Panipat, October 19
A rift between dyers and HUDA over the availability of basic facilities in Sector 29 part II, which was carved out in 2002 for the shifting of dying units there, is far from getting resolved.

The matter, which is pending in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, started in 2002 when the state government came out with a new industrial sector on the outskirts of the city. A common water treatment plant was set up there at a cost of Rs 16 crore. The dyers had, however, refused to shift their base to the new location alleging lack of basic facilities.

After the matter was taken to the court, the officials concerned and the dyers were asked to sort out the matter. The next date of hearing has been fixed on October 29. Though the court had decided to hold the next hearing on January 15 next year, officials of the pollution board requested that the matter be expedited.

More then 650 industrial units, including 511 dye houses, were to be shifted to the new sector. Even as more than 400 industrialists have already been allotted plots, none moved his establishment there. In the absence of industrial units, the water treatment plant is lying useless.

The industrialists’ association maintains that adequate facilities are not available in the new sector and it is not possible for them to move there. The pollution control board officials state that every time they get tough with the industrialists asking them to shift to the new base, they put up a strong resistance and in some cases, they even accuse the officials of harassing them.

Karnal October 19
Two major issues - Kalpana Chawala Memorial Medical College and a separate SGPC for Haryana - have got a decent burial after the elections. These issues has been in focus for the past many years and the intervening two Lok Sabha and two Assembly elections have already been held but the issues remain unresolved.

Some organisations and NGOs tried to make Kalpana Chawala Memorial Medical Collge a major poll issue in Karnal district but it did not click. Most of the candidates and political parties only expressed lip-sympathy with the cause and despite of sustained campaign launched by NGOs at the initiative of NIFAA, it failed to become a poll issue.

The ruling Congress gave no assurance regarding establishing the medical college and even UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, who addressed a rally in Karnal, did not make any mention about it while she made special mention of the medical college being set up in Jhajjar.

The candidates of different political parties did refer to these issues and assured that it would be perused but their assurance were being taken with a pinch of salt. “When the issue did not get support from the government even during the elections, it would be foolish to presume that Kalpana Chawala Medical College would come up in Karnal”, observed some senior citizens.

The Congress took the HSGPC for a ride by including the separate SGPC issue in the election manifesto in 2005 but it only ended up forming a committee, which took four and a half years to submit a report. Even that report was not implemented and another committee was set up on the eve of the Lok Sabha elections to study the legal aspects of the report and give recommendations.

An announcement to set up a separate SGPC in place was again made by the Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and the issue was again included in the Congress manifesto this time.

The HSGPC leaders believed that the promise once broken would be kept up this time and announced support to the Congress. The decision of the HSGPC to announce support to the Congress was a mere formality as the Sikhs supporting the demand for a separate SGPC had no other option and any diktat to contrary would have further eroded its credibility.

Further no political party openly came in support of the demand and the INLD and the BJP openly opposed the move. The BSP and the HJC also remained aloof and took the stand that it was a religious matter of the Sikhs and they would not interfere in it.

Chandigarh, October 19
Water is a scarce commodity and nobody knows it better than the people of water-starved Mewat where getting drinking water is a luxury. With this in mind, the Mewat Development Agency has initiated a water management programme as a key component of its integrated sustainable village development scheme.

Being implemented by the MDA in collaboration of S.M. Sehgal Foundation, it addresses the problem of water availability and quality, focusing on collection, conservation, purification and wastewater disposal and is based on the bottom-up approach.

“We are moving in a phased manner and trying to give water in the chronic problem areas first. In the first lap, we have targeted areas where there is scope for water collection and harvesting in a stretch of 80 km. of Aravali Hills. Given the low water table in the area, the only permanent solution is to recharge the ground water,” explains AS Ahlawat, CEO, MDA,

In Kotla, a check dam has been constructed for water harvesting and percolation in the foothills of Aravali Hills at a cost of Rs. 6 lakh with storage capacity of 32235 kilolitres. “In this village, the water table had fallen so low that the villagers were not allowing boring of any new tubewells to cater to neighbouring villages,” Ahlawat said.

Two dams have been constructed at Santhawari village in Aravali Hills at a cost of Rs 5 lakh with a storage capacity of 19,000 kilolitres while Baroji Lake is being desalted and reservoir capacity increased to make water palatable in the whole area at a cost of Rs. 4 lakh with a storage capacity of 19500 kilolitres.

