Jind, October 26
Farmers’ problems over the procurement of paddy are still not over despite the announcement of the government to lift the ban over the export of non-basmati rice.

The procurement restarted yesterday after a seven-day break due to strike by exporters and traders against the export ban on certain varieties of rice.

A large number of paddy growers today blocked the traffic movement for about one-and-half hour on the main road connecting Jind with Rohtak.

The blocked the road to register their protest against the method adopted by private buyers to purchase paddy from mandis.

The farmers alleged that the buyers harassed them by not procuring the medium and light qualities of non-basmati rice at market rates.

The blockade was, however, lifted after local authorities assured them of proper procedure of procurement.

While it may be recalled that the government agencies had been procuring only the base variety of paddy like Parmal at the MSP of Rs 725 per quintal, private buyers, including exporters and rice shellers, purchase the non-basmati variety like 1121.

The 1121 variety, which fetched an average market price of Rs 1,400 per quintal last year, has risen to Rs 2,150 this year.

The strike, however, had an adverse impact and brought the average price down to Rs 1,600 in the past two days, though at some places it fetched Rs 2,100.

The farmers today found that the private buyers were adopting a pick-andchoose method to buy paddy, selecting the fine quality at a rate of Rs 1,600 per quintal and leaving the low and medium quality.

This development, however, left the farmers enraged and they protested against the method, claimed a commission agent here.

The agitating farmers agreed to end the protest after the SDM and police officials assured them of proper procedure of procurement.

The average daily procurement of paddy in the district had been over 25,000 quintals.

Secretary of the local market committee Shyam Sunder said a total of about 1.30 lakh quintals of paddy had already been procured in Jind.

The paddy varieties procured this season so far include Sarbati - 20,000 quintals, Mucchhal - 51,200 quintals, Basmati - 23,765 quintals and Parmal - 30,200 quintals.

It is claimed that the overall procurement could surpass the last year’s figure, despite the strike.

This season over 1.02 lakh quintals of bajra had also been procured in the local market.

Ambala/Sirsa, October 26
The Ambala police has made tight security arrangements in view of the visit of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh to the city for appearance in a CBI court tomorrow.

The CBI had submitted challans in cases pertaining to Ram Chander Chattarpati’s murder, Ranjit Singh’s murder and sexual exploitation of a sadhvi in the court of Special Magistrate for CBI cases R.N. Bharti. All three cases will be committed to the Sessions Court tomorrow. Seven devotees of the dera are also accused in these cases. Besides the dera chief, the other accused will also be present in the court tomorrow. The CBI court had granted regular bail to the dera chief yesterday in all three cases.

Four companies of the police and at least six DSPs have been summoned from adjoining districts of Ambala in view of the dera chief’s appearance in court.

No four-wheelers would be allowed on the court road and limited entry would be permitted on the court campus, police sources said.

Meanwhile, thousands of dera supporters have started reaching Ambala in view of his visit. They are camping at the HUDA ground in Ambala City.

Earlier, the dera chief left Sirsa for Ambala today to appear in the court tomorrow. He was accompanied by a convoy of vehicles with security guards and dera followers. 

Chandigarh, October 26
The chants of “Bole So Nihal and Sat-Sri Akal” ranted the official residence of Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda when a large number of farmers, many of them the Sikhs, reached here today.

The chants, accompanied by drumbeats, gave an impression for a moment that these farmers perhaps wanted to go to the Punjab Chief Minister’s residence, but had mistakenly come to his Haryana counterpart’s house.

No, the farmers had come from all over Haryana to thank Hooda for espousing their cause with the Centre on the ban on export of non-basmati rice, which had led to a crash in prices of their produce in mandis.

A farmer said after the ban was imposed, the prices of certain varieties of paddy, which yield rice similar to basmati in characteristics, fell from about Rs 2,200 per quintal to Rs 1,600 per quintal, causing a huge loss to the producers.

After the ban had been lifted, the prices had again jumped to the previous level, at certain places even crossing that.

On behalf of the farmers, if sarpanch of Naggal Iqbal Singh presented a ‘siropa’ to Hooda, Choudhry Zile Singh of Panipat district offered a turban, a traditional Haryanavi gesture of honouring someone, to the Chief Minister as a token of their gratitude. A 98-year-old farmer of Sadhaura, Baljit Singh Saini, was no less enthusiastic in giving his blessings.

A leader of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU), Guni Prakash, reminded the farmers of how Hooda had stood with the farmers when they were fired upon during the INLD regime at Kandela, where they were agitating for demanding free power.

It may be recalled that in Haryana, the BKU had always been on the wrong side of the Chief Ministers.

Nirmal Singh, MLA from Naggal, said the farmers were obliged to Hooda for declaring royalty of Rs 1,500 per acre on acquired land for 33 years, with an increment of Rs 500 per acre every year.

Gurgaon, October 26
The police today solved the murder mystery of a four-year-old boy of Shakti Nagar by arresting four persons for kidnapping and murdering Ankit, who was kidnapped on October 16 and his body was found on October 17.

