Gurgaon, June 15
The ambitious Kundali-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway project, aimed at easing traffic in the NCR areas falling in Haryana ahead of the Commonwealth Games, is nowhere near completion though the stipulated time is fast running out.

According to a report of an independent consultant hired to assess the progress of the mega project, less than 15 per cent work had been completed till February 23, 2009, whereas it was scheduled to be completed by July 29 this year.

According to official sources, the figure had just touched 20 per cent till the end of May. Going by this progress rate, coupled with the massive tasks of constructing railway overbridges and grade separators lying ahead, the project is unlikely to serve the aforesaid purpose. The concessionaire has already urged the authorities concerned to extend the deadline.

In the given circumstances, the builders as well as the authorities concerned have started devising ways and means to save their face. As of now, they are thinking of getting the Manesar-Palwal stretch of the expressway completed as part of the face-saving exercise.

A.K.Singla, Executive Engineer co-in charge of the project at the Harayana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSSIDC), confirmed that so far nearly one-fifth of the work on the project had been done and the concessionaire had sought an extension of the deadline.

The 135.65 km-long expressway, starting from the NH-1 near Kundali in Sonepat district, joins it with the NH-10 at Bahadurgarh, the NH-8 near Manesar and the NH-2 near Palwal. The project was awarded to M/s KMP Expressway Ltd, a consortium comprising DSC Ltd, Hyderabad-based Madhucon Projects and UK-based Apollo Enterprises, on a build-operate-transfer basis.

Work on the project began in July, 2006, and was due for completion in three years. However, Madhucon went into litigation seeking a stay over construction, which delayed the project’s take-off. Liquidity crunch owing to the economic slowdown is also stated to be behind the delay.

Chandigarh, June 15
The All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has extended approval to Seth Banarasi Dass Institute of Management and Technology, Kurukshetra, for 2009-10.

The AICTE has allowed the institute to admit 60 students for the MBA (full time) course for the current academic session.

The Haryana Technical Education Department had put the name of this institute on its website yesterday among those institutes which would not be considered for admission for the current academic session for want of extension of their approval by the AICTE.

However, the AICTE extended the approval of Seth Banarasi Dass Institute of Management and Technology, Kurukshetra, vide its letter of June 10.

The department has also dropped the name of this institute from the list of debarred institutes from its website.

The Additional Director of the department had told The Tribune yesterday that the institutes which had been debarred by the department from admitting students for this academic session would be considered for admission the moment they got approval from the AICTE.

Sonepat, June 15
An eight-year-old girl of Rishi Colony here was found murdered near Baba Dham Mandir on the Kami road. Residents of the colony and adjoining localities blocked the road for four hours in protest against the alleged negligence of police personnel at the old city police station in the matter.

However, SDM Arvind Malhan, DSPs Badri Prasad, Amrik Singh and Vikas reached the spot and persuaded the residents to lift the blockade and gave an assurance that action would be taken if any police personnel was found guilty.

The police has also taken into custody a neighbour, Suraj Bhan, and his son Amit for investigation.

According to the complaint lodged by the girl’s father Tez Ram, the girl had come to his shop around 7 pm yesterday but did not return home. After some time, a boy came to the shop and handed over a slip to him on which it was written “ Rs 50,000 de do aur ladki ko le jao” (Give Rs 50,000 and take your girl). The family members of the girl alleged that they went to the police station to lodge a complaint, but no action was taken.

While searching for the girl, the girl’s family knocked at the door of Suraj Bhan but he did not open the door. The body of the girl was found in a nullah near Baba Dham Mandir this morning by some persons and the matter was reported to the police. The police reached the spot and sent the body for a postmortem examination.

Fatehabad, June 15
Mani Ram Godara, former Haryana minister and a veteran Congress leader, died at his Fatehabad residence here today. He was 86. Godara went to sleep last night and was found dead today morning.

A veteran of many electoral battles, Godara contested the elections for the first time in 1956, a bypoll for Fatehabad Assembly, and won it. He was again elected to the state Assembly in 1957 Assembly elections on the Congress ticket. Godara lost to Devi Lal in 1962. He won the 1967 elections from the Badopal Assembly segment and became minister in the Rao Birender Singh government that lasted for 13 days.

Godara was elected to Parliament in 1971 from the Hisar seat. He contested the parliamentary elections again in 1980, but lost to Mani Ram Bagri. A staunch political opponent of Bhajan Lal, Godara revolted against the Congress and contested the 1983 bypoll from Fatehabad and lost narrowly to Bhajan Lal’s candidate Leela Krishan.

A supporter of Bansi Lal during those days, Godora rejoined the Congress and contested the 1987 Assembly elections from Bhattu Kalan but lost to Sampat Singh.

He again lost the 1991 Assembly elections to Sampat Singh, this time as Haryana Vikas Party candidate. He avenged his defeat in 1996 by winning over Sampat Singh and becoming Home Minister in the Bansi Lal’s cabinet.

Godara distanced himself from electoral politics after the fall of the Bansi Lal government and shifted his residence from Hisar to Fatehabad.

Godara was considered a staunch supporter of land tenants and labourers and also stood for their cause in early years of his political career.

Godara faced several personal tragedies during the twilight years of life. His younger son Lok Raj was murdered by his relatives in 1995.

Two years ago, his elder son Prithvi Raj died and then a grandson, Sunil Kabli, died of illness a few months ago.

CHANDIGARH: Haryana Governor AR Kidwai and Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda condoled the death of former Home Minister Mani Ram Godara.

