|
|
|
|
Politicos flex muscles in opponents’ areas
Hisar, November 1 The trend by now is so prevalent that holding a rally at their home turf has almost become a thing of the past. The trend has also caught the imagination of the man on the street, forcing the politicos to show their political muscle in their arch opponents’ area of operation. Although senior politicians have been organising political performances outside their own constituencies or home districts in the past, these were either a part of a statewide political campaign like the one launched by late Devi Lal in 1985 against the Rajiv-Longowal accord or such events marked the end of campaigning before the assembly or parliamentary election in the state. For several decades, Rohtak remained the first choice of all major political parties and their leaders for hosting campaign-end shows. But Devi Lal reversed the trend in 1986 by shifting the venue of his political gatherings to Jind. Devi Lal’s choice of Jind, however, was dictated more by its central location than other political reasons although it being an integral part of the Jat belt must also have weighed on his mind. However, Jind did not remain the first choice for political parties thereafter and the focus shifted back to Rohtak. Recently, however, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda reversed the trend by holding major Congress rallies in Sirsa and Hisar to prove that he enjoyed mass support in the home districts of former Chief Ministers Om Parkash Chautala and Bhajan Lal, respectively. In fact, Bhajan Lal and his son Kuldeep Bishnoi’s dogged opposition to his leadership resulted in Hooda holding rallies right in Bhajan Lal’s pocket borough, Adampur assembly segment. The Bishnois’ decision to hold their first major political show after their spat with Hooda and the Congress at Hooda’s hometown Rohtak on December 2 is their attempt to prove what their adversary had been trying to prove in Hisar and Adampur. The INLD staged a rally at Ambala in September as part of Chautala’s efforts to rejuvenate the party and his own fortunes. Although Ambala is not the home ground of any of his political opponents, the choice of venue was an attempt to show despite the drubbing in the 2005 assembly election, he still commanded support outside his home district of Sirsa. The trend has forced senior leaders to make intermittent forays into each other’s turfs to leave a pan-Haryana political footprint. This is in turn making political battles fiercer in the state. In monetary terms, it also means politicking is getting costlier by the day. But even though political battles are growing bitter, the common man is deriving sweet pleasure out of it. How else does one explain Bishnois’ reported plans to serve desi ghee halwa to participants in the proposed Rohtak rally!
|
|
Spurious milk products
Faridabad, November 1 Presiding over a monthly meeting of the District Public Relation and Grievances Redressal Committee, state power minister Randip Singh Surjewala said there were reports of sale of spurious products in market and the authorities must take firm and prompt action against the accused. The minister expressed dissatisfaction on the failure of the irrigation department at meeting the targets of electricity connections. He asked the deputy commissioner to look into the matter and submit a report.
|
|
Ultimatum to govt on bridge
Yamunanagar, November 1 They have made several representations in the past for the construction of bridge on the rivulet but it never came up. Now, they have decided to construct the bridge on their own. The villagers had held a mahapanchayat in which representatives of more than 50 villages participated. A committee was formed to take up the matter with the government and motivate people for taking up the construction of the bridge. Avtar Singh has been appointed as the head of the committee. The villagers have to travel 25 km more during the rainy season. They gave an ultimatum to the government to start the construction of the bridge by January 13, 2008 or else they would start ‘kar seva’ for the same. The villagers threatened that they would not let any politician enter the area if the government failed to construct the bridge.
|
|
Vying for a govt job?
