Fatehabad, November 19
The skewed sex ratio in Haryana has been creating a plethora of problems for society. Lesser number of girls has forced several eligible bachelors to “procure” wives for money and many a time getting duped by these brides and their families.

Organised gangs of such women, who dupe people by taking money for marrying and then disappear a few days after the marriage, have mushroomed in the area during the recent past.

Hakam Singh, a resident of Babanpur village in this district, is the latest victim of such a gang.

He “procured” a wife for himself for a sum of Rs 40,000 on October 5 and the woman disappeared on October 13 on the pretext of observing her first Karva Chauth fast with her parents and never returned. Efforts to locate her have proved futile.

Even the mediators, who facilitated the “marriage”, have adopted threatening tones.

A call made on the mobile of the women, who acted as mediators, was answered by a man claiming to be a DSP in Punjab and has threatened the victim of dire consequences if he called up again.

“I contacted an acquaintance at Mansa for finding a match for Hakam Singh, who introduced me to Bholi Kaur and Baljit Kaur. They showed a woman, Rani, who agreed to marry Hakam for Rs 40,000,” said Rajinder Singh, a panchayat member of Babanpur village.

Hakam Singh got married to Rani on October 5.

“A person named Raju came to our house introducing himself as the brother of Rani and told that as per a custom in their family, married women observed their first Karva Chauth fast in their parents’ home. He took Rani with him on October 13 with an assurance that she would come back on October 17 but that was not to be. I made several calls on Rani’s mobile, but it was switched off,” Hakam Singh told The Tribune.

When Rajinder Singh contacted the women who had acted as mediators in the marriage, they started threatening him stating that they would implicate him in false cases if he called up again.

When he called again on their mobile phone, his call was answered by a man claiming to be DSP posted in Sangrur district of Punjab and told them to forget the woman as well as the money or they would be put in trouble.

Hakam Singh has now written to the National Human Rights Commission and senior officers of the Punjab and Haryana police seeking action against the culprits.

Sonepat, November 19
Reiterating that his government was committed to women empowerment and strengthening youth power, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today said as many as 550 mahila chaupals were being constructed during this financial year to provide a facility for them to assemble and discuss matters relating to village development.

He was addressing a state-level “Panchayat Mahila and Yuva Shakti Abhiyan Sammelan”, organised by the panchayat department on the HSIIDC grounds at Rai in the district to mark the 91st birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Paying tributes to the late Indira Gandhi, he said the great leader would always be remembered for her efforts in protecting the interests of womenfolk, launching of social welfare programmes and creating a new sense of responsibility among the youth of the country.

“Female foeticide is a blot on society and women have to play an important role to curb this social evil,” he said.

After the 73rd amendment to the Panchayati Raj Act, he said the number of women representatives in the three-tier panchayati raj institutions had increased to 25,000 of the total 69,277 seats.

Haryana health minister Karar Devi, minister of state for sports and youth affairs Kiran Chaudhary, who is also the convener of the Mahila Shashakti Karan Abhiyan, chief parliamentary secretary Dharambir Singh, MLA Rajrani Poonam, chairman of the Haryana Women Commission Shishila Sharma were among those who spoke on the occasion.

Earlier, the Chief Minister inaugurated a Chaupal Health Community Centre in Baiyanpur village and announced a grant of Rs 50 lakh from his discretionary fund for the centre. The panchayat had donated two acres for the centre.

He also laid the foundation stones of a Rs 10 crore library and computer centre and a Rs 9.50 crore convention centre at the Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram University of Science and Technology, Murthal. He also inaugurated a bus stand at Kharkhoda.

Fatehabad/Sirsa, November 18
The difference in courses of study for regular students and those pursuing their studies through distance education programmes or as private candidates of Kurukshetra University and Chaudhary Devi Lal University at the postgraduate level has discouraged regular students of colleges coming under the universities.

Teachers of the colleges coming under these universities are also critical of the dual system of courses for the same classes of the same universities.

These universities have initiated the semester system of education at the PG level for the regular students, but those pursuing their studies as private candidates or through distance education programmes of these universities have been exempted from the semester system.

