Yamunanagar, January 1
Now, senior citizens of the state need not provide documents regarding age proof to avail old age pension or concession in railway travel.

Commissioner, Ambala range, Mahender Kumar today launched a new scheme by providing senior citizens identity cards.

The Commissioner gave 250 identity cards to senior citizens at a function held in Red Cross Bhawan in HUDA, Sector 17 here.

He said the state government had given a New Year gift to senior citizens of the state. The identity card, which carried the name, date of birth, address, and telephone number of the senior citizen, could be used to avail many facilities.

The Commissioner also distributed quilts amongst 600 poor persons and gave education loans to students.

Deputy Commissioner Amit Kumar Aggarwal said 13,000 units of blood had been donated by people of the district that was used to save lives of others.

KURUKSHETRA: The Haryana government has decided to give 50 per cent discount to women senior citizens (60 and above) in the fare of Haryana Roadways buses in the state on the basis of identity cards.

This was stated by Deputy Commissioner Pankaj Agarwal while distributing identity cards to senior citizens at a function organised by the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment in Pratapgarh village of Thanesar Block here on Thursday.

Agarwal said with these identity cards senior citizens need not provide proof to verify their age while taking concession on welfare schemes of the government.

In the first phase of the project, five villages of each block had been selected to distribute identity cards among senior citizens. By the end of March, all senior citizens of the district would be provided identity cards on the basis of which they would be entitled concession in railway fare, medical and other schemes of the government.

On the eve of International Old Age Day i.e. on October 1, 2008, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had announced to give such identity cards to senior citizens and today this scheme was launched in the district, added\ Aggarwal.

Additional Deputy Commissioner Sumedha Kataria also spoke on the occasion. District social welfare officer BS Chahal and other officers of the district administration were among those who were present on the occasion. 

Chandigarh, January 1
The Haryana unit of the Congress today rejected the demand of state Finance Minister Birender Singh, who had asked for a “referendum” on the performance of the state government.

The minister, in a meeting of the state Congress Committee held two days ago, had said a “referendum” on the party’s performance was necessary before the Lok Sabha and the state Assembly poll to know “people’s view” on the government.

The demand was raised in the presence of AICC general secretary and party’s Haryana in charge Motilal Vora and Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

“There is no provision of such a referendum in the constitution. Moreover, in our democratic set up, elections be it parliamentary or assembly, are itself a referendum on the performance of the government. Therefore, question of holding a referendum does not arise,” state unit chief Phool Chand Mullana told mediapersons here.

Mullana said in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, the party would also assess the performance of the MLAs and see how many votes they had been able to garner from their assembly segments. — PTI

There is no provision for such a referendum in the Constitution. Moreover, in our democratic set-up, elections, wether parliamentary or assembly, are a referendum on the performance of the government. Therefore, the question of holding a referendum does not arise

— State Cong chief Phool Chand Mullana 

Chandigarh, January 1
After party-hopping for the past 15 years, former minister in the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) government and at present the state general secretary of the Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) Jaswant Singh came back into the fold of the Congress here today.

He along with two other HJC leaders of the Bawal constituency in Rewari district, Panna Lal and Raju Dhamlawas, was welcomed back into his “parent party” by president of the state Congress Phool Chand Mullana.

Announcing his decision to join his “parent party”, Jaswant Singh said 33 workers, too, had decided to quit the HJC and had joined the Congress in Rewari after being disillusioned with its “undemocratic working”.

The former minister said party supremo Kuldeep Bishnoi had surrounded himself with sycophants and they, who were among the founder members of the HJC, were finding themselves helpless in the present HJC set-up.

“We tried to convince the leader that democratic values within the party were being eroded, but he did not seem to be receptive. On the other hand, we found that the Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led government in the state was alive to the needs of south Haryana and taking measures to address all our problems, including our water woes,” he stated.

Jaswant Singh was a minister during the Bansi Lal regime and also during INLD rule for a brief period. He has also been part of the BJP earlier though he comes from a “Congress family and has been a Congressman all his life,” as Mullana chose to greet him. Asked if Bishnoi ,too, could rejoin the Congress, Mullana said: "We have not shut anybody out.”

Chandigarh, January 1
The Haryana Congress wants that the BSP government in Uttar Pradesh should be dismissed and the party should be derecognised by the Election Commission of India.