Jind, November 1 This is the reason why youth like Manoj Brar of Singhpura village of the district are self-employed. Manoj is already managing a private modern dairy farm with about 70 cattle and supplying a large quantity of milk daily while many of his age may either be doing a small time job or awaiting an interview call. Manoj, 29-years-old son of an ex-serviceman, had decided to set up his own dairy project soon after he completed his education. Though some of his kin asked him to try for a job in the government or semi-government sector, but he told them that he would like to become self-dependent and not an employee doing a routine job and survive on what was given to him as a wage. He also asked his brother Manoj’s dairy, at present, has around 70 cattle, mostly cows (hybrid), and each of cattle yields about 20 to 25 litres of milk every day. Claiming that running a dairy farm also required professional and technical knowledge, he says one can earn at least Rs 3,000 per month for every acre of land by resorting to dairy business. He says the majority of farmers and their dependents are having not more than five acres of land in the village. His dairy supplies around 4,000 litres of milk daily to Nestle. The milk is lifted from his dairy on daily basis by the company vehicle. Manoj reveals that he started the dairy with just five or six cows in 2004 and very soon the number of cattle here would be touching the figure of 100. Regarding the monthly earnings from this venture, he says it has been around what a class one official of a state government could be getting. His profit and commission would go up if a milk collection centre is set up here. Revealing that while he has not applied or availed of any loan facility, he says it will be a major motivating factor if the government starts a subsidy scheme on the equipment and instruments required in such business. Such a scheme has been in practice in the neighboring state of Punjab, he claims. He says there is also a need of better infrastructure for veterinary facilities. The remarkable aspect of this dairy farm includes showers for bathing the cattle and milking the cows with the help of machines, which has been a part of the modern set up that existed in all bigger dairies especially those located in the and urban areas. “It takes only 25 minutes to yield the milk from all cows in the dairy which is not possible manually, claims Manoj. Deputy commissioner Yudhvir Singh had visited this farm and had praised the work done by Manoj and his brother.
|
|
Honey processing project
Sonepat, November 1 As per an earlier decision, the plant was to be set up by the HAIC at Murthal with financial assistance of Rs 50 lakh from the National Horticulture Mission (NHM), but about 6-7 months back, the Union Agriculture Ministry took a decision to hand over the project to the newly formed National Bee Board (NBB) which is yet to streamline its functioning. Research scientist Dr Ajai Singh informed that keeping in view the demand of the beekeepers, it was decided to set up a honey processing plant and after approval from the state government, the NHM agreed to provide Rs 54 lakh for the purpose. According to the project report, the plant was to process 500 kg honey daily with annual processing target of 150 mt. It was also to meet the requirement of beekeepers of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand for processing and bottling of their produce. The number of beekeepers in Sonepat, Panipat, Karnal, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Yamuna Nagar, Gurgaon, Hisar and Sirsa had increased to 3,500 and the state’s annual honey production had touched 4,000 mt, said the scientist. Expressing dismay over this delay, beekeepers Ramesh Dagar, Kanwal Singh Chauhan, Som Dutt Tyagi, Manoj and Kusuk Chauhan pointed out that for the want of processing unit, they were forced to sell honey at the rate of Rs 40-50 per kg. They demanded that the plant should be set up at the earliest.
|
|
Dharohar to keep state’s culture alive
Kurukshetra, November 1 But the pace at which the state is progressing, its people are shunning the traditional lifestyle for a more modern one, endangering the cultural heritage of this land. It is not long before future generations will have no clue as to what way of life, customs and traditions their ancestors followed. To save the Haryanavi way of life for the coming generations, Kurukshetra University has set up Dharohar, a museum dedicated to preserving the culture and tradition of the state, on April 28 last year. This must-see museum is one of its kind in the state and more than 1.50 lakh visitors have already been enthralled by the exhibits displayed there. The museum houses all facets of Haryanavi culture and items used in households that are no longer in use or on the verge of being extinct. These include domestic articles, handicrafts, ornaments, agricultural tools, different kinds of hookahs, including the largest in the world, musical instruments, chariots, bullock carts etc. There is also a photographic section that houses photographs of decorated soldiers from the state and freedom fighters. Curator of the museum Dr M.S. Poonia says he travelled throughout the state for six months to collect artefacts for the museum. “Initially, people accused me of being a smuggler who would collect these rare artefacts and sell them abroad for hefty profits,” laughs Dr Poonia. “I covered nearly 60,000 km in the state going from village to village to collect unique and ancient items,” he says. He says 95 per cent of the artefacts on display at the museum have been donated by their owners. “The museum cost the university Rs 70 lakh, including Rs 23 lakh for air conditioning alone,” he says, adding that the main purpose of setting up the museum, a brainchild of Kurukshetra University vice-chancellor R.P. Hooda, is to make it a cultural research centre. Dr Poonia says a museum on state’s role in the 1857 revolt will come up shortly at a cost of Rs 3 crore adjoining Dharohar. Nearly 200 weapons used in this conflict have already been collected, he adds.
