Chandigarh, September 11
While inter-state disputes over the SYL and Hansi-Butana canals are still pending in courts, another river water dispute has erupted, threatening to heat up Haryana's political atmosphere.

The new dispute relates to the proposed Renuka Dam on the Giri river, a tributary of the Yamuna, to be constructed jointly by Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and the Union Government. The primary purpose of the proposed dam is to take care of the water needs of the national capital before the Commonwealth Games in 2010. While Delhi will get additional water, Himachal will get the power generated from it.

The genesis of the new dispute lies in the Yamuna water accord of 1994, which distributed the Yamuna water among UP, Haryana, Himachal, Rajasthan and Delhi. The 1994 accord was to replace the 1954 accord which gave Haryana rights over two-third Yamuna water, while U.P. had rights over the remaining one-third.

Haryana Irrigation Minister Capt Ajay Singh Yadav says the 1994 accord always remained a "draft agreement" because the Rajasthan Chief Minister did not sign it. The Renuka Dam, he says, was being constructed in terms of the 1994 draft accord. He has threatened that if the project was not taken up as a joint project for all the five co-basin states of UP, Haryana, Himachal, Rajasthan and Delhi, Haryana would not "cooperate in the delivery of water from this project to Delhi". The national capital can get water from the Renuka project only through Haryana, which surrounds Delhi from three sides.

Now the main opposition party in the state, the Indian National Lok Dal((INLD) has demanded that the Hooda-led Congress government should abrogate the 1994 accord immediately and replace it with the 1954 accord.

Former finance minister Sampat Singh and INLD Rajya Sabha member Ajay Singh Chautala said here today that the INLD had always maintained that the 1994 accord was against interests of Haryana. Accusing the Congress of shedding crocodile tears on the issue misleading, they said if it was serious in opposing the Renuka dam, the state Cabinet should immediately abrogate the 1994 accord. The government should also move a resolution in the next Vidhan Sabha session approving the Cabinet resolution abrogating the 1994 accord.

The INLD leaders promised to support the government in case it brought a resolution to this effect. They reminded that in protest against the 1994 accord, all 17 INLD members had resigned from the Assembly. 

Rewari, September 11
A case of murder has now been registered three months after the unnatural demise of a young man Hari Chand of Turkiawas village, near here, whose body was recovered by the police from the Swarn Jayanti Park here on June 11, 2007.

Dr Krishan Kumar, a resident of Jaliawas village, near here, and his assistant Manju, daughter of Kailash Chand of Badsara village in Alwar district of Rajasthan, have been booked as accused in this case.

Interestingly, the police had then treated it as a case of death purported to have been caused by a heat stroke much against Gurdayal Singh’s assertion who complained that his son who had a love affair with his colleague Manju, had been eliminated by the duo-Dr Krishan and his assistant Manju.

Both Manju and Hari Chand then worked as inoculators under Dr Krishan Kumar.

Simultaneously, the medical officer who conducted the post- mortem examination of Hari Chand’s body in the civil hospital here on June 12 had also held that his death could have been caused by heat stroke while his viscera for chemical examination had been dispatched to the forensic laboratory, Madhuban, whose report was still awaited.

Contrary to this when Gurdayal failed to get a case of murder registered against the suspects, he made a representation to the CM, chairman of the national human rights commission and others seeking relief and justice from them.

Mewat, September 11
A pulse polio case detected at Noshra village in Mewat district in Haryana has put a question mark on the claims of the health authorities regarding the success of their intensive pulse polio campaign.

This is the second such case reported in the state in this year. The first case was detected in Hisar in the month of January. According to the official report, 22 cases of polio were detected in the state last year. For the last eight months no polio case has been detected in Mewat.

Two-year-old Shakel of Noshar village was brought to a local general hospital last Sunday with paralysis of limbs. At prima facie, it appeared to be a case of polio and the report of stool examination confirmed it.

After the case was detected, WHO scientist Dr Krish Wauf rushed to India to examine the child. He also visited the surrounding areas of Faridabad, Delhi and Ghaziabad.

Civil surgeon, Mewat Hospital, Dr D.V. Saharan said the child had been continuously taking polio drops and the cause of the disease could be the unhygienic living conditions of the family. He said Shakel’s elder brother (13) was also suffering from polio, adding that the family had relatives in Aligarh and Bharatpur, where polio cases have been reported recently. It was possible that during a visit to their relatives the virus might have been transmitted to the child.

He said from the last eight months pulse polio camps had been organised for the children of migrant labour. A camp would be organised on September 23 for the children of the Mewat district, he added.

He said the case’s detection was even a cause of concern for the authority, which was striving hard to eradicate the disease from the state.

Chandigarh, September 11
Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda announced here today that a sports stadium would be constructed at Ambala in the name of Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh to mark his 100th birth anniversary. The martyr’s statue would also be installed at the stadium, he added. The Chief Minister was presiding over the second meeting of the state-level committee constituted for commemorating the 150th year of the First War of India’s Independence in 1857.

