Bandheri (Sonepat), April 27
The forthcoming Lok Sabha elections have failed to catch the fancy of a large number of villagers living in various villages in the Gohana segment, whose only concern, since ages, is to find drinking water for their families every day.

The groundwater in these villages is saline and brackish which is unfit for human consumption. Some of the households have handpumps installed on their premises, but the quality of water is so bad that it can only be used for washing purposes.

Women of the village have to go to Bhagwan Parshuram Temple, located on the outskirts of the village, where they get fresh water for two hours daily.

Sanjay, a resident, said this fresh water was supplied here for only two hours a day.

Naresh, another resident whose wife and two daughters go to the temple every day to fetch water, said it was the only place from where they could get drinking water.

Asked about the elections, he expressed dismay and said it did not affect them much as the problem of drinking water had remained the same no matter which government ruled the country.

Jagdish, a resident who appeared to be least interested in the elections, said politicians visited their village only before the polls and made tall claims. But, once the election was over, nothing changed for them. He said whether they voted for the Congress or the BJP or any other party, it meant the same for them.

The situation in a number of villages around Bandheri is also the same. The women in Basana village could also be seen walking at least 4 km outside their village to fetch drinking water from two handpumps that are installed on the Basana-Mudlana road. Some of the women said these handpumps were the lifeline for over 2,500 residents. They said they came here every day to get water. For these women, elections mean nothing. “We do not even have amenities in our houses. What are we supposed to do with any government,” said Saroj, a local woman.

It was learnt that there were more villages located on the Gohana-Panipat road in this segment where the women had to travel for long distances to obtain drinking water.

When The Tribune spoke to some of the officials concerned, they said underground water could not be used here and thus it had to be supplied from fresh water sources, which were not easily available in this segment.

However, the villagers sounding detached said what had not happened in the last 62 years could not happen in the next five years.

Jhajjar, April 27
A recent move of Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU), Rohtak, has brought relief to those students who have completed their graduate degree courses in the Hindi medium and wish to pursue postgraduate (PG) degree courses of the varsity in the same medium.

The university has reversed its earlier decision of making the English medium compulsory for the PG courses. The students will now be able to pursue further studies by opting a medium of their choice.

The university had introduced the semester system at the PG level in the university teaching department (UTD) and the PG Regional Centre, Rewari, from the 2008-09 academic session. In order to facilitate the preparation and declaration of results without any delay, an ordinance for different courses had not only been designed and recommended by the deans concerned, but had also been vetted by the controller of examinations for final approval.

As per the new ordinance, the English medium was made compulsory for instructions and examination by doing away with the option of Hindi medium. Interestingly, the vice-chancellor of the university had also approved the recommendation.

Due to this alleged illogical decision of the university, resentment prevailed among those students who had been studying in the Hindi medium since the beginning of their academic career. Most of them had also started contemplating moving to other universities for pursuing higher studies with the medium of their choice.

Allows study centres to choose examiners

Meanwhile, study centres for courses run by the Directorate of Distance Education (DDE) of Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU), Rohtak, will now be able to choose examiners as per their own convenience for practical examinations.

With a view to redressing the grievances being faced by the study centres due to the shortage of examiners at the time of practical examinations, a committee constituted by the vice-chancellor for rationalising the functioning of the DDE, has allowed the study centres to select examiners for practical exams as per their convenience.

The decision was taken at a recent meeting of the committee, held recently for finding an amicable way out of the complaints lodged by the study centres. The decision will now be recommended to the academic council for final approval.

For efficiently implementing the decision, the DDE will compile a list of at least 200 teacher experts of various subjects for practical examinations. The list will be dispatched to all study centres.

Thereafter, the study centres would also be asked to choose the teacher from the list as examiners for practical test after talking to them about their schedule and convenience so that selected examiners could reach the examination centres in time and submit the mark list to the university after evaluation.

According to the existing practice, the DDE fixes the schedule of the practical test and appoints the examiners in due time, but a significant number of examiners either do not reach the centres in time or are absent at the eleventh hour without any valid reason.