It may be pointed out that the growing influence of the BSP in the state is threatening to mar the prospects of the Congress in the state during the next elections.

In a letter to the President of India, convener of the media department of the Haryana Congress Pawan Jain has urged her to ask the Election Commission to derecognise the BSP because of the fact that the party was allegedly openly extorting money in UP in the name of celebrating the birthday of its chief, Mayawati. He said the murder of an engineer in that state was unrefutable evidence in this regard.

Jain alleged that Mayawati had turned politics into a business and instead of serving the people, she was extorting money from them. Several office-bearers of her party had a “criminal” background. In 1984, Mayawati, he said, was just a school teacher and now she had property worth crores of rupees. Since she did not own any business, it could be safely presumed that this property was the creation of extortion rackets run on her behalf, he alleged. 

Yamunanagar, January 1
Campaigning for the framing of a tree-protection Act within the municipal limits all over the state, members of the Haryana Environment Society (HES), an NGO, have met Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, impressing upon him the need for such an Act to save the environment.

The society said the Act should be framed on the pattern of Delhi, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Chandigarh.

“The illegal felling of trees within the municipal limits in the state has turned out to be the biggest threat to the environment. A tree-protection Act is needed in the state to save trees,” the society has advocated in a 31-page report submitted to the Chief Minister.

“Our NGO has been working for the cause of environment conservation with a mission of a green and clean Haryana since 1994. We have already planted 50,000 saplings of about 65 species, including those of medicines. Now, we are making every possible effort to protect trees,” president of the HES SL Saini told The Tribune.

He said, “We have approached the high court through public interest litigation. The court had earlier directed the municipal authorities in the state to provide ‘legal protection’ to healthy trees within its limits. However, the authorities failed to protect the trees.”

He said a tree plantation drive had been launched in various districts, including Yamunanagar, Ambala and Panchkula.

Chandigarh, January 1
The Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board (HSAMB) has decided to provide value addition facilities like sorting, grading lines and packaging to farmers by setting up commodity hubs in the state so that the export possibilities of their produce could be enhanced.

Stating this here yesterday, a spokesman of the HSAMB said a commodity hub for potato would be set up at Shahabad, for tomato at Karnal, for onion at Jhajjar, for mushroom at Sonepat and for kinnow at Sirsa.

He said under the scheme, assistance for grading /sorting and packing material and transportation was provided to the farmers besides providing them training in post-harvest management practices and better marketing techniques. Financial assistance for equipment for cutting / grading / handling tools, etc was also provided to them.

The HSAMB had also implemented an export promotion policy to give a major impetus to the export of fruits, flowers, vegetables and other agricultural products from the state. The policy would seek to cover all critical areas and involve all stakeholders in exporting agricultural and horticultural produce. Under the policy, stress would be laid on improvement in the quality of produce and the formation of farmers’ group, he added.

He said two agri-business information centres had been opened at Sirsa and Hisar to provide information to farmers on market and agronomic practices. Seminars, workshops and buyer-seller meetings were also organised to educate the farmers. It was proposed to open these centres at all district headquarters in the next three years. Such centres at Ambala city and Pipli would be constructed at a cost of Rs 15 crore.

He said a modern terminal market was also proposed to be set up near Ganaur on about 500 acres which would be a hub for the marketing of fruits, flowers and vegetables.It would cater to the needs of not only the capital consumers but also of national and international consumers. The supply would be from all corners of the state and other states like Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir. Being adjacent to the national capital and the international airport, fruits and vegetables were likely to be exported not only to South India but also to all countries.

The market would be equipped with modern facilities like cool chambers, ripening chambers, grading, sorting lines, packaging, etc apart from ancillary services like post offices, petrol stations, food courts, transport, medical, banking, etc for farmers, consumers and traders. This would be the first market of its kind in the state. The market would be of international standards. An apple market in Sector 20 of Panchkula was also being set up at an expenditure of Rs 5 crore, which would cater to the needs of the consumers of Panchkula and also decongest the Chandigarh fruit market.

Chandigarh, January 1
The Haryana Government has reconstituted the Rajya Sainik Board by nominating 23 official and 20 non-official members on it.

The tenure of the non-official members will be three years and it will be effective from December 10, 2008.

