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From local farms to dining tables in Europe
Chandigarh, December 22 Officials of the departments of agriculture, horticulture and the HAIC held talks with a team of the British Agro-food Consortium, which was here recently to take part in the agro-tech fair. The next round of talks to facilitate export of vegetables from the state will be held shortly. According to a spokesman for the HAIC, the corporation is engaged in multifarious activities like trading, manufacturing and procurement and has shown considerable improvement in its performance in the recent years. Its turnover topped Rs 606-crore mark in 2007-08, against Rs 483.38 crore in the preceding fiscal. Primarily, it had been set up to undertake, assist, aid, finance and promote agro industries such as poultry, dairy, land development, quality seeds, and manufacture of agriculture implements and machinery. Besides, it has been engaged in trading activities like sale of seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, tractors and other agricultural machinery like diesel engines, electric motors, mono-block pump sets, tyres, tubes, batteries and spray pumps. It is also holding talks with the Inderprastha Gas Authority to set up two CNG pumps in Murthal and Panipat. The corporation already has six petrol pumps in Gurgaon, Yamunanagar, Hisar, Pipli, Ballah (Karnal district) and Murthal in Sonepat district.
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Panipat continues to attract real estate investors
Panipat, December 22 Ushering in the mall culture with the set up of one of the five shopping arcades, the city continues to grab the attention of prospective investors. Panipat also holds the distinction as petrochemical hub. But the ongoing process of developing it into a hi-tech city has inspired many real estate developers to invest here. The city has witnessed high growth during the past few years with a number of construction projects coming along its way. The upcoming residential properties, including apartments, bungalows, villas and condominiums, will have additional facilities which are certainly very difficult to scout in an independent plot. This include swimming pools, gymnasium and club facilities. According to market observes, realty prices are expected to bounce back in the next 8-10 months. Given the reduced rates and attractive offers by builders, many are showing inclination in investing here, says Praveen Kumar, a local property dealer. Staying in step with the development of residential projects, commercial markets are not far behind. The city of textiles and carpets is also fast developing into a hub for commercial real estate. This would not only host the big shopping avenues featuring world-class brands, but would also get an entertainment source with the opening of multiplexes. With Mittal mega mall, the first shopping-cum-entertainment venue, world-class brands, topnotch services, and known names in the world of food chain and clothing are just standing on the threshold of the city. Besides, DAP Angel prime mall and Reliance's retail hyper mall, Raheja expo mall, Saraf mall and Fun City mall are also expected to spread their wings in the city soon. There is also a proposal to construct an industrial park in and around the city for adding to the pace of down stream industries' development. Moreover, there would be good quality environment for citizens with amenities like good roads, drains, sewerage, streetlights, electricity, waste treatment plant, firefighting station, commercial and housing facilities, including development of social infrastructure like schooling, hospitals and parks. As more and more investors are foraying into the city, industry soothsayers are confident regarding the revival of the real estate markets soon.
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Row over naming of Sirsa-Kariwala road
Sirsa, December 22 The rally was organised by Ranjit Singh, deputy chairman of the Haryna State Planning Board, and it was at his instance and also on the demand of H.S. Hanspal, former president of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, that Hooda had made this announcement. A section of followers of the Namdhari sect, owing allegiance to the former Chief Minister Om Parkash Chautala, has now alleged that the Chief Minister was misled on the issue since the said road already exists in the name of Satguru Partap Singh. Ranjit Singh has, however, brushed aside the criticism and said this controversy was being raised by supporter of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD). Harjinder Singh Bhogal, managing director of the Satguru Partap Singh Trust, claimed before mediapersons that the road from Sirsa to Kariwala had been named after Satguru Partap Singh in 1995 by former Haryana Chief Minister Bhajan Lal. Incidentally, Bhogal is a block-level office-bearer of the minority cell of the INLD. “Naming the road again is not only a cheap gimmick to earn accolades, but also an insult to the people of the sect,” Bhogal said. On documentary evidence in support of his claim, Bhogal showed the letter written by then deputy commissioner to the chief secretary regarding the announcement made by the then Chief Minister Bhajan Lal during the inauguration of bus stand at Rania and a letter written by the financial commissioner and secretary, PWD (B&R) to the chief engineer of his department confirming the naming of the 45 km-long road after Satguru Partap Singh. He said there were at least six boards on the stretch displaying the name of the road, which were installed by his Trust after the government decision in 1995. He further said when Maharaj Bir Singh, younger brother of the present head of the Namdhari Sect Satguru Jagjit Singh, died recently, former Chief Minister Om Parkash Chautala had announced to name another road from Jiwan Nagar to Ellenabad after Satguru Partap Singh. But, now after naming the existing road, the government has played a joke with the followers of the Namdhari sect. Rubbishing the controversy as ploy of the INLD to downplay the Rania rally, Ranjit Singh said the INLD had not been able to swallow the success of his rally. Ranjit Singh claimed that the rally was the largest in the history of Rania which forced his distracters to raise this controversy. He said it was for the first time that the Chief Minister had named the road after Satguru Partap Singh and it had never been done before.