This situation causes difficulties not only for study centres and students but also for the DDE administration as students who come from distant places for practical tests have to return without any tests while the DDE is also required to appoint another examiner in order to conclude the practical examination as per schedule. 

Hisar, April 27
The election campaigns of major political parties in Haryana has been marred by internal discord to the extent that the candidates appear to be pitted as much against their own party men as their opponents from rival parties.

Just as the Congress is unsuccessfully coping with the problem, the grass-roots workers and lower-rung leaders of the INLD and its ally BJP are working at cross purposes supporting only their own respective party’s nominees and opposing their ally’s candidates in other constituencies.

The Congress is suffering from intra-party discord more than any other politicalorganisation this time. Rivalry among party legislators, ministers and the party’s Lok Sabha nominees has adversely affected the campaign, if not the prospects so far.

Finance Minister Birender Singh has so far campaigned in the favour of party nominee from Hisar Jai Parkash only in his own Assembly constituency, Uchana, which falls in the Hisar Lok Sabha constituency. Jai Parkash is considered close to Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. However, Birender Singh is nursing wounds after being denied party’s nomination from the Sonepat Lok Sabha seat allegedly at the behest of Hooda.

He did not attend the election meeting addressed by Hooda in Hisar before Jai Parkash filed his nomination papers. Incidentally, Birender Singh has been a Lok Sabha member from Hisar in the past.

However, Birender Singh has devoted enough time to the Bhiwani-Mahendragarh Lok Sabha seat from where Shruti Chaudhary is the party nominee. She happens to be daughter of Kiran Chaudhary, a minister in the Hooda cabinet, who is also being counted among Hooda’s opponents within the party. The principle of like poles attract each other is obviously working here. Birender Singh had also addressed the public meeting organised by Shruti in Bhiwani before she filed her nomination. Later, he also campaigned for her in the Bhiwani areas.

Chhattarpal Singh, Congress MLA from Ghirai in this district, is not campaigning for Jai Parkash either. He had not even attended the election meetings addressed by Hooda. However, recently, he was despatched to Uttar Pradesh as Congress observer giving him an alibi.

Several close associates of senior Congress leaders have been seen in the company of HJC chief Kuldeep Bishnoi in the Hisar area while campaigning for former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal.

Another minister is sulking. AC Chaudhary has been inactive. Considered a Punjabi leader, he has not so far actively campaigned for the party nominees in his areas of influence.

Incidentally, Hooda, too, has on his part, so far restricted his road shows to the constituencies of selected candidates. He is yet to cover the Gurgaon and Bhiwani-Mahendragarh constituencies. From Gurgaon, the party nominee is Rao Inderjit, Union Minister of State for Defence Production. Both he and Hooda are not exactly friends in political terms. Hooda recently stated that he was awaiting invitation from candidates from these constituencies.

In the case of the INLD, most workers have preferred working in the Bhiwani-Mahendragarh Lok Sabha seat from where Ajay Chautala is the INLD-BJP combine’s candidate. This has undermined the interests of INLD’s own candidates in other constituencies as well as constituencies from which its ally BJP has put up candidates.

For instance, INLD’s workers from Rohtak are happier toiling in Bhiwani-Mahendragarh rather than help the party nominee put up a spirited fight in Rohtak itself. Likewise, a large chunk of workers from Sirsa and Hisar have shifted camp to Chautala territory where they surmise their services would be better taken note of.

The INLD’s alliance partner BJP is feeling the heat too. While it finds that INLD workers are opposing its nominees, its own workers are opposing INLD nominees in other constituencies. No amount of cajoling and cursing has changed the ground reality.

The rivalry among the HJC (BL) leaders at the districts’ level has dragged its nominees back in most constituencies.

