Karnal, September 21
The local administration and flood-control authorities heaved a sigh of relief as the discharge of water in the Yamuna receded and the impending flood threat in two dozen low-lying villages along the banks of the river averted.

Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda, who made an aerial survey of the area, said the situation was under control and everything was in place. "The discharge of water which crossed the high flood threat limit of 4 lakh cusecs yesterday has receded to 91,000 cusecs and there is no cause for anxiety," superintending engineer (irrigation), M.K. Ahuja told TNS from the spot.

Meanwhile, Ghari Birbal village and the road linking Yamunanagar were submerged under 2 to 3 feet water, while Chowgaon village was marooned. The gushing water entered about a dozen houses in low-lying areas in these villages and the residents were evacuated.

A "rat-hole" at Garhi Birbal resulted in leakage and JCBs were pressed into service to plug the leakage. The operation "plug rat-hole" is in progress but little success had been achieved.

Floodwaters also seeped into Chandro, Hansumajara, Nagli, and Sayeed Chhapra in Karnal district, while Mundigarh, Lalupura, Bilaspur and some other villages in Panipat district were still under threat, as water released from the Hathnikund barrage on Friday is expected to flow through these areas anytime.

There was little we could do to avert the floods, as the discharge of water was very high and sandbags were placed along the banks to check diversion of water, executive engineer Pawan Verma said.

Though there was no human casualty, several hundred hectres of agriculture land was inundated, causing extensive damage to crops. The heavy rains in the catchment area of the Yamuna during the past two days had suddenly increased the discharge of water, creating flood-like situation in the region.

Yamunanagar: Although the water level of the ravaging Yamuna today reduced significantly, it has caused considerable damage to over two dozen villages.

Villagers were still trapped in 4 to 6 feet water. Besides houses, standing paddy crop in thousands of acres was also damaged.

A 22-year-old youth of Bhilpura village was believed to be drowned while saving others last night.

The villages which were worst hit by the swollen Yamuuna include Kayanwala, Majra, Navajpur, Lal Chhapar, Majiri, Gumthala, Lakar, Bhilpura.

The water level of Yamuna reduced to 85000 cusecs at 4 p.m. at Hathnikund barrage today, while yesterday it was recorded 4.09 lakh cusecs, much above the danger level and also said to be highest in the past nine years at the same time. As the water in the river was flowing much above the danger level, officials at the headworks opened all 18 floodgates to release the water in the Yamuna downstream.

A team of three officials was deployed at each control room set up at different places, including Radaur, Sadhaura, Bilaspur and also in the tehsil office of Chhachhrauli and the water services division, Jagadhri, to monitor the situation round the clock.

The increase in the water level of the Yamuna has posed a major threat to the low-lying areas of the river in Delhi. The swollen river will hit Delhi early morning tomorrow, said the irrigation department officials. The water level of Yamuna was nearly three times more than what was on August 14.

Power generation at the Tajewala hydel project of 62 mw capacity in the district has been stopped following the rise in the water level of Yamuna river. The decision was taken to avoid any damages to the project following the increase in the silt level in the river, said a senior functionary of the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam.

Ambala: Around 1000 acres in 15 villages of the Naggal constituency close to Ambala City submerged due to breaches in the SYL canal at four places close to zero point of the Haryana-Punjab border today.

The administration summoned two companies of the Army to plug the breaches.

The first breach appeared in the canal near Khera village in the morning. Villagers informed the administration immediately, but the breach widened so fast that the water started filling the fields of the adjoining villages.

The district administration summoned the Army when it found the situation beyond its control. Two companies of the 65 Engineering of the Army started the rescue operations under the supervision of Col S.K. Vidhyarthi. Around 500 villagers of nearby villages and volunteers of social and religious organisations were assisting the Army and civil officials.

Crops in more than 12 villages, including Khera, Amipur , Ismailpur , Chaudmastpur , Bidanga , Dangesria , Kurbanpur Adho Majra and Bhendsa have been reportedly affected.

Villagers said that the entire paddy crop of their villages got spoiled in the overflowing canal water. They were annoyed that the administration had not taken precautionary measures, whereas the administration had claimed to spend crores of rupees on flood-control work every year.

The villagers fearing that water could enter their houses have started taking their household goods on rooftops. INLD leader Hardayal Singh Khera and former MLA of the constituency Jasbir Malor said people of the area had been demanding a siphon to be set up at the breach point for a long time but it was not taken seriously.

