Sirsa, July 27
Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh appeared before mediapersons here today and answered their questions for the first time after the dera embroiled itself in fresh controversies of Dabwali and Mumbai.

Mediapersons were asked to hand over their questions written on paper slips to media managers of the Dera Sacha Sauda, who gave these slips to the dera chief, who was sitting on an elevated pedestal among his followers.

The question-answer session was combined with the dera chief’s religious discourse during the monthly “satsang” that fell today.

The dera chief said he was open to all kind of negotiations to resolve the present tangle. He offered the Press to intervene and find a solution to the controversies by bringing both the sides to the negotiation table.

He said the recent controversy was being wrongly projected as the Dera Sacha Sauda-Sikh imbroglio. He added that Sikhs were not against him as a large number of Sikhs were followers of his dera.

He categorically said he had revered the Sikh gurus in the past and would continue to do so in the future too.

“It is a particular lobby, who had suffered losses due to his drug de-addiction programmes, that has raised a hue and cry,” the dera chief added. He, however, refused to name that lobby and said everybody knew that.

Answering a question on yesterday’s orders of the CBI court in Ambala regarding his chargesheet in a rape case, the dera chief said there was a difference in being chargesheeted and being convicted.

On being asked that why he kept his personal security despite having Z-plus security from the government, the dera chief said he was just a small person but when Gods like the Rama and the Krishna could keep their own forces why there had been so much controversy over his bodyguards.

He added that the dera management saw his security aspects and they decided his security aspects on day-to-day basis.

On being asked about his role during the forthcoming parliamentary elections, he averred that the Dera Sacha Sauda was purely a religious organisation and it had nothing to do with politics.

Denying that his followers ever indulged in violence, he said they were being targeted while performing “naam charcha” peacefully at their residences.

He said “naam charcha” was started in 1948 and it encompassed all religions, but now some misguided elements were stopping dera followers to perform it.

The dera chief said the ransacking of the old historical dera at Dhukianwli by some elements was a very painful incident for him as Shah Mastana, first guru of the dera, had built that in 1952.

Evading questions that he found inconvenient, he said the management committee to the dera took these decisions.

The dera chief completed the Press briefing by requesting mediapersons not to distort his replies as thousands of his followers were watching the proceedings and these were being filmed too.

Dabwali (Sirsa), July 27
Much to the relief of people and the district authorities, the bhog ceremony of Harminder Singh, who was killed in an altercation between Dera Sacha Sauda followers and Sikhs on July 18, passed off peacefully here today.

President of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) Simranjit Singh Mann, jathedar of Takht Damdama Sahib Balwant Singh Nandgarh, president of the Shri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Sabha Sukhwinder Singh Khalsa and member of the Khalsa Action Committee Baljit Singh Dadu spoke on the occasion.

Speakers criticised the government for not taking action against dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

Mann criticised the BJP and the Congress for not taking any stand against the dera chief despite his being implicated in several criminal cases.

Terming Harminder Singh as a martyr for the Sikhs, they said the community would always remember him.

Earlier, SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar presented a cheque for Rs 5 lakh to Harminder Singh’s widow Manjit Kaur. He also gave a cheque for Rs 1 lakh to Amarjit Kaur and Mohinder Singh, parents of the deceased.

Speaking to mediapersons, Makkar said the SGPC would bear the expenses of the education of Harminder Singh’s children. He announced that a member of the family would be provided a job in the SGPC.

He alleged that the Dera Sacha Sauda had been insulting all religions to propagate his own ideology. He asked the government to rise above politics and respect the religious sentiments of Sikhs by arresting the dera chief.

He accused the Haryana government of implicating innocent Sikhs in criminal cases in the present imbroglio and said he would write to the Prime Minister to cancel all such cases.

Rewari, July 27
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has asserted that the Indo-US nuclear agreement is in the best interest of the nation, peasantry, the working class and all other sections of society.

He said this while addressing a rally at Berli Kalan village, 18 km from here, today. He said after its full-fledged ratification, the nuclear deal would usher India and Haryana, in particular, in a new era of rapid development.

The first nuclear power plant of 2,800 MW, as per the previous announcement of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, would be set up at Kumaharia village in Fatehabad district of Haryana.

