Rohtak, July 9
The Directorate of School Education, Haryana, has issued a fresh order regarding the hike in fee by recognised and unaided private schools in the state. It has asked the schools to limit the hike in the tuition fee to 20 per cent for the academic session 2009-10 and has directed these to submit a detailed justification for the increase in the fee to the authorities concerned.

The Commissioner and Director-General of the Directorate of School Education, in a letter dated July 6, has stated that “if a recognised school has enhanced the salary of the staff in the wake of the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations, it may first explore all possibilities of utilising the existing reserves to meet the shortfall, if any, and in case the shortfall cannot be met, the school can increase the tuition fee. However, the tuition fee to be charged from the students shall not be increased beyond 20 per cent of the last year’s fee under any circumstances”.

However, a section of the parents is apprehensive about the success of the order “due to the lack of certain clarifications”. A parent said a majority of the private schools had already hiked the school fee on the pretext of paying the new scales to the staff.

Meanwhile, OP Sharma of the Haryana Abhibhawak Ekta Manch, a body of the parents, has welcomed the order.

Hisar, July 9
Acting Deputy Commissioner Mandeep Singh Brar has devised a scheme to enroll in government schools all those children of the district who are currently not attending any school.

Talking to The Tribune here today, he said he had asked the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan staff to conduct a survey to identify such children especially those living in labour colonies. The survey revealed that there were over 1,000 such children in the district who were not enrolled in any school.

Brar said after consultations with experts it had been decided to launch “Mission School Chalo” in collaboration with Vaanprastha Sanstha - a local group of retired educationists, Hisar Education Forum and the JSL Foundation - a social service organisation floated by the Jindal industrial conglomerate.

Under the project, the children would first attend remedial classes for three months during which experts would assess which class they would be enrolled in depending on their age and previous schooling. At the end of three months, they would be enrolled in different government schools.

He said he had identified various government schools in the vicinity of labour colonies so that these children go to a school nearest to their homes. All these children would get the midday meals in addition to all books and stationery. They would periodically medically examined and treated for any problems they might have.

Brar said members of the Vaanprastha Sanstha and Hisar Education Forum would hold special camps to retrain themselves for remedial classes which would continue beyond the stipulated three months to ensure that these children did not lag behind their classmates. The JSL Foundation would provide services of experts for implementing the project.

The special feature of the project was that it would be implemented using the funds from within the existing system. All scholarships and other facilities available to students of different categories would be made available to these children. He said the project would also help improve quality of education in government schools as several leading experts would be associated with the project.

Brar said the project aimed at enrolling all children in the age group of six to 14 years in government schools by the end of August. If the project succeeded, it was likely to be extended to the entire state.

He said orders had been given to check prevalence of child labour in the district and all violations of the law would be dealt with sternly.

Chandigarh, July 9
A fiery orator, Krishan Pal Gurjar is the BJP’s new face in Haryana. The party high command finally put the stamp on his name for the post of party president keeping in mind the political arithmetic. His appointment comes at a time when parties are gearing up for the Assembly elections, slated for next year.

Sources said the 52-year-old leader was the obvious choice since the party was aiming to target the non-Jats while also wooing the Backward Classes (Gurjar belongs to the OBC category). The party was said to be keen on giving a pro-INLD leadership in the state for the smooth functioning of the BJP-INLD alliance, forged during the recent Lok Sabha elections.

Considered a confidant of senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj, Gurjar began his career in politics with the INLD. Later, in 1991, he joined the BJP and went on to become the Transport Minister in the Bansi Lal-led Haryana Vikas Party-BJP government in 1996.

In 2000, he was again elected from Mewla Maharajapur in Faridabad at a time when the BJP-INLD came together in an alliance. During this tenure of the BJP-INLD government in the state, Gurjar emerged as the fiercest critic of the then Chief Minister, Om Prakash Chautala, even earning the latter’s wrath in the form of Vigilance cases being made out against him.

However, subsequently, he was “won over” by Chautala and the relations between the two leaders became cordial.

Just before the recent Lok Sabha elections, when Sushma Swaraj was pushing for an alliance with the BJP despite resistance from the state unit, Gurjar, too, came out in support of the alliance wholeheartedly along with a handful of other leaders, cementing his relationship with the Chautala clan further.

The sources said he had been chosen to head the party for the simple reason that he was a non-Jat while belonging to the OBC category. “Since we have an ally in the INLD, which is Jat-centric, the party wanted a president who could make a dent in the HJC-BSP vote bank which was projecting the non-Jat card. His being a Gujjar, too, sends out the right signal since the party wants to move ahead instead of limiting itself to Brahmins and the trading community,” a senior leader said.