The MDA has constructed a Rs. 8 lakh check Dam at Bhond village with a catchment area of 6 km with a storage capacity of 53500 kilolitres. “This was a problem village where the water table was rapidly falling. We began water harvesting when the water table had reached below 50 feet. In one year, due to the check dams, the water table has climbed up significantly. In fact, during the last monsoon, the dams were overflowing. It only took two days for the water to percolate into the ground, adding to the water table level. We are hopeful of raising the water table substantially in this area with this programme,” Ahlawat added.

Similarly, in Rangala Rajpur, four check dams have been constructed for water percolation and harvesting to with a capacity of three lakh million gallons at a cost of Rs. 20.00 lakh while the village ponds of Jalalpur and Ghagas are being made model ponds for multipurpose use of the villagers with plantation all around the pond. The Mewat Development Agency has taken such works in the foothills of Aravalis. The Centre has given Rs. 2.80 crore to the MDA under the integrated wasteland development programme.

Chandigarh, October 19
Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU), Rohtak, recently hosted a three-day International Conference on “Shakespeare as Critic in His Time and Ours: Literary, Social and Political” with the purpose of taking the great writer to the masses, especially the new generation. The conference was organised by the Department of English & Foreign Languages at MDU in association with the Shakespeare Association (India).

Noted scholar G.K. Dass emphasised the importance of humanities and social sciences in higher studies. Referring to Shakespeare, Prof. Das said the study of Shakespearean works helped in the development of wisdom. He said Shakespeare provided new learning every time one read his work.

Prof Philip Zitowitz of Meiji University, Japan, lamenting barbarism, terrorism and widespread violence in the present time said Shakespeare’s writings were prophetic as they captured the caprices of human mind, its violent streak and the plight of human sufferings. He said the need of the hour was to take the essence of “common humane vision” of Shakespeare to the masses.

Prof. Robert White of Australia also talked about the importance of Shakespeare’s writings. R. Thangvunga of Mizoram spoke on behalf of the participants and thanked the hosts for organising the conference. He spoke about the need to popularise Shakespeare among young readers.

Prof. Asha Kadyan of MDU conducted the valedictory session of the conference and proposed the vote of thanks. Pankaj Sharma of the C.D.L.U., Sirsa, presented a report about the conference on the occasion.

About 200 delegates, including 15 from abroad, participated in the conference. As many as 65 pages of research papers were presented in 20 sessions held during the conference. Various socio-politico-economic aspects of the Shakespearean writings were discussed threadbare.

Prof. S.P.S. Dahiya Head, Department of English, MDU, said the conference was path-breaking as it helped in developing fresh appreciation about the importance and relevance of Shakespeare’s works. President of the Shakespeare Association Bhim Singh Dahiya; Director of the Shakespeare Institute Kate Mc Luskie; Prof. Lisa Hopkins and other eminent Shakespearean scholars were present on the occasion.

Sirsa, October 19
The political fortunes of several stalwarts have been sealed in EVMs in the nine Assembly seats falling under the Sirsa parliamentary constituency.

The seats, having been an INLD bastion in the past, have attracted attention of political pundits across the state, who are keen to know whether the party led by former Chief Minister Om Parkash Chautala will be able to regain its lost ground in Sirsa.

The party that enjoyed prominence in eight out of nine seats in 2000, shrank to four seats in 2005 and its lead came down further to three seats only in this year’s parliamentary elections.

Chautala himself was a candidate from the Ellenabad assembly seat this time, and his main contest was with Bharat Singh Beniwal of the Congress.

Beniwal, who represented Darba Kalan in the dissolved Assembly, was shifted to Ellenabad by the ruling party this time as about 35 villages of his former constituency came in Ellenabad after delimitation.

Chautala’s son and his party’s secretary-general, Ajay Singh Chautala, was the party candidate from Dabwali and the trends of October 13 polling promise a keen contest between him and Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s former aide, KV Singh.

Chautala’s younger brother and Deputy Chairman of the State Planning Board in Hooda government, Ranjit Singh’s fate is locked in EVMs for the Rania seat.

Though Ranjit Singh was pitted against INLD greenhorn Krishan Kamboj, the presence of Dera Sacha Sauda functionary Satdev in the fray till the end has made the contest absorbing.

