Hisar, July 13
Guardians of school students have demanded immediate withdrawal of the hike in fees by private recognised schools in Haryana alleging that the fees had been raised from this session between 25 to 165 per cent in violation of norms prescribed by the state government.

Speaking at a convention of guardians held here on Sunday, Subhash Lamba, patron of the Haryana Abhibhavak Ekta Manch, said most private schools were owned by MPs, ministers, legislators or their kin. As such they were flouting all norms.

He said the owners on an average earned Rs 40 lakh per school in a year as they charged exorbitant fees. As per the government regulations, these schools could charge seven types of fee from students. However, most schools were collecting 16 different types of monthly charges from their students. As against this, teachers were being paid extremely low salaries.

Lamba revealed that as per rules framed by the government every recognised school had to fulfil 36 conditions. Under these rules the school could not raise fee without approval of the duly elected guardians association of the school. Besides, fee could not be hiked unless the school submitted its balance sheet under Form VI to the government.

He said the government under pressure from the guardians had asked the schools management to submit these forms by July 21. Therefore, any hike in fee before submitting these forms was illegal.

President of the Hisar Abhibhavak Manch Mahavir Narwal said he had collected data from various private schools that revealed that this year the hike in fee varied between 25 to 165 per cent. He said many schools were charging an average of Rs one lakh per annum per child for pre-nursery classes.

He underlined the need for brining about complete transparency in the financial position of these schools saying in the absence of the governmental control over these schools, a lot of bungling was taking place.

The convention passed several resolutions. One resolution demanded that the schools be directed to charge fee and fix salaries of teachers as prescribed by the CBSE. Another resolution sought constitution of guardians’ associations in all recognised schools.

The convention also asked the government to open at least two more primary and one middle school in every ward of all cities. While seeking more secondary schools in cities, the convention also asked the government to improve quality of education in schools to put an end to commercialisation and privatisation of education in the state.

Kurukshetra, July 13
The second orientation course of the financial year (2009-10) of Academic Staff College (ASC) of Kurukshetra University was inaugurated by eminent historian and registrar Prof Raghuvendra Tanwar recently.

While speaking on the occasion, Prof Tanwar emphasised that teachers must be committed to the teaching, which should be worshipped by the teachers. The teachers should create confidence among the students. He also explained that how only a teacher could build the national character and academic atmosphere.

ASC director Dr AS Kaang said the main thrust area of the course would be related to the science literature, social sciences and arts. The UGC- sponsored ASC had created a new area for the teachers of the national level, he added.

Course coordinator Dr Sucheta apprised that 26 teachers from various disciplines drawn from Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh were attending the course, which would provide the basic insights for the promotion of academic excellence.

In the first academic session, Prof PJ Philip from the National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra, spoke on the ‘Intellectual Property Right’ and its relevance and significance for the teachers and scholars. It was a highly motivating and an interactive session with lots of ideas being discussed.

While conducting the second session, Prof VK Agarwal, Department of Law, KU, enlightened the delegates on the ‘Need and Provisions of RTI, 2005’ and its historical background. He also discussed the challenges being faced due to the interpretation and scope of the laws enacted.

The afternoon session was devoted to ‘Writing of Book Reviews’ conducted by Dr Jayanti Dutta from ASC, Punjab University, Chandigarh. It was a practical session. The group work was creative and the delegates learnt the intricacies of writing book reviews. She also spoke on the topic of ‘Fine Tuning of Personality’, where she focused on developing the sensitivity of the learners by assigning creative work.

On the third day of the course, Dr CR Darolia, Professor of psychology, enlightened the participants on the topic ‘Monitor your Type A behaviour’, a serious health related topic which often skips from our notice and there is a direct linkage between behaviour and health. He stressed the relevance of this topic for the teachers as they lead a sedentary life style with learners from diverse backgrounds and have a lot of stress to deal with.

The second session was devoted by Dr Sucheta to mastering the intricacies of the basic computer skills necessary for teaching at ASC Computer Centre ‘Each one Teach one’. The participants spent time at the college library and were issued the books for review writing.

In the third session, Prof SL Sharma, former director, Institute of Correctional Studies, Chandigarh, spoke on ‘Information revolution and Socio-cultural transformation”, where he threw light on the path-breaking three revolutions i.e. agricultural revolution, industrial revolution and information revolution, which have changed the very structure of the human society.

He further said apart from the formation of traditional society many new technological societies were being formed i.e. facebook, myspace, orkut etc.