|
|
‘Build road to link 2 villages’
Fatehabad, November 1 Advocates Mulakh Raj Mehta, B. R. Bajaj, Dushyant Gera, Mohan Sharma, Sanjeev Mehta and Ram Singh Chander Bhan, who have been spearheading a campaign for the construction of the road, said the two villages were among the biggest in the district and contributed the maximum towards the collection of market fees. They advocates said the road between Bhirdana and Bothan Kalan, which was kutcha at present, was used primarily by farmers and the marketing board, which was duty bound to take up the project. — OC
|
|
Inside Babudom
Chandigarh, November 1 Lok Sabha election, be it held mid-term or in 2009 in the normal course, will indeed have a huge impact on the state. The most important fallout of such an eventuality will be that the election results will show where the Congress stands on the popularity chart. For bureaucrats, whose postings are often linked with the political set up in the state, any major political development is of crucial importance for this reason. Those bureaucrats, who consider themselves of having been given insignificant postings by the present regime, are interested in a "change" for obvious reasons and it is understandable why they are interested in seeing the mid-term election. However, those having postings that may not really be the top ones but cannot be called bad either, too, are interested in the issue. The reason why this category of babus also wants election to be held quickly is not far to seek. The sixth pay commission report is now awaited eagerly by all officers. They think any move for a mid-term poll will hasten the process of the implementation of the pay commission report by the government as a pre-poll sop. The implementation will affect a large number of people who are employed with the Central government. However, it is the All India Services officers who are taking maximum interest in the subject. The reason may be that they are not only expecting a good hike in their salaries but think the report will also enhance their age of retirement to 62 years from 60 at present. "At least for the officers the retirement age should be enhanced to 62 years", quipped an IAS officer who, however, was quick to admit that there was perhaps no worthwhile justification for this special treatment of IAS, IPS and other officers.
|
|
Jhajjar blood bank project on back burner
Jhajjar, November 1 The blood bank was planned to set up at the hospital in 2003 to provide blood in emergency cases, as such cases had to refer to the PGIMS at Rohtak. A separate building was also constructed for the purpose. Besides, many costly machines were also installed. But the administration was in a hurry for its inauguration from political masters than the blood bank’s functioning in the interest of the patients. Then Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala inaugurated the blood bank on December 2, 2003. Since then, the government has changed and many bureaucrats have changed guard as well, but no one bothered about the project. About four years after its inauguration, the Aids Control Society occupied the building while the machines are gathering dust. Interestingly, the health department has posted a medical officer for the blood bank last year but it did not deem necessary to also appoint allied staff, including lab technician, staff nurse and peon. Moreover, some important equipment to set up storage centre is not yet available. SMO Dr Dharambir Nandal admitted that the blood bank could not start functioning until all important facilities were available. He said the health department had already planned to set up a storage centre here.
|
|
Ambala Sadar grain market
Ambala, November 1 The grain market is located in the midst of the bustling area of Ambala Sadar and it is flanked by different markets on all four sides. Its location leads to several problems, particularly during the harvesting season. Grain is dumped along the roadsides, as the market does not have enough storing space. This causes frequent traffic jams. The harvesting season also causes nightmarish experience to the local residents and the persons suffering from bronchial diseases are the worst affected. Ambala Cantt MLA Devender Bansal says the grain market is likely to be shifted soon to a location near Ghasitpur on the GT road. “I had raised this issue in the Vidhan Sabha. The market must be shifted out so that the local residents do not face any inconvenience,” he says. The state government had drawn up the plan to shift the grain market along with the wholesale fruit and vegetable market out of the area. A piece of land was identified near the upcoming HUDA sectors of Ambala Cantt on the GT road. Even though then Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala laid the foundation stone of the new market, it could not be shifted. It was felt that if the grain market was shifted near the HUDA sectors it would cause inconvenience to the residents of the locality. Meanwhile, the inordinate delay in implementing the plan is causing considerable concern to the local residents. While the grain market is located in the heart of the Sadar area, the vegetable market is located adjacent to the main bus stand. Roadways buses face difficulty while exiting from the main bus stand as vendors have illegally encroached upon the roadsides close to the vegetable market. The presence of the vendors has gradually turned the area into an extension of vegetable market, affecting the smooth flow of traffic. Although efforts had been made to clear the area of all encroachments, the results are far from satisfactory. It is expected that once the vegetable market moves outside the municipal limits, there is likelihood of an improvement in the prevailing conditions.