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Power potential remains untapped
Rohtak, December 22 It has been observed that at least 170 lakh units of electricity daily can be saved by making the tubewells energy-efficient and setting up a new generating unit to produce these units requires a massive expenditure of Rs 3600 crore.The total energy that can be saved from this process can be around 30 per cent that is going waste at present. This is the conclusion of the authorities of the power department of Haryana, which has been in the process of holding and organising mass awareness drives these days. According to the chief engineer, Operations, R.K.Taneja, who has been here recently in connection with a consumer awareness programme on energy conservation at Shri Baba Mast Nath College of Education, employees of Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited (UHBVN) will contact over one lakh consumers of Rohtak town and the surrounding villages in the first phase. They will take direct and indirect help and cooperation of various institutions, social bodies and individuals to get the message across to make people conscious of saving the energy at various levels.He said while the government had been trying its best to raise the overall generation and availability of power, the department and the consumers also had a role to play to help the government achieve the aim of round- the- clock supply of power. He said the Government of India had made specific recommendations for energy conservation which were being implemented in the state. The department concerned had also emphasised the need for gadgets certified by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (B.E.E.) and other equipment approved by the Bureau of Indian Standard (B.I.S.). It would go a long way in helping energy conservation by farmers and other consumers, it was claimed. An official said if the officials and employees of the power department started adhering to the guidelines and rules, the department would be able to save a lot of power every year. “The state government should come out with new and novel schemes to motivate energy conservation and punishing the corrupt and inefficient staff of the department, who were to blame for several ills, including pilferation and power theft at a large-scale involving the staff”, claimed Devender, a local resident. He said the government should take strict action against the corrupt staff and check the “growing practice of outsourcing of various services without maintaining strict standards and time schedule. Other senior officials who have been supervising the programme have been telling the consumers that the state has not enough natural resources for power generation like availability of rivers, coal or gas. The Power Utilities has been arranging power from other states to meet the growing demand. The load in the state has been going up at a rate of more than 14 per cent. It is essential to avoid mismatch of the demand and availability of power and energy conservation can go a long way in bridging the gap. Though the department and its officials do not forget to point out the use and importance of the CFL bulbs and other gadgets to the consumers at various porgrammes and melas, these tips and suggestions, however,are hardly followed by them. An official said special melas and programames had no value and were a waste of public funds, if there was no implementation by adhering to the guidelines at the ground level.
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Transformer bank set up
Jhajjar, December 22 R.S. Dahiya, superintending engineer, UHBVN, said three transformers having a capacity of 200kv, 100kv and 63kv each had been made available at these banks. Thus, the faulty transformer could be replaced by the division concerned within a short span of time after getting a complaint. Earlier, the SDO concerned had to approach the main storekeeper of the nigam in case any complaint of defective transformer was lodged. The store remains closed on government holidays. That was the major reason which caused unnecessary delay in the replacement of faulty transformers, he maintained. “Now, nigam employees get a faulty transformer replaced without any delay,” said Dahiya, adding that the SDO concerned need not depend upon the main store for getting the new transformer. He also said the nigam had also drawn a plan for the replacement of old and worn-out cables as these were not only creating problems for the employees, but also affecting their efficiency.
