Karnal, November 16
Faced with an acute shortage of JBT teachers, the Haryana Primary Education Department is depending heavily on guest teachers. As many as 950 posts of JBT teacher were lying vacant in Karnal district alone and 532 guest teachers had been appointed to cope up with the work.

The department was utilising the services of guest teachers without any hard and fast rules and no seniority list of guest teachers was prepared. As per the information sought from the department through an RTI, the department did not see any justification in preparing the seniority list of surplus guest teachers.

Normally, the guest teachers were not transferred, but in case they become surplus due to “reduction” in workload they were adjusted in some nearby school against the vacant post of JBT teachers under the instructions of the government.

The department also informed that surplus teachers were adjusted by the DDO and the block education officer and the practice of informing the teacher concerned through registered letter was not in vogue.

The department informed that so far 18 guest teachers had become surplus and adjusted in other schools while no JBT teacher had become surplus. Out of 532 guest teachers, 111 were from general category, 275 Scheduled Castes and 146 OBCs.

However, the department had no plausible explanation that how guest teachers, who were appointed in acute cases, became surplus when there was no appointments of regular JBP teachers.

The lack of transparency and set policy for the appointment of guest teachers had become a major issue in the state and unemployed trained teachers were up in arms against the government, said Krishan Kumar Nirman, state secretary, Haryana Rajkiya Adhyapak Sangh.

These teachers were paid much less as compared to regular teachers and there was no policy for their regularisation. Some of the teachers were working in the same position for years with a little hope of regularisation, affecting teaching work in primary schools.

Chandigarh, November 16
Haryana is not very enthusiastic about the proposed goods and services tax (GST).

If the new tax regime is introduced without taking into account Haryana’s concerns, the state stands to incur a loss of Rs 600 crore per annum, which it earns from purchase tax levied on foodgrains.

The major part of the Rs 600 crore purchase tax on foodgrains comes from wheat and paddy, which are procured by the state for the Central pool. Thus, it is the Union Government which largely contributes to the state’s coffers by way of paying the purchase tax on wheat and paddy.

The Empowered Committee of the Finance Ministers had recommended that foodgrains should be exempt from GST.

Haryana Finance Minister Ajay Singh Yadav says since the state makes a large contribution to the Central gain bowl, it has to incur a huge expenditure in the shape of subsidy on seeds, pesticides, fertilisers, power and irrigation facilities. Therefore, the state needs to be compensated on this account, which can be done by taxation on foodgrains. Alternatively, some other suitable mechanism should be evolved before introducing the GST.

Haryana also wants that it should have the power to exempt certain goods like agricultural inputs from the GST just as it has with regard to the value added tax (VAT).

For present, the state government has taken the plea that a perfect information technology system and total computerisation was must for switching over to the GST. Unfortunately, many states are not yet fully equipped. Therefore, the introduction of the GST should be deferred by at least one year.

Haryana also fears that the multiple authorities proposed in the GST scheme for settlement of accounts, may jam the total process in a situation, which requires total computerisation on the part of dealers as well as the state and central governments with 100 per cent Net connectivity.

Sonepat, November 16
The sales tax department in Sonepat has recorded an increase of 65 per cent and 40 per cent in VAT collections during September and October, respectively, this year, as compared to last year, highest in the state.

According to an official spokesman, this year’s VAT collection in September was Rs 37.34 crore in comparison with Rs 23.55 during the corresponding period last year.

Similarly, the collection of VAT last month was Rs 39.73 croreagainst Rs 28.34 crore collected in October, 2008.

He disclosed that the total collection of VAT during the current financial year up to October increased to more than Rs 292.89 crore while it was at Rs 231.59 crore during the corresponding period last year.

He claimed that effective steps were taken to curb the evasion of tax and as a result of it, the department collected Rs 1.02 crore from roadside checking with a record increase of 300 per cent in September.

During the same month, the department collected Rs 1.73 crore as recovery of arrears, an increase of 458 per cent.

He added heavy penalties were imposed on firms found involved in tax evasion. This included a penalty of Rs 26 lakh on Kays Fragrances, Liwaspur; Rs 9.18 lakh on HB Manufacturing Pioa Maniari; Rs 8.50 lakh on Rajhans Motor Transport Company, Yamunanagar; Rs 5 lakh on New Janta Transport Company, Yamunanagar; and Rs 4.5 lakh on Harjai Motor Transport Company, Yamunanagar.

Claiming that the department had introduced a single window facility in the office for prompt disposal of the applications, he said during the last two months as many as 139 applications were received for the registration of industrial and trading establishments and out of which 86 applications had already been processed and remaining were at different stages of examination.