|
|
Poor Roads
Kurukshetra, November 1 According to deputy commissioner Pankaj Aggarwal, all agencies concerned, comprising the PWD (B&R), Thanesar Municipal Committee, HUDA, and the Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board (HSAMB) had already initiated the work following which Rs 41.17 crore had been utilised. As per details provided by senior officers, the PWD (B&R) has repaired and maintained 99.419 km length of roads by spending Rs 32.24 crore against its target of 110.318 km with the budget of Rs 42.50 crore so far. The expenditure includes Rs 7.11 crore utilised for widening and strengthening 37 km of roads against 44.5 km target earmarked under the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojna (PMGSY) and the Bharat Nirmaan Project. Under the Bharat Nirmaan Project, Phase VII, 46.77 km rural roads in this district will be widened and strengthened at a cost of Rs 24.83 crore. For this purpose, tenders have already been floated. Similarly, the HSAMB has utilised Rs 7.12 crore on roads against its earmarked target of Rs 16.03 crore in various mandis of this district while Rs 2.4 core against its target of Rs 5.61 crore has been spent in the urban and rural areas. Besides, the HSAMB is also constructing five sports stadiums each at Amin, Bakhli, Sudhpur, Bir Kalwa and Khera in this district. A sum of Rs 92.60 lakh against the budgeted Rs 209.3 lakh had already been utilised. The first four stadiums are scheduled to be completed by November 30 this year while the construction of stadium at Khera is scheduled to be completed by December 31. A brief survey of local roads reveals that the patch work on the road stretch near Kali Kamli Mandir and from old bus stand to Bhadrakali Temple via Rotary chowk as well as the Amin Road need immediate repair. On the other hand, it has been observed that majority of the village roads in this district in comparison to state highways and other roads are in better condition. A 22-km stretch of state highway road no. 6 from Kurukshetra University to Pehowa, where a large number of pilgrims visit for offering “pinds” to their ancestors, needs to be widened.
|
|
This shrine gets visitors from all faiths
Neval (Karnal), November 1 Neval village, about 7 km from Karnal, is home to one such shrine that has not only withstood the ravages of time but also saw a regular stream of devotees visiting it. The holy place contains the mausoleum of Sufi saint Hazrat Noor Mohammad Chisti. Chisti, who originally belonged to Delhi, travelled far and wide spreading the message of peace and tolerance. He mainly preached in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar. Later, he settled at Neval on the insistence of the Nawab of Kunjpura. Sharaf-ul-Huda (55) is the caretaker of this 72-year-old shrine. He says that though Chisti passed away in 1907, the building came up in 1935 and since then every year without fail “urs” is held on the occasion of the death anniversary of the saint in the last week of October. “People from places as far away as Mumbai come here to pay their obeisance on that occasion,” Huda says. “It does not matter that Neval and Kunjpura have only three and 10 Muslim families, respectively, such was the Chisti’s aura that people of all religions keep coming here and keep this place going,” he says. Huda, who is a bachelor, also practises “unani” medicine. “I also help people who are under the influence of ‘bhoots’ and ‘gins’,” he says. Across the road from the shrine is a masjid dedicated to Chisti’s guru Hazrat Maulana Mohammad Sharif. The masjid is over 150 years old and not in the best of state, as a very few people visit it.