Disclosing this here to mediapersons, DCP Rakesh Arya said the police had arrested four persons, Munna, Ranjit, Surya and Amarjeet, involved in the kidnapping and murder of the child. He said all culprits have confessed their involvement in the crime.

He said the boy’s father, Bal Krishan, and the accused, Ranjit, had confectionary shops at Shakti Nagar. Jealous of Krishan’s success, the accused initially planned to set Krishan’s shop afire.

Later, Munna, one of the accused, suggested that they should kidnap Krishan’s child and demand ransom, with which they would extend their business.

They murdered the child, as he had recognised them.

After murdering the child, they started demanding a ransom of Rs 10 lakh.

The father of the child informed the police about the missing child on October 16. The police said a special team investigated the case and nabbed the culprits yesterday from Shanti Nagar.

The police has registered a case against the accused under Section 365 of the IPC. 

Sirsa, October 26
Rebel Congress MP Kuldeep Bishnoi today voiced in favour of the Indo-US nuclear deal stating that it would help the country to improve the power situation.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was working in favour of the country by putting all his efforts to materialise the nuclear deal. But it was unfortunate that the left parties were putting hurdle in the deal, he said, while addressing a press conference here this evening.

Bishnoi was here to exhort party workers for the December 2 rally. He urged them to come in a large number for the rally.

“To root out corruption is our prime motto. We will announce a separate outfit on December 2,” Bishnoi said.

Yamunanagar, October 26
Leaders and active workers of the Gujjar community have started public meetings and contact programmes in connection with the ‘swabhiman rally’ of the community to be held at Ramlila grounds in Delhi on November 3.

Sukhbir Singh Johnopuria, MLA from Sohana and national president of the All-India Gujjar Sangharsh Samiti, yesterday held a meeting of the community members at Gujjar Kanya Vidyalya in Deoghar, Chhachhrouli.

The meeting was attended by a large number of people. It is to be mentioned here that Gujjars are a dominant community in the Chhachhrouli area.

Johnpuria complained that no government had done anything for the upliftment of the community. He called upon the community to make the rally a success.

Presiding over the meeting, former minister Katar Singh Chhokkar said Gujjars from Haryana were with the Gujjars from Rajasthan.

Hisar, October 26
Former Chief Minister Om Parkash Chautala said today that whenever the Congress was in power, the poorest sections of society had to suffer the most.

Addressing a function organised on Valmiki jayanti here he said prices had gone out of control and farmers were forced to agitate to sell their produce. As a result, the poor were suffering while there was hardly any effect on rich businessmen whom the Congress backed.

Chautala said the nuke deal should be discussed openly and in Parliament also. He said while the benefit of power might come after 20 years, the country would become subservient to US interests the moment the deal was signed.

He criticised Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda for holding a function to mark Valmiki jayanti at his official residence. He said this should have been organised with people’s participation.

Rajya Sabha MP Tarlochan Singh, former ministers Subhash Goyal and M. L. Ranga were among those who addressed the function.

Fatehabad: Valmiki jayanti was celebrated with fervour here on Friday.

Several functions were organised in the town to mark the occasion.

The main function was held in Valmiki Dharamshala, where a religious congregation was organised.Prominent leaders of the community attended the function.

Later, a religious procession was held in the town.

In another function, a jagran was held at the local Majra road.

Valmiki jayanti was also celebrated at Kidzee School on the local Bhattu Road.

Yamunanagar: A shobha yatra was taken out by the Bhagwan Valimiki mandir committee, Mahadev colony, in the twin towns of Yamunanagar and Jagadhri on the occasion of Valmiki prakat divas here on Friday.

Several programmes were organised in the district to mark the occasion.The Bhagwan Valimiki mandir committee, Purana Hamida, held a bhajan-kirtan programme.

A mehndi competition was organised at Ganpati educational institute in Bilaspur in which more than 150 students participated. The Eklavya Club of Mustafabad organised a painting competition to mark the occasion.

Rohtak, October 26
Clerks working at Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU) here have demanded higher pay scales, stating that they have been bracketed with lower staff members like daftris despite the considerable difference in the nature of the job.

Talking to The Tribune here, some representatives of the MDU clerical staff maintained that they were getting a much lower grade as compared to assistants, which was discriminatory as well as illogical.

In addition to the removal of the anomalies in the pay scales, the clerks have been demanding due benefit under the ACP scheme and the filling of the vacant clerical posts for a long time. The clerks maintained that due to numerous posts lying vacant, their workload had increased but they were not getting any honorarium for it.

“Moreover, while our counterparts get promoted as assistants after five to seven years of service, we get promoted after 22-23 years,” they maintained, adding that instead of them, stenographers had been availing of the benefit of the promotional channel.

