Karnal, December 15
In a bid to expand its base beyond Uttar Pradesh, the BSP is trying to rope in disgruntled leaders of other parties ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. The party has been enthused by its performance in the assembly elections in five states and claims that its social engineering formula is working well.

Presenting its first “catch” from the Congress, Shamsher Singh Gogi, considered to be the right hand man of state finance minister Birender Singh, party general secretary Man Singh Manhera said many more Congress leaders would soon follow suit.

The BSP was admitting leaders from other parties after assessing their popularity and public image and all those who expressed faith in the policies and programmes of the party were welcome, but the door was closed for Karnal Congress MP Arvind Sharma due his uncertain behaviour during the trust vote, he added.

Manhera ruled out an alliance with any party in the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections and said the party candidates from nine Lok Sabha seats had already been announced while the candidate from the Sirsa seat, who would essentially be a Balmiki, would be announced soon.

The BSP, which has been pitching for a non-Jat Chief Minister if the party comes to power, had not given the party ticket to any Jat candidate and justifies this by saying that "no Jat asked for the ticket".

Manhera said 50 per cent of the tickets would be given to youth strictly according to the "tried and trusted" formula of social engineering and the candidates for all 90 assembly seats would be declared within two months after the Lok Sabha elections.

Hoping that the BSP would emerge as a major political force, Manhera said party flags would be hoisted on 5 lakh houses on January 15 next year to demonstrate that the party had the support of 25 lakh voters.

Gogi, who announced his decision in the presence of Manhera, said a large number of Congress leaders were not satisfied with the functioning of the government and the party and feeling suffocated.

More leaders would join the BSP soon and the Congress should be ready to suffer a series of jolts. When asked whether Birender Singh would also desert the Congress, he said it was for him to decide, but nothing could be ruled out in politics. When asked about his relations with the minister, Gogi said he was like his elder brother,adding:"I have left the party not buried my personal relations".

The decision of Gogi to desert the Congress after serving the party in various capacities for 32 years is being seen as an indication that "all is not well in the Congress"

Jhajjar, December 15
Irked over the alleged apathetic attitude of the district education department for not fulfilling their demand in spite of assurance, residents after a period of 12 days yet again locked the main gate of Government High School in Matan village here this morning.

They have been demanding immediate transfer of two teachers of the school.

Interestingly, neither a representative of the district administration nor an officer of the Education Department reached the village to persuade the villagers to open the gate.

Earlier, the villagers held a meeting, in which they decided to lock the main gate of the school once again after holding a discussion on the issue of transfer of school teachers. Thereafter, the villagers reached the school and locked the main gate after asking the students to move out from the school premises. They also staged a dharna in front of the school gate.

The villagers alleged that Hindi and English teachers were responsible for the poor performance of students in the examinations.Only four out of 52 students succeeded in getting pass marks in the examinations, they said.

They also warned the authorities concerned that they would not open the lock of the gate until the teachers were transferred.

Earlier, the villagers had locked the main gate of the school in protest against the poor result of students, who had appeared in various examinations held this year by the Board of School Education, Haryana. Officers of the district education department had also reached the spot at that time. They had also succeeded to persuade the protesters to open the gate after giving an assurance that the teachers would be transferred soon.

However, when no one was transferred from the school ever after 12 days, the villagers decided to lock the main gate of the school once again in order to press for their demand of transfer of the teachers. The district education officer was not available for comments.

Sirsa, December 15
It was a cultural gala with a difference. An event in which special children presented a wide range of cultural items on the stage of Disha, an institution devoted towards special children, on the occasion of its annual function here today.

Commissioner and special secretary, social justice and empowerment, Haryana, Navraj Sandhu was the chief guest at the function.

Later, Sandhu announced that the state government had initiated a scheme to set up “Gharaunda” - lifelong home for persons suffering from autism, cerebral palsy, mental retardation and multiple disorders in all districts of the state.

