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Residents turn wasteland into musical park
Sirsa, October 9 But very few take an initiative to improve the conditions of their surroundings on their own. Residents of the local C Block, a colony developed by the Mandi Township Board, took one such initiative and have been able to transform a piece of land that had become a source of nuisance for the locality into a beautiful musical park. Anand Vatika, as the place is now called, is the first musical park of the district with the facility of World Space Radio in it. A big piece of government land was lying unutilised near the C Block of Sirsa for long. The plot had huge vegetation and had become a home for stray animals and even a hiding place for anti-social elements. The plot had become a bane of local residents, who used to run from pillar to post for a solution. Eventually, some enlightened residents like Sanjay Arora, Jagat Narain Mehta, Lajpat Dhamija and Dr O.P. Wadhwa came forward and decided to take to develop the plot into a park. They formed an association, named C-Block Residents Welfare Association and launched a drive to collect funds for the project. They also met deputy commissioner V. Umashankar who assured to help them. "The deputy commissioner helped us to initiate the project by getting a tubewell installed at the site. After that we contacted the horticulture department for providing help in developing the plot into a park and there is no looking back since then," said Sanjay Arora, while talking to Haryana Plus. Thus formed Anand Vatika, which was inaugurated by Umashankar on March 26, 2008. People throng the park in the morning when bhajans are played on the radio making the environment all the more divine. Light classical music or old Bollywood numbers are played in the evening. The World Space Radio installed at the park has 42 channels. The park has a concrete walking track that attracts hundreds of morning and evening walkers every day, says Arora. Recently, yoga classes have also been started that added to its attraction. The residents now plan to install a musical fountain in the park.
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Manual scavenging still a blot on state
Panipat, October 9 In 1993, Parliament passed the Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act for complete eradication of this degrading practice. Again in 2007, the government planned effective measures to bring an end to manual scavenging. But, despite every effort a number of Dalits in the city are still engaged in this work. The state government in an affidavit filed with the Supreme Court has claimed that till 1992, there were 2.02 lakh dry latrines but these were phased out and none exists today. It also claimed that Rs 18.36 crore received from the centre was used for the rehabilitation of 15,739 scavengers and the state was now scavenger-free. However, the reality defies the claims. On the Sanoli road, there are still several dry latrines and manual scavengers can be found around these. Local Deha Basti or Balmiki Basti has a number of Dalit families that have been engaged in manual scavenging for the past several years. Many say that it is not by choice, but they have no other option and hence they work as human scavengers. Panna, a 35-year-old man, who even passed his plus two exams years ago, said he had been cleaning dry latrines for the past 18 years. "Education has not changed the mindsets of the people. They were not willing to give me other jobs and finally poverty forced me to take up this task", he said. Rano, who lives in Deha Basti, has spent her whole life cleaning dry latrines. According to her, there could be around 150 families in the area working as manual scavengers. Rahul Wadi, a social activist working for the cause of eradication of manual scavenging, says it is astonishing to know that even after 13 years of enactment of the prohibition Act, there is not even a single prosecution in the country. He says the law is more like a scheme, with no teeth. The powers rest with the sanitary inspector or the collector, while the worker himself cannot file a case. He said those involved in manual scavenging were exposed to great risks, but there was nothing much they could do to get rid of it. The problem still survives in various parts of the state. He says the eradication of this demeaning practice requires will than any legislation. Till the local bureaucrats decide to contribute, the practice could not be brought to an end, he adds.
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Open-defecation free status in seven days
Yamunanagar, October 9 It became possible with the active participation of volunteers, sarpanch, villagers and government officials. Now, the total ODF status villages are 40. However, the success of 10 villages considered to be significant as earlier 30 villages had taken over six months to achieve the
Continued on page 3 same status. All BPL families were given Rs 1,200 grant while they contributed Rs 250 to construct a toilet. As many as 20 women sanitary complexes have been constructed. Out of these, one toilet each is allotted to two families in the village. The target has been achieved with the help of village-level committees, which motivated the villagers to participate in the cleanness campaign. Sarpanches played an important role in creating an atmosphere of mutual understanding. All villages were covered extensively and workshops were held every day to create awareness about the need of cleanliness. Besides, special emphasis had been paid to ensure maximum participation in the “swachhta yatra”, which began on September 26 and concluded on October 2. Sarpanches, members of gram panchayats, panchayat samities, and Zila Parishads took active part in the yatra that covered Sadhaura, Bilaspur and Chhachhrauli blocks. “To achieve this, we first formed village-level committees. To motivate the villagers we also formed cleanliness clubs in schools,” Additional deputy commissioner Narender Singh said. The sarpanched who contributed in the campaign include Gursharan Kaur of Namdarpur, Safdar Sultana of Kheri Rangran, Neelam Rani of Lakshi Bas, Suresh Khurana of Kheri Lakha, Ramesh Kumar, of Chaharwala, Sukhdev Singh of Leda Khas, Kuldeep Singh of Amloha, Karan Singh of Bhagu Majra, Amarjeet Singh of Urjani, Phool Singh of Singhpura, he added.