They have tried every trick of the trade — from wearing black badges to giving representations and holding protest demonstrations — for the fulfilment of their demands, but to no avail. Nearly 250 clerks worked wearing black badges and staged a demonstration on October 22. They also submitted a charter of demands to the vice-chancellor.

The clerks have urged the state government as well as the university authorities that their demands should be looked into and met at the earliest so that they can continue to serve the university with dedication.

Chandigarh, October 26
A Haryana IAS officer’s widow, who attracted a barrage of mostly anonymous complaints for allegedly drawing family pension after getting remarried to a man, has recently written to the state government to stop her pension from November.

Belu Maheshwari, who was married to 1974 batch IAS officer S.K. Maheshwari, allegedly got remarried to a Gurgaon-based man on January 21, 2006. This made her ineligible for drawing the family pension of approximately Rs 11,500 per month being received by her since her husband’s death in 2003.

The case was earlier closed by the previous chief secretary after she gave an affidavit denying the charge of remarriage. It is not clear what exactly prompted her to suddenly decide relinquishing the pension.

Apparently, the state government continued to get complaints by posts reiterating that Belu Maheshwari had got remarried and had thus forfeited the right to get the family pension as per the rules. The latest complaints had names of senders too. One complaint was signed under the name of Mittal while the other complainant identified himself as Tandon. Both complaints gave Chandigarh addresses for their senders.

The government was contemplating re-opening the case but it first wanted to ascertain the identity of the complainants before proceeding further on the subject. At this stage a letter came from Belu Maheshwari saying that she had decided to give up her pension from next month in view of the “needless controversy” generated by the drawing of the allowance by her.

The letter, written in long hand in a feminine handwriting, mentions a house in New Delhi’s upmarket Defence Colony as the address of the writer. Belu Maheshwari wrote she stood by the affidavit on her marital status she had given to the government earlier and was ready to face any probe with regard to what she had claimed in the affidavit. But she did not wish to see this go on and continue to fuel controversies, she wrote and asked the pension to be withdrawn from November 2007.

The state government will now send the letter to the accountant-general (AG) and ask the AG to stop the allocation. The question that will remain is what will happen to the money she has allegedly drawn illegally during the 22 months since her alleged second wedding. She received from the government a total of about Rs 2.5 lakh on account of the pension during this period.

Hisar, October 26
To curb unauthorised use of electricity, the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) has launched a voluntary disclosure scheme (VDS) for conversion of a connection to its proper category. The scheme will remain in force till December 31.

A spokesman for the nigam said here yesterday that on voluntary declaration, the conversion of category would be considered as regularised with immediate effect. Consumers desirous of declaring the connection as per its use should apply on the prescribed form. There would be no need to submit any other new documents or affidavits.

However, the consumer would give an undertaking that he would abide by all terms and conditions of power supply. The consumer would also be required to deposit the consumption security and other charges at the new rates for that particular category of connection.

The spokesman said the use of electricity supply by consumers for the purpose other than authorised was treated as theft of electricity under the new electricity law. However, on voluntary disclosure, no penalty would be imposed under this scheme.

The scheme would also be available to consumers who had already applied for conversion of category and their applications were under process for approval.

Ambala, October 26
Mohamad Shyin, deputy commissioner, Ambala, has asked the SP to lodge an FIR against Rajinder Singh Dhanda, assistant registrar (under suspension), the then managing director, Ambala Cooperative Bank Ltd, for wrongful disbursement and misappropriation of loan amounting to Rs 5.39 crore provided to the farmers of Ambala district.

According to information, the DC has taken this step on the recommendation of registrar, Cooperative Society, Haryana. The registrar has sent a letter to the DC on October 25 in this regard.

The registrar said in the letter that Rajinder Singh had disbursed loans for purchase of land without consulting the general manager of the bank as the power for sanctioning the loan was vested with the managing director and general manager jointly.

He said in the letter that serious irregularities were revealed in the sanction of loans. Moreover, Rajinder Singh violated the guidelines issued by NABARD while sanctioning loans to family members like husband and wife, father and son.

Gurgaon, October 26
The Residential Welfare Association (RWA) of DLF, Gurgaon, has decided to take up the onus of solving the problem of illegal garbage dumping in the city by identifying an NGO which will help in lifting the garbage and dump it at an alternative site and also initiate legal recourse to prevent dumping on a highway.

The association has been forced to take this course as the administration has delayed the setting up of solid garbage dumping ground.

President, QWERWA, R.C. Rathi has called upon office-bearers of the residential units, HUDA sectors, MNC’s and the retail malls to arrange the disposal of garbage independently and prevent its dumping on the highway.

The members of the association took this action as the committee constituted by the deputy commissioner after he visited the site on September 21 along with municipal commissioner, SDM (law and order) and senior engineer, HUDA, failed to earmark an alternative site for the garbage dumping so far.

The decision was taken in the meeting by members of DLF City, DLF Qutab, Silver Oaks Association, G Block Residential Community, H Block Residential Community, Grahak Sahayak and the Vinayak Charitable Trust.