Gurgaon, January 30
The bait was a job offer, wages Rs 150 per day plus a verbal “agreement”-first get a physical fitness check done at a Gurgaon hospital.

For many like construction worker Sakil, it all sounded like a good employer. Soon they were to realise the cost: their kidneys.

In the last about 10 years, the multi-crore kidney scam involving absconding “Dr Horror” Amit alias Santosh Raut has claimed at least 500 illegal transplants.

Sakil, Salim and Nasim are mostly poor, semi-skilled labourers. Lying in Civil Hospital, Gurgaon, they share a real-life horror story.

When Sakil was taken to a house-cum-hospital No. 4374, Sector 23, Gurgaon on the night of January 23, he found at least three persons lying on the bed, refusing to talk, something he too was told to follow by two masked men “looking after the patients”.

The next morning Sakil woke up with pain in the stomach. He was told by “doctors” that his kidney has been removed. Two days later as Sakil rested on the bed speechless, an Uttar Pradesh police team trooped in looking for suspects in the massive kidney racket.

The police found that along with Sakil, Salim and Nasim too had lost their kidneys to “Dr Horror” Amit and his cronies. The police rescued two youths, Ajay Kumar and Sanjay Kumar, both residents of Meerut, waiting for the “check-up”.

Sakil says he can’t forget the two men who had met him on January 16, the day when it all began.

Sakil says he was waiting for an odd job near Old Delhi Railway Station in the afternoon when a middle-aged Muslim with beard and a youth offered him a job of a whitewasher. He was promised Rs 150 per day for two and a half months.

Hardly literate, he agreed. “I was introduced to a contractor at India Gate who drove an Esteem car. He said he would provide me a job,” Sakil (28) said.

“The two persons then disappeared leaving me with the contractor in the car late in the evening that day”, recalls Sakil. As the car moved fast, he was asked whether he had some disease. “When I told him I had none, he insisted on a check-up and in the car itself took my blood sample and told me that I was OK”, Sakil says.

For the next couple of days Sakil was kept in a house, “most probably near Ballabhgarh, Faridabad, along with four others”.

On the night of January 21, the Esteem car driver took him in his car. “After about two hours, we reached near a petrol pump where I was told to get into a black Santro car. In minutes we reached a house and the car driver knocked at the gate in a particular style,” recalls Sakil.

When he entered the house it was around 2.30 am. The Santro driver had vanished.

On the night of January 22, two gunmen came and took him to a separate room where a lot of medical equipment was lying.

Sakil said, “I was made to lie on a stretcher, despite my objection, but they told me not to worry as this was part of a medical check-up. Two persons who had covered their faces with green cloth gave me an injunction and I lost my consciousness.”

“When I regained consciousness, after around three hours, I felt pain near the stomach and enquired about it. The gunmen told me that my kidney has been removed and that I would be paid as promised,” Sakil said. Salim, 35, also has the same story-the same bearded Muslim man, the same Esteem and Santro cars and the same Gurgaon “hospital”. A resident of Sahapeer Gate, Sahakasa Bazaar, Meerut, Salim works as a labourer. He is married and has five children.

Sakil’s father Abdulla Fakir, who works as a tailor, says with tears in his eyes that his son has lost his kidney without a penny being paid to him.

“The government should provide us some monetary compensation and a job,” says Fakir. Sakil’ mother angrily demands punishment to all guilty persons. — PTI

Yamunanagar, January 30
Students of the Everest School of Nursing, Bambhol, here protested on the Jagadhri- Ambala stretch of the National Highway No. 73 for more than seven and a half hours today against hike in their academic fee. They, however, ensured that traffic was not obstructed on the road on which thousands of vehicle leading to (and from) Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi ply.

The Haryana Nursing Registrar Council had hiked the fee. The students were up in arm against the Rs 1,000 hike in their monthly fee. Today, they boycotted their classes and a large number of them reached the highway.

They demanded that the management should revoke the hike as a large number of the students belonged to poor families.

On January 22, the students were told about the monthly hike of Rs 1,000 in their fees. The students claimed that they had apprised the management regarding their helplessness in paying the increased fee. Today, after the morning assembly they moved towards the highway.