Shaheed Bhagat Singh was born on September 27, 1907, at Lyallpur in Punjab. Hooda said the statue of Bhagat Singh was being installed to send the message of patriotism across the youths. The 1857 revolt broke out at Ambala on May 10 and its flame reached Meerut after nine hours.

On the contribution of the people of Haryana during the 1857 struggle, Hooda said king of Ballabhgarh Nahar Singh, Nawab of Jhajjar Abdul Rehman Khan and Rao Tula Ram of Rewari had made supreme sacrifices in the struggle. Hooda recalled that Nambardar Udami Ram of village Liwaspur and his wife were tied up with trees and nailed by the British-led troops but the Nambardar and his wife refused to bow before the foreigners.

Hooda asked for a memorial to be constructed at Naseebpur in Rewari as the village had prominently figured in the 1857 struggle.

The Chief Minister also directed that sufficient room for the office of archives be made available on priority basis so that precious records, including those of 1857, could be preserved.

Ambala, September 11
Residents locked the Iqbal Model School in Ambala Cantonment as they alleged that the certificates issued by the school were not “valid”.

The school is situated in Ramkishan Colony. The locals stated that the certificates being issued by the school were not being honoured by other institutions. They alleged that there had been instances in which the school students had not been granted admission in other academic institutions due to the certificates issued by the school. They also said the students should be allowed to take the national open school exam.

A school teacher said the school comes under the Waqf Board and the school is duly recognised by the education department. She claimed that regular classes were being held.

Ambala, September 11
The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) today sought stringent action against Deputy Chief Minister Chander Mohan and Sirsa MP Atma Singh Gill for their alleged indiscretions.

In a memorandum addressed to President Pratibha Patil, BJP MP said criminal cases must be registered against the two and action must also be taken against those police officials who are shielding them. “CBI must investigate the cases,” it stated.

The memorandum states that on the intervening night of 31 July and August 1, the Deputy CM along with his friend Atul had been nabbed while consuming alcohol Mansa Devi complex. The incident was reportedly confirmed by the security guard on duty and a case was registered at police station Mansa Devi. “Yet no action was taken against Chander Mohan,” the memorandum states.

Panchkula, September 11
Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today said the state government would consider the setting up of a university of animal husbandry and rural sciences to improve the quality of livestock.

Also, Nabard would provide over Rs 600 crore to improve the breed of Murrah buffalo in the state.

The Chief Minister, who was speaking at a function organised by the Haryana State Veterinary Association here today, said although the state ranked second in milk production in the country, efforts would be made to enhance milk production and the state would be made another Denmark.

“I have a passion to make Haryana the number one state in all spheres of development and even in milk production it will be number one,” he added.

Hooda, who was earlier reacting to the proposal of setting up of a university of animal and rural sciences made by practising veterinarian from USA Dr R.S. Bajwa, also considered his suggestion to meet the authorities concerned in Washington DC during his forthcoming visit to the USA in October this year.

He said the government had raised the budget allocation for animal husbandry and dairy department from Rs 14 crore to Rs 22 crore and during the current year it would be Rs 57 crore.

He said with a view to improving the breed of Murrah buffaloes, which was already in demand within the country and abroad, Nabard would provide over Rs 600 crore to the state government.

He said the state government had introduced an insurance scheme for livestock, under which cattle breeders paid 25 per cent of the premium, while the government paid the rest.

Earlier, Dr Bajwa suggested the Chief Minister to set up a university of veterinary, animal sciences and rural sciences in the state and provide the services of veterinarians to the USA, where these were in great demand, especially in rural areas and interior of cities.

He suggested the government to produce mozzarella cheese, as best cheese could be produced from the milk of murrah buffalo for which the state was known the world over.

Commissioner and secretary, animal husbandry, Dr Dalip Singh, thanked the Chief Minister for considering the demands of the veterinary association.

He said the Chief Minister was keen on promoting veterinary services in the state and had taken no time in sanctioning a project involving an investment of over Rs 600 crore and discussed it with the chairman of Nabard to get assistance.

Director general, animal husbandry and dairying department, Dr K.S. Dhangi said the health of human beings could not be separated from that of animals.

President of the Haryana Veterinary Association Dr Jaipal appreciated the Chief Minister for implementing programmes for the welfare of all sections of society. He expressed his gratitude to Hooda for raising the status of veterinary surgeon to Class-I.

The Chief Minister later released an audio-visual CD produced by state artiste Harvinder Malik to highlight the achievements of the state government. The CD was produced under the guidance of Dr K.S. Dhangi.

Kurukshetra, September 11
Sanskrit language should be awarded a second language status in Haryana.This was demanded by the Haryana Sanskrit Academy at its ‘Sanskrit Kavi Sammelan’ held at the premises of Shri Jairam Vidyapeeth, here, today.

While addressing the sammelan, chairman, Shri Jairam Vidyapeeth, and chief guest at the occasion Brahamswaroop Brahamchari urged upon the Haryana government to award a second language status to Sanskrit in Haryana and further said Sanskrit should be made compulsory up to class XII in the state.

He also said each Sanskrit student should be given employment as well as a computer free of cost for the development of Sanskrit in Haryana. He offered to meet all travelling, lodging and boarding expenses for the Sanskrit scholars, who would travel for the promotion of the language. He also assured all help to the Haryana Sanskrit Academy for the development of the language.