Sushil Indora, a two-time MP and MLA from Ellenabad in the last Assembly, who quit his seat as well as the party to join the Congress after the parliamentary elections, is now hoping to start a fresh innings with a victory.

However, Charanjit Singh of the SAD is likely to give a tough contest to him going by the polling trends.

The Sirsa seat, where five-time MLA LD Arora is planning to hit a “sixer” this time, remained on a sticky wicket throughout his campaign and polling trends promise a tough contest among him, INLD’s Padam Jain and Independent Gopal Kanda.

Another Independent Pahlad Singh Gillankhera can spoil the fortunes of Parliamentary Secretary Dura Ram at Fatehabad as the two along with INLD’s Swatantar Bala Chaudhary are locked in a triangular battle and the polling trends have left all further confused as all three have been excellent in some pockets, good in others and have performed badly in some others.

Roshan Lal, Independent, appears to be putting roadblocks on Parliamentary Secretary Paramveer Singh’s road to victory from Tohana. INLD’s Nishan Singh has given a formidable fight to him there.

A straight contest between Jarnail Singh of the Congress and Gian Chand of the INLD can be anybody’ game on October 22 when counting begins.

Sirsa, October 19
Senior Radio and Television professional Ajit Singh has called upon mass communication students to dedicate more time to learn the practical aspects of journalism.

He was interacting with journalism and mass communication students of Chaudhary Devi Lal University during a seminar on the latest trends on media organised by the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Held at the Seminar Hall of the University, the seminar was presided over by Virender Singh Chauhan, the chairperson of the host department.

Ajit Singh, who has spent over three decades of his professional life with Doordarshan and the All-India Radio discussed various kinds of job opportunities available in the fast changing world of electronic media.

Ajit Singh said while a sea change had been witnessed on the content front in various news channels as well as in Radio, it was also true that a lot had been lost as far as professional ethics were concerned.

Responding to queries from the prospective journalists, Singh said while all kinds of allurements and pressures came in the way of a professional journalist, the same could be easily overcome provided the individual faced them bravely and was committed to his job.

He said the unregulated realm of electronic media, especially the worldwide web, has sparked off a new debate of self-regulation that would ultimately lead to a state of equilibrium in mass media.

The former Director, News, of Doordarshan, at Hisar also gave tips on election-reporting to the students.

Ajit Singh said the CDLU students were very lucky as they had a radio station of their own in the department.

He said the Community Radio Station of the department would prove extremely beneficial for the hands-on training of the students in Radio Production, Radio Jockeying and Radio Script Writing.

In his address, Virender Singh Chauhan, chairperson and director of CDLU Radio urged the student to hone their skills if they wanted an easy entry into the media-world.

He called upon the students to make optimum use of the facilities being provided in the department and especially the Community Radio Station.

Faculty members Sewa Singh Bajwa, Amit Sangwan, Ravinder Dhillon, Ankita Bansal, Vikas Saharan and Krishan were also present on the occasion.

Bhiwani, October 19
In view of the complex nature of criminal cases coupled with issues like lack of eyewitness or witness turning hostile and allegations of biased probe, scientific investigation assumes great importance, as “forensic evidence seldom lies”.

A forensic scientist involved in the crime management can detect even minute exhibits from the place of occurrence which can otherwise be overlooked in the normal course of investigation. Ravinder Pal, a senior scientific officer of the Rohtak range, has handled more than 250 criminal cases during the current year and in 80 per cent of the cases, his vital input advice, based on scientific investigation, proved very effective in solving the cases.

Pal has trained police personnel in the scientific method of investigation and administration of criminal justice system.

Pal says a mobile forensic unit (MFU), which comprises a mobile van, equipped with various spot test kits, examines different cases meticulously and provides prompt scientific aid to the investigating agencies. There are kits for blood and semen detection, firearm residue detection, NDPS detection, UV light for the detection of seminal strain etc. The kits are so sensitive that it can manage to detect minute exhibits at the place of crime, which otherwise gets overlooked.

To provide on-the-spot scientific aid to the investigating agencies in respect of identification, collection, preservation, lifting, handling, packaging and forwarding of physical evidence, mobile forensic units have been stationed at 15 district headquarters to cover the state, Pal says.