Fatehabad, July 13
The local Manohar Memorial Group of Educational Institutions celebrated the 40th anniversary of Manohar Memorial College here recently. Set up 40 years ago in memory of Manohar Batra, son of local philanthropist Khem Raj Batra, who died young in an accident, the college is now a group of educational institutions.

Dev Raj Batra, president of the Manohar Memorial Education Society, said the society members had been pooling in their efforts cutting across political and caste barriers ever since the institution came into being.

He said the society aimed to provide the best of educational facilities to the children of the area. Several present and former students of the college enthralled the audience with their soulful musical performances.

Jhajjar, July 13
The Directorate of Distance Education (DDE) of Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU) has decided to provide study material of all its courses on its website by the end of this month with an aim to redressing the grievances of the students regarding the availability of study material in time.

Now, students enrolled in various distance courses run by the DDE all over India need not wait and depend upon their study centres for study material. They just have to log onto the DDE’s website for downloading the study material of their subjects.

An agreement with a Delhi-based company, NYSA Communications, has recently been clinched by the DDE authorities in this regard to put into practice the decision at the earliest. The DDE would allot a code number to all students enrolled to enable them to download the study material.

The DDE has established more than 600 study centres all over the country. Representatives of these study centres are required to visit the university to get the study material of various courses. Study material of most of the courses is published at the university press. Thus, the study centres have to depend upon the functioning of the university press.

Sources says the university press always get late in its printing work owing to the quantum of the job due to a large number of students. Thereafter, the representatives of the study centres visit the university press to lift the study materials to take it to their study centres.

A significant time is lapsed in the process, which creates tension among students residing in distant states like Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand and Assam, as they have no other option but to wait.

Talking to The Tribune, Prof Narender Garg, director of the DDE, said if the study material was available on the website, students could prepare for the examination without wasting time. “Initially, those courses will be covered in which a large number of students have been enrolled,” Prof Garg informed, adding that the decision would be executed from coming semester.

Sonepat, July 13
The Central government’s decision to open an Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) near Kilorad village in Sonepat will make the district an educational hub of international standards.

The process began in November,2007. After receiving information that the Centre planned to open an IIIT in Haryana, the district administration as well as prominent citizens took the initiative and with their efforts, the panchayat of Kilorad offered to donate the land required for setting up the institute.

A proposal was prepared by the district administration to donate 128 acre and it was sent to the state government for examining the feasibility of the project. On the direction of the Chief Minister, a team of senior revenue officers from Chandigarh visited the site for an on- the- spot inspection of the land. The panchayats of Kilorad and Hullaheri also offered to donate up to 200 acre for the project.

The site is about 7 km from Sonepat town and is adjacent to the Delhi branch of the West Yamuna canal. There will not be any problem of drinking water supply on the campus of the institute.

Jind, July 13
There is an alarming increase in the number of murder cases in this sleepy district of Haryana. The figure has already touched 36 in the first six months (till June 30), an unprecedented rise against 33 murders in 2008.

The latest incident took place on June 28, when a 21-year-old man went missing from his house. A resident of the Loharan Ghati locality here, the victim, identified as Vishal, had gone to one of his friends’ house in Kumharan Mohalla to get the money back which he had lent to the latter a year ago. According to police sources, Vishal was assaulted allegedly with sharp-edged weapons by his friend, identified as Munish, and his kin after a verbal dual on the issue.

The body wrapped in polythene bag was found near a railway track here. The police has, however, claimed that Munish and two others, including his brother, has been arrested. The incident had led to protests by the kin of the deceased that pressurised the police to step up investigation.

According to the police, there has been a sharp rise in number of murder cases this year with several murders taking place on petty issues.

In one such case, a youth, identified as Satish, a resident of Ramraikhera, was hacked to death by some unknown persons while he was asleep. In another incident, Vedpal, a resident of Ludhana village, was shot dead by two persons who had an enmity with him. In yet another case, Manoj, a local trader, was murdered in his house on June 30.

Though the police claims to have solved a majority of the cases, it says murders based on personal enmity are not a part of organised crime and it is difficult to stop or keep a check on such incidents. The police also reveals that smuggling of illicit weapons, which are normally manufactured in the neighbouring state of Uttar Pradesh, has been a cause of concern.

“The police should launch an intensive campaign to check such activities and take a stern action against the culprits involved in this work,” says RS Punia, a social activist. He says the authorities ought to break the alleged nexus between the police and the criminals, especially in the matter of smuggling of illicit liquor and drugs. The increasing involvement of youths in drugs is a cause of concern and a reason for the rising crime graph in the region, he claims.