Hisar, September 21
Thanks to some deft political moves, the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) has been successful in embarrassing the state government by virtually grounding its plans to raise power tariff in Haryana.

Embarrassment apart, the INLD also stands to gain politically from it, as the consumers are bound to view this as a welcome move by the party to protect their interests.

The INLD laid a trap for the government by planning its move carefully and craftily. Led by senior party leader and former power minister Sampat Singh, around 900 party supporters filed objections before the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC). This was an unprecedented political move.

All these INLD men attended the meeting of the commission on August 18 at Panchkula.

Sampat Singh led the debate and spoke for several hours. The marathon meeting lasted more than eight hours at a stretch.

Senior bureaucrats of the government who were present at the hearing indirectly helped the INLD by not opposing any of these objections although they were duty bound to do so. Thus they squandered an important opportunity to plead the government’s case.

These bureaucrats had been supplied copies of the consumers’ objections and their affidavits in advance. Despite this, they chose to keep their mouths shut at the public hearing.

The government was furious on the developments. As a face-saving device, the bureaucracy mounted pressure on the commission. As a result, the commission, which met last week, decided to remand the issue back. Having tasted blood, the INLD has stepped in to prevent the bureaucracy from reopening the whole issue. Sampat Singh, who is spearheading the attack on the government, says the HERC has no power to remand the issue back to the power companies. He says Section 64 of the Electricity Act 2003 clearly provides that the commission can either reject or accept the tariff revision proposal after hearing objections and the government’s point of view. The Act has no provision for “remanding back” the issue to the companies, he adds.

The former power minister said the “studied silence” maintained by the bureaucrats at the HERC hearing implied that they agreed to the objections raised by hundreds of consumers. Had the case been otherwise, they should have opposed the objections.

Apart from the bureaucratic setback, the government has lost face among the power consumers who are already up in arms because of rampant power shortages, resulting in long and unscheduled power cuts.

The INLD, on the other hand, has gained by projecting itself as the party which was doing its best to prevent any further escalation in power tariff in larger public interest. How this will help its electoral prospects remains to be seen.

Chandigarh, September 21
The Haryana Government has decided to develop Pinjore Gurgaon, and Karnal as Meeting Incentive Conference Event (MICE) destinations. This decision was taken in the first meeting of the Haryana Tourism Development Council chaired by Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda this week.

According to an official statement, it has been decided in principle that the Tourism Department shall develop pilgrim destinations at Kurukshetra, Pehowa, Haridwar, Hodal as part of Brij Circuit. It had also been decided to develop Narnaul as a heritage city on route to Shekhavati. Strengthening air linkages, road and rail connectivity, especially in Kurukshetra, was also suggested.

The area, which shares boundaries with Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal and Uttar Pradesh, is full of bio-diversity having dense sal and khair forest along with patches of grasslands that support an amazing variety of plants and animal species. A Buddhist monastery also is located in the nearby area.

The council also recommended integrated tourism resorts and spas at Mallah near Chandigarh and at Madhogarh, which lies on the Mahendragarh-Loharu State Highway. In addition, adventure camp sites at Surajkund, Damdama, Hodal and Dharuhera tourist complexes will be developed. The council’s proposals, which include an international shopping festival at Gurgaon on the lines of Dubai and Singapore shopping festivals, are subject to approval by the Cabinet. 

Chandigarh, September 21
Wakf Board property worth several crores in Punjab has been leased out for a negligible rent of Rs 500 and is further being “exploited” by way of illegal construction. While this is true for Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi also, five acres of land of the Wakf Board in Haryana’s Faridabad district has become home to a handful of industries, hoodwinking the Board of even the paltry Rs 1000 annual rent after a clandestine land conversion.

Fighting encroachment and exploitation of the Wakf Board properties and with a view to strengthening and amending the Central Wakf Act, 1995, the Joint Parliamentary Committee is ready with its report.

Ten years after the 30-member committee was constituted with deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha, K Rehman Khan, as its chairman, recommendations and suggestions to check the misuse of Wakf properties is finally in place.

“We are ready with the report after exhaustive touring of all properties of the Wakf Board in the entire country and will table it in the next session. We have found blatant misuse of the properties and are perturbed by the fact that these are not being put to use as was intentioned. Consequently, they have failed to become catalytic in ameliorating the social and economic suffering while being unsuccessful as centre of learning for people of our community,” the deputy chairman, speaking to TNS on the sidelines of the Conference of Presiding Officers of Legislative Bodies in India, maintained.