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Breather for Faridabad market
Faridabad, October 9 Some shopkeepers did try to raise hue and cry on the arrangement, but the authorities have put their foot down on the continuation of the centralised parking system. Of course, the MCF and the district administration have worked out the arrangement in consultation with the local Vyapaar Samiti. There are about 1,000 shops of various sizes in the market, which is one of the busiest in the city. On account of the swelling crowd and booming business, there is a huge premium on the use of space in front of shops. A large number of shopkeepers have been cashing in on this opportunity by letting out the space. Also, a good number of shopkeepers have encroached upon the road passing through the market. President of the Vyapaar Samiti Jagdish Bhatia admitted that shopkeepers did let out public land to vendors. “This is the reason why some shopkeepers protested the centralised parking arrangement as there is now pressure on them to free the space.” The administration and the police have also come hard against the encroachments. The affected shopkeepers held out the plea that the system would cause inconvenience to the public who would visit the market for shopping. According to them, they do not find space to park their vehicles in the centralised parking system. They would have to park their vehicle at long distance from the shop from where they would like to do shopping. They tried to raise the bogey that in such a scenario the public would not take pains to come to the shops and would prefer to go away at other markets of the city. Also, they raised the ruckus of possible imposition of parking fees by the authorities. Bhatia, however, debunked the apprehensions, and asserted that only those shopkeepers, who stood to lose financially, were trying to instigate protests against the new arrangement. Rather, he asserted that after the system was put in place, a few days ago, there was sanity of crowd in the market. Everything had now become systematic and streamlined, he added. He said there was no move to charge parking fees. He further asserted that the encroachments would have to be removed, as there would be no compromise on it.
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Too much traffic, too little control
Jind, October 9 Around 10 accidents have occurred in the past one-week in which 11 persons died and several others injured. The population of the town is 1.5 lakh and this would only move upwards due to urbanisation and residential plots offered by the government in developed sectors. The number of sectors carved out by HUDA is limited to just three or four, including proposed two new sectors. It is estimated that the number of people residing in the urban areas would definitely rise with these upcoming sectors. Besides, there are many residential colonies that house majority of urban population. But the infrastructure including the civic amenities and hassle free traffic is still a distant dream for many. The existing roads are hardly maintained or widened to provide more space to the commuters ever since the civic body started functioning here, claims former official of the municipal committee M.L. Verma. Claiming that the civic body has become a hotbed of local politics, he said any master plan to ensure civic amenities to the public is yet to be taken up, though the urban population had gone up sharply over the years. The roads in the city are narrow, congested and hardly cleaned on regular basis, says a local resident, Sandeep. He said even the width of the roads and passages in the urban estate developed by HUDA are narrow and ill maintained. The traffic movement in the town is chaotic and self-styled due to no traffic lights and non-presence of traffic cops to man the congested points. This leads to frequent traffic jams and several accidents. It is revealed that the district police had got installed traffic signals at some of the main crossings, including the Patiala Chowk, SP’s residence and Rani Talab, but none of the lights is functional at present, states Ravinder, another resident. He says due to non-regulation and no fear of a legal action, motorists often indulge in rash driving and violate the traffic rules at their ease. The district administration had to build several speed breakers in the city to check over-speeding and accidents after a roadways bus crushed a student to death in front of the government school on main road leading to Patiala Chowk, a few months back. The location of the main bus stand inside the city is a hurdle as the buses roam freely on city-roads posing a major threat to the commuters on two-wheelers and bicycles, states Ashok Kumar a lawyer. He says the authorities should construct railings on the dividers on main roads so that people should cross the roads at selected points where pedestrian passes could be built underground or overhead at congested spots. He asks the government to widen the main roads with the facility of footpaths and construction of flyovers at some of the places where traffic jam is a daily affair. Jind is among those districts in the state that do not have any flyover and the local authorities have no proposal to take such a project in the near future. In a latest case of road mishap, two aged persons died on the spot after a speeding jeep ran over them near Uchana Kalan village. The victims were riding a two-wheeler and hit from back by a jeep. While there are not more than 10 cops in the traffic department, an accident has become a regular feature these days, say sources in the traffic police department.