He said availability of ample nuclear power would then be instrumental in the expeditious implementation of various power-starved developmental projects.

Lashing out at the BJP for the display of wads of currency by the three BJP MPs in the Lok Sabha during the debate on the trust vote, the Chief Minister said it was something most reprehensible.

He said successful pursuance of the nuclear deal under the able stewardship of the Prime Minister and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi was not palatable to the BJP.

Enumerating various welfare projects and programmes implemented in Haryana during the past three years, he said they had already received concrete proposals from 5,000 of 6,790 villages and commencement of allotment of residential plots to Dalit (BPL) families was on the anvil.

Making mention of the Hansi Butana Link Canal, he reiterated his firm commitment to provide water to each and every field in Ahirwal region.

He further said development works in the Ahirwal region, which had remained neglected in the past four decades, would now be carried out on an extensive scale. While a central university would be set up at Mahendergarh, a defence university, which had already been agreed upon in principle by defence minister A.K. Antony and Chief of the Army staff General Deepak Kapoor, would be established in the Gurgaon region.

Responding to a particular point raised by union minister of state for defence production Rao Inderjit Singh, the Chief Minister announced that if all things went well, the foundation stone of the proposed Sainik School would be laid at Pali-Gothara village, near Rewari, in the last week of August.

In response to various demands raised by rally orgainser and Jatusana MLA Rao Yadvender Singh, younger brother of Rao Inderjit Singh, the CM said while a new government college would be opened at Guraora village, the DAV College for Women, Kosli, would soon be taken over by the government as well.

He said while 15 identified villages of the Jatusana constituency would be given a financial assistance of Rs 40 lakh each for development purposes, canal-based water supply schemes would also be installed at Rampuri, Bodia Kamalpur and Mandola villages.

Earlier, the Chief Minister laid the foundation stone of Rs 6 crore Industrial Training Institute at Belrli Kalan village.

Rao Inderjit Singh said that one year after the commencement of the nuclear fuel supply, the operational capacity of all 22 nuclear reactors of the country would hopefully register an unprecedented hike from 10 per cent to 90 per cent.

HPCC chief Phool Chand Mullana, HPCC working president Kuldeep Sharma, parliamentary secretary Rao Dan Singh and MP Deepender Singh Hooda also attended the rally.

Karnal, July 27
The local authorities of the power corporation have come under fire from industrialists of Udyog Kunj in Jhinwerheri village for violating their own rules and even a stay order issued by a local court.

The industrialists have accused corporation employees of intercepting direct power supply to their industries to issue power connections to several tubewells in and around the industrial cluster.

Manish Tiwari, one of the industrialists having a unit in Udyog Kunj, said till two years ago industries in the village were being provided power from the urban feeder.

However, in 2006 the corporation shifted their power connections to the rural feeder rendering them almost powerless, which had an adverse effect on manufacturing.

Following this the industrialists approached senior officials of the power corporation, who advised them to pay Rs 1.35 lakh to install direct power lines from the urban feeders to their industries.

Tiwari said unable to bear the losses that were being incurred due to unavailability of power, he along with other industrialists decided to chip in money and get direct power lines from the urban feeder in April 2007.

He said senior officials of the corporation told them that as per rules no other power connection could be issued from the power lines for which they had paid.

However, in July last year the local SDO intercepted the direct power cable to issue connections to some tubewells.

As the matter came to the notice of the industrialists, they approached senior officials of the corporation, highlighting the violation of the rules and also moved a local court which ordered a stay on issuing any power connection from the direct power line to the industrialists for which they had paid a hefty amount.

Following this, the new connections that were being issued from the direct lines were immediately withdrawn.

However, a few days ago local power employees again started intercepting the direct lines to issue power connections to tubewells.

The industrialists said intercepting their direct lines increased the power load resulting in frequent power cuts.

Tiwari said this was being done in violation of the court order and the rules farmed by the corporation.

He said as it was contempt of court, the industrialists were going to take up the matter in the court seeking strict action against the violators.

Meanwhile, senior officials of the corporation said they were unaware of any such development, as they had not received any complaint in this regard so far. They said the matter would be looked into.