The first such home would be soon set up in Bhiwani for which the National Trust of India and the Haryana government would contribute Rs 1 crore each. She urged parents to get their children diagnosed for metal retardation at an early stage, as early intervention sometimes proves useful in minimising the damage.

She said mental retardation was a fact and parents of such children had to have strong determination to provide their children the best possible training for becoming self-reliant.

Sandhu admitted that there were many shortcomings in this field and against the need of 3 lakh trained teachers, the country had only 40,000 such teachers.

She said the Haryana government had set up the State Institute of Mental Retardation in Rohtak, where teachers for special children would be trained.

“Health insurance scheme for special children of all age groups has been initiated by the government and an agreement has been made with the ICICI Prudential Insurance for this purpose,” added the commissioner.

She said the government also planned to set up schools to teach sign language to deaf and dumb children and those for visually disabled children in all districts of Haryana. Steps are being taken to set up old age homes for senior citizens too, she added. Sandhu also inaugurated the EDUSAT system installed by Disha at its centre recently.

District social welfare officer Alka Yadav, district child welfare officer Kamlesh Chahar, patron, president, secretary and director of Disha A.C. Gaddi, Chander Shekhar Mehta, Surinder Bhatia and Geeta Kathuria, respectively, were also present on the occasion.

Chandigarh, December 15
Rude gestures, brandishing of hockey sticks and baton, stopping of vehicles on the other side of the road by crossing over and misbehaviour by the escorts of the VIPs travelling on the highways may soon be a thing of the past.

For Punjab, Haryana and Union Territory of Chandigarh have come out with a comprehensive policy to deal with the threat posed by the escorts on the highways and other places.

The information on this was given to the Punjab and Haryana High Court Division Bench of Chief Justice Tirath Singh Thakur and Justice Jasbir Singh during the hearing of a PIL filed in the matter through counsel Amar Vivek.

The guidelines contained in the policy make it mandatory for the staff to be in proper uniform and to undergo necessary training. The name plates would be displayed properly. The number plates on the vehicles too would be displayed prominently. Besides this, the escort vehicles would not go on the wrong side for practically pushing off-road the vehicles coming from the opposite directions.

The high court was also informed that Haryana has already set up an authority for listening to the grievances against the conduct of the escorts. Till the time the authority came up in Punjab and Chandigarh, the director-general of police and the inspector-general would take up the complaints. The matter came to the fore after a Haryana ADGP’s escort had threatened the staff of Justice Nirmal Yadav. The incident had occurred on NH 1 at Ambala in November, 2006.

The high court had, subsequently, accepted the apology tendered by the ADGP (Intelligence). In an affidavit submitted to the court in response to a notice from the Bench, the officer had submitted escort head constable Gurmit Singh, constable Rakesh Kumar and another police official had been placed under suspension and an FIR had been registered against them in connection with the incident at police station, Baldev Nagar, Ambala. 

Kaithal, December 15
A Haryana Roadways bus driver was allegedly attacked by some miscreants near Pundri bus stand last night. The driver, who was injured in the attack, was rushed to the Civil Hospital here.

Sources said the bus driver identified as Virbhan while plying the bus on the Kaithal-Delhi route had some altercation with some passenger yesterday morning. The dispute was settled on the spot.

However, when the bus was returning from Delhi last night, some persons armed with sticks allegedly stopped the bus and attacked the driver.

The driver reportedly suffered head injuries. The assailants did not allow any passenger to get down from the bus while they attacked the driver. Meanwhile, some roadways employees rushed to the spot, but the assailants managed to escape. Leaders of Roadways Employees’ Union demanded immediate arrest of the accused. They threatened to launch an agitation if the assailants were not arrested soon. The police has registered a case against Ram Chander of Geong, his son and some others.

Karnal, December 15
The Mauritius President, Sir Anerood Jugnauth, today gave a clarion call to the world community to join hands to fight the menace of terrorism and asked Pakistan not to aid and abet terrorism.