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Principals’ comfort eclipses students’ welfare
Hisar, October 9 In 2004, the higher education commissioner had issued a directive to all private aided and unaided colleges not to misuse funds meant for students. The directive specifically stated that funds collected from students were not public money but a kind of public fund in the hands of heads of institutions which should be spent strictly for the welfare of the students. It went on to add that “the funds are to be utilised in the same way as a man or woman of ordinary prudence would do in respect of his or her own money”. This directive was issued following reports that colleges were spending lavishly on hospitality of NAAC teams and that costly gifts were being given to team members out of amalgamated fund meant for the students. The HEC had also banned the provision of mobile phones and payment of their bills from this fund. Likewise the payment of conveyance allowance, TA and DA and sumptuary allowance was also banned. However, reports from all over the state show that most private colleges have provided air-conditioners and costly furniture for offices of their principals out of student funds. Power and mobile phone bills are also being paid to them. DAV colleges in the state have gone a step further by providing chauffeur-driven luxury cars to them. In many cases, principals have been security guards also. Almost every principal has been given a mobile phone for official and unofficial use whose bills are being paid out of student funds. Reports indicate the many principals are spending up to Rs 300 per working day on hospitality though there is no provision in the rules for such expenses. As against this, principals of government colleges performing similar duties have no power to purchase anything for their college without the permission of the HEC. They get only one telephone in their office and none for their residence. Principals of government colleges are provided an air-cooler for the office. They are supposed to have “simple furniture” and carpets are a taboo. They are neither entitled to cars and they draw their TA and DA as per rules. The 2004 directive of the HEC had made it mandatory for the colleges to purchase all their stationery and office furniture from dealers having a rate contract with the government. HARTRON was designated as a nodal agency for purchase of computers and computer peripherals. It had stated that a committee of at least three lecturers should be constituted for making any purchase. The panel is supposed to invite at least three quotations from reputed firms. However, the directive is being implemented more in its breach.
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Villagers to do night patrol
Jhajjar, October 9 Taking serious view of these incidents, the administration has issued order that all able-bodied persons of Silani would patrol the area from 10 pm to 6 am. This is done with a view to prevent loss to human life, public and private property, disruption to peaceful atmosphere and safety in the jurisdiction of the district. This order has come into force with immediate effect and would remain effective for the next three months. A copy of this order has been circulated to all tehisldars, block development and panchayat officers, local bodies and panchayats in the district. According to the order issued under Section 3 (1) of the Punjab Village and Small Town Act (VIII) of 1918, the gram panchayat would be responsible for patrolling and ensuring the performance as envisaged in the Act. The subdivisional magistrate (SDM), the district development and panchayat officer (DDPO) and block development and panchayat officers (BDPO) would make sure the regulation of requisite patrol through the village panchayats. The contravention of this order would be punishable under Section 9 to 11 of the Act. It may be pertinent to mention that three incidents of vandalising of idols of deities have occurred in the village in a short span. First incident occurred on the intervening night of September 13-14 when idols were damaged in Kaimwala temple of the village. Although an FIR was lodged, the police failed to nab the accused. Another incident occurred on September 27, when some anti-social elements ransacked Raghunath mandir of the village. This time also villagers lodged a complaint but no arrests have been made. Not only in Silani but also in other villages of the district, many incidents of desecrating and dismantling the idols have taken place during the past three months. Interestingly, the police has failed to nab the accusedin most of the cases. On July 10, the statue of Sir Chhotu Ram installed at the Chhotu Ram memorial in Aheri was damaged by unidentified persons. Later, a new statue of Chhotu Ram was also installed at the memorial, but that too was vandalised within a couple of days. On August 8, idols of deities were found desecrated at Shiva temple in Noona Majra village. As the news of desecration of idols spread, villagers blocked the Jhajjar-Bahadurgarh road for about three hours. Thereafter, in Majri Gubhana village, members of Balian gotra allegedly vandalised Dadi Khima wali mandir of Rathi gotra on September 21, following the ongoing row between both communities in the village.
