Rohtak, April 4
The Haryana Government has earmarked Rs 120 crore during the current financial year to promote technical education in the state. This was stated by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda after laying the foundation stone of a polytechnic college at Sanghi village, nearly 20 km from here, today.

The polytechnic, to be constructed at a cost of Rs 15 crore, will be spread across 25 acres of land. Addressing the gathering on the occasion,Hooda said the 12 seats in the college would be reserved for the students of Sanghi on the basis of merit, adding that the residents of the adjoining villages would also benefit from it.

The Chief Minister announced that Katwara, Sandhi and Khidwali would be made model villages.Ranbir Singh presented a turban to Hooda as a mark of respect on behalf of all villagers.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister also laid the foundation stone of a 132-KW electricity substation to be constructed at a cost of Rs 10 crore. With the commissioning of this substation, nearly 10,000 residents of 16 villages would get improved power supply.

Chandigarh, April 4
Nearly 67 per cent of 4.52 lakh students have passed the middle standard examination in Haryana. The results were declared today by the Haryana Board of School Education.
Secretary of the board Vikas Gupta said here that the combined results of the first and second semesters had been declared.

Those passing the examination numbered 3,01,318. Another 41,531 students got partial achievement reappear (PAR) and 1,09,628 students had fallen in the reappear category.
He said the pass percentage of boys in the examination was 67.03 while in the case of girl students it was 66.03. — TNS

Yamunanagar, April 4
Hundreds of activists of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) under the leadership of former district president of the party Mahipal Bhagwangarh resigned from primary membership at a function at the grain market in Chhachhrouli here yesterday.They, however, did not announce which party they would be joining.

On the other hand, district president of the INLD and MLA from Sadhoura Balwant Singh has termed the entire exercise as a “drama”.

According to him, those who “resigned” from the party had been expelled in the past. He said Mahipal had gathered his relatives in Chhachhrouli and further claimed that no INLD activist had resigned.

More than "60 office-bearers" of district units of the INLD were among those who resigned today, claimed organisers. Mahipal, a former district president of the party, who was expelled from the party seven months ago.

Prominent among those who resigned today include Davinder Singh, Harpal Singh, Surinder Singh, Kehar Singh Walia, Jagdish Mann, Rajiv Walia, Sumer Chand, Devi Dayal and Jeeya Singh, all former or sitting office-bearers of the party.

Rewari, April 4
A teenaged girl (17), who was staying with her maternal uncle’s family at Bithwana village, 3 km from here, was reportedly enticed by several youths on Saturday (March 31).

It is alleged the girl was brought here in Indica car kept at a secret place and raped for several days.

It is said before elopement from Bithwana, she had told her maternal uncle she was going to her parents’ house at Garhi Bolni village, 10 km from here. When she did not reach Garhi Bolni till late Saturday evening, her worried parents started a search for her which remained fruitless.

Subsequently her father Bhopal Singh Yadav lodged complainted to the Model Town police which registered a case of abduction under Sections 363-A,366,34 of the IPC.

Incidentally the girl was spotted at a place near the Railway station here yesterday by a village who conveyed the information to the girl’s father who, in turn, passed the information to the Model Town police here and the police apprehended two of the accused — Ramesh Yadav of Bithwana village and Praveen Yadav of Bhalki village and recovered the girl as well.

Third accused Mukesh Yadav of Bithwana village was at large.

Section 376 (rape) has been now added to the FIR registered earlier under Sections 363-A, 366, 34 of the IPC.

Hisar, April 4
Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) has decided to provide one single interface toll-free telephone number to all its consumers in order to quicken the pace of consumer grievance redressal.

A spokesman of the DHBVN said here on Monday that consumers could call the toll-free telephone number 1912 to register complaints or make inquiries. On receiving a call from a consumer on this telephone, the computer would generate a call receipt.The nigam would arrange to deliver the receipt to the consumer concerned the next day informing him about the date by which his grievance would be redressed.

He said the Bijli Suvidha Kendras (BSK) would provide 24-hour service and the facility of getting the complaints lodged with the BSK would now be available to all rural as well as urban consumers. A software that would record the seniority number, the name of the complainant, the address, contact number, nature of complaint, convenient time of visit and other relevant details was being developed.

It would also automatically apply the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission's time-frame for redressing each complaint. A printed acknowledgement card mentioning date and time of complaint and prescribed time-frame for disposal shall be sent to the consumer by registered post.

The BSK, while attending billing issues and other matters, would explain to the consumers, the procedures for resolving issues, the documents required and the charges payable. 

Yamunanagar, April 4
Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) will set up a consumer care centre here to provide commercial and technical services under one roof to the consumers. The UHBVN has decided to make operation circle Yamunanagar as “model circle” (first in the state) for power distribution for which work on various schemes has been initiated.

A spokesman of the nigam said strengthening of power transmission and distribution network would be completed by March 2008.

It has also been planned to install three “I - Pay” machines similar to those in bank ATMs where power consumers make payments of electricity bills from 8 am to 8 pm on all days.—TNS

Ambala, April 4
The Chief Minister’s flying squad carried out a surprise check at the Municipal Committee office at Ambala Sadar over a complaint relating to illegal construction.

The officials of the squad checked the complaint regarding illegal construction in a street in the Pansari Bazar area. However, no illegal construction was found at the site.

The officials spoke to the MC officials about the action taken on the complaint. The MC officials stated that they had already stopped the illegal construction in the area.

The officials also took the names of the employees who were absent on duty.

Ambala, April 4
A scooter-borne youth snatched Rs 4,700 and a pair of earrings from an elderly woman near Model Town at Ambala City this noon. The woman is a pensioner and had withdrawn the amount from the Punjab National Bank branch.

Bharat Bhushan, the son of the woman, complained to the Model Town police that his mother was returning home after withdrawing her pension from the bank. A scooter-borne youth came to her and asked for the address of a resident. Finding that the woman was all alone, he told her to handover the amount and the gold earrings to him, or he would hit her.

The complainant said the youth was riding on a brown scooter and was carrying a weapon. The police has registered a case. 

Ambala, April 4
Indian National Lok Dal supremo Om Prakash Chautala today claimed that the Congress was going to lose badly in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.

Chautala was here to attend a function in which former BJP leader K.D. Sharma joined the INLD. Chautala said they were going to contest 200 seats in the Delhi MCD elections after entering into an alliance with the party of Uma Bharati.

There is likelihood of political changes after the Uttar Pradesh elections, he added.

The former Chief Minister said the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government had failed on various fronts. Corruption had increased manifold and the price rise had affected the common man.

He alleged that leaders of the ruling party were attempting to take over land belonging to panchayats. Farmers were not getting a fair price for their produce, he alleged.