Talking to mediapersons here, he said the entire world should unite to fight terrorism. Mauritius was committed to fight terrorism and would provide full support in this regard, he added.

When his attention was drawn to the evidence regarding Pakistan’s involvement in cross-border terrorism in India, Jugnauth said no democratic country should aid or abet terrorism.

The Mauritius President, who was here on a short visit, said India and Mauritius shared strong cultural and religious ties and in fact 70 per cent population of the country was of Indian origin. Hindus in Mauritius celebrated all their festivals in same manner as they celebrated in India.

“We have made a Ganga Kund by taking holy water from Ganga in India for people to take a holy dip in the pond,” he added.

Referring to the economy of Mauritius, the President said in spite of tough competition from a large number of countries, the main source of revenue came from tourism. “We have scarce land and a small population of about 12 lakh persons. The government will now make an effort to optimally utilise ocean resources,” he added.

Talking about the population of India, Jugnauth said it was not only a liability but also an asset but the need was to ensure horizontal distribution of riches and resources.

In Mauritius, the shortage of manpower was a handicap and the government had planned to increase the population to 20 lakh in the years to come.

Earlier, participating in a cultural programme organised by the NIFFA, he said: “We not only have strong trade, commercial, cultural and religious ties with India but also blood relations and our bonds with India are very strong and thick.”

Panipat, December 15
Despite having made tall claims and putting in all efforts to trace the eight-year-old son of industrialist Rajesh Gabba, who was abducted by some persons on December 12, the police is yet to make a breakthrough in the case.

The police is tightlipped on the progress that has been made in the case claiming that any media report could hamper the investigations and even endanger the life of Tejas.

IG, Rohtak range, V. Kamraj, who is closely monitoring the proceedings of the case, said the department was still working and a breakthrough was expected soon.

Expressing displeasure over some media reports, the IG said the media should practice some restraint in highlighting sensitive details as it could endanger the lives of others. He said the police was making steady progress, but it would be inappropriate to divulge any details at this stage.

Some persons had kidnapped Tejas from the Model Town locality on December 12. The incident had occurred around 7.30 am when the boy accompanied by his mother, Neena Gabba, was waiting for his school bus at Paruthi Chowk.

Initially, family members of the boy believed that the boy could have been kidnapped for ransom. However, the police said the family had not received any ransom call so far.

According to sources, the police department had formed different teams that carried out raids in various parts of Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. However, the car that was used in the crime was yet to be traced.

The police has got details of all cars that were stolen from in or around Delhi as the vehicle used in the crime bore a registration plate mentioning Delhi number.

Meanwhile, investigations carried out by The Tribune revealed that this was not the first case in which the district police had failed to make a breakthrough.

A 10-year-old case pertaining to the murder of an aged couple in Chatipur village is yet to be cracked by the police. Besides, the case in which Kejariwal brothers, the local traders, who were done to death by some persons in their own house a few years ago, has also not been cracked.

Chandigarh, December 15
As many as 1,500 personnel of the Government Railway Police (GRP) in Haryana have only five bullet-proof jackets at their disposal. The situation is only slightly better when it comes to weapons, mostly obsolete and outdated, issued to personnel for security cover at railway stations.

The November 26 attack at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminal, Mumbai, has opened the eyes of the Haryana Police Department to the need for modernising the railway police and strengthening the security measures. Under its leadership, five states of the region are coming together tomorrow to put their “anti-terror” checks in place.

Dissatisfied with the slow pace of modernisation in the force, the department has decided to pitch in for CCTVs at railway stations, more men for cover, better weapons and coordination among various agencies involved in security at the railway stations. While the department wants to strengthen the force by adding to the existing numbers, it will advocate the cause of providing sophisticated weapons to help the GRP “rise to the occasion” in times of need.

Sources said the proposals would be tabled at the first-ever meeting involving top officials of the railways and the security agencies manning the railway stations in Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana and the Haryana Police to be held tomorrow in Ambala.

