Yamunanagar, November 21
Classes in eight colleges of the district remained affected as teachers under the banner of Haryana College Teachers Association (HCTA) went on a mass casual leave to protest against attack on a Hindi lecturer of MLN College here today.

The teachers marched to the DC’s office in a procession and submitted a memorandum demanding arrest of the persons who had attacked Dr Sanjiv Chaudhary, the lecturer. A doctor attending on him said the attack had affected the vision of Chaudhary. Through the memorandum the HCTA requested the intervention of the DC and sought arrest of the culprits.

From tomorrow, the teachers will wear black badges while taking classes, informed Dr P. R Tyagi, president of HCTA (Yamunanagar zone). He said that HCTA had given a week’s time to the administration for arrest of all culprits or else the agitation would intensify. The police has arrested one person for the alleged attack on the lecturer under Sections 323 and 506 of the IPC.

Earlier, in the day the teachers gathered at MLN college. While addressing the teachers, Dr U.V. Singh said the struggles would continue and teachers would boycott classes till the culprits were arrested.

Chaudhary was attacked by miscreants on the night of November 17. Dr Raj Bir Singh, Dr H.P. Sharma, Dr P.R. Tyagi, Dr Shailesh Kapoor and Dr K.L. Naruala also addressed the teachers.

Chandigarh, November 21
President of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala today warned that his party would oppose any attempt of the Congress government in the state to acquire agricultural land for handing over to private developers for setting up SEZs.

In a statement issued here Chautala said the state government would be responsible for the consequences of such an action. He said the policy on SEZs, land acquisition, food security of the country and the well-being of farmers needed to be viewed holistically. The Haryana government, in utter disdain for the state and farmers’ interests, had pushed a policy that smacked of a big financial scandal, he alleged.
The INLD chief said the Congress government had already handed over land acquired for a state-controlled SEZ, valued at Rs 1 lakh crore in the market, to Reliance Industries. He said as part of a larger conspiracy to rob the state of precious agricultural land, the Congress government had taken a series of steps to help Reliance realise its design of having an SEZ of the size of about 25, 000 acres.

Citing the approval granted by the state government to Reliance to develop two SEZs in the state,Chautala said the approval should be viewed in the background of the announcement of the Chief Minister recently that those farmers whose land would be acquired for SEZs would be given an additional Rs 30,000 per acre per year. It showed that the Chief Minister had already decided to acquire land for SEZs to be developed by private developers and was offering sops to placate farmers, Chautala said.

In view of the fact that land was fetching a very high price in the open market, the INLD would protest against government acquisition of land for private developers, the INLD supremo said.

Rohtak, November 21
Disgruntled Congress MP Kuldip Bishnoi has alleged that the Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led Congress government in Haryana has played a cruel joke on the state’s farmers by announcing a “meagre” royalty on their acquired land.

“The government cannot compensate the farmers whose land worth crores has been acquired for lakhs by paying a royalty of Rs 30,000 per acre per year,” he said while addressing a press conference here today.

Accusing the Hooda regime of cheating the farmers, Bishnoi said the CM had issued “false and misleading” statements by claiming that the highest sugarcane price was being paid to the growers in Haryana.

He alleged that two sugar mills, one owned by former Haryana minister Vinod Sharma and the other by “some friend of the CM at Naraingarh,” were yet to pay the dues of the farmers.

On being questioned on the stance adopted regarding his outbursts by the party leadership, the suspended MP retorted: “What high command? We are the Congress in Haryana.”

In response to another query, the rebel son of former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal asserted that he would “not do politics on the pattern adopted by Hooda or former CM Om Prakash Chautala”.

Claiming that the people of the state were fed up with the working of the Hooda regime, Bishnoi maintained that his rally proposed to be held here on December 2 would substantiate this.

He, however, refused to divulge more details regarding the issues to be raised or the announcement of a new outfit to be made at the “janhit” rally.