Gurgaon, July 13
The eco-unfriendly practice of garbage-burning has been wreaking havoc with the atmosphere in the entire region for long. At times, the authorities concerned do take steps to curb the menace, but the violators continue to defy orders with impunity.

In a pioneering effort aimed at effectively putting an end to the practice, the new Gurgaon Municipal Commissioner, R.K.Khullar, has ordered strict measures, including imposition of fine and even termination of services of the MC employees if they fail to mend their ways.

"If an MC employee was found burning garbage, he/she would be issued a warning for the first time, chargesheeted the second time and dismissed from service without any inquiry in the third instance," Khullar said at a recent meeting.

Asserting that no lackadaisical approach would be tolerated regarding the sensitive issue, Khullar strictly warned the MC employees and others who have been polluting the city environs by burning garbage.

The Commissioner also urged the local residents to click a picture with their cameras or mobile phones whenever they came across anybody burning garbage and send it to the MC office. Strict action would follow against the violators, he asserted.

Terming the practice of garbage-burning as a "rape of the environment", Khullar said if a non-government person was found involved, a fine of Rs 500 would be imposed on him/her at the first instance, Rs 1,000 on the second time, followed by strict action in the event of subsequent violation.

The Commissioner also warned the local traders and other residents against encroaching on public space. He categorically told them to remove the encroachments themselves or be ready to face the music.

In another novel initiative, Khullar asked the owners of under-construction buildings to put a laminated copy of the approved building plan at the construction site so that the officials concerned could perform their duties in this regard efficiently.

It may be pertinent to mention here that an informal anti-encroachment drive launched by the Municipal Commissioner in Sadar Bazar and other congested markets has begun to show results, much to the relief of local residents. 

Chandigarh, July 13
The Haryana Public Health and Engineering Department has prepared a plan to augment the drinking water supply in 950 villages.

For this and other development works in the state, the department has earmarked Rs 825 crore. According to official sources, the department will also implement a project to provide 100 per cent water supply and sewerage facilities in 15 towns under the economic stimulus package of Rs 200 crore during the current financial year.

The towns in which the package will be implemented are Ambala City, Sirsa, Fatehabad, Tohana, Hansi, Bhiwani, Dadri, Mahendergarh, Julana, Narnaul, Kalayat, Uchana, Saffidon, Narwana and Karnal. Already a consultant has been appointed and detailed project reports are being prepared.

The department is hopeful that water treatment plants, which are to be put up by the Nandi Foundation to cover 100 villages in Jhajjar, Kaithal, Mewat and Mahendergarh districts, will be commissioned by the end of the next month.

Drinking water and sewerage projects worth about Rs 200 crore will be completed by February next, before the Commonwealth Games, in Rewari, Ganaur, Bahadurgarh, Bawal, Beri, Kalanaur, Kharkhoda, Meham, Sampla and Kosli towns of the National Capital Region (NCR). Already such projects worth about Rs 188 crore are being implemented in Hodal, Sohna, Palwal, Rewari, Rohtak, Panipat, Gohana and Samalkha.

The department will approach the National Capital Region Planning Board for financial assistance of about Rs 200 crore for water supply schemes for Sonipat, Samalkha and Pataudi and sewerage scheme for Pataudi.

Over 6.35 lakh water connections, including 6.09 lakh in the rural areas, have been released so far under the Rs-420 crore Indira Gandhi Drinking Water Supply Scheme.

The department is concerned about the drinking water scarcity in the backward areas of Mewat district. To mitigate the sufferings of the people and to provide them at least 55 litres of water per capital per day, the department is implementing the Rajiv Gandhi Drinking Water Supply Augmentation Project for Mewat. It has already covered 148 villages under the Ranney Well Segment, while work for covering another 110 villages will be completed by September end.

In case of the tubewell segment, 294 tubewells have been commissioned to benefit 187 villages.

Gurgaon, July 13
City-based Paras Hospital has become the first hospital in the state to receive the prestigious National Accreditation Board Of Hospital (NABH) certification. Dr Dharminder Nagar, MD, Paras Hospitals, said, “The hospitals accredited by NABH not only boost medical tourism but also provide medical assistance to people with standards accepted internationally. After getting the NABH certification, we can proudly say that Paras Hospital is a patient-centric hospital that not only provides timely and affordable treatment but also quality medical care to its patients, and where the rights of the patients are respected and protected”.