This has created a lot of resentment among regular students and many of them have actually left the colleges to appear as private students.

“In our college, as many as 52 girls got admission to the MA (English) course, introduced in the college this year. However, only 40 of them have filled their examination forms for the first semester examination to the held in December. We are not sure how many of these will actually appear in the exam as the students prefer the annual system and they have a choice of appearing as private candidates,” said Naresh Sachdeva, a lecturer in English at the Government PG College for Women, Fatehabad.

“As a private or a distance education candidate, students have a choice of studying five of the eight prescribed authors. However, for the regular students appearing in the semester examination, they have no choice and have to learn all prescribed authors,” said Resham Sharma, lecturer in English at Manohar Memorial College at Fatehabad.

Prof Anu Shukla, chairperson of the English department at Chaudhary Devi Lal University, Sirsa, is, however, ambivalent in her stand on this issue.

“It is true that there should be no two sets of rules for students, who are going to get the same degree from the same university. However, at the same time, it is also true that a student who obtains his or her degree as a regular candidate has an edge over those who pursue their education as a private candidate or through distance education programmes at the time of getting a job,” Anu Shukla said while talking to The Tribune.

Prof G.K. Das, a former head of the English department of the University of Delhi and former vice-chancellor of Utkal University, Orissa, who was today at Fatehabad in connection with an extension lecture at Manohar Memorial College, said the semester system of education would not succeed in Haryana.

“We tried the semester system in the University of Delhi 10 years ago, but it boomeranged on us. The semester system is not fit in Indian conditions,” Professor Das.

Chandigarh, November 19
If allegations in a writ petition are to be believed, land acquisition is the new tool for wrecking political vengeance in Haryana.

In a petition placed before the High Court Division Bench of Justice M.M Kumar and Justice Ajay Tewari, a Hisar resident and two others have alleged that the move to acquire a chunk of land in Khedar village in Barwala tehsil was politically motivated at the instance of union minister of state for urban development and poverty alleviation Kumari Shailja.

The petitioners have contended that they had established a college building for offering diploma and other courses on the land leased out to Alliance Education Society. The office bearers of the society were relatives of Mahavir Parshad, who was a member of BJP’s national council, and national executive of BJP’s SC morcha.

The petitioners have added Parshad had also contested parliamentary elections on BJP’s ticket from Sirsa in 2000 and again in 2004. The families are “traditional political rivals of each other and the proposed acquisition is nothing, but politically motivated exercise to harm the petitioners”.

Going into the background, the petitioners added that the state had issued a notification under Section 4 and Section 6 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, for acquiring land in the area for construction of an approach road from National Highway No 65 to Haryana thermal power plant.

Challenging the notifications, the petitioners sought directions to the State of Haryana, the land acquisition collector, Haryana Power Generation Corporation and other respondents for declaring the notifications dated November 28, 2007, as illegal, arbitrary and politically motivated.

Acting on the petition, the Bench has fixed December 26 as the next date of hearing. Taking note of the allegations, the high court has already stayed the dispossession.

Chandigarh, November 19
The state government has notified public holidays in its offices during the calendar year 2009.

All Saturdays and Sundays will be closed day.

Other holidays are Guru Gobind Singh’s Birthday (January 5), Republic Day (January 26), Guru Ravidas’s Birthday (February 9), Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati Jayanti (February 19), Maha Shivratri (Februaury 23), Holi (March 11), Ram Navami (April 3), Mahavir Jayanti (April 7), Vaisakhi (April 13), Dr B.R.Ambedkar’s Jayanti (April 14), Lord Parshu Ram Jayanti (April 27), Maharana Partap Jayanti (May 27), Sant Kabir Jayanti (June 07), Teej (July 24), Janamashtmi (August 14), Id-ul-Fitr (September 21), Haryana’s Heroes Martyrdom Day (September 23), Dussehra (September 28), Mahatma Gandhi’s Birthday (October 2) and Guru Nanak’s Birthday (November 2) and Christmas Day (December 25).

The festivals and occasions, which fall on closed days, have been excluded from the above list.