Stating that the Wakf income can be improved considerably by developing these properties most of which are at prime locations, he added that the backwardness of the community could be addressed to a large extent.

“Punjab alone has 35000 Wakf properties and there are 10000 such properties in Haryana. The state governments, however, are indifferent to the administration of Wakf, which has resulted in further degeneration. Our touring has revealed that properties are under the control of land mafia, with governments and under the control of individuals.

While suggesting the need for greater effectiveness of the Central Wakf Board functioning, the committee has also laid emphasis on the best use the properties could be put to for income generation as also social and economic uplift of the community at large. There should also be an end to leasing out of Wakf property and subsequent renewals as is peculiar to Punjab despite being prohibited by the Act.

“There are some states like Karnataka which have exempted Wakf properties from the Rent Control Act. We want more states to come forward and do the same and with uniformity. However, as of now, we have made our recommendations and are ready to table the report. Though we have been submitting periodical state-wise reports after our visits, the final status report on the Wakf Board properties is complete. We are hoping the recommendations will bring about the desired change in the set-up and the state governments, too, will become ‘caring and cooperative’ partners in this change,” Khan emphasised.

Rohtak, September 21
With a view to raising the issues concerning the higher education fraternity more emphatically, the Maharshi Dayanand University Teachers Association (MDUTA) has decided to form a coordination committee, including teachers of the university, its affiliated colleges as well as students.

“We have initiated a drive to include the faculty members of self-financing courses in the association,” said newly elected MDUTA president Dr Vazir Singh Nehra, adding that strengthening the union with active participation of all teachers would be their top priority.

It may be pertinent to mention here that the new team of MDUTA office-bearers, including its secretary Dr Subhash Chander Sharma, vice-president Dr B.P.Singh, joint secretary Dr Randeep Rana and treasurer Dalip Singh, has recently assumed charge of the association.

Besides, Dr Nikhilesh Yadav, Dr Rajender Sharma, Prakashvati, Dr R.S.Sangwan, Kultaj Singh and Dr Suresh Malik have been elected the members of the association’s executive committee.

While talking to The Tribune here today, the MDUTA president asserted that ensuring uniform pay-scales and other service conditions for teachers of all universities, resolving the issue of discriminatory treatment with the teachers of the erstwhile university college at the MDU and streamlining the procedure for promotion of university teachers would be their top priorities.

“We will effectively take up these issues with the authorities of the UGC as well as the university,” Dr Nehra said.

He said a delegation of the MDUTA would soon meet the chairman of the UGC pay review committee.

The teachers’ body chief maintained that the burning issues like the ongoing blatant commercialisation and trivialisation of education by the host of self-financing BEd and other professional colleges in the state would be addressed.

“We will organise seminars involving eminent academicians of the region on such crucial matters so as to formulate broad guidelines in this regard and communicate these to the policy-planners,” he added. 

Bahadurgarh (Jhajjar), September 21
The ongoing row between Rathi and Balian gotra residents in Majri Gubhana village took an ugly turn here today when members of the Balian gotra allegedly vandalised the Dadi Khima Wali Mandir of the Rathi gotra and also damaged two police vehicles. The agitators resorted to blockade of the Jhajjar-Bahadurgarh road for about four hours.

The Sadar police has registered a case against more than 12 persons, including six women, all from Balian gotra, under Section 148, 149, 353, 186, 283, 341, 427 and 332 of the IPC on the complaint of the Badli police chowki in charge Rajender Singh.

According to information, the Bahadurgarh CIA police had conducted a raid in Majri Gubhana village yesterday and detained two youths - Dinesh Balian and Vijay Pal Balian- on the suspicion of possessing illegal arms.

As news of the duo’s arrest spread, more than 12 members of the Balian gotra, including women, gathered at a place in the village and took decision to block the Jhajjar- Bahadurgarh road early in the morning.

When no district administration and police officials reached the spot to listen to their grievances, many of them started heading towards the Dadi Khima Wali Mandir of the Rathi gotra. They allegedly dismantled the idols of the temple and damaged its building . On getting information, in charge of Badli police station Rajender Singh, with police force, rushed to the spot and tried to persuade the protesters to lift the blockade.