The chairman of the school, Dr Pradeep Kohli, assured the students that the matter regarding the fee hike would be taken up with the council. Dr Nilesh Kohli, director of the school, said the students had been asked to pay the fees they had been paying so far. “The matter will be taken up with the council and if it agrees to roll back the fee, it’ll be fine otherwise the students will have to pay it,” said the director.

After the assurance from the school authorities, the students returned to their hostels.

Karnal, January 30
Former Chief Minister and INLD supremo Om Prakash Chautala today accused the Hooda government of playing in the hands of the builders’ lobby.

Addressing the gathering of the Backward Class cell of the district unit of the party, Chautala said the state government was offering the cultivable land to certain influential builders to construct expensive residential colonies.

Accusing the Congress government for its failure on power front, he said the power crisis in Haryana was due to the ‘mismanagement’ on the part of the Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led government. He claimed that during the INLD regime there was no power shortage.

Terming the state government’s policies as anti-poor, he said official focus aimed at the development of the upper crust.

Yamunanagar: Former Haryana Chief Minister and INLD leader Om Parkash Chautala has said old age pension in the state would be increased from Rs 300 to Rs 500 if the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) would come to power after the next state’s Assembly election.

He said this while addressing a meeting of party activists belonging to the Backward Class at Jagadhri here on Wednesday. The last INLD government had carried out several welfare schemes during its tenure.

Chautala said that the Congress was anti-Dalit and anti-Backward Classes. Terming the Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led government as a government of property dealers, he said 35 per cent farmers in the state had become landless.

People voted for the Congress in hope of improvement in power and water supply but the present regime had failed in all fields. The power situation had gone worse. He assured that if voted to power, the INLD government would provide 24-hour power supply in the state.

The former chief minister has already held 12 such meetings. He said the union government had imported 50,000 quintals of poor quality wheat from other countries at Rs 3,000 a quintal and on the other hand farmers were getting only Rs 750 a quintal.

He said all development activities in the state had come to a standstill and law and order situation had deteriorated.

Ambala, January 30
The ruling party in the state is finding itself on the defencive as far as the power crisis being faced by the state is concerned.

Admitting this here today, state working president of the Congress Kuldeep Sharma said the government was vulnerable on this front as the previous governments in the state did little to increase power generation in the state.

Laying the onus of the present power crisis on three-time Chief Minister Bhajan Lal, Kuldeep Sharma said during his tenure, the former Chief Minister had not come up with any plans to meet the ever-increasing demand for power. He said even INLD chief Om Parkash Chautala had failed to draw a vision and set up power plants in the state.

Sharma said though the crisis could not be tided over in a night, but the present Congress government in the state had initiated measures to set up three thermal power plants in the state. Besides, the government was also in a process of collaborating with power companies in the private sector to set up more power plants in the state to generate additional power.

The state government had embarked upon ambitious projects to develop cyber cities across the state to give IT sector a fillip. Due steps were also being taken to increase the industrial growth of the state, he said.

Talking about the instances where infighting amongst the Congress workers had affected the party’s overall image in the state, the working president of the party said appropriate action would be taken against any dissidence brought to the notice of party leaders. The recommendations of the new delimitation commission were most likely to help the Congress in strengthening its base.

He said efforts had been made to give the Congress a new look in state by introducing young and dynamic leaders. The Janhit Congress floated by Bhajan Lal and his son had no political standing in the state nor did they have any issues to seek support from the electorate.

New Delhi, January 30
Showcasing handicrafts, folk music and food from different parts of the country, the 22nd Surajkund Crafts Mela is likely to see a large participation from both domestic and foreign visitors.

The fortnight-long event, which will be inaugurated by external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee on February 1, is set to charm the visitors with its vast array of handicrafts, varieties of cuisine and rich cultural evenings.

The mela, which brings rural India to the vicinity of Delhi and captures the vibrancy of the countryside, is likely to set new records in footfalls of visitors.

Haryana tourism minister Kiran Choudhry said here today that the mela this year would showcase crafts of nearly 350 national and state awardees. Craftsmen from SAARC countries, including Brazil, South Africa and Thailand, would also participate. West Bengal is the theme state this year.

