages of the district to assess the loss to the farmers.

Deputy Commissioner R.S.Doon today visited the affected villages and assured the farmers that the government would compensate the losses as per official guidelines. Standing crops in about 3000 acres in Farmana, Bedwa, Nindana and Siman villages were reportedly damaged due to hailstorm on Sunday, he said.

Mr Doon said, as per directions received from Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, SDM of the Meham sub division Jaideep Kumar, Tehsildar and Naib Tehsildar were sent to the affected villages for inspection of the damaged crops.

The special girdawri in Farmana and Nindana would be conducted under the supervision of SDM Meham. The girdawri in Bedwa and Siman villages would be conducted under the supervision of Managing Director of Meham Sugar Mills Satyawan Indora. The process would be completed by February 16. The detailed report of crop wise damaged area along with percentage of damage and demand of funds would reach the Deputy Commissioner’s office by February 19.

Mr Doon said revenue officers had been directed to check the entire damaged area and the supervisory officers would inspect at least 25 per cent of the damaged crops in the affected villages. The patwaris would inform the farmers about the date, time and place of the visit of the girdawri team a day in advance.

The government had enhanced the rate of compensation for damage caused to crops due to natural calamities recently. For more than 75 per cent damage in wheat, paddy and cotton, farmers would get Rs 5000 per acre as compensation. For other crops the compensation would be Rs 4000 per acre as against the Government of India norms of Rs 1,000 per acre in the rain-fed areas and Rs 2500 per acre in the irrigated areas.

Meanwhile, former minister and BJP leader Krishan Murti Hooda has demanded that the special girdawri should also be conducted to assess the damage due to heavy rain and windstorms. In a statement here today he said more damage had been caused to crops due to these two factors than hailstorms.

Kaithal: The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Rajinder Kataria, today ordered a special girdawri to assess the damage caused to crops in the Rajound area as a result of breach in Rajound distributary on Saturday night.

After inspecting the breach site today the Deputy Commissioner said about 250 acres of land had been affected. He said due to heavy rain in the area the farmers had stopped drawing water from the distributary resulting in its overflow and later it breached.

Mr Kataria said after getting information, the administration got the water discharge stopped.

On Sunday officials of the Irrigation Department plugged the breach. The department had installed 11 diesel pumps and two electric motors to dewater the fields.

Gurgaon, February 12
Political temperature in Haryana, which was cool for a long spell of time on account of Assembly elections in some states, including neighbouring Punjab, is expected to rise, what with the ruling Congress and its arch- rival, the INLD, set to target each other.

The BJP in Haryana, which has vowed not to associate with the INLD, has also pithced in with its agitational programmes in the against the general rise in prices.

The Congress seeks to break the ongoing lull in political activities with a bang by organising a "Nav Yug"(modern era) rally to commemorate the completion of second year in office of government in the state on February 25. The rally has assumed added significance on account of Congress President and Chairperson of UPA, Ms Sonia Gandhi, scheduled to address the rally.

According to politial analysts, the importance of the show lies in the fact that it is being organised in the home district of former Chief Minister and INLD supremo, Mr Om Prakash Chautala. In fact, it will be the first-ever state rally organised in Sirsa by any political parties in the annals of Haryana. Many see the choice of Sirsa as the venue for the rally as riposte of the Congress to the INLD, which had organised two rallies, each in Meham and Garhi Sampla (both falling in home districts of Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda) during the tenure of the present government.

The other significant point is that while Sirsa is the bastion of the INLD, the neighbouring district of Hisar is considered to be the citadel of former Chief Minister, Mr Bhajan Lal, who along with his MP son, Mr Kuldip Bishnoi, are bete noire of Mr Hooda in Haryana's Congress politics. Mr Kuldip Bishnoi has already given a call to his workers to boycott the rally.

The Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee(HPCC), however, wants to make the rally a grand success.The Congress leaders feel that Sonia Gandhi is very popular among Haryana's public.Hence,they are counting on a great turnout at the rally

Yamunanagar, February 12
On the first day of filing nominations for the election of the Sadhoura Municipal Committee here today, a bandh was observed in the area. The Panchayat Sangharsh Samiti, which was protesting the setting up of the MC had given a bandh call.

No nominations were filed today. There are 13 wards and the elections are scheduled for March 2.

Mr Ramesh Jain, president of the samiti claimed that all shops remained closed in the area. The samiti claimed that the residents of the area were in favour of the old system of Panchayat. Samiti members also staged a protest march.

The state government had dissolved the Panchayat and announced the setting up of the MC last year.

Fatehabad, February 12
The district police today nabbed Sher Singh alias Sheria who was wanted by the police in four cases of drug trafficking and one case of attempted murder and had been absconding from the process of law. He was returning to his village after delivering a consignment of poppy husk in Punjab.

The police seized a .315 bore pistol and the luxury car in which he was travelling and Rs 37,800 from his possession.

The Additional Superintendent of Police, Mr S.K. Gupta told mediapersons in the Criminal Investigation Agency (CIA) police station today that a police party of the CIA staff led by Sub-Inspector Balwan Singh was on patrol duty at Baropal village when he received a tip off about Sheria.

On interrogation, he said that he was coming from Punjab after selling three bags of poppy husk.

The police has registered a case under Sections 25, 54 and 59 of the NDPS Act and was investigating the matter.

Rewari, February 12
Sessions Judge R.C. Bansal has sentenced five persons - Pyare Lal, Prabhati Lal, Nand Lal, Ram Bhagat and Dharmender - to life imprisonment for the murder of Sada Ram at Nangal Mundi village, 12 km from here, in November 2000.

The judge has also imposed a fine of Rs 3500 on each of the five convicts.

Following the arrest of the village sarpanch Kamla Devi, wife of Pyare Lal, in a case registered against her under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities Act), Pyare Lal had started nursing an enmity against Sada Ram, a former sarpanch of the village, suspecting that Sada Ram was behind the registration of the case.

When Kamla Devi was released on bail in November 2000, the accused armed with weapons, made an assault on Sada Ram who succumbed to his injuries in the civil hospital here.

Jhajjar, February 12
Unidentified persons reportedly decamped with computer parts worth about Rs 2 lakh from two computer centres near the local bus stand here last night.

The owners of the computer centers, Naresh Yadav and Rajkumar, have lodged their complaints with the police.

Fatehabad, February 12
Mr Arjun Jagga was today unanimously elected president of the district unit of the Haryana Patarkaar Sangh. Mr Jagga will announce his team in a day or two.

The meeting was presided over by veteran journalist Mr Amir Madaan. Earlier, Mr Jagdish Ravee had expressed his desire to be relived of the duties of the president.