During the press conference organised at the rally venue, Bishnoi committed a faux pas by admitting that the local leaders backing him had not made adequate preparations for the rally. Much to the embarrassment of former ministers Subhash Batra and Krishan Murti Hooda sitting beside him, the rebel Congress MP said he would talk to them regarding the shortcomings in the preparations.

On a similar note, on being asked to comment on speculation of his group joining hands with the BSP, Bishnoi confessed that they were yet to have a solid footing in the state. “Abhi to khud ka hi mamla jama koni,” he quipped.

Chandigarh, November 21
Despite the official announcement that all sugar mills in the state would start crushing operations by tomorrow, cane growers supplying their produce to Saraswati Sugar Mill, Yamunanagar, and Bhaadson Sugar Mill are unlikely to have an early reprieve.

The two private mills, according to informed sources, have not yet started making preparations to crush sugarcane for this season. So far, the two mills have not issued indent to growers to bring their produce to the mills.

The reluctance of the private mills to start crushing operations early is understandable. Sources say it costs about Rs 1,800 to produce one quintal of sugar these days. The market price of sugar is Rs 1,400 per quintal. Therefore, the mills would want to delay the commencement of the crushing operations as much as possible.

Moreover, the mills hope that if the cane is allowed to stand in fields for a few days more, recovery of sugar from it would go up, reducing their loss.

Meanwhile, the growers, particularly, those whose crop is in the second or third year of the three-year growth cycle, are selling the cane to “gur” or “khandsari” units at about Rs 60 per quintal against the state fixed price of Rs 128 per quintal. These growers want to sow wheat after their land is freed from the standing cane. They are eager to do so because the minimum support price of wheat (Rs 1,000 per quintal) is seen as quite remunerative.

The government has retained the cane price at last year’s level despite the demand of farmers to further increase it because this year the per acre yield of cane is less than that of last year’s. Still prices in the state are highest in the country.

Any further increase in the cane price would increase the loss of the mills.

Uttar Pradesh had increased the price this year, but it has been stayed by the High Court.

Haryana Congress secretary Satpal Kaushik has demanded that private mills should be directed by the government to immediately start the crushing operations. Reiterating his demand for an increase in the price of cane, he said if this was not done, there would be a severe shortage of cane next year. 

Yamunanagar, November 21
A local court today remanded Rohit to one-day police custody for allegedly marrying a girl of Bhatia Nagar yesterday, while “his first wife” was in Dehradun. Earlier in the day, his first wife thrashed him outside the police station, while he was being taken to the court.

Police sources said Rohit, a resident of Sector 17, Jagadhari, got married to a girl here yesterday. His first wife, Gayatri, who was in Dehradun at the time of his second marriage, said as soon as she came to know about his intentions, she rushed to Yamunanagar. She said Rohit had told her that he was going to Delhi for a few days.

She said by the time she reached here, Rohit’s second marriage had already taken place. She reported the matter to the police who took him into custody.

Meanwhile, the parents of Rohit’s second wife, reached the court and forcibly took away shagun items given to him prior to the marriage. They said they had spent Rs 2 lakh on the marriage.

Chandigarh, November 21
Watch towers, nature walks, outdoor camps and many more activities are coming into Haryana in a big way with the Haryana Forest Department’s ingress into the tourism industry by way of ecotourism.

It’s all happening at Panchkula’s Morni, Gurgaon’s Sultanpur National Park and Yamunagar’s Kalesar, where the department is utilising its forest area to educate public about conserving their environment.

Ecotourism, also known as ecological tourism, is tourism that appeals to the ecologically and socially conscious individuals, typically involving travel to destinations where flora and fauna are the primary attractions. An integral part of ecotourism is in the promotion of recycling, energy efficiency, water conservation, and creation of economic opportunities for the local community.

“A meeting of the Forest Department was held yesterday, where we have given officials a month to begin work on the project. Funds to the tune of Rs 6 crore have already reached us by way of the Central Government grant. Work on the project will take off in December and by the end of this financial year, a number of works will be in place,” the secretary, forests, HC Disodia, said.