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Roadways plans to improve services
Sonepat, December 22 According to Kuldeep Singh Ahlawat, general manager of roadways depot in Sonepat, Haryana “Gaurav” bus service was introduced from May 6, 2006. Facilities like deluxe type 2x2 seats, FM radio, mobile phone charger, pneumatically operated door, tinted glasses, curtains etc are provided in these buses at a marginally higher fare. These buses have become popular by the name "aam admi ki khaas bus”, he said. “CNG buses were introduced from August 3, 2006, for plying between the national capital region (NCR) towns in Haryana and various areas of Delhi. These buses are provided with comfortable, fire-resistant and pre-mould seats in 2x2 pattern and provide ample space for about 40 standees”. For providing better transport service in Gurgaon, modern low-floor AC/CNG bus services were started from December 23, 2007 with the help of the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA), he said, adding that 10 such buses had already been pressed into service and 15 such buses were purposed to be plied. Volvo buses were earlier introduced on the Chandigarh-Delhi-Gurgaon route by taking such buses on lease. But the service had to be stopped for sometime as the said firm backed out. This service had again been started from August 1, 2008, by purchasing 10 Volvo buses. In addition, 50 other AC buses were proposed to be introduced into the fleet during the current financial year, the official informed. Ahlawat said, “Semi-low floor (SLF) buses have been introduced from August 8, 2008, to improve the urban transport system in various cities, especially Gurgaon and Faridabad. These would also be introduced in other district headquarters. As many as 40 SLF buses have already been pressed into the service and 40 more are likely to be procured during the current financial year”.
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Underage driving rampant in Ambala
Ambala, December 22 Most of the teenage drivers belong to well-off families. While motorbikes are the fad among boys, girls prefer scooters without gear. A few bold girls can be seen driving motorbike too. Some teenagers drive even four-wheelers. These teen drivers do not have driving licence. One can see numerous two-wheelers parked at cycle stands of various schools. These students drive their vehicles rashly, putting to risk their own lives as well as those of other road users. Interestingly, neither parents nor schoolteachers prevent them from driving. During the past several years, a number of road accidents have occurred involving minor drivers. They not only drive at high speed but also take pleasure in violating traffic rules. A few months back, former deputy commissioner Mohammad Shayin had launched a drive against minor drivers. He himself raided some schools and impounded two-wheelers driven by students. He had also directed the principals to restrict students from bringing their vehicles else they would be penalised. However, when the school administration took measures, the students started parking their vehicles outside the school premises. In the meantime, the administration has to stop this campaign due to alleged political pressure. Newly appointed deputy commissioner Samir Pal Saro had also announced a month back to take strict measures against underage driving, but no action has been taken in this regard. Principal of a local school is of the view that parents should discourage their children to drive vehicles without licence and the police department, too, should not hesitate in impounding vehicles driven by minors.
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Waterlogged road makes life
miserable
Faridabad, December 22 The residents allege that the Malerna road between Adarsh Nagar and Subhash Nagar has been waterlogged for more than a year. According to a resident, Pratap Sharma, the road was recently covered with mud and other material by the authorities concerned. The residents have to wade through slush to go to the main road of the colonies. The residents apprehend that the road's condition will become bad again as the authorities have not tried to find a permanent solution to the problem.The road is lower than the sewage channels of the colonies. Although the channels were cleaned after a Tribune team took the pictures, the residents want a permanent solution. According to them, during the rainy season, life becomes miserable as stormwater enters their houses and remains stagnant for several days. The entire area is low-lying. While the first two blocks of Adarsh Nagar are
authorised, the third block is unauthorised.Similar is the case with Subhash Colony.The area has more than 6,000 voters.The residents allege that there are no proper sewer connections and they have constructed toilets by digging pits in their houses. They also charge that there are no water supply connections in the areas and they have to consume underground water which is brackish.They are also not happy with the electricity department.There are frequent breakdowns and nobody listens to their problems. Though the aggrieved residents have blocked roads in support of their demands several times,nothing has been done to redress their grievances.