However, in between some protesters started pelting stones on the police jeeps parked near the spot.

Later, the information regarding the incident was conveyed to SDM Susheel Sarwan, Tehsildar Pankaj Satia, DSP Rajeev Deswal and other officials.

The protesters demanded the immediate release of the two youths who had been detained by the police yesterday.

Later, the Bahadurgarh Sadar police booked the protesters on the charge of preventing officers from performing official duty, vandalising the temple and damaging the police vehicles.

Sirsa, September 21
Women writers have made a lot of contribution to our literature in English by exposing mythical, historical and social practices loaded against women.

This was stated by former vice-chancellor of Kurukshetra University Bhim Singh Dahiya while delivering the keynote address at a two-day national-level seminar on “Feminist Perspective in Indian English Novels,” organised in CMK National PG Girls College recently.

Dahiya said the feminist criticism had made a lot of contribution to literature studies in India.

He emphasised the need for both women writers and feminist critics to simplify the gender problem.They should go into the complexities within the problem caused by class conflicts and caste prejudices, he stressed.

“Their remains a need to step aside from the western theory and frame our own approach derived from the history of our own nation and civilisation,” said Dahiya.

Quoting Meenakshi Mukherjee, who characterised the Indian English Novel as “twice born fiction”, Dahiya said it would be appropriate to designate the feminist perspective in Indian English Novels as “twice born perspective”.

Finance minister of the state Birender Singh inaugurated the seminar.

Rewari, September 21
The Haryana School Lecturers Association (HSLA) has submitted a written representation to the commissioner-cum-director-general of school education, Haryana and Chandigarh, seeking redress of alleged injustice done to them during the implementation of the Fifth Pay Commission’s report as well as fixation of the new pay scales in Pay Band-III of Rs 15600-39100, during the ongoing implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations.

State president of the HSLA Anil Yadav said while school lecturers continued to enjoy pay parity with school headmasters in the state from 1966 to 1995, injustice to them started after the implementation of the Fifth Pay Commission’s recommendations when school headmasters were granted the pay scale of Rs 7500- 12000 from August, 2000, whereas 80 per cent of the school lecturers were deprived of the revised pay scale.

He said this was an anomaly in the existing pay scales of school headmasters and school lecturers, which needed urgent elimination.

Yadav reiterated the HSLA’s demand for the provision of the new revised grades for school lecturers in Pay Band-III of Rs 15600- 39100, with I and II senior selection scales during the ongoing implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission.

Karnal, September 21
The frequent midnight knocks at the doors of poor families in Shiv colony by sleuths of the CIA (Crime Investigating Agency) have become a nightmare for around 500 odd families.

Residents of this urban slum, mainly engaged in menial jobs -vendor, hawker, rag-picker-are usual suspects for the CIA in cases of petty theft, involving cables, cycles etc.

Even minor children are being picked up for the interrogation merely on suspicion. The residents are up in arms against the alleged "highhandedness" of the CIA and crying for the justice.

“My 12-year-old son Bharat was picked up by the CIA a week ago and his whereabouts is not known till date,” said Maya almost sobbing.

Interestingly, same is the case of three other boys- Mohit, Surjit and Goga-who were picked up five days back and their family members were deeply disturbed.

Another woman Meva Devi alleged that her 25-year-old son Sushil was arrested by the police ten years ago but no charges could be proved against him.

The CIA is again after his blood and threatening her son-in-law to produce him. She said her son was out of Karnal for the past three years but the CIA was still after him for no rhyme or reason.

The residents alleged that the people were so scared that many of them stopped working and had been sitting at home.

“We met the senior police officials but of no avail,” they rued.

Meanwhile, CIA in charge Ratan Singh said the accused had been produced in the court of duty magistrate today and charges of theft had been framed against them.

Three accused namely Bharat, Mohit and Sujeet (all minors) had been sent to Sonipat Jail, Goga had been remanded to two days police custody, while Sushil and Mangat were still at large, he added.

He refuted the charges of police highhandedness and said electric cables and water motor had been recovered from the accused.

Sirsa, September 21
Vehicular traffic was blocked on the local Sangwan Chowk today by truckers against the alleged high-handed action of the marketing board authorities. The truckers were demanding return of their documents that had been confiscated by market committee officials yesterday.

The blockade was removed after the local traffic police reached there and some local grain market traders intervened in the matter and the documents of the truckers were returned.