Central financial assistance from the tourism ministry, government of India, for the forest department has come with a rider that ecotourism projects should be completed in two years’ time.

Maintaining that the only forest land lies in the Arawalis and the Shivaliks, Disodia said Haryana had only 3.5 per cent area under forests. “We have only this area at our disposal for establishing ecotourism,” he stated.

The project entails strengthening of fort walls in Morni, construction of a rest house, five watch towers and five log huts, landscaping around Tikkar Tal, organising treks from Koi village to Banasar (1499 msl) and nature camps, while Sultanpur and Kalesar will see bird-watching towers come up besides construction of cottages.

Through ecotourism, the plan is to promote tourism, maintain the ecology and involving community so that the advantages flow to the community. “We have no sites of ecotourism unlike Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka. With the arrival of ecotourism in the state, the community will benefit by way of increased employment opportunities. Locals can pick up jobs as local guides, trekking guides, set up shops or even open up eating joints,” the secretary, Tourism, Keshni Anand Arora said.

Haryana tourism minister Kiran Chaudhary is keenly monitoring the project, so that the projects are finished well within the stipulated time.

Sirsa, November 21
The officials of the State Agricultural Marketing Board today suffered embarrassment during their visit to the Anaj Mandi when they were allegedly locked up in a shop by commission agents. The officials were to inspect records of fees charged by commission agents.

Sources said the incident occurred at about 11 pm, when a team of 15 officials headed by zonal administrator of the board, Satbir Saini, began the scrutiny of records at president Ruli Chand Gandhi’s shop. This was followed by heated arguments between the officials and Gandhi. Thereafter, allegations and counter allegations were levelled by both sides.

The commission agents, alleging misbehaviour by the officials, locked them in Gandhi’s shop, while they staged a protest outside.

The police was called in to control the situation. The officials were allowed to leave only after they tendered an apology to the commission agents publicly.

SDM Harish Bhatia and DSP Pratap Yadav accompanied by police personnel reached the spot and resolved the issue. 

Kaithal, November 21
Local MLA Satinder Rana today inaugurated the Kasturba Gandhi Girls School at Rajound, 25 km from here. The school which is the first of its kind in the district, has been set up under the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and aims to promote girls education. Deputy commissioner (DC) S.K. Goyal and ADC chairman (SSA) R.C.Verma were also present on the occasion.

Rana said the school had residential facilities and would help girls become self reliant. He said the school would be a boon for students who could not afford to study due to financial constraints and said students would be provided free education and hostel facilities.

DC S.K. Goyal said the government had opened the school so that girls were not left behind in studies. He said the skewed sex ratio was a matter of concern and highlighted the importance of educating girls.

ADC Verma said the school would be run by the district Child Welfare Council for which the village panchayat had provided three acres of land. He said the school building and hostel would be constructed soon. There was another such proposal to start a school at Kalayat, he added.

Bhiwani, November 21
The case of death of a woman allegedly due to negligence in transfusion of blood took a new turn today with members of various organisations staging demonstrations and blocking traffic at the Ghantaghar Chowk.

The demonstrators assembled outside the Civil Hospital and demanded that a criminal case be registered against the in charge of the blood bank, Dr Aditya Swaroop Gupta and two lady doctors, under the SC-ST Act. They threatened to stage another protest on November 28, if no action was taken against the accused till then. Led by Dalbir Umra, the protesters submitted a memorandum to the deputy commissioner.

The demonstrators protested against the alleged negligence by three doctors which led to the death of Kamlesh, a resident of Hanuman Dhani.

Kamlesh was admitted to the hospital for an operation of a cyst in the stomach on May 30. Her blood group was A positive, but she was allegedly administered one unit of a wrong blood group (B positive), which lead to her death.

The protesters stated they would submit a memorandum to AICC president Sonia Gandhi who will be in the city on November 28 to unveil the statue of late minister Surender Singh.

Yamunanagar, November 21
The turnout on the day one of the state-level Kapal Mochan mela at Bilaspur, about 28 km from here today brought cheers on the faces of mela organisers.