Chandigarh, June 15
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has asked the Haryana Director-General of Police (DGP) to consider the desirability of granting “own rank and pay” (ORP) to assistant sub-inspectors and sub-inspectors facing reversion, during the pendency of the writ petition. Directions have also been issued not to revert them below the rank of head constable.

The directions by the Division Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Augustine George Masih followed an appeal by sub-inspector Roshan Lal and others against order dated May 29 passed by a Single Judge. In it, the interim stay against their reversion had been vacated.

The Bench observed: “What emerges from the record is that the appellants were recruited as constables in 1988 and were thereafter promoted as head constables in the Commando Police Force on ad hoc basis in 1993 for six months. The period was extendable for another six months. “In the meantime, some of them were further promoted to the ranks of assistant sub-inspector and sub-inspectors”.

The Bench took note of the fact that some of the respondents, agitating against their promotions and had also filed petitions, while the state police chief reconsidered the matter and vide order dated May 15 decided to revert the “appellants and some others”.

Aggrieved, the appellants approached the court. Initially, their reversions were stayed on May 25, but the order was modified.

The Bench added: “The ends of justice would be adequately met by directing the official respondents not to revert the appellants below the rank of head constable.”

“We, accordingly, direct that during the pendency of the appellants’ writ petition, none of them be reverted below the rank of head constables. … Counsel for the appellants contends till their writ petition is decided, the appellants may be allowed to retain their rank of ASI/SI though in the pay scale of head constable only.”

“We are of the view that no direction to grant any ORP can be issued to the official respondents. However, we leave it open to the DGP to consider the desirability of granting ORP to the appellants during the pendency of the writ petition, subject to the policy decision, if any, in vogue,” the Bench observed.

Karnal, June 15
Mewa Singh, father of Baljinder Singh, who was brutally stabbed when he was getting down from a train in Australia on May 27, heaved a sigh of relief after he reached Melbourne and met his son.

He along with his son-in-law, Suresh Kumar, and his brother Naresh Kumar took a flight from New Delhi at 11 am yesterday. However, his wife Krishna, who was also granted visa, stayed back.

The Karnal Deputy Commissioner and the SSP had visited the house of Baljinder Singh a few days ago and assured the family of all their help. It took the family about a week to get the air tickets.

His other son Virender said he had a brief telephonic talk with his father and he only informed him that he had reached Melbourne and everything was fine.

Baljinder Singh, who had already completed a course in hotel management, was doing a job in Australia. He was attacked by some miscreants, who inflicted multiple stab injuries on his stomach and he had received 16 stitches. The family was undecided about bringing Baljinder back to India. Mewa Singh would discuss the matter in detail before taking any decision, family sources said.

The situation in Australia is yet to normalise and reports of stray attacks on Indians continue to pour in making them apprehensive about their safety and security.

Fatehabad, June 15
Former Haryana Minister Sampat Singh today said that denying the party ticket to Sushil Indora and Kailasho Saini from the Sirsa and Kurukshetra parliamentary seats, respectively, cost the INLD dearly during the recently concluded elections.

Talking to mediapersons the INLD leader said whatever the party leadership might have thought while denying nomination to these two leaders, the decisions proved to be blunders and voters of their communities went against the party throughout the state.

Sampat Singh said though the party had fielded Ashok Arora from Kurukshetra to give representation to the Punjabi community, it proved fatal for the party as voters of the Saini community went against the party.

Similarly, denying the party ticket to Indora annoyed Schedule Castes “A” category voters of the party, who were earlier supporters of the INLD.

Asked about his, now famous, 65 reasons for the INLD’s defeat, Sampat Singh said it was an intra-party matter and could not be discussed with the media.

He maintained that the party leadership had asked all its candidates, district presidents and constituency in charges to send their report to the party after talking to grassroots workers.

He said whatever had been submitted by him to the party leadership was an abstract of the sentiments of party workers and nothing had been added or deleted from his side.

The former Minister, whose traditional Bhattu Kalan assembly constituency has been abolished after delimitation, said he would contest the coming assembly elections from Fatehabad.

He said he had won the Fatehabad seat once in the 1998 bypoll and many Bhattu Kalan villages had now been merged in this assembly segment.

Sirsa, June 15
A team of the Drug Control Department today raided several chemist shops in Kalanwali, Rori and Dabwali towns of the district and recovered a huge quantity of intoxicants from there.

The team has sealed 10 premises and taken into custody huge quantities of intoxicants and addiction drugs, besides taking samples from these establishments.

GL Singhal, Assistant State Drugs Controller, Haryana, along with the team arrived in Sirsa this morning and raided chemist shops in Dabwali, Kalanwali and Rori towns simultaneously by constituting three teams.

“Six shops were running in the town without any valid drugs licenses at Kalanwali, as their licenses had earlier been cancelled due to irregularities. We have sealed those shops,” Singhal said, when contacted by The Tribune.

He said the authorities had also sealed two chemist shops and their godowns in Rori town and added that as many as 10 premises had been sealed today.

The shops that have been sealed by the authorities are Shivam Medicos, Shri Ram Medicos, Ashoka Medical Hall, Ankur Medical Hall, Mandeep Medical Hall and Jot Medicos at Kalanwali town; R K Medicos and R Agarwal Medicos and godowns of both these shops at Rori town.

Faridabad, June 15
A final year BTech student of CITM, affiliated to Manav Rachana group,was allegedly shot dead by his neighbour Subash Chand, following an altercation over switching on an electric motor used to pump drinking water in Sector 7(B), here late in the afternoon.

Victim Sunil Kumar succumbed to the single-gun shot on his chest and was declared brought dead by Badshah Khan Hospital.

The deceased, a native of Hanumangarh district in Rajasthan, was residing in the room along with his friend Ajay Soni.