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NREGA: Rs 1 lakh each to be spent on 655 villages
Yamunanagar, December 22 The spirit of the scheme is that the authorities are bound to provide 100 days’ work to poor villagers, unemployed youths and women in the rural areas. The scheme has already provided jobs to 3100 families in the district. As per the programme, the scheme has been started from the Sadhaura block followed by Jagadhri and a total of 11,003 persons have already been registered under the scheme. In most of the villages, work pertaining to the digging of the ponds is taking place which has provided a new avenue for liquid waste management also, additional deputy commissioner-cum-additional district programme coordinator, Narender Singh, told The Tribune. Providing details, he said the digging of the ponds provided on an average Rs 6 lakh to the villagers. The scheme was doing well and getting encouraging response from the people, especially those in the rural areas. He said the success of the scheme was evident from the fact that the urban poor too had started demanding work under the scheme. More then 3100 families had been drawing the benefits under NREGA in the district. The pace of work was picking up as the workers had been able to create an atmosphere of work culture, goodwill and brotherhood in the district. A foolproof strategy had been chalked out to ensure that in all the villages the works would be done in a proper manner, he added.
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Rs 23.46 crore for two Jagadhri sectors
Yammunanagar, December 22 The district administration has laid special emphasis on the repair of roads in the sectors and will construct an old-age home, a school, office buildings, rainwater disposal system and develop a parking area. Giving priority to the maintenance of the roads, the administration has approved that on Sector 17, Rs 1.88 crore will be spent and Rs 35.35 lakh will be spent on Sector 18. Besides,Rs 46.60 lakh will be spent on the repair of the roads and the beautification of the shopping centre in Sector 17.
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Kalka phone exchange being upgraded
Kalka, December 22 Official BSNL sources revealed that work on the upgrading of the telephone exchange was in full swing and was expected to be completed in the next 15 days . The sources said that like other metropolitan cities, the exchange was being introduced with the latest ring system and would have modern equipment. After the completion of the project,the exchange would be facilitated with an alternate route , which would connect it to Chandigarh via Nalagarh.It would be a permanent solution to the frequent problem of cutting of the optical fibre cable
(OFC) due to the digging work for the widening of the National Highway-22 from Panchkula to Kalka . Earlier, the exchange was functioning with the C-dot system with less capacity and connectivity .
At present, the exchange is functional only with (OFC) single route to Panchkula . The department also intends to eradicate the poor signal problem and frequent disconnectivity of cellular phones in the area. It has already installed towers in Khera Sita Ram , Madhanwala ,
Tipra, Monga Tibbi and Chandimandir and more are to be installed at the Railway Road here and in Guga Mari. The new BDS system of more frequency and range have been replace to improve the signal problem in the area. After the completion of the widening of the national highway, a project to convert the Kalka exchange into a model one would also be undertaken, added the sources.
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Govt to take action against pvt schools
Kurukshetra, December 22 This was stated by Haryana finance, excise and taxation minister Virender Singh while redressing the grievances of members of the Sant Nishchal Singh Public School, Ladwa, Non-Teaching Employees Association at the district public relations and grievances committee meeting here recently. The association had alleged that when they demanded the wages and salaries as per the provisions of the Minimum Wages Act, the school management terminated their services and ordered them to leave the school.Virender Singh ordered the labour-cum-conciliation officer to look into the matter. Meanwhile, the labour department has directed the school management to pay Rs 1,50,578 to the employees as they were paid less salary. A penalty of the same amount has also been imposed on the school management. Besides, Singh redressed 13 complaints regarding various departments. Deputy commissioner Pankaj Agarwal, superintendent of police K.V. Ramana, additional deputy commissioner Sumedha Kataria and district administration officers were among those present.