|
|
Traffic scene awful, control worse in Kaithal
Kaithal, November 1 The safety aspect seems to be of no concern of those violating the rules. Overloaded vehicles belching out black smoke on roads is a common scene. In order to save fuel, a number of tractor owners use to tie two trailers with their vehicles to bring agricultural produce to markets. Parking of vehicles on roads adds to the traffic chaos. Despite a number of laws in force, no relief seems to be in sight for the road users. The problem aggravates during peak hours and during crops season when there is substantial increase in the number of commercial vehicles on the roads. The ill-equipped traffic personnel lack proper training and are unable to discipline the road users. Private bus owners overload vehicles with passengers on most of the routes and to get more passengers they halt at a number of places and at times in the middle of the road. All this causes great inconvenience to the road users, besides causing traffic jams. The blowing of pressure horns by bus drivers on busy roads is a common practice. Besides those present on the roads, others having their offices and business premises along the roads have to bear deafening sound of pressure horns. The district administration and the transport department authorities have failed to curtail this practice. Maxi cab owners have become a law unto themselves. They overload their vehicles and make unauthorised halts in the middle of the roads without caring for the safety of the passengers. Whenever the authorities tried to get tough with them they get united and resort to pressure tactics. These lawbreakers at times get support from politicians. Over the years, the number of three-wheelers has increased in this district. Most of these vehicles are outdated and outlived their lives and are in very bad shape. Such vehicles are purchased from metropolitan cities and other big towns and are pressed into service in smaller towns. The owners have scant respect for the anti-pollution laws and most of them use mixture of diesel and kerosene oil as fuel. Still the owners are never penalised even as most of the vehicles ply without number plates. The youngsters, too, indulge in rash and negligent driving. The lack of proper parking places has also added to the traffic chaos. The residents lament that a number of markets have been established in recent past, but no attention has been paid to earmark space for parking vehicles.
|
|
Power supply to improve in Gurgaon
Gurgaon, November 1 A HVPN spokesperson said the power supply to the city was adversely affected as the two-transmission units at Panipat and Faridabad, producing 200 MW and 30 MW power per day, respectively, developed some technical fault, which resulted in longer and frequent power cuts. An official of the electricity department said at present the average power drawl for the Gurgaon circle was around 262 MW per day, which leaves a gap of 140 MW. Officials said on an average, the city was getting around 25 per cent less power than requirement. At present, Gurgaon was getting around 7 lakh units of electricity per day. He said after the completion of the substation projects, the power supply to the district would be improved. Officials said at present, the internal electricity burden of Sector 9, 10, 23 and the railway road, which were under Bahadurgarh, would be shifted to the Daultabad substation.
|
|
Study on nutritive value of cattle feed
Karnal, November 1 During the past few decades, researchers have been working on the physical and chemical treatment of straws. Of the physical treatments, only chopping and soaking were feasible under village conditions. Soaking of chopped roughages, however, did not increase the feed intake further than up to a constant level. Wetting of crop residues was not useful in general, but definitely improved the intake of mechanically thrashed paddy straw, probably due to removal of oxalates, dust, silica and pebbles etc. The advances in biotechnology have opened up novel approaches for increasing the nutritive value of cereal straws with microbes and allowing natural fermentation processes to enhance their feeding value. Dr J. P. Sehgal, principal scientist (animal nutrition), presented a study paper on enhancing the nutritive value of cattle feed during an international conference, Tropnutricon-2007, held at NDRI, Karnal, recently. Dr Swati Saxena, who also worked in this field and did Ph.D under the guidance of Dr Sehgal, was awarded with the Dr S.K. Ranjan Animal Nutrition Society of India Award for best doctoral thesis. Though the dry matter digestibility of straw increased, but a huge loss of substrate dry matter during fungus cultivation limited the applicability of this technology. Simultaneously, interests in the ruminal anaerobic fungi were growing after their discovery by
Orpin.