Jhajjar, July 27
With a view to impart basic training to students regarding defence services examination, Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU) administration has decided to establish a youth centre for skill development for defence services.

Students of colleges of eight districts - Rohtak, Jhajjar, Sonepat, Bhiwani, Rewari, Gurgaon, Mahendergarh and Faridabad - falling under the jurisdiction of the MDU will be able to get admission in the centre that is likely to be started from the first week of August.

Expenditure for the coaching/training will be borne by the university administration. Owing to lack of basic coaching, especially for physical tests in combine defence services, college students find it difficult to clear the examination.

In such a condition, need of the hour is that talented students should be given an opportunity with which they could improve their confidence and vision for this purpose. It is possible only when some military personnel train the students and help them qualify the recruitment examination.

Sources reveal that Lt. Col. D. S. Deswal, wing head of the Surajmal Centre for Carrier Development in Defence Services, Janak Puri, New Delhi, had submitted a proposal regarding establishment of a youth centre for skill development for defence services in the campus on the request of the MDU vice-chancellor.

The University Youth Welfare Committee had approved the establishment of the centre for one year at first instance after detail deliberation on the issue.

Deswal would be director of centre and would impart training to students. Admission procedure would be initiated from first week of August by inviting applications.

Kurukshetra, July 27
Tight security arrangements have been made for the solar eclipse fair scheduled from July 28 to August 1.

At a meeting held here yesterday, Sharad Kumar, additional director-general police, Haryana , said the mela sector and route in charge had been directed to maintain security during the fair.

District police chief Amitabh Dhillon said 4,877 police personnel had been deployed to maintain security in the area, which had been divided into 10 sectors. Police barriers had been erected on 56 entry points and 42 motorcycle riders had been deployed.

He said the additional director-general of police would look after the law and
order arrangements.

Five SP rank officers, three additional SPs, 12 assistant SPs, 35 inspectors, 320 non- gazetted officers, 750 head constables, 1,976 constables, 150 traffic constables, 234 women constables and officers, 12 commando force jawans and 1,300 home guards had been deployed.

Anti-sabotage system as well as bomb disposal squad had been pressed into service while CCTV cameras had been fitted.

Divers, motorboats, horse-mounted police as well as dog squads would remain on alert during the mela.

Besides, police barriers had been erected on all entry points of the town and suspicious vehicles or persons would be checked and nabbed if found guilty.

Meanwhile, Dhillon has appealed to residents of the town to cooperate with the police in maintaining law and order.

Kidwai and Bhardwaj inspected Lord Krishna-Arjuna chariot at Purushotampurabagh. The chariot, costing Rs 2 crore, would be unveiled by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on July 28.

Renuka B. Salwan and Ashutosh Kapila were elected as representatives of the Chandigarh chapter in the national council.

Hisar, July 27
The Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam’s (DHBVN) Consumer Grievances Redressal Forum at present functioning from Vidyut Sadan here will now also hold sittings in Gurgaon with immediate effect.

According to nigam sources, the forum will function for the first fortnight of every month in Hisar and during the second fortnight in Gurgaon.

Consumers in Faridabad, Gurgaon, Mewat, Rewari and Mahendragarh districts will not need to travel to Hisar for seeking redressal of their grievances.

It is mandatory for consumers to complete the procedure of complaint handling before lodging the complaint with the forum.

If a complaint is not redressed within the specified time or if a consumer is not satisfied with the decision of the officers concerned, the consumer can go to the forum here or in Gurgaon.

The consumer has to provide a copy of the complaint made to the assistant general manager, the deputy general manager or the general manager, along with the consumer complaint form to be submitted before the forum.

He is also required to attach the copy of the reply or decision taken by DHBVN officers on his complaint.

A consumer can approach the forum for the following kind of grievances: quantity, quality, safety, reliability, efficiency, non-compliance of HERC orders, interruption or failure of power supply, voltage complaints, and problems in metering, billing problems, disconnection and reconnection of power supply.

However, consumers cannot approach the forum in cases of theft of electricity, unauthorised use of electricity, cases of accidents and penalties. The cases pending in other fora or courts will not be entertained by the forum.

A spokesperson for the Guest Teachers Association said despite assurances, the authorities concerned had been ignoring their demands.