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Sainik School to usher in new era of education
Rewari, December 22 While the first academic session will commence from April, 2009, the admission test for class VI will be held under the aegis of the All-India Sainik School Organisation here on January 4. In all, 80 boys will be admitted. Preparatory classes have been started by the authorities in various schools throughout the region.The Rezangla Trust, a voluntary organisation, has come forward to provide assistance to all such admission-seekers. It has already started coaching classes for such children at Shishushala Public School in Model Town here from December 10. Naresh Chauhan, general secretary of the trust, told The Tribune that as many as 32 children were now on the rolls , who were being given coaching free of charge. All of them belonged to families of civilians. Chauhan added that the trust wanted
Rewari, like Kota in Rajasthan, to develop into a hub of excellent coaching centres for the youths of the Ahirwal region who aspired to seek admission to military school and academies.
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Neelgai menace assumes alarming proportions
Rewari, December 22 Apart from the inability of the authorities concerned to deal with the menace effectively, the invulnerability enjoyed by these neelgais as endangered species under the WildLife Protection Act has further added to the woes of the farmers. The wildlife sanctuary in the Nahar area of Kosli subdivision in Rewari district ,the Dohar area in Dohan Pacchisi (cluster of 25 villages) of Mahendergarh district and several other forest areas of the region are infested with neelgais. At night,herds of neelgais devour crops.Facing the apathy of the authorities concerned on the one hand and the detrimental provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act on the other hand, the aggrieved farmers do not know how to save their crops from being destroyed by the herds. According to information available here, some aggrieved farmers in the Dohar area, 15 km from Narnaul, recently hired the services of a group of professionals to save their crops of wheat and gram from the neelgais. Farmers of Dohar Kalan, Dohar Khurd, Bhakhli, Gaud Balaha, Gehli, Dochana, Mohanpur, Nangal Katha and several other villages of Dohan Pacchisi, who have been persistently facing the problem are a worried lot. Similarly the situation in Nahar, Jhal, Juddi, Sudhrana, Bharangi, Mumtazpur, Saadat Nagar, Surehli, Jharoda, Kosli, Lukhi and several other villages of Kosli subdivision of Rewari district is no different Scores of neelgais, which remain confined to the wildlife sanctuary of Nahar during day go out venture into the fields and eat the crops. The farmers said while their repeated requests to the authorities to initiate remedial measures had remained unheeded, the damaged barbed wire fencing of the above sanctuary too continued to be in a state of disrepair.
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Sulphur-based fertiliser to help retain soil fertility
Karnal, December 22 The farmers in the region are mainly responsible for ushering in the “green revolution” and making the country self-sufficient in foodgrains but the regular use of sulphur-free chemical fertilisers and non-rotation of crops has affected both production and productivity of traditional crops like wheat and rice. The research and development efforts of a Mumbai-based firm have found that deficiency of sulphur in the soil has affected the foodgrain production and developed a sulphur fertiliser, which can be mixed in the moist soil. The use of non-sulphur fertiliser has resulted in submersible sulphur deficiency in the soil resulting in low crop yield and the farmers can get a higher yield by using the sulphur-based fertiliser. The Sulphur Mills in Mumbai claims that the new water submersible sulphur-based fertiliser will check the declining land fertility caused mainly due to sulphur deficiency and the crop yield can be increased significantly. The depletion of sulphur in the soil is due to removal of soil sulphur than replenishment over decades due to excessive use of sulphur-free fertilisers and against the estimated requirement of 23 lakh tonnes of sulphur in fertilisers, the actual available sulphur content was only 7 lakh tonnes, a deficit of 16 lakh tonnes. In India, the production and application of sulphur containing fertilisers is estimated at 50 lakh tonnes per annum, providing only 7 lakh tonnes of sulphur. According to Suketu Doshi, director, (marketing), Sulphur Mills, each granule of new improved COSAVET Fertis WG, a 90 per cent sulphur-based fertiliser in granules form, contained innumerable particles of sulphur which on application, rapidly converts into sulphate and easily allow dispersion on contact with soil moisture. The recommended dosage of COSAVET Fertis WG for short duration crops is 3 kg per acre, an investment of Rs 330 while a repeat application is recommended after one month for long duration crops. A recent report by the Hyderabad-based International Crops Research Institute for the semi-arid tropics (ICRISAT) concluded that more than 67 per cent of 6 lakh Indian villages were sulphur deficient, causing crop failure and stagnant yield. The indiscriminate use of subsidised urea had severely undermined the soil fertility in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. BT cotton has become widely popular due to higher yield and inbuilt protection to dreaded bollworm but the level of sulphur must be more than 10 per cent for balancing nutrition for sustaining the high yield. The sulphur deficiency results in stunted growth as leaves become yellow due to the deficiency of sulphur affecting formation of oil compound, proteins and fatty acids in pulses and oilseeds, sugar recovery and shelf life of fresh fruits and vegetables. A study undertaken by Punjab Agricultural University proved that each rupee invested in augmentation of soil sulphur fetched return of Rs 8 to 20 by improving quality of farm produce.