All parties are taking this in their stride. Their leaders outwardly tend to dismiss the phenomenon as absolutely normal during poll time. However, in the case of the Congress, this is certainly not so. The dissidence at this time is just a battle for supremacy, which threatens to blow up into a full-scale war before the early 2010 Assembly polls when the office of the Chief Minister will be at stake.

Rohtak, April 27
The move of the union government to ban the use of cellphones having no IMEI (identification) number in the wake of their possible misuse by anti-national elements has resulted in confusion among the users of such sets.

There appears to be a lack of clarity regarding the use of all kinds of Chinese sets, including those having proper IMEI numbers. Many consumers have approached cellphone shops and outlets to know whether their sets will become redundant shortly due to the new rule which directs the service providers to disconnect the connections of all those having sets with no identification number.

The issue of the use of Chinese sets also figured at a high-level meeting of the Union Home Ministry. Besides, the matter was also taken up with the DGPs and chief secretaries of states and union territories who also expressed concern over the sale of such sets. These are issued in bulk by Chinese companies in lots of 100, 1,000 and 5,000 with a common IMEI number, which makes it difficult for security agencies to track calls made from any of these phones.

“If a call is made from a cellphone issued in a lot of 5,000, it will make the task of tracing the caller difficult”, says intelligence sources.

“Last month, several customers, mostly youths, had approached me to get a clarification on the issue and asked me to replace their sets, if there is any problem after the new rule comes into force”, said Rajesh, an owner of a cellphone outlet here. “There is no visible panic or fear of any kind regarding the new directive as Chinese cellphone manufacturers have already started supplying sets having an IMEI number and the cost of an average set having several user-friendly features is still cheaper”, he said.

“The sets which have no number are mainly purchased by youths, especially from colleges or universities, and there will hardly be any major affect on the sale of such sets as consumers normally want a low-priced set equipped with all features”, said Anil, a sales man at a shop located near Model town here.

“The market for Chinese sets has grown over the years due to various factors and it is not easy to replace these until the cost of branded sets is brought down drastically and the latest regulation of banning the sets without IMEI numbers will have hardly any affect on its demand”, claimed Satbir Singh, running a cellphone outlet near Dev Colony here. He said though branded companies had also introduced simple sets at lower rates, but there were many who wanted sets with more features at affordable prices and there was not much scope on this front. The introduction of sets with IMEI number was likely to solve the problem for many, he added.

Sonepat, April 27
Pig rearing which in the past had been confined to a particular section of society has made rapid strides during the last one decade in the district.

A piggery unit near Khewra village in Sonepat.

It has witnessed a growth of around 10 times since 1998. Among various livestock species, piggery has also emerged as a source of supplementary income and seasonal employment for people in the rural areas.

According to rough estimates of the animal husbandry department, besides pig rearing in villages by those belonging to the lowest socio-economic strata, pig farming units in the district have increased from merely five in 1998 to around 50.

Earlier, owners of the such units as well as the animal husbandry department used to depend on the supply of a vaccine from a manufacturing unit in Bareilly in UP for the treatment of swine fever which is prevalent among pigs.

But to meet the growing demand of the vaccine, the state government set up a plant in Hisar in 2006 and the supply of the vaccine in Sonepat district alone had gone up to 10,000.

The department has also started training facilities for pig rearing up to the tehsil level in the districts and its veterinary hospitals and dispensaries also provide treatment facilities for piggery farms.

Piggery farm owners in the district point out that they have been facing a number of problems due to the shortage of a slaughter house in the area. "There is no slaughter house and processing facility in the state. The processing facilities in the area will not only give remunerative prices of their produce, but will also help ease transportation problems”, they opined.

Gurgaon, April 27
She has been crowned as one of the most beautiful women in the country and is now eyeing the Miss Universe title. She is Ekta Chowdhry who has won the title of Miss India Universe 2009. Ekta was in the city recently to meet her parents.

She says, “Right now, I am just concentrating on the Miss Universe title and have no time for other things. The competition is going to be tough, but I hope I will make it to the top as I am getting all kind of support from my family and friends. I am also working hard for it."