Since the inception of FSL in Rohtak in 1973, and later shifted to its present location in Madhuban in 1976, it has been making strides in the field of scientific investigation. In July 2008, the state-of-the-art facility for DNA profiling and computer forensic was added in the existing stream. This technique is very useful in solving the paternity and rape cases, says Pal, adding that after Hyderabad, only Madhuban FSL has this unique and advance facility in the country. The crime management has analytical, detective and deterrent functions and it helps the investigating agencies in the following ways:

A) In a number of cases, on the basis of scientific inputs given by experts to the investigating agencies prove very useful to establish direct or symbolic link to solve the case.

B) The physical evidence collected at the scene of crime is not only important to establish the crime but is equally important for trial.

Though it is not mandatory for the police to call the forensic team in each and every case, it is notably that in 2008, the investigating agencies had taken the help of the crime team in 240 different cases and on the basis of their decisive inputs, more than 80 per cent cases had been solved by the team, he says.

Pal has been recommended a number of times by the IGP Rohtak range and SPs of Rohtak and Bhiwani for his dedicating work in solving criminal cases.

In controversial and sensitive cases like Bhiwani’s Kuldeep fake encounter case, it was his opinion that the shot was pumped in from the pointblank range. Similarly in the murder case of two teenage girls in Kaluwas village in Bhiwani last year, his report helped the police in solving the case.

In the Kharak police firing episode also, his findings proved that the missing boys were not killed in firing as stated by their relatives but it was an accident case, leading to their deaths.

He recently presented an ambitious and foresighted plan to impart scientific knowledge to the investigating agencies in probing the crime. His have proposed guidelines regarding dos and don’ts to V Kamraja, IGP, Rohtak range. It has been proposed that by implementing these guidelines in the police stations, an atmosphere of scientific investigation can be created and investigating agencies can work with more scientific zeal.

Chandigarh, October 19
With the Assembly elections in Haryana over, it’s back to books for students. Having postponed the semester examinations by nearly a month on account of the the elections, the Board of School Education, Haryana, is all set to conduct the semester examinations from October 24.

The board has made large-scale arrangements for the copying-free conduct of these examinations, warning of stern action against those indulging in copying and its abettors.

Board secretary Mandip Singh Brar said 11.74 lakh candidates would appear at 1886 centres across the state. These include 421726 candidates of middle, 408532 candidates of secondary, 225747 candidates of senior secondary classes along with 118007 candidates of Open School. As many as 1886 centre superintendents and 16,000 supervisors have been deputed for these examinations.

The secretary revealed that 375 flying squads had been formed for effective inspection of centres. Brar stated that 21 squads of DCs, 50 squads of SDMs, 21 squads of district education officers, 51 squads of block education officers, 20 rapid action force, 21 special task force, 129 sector officers, 51 squads of board officers and one squad each of the board Chairman, secretary, director, deputy secretary (conduct) and two squads of assistant secretary (conduct) had been formed. Five control rooms had been set up at Gurgaon, Rohtak, Fatehabad and Kurukshetra, besides the board headquarters at Bhiwani.

He said that Deputy Commissioners would promulgate Section 144, CrPC, around examination centres in their respective districts to control outside disturbance. Besides, the police would be deputed in adequate numbers at examination centers, especially sensitive ones.

To check leakage of question papers, a ban would be imposed upon the photostat business near the examination centres. He warned that strict action would be taken under section 188, IPC, against violators of Section 144, CrPC.

Gurgaon, October 19
Gurgaon city participated in a project titled “The Roadmap of South Asian Cities and Local Governments for the post-2012 Global Climate Agreement” recently.

As many as 53 South Asian cities, 40 cities from India and 13 from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka, participated in the project. The initiative was implemented by the International Council for Local Environmental Initiative (ICLEI), South Asia, supported by the British High Commission, New Delhi.

Gurgaon Municipal Commissioner Rajesh Khullar said under the project, the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon shared the information related to energy consumption in various sectors such as streetlighting, transportation and water-pumping systems in residential, commercial, and industrial areas under its jurisdiction.

The ICLEI, South Asia, analysed this information to arrive at the City energy status report, which indicates energy consumption by considered service sectors and resultant carbon emissions. The exercise was carried out for all participating cities, leading to the preparation of carbon emission inventory of the 53 South-Asian cities.

