Chandigarh, July 10
It’s been a bad crop season for Haryana farmers so far. An elusive monsoon is playing havoc with paddy transplantation while rain deficiency this kharif season is threatening to take a toll on the overall yield.

With about 40 per cent paddy transplantation remaining in the state so far, it is going to be an anxious next week for the farmers as they await the rains, water in the canals and power to run their tubewells for their parched fields.

As the granary of the country waits for the skies to open up and bring the much-needed rains before a crisis takes shape, not only paddy growers but also farmers cultivating pulses, bajra, cotton and sugarcane are a worried lot.

Sources in the Department of Agriculture said that bajra was usually the first casualty of deficit rainfall. The most vulnerable crop, it not only needs rain while sowing but the plant, too, withers away in no time if the rains fail.

Though paddy and cotton are the two main crops of the kharif season, pulses, especially arhar production, is likely to nosedive in the event of a few more dry days. Sugarcane, too, is suffering due to moisture stress and the production is likely to take a dip if the rains fail. Paddy transplantation, though, is the worst hit by poor rainfall in the state.

“Unlike bajra, where sowing can take place as and when it rains, we need to prepare for paddy transplantation in advance since a nursery has to be grown. The limitation with paddy is that the nursery should not have been planted for more than 40 days before transplantation is carried out. The delay in the monsoon is likely to create a shortage of nurseries in the state,” sources said.

In the rain-fed Jind belt, Harpal Sanghwan, a farmer from Jind, says, “It’s almost a calamity for us; it is virtually next to being in a drought-like situation. Every dry day means a direct loss at this time for every farmer. We get a staggered eight-hour power supply after 28 hours, which seems insufficient at this crucial time when only 40 per cent of the transplantation has been carried out.”

With 11 acres in Jullana, Kali Ram says he has carried out only 35 per cent transplantation in his fields. “The high temperature and the lack of rain at this time are bound to impact the yield though we still have a few days to go for the late-sowing varieties of paddy. We are in dire straits for want of water and the damage has already been done.” For those cultivating basmati rice, all is not lost yet since the farmers can afford to wait for a few more days.

In Sirsa, the cotton crop is waiting for its share of water to grow and bloom. Contrary to that, there’s hardly been any rain when the crop needs protective irrigation. Cotton producer from Kussar village Bhagwan Das explains that the canal water is just not enough to cater to the requirement and tubewells in his area are running on diesel, adding to the cost. “If the plant does not get water now, it is unlikely to grow well. We urgently need the rains,” he emphasises.

With 45 per cent deficient rainfall this season, the farmers can only pray that they will reap what they sow.

Rohtak, July 10
As many as 16 cases of alleged impersonation were detected at the time of counselling of the Pre-Medical Test (PMT) at the PGIMS, Rohtak.

The institution, which has been upgraded as an independent university, offers as many as 260 seats in MBBS and BDS courses. About 50 seats belong to Agroha Medical College in Hisar.

A case has been registered against 12 suspects, who have also been arrested. The authorities have sent the fingerprints of the suspected candidates for test at Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in Karnal.

It was the first time that the authorities of the health varsity here, who had been asked to conduct the entrance test, had adopted various measures to check the possibility of cheating and fraud in the examination.

The officials concerned had not only acquired the thumb impressions and signatures of all candidates appearing in the exam, but had also videographed the whole process to make it a foolproof exercise, claimed Dr CS Dhull, director of the PGIMS, who had been on the exam panel board.

He said as there were chances of such an activity, the candidates, who had reported for the counselling yesterday and today, were clearly told ahead of the interview that the thumb impressions and signatures of each of the candidate would be examined by a team of the FSL and if any discrepancy was found, the accused would be handed over to the police with a case against him or her.

He said during counselling for general category yesterday, the authorities found that the thumb impression of as many as 12 candidates did not match with those who appeared in the written exam. Four candidates from the reserve category were included in the list today.

The details in this regard had been sent to the FSL for examination and the final report in this regard was likely to come in next 5-6 days, he said.

It was also revealed that some of the candidates had allegedly tried to distort the thumb impression for which the officials had decided to seek the help of handwriting experts to match the signatures. He said the seats would go for the candidates in the waiting list in the next counselling if impersonation by the suspected candidates was proved.

The authorities had booked around seven candidates in the written exam held in June last.

