Karnal, May 5
Despite the possibility of a strong punitive action against violators, the burning of dried fallen leaves and grass continues unchecked in many parts of the town.

Smoke from burning leaves swirls around on the roadside in Karnal. — Tribune photo by Ravi Kumar

In the name of beautification, HUDA workers are illegally burning dry leaves causing air pollution and creating a health hazard for local residents.

A visit to different parts of the town revealed that the burning of dry leaves, grass and other waste material was on.

For the past several days, dry leaves and waste matter are being burnt almost daily along the Sector 7-8 dividing road, Sectors 13, 14, 6 and others parts of the town.

HUDA workers burning leaves in Sector 7 told TNS that they were doing so under instructions from their superiors.Another batch of workers at Sector 8 claimed that department officials had supplied the diesel for the purpose.

Despite the department having sufficient manpower and vehicles to ferry grass, dry leaves etc to the dumping areas, it was surprising what prompted the HUDA officials to issue such instructions.

Though HUDA estate officer Vikram Malik had ensured to check the practice, but the sources said the practice was continuing.

The apex court has banned the burning of dried fallen leaves.

Residents of the town complained of smoky surroundings due to the toxic gases emitting from such fires.

It was observed that the fire had also damaged the newly planted trees in the vicinity of the burning grass.

“The district authorities should take punitive action against those indulging in burning. At times we have seen HUDA workers burning plastic waste and garbage too,” said Ashok Rawat, a resident of Sector 8.

A senior government doctor said burning could lead to various health complications to the patients having problem of asthma, allergy and other respiratory and lung-related diseases.

High concentration of pollutants can even be fatal, said another senior doctor at the Civil Hospital as the burning of dry leaves releases toxins in high concentrations, causing an increase in the breathing rate, unconsciousness and even death in certain cases, he added.

Ambala, May 5
INLD spokesman Ravinderjit Singh Daisy has alleged that the Hooda government has failed on various fronts.

Talking to mediapersons here today, Daisy said the state government was not working for the welfare of the people. “The government seems to be working only for large industrial houses which need huge tracts of land. It is forcing farmers to part with their fertile land for a petty sum even though the market value runs into crores of rupees,” he said.

“We demand that farmers should be paid the full market value of their land and the government must not get involved in procuring land for industrial organizations.”

The spokesman said in the latest instance, land under marketing board, near Guru Jambheshwar University in Hisar, had been given away to Jindal family at a price less than market value.

Daisy said the power situation continued to be grim. In villages, the power supply was only for four hours, he said, adding that there were long power cuts and people were finding it extremely difficult during the hot summer days.

Citing a case where a government school in a village was locked by villagers due to the poor results, he said, “This is not the first time that such a thing has happened. There is lack of infrastructure in schools. Also, school girls are not safe. Looking at the education condition, education minister Phool Chand Mullana must resign”.

Daisy said the government must issue a white paper on the property transactions which took place in Ambala Cantt during a two-day period during which the ban on registry was lifted.

A stretch of Jagadhari road from Mithapur to Khanpur had been sanctioned for recarpeting and widening for Rs 1.73 crore during the tenure of Om Prakash Chautala, he said, adding that nothing had been done so far.

Chandigarh, May 5
Campaign against Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda branding him as a leader catering only to the interest of only one community is likely to lose steam by the latest selections of the members of the Haryana Staff Selection Commission (HSSC).

A collegium headed by Haryana agriculture minister H S Chatha today recommended three names for the additional vacancies of HSSC members created recently by the government. The three, whose names have been recommended, are Lalit Butana of Nilokheri in Karnal district, Lal Singh Yadav of Kosli in Rewari district and Jai Singh Bishnoi of Hisar.

While Lalit Butana is an arts graduate, Lal Singh Yadav is a retired headmaster and Bishnoi is a law graduate. However, more than the educational qualifications, what is important is the castes of the individuals recommended for membership of the recruiting agency. Butana comes from the community of Rors; Lal Singh belongs to the Ahir caste while the gentleman named last is a Bishnoi, a caste to which Hooda’s main detractor Bhajan Lal himself belongs.

Chief secretary Prem Prashant and legal remembrancer M S Sullar are the other members of the collegium, which recommended the names in the HSSC.

The additional vacancies were created by the government recently on the ground that the workload of the SSC had increased in the wake of the government step of entrusting certain categories of recruitment to the commission that were earlier handled by the Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC).

The real reason for expansion of the strength of the SSC may well be that the Chief Minister wanted to induct in the commission members from the numerically small communities of the state, thereby taking steam off the propaganda against him.

Sirsa, May 5
Not only high-profile mafia and a few politicians of Rajasthan, but contractors running licensed drug shops were also illegally getting quota of drugs meant for permit holders. The drugs gathered through illegal means were being smuggled into Haryana and Punjab. This was revealed by well-placed sources in the police department and documents procured by The Tribune.