Stating this here yesterday, an official spokesman said Governor A.R. Kidwai would be the President of board while Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Command, Chandimandir, and the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Air Command, Delhi, would be its Vice-Presidents. The Haryana Finance Minister and Irrigation Minister would be members and the secretary, Haryana Rajya Sainik Board, would be the member-secretary. 

Sirsa, January 1
Four persons were killed and three others injured when the jeep they were travelling in collided head-on with an oil tanker near Asakhera village, near Dabwali, here last night.

The jeep was on its way to Sangaria in Rajasthan.

One critically injured has been shifted to Bathinda in Punjab, while the other two are undergoing treatment in the Dabwali general hospital.

Sources said the victims, most of them from an extended family of Naiwala village, near Sangaria town of Rajasthan, dealt in sales and purchase of old tractors and had gone to Talwandi Sabo in Punjab on Wednesday morning to have a look at old tractors.

The incident took place near Asakhera village on the Rajasthan border when they were returning to their village, Naiwala.

The driver of the jeep was trying to overtake a truck when he suddenly lost control over it after seeing an oil tanker coming from the opposite direction. The jeep collided head-on with the oil tanker and a part of it went under the body of the tanker.

INLD MLA from Dabwali Sita Ram, who was incidentally passing by, extricated the injured persons from the badly damaged vehicles with the help of some passersby. He later shifted the four seriously injured persons to the Dabwali general hospital in his own vehicles, while three others were shifted to the hospital in a private jeep.

Darshan Singh, a mechanic, who had accompanied the family members to Talwandi Sabo, was killed on the spot. Dilbar Khan and Anwar Anjum, both cousins, succumbed to their injuries in the local general hospital. Afzal and Razzaq were shifted to Bathinda in view of their serious condition, where Afzal succumbed to his injuries today. Akram Khan and Mushtaq are being treated at the Dabwali general hospital.

Gurgaon, January 1
A panchayat will be organised at Jama Masjid here tomorrow to decide the future course of action regarding the police action in the Jama Masjid area.

On the night of December 23, 2008, a police team, headed by ACP Krishan Murari, had entered the Jama Masjid premises and had allegedly beaten up poor labourers, rickshaw-pullers and workers. They illegally detained 150 persons in a police station. They were released the next day after being allegedly humiliated, abused and robbed off their belongings.

Leaders and people from all communities, parties and religious groups are expected to attend the panchayat.

“In view of the Lok Sabha elections, the state government is in a fix whether to support the police officers and the MLA concerned or the poor and homeless rickshaw-pullers who were beaten up by the Gurgaon police,” Zakir Hussain, a former MLA and BSP candidate for the Gurgaon Lok Sabha seat, said.

“The ACP and two constables had been suspended. The two hapless constables, who simply followed the orders of their bosses, have been made scapegoats,” he added. According to Hussain, transfer is not a punishment.

Sirsa, January 1
Over one lakh persons die and two lakh more lose their limbs in about seven lakh road accidents in a year the world over.

A sum of Rs 187 crore is paid to the victims of road accidents in India which can otherwise be spent on some development activities.

Most of these accidents occur due to ignorance of the traffic rules by the driver and can be avoided by a vigilant approach.

India tops the list in the matter of number of road accidents every year due to the negligent attitude of drivers.

These were among the points that came out at a workshop on traffic safety organised in the conference hall of the district rural development authority on the first day today of Traffic Safety Week being observed by the authorities here.

Drivers of Haryana Roadways and from the local truck union attended the workshop.

Deputy commissioner SK Goyal presided over the workshop.District transport officer Munish Nagpal and general manager of the local depot of Haryana Roadways Joginder Singh also addressed the workshop.

The drivers were urged to keep their vehicle documents with them while leaving for a destination and also get their vehicles checked to avoid a breakdown on the way.

Earlier, the district police organised an awareness camp for autorickshaw and taxi drivers in the local Bhai Kanhiya Park to mark the inauguration of the safety week.

Amit Beniwal, SHO of the local traffic police, informed the drivers about the common traffic rules to be observed and also gave them guidance regarding driving during foggy days.

The traffic police also distributed reflectors among drivers. 

Kurukshetra, January 1
Resentment prevails among veterinary doctors against the pay panel recommendations announced by the state government recently.