The minister said ambassadors and high commissioners from 10 countries had already given their consent to attend the inaugural function.

The fair has special focus on children for whom there would be painting and face painting competitions. The mela would also encompass a fashion show, open air theatre, cultural programmes, dance sequences, rangoli display, kite flying and photography competition along with an exporters meet for business promotion.

The minister, who popularised the Surajkund Mela at an international tourism meet, said foreign visitors had begun to schedule their stay in the Capital. “The growing number of foreign visitors is testimony to its appeal beyond national borders, she said.

For the first time a ‘designer village’ was being set up in the mela area, which would include a designing and fashion workshop. A fashion show will be held on February 9.

Organised under the aegis of the ministry of tourism, the fair had attracted nearly 10 lakh persons last year.

Chandigarh, January 30
Former chief parliamentary secretary and leader of the Janhit Congress (BL) Ran Singh Mann has demanded that the state government should immediately act against those who were responsible for irregularities in the HCS selections during the INLD regime.

In a statement issued here today, Mann said Congress MLA Karan Singh Dalal and former advocate-general Mohan Jain had levelled serious allegations in this regard supported by prima facie evidence, which was sufficient for initiating action against the guilty.

Mann said if the government considered these allegations to be false, it should immediately remove Dalal from the post of the chairman of the Administrative Reforms Commission and report to the high court against Jain for misconduct.

The Janhit Congress leader said if the Hooda government failed to take action on the allegations levelled by Dalal, it would be presumed that it too was following the footsteps of the Chautala government in giving jobs to its favourites.

Accusing the Hooda government of being soft towards former Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, Mann said the Congress had prepared a chargesheet against the INLD government, which was signed by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. However, after coming to power the Congress had soft-pedaled it.

He alleged that the Congress government had surpassed all “previous records in corruption”.

Chandigarh, January 30
Haryana assembly speaker Raghubir Singh Kadiyan has sent fresh notices to the three rebel MLAs asking the SDMs concerned to affix the notices on the residences of the legislators.

Following petitions submitted by Congress MLAs seeking disqualification of Bhajan Lal, Dharampal Malik and Rakesh Kamboj from the assembly for floating a new party, the speaker had summoned the MLAs twice earlier to come in person or send written replies to the charges against them.

On both occasions, the MLAs evaded receiving the notice.

Today, the SDMs were asked to affix the notice on the residences of the MLAs.

The speaker also directed simultaneous publication of the notices in tomorrow’s newspapers.

The respondents have been asked to give their replies by February 7. Otherwise, ex parte proceedings would take place in the matter, the notice stated.

It also mentioned that the MLAs appeared to be evading accepting the notices.

The speaker gave the direction after the ritual mourning period for his father’s death came to an end yesterday.

Chandigarh, January 30
Come September, all new government buildings costing more than Rs 5 crore in Haryana will be made energy efficient. The Energy Resources Institute (TERI) of Dr R.K. Pachauri has been engaged as a consultant for this purpose.

To achieve this aim, a subcommittee, set up by the state government, met here yesterday under the chairmanship of financial commissioner and principal secretary, renewable energy, S.C. Choudhary. Another meeting was held today, which was attended by commissioner and secretary, PWD (B&R) K.K. Jalan, chief architect A.K. Sabharwal and chief engineer (buildings) R.K. Gandhi.

It has been decided that to begin with six buildings to be constructed by the PWD will be made energy efficient. The proposed buildings are mini-secretariat at Nuh, tehsil building at Dharuhera, extention of Panchkula hospital, one ITI building, one primary health centre and another building to be constructed in near future.

The building plans of these buildings will be sent by the chief architect to TERI, which, if necessary, will modify the plans to make the buildings energy efficient. The PWD will then translate the plans on the ground.

The PWD, which often attracts flak for delaying the projects, recently earned kudos from Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh when it became the first department to introduce CFL lights in its buildings.

GURGAON: The Gurgaon district administration on Wednesday ordered the closure of all primary sections in government as well as private institutions in the district till February 2 due to the severe cold conditions.