The Rajasthan government is said to be earning Rs 200 crore revenue from opium’s cultivation and through auction of contracts.Besides, the four districts of Rajasthan, the two districts, Mandor and Nimach of Madhya Pradesh, are the routes for smuggling drugs into Haryana and Punjab.

The Rajasthan government had issued permit to 4,732 persons in Hanumangarh district (near Sirsa) for the personal consumption and sale of the poppy husk. These permit holders were getting 36,059 kg quota per month.

According to police sources, though a three-member committee headed by the chief medical officer of the district concerned renews the permits after every five years,yet the contractors are illegally getting quota of drugs meant for permit holders who had either died or migrated to other places in Hanumangarh district of Rajasthan.

Connivance between local farmers, contractors and the Excise Department came to light when local contractors purchased Rs 30 per kg poppy husk from farmers and re-sold the same to district-level contractors for Rs 150 per kg. In turn,these contractors sold the poppy husk to customers for Rs 700 per kg. Once the poppy husk is smuggled into Haryana and Punjab, its price is fixed somewhere between Rs 1,300 to Rs 1,500, the police sources added.

“It’s an inter-state problem.As far as our district is concerned we, besides patrolling on the border areas, have formed a team of informers who were actively operating in Hanumangarh and other parts of the district, said SP Vikas Arora.

Fatehabad, May 5
Additional District and Sessions Judge N.P.Dewett, on the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, today began an inquiry into a custodial death of an accused.

Raju Bai, widow of Baldev Singh, alias Gurdev Singh, who died in the Central jail, Hisar, on December 10, 2003, had filed a petition in the Punjab and Haryana HC seeking a CBI inquiry into the circumstances leading to the death of her husband. The widow had attributed her husband’s death allegedly due to the torture by a few policemen and negligence of a jail superintendent.

The HC, vide its orders dated February 2, 2007, had directed the local District and Sessions Judge to probe into the matter and fix the responsibility for Baldev Singh’s death. The court had asked SP and superintendent of the jail to appear personally or through a pleader in the court or furnish the records of the case.

The court today recorded the statement of the widow, Raju Bai, superintendent, Central jail Shashi Ahelawat and Baldev Singh’s old acquaintance, Jagir Singh.

In her civil writ petition filed before the Punjab and Haryana HC, Raju Bai had alleged that the police arrested her husband on December 8, 2003, under the Excise Act and took him to the city police station.

She alleged in her petition that inspector Bhim Singh and the SHO of the city police station beat him up mercilessly. Baldev Singh told her that the cops had beaten him up.

Raju Bai said she requested the cops to take her husband to the general hospital for treatment, but they refused. Baldev was produced before the court of magistrate which remanded him in judicial custody.

She alleged that the condition of her husband was serious and even the jail authorities had initially refused to take him into custody, but later they relented when Bhim Singh allegedly cited court orders to this effect.

Raju Bai said she received the news about her husband’s death the next day. The petitioner alleged the authorities sided with the accused. She moved the HC which asked the district and sessions judge to hold an inquiry.

Hisar, May 5
Haryana Agricultural University and Eurasia Pacific Uninet today inked a pact for collaboration in the field of agricultural research and education. University’s registrar R. S. Dalal and president of Eurasia Pacific Uninet Brigitte Winklehnar signed the pact.

Winklehnar established Eurasia Pacific Uninet in 2000 with the financial and logistic support from the Austrian ministry of education, science and culture. It is a network for working out scientific partnerships between Austrian universities and applied sciences educational institutions in China, India, Russia, Mongolia and other countries in the Asia Pacific.

Haryana Agriculture University VC J. C. Katyal said the academic council had recently approved the pact. The agreement would open avenues for joint research projects between the university and Austrian universities on subjects of mutual interest. The collaborating universities would also arrange exchange visits for students and scientists.

Meanwhile, the vice-chancellor formally inaugurated the newly-established bioinformatic section in the College of Basic Sciences and Humanities.

He also launched an online statistical analysis tool called OPSTAT developed by a programmer of the bioinformatic section.

Ambala, May 5
Air Marshal Padamjit Singh Ahluwalia, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Air Command, visited Ambala airbase today.

This was Air Marshal Ahluwalia’s first visit to Ambala airbase after taking over as the AOC-in-C, Western Air Command. He was received by Air Commodore H.H. Patel, Air Officer Commanding, Air Force Station, Ambala.

Air Marshal Ahluwalia paid homage to martyrs and soldiers at the station war memorial. He interacted with personnel and urged them to maintain vigil and be operationally prepared at all times. He also visited the Air Warrior Club.