At a sub-national workshop held in Bhopal in June, the ICLEI, South Asia, discussed the analysis with the Municipal Corporation. The analysis estimated the city’s total carbon emissions at 251626 tonnes of CO2. Corporation activities result in 6889.39 tonnes and community activities contribute 2544736.61 tonnes of CO2 emission. The per capita CO2 emission in Gurgaon is 2.13 tonnes.

The ICLEI, South Asia, discussed action plans covering energy-efficient and design-based streetlighting, efficient transport management, energy efficient, water-pumping system, waste management and enhancement of urban livability and sustainability to help reduce carbon emissions.

“Climate change is the most evident environment, social and economic problem facing the world today. We have to move from a high energy-use, wasteful economic model to one that conserves energy and minimises waste. In other words, we have to be more efficient. Given India’s crucial role in the upcoming COP 15 at Copenhagen, the Gurgaon Municipal Committee’s participation in this project may be seen as a voluntary step in the right direction towards reducing global carbon emissions,” observed Khullar.

Odhan (Sirsa), October 19
In a conservative Haryanavi hinterland, where only 882 females are born against 1,000 males and where the condition of education for women has been such that only 5,388 girls were enrolled against 15,391 boys at the senior secondary level in 1975, and 20,848 girls against 28,233 boys in 2000, the efforts of some enlightened villagers to provide quality education to girls are laudable.

These villagers, led by Bharat Singh Odhan, now president of the Mata Harki Devi (MHD) Education Society, have established three colleges and a public school in Odhan village on the Sirsa-Dabwali Road.

The institutes - MHD College for Women, MHD College of Education, MHD Teachers Training Institute for providing JBT course and MHD Public School - are like an oasis in the desert as before these institutes started coming up in 2004, there was no college for girls in the vicinity and those willing to carry on their studies, had to go to Sirsa or Dabwali, both of these are 30 km away from Odhan.

The institutes, known for their world-class construction done by DLF, are spread over 40 acres. The sprawling 4-block building has 205 rooms, an assembly hall, a library, different laboratories and a conference room.

“Most of the 950 girls enrolled in the degree college come from around 60 villages surrounding Odhan and many of these may not have continued their studies after their schooling,” says Shamim Sharma, principal of the MHD College for Women.

“Besides ensuring quality education for our students, we also teach them English speaking, beauty culture, dress designing, dancing and yoga,” she says, adding that teaching them skills like car driving, exhibition art and cocking are also in the pipeline.

Besides the 950 girls studying in the degree college, there are 200 girls in the College of Education, 50 in JBT course and 800 students in MHD Public School, informs Shamim.

The group has its own buses to ferry students. It also has a hostel where 200 girls live in a quite and homely atmosphere along with a number of their teachers.

The college, she says, lays emphasis on the all-round personality development of the students so that girls coming from the rural background could shun their inhibitions and develop into confident individuals.

The college, affiliated to Kurukshetra University, has shown good academic performance and students have excelled in sports and extracurricular fields.

Karnal, October 19
With a view to providing platform for budding talents in the field of fine arts, first-ever public art gallery "Kala Sathanam" has been set up near Gurdwara Kaar Sewa in Karnal. The initiative has not been taken by the government instead an NGO, Haryana Institute of Fine Arts (HIFA), has come forward to fill the vacuum and give exposure to local artists by organising exhibition of their art work.

A special lighting system has been provided in the art gallery to enable the viewer to go deep in the roots of the paintings and sculptures displayed by the artists. Further, there is 75 per cent reservation for Haryanvi artists to promote local talents.

The best part of the initiative is that there are no charges for exhibiting the work selected by the jury of the HIFA and even if the art works are sold, the full amount is paid to the artist.

The selected exhibits of eight nationally renowned artists, including paintings, photographs, graphics, drawing, sculpture and multimedia, are on display and exceptional works of the local craftsmen have also found place in the gallery. These exhibits will be kept in the gallery for considerable time or till these are sold and new art works selected by HIFA jury will be exhibited.

Pyush, HIFA president, said: "We have started the art gallery to dig out the hidden talents and create awareness among the masses to appreciate and encourage the artists. The gallery is not only promoting local artists but also organising exhibitions of renowned artists from different parts of the country."