Chandigarh, November 16
Haryana has urged the Union Ministry of Power to increase the state’s quota of electricity from its unallocated pool and allocate 250 MW power to the state for the ongoing rabi season so that adequate power can be supplied to the agriculture sector.

This request was made by Haryana Power Minister Mahendra Pratap Singh at the conference of Power Ministers organised by the Union Ministry of Power in Delhi yesterday. He urged the Centre for higher allocation of electricity in the Central Sector Projects, including ultra mega power plants, as the state was located very far from the coal fields and had limited hydropower generation potential. He said in this context, Haryana’s request for gas allocation of 7.5 MMSMCD for setting up of a gas plant at Faridabad was justified.

He said the state had to purchase electricity at much higher rates to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore during the paddy season to meet the requirement of farmers.

Singh said the rates for the purchase of power per unit on a short-term basis must be fixed. The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) had recently passed an order of capping the price of short-term power, which had expired on October 26. This should be extended and there was a strong need to develop a mechanism to cap the rate of such power.

The minister said the state was mainly dependent on coal-based thermal plants. The cost of the transportation of coal for states like Haryana was more than the cost of coal. Therefore, it was imperative that the Union Ministry of Coal must tell the coal companies to set up washeries at the loading sites and ensure the supply of sufficient quantity of good quality washed coal to the power stations of the state.

He demanded that the nuclear power plant sanctioned for the state should be set up as early as possible.

Kurukshetra, November 16
Governor Jagan Nath Pahadia will inaugurate a five-day Kurukshetra Utsav Gita Jayanti Samaroh here on November 24. Chief Minister Bhupender Singh Hooda will be the chief guest at the samaroh’s concluding function here on November 28, said DC Pankaj Aggarwal. A craft mela would be organised near Brahamsarover here from November 18 to 29. About 175 national-level craft awardees would participate in the mela.

Aggarwal said renowned folk singers and dancers, including Anuradha Poudwal and Badali brothers, had been invited for cultural evenings. Rangoli artists had been invited from Dharamsala and Mussoorie.

Painting workshop and rangoli competitions would be organised on the occasion.

A state-level exhibition depicting the state’s development would be organised from November 24 to 28. Academic competitions for school and college students would also be organised from November 25 to 27.

Besides, a national seminar based on the characters Mahabharata would be held on November 25 while folk dance and song programmes would be organised at Pindara, Pehowa and Jyotisar from November 26 to 28.

Hisar, November 16
The Krishan Parnami Bal Ashram at Kaimri village, near here, achieved yet another milestone when it married off its seventh inmate, Sarita, who was brought up in the ashram after she was orphaned.

The ashram was set up three decades ago by Swami Dayal Das to provide a home to orphans. Before Sarita, six other girls brought up in the ashram have been married in the ashram itself. Five of them were present with their families to congratulate Sarita.

Sarita has passed the senior secondary examination from the village school. Thereafter, she did a course in computers. She got married to Somvir Singh of Talwandi Rukka village.

Swami Dayal Das said the ashram was no different than these girls’ paternal homes. All girls, who left the institution after marriage, regularly visit the ashram to meet other inmates. Swami Dayal Das is assisted in running the ashram by Swami Raj Das, who was the first inmate the orphanage.

Swami Raj Das has done his MA in Sanskrit. On advice of Swami Dayal Das, Raj Das did not marry. He now looks after the ashram and delivers religious discourses. He is a bhajan singer also and many of his cassettes are very popular among locals.

A former ashram inmate, Ramesh Parnami also attended Sarita’s marriage performing the role of her brother. During his stay in the ashram he did his master’s in Hindi from the local Jat College. Later, he did M. Sc in yoga and also B. Ed. He now runs a naturopathy institute.

The ashram now has 60 inmates. A computer centre was recently set up at the ashram to make the inmates computer savvy.

Sirsa, November 16
Fresh political equations have emerged in Sirsa after the Assembly elections. Workers of the Congress are feeling totally out of place in the new set-up that has developed after the formation of the government.

It became evident after Gopal Kanda, the newly appointed minister of state, arrived in Sirsa for the first time after taking oath.

Not a single Congress leader of the district was noticed in any of the functions organised here to felicitate Kanda.

While the INLD, which is the main opposition party in the state, has emerged stronger in Sirsa by winning four out of the five seats, the ruling Congress has been totally wiped out of the district.

The INLD has won three seats on its own ticket while its alliance partner SAD won the Kalanwali seat.

INLD supremo Om Parkash Chautala has already vacated the Ellenabad seat and the byelection to that seat is expected soon.

MDLR Airlines chairman Gopal Kanda, who won the election as an Independent from Sirsa, has been rewarded with a place in the Bhupinder Singh Hooda ministry as a minister of state.