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Sirsa SHO on a novel mission
Sirsa, October 9 SHO Ajay Sharma, who had a stint in Yugoslavia as a police trainer as a part of the UN peace force, had organised the havan yajna on the occasion of the last Navratra. Vice-chancellor of Chaudhary Devi Lal University K.C. Bhardwaj, deputy commissioner V. Umashankar and director-general of Jannayak Chaudhary Devi Lal Vidyapeeth Kuldeep Singh Dhindsa were among those participated. People from Muslim, Christian and Sikh communities also participated and offered “ahooti”. Sharma has earlier been in the news for his innovative methods of community policing. Sharma has constituted community liaison groups in the town for solving interpersonal disputes after his appointment as SHO of the city police station. He has also constituted a police team that helps senior citizens in their day-to-day works. Sharma is known for his honesty and religious temperament and has been distributing “Hanuman Chalisa” “Japuji Sahib” and religious booklets of other religions to those who leave his police station after reaching compromise with the opposite party. He has replaced the crime chart in his office with religious portraits of all beliefs.
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Citizens’ First
Although the state government has entrusted the task of filling vacancies in the cadre of civil judges (junior division) to the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2005 and 2007 respectively, but the latest recruitment in the said category has been delegated to Haryana Public Service Commission for the reasons best known to the government. Though it is prerogative of the government to entrust the responsibility to whom so ever it deems proper, but it would be wise if the court carries it out. Even the Supreme Court of India in its verdict had asked all state governments to delegate the recruitment of civil judges to respective high courts in order to ensure timely filling of vacancies in subordinate courts. The high courts have also been directed to constitute selection and appointment committee in this regard that would send periodic reports in this respect to apex court. I request the chief minister of Haryana to review the present policy of recruitment of civil judges by delegating the task to Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Hemant Kumar, Ambala
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Inside Babudom
Chandigarh, October 9 About two months back, after the Punjab and Haryana High Court gave permission to promote the HCS officers to the IAS, subject to the outcome of a writ petition pending before it, the state government sent the names of eligible HCS officers to the UPSC for fixing a meeting of the department promotion committee. The officers were jubilant that their long wait was finally over. For six years their own legal disputes over seniority and other issues have been blocking their promotions. Therefore, the court’s permission seemed to be a god-sent opportunity to them. They were under an impression that since all the paper work has already been completed, their promotion after the approval of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) was just a matter of days. But it was not to be so. After the state government sent the record of all those officers who were in the zone of consideration, the UPSC asked the state to send the latest annual confidential reports (ACRs) of the officers. The chief secretary’s office found that the latest ACRs of many officers were yet to be written by their seniors, mostly IAS officers. Chief secretary Dharam Vir swung into action and wrote demi-official letters, which carry high importance in official circles, to those officers who had not written the ACRs to immediately write the reports so that these could be sent to the UPSC at the earliest. But now the ACRs are held up at the level of ministers. While the chief secretary could direct the IAS officers to expedite the ACRs, no such direction could be issued to his political masters. The UPSC has not accepted the plea of the state government to fix the date for a meeting of the departmental promotion committee. The latter had promised to bring all the ACRs in that meeting. The UPSC wants that the entire record must reach its office before it fixes the meeting. Around 12 HCS officers are to be elevated to the IAS and at least four HCS officers have retired while waiting for their elevation. Sources say the UPSC would consider their names for promotion and, if their record is found satisfactory, they would be given national promotion and they would be entitled to retirement benefits accordingly. Only one officer Lajvir, who retired a few months back, would be able to return back to service if he is promoted. The retirement age of an HCS officer is 58 while that of an IAS officer is 60 years. While the HCS officers are waiting for their promotion, another non-HCS officer may be promoted to the IAS soon. The officer likely to be promoted belongs to the excise and taxation department. All the promotions from Haryana to the IAS in the past few years have been from this department alone.
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CM lauds Agarwals’ role in freedom struggle
Sirsa, October 9 Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda was the chief guest while Bajrang Dass Garg, chairman of CONFED, presided over. State planning board vice-chairman Ranjeet Singh, state minister Savitri Jindal, former minister Jagdish Nehra, Sirsa MP Atma Singh Gill, Sirsa municipal chief Pawan Dingwala, social worker Govind Goyal, Bhim Jhoonthra were among others present on the occasion. Remembering Maharaja Agrasen as one who propounded and propagated the principals of socialism, Hooda assured the Agrawal community that Maharaja’s life and teachings would become a part of the school curriculum in the state from the next academic session. He said Maharaja Agarsen was a great humanist and we must be proud of the historical fact that he ruled from Agroha in Haryana. Hooda said his government was committed to all-round development of the state in a manner where every community was given its due. He lauded the role played by the Agarwal community during the freedom movement while recalling the close association of his family with the family of Lala Lajpat Rai. He said the community was now playing a constructive role in the development of the nation. Hooda also appreciated the charitable and social works being done by members of this community all over the country, especially in Haryana. Responding to the demands of the organisers, the Chief Minister announced that the government would provide a plot for the construction of Agrawal dharamshala in Sirsa. He also announced a grant of Rs 11 lakh for the library of Maharaja Agarsen School from his discretionary fund. Speaking on this occasion, CONFED chairman Bajrang Dass Garg said the Chief Minister had always been very receptive and responsive to the voice and sentiments of the community. He said in contrast to some of his predecessors, Hooda gave equal respect to all communities. Minister of state for revenue and Hisar MLA Savitri Jindal congratulated the audience on the occasion of Agarsen Jayanti and called upon them to follow the path shown by Maharaja Agarsen. Earlier, welcoming the participants, convener of the state-level convention, Navin Kedia put forth various demands of the community.