These are Sir Chhotu Ram Jayanti and Basant Panchmi (January 31), Independence Day (August 15), Maharaja Agrasen Jayanti (September 19), Maharshi Balmiki’s Birthday (October 4), Diwali (October 17), Vishavakarma Day (October 18), Haryana Day (November 1), Id-ul-Juha (Bakrid) (November 28) and Shaheed Udham Singh’s Birthday (December 26).

The employees would also be allowed any two holidays to be chosen out of the following Restricted Holidays: Muharram (January 8), Id-e-Milad or Milad-ul-Nabi (March 10), Good Friday (April 10), Budh Purnima (May 9), Guru Arjan Dev’s Martyrdom Day (June 16), Shaeed Udham Singh’s Martyrdom Day (July 31), Raksha Bandhan (August 5), Karva Chauth (October 7), Govardhan Puja (October 18), Guru Teg Bahadur’s Martyrdom Day (November 24) and Muharram (December 28).

Holidays within the meaning of Section 25 of the Negotiable Instrument Act, 1881.

The government has also notified public holidays in the state, except judicial courts, during the calendar year 2009 within the meaning of Section 25 of the Negotiable Instrument Act, 1881.

These are all Sundays, Republic Day (January 26), Guru Ravidas’ Birthday (February 9), Mahashivratri (February 23), Holi (March 11), Annual Closing of Bank Accounts - First working day of April - (April 1), Mahavir Jayanti (April 7), Dr B.R Ambedkar’s Jayanti (April 14), Janamashtmi (August 14), Independence Day (August 15), half yearly closing of bank accounts-last working day of September - (September 30), Mahatma Gandhi’s Birthday (October 2), Id-ul-Fitr (September 21), Dussehra (September 28), Maharshi Balmiki’s Birthday (October 4), Diwali (October 17), Guru Nanak’s Birthday (November 02) and Christmas Day (December 25).

Sirsa, November 19
Deepender Singh Hooda, Member of Parliament from the Rohtak parliamentary constituency, said today that preserving the integrity of the country was the biggest challenge before the people.

Speaking on the occasion of a seminar on “Challenges before the media in the present-day milieu”, organised by the Haryana Union of Journalists at the Surkhab Tourist Complex, Hooda said it was a matter of concern that the quality of politics as well as politicians in the country had declined over the years.

This had caused a lot of damage to democracy in particular and the country in general, he said.

“Earlier, leaders of the country felt small while talking of caste, religion and region and seeking votes on these issue, but now these have become major poll issues in the country and our leaders exploit these to their benefits unabashedly,” the young MP said.

Lashing out at Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray and his anti-North diatribes, Deepender asked him to learn a bit of history on the nation as to how Marathas joined hands with the Maharaja of Bharatpur, the Maharaja of Patiala and others in Panipat while fighting against invaders.

Coming to the main subject of the seminar, Hooda said as in politics and other fields, rot had come to the field of journalism too. “Some news channels have been portraying the most unscientific things, making people to believe these, thereby pushing them towards superstitions,” he said without naming any channel.

Earlier, Haryana industries minister Lachhman Dass Arora welcomed the MP to the seminar.

Bhupinder Dharmani, secretary of the National Union of Journalists, thanked Hooda for the recent journalist-friendly announcements made by the government and placed some other demands of the union before him.

Atma Singh Gill, local MP, Baljit Singh, state secretary, Monika Gupta, vice-president and O.P. Bansal, patron of the association, spoke on the occasion.

Rohtak, November 19
“There is an urgent need to start a mass movement against female foeticide. Girl students have an important role to play on this issue. Let them come forward to change the societal mindset.”

This was stated by vice-president of the Haryana State Council for Child Welfare Asha Hooda while addressing girl students at a function in Maharshi Dayanand University here today.

In her address, Asha Hooda exhorted the students to utilise their education for societal causes.

She urged the girl students to take inspiration from the late Indira Gandhi and Maharani Lakshmibai, whose birth anniversary was observed today.

Earlier, Asha Hooda laid the foundation stones of a “yagyashala” and Kaveri Girls’ Hostel on the campus.

Speaking on the occasion, MDU vice-chancellor R.P. Hooda said the university administration was committed to providing the best possible facilities, infrastructure and a congenial atmosphere to the students.