According to reports, some truckers were carrying cotton and cottonseeds last evening, when a senior enforcement officer of the marketing board checked their vehicles. The truckers were found carrying goods without proper documents, raising suspicion of tax evasion.

When the truckers could not produce the documents required for the transit of the goods, the authorities detained the registration certificates of their vehicles.

Komal Garg, Deen Dayal, Pardeep Sharma, Deen Dayal, Prem Sushil, Ajay Phutela and Jagdish Jangra alleged that the marketing board authorities had snatched their documents to harass them.

They maintained that their documents of the transit of goods were in order and there was no evasion as alleged by the authorities.

Meanwhile, the traffic police and the local authorities reached the blockage site and sorted out the matter by helping the truckers getting back their documents.

Fatehabad/Sirsa, September 21
Local chapters of the Society for Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Among Youths (SPICMACAY) organised a Kathakali performance by a cultural troupe from Kerala in Manohar Memorial College, Fatehabad, and C.M.K. National PG Girls College, Sirsa, yesterday.

The troupe comprising Margi Vijayakumar as the main performer, Dhamu, Kalamandlam Sanjeev, Margi Ratnagar, Kalamandlam Thambi and Rajender Nayar enthralled audience with its performance.

Kathakali, a dance-drama, is known for attractive characters, their costumes, elaborate gestures and graceful movements. Kathakali artists perform dance-dramas from the epics Ramayana, Mahabharata or Bhagwathagita during their performance.

Margi Vijayakumar presented ‘Poothana Moksham’, an incident from Mahabharata in which Poothana, a demon sent by Kansa to kill Krishana, is herself killed when she tries to feed the baby. Margie Vijayakumar left the audiences spellbound with her performance.

Before starting the Kathakali, the troupe members apprised the audience with various mudras and gestures and their meanings.

Dev Raj Batra, president of the MM College Management Committee, was the chief guest in Fatehabad College while Haryana industries minister Lachhman Dass Arora was the chief guest in CMK National PG Girls College, Sirsa.

Bhiwani, Septmber 21
Reservation is our constitutional right and we would avail it at any cost. This was vowed by members of the Jat community while attending the Jatu Khap-84 mahapanchayat that was held at Dhanana village today.

The mahapanchayat also felicitated Prof Chhatarpal, MLA from Ghirai assembly, for raising the demand of reservation for Jats in the assembly session recently.

Members of the Chamar, Dhanak, Jogi and Muslim communities also supported the reservation issue and assured of extending every cooperation to the Jat community in future.

Addressing the mahapanchayat, Prof Chhatarpal said he could resign from his party if it attempted to stop him to raise the demand of Jat reservation. "For me society is first, while party and Vidhan Sabha stand later," said the Congress leader, adding that the community which fulfilled the need of the nation by working in the fields, would have to struggle for its rights.

He said the Jat community gave due honour to the people of other communities and so they should also come forward to provide legitimate rights to them.

Jatu Khap Dhanana president Subedar Rajmal, while presiding over the mahapanchayat, said the Jat community had always participated in every battle fought for the honour of the country.

National general secretary of the Akhil Bhartiya Jaat Mahasabha, Yudhvir Singh said politicians of various parties had victimised the community.

Jhajjar, September 21
Now the study centre owners in and outside Haryana who don’t posse sufficient infrastructural facilities for running various courses offered by Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU) through distance mode will have to face legal action.

The Directorate of Distance Education (DDE) of the university has decided to conduct periodic inspection of study centres with a view to monitor the functioning these centres and supervise the rules and regulations. This surprise inspection will be carried out at least once in every three year by teachers of the DDE. Those found violating the rules will be liable to face legal action.

According to sources, there had been several complaints of study centres located in and outside the state in which the owners of the centres had curtailed the minimum required infrastructural facilities after getting the approval for running the course concerned.

The complaints revealed that such type of study centre owners used to provide all infrastructural facilities at the time of first inspection for fulfilling the technical requirements for getting the approval for running the courses concerned.

Once the centre gets approved for functioning, a significant number of the owners start cutting the facilities in order to save the fixed cost and to raise the profit. This negligent approach of the erring owners not only affects students, but also cause hurdles in getting the real motive of the study.

Sources said since there were no framed guidelines to periodic inspection of the study centres, hence, the centre owners violate the rules by curtailing infrastructural facilities according to their suitability.