On her latest achievement, Ekta says, "All 20 participants were different, but I think I was exceptional because no one expected that a girl with five tattoos and short hair could win the crown. Everyone has a mindset that a girl with Indian ethics and long hair can only represent the country. But now Miss India crown is more than just about representing India.”

She adds, "The quality in me that makes me feel a class apart is that I am an honest person and not diplomatic. I am connected with my roots and its values. Also, I live life on my terms and tell people to live their life on their own terms. Only physical beauty cannot help one to grab anything but the person should be strong mentally as well and then only he can move forward and achieve his target.”

“It was merely my confidence that helped me won the title although I got nervous during the question-answer round and asked the judge to repeat the question but I am happy that my reply was complimented.”

About her journey from the modelling world to the beauty pageant, Ekta says, "I started modelling six to seven years ago and that training helped me reach here," and added, “This is the first stage I had crossed and I am waiting for the second one.”

“Sushmita Sen is my role model. I was overwhelmed when she won the crown and that was the time when I decided to enter the field of glamour and fashion. I was lucky enough to have Sushmita as one of the judges in the pageant and it was great meeting her,” she states.

Ekta feels that the city and her house here are lucky for her, as they shifted here just six months ago and the dream title followed her. “This house is auspicious for us. Many things in our lives changed after shifting to Gurgaon. I was born in Baghdad, but my family shifted to Delhi for my studies. Later, they moved to Gurgaon and I became what I am after coming here only.”

Film industry is the target for every beauty queen, but Ekta is not at all keen to enter Bollywood as she feels that she is not fit for that. She says, “I don’t think that my face will suit the big screen. My only aim is to walk the international ramp.”

She loves to spend her time painting, reading, listening to music, watching movies, travelling and eating. “I love food and cannot resist the things my mom cook, but my appetite has become less now as we were given just boiled food to eat during our training period and now I am at home and will grab each and everything I could,” Ekta avers.

“Ekta, my only child, was a very sincere and well-behaved kid and not at all naughty. She was fascinated by the glamour world when Sushmita Sen won the Miss Universe crown and since then she wanted to obtain the title,” says her mother, Rita Chowdhry.

"She has been very passionate about music and dance since her childhood and used to copy the steps of any dance with ease. She started learning Bharatnatyam at the age of six,” she adds.

Chandigarh, April 27
In a major relief to mediapersons covering the elections, the Press Council of India has ruled that the authorities should not prohibit the use of vehicles by mediapersons during the elections.

The council, which has framed guidelines for the media and the administration for free and fair coverage of the Lok Sabha elections, has written to the Haryana Chief Secretary (CS) requesting him to issue an advisory to the authorities concerned, to allow the media access to places of the election process.

In the past, the media had been facing problems in carrying out its professional duties during the elections, particularly on the polling day, when the authorities put a ban on the plying of vehicles. The council wrote to the chief secretary that the mediapersons must be allowed to ply their vehicles because they had to move from booth to booth and collect information from all centres whether on the polling day or at the time of counting.

The council has framed the guidelines to ensure that the media covers the election without any hindrance, and at the same time the authorities do not face any charges of restricting the freedom of the press.

The council has said that the press should be allowed unhindered access to information and venues of the election process, subject to reasonable restrictions in the interest of security.

The guidelines maintain that as there is nothing secret about the election process, it is the duty of the authorities to give access to mediapersons to the polling booths and the counting centres, and all other places where they can collect information about different stages of the election process.

If all applications for passes received by the due date satisfy the criterion laid down, they must be uniformly applied and passes be issued without any discrimination.

The guidelines have a word of caution for the media also. It has been reminded that it is duty-bound to report objectively about candidates. The newspapers are not expected to indulge in unhealthy election campaigns, exaggerated reports about any candidate or party or incidents during the election.

The press should eschew reports which tend to promote enmity or hatred between people on grounds of region, religion, race, caste, community or language. The press should refrain from publishing false or critical statement in regard to the personal character and conduct of any candidate. The press should not publish unverified allegations against any candidate or party.