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DC kicks off drive to make Fatehabad clean
Fatehabad, October 9 Usha Chaudhary, president of the municipal council, city magistrate Satish Jain, subdivisional magistrate Jai Kishan Abhir, district development and panchayat officer O.P. Sharma, civil surgeon J.K. Bishnoi and municipal secretary Neki Ram also joined the deputy commissioner. The drive will continue till October 30. Speaking on this occasion, Ahlawat said Fatehabad would be made a model town as well as a model district with the active cooperation of local people. “The municipal authorities have launched a garbage removal drive for this purpose under which the towns falling under the district will be made free from squalor,” he said. The sanitation drive was launched from the Ambedkar Park area and the authorities said every day a new area of the town would be taken up under this campaign.
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Jhajjar transporters told to install GPS
Jhajjar, October 9 According to fresh orders issued by the district magistrate under the Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, the global positioning system (GPS) equipment has been made mandatory for all vehicle owners to get it fitted in their vehicles especially in trucks in order to prevent any untoward incident. GPS is an electronic device that provides alerts such as over-speeding, deviation from route, unauthorised stopping, emergency alerts and exact location of the vehicle. Hence, if any GPS fitted vehicle is found stolen then it would be easy to trace its accurate location through GPS equipment. This order has come in force with immediate effect and would remain effective for a period of two months. A copy of this order has been sent to all the police stations of the district with a view to launch a drive for checking GPS equipment in the vehicles especially in trucks. The administration has come to know that certain anti-social elements have been involved in stealing and snatching the vehicles in the district. These stolen vehicles are used in terrorist activities. As the people are all set to celebrate the festival season, the administration has beefed up the security by installing nakas at various sensitive points of the district to avert any untoward incident during the season.
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From Lahore, with love
Rohtak, October 9 The saint-poet's feelings of dejection, exasperation and disgust over the sharp decline in the society's ethics, morality and value system are beautifully weaved in a play titled "Waris Shah", which was presented before the audience here by a group of artistes from Pakistan. Instead of adopting a melancholic stance over the deterioration, the drama assumes a comical approach to show the mirror to the so-called modern society. The message - of simplicity, love and universal brotherhood - is conveyed subtly, yet firmly. The first show of the play was staged on the campus of Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU) here by the Sufi Tabassum Academy, Lahore, on Wednesday. The MDU's department of students' welfare and Swar Dharohar jointly organised the event. The hilarious, yet meaningful drama, penned by playwright Sufi Nisar Ahmed and directed by Agha Shahid Khan, also forms part of the Indo-Pak Theatre Festival, which commenced here today. "Sharing of art and culture among the people of Hindustan and Pakistan will certainly bring the two nations together...The love and warmth we have got here have touched our hearts and souls and we will cherish these moments forever in our life," observed the artistes from Pakistan during a chat with the newsmen. The cultural troupe comprises students of Punjab University, Lahore; and famous film and television artistes of Pakistan. The artistes asserted that the people of the two countries could come closer by sharing theatre, sports, films etc. Conveying gratitude towards the organisers, the convener of the team, Dr Faujiya Tabassum, expressed hope that such literary events propagating the common culture of India and Pakistan were successful in reducing the distances between the two countries.
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Movie this week
Producer: Paul Parmar Director Atul Agnihotri’s keenly awaited film ‘Hello’, which is adapted from Chetan Bhagat’s bestseller ‘One Night @ A Call Centre” will be released today at Fun-Ambala City, Fun Panipat, Sheela-Rohtak, Cinemax-Panipat, DTCC, DTMM, PVR Sahara, SRS Adlabs, PVR Ambi Mall (All Gurgaon), SRS Pristine, SRS Sector 12, INOX, PVR Crown Plaza, Cinemax (All Faridabad) What to watch out for: Concept, direction, lead stars performance and music. — Dharam Pal
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