Chandigarh, July 10
Come August 1 and Faridabad will have a police commissionerate in place. The improvement over the Gurgaon model is that the Commissioner of Police will have all magisterial powers except under Section 144 Cr PC. These include powers under Sections 107 and 151 of the CrPC along with licensing powers under the Arms Act. These powers will now also be extended to the Commissioner of Police, Gurgaon.

Sources said given the positive feedback of implementing the commissionerate system in Gurgaon, it was decided that Faridabad, too, should be brought within the ambit. However, the allocation of magisterial powers to the Commissioner of Police was being debated and was kept pending even when the Gurgaon commissionerate came up. Finally, the Chief Minister is learnt to have given the go-ahead for the same.

With the implementation of the commissionerate system in Faridabad, an IG will take over as the Police Commissioner. He will have powers under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). These include the issuing of arms and driving licences, crowd management, regulation of migrant labour and parking, among others. These powers are at present vested in the Deputy Commissioner of the district. However, the DC will retain the power under Section 144, CrPc, which prohibits the gathering of five or more persons.

Further, with the introduction of the commissionerate, one joint commissioner of police of the rank of DIG and three deputy commissioners of police of the rank of SP will be made available to the district.

Sources said PK Aggarwal, recently posted as IG, Faridabad Range, in the reshuffle effected over a fortnight ago, is likely to take over as first Commissioner of Police in Faridabad. Also, with the commissionerate in place in Faridabad, a new range will have to be created to cater to the remaining districts that make up the Faridabad Range. Sources said this new range is likely to have its headquarters in Rewari.

The commissionerate system was first introduced in Gurgaon in 2007 on an experimental basis.

Faridabad, July 10
Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today assured journalists of sympathetically considering their demands, including medical insurance and collective accident insurance schemes.

Speaking at the annual function of the Haryana Patrakar Sangh, Hooda expressed concern over the “negative developments” in the media during the recent parliamentary elections.

Hooda agreed with other speakers (journalists), who alleged that some newspapers and channels sold space to politicians and parties for the coverage of their programmes.

This was a negative development and needed to be discussed in the public domain and if the practice was not stopped, the media would lose credibility.

This would mean that only those having money would find space in the media. This was dangerous for a democracy, he added.

Responding to the demands made by the Haryana Patrakar Sangh, Hooda said he would sympathetically consider these after seeking the views of other associations of journalists. The demands, besides medical insurance and collective accident insurance schemes, include residential plots under co-operative group housing in Haryana Urban Development Authority sectors as was provided to lawyers.

Among others, Editor of Dainik Tribune Naresh Kaushal and president of the Haryana Patrakar Sangh KB Pandit spoke on the occasion.

Later, in a separate programme, Hooda laid the foundation stone of a kisan bhawan near DAV Public School.

Gurgaon, July 10
In a novel initiative aimed at ensuring community participation and transparency in development, the local municipal authorities have decided to form committees of local residents to supervise the execution of development works in their areas. Not only this, the contractors engaged by the Municipal Corporation will get their payments only after all residents on the committee are satisfied with their performance.

Addressing a news conference here today, municipal commissioner RK Khullar disclosed that such citizen supervisory committees comprising residents of a given area would monitor the progress of development projects in their areas.

“Instead of inviting tenders for development works in the municipal areas of Gurgaon, we are now inviting tender-cum-community participation applications,” Khullar said, adding that any resident interested in being involved in the execution of development works in his/her area could approach the Municipal Corporation.

The commissioner asserted that the work order would be issued to the contractor in presence of the citizen supervisory committee of that area. He advised the people to read the tender-cum-community participation notices of the corporation carefully and come forward to become a member of supervisory committee.

Each such committee would have five members, though the number can be increased if considered appropriate.

However, if a large number of persons apply to be on the committee, the members would be selected through a draw of lots. In response to a query, Khullar maintained that priority would be given to technically qualified residents of the area.

Yamunanagar, July 10
The manager of the Shivalik hotel was allegedly murdered by seven youths at Tajewla here today.

The deceased identified as Sarafat Ali (36) was allegedly beaten up and hit with sharp-edged weapons by the youths when he refused to provide them a room for stay.

The police has registered a case under Section 302 of the IPC against the seven youths.

Police sources said the youths, who came in a car, reportedly misbehaved with the manager and asked him to provide them a room for stay. The situation aggravated when the manager declined to their demand, following which the youths beat up the manager. The manager, who has sustained serious injuries, was later taken to a private hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.

As the youths were carrying sharp-edged weapon when they reached the hotel, the police has raised the suspicion of old rivalry with the manager. The police has rounded up two youths in connection with the murder and further investigations were on.