A booklet, comprising slogans against female foetidcide and published by the Students' Welfare Office of the MDU, was presented to Asha Hooda at the function.

Fatehabad, November 19
Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda said today that the elections in Rajasthan, Chhatisgarh and Madhya Pradesh would prove to be the semi-final for the parliamentary elections in the country.

Talking to mediapersons here, Hooda said the poll results in these states would be repeated in the parliamentary elections.

Claiming that the people of Haryana had rejected the alliance between the Indian National Lok Dal and the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Congress MP said the opposition parties were so scared of the increasing popularity of the Congress that the two parties had forged this alliance in a hurry without caring for the sentiments of their workers.

He said the people of Haryana had tried these parties so many times and would not be taken in by their false promises now.

Hooda said the Haryana Janhit Party (BL) was on the verge of disintegrating and several of its leaders had already crossed over to the Congress. He said the party would be wound up after the parliamentary elections.

Rohtak, November 19
Six flyover (railway overbridge) projects are under construction here and most of these are expected to be completed by the end of March next year. This was disclosed in a statement by the local administration here today.

These flyovers will help ease traffic congestion and provide a savvy look to the city. The city had just one flyover while the population has increased several times in the past few decades. Work on these projects had got delayed due to various factors. This had created a confusion regarding the timely completion of this projects.

There were reports that the projects had been delayed due to some technical flaws in the construction.

The ongoing projects are the Bhiwani road flyover, the Jhajjar road flyover, the Double Phatak (Circular Road) flyover, the Jind road flyover, the Rohtak-Panipat railway line flyover and the University bypass flyover.

According to S.P. Gupta, divisional commissioner, the Jind road flyover had been completed and it was likely to be thrown open to the public in the first week of December.

Claiming that work on some of the projects had been stalled temporarily due to labour problems, he said these had been sorted out. While three flyover projects would be completed by March next, the remaining two would be ready by May.

Karnal, November 19
The Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) has warned the consumers indulging in power pilferage that they would land in jail if the same offence was committed for the second time and an FIR would be lodged against them.

The UHBVN in a stern warning to habitual offenders clearly stated that there would no compounding in case the power theft was detected for the second time.

Continuing its ongoing campaign to check the menace of pilferage of power, unauthorised use of electricity and unauthorised extension of load, the vigilance and enforcement wing of the Haryana Power Utilities detected 237 cases of theft of electricity and imposed penalty of Rs 2.62 crore on the erring consumers during October.

A spokesman of HUBVN told The Tribune that penalty of over Rs 4 lakh to Rs 40 lakh had been imposed in six cases, which included industrial and non-domestic connections. The amount of penalty exceeded Rs 50,000 in 94 cases of theft of electricity and unauthorised extension of load and the supply of electricity of erring consumers had also been disconnected.

Kurukshetra, November 19
Following the revocation of his suspension, Dr J.S. Kadian, former Examination Controller, Kurukshetra University, today rejoined this post after a gap of about three years.

Dr Kadian was suspended on allegations of irregularities detected in the examination branch of the university.The inquiry into the allegations was assigned to Justice S.K. Jain, a retired judge, Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Justice Jain submitted the report, which was sent to the vice-chancellor and forwarded to the university executive council. However, the university appointed another judge, Justice R. K. Nehru, a retired judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Ultimately, the university executive council, at its meeting held on October 11, constituted a six-member committee which submitted its report on November 10, pointing out that no charges had been proved against Kadian and Sarojini Khatri, former deputy registrar, who had retired by now.

Kadian and Khatri will get their dues along with the arrears.

Faridabad, November 19
Two youths robbed a local businessman of his more than Rs 2 lakh from his car on the national highway today.

The victim, Pawan Kumar, who runs jewellery shops, was returning to his shop after withdrawing Rs 3 lakh from ICCI bank located in Sector 16.

He has parked the car along side the highway near Sector 16 to attend to nature’s call. Two youths on motorcycle came near the car, broke the windowpanes and took away the money, which was wrapped up in a newspaper.

Pawan Kumar raised an alarm, but the criminals fled from the scene. The police has registered a case in the matter and has launched a manhunt to nab the criminals.