Since the GRP is the joint responsibility of the state police and the Railways, the state government is putting forward a case for providing smarter weapons to the force. The top cops in Haryana are learnt to be of the view that one-fourth of the GRP should be given AK 47s while the others should be given smaller, easy-to-handle weapons. To boost the morale of the force, the living conditions and its other needs will also be taken up.

“Since the cost of maintaining the GRP is equally divided between the Haryana Police and the Railways, the decision to provide it with better weapons, procure more bullet-proof jackets and increase the force has to be taken jointly,” an officer said.

Since the meeting will be attended by the DRMs of Ambala, Delhi, Jaipur, Bikaner and Ferozepore and the IG (RPF), on the agenda is also the issue of installing closed-circuit TV cameras at railway stations.

The lack of coordination among the agencies manning the railway stations and the tendency to work at cross-purposes could now end with the Haryana Police suggesting the formation of a coordination committee at the DRM level to streamline and facilitate working. Also present at this meeting will be the divisional security commissioners of the Railways and superintendents of police from Patiala, Moradabad and Shimla. The meeting will be chaired by the ADGP (Law and Order). 

Gurgaon, December 15
With a view to adopting a modern outlook and a professional approach in matters related to energy, the Haryana government and the state power utilities have taken quite a few forward-looking steps.

As part of the modernisation exercise, it has been decided to introduce energy conservation as a subject at the school level, set up call centres to register all types of electricity-related complaints online and make necessary arrangements for effective disposal thereof.

In order to enable the line (field) staff to attend power supply-related complaints of consumers promptly and efficiently, the authorities of the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) has added a fleet of 26 power breakdown vehicles, including 20 motorcycles, to its administrative infrastructure.

Ashok Lavasa, financial commissioner-cum-principal secretary (power), Haryana, flagged off the fleet in presence of Lt-Gen (retd) O.S.Lohchab, chairman of the Haryana Power Utilities and Anurag Agarwal, managing director of the DHBVN, here today. Gurgaon has become the first district of the state to get the facility. The six breakdown vehicles (Boleros) are equipped with ladders, ropes, tool kits, safety kits and lighting arrangements and would be ready to attend breakdowns at high-tension level round-the-clock at the call of consumers or operations staff.

Each power complaint centre would be provided two well-equipped motorcycles for attending to the power supply-related complaints round-the-clock. A Bijli Suvidha Kendra is already running in Gurgaon to register power supply-related complaints.

“The line staff has already been provided with mobile phones,” Lavasa said. He also inaugurated relocated buildings of customer care centres (CCCs) in the city.

Anurag Agarwal said the accounts of power consumers had been made available online on the nigam’s website www.dhbvn.com. “The nigam has computerised all its customer care centres. The consumers can now get registered complaints online. The nigam has decided to set up call centres where all types of complaints, including commercial and service related, would be registered,” he disclosed. Addressing mediapersons at the closing ceremony of the three-day Energy Conservation Fair, Lavasa claimed that by 2012, the availability of power in the state would be more than the demand. 

Sirsa, December 15
In what can well prove to be a revolutionary development for the Indian microscope industry and ophthalmic surgeons involved in vitreo-retinal surgeries, the Central Scientific Instruments Organisation (CSIO), a laboratory of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), has developed an indigenous microscope for intra-ocular lens transplant surgery, which will soon be available at very low cost to doctors.

The clinical trials of the microscope have been successfully completed here in the Shah Satnam Multi Specialty Hospital, Sirsa, during a mega eye camp that concluded here today. As many as 1,114 intra-ocular lens plantation surgeries for the removal of cataract were performed. The camp was organised by the Dera Sacha Sauda.

The CSIO, which already has offers from several microscope manufacturers who have shown their interest in the know-how, will soon sign a transfer of technology (ToT) document with some of them.