The press should not accept any kind of inducement, financial or otherwise, to project a candidate or a party.

Mohana (Sonepat), April 27
The Mohana centre for wheat procurement that was established on the Sonepat-Gohana highway about six years ago to facilitate a large number of villagers of the Gohana segment in selling their produce is a perfect example of a system that works "Ram Bharose" (only with faith on God).

The centre which at present is holding over 3 lakh bags of wheat is sans basic facilities to such an extent that in the name of electricity it has just four floodlights that illuminate the centre at night on a "kundi" (illegal) connection.

The centre, which is one the biggest procurement midpoints in the region, has got no sheds to protect the wheat in case of rain, no proper floors to keep the agricultural produce, no provisions of drinking water or toilets and even no place for the farmers and officials of government agencies or the commission agents to sit.

With no sheds and the delay in lifting of the bags, the commission agents are just praying to the raingod not to send any shower till the bags are taken away or else the wheat in over 3 lakh bags can be destroyed at once causing great losses to them.

The farmers who are coming here to sell their produce are quite happy over the prompt purchase of their yield by the government agencies, which have also ensured full payment to the farmers. But, lack of facilities leave them frowning. With the rising temperatures, the farmers have no other place but to take shelter in the temporary tents that have been erected by commission agents for themselves. There are around eight such tents at the centre.

The centre which is spread over 10 acres has no boundary walls and no security to protect the wheat that has been lying here for several days. Kishan Kumar, a co-owner in the Bhaichara trading company, told The Tribune, that they had procured around 200 tonnes of wheat that had been packed in the bags, but were not being lifted. He said the commission agents were themselves taking care of the wheat bags.He said even as no theft had so far been reported from the centre, it was quite easy for miscreants to walk away with as many bags of wheat as they liked as these were spread over a large area.

The problem of rodents is also a matter of concern for those whose produce is lying at the centre. Jagdish Singh of Julhana village said he had spotted a large number of rats and sometimes he even saw snakes crawling through the bags. Vijender, another commission agent, who is also waiting for the bags to be lifted, said the artiya association had written to the higher authorities a number of times regarding the problems being faced by them, but till date nothing had been done to provide any facilities here.

Some of the officials, who were overseeing the procurement process at the centre, stated that it was for the government to provide facilities and they were simply here to make sure that the farmers’ yield was bought without any delays. They said that the lifting of wheat was being affected due to unavailability of labourers.

Another problem that is being faced at this centre is that of gunny bags. There are not enough gunny bags that can be used to pack the huge quantity of wheat arriving here each day. 

Sirsa, April 27
Dera Sacha Sauda has opened an educational institute here recently. It is already running eight educational institutions in various parts of the country. The dera has started Saint MSG Glorious International School from this session. Dera Sacha Sauda chief Ram Rahim Singh inaugurated the school recently.

The school which has airconditioned rooms has been constructed on an area of 4 acres. The school building has facilities of international standards for students. It also has the facility of hostels. It has been constructed in two months.

Giving the details, principal Poonam Insan said initially admissions had been started till class V. “At the pre-nursery level, we have the provision of teaching kids through playway methods. Kids in these classes learn with nature. We have gardens attached to pre-nursery classrooms, where kids find flowers and objects having names on all English alphabets. Kids not only learn the alphabets but also they have a tryst with the nature,” says Poonam. “The school has introduced a concept of ‘no bag no homework’ whereby kids complete their assignments in the school itself after the lunch break and do not have to take home heavy bags and pressure of homework,” she said.

She said the school was in the process of having a collaboration with an international institute.

“The school has a library of CDs containing lectures in various subjects, so that the students could refer to these as and when required,” she said.

Karnal, April 27
The state acquired the soubriquet of “Aaya Ram and Gaya Ram” during the toppling game in 1967, but the people of the state not only have a rustic sense of humour but are also highly politically conscious.