Atam Prakash Manchanda had resigned from the post of party president last week on account of mounting pressure to accept responsibility for the poor performance of the BJP in the Lok Sabha poll.

Bhiwani, July 9
The drivers of two trucks were killed when the vehicles caught fire after a collision on the Hansi-Hisar road, about 30 km from here, today.

The mishap took place when a tyre of one of the trucks burst and the driver lost control over the vehicle and it collided with another truck loaded with domestic gas cylinders. Both drivers lost their lives in the fire that broke out after the collision. Fire engines were rushed to the spot to battle the flames.

The truck loaded with gas cylinders was on the way to Bhiwani when it collided with the other truck loaded with wooden waste. As the trucks collided, the wooden waste caught fire and soon it engulfed the gas cylinders, resulting in blasts.

The blasts were so strong that pieces of cylinders were found around 1 km away in nearby fields. Several trees also reportedly caught fire.

DSP Sunehra Singh said besides the drivers, two more persons were also travelling by the trucks and the police was trying to locate them.

Kaithal, July 9
A team of the state crime branch from Sonepat and local health officials raided a local unit, Chaudhry Dairy, at Dogran Gate here yesterday and took samples of various items, including ghee, cream and cheese.

A number of articles meant for use in preparing “spurious items” were reportedly seized from the spot.

ASI Jaswant Singh told mediapersons that they had received a tip-off that the unit was preparing a number of spurious items, including desi ghee, paneer and cream.

According to reports, no case has been registered against this firm and action will be taken after the receipt of the laboratory reports.

It also came to light that the goods prepared here were being supplied in Kaithal and various other towns of the state.

Meanwhile, according to reports, some halwais in various parts of the district are using poor quality and spurious khoya in preparing sweets. The khoya is largely being procured from UP and Rajasthan.

SIRSA: In the wake of recovery of fake ghee from a dhani in Nagrana village here on Tuesday, the health authorities have launched a drive against adulterators.

Government Food Inspector (GFI) Subhash Chander took three samples of ghee from Mallekan village on Thursday. Two samples were taken from shopkeepers, while the third one was lifted from a dairy owner of the village.

Later, the GFI took sample of a soft drink from a shop and samples of common salt, tea, toffees and dal from the local store of Vishal Megamart.

Earlier, the health authorities took samples of milk from two milk collection-cum-chilling centres of the town yesterday, said Chander.

Rohtak, July 9
Delayed rains, rising temperatures and power and water shortage have made life miserable for residents here.

While both urban and rural residents have been battling with the problem of long and frequent power cuts, the water supply has also shrinked during the past few days.

The authorities’ decision to ban the use of air conditioners in government offices has also failed to take off due to intense heat and humidity.

The gap between demand and supply has gone up sharply.

“Unannounced power cuts during day and night have become common,” claimed Surender Singh of the Old Housing Board Colony here. He said even when there was power, the voltage was low.

Besides, tripping was routine as there with many households having a single-phase power supply.

The short spell of rain last week only added to the humidity levels, he lamented.

The water supply has also got affected adversely in many residential areas of the city, said sources in the Public Health and Irrigation Department.

The water level in village ponds and water reservoirs in rural areas had also gone down in the past one month, they added.

Faridabad, July 9
Residents of Dayalpur village, 25 km from here, today blocked the Ballabgarh-Mohana road in protest against the death of a lineman, who was allegedly electrocuted due to the negligence of the Electricity Department.

The incident took place when the deceased, a native of Dayalpur village, was repairing a transformer in Tigaon village last Tuesday after obtaining a permit from the Electricity Department. The department released the electricity while he was repairing the transformer, following which he was electrocuted.

He received serious injuries and was referred to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi. He succumbed to his injuries here today.

The villagers blocked the traffic by keeping the body on the road. They also pelted some vehicles with stones. The blockade was lifted after about three hours.

They relented after senior officials of the district administration assured them of justice and action against the guilty personnel, who showed negligence while performing their duties. The authorities also assured the residents of a job to the next of the kin of the deceased.

Kurukshetra, July 9
Inaugurating Housing Board Colony in Sector 8 here today, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said the Haryana Housing Board was the first board in the country that had provided 33 per cent reservation to women with a view to empowering them. Besides, the board has also provided reservation in the allotment of houses first time to an extent of 1.5 per cent to accredited mediapersons.