|
|
Study on 1857 uprising
Yamunanagar, November 1 But the ambiguity will be over soon, thanks to a research study entitled "Role of Haryana in 1857", which recounts graphically the heroic deeds of freedom fighters, atrocities of the British and incidents of the tumultuous 1857 in the region. The study, lasting over five years, is being undertaken by Dr Raj Pal Singh, who has been engaged in the research of history for the past over three decades and is presently the head of the department of Mukand Lal National PG College here. Dr Singh has 15 books and 49 research papers to his credit. Talking about the main findings of the research, he says his study has brought to light, the fact that the people of the state, right from the princes to the common man, had faced the ire of the imperialists for opposing them in the first war of Independence. The historian says his forthcoming book has been designed to be not a mere chronicle of events, but also to bring out the contribution of all components of the society in true perspective. The book lists the heroism of the natives who fought against the foreigners with great zeal, dedication and sincerity of purpose. Besides the known leaders of the struggle, including native princes Raja Nahar Singh of Ballabhgarh, Nawab Abdul Rahman Khan of Jhajjar and Nawab Ahmad Ali Khan of Farrukhnagar, a large number of leaders also emerged from among the common people as the fight against the alien rule progressed, remarked Dr Raj Pal Singh. These include Sadruddin Khan, a farmer of Pinanghawa in Mewat, Hukam Chand Jain of Hansi, Ram Lal Jat of Ballah village of Panipat district, Ram Lal Yadav of Rewari and Pir Das of Rohnat in Hisar. He further gives a glimpse into the great loss of life in the region in the form of sheer numbers that will surely leave one aghast. An excerpt from the book will clarify the point further, 22 persons from Libaspur-Bahalgarh, 11 from Kundli, 75 from Alipur of the then Sonepat tehsil of Delhi district; and 64 persons from Badshahpur village, 11 from Nugali and 51 from other villages of Gurgaon district; 14 of Khirwali, 12 from Meham, 16 from Bhallauth, 19 from Bahadurgarh and 24 from Kanaud (Mohindergarh) were shot dead for participating in the freedom movement in 1857. In his study, Dr Raj Pal Singh also narrates how Haryana was divided and robbed of its vital land by the British.
|
|
CITIZEN FIRST Power utilities in the state request consumers to use CFLs instead of normal bulbs to save electricity. I started using these lamps and avoided unnecessary lighting in the house. The result was quite impressive and the power consumption reduced. However, I was shocked to see the bill that was not on actual consumption but on the basis on minimum monthly charges as per connected load. These days the power utilities supply electricity for only 12 hours a day in cities and 3-4 hours a day in villages. Under such circumstances, there is no justification for minimum monthly charges for domestic consumers and usage of CFLs. V.K. Gupta, Kurukshetra Check growth of pvt colleges This is an open secret that private colleges in the state and elsewhere are making fast buck. Despite higher fee structure, these colleges lack proper infrastructure. Most of the colleges function without sufficient staff and have less qualified and underpaid faculty, which has its direct say on the quality of education. They also lack discipline and control over students. Sometimes even daily attendance is not required. There is an immediate need to check the mushrooming of such institutions and this is the right time to take corrective steps. There should be a ban on granting permission to new institutions till the existing ones are brought to a proper
level. Puran Singh, Nilokheri
|
|
Citizens’ Grievances I applied for a passport vide receipt no. 13751, department receipt no. 5657, file no. IDCHDZ45235107, on 17.4.2007, with the Regional Passport Office, Chandigarh. I am working with Canara Bank, Karnal, and have already submitted a no-objection certificate from my department Canara Bank, Circle Office, Sector 34 A, Chandigarh, along with other relevant documents to the RPO. Even as six months have passed I have not received any response in this regard. Bhushan Bhatia, Karnal HUDA errs again I had applied for the allotment of a plot in HUDA Sector 65, Faridabad, under the (backward class) reserve category. But HUDA put my application in general category and I remained an unsuccessful applicant when the draw of lots held. I have already written three letters to HUDA officials, but to no avail. I took loan for the earnest money from SBI, Sadar Bazar. I also submitted the requised documents to them. For no mistake on my part, I cost the chance to get a plot. Asha,
Ambala Cantt No use of delayed info It is a fact that the civil administration as well as RTI commissioners and PIOS try to save the departments from whom the information is sought. I have personal experience to the effect that my two cases (nos. 124/of 2006 and 106/of 2007) were delayed to the maximum. I got the information in the first case after 7 months and 15 days and in the second after 7 months. In another case, I sought information from Rewari deputy commissioner on 22.01.2007, which is still awaited. The only way out is to levy a fine of at least Rs 5,000 on erring officials if the information is delayed beyond explanation. Shiv Pal Singh,
VPO Dahina, Rewari
|
|
|
||
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