Presently, the photo paintings of Dinesh Gaur, contemporary and modern paintings of Neeraj Mitra, a gold medallist from Delhi College of Fine Arts, dry paintings titled composition, under shadow and reflection by Rohtak-based Bhoop Bhulia, works of Angali Aggarwal, sculptures like Ganpati Mudra and historical face of Asurvedh, work in bronzes by Suresh Kumar, brass work by R. Srinivas and paintings of Sanjay, who is also a national awardee of the Lalit Kala Academy, are on display in the gallery.

Panipat, October 19
Maddening, the word sums up the unregulated traffic movement in the city. And this holds true, not for just the narrow lanes of the city, but traffic jams have become a common sight on the once-spacious outer roads, including the NH-1, as well.

The hurdles are mainly caused by encroachments. On the railway road, encroachments by vendors on both sides of the road have created serious traffic problems. Traffic jams have become a routine on this road, which connects the NH-1 with railway station.

As a large number of people come at the railway station, especially during the festival season, the road witnesses a huge rush throughout the day and the peak-hour theory doesn't seem to apply on this road. At any time of the day, this road can be a test of one’s driving skills. Finding parking space on this busy road is a tough task. The road has been encroached upon by fruit vendors and vehicular traffic is always snail-paced.

The NH-1 outside the bus stand is no different with private as well as public bus operators halting buses on the highway itself rather than entering the bus stand. Because of such hurdles, most local commuters prefer alternative routes. Rickshaws, horse carts etc are another nuisance on the highway.

Though the traffic police has some control over the flow of traffic at key crossings, driving in the interior parts of the city continues to be a hassle with rickshaws, horse carts, two-wheelers and four-wheelers moving in the same lane and there is nothing like fast lane and slow lane.

Traffic jams inside the city is still understandable, but there is commotion on the NH-1 as well where an elevated highway has failed to easy out the vehicular traffic. The main reason for this is that most of the vehicles coming to Panipat enter the city rather than taking the elevated highway. The presence of bus stand inside the city forces the buses not to make use of the elevated highway and instead enter the city.

Senior officials in the traffic department state that all possible efforts are being made to manage the traffic, but due to the ever increasing number of vehicles, the problem remains the same.

Gurgaon, October 19
As part of its corporate social responsibility programme, LeasePlan India, a leading operational car-leasing company in the country, launched a campaign to make the national capital region (NCR) greener here recently.

The first phase of this drive, named GreenPlan India, will include the funding, plantation and maintenance of at least 1,000 saplings along the Gurgaon-Faridabad highway.

LeasePlan India, a wholly owned subsidiary of the multi-national company having a total fleet of 1.4 million cars and offices in 30 countries across the globe, has joined hands with Mokhshda Paryavaran Evam Van Suraksha Samiti, a charitable non-profit organisation, for getting the necessary support.

“GreenPlan is LeasePlan’s global initiative being implemented in different forms in different countries. The company strives to offset vehicular emissions, develop better fleet management practices and promote the use of fuel-efficient vehicles,” claimed Sanjeev Prasad, managing director of LeasePlan India.

The plantation project will be undertaken through the active participation of LeasePlan employees and Mokshda volunteers, including more than 100 schoolchildren.

Panipat, October 19
The slowdown-hit Panipat industry is hoping for an early recovery in view of better than expected business during the festival season. With local markets registering business worth crores on just one day (on Dhanteras), the industry is upbeat.

Traders and shopkeepers of this industrial hub witnessed a steep rise in their sales two days before Diwali. Naresh Kumar, a local trader, said worst seemed to be over and the markets were making a steady recovery. He said this would revive the lost confidence of the business community.

The rejuvenating economic scene has also brought good news for industrial workers who had lost their jobs due to global meltdown.

Many workers, who had left the city after they were rendered jobless due to fall in manufacturing activity, have started retuning. The number of such workers is likely to go up in near future, said Ram Sharan, a local worker.

One of the local industrialists said they had again started receiving orders from their old clients and the situation was improving. Though it would be inappropriate to say that economic situation had normalised, the signs of recovery were clearly visible, he said.

The Panipat industry is also known for exporting goods worth over Rs 4,000 a year. But due to the economic slowdown, the exports had gone down. Now, the situation is improving on this front as well, said one of the exporters of the city. He said it was being anticipated that things would get better soon.