Deputy commissioner Rakesh Kumar has directed all these schools to declare holiday from nursery to fifth standard due to unbearable cold conditions prevailing in the city.

The order covers all government, private and government-aided schools.

Due to snowfall in the hilly regions of northern states, the temperature in the city has also plummeted.

The Met department has forecast that severe cold conditions will continue in the region for the next couple of days.

Chandigarh, January 30
The Haryana government has banned the use of word ‘Dalit’ as inter-changeable with the word ‘Scheduled Caste’ in day-to-day correspondence in the offices of the state government, boards, corporations and public sector undertakings as desired by the National Commission for Scheduled Caste.

While stating this here today, an official spokesman said the National Commission for Scheduled Caste had observed that some of the ministries and departments of the central government as well as state government were using word ‘Dalit’ as inter-changeable with the word ‘Scheduled Caste’ in day-to-day correspondence.

He said the commission had observed that the word Scheduled Castes stands defined in the Constitution of India in Article 341 and 366, respectively. However, the word ‘Dalit’ did not have any legal sanctity either under the Constitution or under any law for the time being in force.

Therefore the commission had desired the Central government and all state governments not to use word ‘Dalit’ with the word ‘Scheduled Caste’ in future.

Chandigarh, January 30
Haryana Governor Dr A.R. Kidwai inaugurated the ‘Sale of Leprosy Seals’ to mark the Anti Leprosy Day at Haryana Raj Bhawan here today.

The Governor appealed that the collaborative work between the government and voluntary organisations should be further strengthened besides educating the people towards creating continued awareness and understanding of the problems of the unfortunate victims of the disease.

The governor had also appreciated the efforts made by the state government and the Hind Kusht Nivaran Sangh, Haryana, towards eradicating the leprosy from the state.

He said this day was observed as the Anti Leprosy Day in Haryana Raj Bhawan to coincide with the martyrdom of Mahatma Gandhi, who had very keen interest in leprosy work and abundant love for serving the poor. He said observing the day provides an opportunity to create mass awareness about leprosy.

New Delhi, January 30
Real estate major DLF Ltd today said the company would launch a 2,000 unit housing project in New Gurgaon with a minimum unit cost of Rs 50 lakh each. The company would also start land acquisition process in this quarter for its Gurgaon SEZ project.

Vice-chairperson of DLF Ltd Rajiv Singh disclosed this at a press conference called to announce the company’s Q3 results of the current fiscal.

DLF also planned to launch villas, plots, row houses and group housing societies in Panchkula, Kochi and Goa in the coming time, he said.

The company had recorded consolidated revenues of Rs 3,651 crore for the quarter ending December 31, 2007, an increase of 9 per cent from Rs 3,349 crore in the second quarter of FY08. EBIDTA stood at Rs 2,554 crore, an increase of 8 per cent as compared to Rs 2,363 crore in Q2 FY08.

Chandigarh, January 30
The Haryana renewable energy department has so far installed over 73,000 compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) and 69,000 energy efficient T-5 tubelights in the state.

Deputy Chief Minister Chander Mohan said this replacement of traditional energy-guzzling lamps had been achieved at an approximate cost of Rs 304 lakh and it would result in the saving of Rs 6 crore in the electricity bills annually.

With the installation of these CFLs and energy efficient T-5 tubelights, the saving in electricity works out to be 15.3 million units which was equivalent to 2.5 MW and consequent carbon reduction of 15,300 tons annually.

It would help in reducing the overloading and frequency of power cuts, he added. — UNI

Chandigarh, January 30
The Haryana State Flood Control Board has approved 91 new schemes costing Rs 110 crore to check floods in the state.

This was stated in a press note issued after a meeting of the board presided over by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda here yesterday.

It was stated that 86 ongoing schemes of the irrigation department would be completed during the current financial year at a cost of Rs 314 crore.

The press note said last year 92 schemes were approved by the board, of which 51 had already been completed, work on 13 schemes was in progress and work on 20 schemes would start soon.

The remaining eight schemes had been deferred.

It was also decided to hold the board’s meeting twice a year.