New Delhi, June 16
The Supreme Court today dismissed a petition filed by two officers in Haryana’s Fisheries Department, seeking a directive to the state for relaxing the age limit from 40 to 45 for the post of CEO in the department.

“This is not the job of the court. Under what jurisdiction you expect us to pass orders on the age limit,” a vacation Bench comprising B Sudershan Reddy and Aftab Alam asked. When counsel Shiv Prakash Pandey, appearing for the petitioners, maintained that the department was relaxing the age limit selectively, the Bench said, “If it is happening in Haryana, it is illegal.”

According to the petitioners, Sikander Singh Sangwan and Yashpal, fisheries officers at Charkhi Dadri (Bhiwani district) and Karnal, respectively, they were not eligible to apply for the posts of district-level officer/CEO when such vacancies had arisen in 1994 as they had not completed seven years of service.

In February this year, the department brought out an advertisement for direct recruitment to three such temporary posts, stipulating the age limit between 17 and 40 and restricting the five-year relaxation only to SC/ST/BC candidates. The Punjab and Haryana High Court had earlier rejected their petition on May 1, stating that it could not accept the assertion that the “discretion (on age relaxation) was arbitrarily exercised”.

Kaithal, June 16
Mohinder and Sunita, parents of Reetu, who belong to the Balmiki community in Rajound village in this district, had never thought that the baraat of their daughter would have to return without solemnising the marriage. However, this happened yesterday when preparations were in full swing at Balmiki Basti in Rajound village to receive the baraat, which was to arrive from the nearby Chhattar village.

Ramesh, (24) and Reetu (18) were to tie the nuptial knot. The “shamiana” was erected and sweets and food to be served to the guests were ready. However, the marriage could not be solemnised as a team of officials reached the village on the directions of Deputy Commissioner Amneet P Kumar and stopped the ceremony, claiming that the girl was a minor.

The Deputy Commissioner had reportedly received an anonymous complaint that the bride-to-be was a minor and her parents were marrying her to a 50-year-old man for monetary consideration.

The team, comprising protection officer Sunita, Ramesh Nagpal, programme officer, ICSD, and Pale Ram, in charge of the Rajound police station, reached the venue of the marriage and told the parents of Reetu that the marriage could not be solemnised as the girl was a minor.

The parents pleaded that the girl was a major and urged the team members to allow them to marry her to Ramesh, who was just 24.

The team contacted the baraat, which had already left from Chatter, and advised it not to come to Rajound as the girl was a minor.

The team asked the girl’s parents to produce proof of her age, which could not be produced at the nick of time.

Capt Ram Bhaj (retd), a cousin of the bridegroom, who claimed to have served as ADC to three former Chiefs of Army Staff, and the parents and relatives of the bride and the bridegroom, who were waiting outside the office of the Deputy Commissioner here today, told mediapersons that the administration acted in haste. They claimed that Ramesh was a young boy. They showed the photo ID card issued by the Election Commission, showing his age as 24, as proof.

They said that according to the record at the anganwadi centre in Rajound, the girl’s date of birth was February 6, 1990, and hence was not a minor. However, they could not produce this evidence yesterday.

They said they had suffered a huge financial loss and social stigma due to this episode. They claimed that someone having enmity with them misguided the administration.

The Deputy Commissioner said the administration could not take a chance and acted in good faith. She said if the girl was found to be major, the administration would allow the marriage to be solemnised.

Fatehabad, June 16
Owing to a lackadaisical attitude of the health authorities, the task of sampling food items, particularly milk and milk products, is being seriously hampered throughout the state.

Besides, shortage of government food inspectors (GFIs) is also coming in the way of maintaining the quality of food items sold in the market.

Although some recent measures taken by the government have improved the situation to some extent, it is still far from satisfactory.

Milk, which is daily used by people of all strata of society, is the most neglected item. The health authorities have failed to take any action against the sale of adulterated milk.

In Fatehabad district, according to a conservative estimate, 9 to 10 lakh litres of milk is sold daily by over 600 vendors and milk dairies and 10 chilling centres. The health authorities have taken only 18 samples of milk in the past 12 months, out of which six have been found adulterated.

In the 10 chilling centres of the district, where over 2 lakh litres of milk is received daily, only four samples have been taken in one year, out of which two have been found adulterated thereby indicating that the highest ratio of adulteration in food items exists in milk.

Anuradha Gupta, Financial Commissioner and Principal Secretary, Health, has admitted that is a shortage of GFIs in the state and some of them have charge of two districts, adding that measures have been taken to ensure that sampling work does not suffer.

“We have authorised heads of all primary health centres and community health centres to take samples in their respective areas. Besides, a notification has been issued to vest the powers of the district health officers (DHOs) with the deputy civil surgeons of the district instead of the earlier practice of having one DHO in a district,” Gupta said.

She said the government had directed all GFIs and the authorities in the Health Department at the district-level to intensify sampling of food items with special emphasis on milk and milk products.

Meanwhile, SS Punia, GFI, Fatehabad, said 240 samples of food items, including 18 samples of milk, had been taken in Fatehabad during the past one year and 25 of these had been found adulterated. Six out of 25 adulterated samples were those of milk.

Karnal, June 16
The local Municipal Council will engage workers on contract for two months for opening choked drains and removing garbage.

This was decided at a meeting of the council here today. The civic body also decided to give garbage collection work on contract and renew the contract for the fire brigade service.

The meeting expressed concern over the non-shifting of dairies and the meat market and urged the district administration to take immediate steps to expedite the process of shifting of these shopkeepers to another place.

Members raised the issue of non-release of funds for certain schemes approved by the council and sent for the allocation of funds to the deputy commissioner and made specific reference to a scheme for streetlighting involving an expenditure of Rs 3 lakh.

The council approved development projects worth Rs 2.5 crore which included Rs 1 crore for the maintenance of streetlights and the construction and upgradation of roads.

The civic body further decided to name one road in Model Town after freedom fighter Tikka Ram Sukhan and name the old Kachahri-Hospital road after Bhagwan Parshuram.

In another decision, the council decided to serve notices to vacate unsafe buildings and construct toilets in the Model Town area.

Kaithal, June 16
A man was stabbed by a robber and Rs 5.05 lakh were looted from him near a petrol pump in HUDA colony here today.

The robber fled from the site with the booty in a Maruti Car along with his other accomplices, who were waiting for him in a car. The injured was rushed to the civil hospital here .

Victim Ranbir of Songal village in his statement to the police said that he was robbed off the cash this afternoon when he got down from a bus at the local bus stand and left towards HUDA colony on foot. He was to meet an acquaintance there.

A Maruti car stopped near him and a man came out of the car, pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the stomach and snatched his bag containing the cash. The victim was stabbed again by the robber who pushed him and fled away in the waiting car.

The owners of nearby petrol pump informed the police control room and the victim was rushed to the civil hospital in the police van.

DSP Hari Kailash reached the hospital and took detailed information from the victim about the incident. The victim said that he had brought the cash to purchase a new commercial vehicle.