The district administration claimed that by the evening more than one lakh pilgrims from the region had reached the mela. Hindu, Sikh pilgrims and others had taken holy dip in the three sarovars in the hope of “washing off their sins” and attainment of “moksha” (salvation). The pilgrims then pay obeisance at the historical Kapal Mochan Gurdwara. Haryana chief secretary Promila Issar declared the four-day mela open.

The Kapal Mochan mela has emerged as a symbol of Hindu -Sikh unity as the place is scared for both religions. The mela takes place on the occasion of Kartik Purnima and pilgrims from UP, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and and Uttranchal throng the mela in trucks, tractor - trailers and buses.

DC Nitin Kumar Yadav said close circuit cameras had been installed for the security purpose. 

Jind, November 21
A scare was created after some persons in a vehicle attempted to run over a woman litigant on the district court premises here this forenoon. The victim identified as Sheela Devi (30), hailing from Dalamwala village, was injured and had to be hospitalised. A case has been registered in this connection. No arrest has been made so far.

The husband of the victim is suspected to be involved in this incident. According to the complaint lodged with the police, the woman married to one Jagbir Singh of Muhana village had filed a case of dowry harassment against her husband, about a year ago and had come to depose before the court today in that connection.

It is alleged that her husband accompanied by his younger brother and two other persons, who had come in an Ambassador car tried to hit the woman just as she came out of the courtroom and was moving towards the main gate of the court premises.

The woman, mother of three children, including two daughters and a son fell down on the road due to the impact of the strike by the car. The scream and cries of the woman led to assembling of a crowd, who rushed for her help. While the police officials, including the SP also reached the spot, but the accused were able to flee from the place.

A case had been booked on her complaint about a year ago, claimed the police sources. 

Sirsa, November 21
A local court today remanded Mahesh Bhadu (25) to judicial custody for 14 days for allegedly thrashing up a girl. The girl was an MBA student at the Chaudhary Devi Lal University.

Mahesh had allegedly tried to outrage the modesty of the girl and later thrashed her on the second floor of the Tagore Bhawan in the university.

He was arrested by the CIA staff last evening from Adampur in Hisar. 

Gurgaon, November 21
State education and transport minister Mange Ram Gupta today said there were still hurdles in finalising the policy of giving permission to autorickshaws and taxis to commute between Gurgaon and Delhi for the convenience of residents of both the towns.

He was here on a visit to the Science Exhibition at the State Council of Educational Research and Training, Gurgaon. When asked as to why there was a delay in giving permission to autorickshaws and taxis, he replied that DTC buses were catering to the needs of commuters and the state roadways was also starting five CNG buses for the Gurgaon-Delhi route.

He added that there was no need for giving permission to these vehicles for inter-state commuting. When asked when the transportation system in Gurgaon would be streamlined, Gupta replied that as it was a very big project and no deadline could be fixed. 

Gurgaon, November 21
The shopping complex at Atul Kataria Chowk was demolished by staff of the Municipal Council (MC) with the help of the local police in an anti-encroachment drive launched in old Gurgaon today.

The complex had been constructed without the permission of the MC and was at a distance of 900 meters from the Air Force station. The complex spread over an area of 600 sq yard, comprised a basement, first floor and second floor. Each floor had a covered area of 5,000 sq foot. The MC had served notices time and again to the owner of the complex but he had not filed any reply so far.

Sonepat, November 21
Institute of undergraduate studies, Khanpur Kalan, won the overall championship of the first two-day Zonal Youth Festival of the newly BDG Mahilla university, Khanpur Kalan, which concluded on the university campus today. Ayurvedic college of the university was the runners-up. Around 160 students of four colleges participated in the championship.

Vice-chairperson of the Haryana unit of Indian Council of child welfare Asha Hooda, who is the wife of the Haryana Chief Minister Minister, gave away the prizes to the winners. She appreciated the efforts of the state government for giving priority to education of women