The number of voters in the state has increased phenomenally from 43,86,711 in 1967 to 1,20,63,257 in 2009, but the polling percentage was very high and ranged between 63.68 and 73.26 per cent in 11 Lok Sabha polls held in the state since its inception on November 1, 1966.

The polling was 72.61 per cent in 1967 LS elections, 64.35 per cent in 1971, 73.26 per cent in 1977, 64.76 per cent in 1980, 66.84 per cent in 1984, 64.41 per cent in 1989, 65.84 per cent in 1991, 70.48 per cent in 1996, 68.99 per cent in 1998, 63.68 per cent in 1999 and 65.72 per cent in 2004.

The polling percentage in the state was always higher than the national average except in 1984 when the polling percentage at all-India level was 68.09 per cent against 66.84 per cent in the state.

Another salient feature of heavy polling was that it was mostly a “vote for change” and the results of 1967, 1977, 1996 and 1998 elections were evidence of this fact. Further, the number of candidates in the fray had no bearing on polling percentage as there were only 50 candidates for 10 seats in 1977 and the polling was highest. Even in 1967, the number of contestants was 63 for nine seats and polling was 72.61 per cent while the number of candidates was highest (324) in 1989 and polling was 68.99 per cent.

The increase or decrease in number of voters also defied any set pattern and it increased by 19.83 per cent between 1984 and 1989, 17.30 per cent between 1971 and 1977 and 16.58 per cent between 1977 and 1980.

However, it decreased by 0.59 per cent between 1996 and 1998, 0.43 per cent between 1998 and 1999 and 2.1 per cent between 1999 and 2004. The number of electorate had been reduced from 1,23,20,557 in 2004 to 1,20,63,257 in 2009.

Chandigarh, April 27
As the battle for the Kurukshetra seat intensifies and the campaigning reaches a feverish pitch, Congress nominee Navin Jindal could not have asked for more. Two-time MP Kailasho Saini’s exit from her party, the Indian National Lok Dal, and her joining the Congress could not have come at a more opportune moment for Jindal.

Even though INLD candidate for the seat, Ashok Arora, continues with his aggressive rounds of campaigning undeterred by her departure, Jindal is smiling all the way. As his campaigning gains momentum, with Saini’s support, he is hoping to reach out to the votebank of the Saini community, which was till now seen as pro-INLD.

While Arora dismissed Saini’s departure from the INLD as an “opportunistic move to pander to her own interests”, he went on to add that her joining the Congress had made the workers, too, angry. “The INLD gave her a ticket thrice, she was an MP twice, she accompanied me to file my nominations and now this turnaround. There is no justification except that Saini considered her own interests over and above the party interest,” Arora added.

If the INLD is on the defensive, Saini, too, has tried to justify her break from the INLD. “There was no scope for welfare of the people. I was feeling stifled and the Congress was the obvious choice,” she said.

However, it is another matter that her disillusionment with the INLD “for not sticking to the ideals of Chaudhry Devi Lal” began only when she was denied the party ticket for the Kurukshetra seat.

Sources in her camp said Saini’s exit from the INLD at poll time had sent a “ message” to the rank and file that workers had no say in party matters.They added that while the top brass had manipulated a workers’ meeting to seek a vote for Arora’s candidature from Kurukshetra, the manner of denial of the ticket to Saini had ammounted to her “humiliation”.

Meanwhile, Congress leaders described Saini’s joining as an advantage to their party which would consolidate Jindal’s position in Kurukshetra. Saini has also already announced that soon she would be holding a rally in Kurukshetra where a number of INLD workers would join the Congress. 

Chandigarh, April 27
YS Malik, a Haryana IAS officer of the 1983 batch, has become the first officer of the state to receive the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration for 2007-08. He was conferred the award at Vigyan Bhawan in Delhi by Vice-President Mohammad Hamid Ansari recently.

Malik is currently posted as principal secretary, industries and information technology.