The International Society for Quality in Healthcare (ISQua) has accredited “standards for hospitals” developed by the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers (NABH, India). The approval of the ISQua authenticates that the NABH standards are in consonance with the global benchmarks set by the ISQua. The hospitals accredited by NABH will be recognised internationally and this will provide a boost to medical tourism.

The ISQua is an international body, which grants approval to accreditation bodies in the area of healthcare as a mark of equivalence of accreditation programme of member countries. So far, hospital standards of only 11 countries viz. Australia, Canada, Egypt, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, Jordan, Kyrgyz Republic, South Africa, Taiwan and United Kingdom were accredited by the ISQua. India has become the 12th country to join this group. Dr Virender Sobti, chief operating officer, said, “There were a lot of changes that we had to do, but we are happy today because we know the importance of the NABH”.

Panipat, July 13
The dairy chemistry division of the National Dairy Research Institute (NRDI) organised a summer school on “Recent advances in analytical techniques and innovative approaches for quality assurance and safety of dairy foods”.

The school was inaugurated by Dr RP Singh, former vice-chancellor, Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur.

Speaking on the occasion, he lauded the efforts of dairy farmers and researchers in making the country the number one milk-producing nation of the world. This feat had been achieved despite the fact that most of the milk produced in the country came from small dairy farmers having one or two animals. He said this had been achieved with minimal inputs in terms of cost of feed and health care.

Dr Singh further stressed that in order to meet the challenges of the post-WTO global trade, the country’s dairy industry had to produce quality milk and products. This required trained human resources to man production, procurement and processing operations, along with setting up of quality assurance laboratories in the dairy plants. There was also a need to educate dairy farmers to bring about awareness regarding the modern practices of hygienic milk production.

Dr AK Srivastava, director-cum-vice-chancellor, NDRI, highlighted the objective of the school. He said dairy education needed further boost in the country. He asserted that the country had a long way to go to meet the demand for processed dairy foods and pasteurised fluid milk. In order to meet the challenges of global trade and safety of the local consumer, the dairy industry had to lay stress on the production of safe and wholesome milk and milk products, he said.

He said the main purpose of organising the school was to impart the latest know-how on quality aspects to the faculty of different institutions so as to update their knowledge. The participants of the school would also get an opportunity to interact with the NDRI faculty and experts from other organisations during the course of the school.

Satish Srinivasan, manager, Nestle India, said the dairy industry was looking forward to have trained manpower in the modern analytical techniques to meet the quality assurance programmes.

Dr BK Wadhawa, head, dairy chemistry division, welcomed the guests and delegates. Dr Vivek Sharma, director, summer school, informed that a total of 23 participants from different institutions from across the nation were participating in the 21-day summer school.

Fatehabad, July 13
The mini-secretariat in Fatehabad will soon have a new look as the government has sanctioned funds for its renovation.

The district authorities have also decided to extend the existing building of the mini-secretariat by constructing a new room for the Haryana Land Revenue Information Service (HALRIS), besides a parking lot.

“We have received Rs 70 lakh for the renovation of the building. We have plans to redo the floor with vitrified ceramic tiles in maximum number of rooms, besides some other works,” said deputy commissioner CG Rajnikaanthan.

He said after the construction of a new room for HALRIS, all kind of revenue records would be shifted there.

He said a counter would be set up so that people coming for copies of land records could get computerised copies without hassle.

Meanwhile, the district authorities have initiated the work of updating of 55 “jamabandis” (land records of a village) of the district.

“Out of the 244 jamabandis of the district, about one-fifth are taken up for updating every year so that every jamabandi gets updated once in five years,” Rajnikaanthan informed.

Till then, new mutations had been stopped in those “jamabandis” whose updating work was in process. It would take a month or so for the work to complete.

He said after the computerisation of the revenue records, a provision had been made to ensure that any new mutation would be reflected in the jamabandis immediately after the deal was made.

This, the deputy commissioner added, would save the prospective buyers of agriculture land from being duped.

Hisar, July 13
The state Congress is hoping to admit several prize catches from amongst different opposition parties to its fold to further strengthen its position before the next Assembly polls.

According to sources, the party has already informally granted its approval to about six leaders of different opposition parties. It is just waiting for a suitable opportunity to formally admit these leaders. The idea is to cause maximum damage to the affected opposition parties and to ensure maximum advantage for itself.

The sources said those likely to join included at least three senior leaders of the INLD and an unspecified number of leaders of the HJC (BL), floated by former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal and his ambitious son Kuldeep Bishnoi. In addition, these leaders are expected to bring with them numerous second-rung leaders of their respective parties.