However, the local Congress leaders have been not yet been able to come to terms with the new scenario.

Kanda contested his election against Congress candidate LD Arora and hence, there is no love lost between him and local Congress leaders.

Neither Kanda has tried at his level to mend fences with Congress workers nor have the local leaders of the Congress shown any interest in him so far.

"Kanda may be a minister in the Hooda Cabinet, but he is not even a primary member of the party. We will participate in the programmes of our own party leaders only," said a senior functionary of the Congress in the district.

Prior to the Assembly elections, the local level leaders of the Congress had the option of meeting LD Arora, a cabinet rank minister, Ranjit Singh, deputy chairman of the State Planning Board, and KV Singh, a former aide of the Chief Minister. However, all the three were defeated in the elections this time.

Gurgaon, November 16
Not all love stories are meant to have a perfect ending. Some stay incomplete yet they are beautiful in their own way. This is what one got to know at a city-based book and music retailer that hosted a book-reading session of “I too had a love story” by Ravinder Singh here recently. The author said: “He believes love stories seldom die, but they stay on for generations yet to come”.

People of all age groups had gathered in large numbers to figure out if their love story is different from the rest. The audience was seen lost in thoughts as Singh read out excerpts from his book.

Love was indeed in the air at the venue as everyone present left with a vow that they would enjoy every minute of being in love.

Singh (27) is a software engineer and works with Infosys Technologies Ltd. He was brought up in a small town of Orissa called Burla. After spending a considerable amount of time of his life there, he has recently moved to Chandigarh. Because of the nature of his work, he had travelled to various parts of the world and he wishes to continue the same in the future. Occasionally, he loves playing snooker with his friends. He is crazy about Punjabi music and loves dancing to its beats.

One of the newly married couple, Neena and Mitlesh, who attended the session, said they enjoyed the story very much and would try that their love story should also have a happy ending.

Rohtak, November 16
The fine arts department of Maharshi Dayanand University has been without any permanent premises of its own since its formation about 18 years ago. Renamed as the Department of Visual Arts, this section has recently tried to attract the attention of the authorities by holding a painting exhibition.

Housed in a building that used to be an office of the students union of the varsity, the department hosted the exhibition titled "Enigmatic Strokes", displaying works of students for show and sale. A total of 211 works by about 42 students were put on display.

Though public response to the exhibition may not have been very enthusiastic, it exposed the standard of infrastructure and facilities available to the students. Such state of affairs has a telling affect on the strength of students in the various courses offered here.

It is revealed that there is hardly any increase in the number of students who selected fine arts as their subject for higher or professional education over the years. The department has started MA in fine arts (two-year PG course) in 1991, and the student strength in this course is around 10 in both first and second year.

The department launched a five-year course of master in visual arts (MVA) in 2008, but the student strength in this course is 15 at present. "We need a special building catering to our needs, which should be spacious with ample flow of natural light," said a faculty member.

It is learnt that the authorities have been trying to adjust the department in one of the available buildings instead of constructing a special block for it, claimed the sources. The department with four faculty members has been trying to get the required infrastructure, including computers and multimedia facilities. For the want of such facilities, the department has not been able to provide the required training and exposure needed for the students opting for avenues like animation, graphics, designing of apparel and jewellery, applied arts and higher echelons of painting.

"The department has proposed to start new and specialised courses in the above mentioned fields so that students should get varied options, said Dr Meenakshi Hooda, head of the department.

She said the office of the vice-chancellor had accepted the proposal and started the process of acquiring the required infrastructure and "we hope to offer new courses soon".

Sirsa, November 16
A one-day workshop on blood donation “Naya Saal, Naya Savera” was organised at Panchayat Bhawan here yesterday for motivating blood donors, motivators and the organisations involved in promoting blood donation.

“No patient will have to wait for blood and rather blood will be waiting for patients if all residents of the district start donating blood regularly,” said Deputy Commissioner Yudhvir Singh Khyalia, who has been actively involved in blood donation activities.

“Blood is such a commodity that even a single drop of it is capable of saving a life,” he said.

Khyalia said it was a matter of pride that Sirsa district had earned international repute in the field of blood donation.

Exhorting youths to come forward for this noble venture, he said the youth could provide direction to society in this regard.

As many as 176 delegates participated in the workshop and expressed their views.

Hari Om Bhardwaj, a Sanskrit teacher, said teachers should become role models for their students by coming forward to donate blood.

Monika Gupta said that people in rural areas had reservations over blood donation and the organisations active in this field should educate people, particularly the youths, to remove apprehensions on this issue.

A participant said he organised a blood donation camp on the occasion of “rasam pagree” of his father.

Organizer of a school in Ellenabad said that he observed Children’s Day as blood donation day where 23 parents donated blood.