Stating this in a signed statement released to mediapersons here today, treasurer of the Haryana State Veterinary Association Jai Narain Sharma said the association was not happy with the recommendations of the Pay Revision Committee and had criticised the government for not meeting their long-pending demand for 25 per cent non-practising allowance (NPA).

Sharma said now a majority of the veterinary doctors had been put in Pay Band-3 but with a lower grade pay which defied the claims of the government that it had given grades on a par with the Centre.

Sharma alleged that veterinary doctors, who were earlier on a par with medicos, had now been downgraded, causing heartburn among the state cadre.

The association has demanded that the veterinary doctors should be granted 25 per cent NPA on the basic pay and time-scale assured career progression on the completion of service of four, nine and 13 years as assured by the state government earlier.

Sirsa, January 1
The recent trend of seizing and freezing the property of criminals has broken the backbone of drug traffickers and property worth Rs 26 crore has been seized in Sirsa district alone.

Anant Kumar Dhull, IG, Hisar range, told mediapersons here yesterday the property of more than 12 drug traffickers had been seized under various sub-sections of section 68 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act in Sirsa district.

Similarly, the property of drug offenders had been seized in Fatehabad district, too, he added.

Dhull said the dual strategy of seizing property coupled with sustained surveillance of the traffickers had helped minimise the menace of drug trafficking in recent years.

Earlier, a committee headed by Dhull burnt poppy husk, smack and opium recovered from the offenders during the recent past.

"As much as 2509.19 kg of poppy husk recovered in 168 cases, 217 gm of smack recovered in 11 cases, 7.790 kg of opium recovered in 8 cases and 7.5 kg of ganja recovered in one case was set on fire by the IG today," said the public relations officer of the district police.

Dhull also headed a crime review meeting of the district police.

Kaithal, January 1
A class VII student of Jat Senior Secondary School here, Ankit, was killed in a road accident outside the mini-secretariat here today.

The incident took place when Ankit, a resident of Friends Colony on the Karnal road here, was on the way to his school on a cycle.

The driver of a private bus, which was coming from behind, blew the pressure horn that confused the victim.

He lost balance and fell on the road, following which he was hit by the bus.

Irked over the incident, an irate mob pelted the bus with stones. However, the driver fled the accident site.

The body of the victim was handed over to his family members after a postmortem. The police has registered a case against the driver.

Residents of the town on many occasions in the past had urged the district authorities to impose a ban on the use of pressure horns by vehicles in town limits, but no action had ever been taken by the administration.

Sonepat, January 1
A four-year girl of RK Colony, Murthal, was found lying unconscious in bushes near Sudama Dhaba on the GT Road late last night. Doctors at the Civil Hospital here said she had been raped. She was referred to the PGIMS, Rohtak, as her condition was serious. The police has registered a case.

The girl was playing near her house around noon yesterday. However, later she went missing. When search for her in the locality proved futile, the police was informed.

Late in the night yesterday, someone saw a girl lying unconscious in bushes. After receiving information, the police reached the spot and brought her to the local Civil Hospital. Her condition reportedly became serious due to excessive bleeding and she was referred to the PGIMS, Rohtak.

In another incident, Reeta, a resident of New Jeevan Nagar Colony here, died on the spot when the motorcycle she was riding on along with her husband Vinod from Sector 15, was knocked down by a truck near Dua Hospital this morning. However, her husband escaped unhurt.

The truck driver sped away. The police has registered a case.

Chandigarh, January 1
The Haryana Renewable Energy Development Agency (HAREDA) has prepared an innovative scheme to provide light emitting diode (LED)-based solar table lamps called shikshadeep to rural students facing difficulty to study due to power shortage.

A portable lighting device working for four to five hours daily, shikshadeep will have a battery with a five-year warranty, while its solar panel will be warranted for a period of 10 years. The lamp will be available for Rs 1,600.

Girl students in rural schools, who top in their schools in the annual examination of classes V, VIII, X and XII will be provided shikshadeep free of cost.

The government has earmarked a sum of about Rs 3 crore for this purpose. This is the first initiative of its kind in the country.

HAREDA has also decided to provide one solar educational kit per school in all 3,000 secondary schools in the state on a demonstration basis to popularise the Photo Voltaic (PV) technology among students. The cost of these kits will be shared by the state and the Central governments in the ratio of 50:50.