It was during his stint as joint secretary in the Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) that he was instrumental in successfully implementing an e-governance project, MCA-21, as a mission mode project under the NeGP. The project was selected for the award under the team category.

Companies registered under the Companies Act, 1956, are required to file information on an annual basis with the registrar of companies (RoC). In addition, certain corporate actions such as change of registered office, change of name, etc., require approval from the RoC. Over the years, the companies registered under this act have increased from about 30,000 in 1956 to more than 8 lakh in 2007, resulting in tremendous pressure on the office of the RoC.

The process of statutory filings and seeking approvals became extremely inefficient, leading to inordinate delays. The corporate sector lost numerous man-days in filing returns and/or seeking approvals from the RoC. Due to massive paperwork and crisis management, the MCA could not perform its regulatory functions relating to compliance management and enforcement. Further, collection of fees, either in the form of cash or DDs, complicated the situation.

The MCA-21 was conceptualised as a union government initiative to enable the corporate sector to file their returns and obtain approvals from the RoC in a time-bound and transparent manner. The objective of the MCA-21 was to reposition the MCA as a facilitator in enabling the corporate sector to contribute to the achievement of the targeted economic growth of the country.

Efficient and hassle-free implementation of the MCA-21 programme, under the leadership of Malik, attracted the attention of the authorities.

Gurgaon, April 27
Haryana Governor AR Kidwai has exhorted the local business community to evolve new ways and means in coordination with the government authorities for attracting foreign investment in Gurgaon.

Addressing the 29th annual general meeting of the Gurgaon Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) here recently, the Governor pointed out that many US, German and Chinese entrepreneurs were keen on establishing their units in India.

“The GCCI can play a key role in this regard by identifying and contacting such entrepreneurs and convincing them to invest in Gurgaon,” he maintained.

Kidwai said India had to make optimum use of the large scientific and technical manpower available with it, adding that the industrialists could play a crucial role in this regard.

Delivering the presidential address after welcoming the guests and dignitaries, GCCI president Rahul Kacker informed the house that the chamber had completed 29 years and comprised members from 350 companies.

Earlier, delivering the keynote address, PK Jain, founder-president of the GCCI, observed that Gurgaon had witnessed phenomenal growth during the past two decades. He emphasised the need to evolve a mechanism to analyse the impact of economic meltdown in Gurgaon and work out a strategy to combat it. Jain suggested a review of strategy by law-enforcement agencies and implementation of a proper disaster management system in which the roles and duties of all sections of the society were clearly defined.

Gurgaon divisional commissioner DPS Nagal, municipal commissioner Rajeev Sharma, Police Commissioner SS Deswal, deputy commissioner Deepti Umashankar and additional deputy commissioner Praveen Kumar were also present on the occasion.

Kalka, April 27
Three chicks have been added to the family of vultures in the last quarter of 2008 at the Vulture Conservation and Breeding Centre, Pinjore. Besides this, two chicks, which were hatched in 2007, are growing up at the centre.

Informing this, Dr Puja Basu, in charge of the centre, said two incubation machines from the UK had been brought at the centre, which would become functional soon. To operate these machines, special training was being imparted to the staff.

She said the machines would be helpful in maintaining temperature in aviaries.

At present, as many as 120 vultures have been captivated at the centre, which has the unique distinction of being the first of its kind to have initiated a successful captive breeding programme for the endangered white-backed vulture. The programme is being implemented in association with the UK government.

The centre, which is a joint project of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and the state forest department was set up to save three vulture species - white-backed, long-billed and slender-billed - from extinction. A majority of the white-backed and long-billed vultures are housed separately in colony aviaries.

Juvenile birds are spread among small aviaries. All slender-billed are housed in a colony aviary while the Himalyan griffons are housed in display aviaries at the far end of the centre.

It takes 0-5 years to become an adult vulture, which starts breeding between 5 and 8 years. As the vulture is a slow-breeding bird, it lays one egg in a year. The average incubation period is approximately 55 days.