Hooda directed the housing board authorities that maximum number of low-cost houses should be constructed for people belonging to economically weaker sections of society and cross subsidy should be given them.

Hooda said the Haryana government would construct 36,000 houses in the state during the next two years. As many as 63,171 houses had been constructed under various categories since the inception of the Haryana Housing Board.

He said with a view to providing house facilities to poor sections of society, the board would construct 2,772 houses at a cost of Rs 320 crore in Panchkula, Kurukshetra, Bhiwani, Sonepat, Bahadurgarh, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Dharuhera and Madlauda. He said 1,154 out of 2,772 dwelling units were being constructed for economically weaker sections and lower income group and 1,618 units were meant for other categories.

Later, the Chief Minister also inaugurated the Multi Art and Cultural Centre constructed at a cost of Rs 3.50 crore on university campus here today.

Addressing a press conference here, Hooda said Kurukshetra would be developed and brought on the international tourist map. Besides, efforts would be made to make it a cultural capital of the state so that the cultural heritage of the state could be protected.

He also laid the foundation stone of the second phase of the Multi Art and Cultural Centre to be constructed at a cost of Rs 2.50 crore.

He said the cultural centre would be developed as nursery for budding artistes of the state. Free of cost training would be imparted in song, music, dance and folk arts.

The commissioner and director of the Information and Public Relations Department, Dr KK Khandelwal, urged the Chief Minister to give five acres for the extension of the cultural centre as this land belongs to the Kurukshetra Development Board. The land would be used for the construction of the hostel for artistes and other extracurricular activities. He said the centre would be developed as a hub of cultural activities that would provide ample opportunities to the youth of the state.

Kurukshetra, July 9
Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said today that the Congress would sweep the Vidhan Sabha elections like it won the Lok Sabha elections.

He said this after inaugurating “Tirath Purohit Sadan” constructed by the Kurukshetra Development Board (KDB) at a cost of Rs 40 lakh.

Hooda said the Vidhan Sabha elections were due in February 2010 and the elections would be held accordingly. Referring to the delayed monsoon, he said eight hours of power supply had been ensured for the power sector. He said a sum of Rs 16 crore had been incurred for renovation and development of various holy places in the vicinity of the KDB so that maximum facilities could be provided to tourists.

KDB member secretary and secretary to Governor Alok Nigam apprised the Chief Minister that a sum of Rs 16.30 crore had been earmarked to develop Panipat-Kurukshetra-Pinjore integrated tourist circle. President of the Tirath Purohit Sadan Jai Narayan Sharma welcomed the Chief Minister by presenting him a memento and a shawl. Earlier, the Chief Minister inaugurated the Industrial Training and Vocational Education Institute at Umari near here.

Kaithal, July 9
The Additional Disitrict and Sessions Judge here has sentenced a local resident, Mahavir, to life imprisonment and fined him Rs 5,000 after holding him guilty of a murder that took place in 2007.

According to the prosecution, the city police received a telephonic message that a body was lying in the house of Mahavir of Budh Kund Colony. The body could not be identified and it was later sent to the PGI, Rohtak, for a postmortem . Later, Bahdur Chand, brother of the deceased, Sohan Lal, identified the victim on the basis of his clothes. During police investigation, it came to light that Sohan Lal was last seen with Mahavir. The police arrested Mahavir and during interrogation he confessed to killing Sohan, alais Sonu, with an axe.

He told the police that both of them had consumed liquor and following an altercation he killed Sohan.

In another case, Shori, ADJ, sentenced Satish and Rishi Pal of Fariyabad village to one-year imprisonment after holding them guilty of planning to commit a dacoity. Seven others in the case were acquitted by giving them the benefit of the doubt.

Sonepat, July 9
The police today claimed that Neeta of Ram Nagar village under the Murthal police station was allegedly involved in the murder of her husband, Krishan, that took place in the last week of May.

She had hatched a conspiracy to murder him with the help of two others - Ajit and Jaswant - also of Ram Nagar. She was produced in the court today, which remanded her in police custody. The police is yet to arrest the two others.

According to SSP Sandeep Khirwar, Chandro of Ram Nagar lodged a complaint with the police that his son, Krishan, who was married to Neeta of Jorashi village in Panipat district, was missing since May 24. Later, his body was found in the Hasanpur water channel. Police investigations revealed that Neeta was not having cordial relations with her husband and her in-laws.

During interrogation, Neeta reportedly confessed to her involvement in the murder.