“The earlier microscopes being used by ophthalmic surgeons for intra-ocular lens (IOL) plantations are imported and cost very high. Ziess, a German microscope, costs somewhere near Rs 6 lakh to Rs 7 lakh and Takaki, a Japanese instrument, costs Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 3 lakh, while our microscope will be available at a price much less than Rs 1 lakh in the market,” informed P.P. Bajpai, a senior scientist of the CSIO. He has been camping in Sirsa for the past three days with his colleagues, H.S. Chagar and Bhupinder Singh, for the trials of his product.

The microscope, once available in the market, will be easy to buy and much more number of eye surgeons will be able to use this technique for cataract surgeries. The CSIO, based at Chandigarh, is among 38 laboratories of the CSIR, a Government of India Undertaking under the ministry of science and technology, and has already earned name by developing and supplying Head Up Displays (HUD) for light-combat aircrafts of the Air Force.

“Our HUDs have been successfully tried in 950 flights for air-to-air missile and drop tank tests,” Bajpai added.

Bajpai claims that their aim is to minimise the import of instruments in this field and provide cost effective and improved quality instruments to hospitals.

Dr Avnish Gupta, a retina surgeon of the Mirchia Laser Eye Centre, Chandigarh, also used the microscope during the camp. “I have completed 48 IOL plantations successfully with the indigenous microscope developed by the CSIO and have found it at par with the imported instruments,” said Gupta.

Bhiwani, December 15
Efforts of the state government to check female foeticide and raise the socio-economic status of women in the state have started yielding results, as ‘kuan pujan’ ceremony, which is performed only to hail the birth of a male child, was performed by a family of Kudal village in Bhiwani district yesterday to celebrate the birth of their newly born daughter.

The ceremony on the birth of a girl child is a trend setting initiative, which marks change in the mindset of Haryanvi people who by nature love to have only male child. The girl has been named Khushi by her parents as they say she has brought happiness in their family.

As part of its save-the-girl child campaign, the district administration also organised a function at the residence of Khushi and gave a letter of honour to her parents on behalf of the District Red Cross Society. The function attracted attention of the whole village, as people gathered in a large number to congratulate the family.

Addressing villagers on the occasion, Bhiwani deputy commissioner Mohammed Shahin said the kuan pujan ceremony performed on the birth of a girl child was a revolutionary initiative, which would go a long way in raising the socio-economic status of women and improve the skewed sex ratio in the state.

He announced that the district administration would honour all families in which a girl would be born between December 14 and January 31. Such initiative would help in eradicating the evil of female foeticide and underscore the importance of gender equality in society, he added.

The villagers present on the occasion also took an oath not to resort female foeticide.

Chandigarh, December 15
Acting on a bunch of as many as 10 petitions challenging the allotment of industrial plots in Faridabad, Justice M.M. Kumar and Justice Jora Singh today restrained HUDA from further allocating plots. The Judges also directed the allotees against raising construction.

In one such petition against HUDA and other respondents, Horizon Rubber Products Limited at Ballabgarh in Faridabad and other petitioners had contended the allotment was “made only on the principle of nepotism and favouritism”.

They had, as such, sought directions against the action of HUDA, the state and other respondents to allocate the plots on March 20, 2006. The allocation, they had added, was patently wrong, illegal, arbitrary and discriminatory.

Sonepat, December 15
Hundreds of farmers from six villages- Hullaheri, Kilorad, Bhurri, Chatia-Olia, Shahzadpur and Sandal Khurd- in protest against the supply of “substandard” seed of carrot submitted a memorandum to deputy commissioner Ajit Joshi under the leadership of state vice-president of the All-India Kisan Sabha S.N. Solanki here today.

They sought action against the seed supplier, Haryana Beej Bhandar. In their complaint, the farmers alleged the seed was sold to them with guarantee of good quality, but after the maturity of crop, it was found to be substandard.

After receiving the complaint, the DC ordered the district horticulture officer to survey the cropped field and submit its report to him at the earliest. Solanki said an SDO of the horticulture department along with a camera team had also gone to the fields for on-the-spot inspection of the crop.