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Steps to prevent crime
Gurgaon, December 22 The latest technology of outdoor surveillance, including CCTV, zoom camera lens, metal and chemical detector, speedometer siren, server device and fully-controlled control room, will be used to seal the areas. The state home department has given the sanction for a Rs 40-crore ‘Outdoor surveillance’ project. According to this, all border areas will have cameras, along with the latest instruments, installed at the entrance. And for this, Gurgaon has been selected in the first phase. Instruments worth Rs 8 crore will be put on the highways.In the second phase, the department has selected Sonipat, Kalka, and Hisar. “Planning was going on but the green signal was given last month. Now when everything is finalised, work to install such instruments has been started and many places can witness the same, especially police gypsies, which are now connected to the police control room,” the sources said. Some German companies have also been approached for getting the instruments. The tenders for the same will be floated soon. Once completed, this project will be counted as the biggest project of modernisation by the Haryana police. While talking to The Tribune, joint commissioner Manjit singh Ahlawat said, “The work has already been started and all police gypsies have been now connected to the control room. But installing CCTV and other instruments will take some time and we are trying to ensure that work is completed soon.” “Other than highways we will also install these instruments in the crowded places like malls, markets and many other busy junctions,” he confirmed.
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Rajput sabha to celebrate anniversary of Maharana Pratap
Rohtak, December 22 The decision was taken at the 15th general body meeting of the sabha held here yesterday. It was decided that the 470th birth anniversary of Maharana Pratap should be celebrated on a grand scale in May next. The sabha unanimously elected Hukam Singh Rana, former IAS officer, as its president. While R.S. Chauhan was elected chief patron, R.P. Singh was elected patron of the sabha. Col Devinder Singh (Karnal), Col Gajraj Singh (Bhiwani), N.S. Tanwar (Faridabad) and S.P. Singh Chauhan (Gurgaon) were elected vice-presidents. Dashrath Chauhan, Naresh Chauhan and Rajbir Singh were elected general secretary, secretary and treasurer, respectively. Ombir Singh was again nominated president of the Haryana Yuva Rajput Pratinidhi Sabha. Rana in his address after being elected as president said the community must pay special attention to motivating the youths in attaining professional qualifications so that they could get jobs both in government and private sectors. The community also must encourage girl education. He said since the Rajputs constituted 8 per cent of the state’s population, they should assert themselves in the political arena also in future. The sabha expressed its anguish over the police firing in Kharak Kalan village of Bhiwani district a few days ago, in which two persons were killed. It expressed the hope that the assurances given by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda to punish the guilty would be fulfilled immediately.
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NSG commando gets rousing welcome
Bahadurgarh (Jhajjar), December 22 Rajesh sustained injuries on his right hand when he tried to enter the lobby of Hotel Taj by smashing a windowpane where several people were held hostage by the terrorists. Prior to this, he was deputed at Nariman house with a group of commandos where the terrorists had made many innocents captive. Later, Rajesh was admitted to Army hospital in Delhi for treatment from where he was discharged on Saturday. Talking to mediapersons, Rajesh said it was his moral duty to save the dignity of his motherland and fight terrorism which posed a challenge to the security and prestige of the nation. “I am proud that I am a member of the NSG which has a great tradition. It always achieves success and takes the nation towards victory,” added Rajesh. Speaking on the occasion, former MLC Uday Singh Maan said now the time had come to make concrete efforts to combat the menace of terrorism “Our brave soldiers show exemplary patriotism and make great sacrifices while giving a befitting reply to the terrorists whenever they pose challenge to the prestige of the nation. All these brave men have made the entire country proud by saving hundreds of innocent people all over the world,” said Maan, adding that “we must give proper respect to our brave soldiers”. He also made an appeal to politicians to be united and take tough measures against terrorism. It may be added that
Rajender, elder brother of Rajesh, had laid down his life during the Kargil war.