The party leadership is also in touch with several politicians currently aspiring for nomination for the Assembly polls by the INLD, HJC, BSP and the BJP. Most of them have the potential to poll substantial number of votes but may not still be in a position to win the election.

A senior Congress leader said if the party succeeded in bringing them over, it would improve the chances of its own nominees considerably while at the same time, inflicting much damage on the opposition parties.

However, there is a glitch. Many of the senior INLD leaders who are likely to join the Congress have set some preconditions, the foremost among which is nomination from an Assembly segment of their choice. However, the Congress already has sitting MLAs from many of the constituencies from where these leaders want themselves nominated. As such it would be difficult to accommodate all of them.

At least one senior INLD leader is reported to have sought an assurance that he would be inducted as a cabinet minister if he is elected to the Vidhan Sabha in the next Assembly polls. This is likely to pose a problem as the Congress already has equally senior leaders who have to be accommodated.

Nevertheless, the Congress leadership is hopeful that these issues can be sorted out to the satisfaction of all concerned.

On the other hand, the opposition parties are not overly perturbed over these reports. A senior INLD leader said the departure of individuals would hardly make a dent on the party’s prospects in the coming elections.

Gurgaon, July 13
A continued medical education (CME) on procedures and measures to control obesity was organised by the Artemis Health Institute, (AHI), a superspecialty hospital, here, recently. The talk was held to educate physicians, orthopaedics and gynaecologists on various procedures that could be adopted to reduce obesity.

The topics of the discussion included obesity related diseases, different weight-loss surgeries and the effect of obesity on the respiratory system.

Dr RK Mani, director, critical care, pulmonary and sleep medicine, AHI, shared his experience on obesity related respiratory problems. Surgical specialists, Dr Sandeep Malhotra and Dr Deep Goel, gave an insight into various surgical methods of weight loss like lap banding, sleeve gastrectomy and gastric bypass.

Dr Sandeep Malhotra, consultant, general and bariatric surgery, AHI, said, “In the lap banding procedure, an adjustable band is placed on the upper part of the stomach, which helps in reducing stomach capacity and hunger; while in gastric bypass, the stomach is divided into a small pouch (golf ball size) and a part of the intestine is bypassed (this reduces hunger and makes a person feel full quickly). In sleeve gastrectomy, 80 per cent of the stomach is removed, leaving a narrow sleeve of stomach behind so that the hormone responsible for hunger, ghrelin, is not produced. Hence, the person feels full quickly during a meal. Most of these operations are done laparoscopically and patients can lose as much as 50-80 per cent of their excess weight”.

“Obesity also leads to various respiratory problems like asthma, sleep apnea and snoring,” he added.

Dr Malhotra affirmed that such discussions would create awareness on obesity related problems and urge more people to make lifestyle changes and move to a regular fitness regime.

Yamunanagar, July 13
With a view to protecting the environment by increasing the green cover of the district, the administration has decided to launch a sapling plantation drive for 10 days from July 15.

Forty lakh saplings of various varieties will be provided to residents of over 500 villages of the district during the drive. A decision in this regard was taken by deputy commissioner Amit Kumar Aggarwal after holding a meeting with officials of various departments here.

“Every day, 30 villages will be covered under the special drive from July 15. The block development officers (BDO) of the district have been directed to hold meetings with panchayats to fix the day of distribution of plants. The panchayat of each village will take care of the saplings. Besides the villages, the drive will also be launched in schools”,SDM Harish Chander Jain told The Tribune. “The plants will be provided to each panchayat as per the requirement of the village”, he added

The district forest department will provide 40 lakh saplings, including neem and papal, to each panchayat. During the drive, functions will be held in different villages to spread awareness about the need to protect the environment by protecting trees and through sapling plantation. Besides, officials of the forest department will impart information about the benefits of each variety of tree plants, which will be given to the villagers, he further added.

The state transport commissioner has issued instructions to Haryana Roadways vide letter No 307-32/A-2/AOC dated 6.2.2009 to provide 50 per cent concession in bus fare to women above 60 years in ordinary buses after seeing their senior citizen cards issued by the competent authority. However, most of the conductors do not follow the instructions and pressurise such passengers to pay full fare.They say “show me the orders of the government as I am not aware of such instructions”.

It is difficult for a senior citizen to provide a copy of the orders instantly. Taking advantage of this, the conductors generally charge full fare from old women.