Director, Haryana Sanskrit Academy, Dr Rameshwar Dutt Sharma said Sanskrit was the mother of all languages and it should not be ignored at any cost. All 17 participating poets paid floral tributes to the founder chairman of Shri Jairam Vidyapeeth, late Devenderswaroop Brahamchari, in memory of whom the sammelan was organised.

Hisar, September 11
The Haryana government plans to replace all power guzzler incandescent bulbs and T-12 and T-8 tubelights in all offices and buildings of the government, boards, corporations, educational institutions and technical institutions with energy efficient compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) or T-5 tubelights by the year end to eliminate wasteful consumption.

Financial commissioner and principal secretary, Power, Ashok Lavasa stated this during an operation review meeting of the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN), here, today.

He said Haryana Civil Secretariat, New Secretariat, all other government buildings at Chandigarh and Panchkula, all mini secretariats in the districts, all HUDA and PWD buildings, circuit houses and rest houses would be equipped with electricity efficient lighting by November next while the rest of the offices and buildings would be covered by the year end.

All traditional street lighting fixtures presently maintained by municipal corporations, councils and committees would be replaced with energy efficient street lighting by November next and the street lighting maintained by HUDA, HSIDC, marketing and housing boards would be replaced with electricity efficient lighting by the end of the calendar year.

Lavasa said the power distribution corporations in the state would monitor the work of providing electricity efficient lighting in areas under the control of municipal bodies. The municipal bodies were conducting surveys in their areas to provide reports to the DHBVN or UHBVN by September 15.

The street lighting system would be provided independent transformers with meters and timers to avoid inefficient use of streetlights.

Reviewing the progress of development works, Lavasa revealed that the DHBVN planned to spend Rs 876 crore to strengthen power transmission and distribution system in its area during the current financial year.

A scheme has been devised for giving regular power supply to domestic consumers in villages for lighting purposes.

Lt General Onkar S. Lohachab (retd), chairman, Haryana Power Transmission and Distribution Corporations said an intensive campaign should be launched to make people aware of the stringent provisions made in the Electricity Act, 2003 to check power theft.

Managing director, DHBVN, Vijayendra Kumar said the nigam had planned to install meters at all distribution transformers and all feeders at a cost of Rs 16.50 crore.

Yamunanagar, September 11
The Haryana government will provide solar water heating systems free of cost to government and non-government institutions engaged in social activities in the state.

Charitable institutions, which are in the service for the past three years, will also be given the systems on first-come-first-serve basis. The Haryana Renewable Energy Development Agency (HAREDA) is implementing the scheme to popularise the use of solar water heating systems. Heaters will also be given free of cost to government controlled buildings or buildings run or supported by the government.

The installation of the heating system costs between Rs 170 per litre and Rs 250 per litre depending upon the capacity of the system. A solar water heating system of 100-litre capacity used for a year daily could save up to 2,200 units of power.

Deputy commissioner, Yamunanagar, Nitin Kumar Yadav said the HAREDA would provide heaters in working women hostels, all primary health centres and community health centres, orphanages, deaf and dumb centres, creches, old age homes, bal greh, nari and bal niketans, sports hostels, hostels for schedule caste and students belonging to weaker sections of society.

Under the scheme, preferences will be given to the organisations, which are working for the welfare of SCs, women, handicapped, elderly, destitute children and other weaker section of society.

Chandigarh, September 11
The Railway Ministry has sanctioned a high-speed express train between Rohtak and Delhi from next month in the morning hours to facilitate commuters to reach Delhi in time to attend their offices.

The ministry has also sanctioned a new train to run between Delhi and Rewari from October. General manager of Northern Railways Sriprakash disclosed this in a meeting with Rohtak MP Deepender Singh Hooda.

Hooda said Rohtak and Rewari districts of Haryana were emerging as important centres of industrial activities. He said with the commissioning of the two new trains, commuters would benefit in a big way.

Samalkha (Panipat), September 11
Tension gripped this town through the day after residents today observed a complete bandh in a protest against the murder of a registered medical practioneer(RMP). Slogan-raising residents also blocked the NH-1 this afternoon for about half an hour.

Later, following assurance by the district officials to nab the accused at the earliest the protesters agreed to lift the blockade.

However, no untoward incident was reported during the protest.

Ved Nasa, an RMP, was shot dead by certain unidentified assailants at his clinic-cum-residence on the railway road here last late night.

Soon he was rushed to the Civil Hospital, Panipat where he succumbed to the injuries.

Police sources said Ved was targeted from a point blank range.

As a mark of the protest all commercial establishments remained off the road today.

According to Ashish, son of deceased, about three unidentified youth came to the clinic at about 10.30 last night and pumped three bullets from a weapon. He said the assailants walked away on foot and after committing the crime disappeared under cover of darkness.

Samalkha DSP Kuldeep Siwach informed TNS that the investigation was on. He said the telephone records may provide some clues to crack the case.

Meanwhile, no arrest was made by the police so far.