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Wrestler Amit Kumar felicitated
Sonepat, December 22 Sonepat deputy commissioner Ajit Joshi was the chief guest at the welcome function. Yogeshwar Dutt, Beijing Olympic quarterfinalist, Arjun awardee Ashok Garg and several prominent coaches and wrestlers were also present. The DC announced that the administration would adopt five wrestlers from the village’s two akharas and bear the expenses of their training for five years. The village has become popular in the region as a number of its wrestlers have represented the district at the national and
international levels. Assistant education officer Jagbir Singh, also a resident of this village, said as many as 13 wrestlers from the village had won 13 medals, comprising nine gold, two silver and two bronze during the Haryana State Wrestling Championship held in Hisar in November. Impressed by the interest of the youths towards wrestling, the state sports department has opened a nursery unit with a coach in the village. The education department has also provided a wrestling mat for girls to encourage them towards this sport. Besides wrestling, a number of kabaddi players from the village and other adjoining villages had represented state and the country at various events, he added. It is worth mentioning that Bhainswal Kalan village is considered as the most educated village of the district as at least one member of each family in the village is in teaching profession.
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Bishnoi couple’s pledge to donate bodies
Hisar, December 22 What makes their donation noteworthy is that the Bishnois are a conservative community in certain matters. The community has elaborate ceremonies after the death, which make donating their bodies highly unlikely. The Bishnoi sect originated in Rajasthan and members of the sect are spread over several villages there and in bordering villages of Haryana. The Bishnois bury their dead as prescribed by their founder guru Jambheshwar. The reason for this is that there were very few trees in Rajasthan and wood for cremation was not easily available. Besides, the guru had directed his disciples to protect trees and wildlife. So, wood for cremation was ruled out. Now, although every village where Bishnois live has a special burial ground for the community, they prefer to bury their dead at a suitable place in their own land as a mark of respect for their dead. The Bishnois have to observe a ceremony called “Kagol”. They believe that the soul of the dead family member stays around their house or the place of burial for three days as a crow. So, the family members place choorma (a sweet prepared from ghee, sugar and
chapatis) at the burial place as well as on their rooftops. They believe that the crow in which the dead family member’s soul resides will eat the choorma first and the rest of the crows will eat the remaining. After three days they believe the soul finally goes to its resting place. This ceremony is observed extremely religiously. “Kagol” is followed by another ceremony called “Kharch” which literally means huge expense on serving elaborate food to the entire village and other relations who come to mourn the death. These religious traditions make it extremely difficult for Bishnois to donate their bodies as their children do not agree not to perform these ceremonies after the burial. Kanshi Ram Godara is lucky as all his four children are educated. His elder son Subhash Godara is a well-known advocate here. His second son is a tax consultant in
Rohtak. Both his daughters are also educated. The spouses of all his children are working. “It is this background that helped me take this decision easily”, says
Godara, who shifted to Rohtak several years ago. He retired as superintendent in the PWD. The maintenance of buildings of Rohtak Medical College was his responsibility. In those days, patients from Hisar, Sirsa, Fatehabad, Bathinda and Sriganganagar were referred to Rohtak Medical College. “Everyday I had several visitors from these areas whom I had to take to the medical college for treatment. Over the years, I realised that helping patients gave me mental peace and satisfaction. This ultimately drove me to donate my body,” he said. His wife being deeply religious was initially reluctant. However, Godara convinced her that since they had been living together for over five decades, she should not leave him alone in the dissection hall. “She immediately understood and pledged her body,” Godara said.
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