Ved Beniwal, patron of the state body of the Indian Medical Association, were among those present on this occasion.

Gurgaon, November 16
Gurgaon Divisional Commissioner DPS Nagal launched Referral Transport Scheme (RTS) for Gurgaon district from the Civil Hospital here on Saturday. He also inaugurated a health control room set up in the emergency ward of the Civil Hospital.

Nagal said from now on, residents could avail themselves of the ambulance service by dialing 102. This control room would remain functional 24 hours on all seven days of the week.

Elaborating about the implementation of the scheme, he said on receiving a call on phone number 102 the operator would inform the ambulance located nearest to that point. The ambulance would then take the patient to the nearest hospital or health centre. For this, it would charge Rs 7 per km.

Some categories of residents have been exempted from paying these charges, which include pregnant women, victims of roadside accidents, BPL cardholders and patients from notified slum areas.

He said the scheme would be run by the District Red Cross Society with the cooperation of the Health Department.

Nagal said each ambulance provided under the scheme had been fitted with the GPS system and had two drivers to keep the ambulance operational round the clock on all seven days of the week.

The drivers had been given mobile phones and they would also be trained in first-aid by the District Red Cross Society.

Deputy Commissioner-cum-chairman of the District Red Cross Society Rajender Kataria said the society had purchased five new ambulance vans to make the scheme effectively operational in the district.

Kataria apprised the Commissioner that two computers with broadband facility had been installed in the health control room.

Kalka, November 16
Despite two fires and a few theft incidents in the premises of the Kalka Railway Station since the past two years, the security here remains a cause of concern.

The first fire broke out on March 28, 2006, during the day in which a narrow gauge coach was destroyed. The second incident took place a couple of months ago in which another narrow gauge compartment was burnt to ashes. The reason behind the 2006 incident could not be traced till date.

Official sources say the area from the Northern Railway diesel shed to the overbridge adjacent to the NH-22 has been in a dire need of a boundary wall. This area, including diesel shed, Carriage and Wagon Department, broad gauge washing line, old broad gauge loco shed and cabin, for the past more than five decades has been used as a thorough fare. Valuable assets worth crores of rupees have been lying here.

Ajay Jyoti Sharma, company commander of the Railway Protection Force (RPF), Kalka, reveals that anti-social elements can freely enter the Railway premises. The Kalka-Delhi Shatabdi Express that arrives here at 9 pm, remains at platform no 3 throughout the night. He says due to the open area and darkness, there is an urgent need of installing a tower light adjacent to platform no 3.

Security experts also opine that there is also a possibility of an IED being planted in the Shatabdi Express during the night hours. The RPF and the Government Railway Police (GRP) had written to the higher authorities regarding the installation of tower lights keeping in view the security of the Shatabdi Express and other trains that remain in washing line throughout the night. The matter has also been put forth in the meeting of senior subordinates of the RPF.

He says the Department of Railways has already installed a tower light at the main gate of the station. He adds although the RPF, Kalka, is facing the problem of staff shortage, yet a special vigil is being kept in the Railway premises.

Yamunanagar, November 16
The Kalesar National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary, situated in the foothills of the Shivalik ranges in the district, is facing a danger from the activities of locals and speeding vehicles that pass through the national highway along the forest.

The situation calls for immediate attention of the authorities, as every year a number of wild animals die or get injured in accidents while crossing the national highway 73-A to move to the other side. The park is also a natural habitant of a large number of local birds and migrated birds from November to March. But the rising noise pollution has become a cause of concern for bird lovers.

There is an urgent need for speed breakers and sign boards at a number of places, cautioning motorists to drive slow and avoid blowing horn in the protected area, feel wildlife lovers here.

Dr Rajiv Kalsi, head of the zoology department of a local MLN college, who has been associated with various research projects on wildlife in Kalesar forest, says, “The forest’s fauna includes leopard, deer, sambar, chital, python, cobra, monitor lizard while tigers and elephants too come here from the nearby forest areas of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.”

“Last year, a leopard met with an accident on the national highway while a number of other animals suffered injuries due to speeding vehicles. There is a constant threat to the wildlife in the absence of precautions. The rising noise pollution has also become a cause of concern. Besides, local villagers, who use the forest area for collecting firewood etc, also cause harm to the animals,” he adds.

District forest officer Ravinder Dhankar says, “We have deployed a range officer, seven foresters and 22 forest guards. The matter has been taken up with the national highway authorities to put up speed breakers at a number of points. Besides, the matter has also been taken up with the police department to challan speeding vehicles in the protected area”.

Rewari, November 16
Munshi Singh Yadav (67), who earlier gained prominence as a school lecturer in Sanskrit in the nineties in the Rewari region, has now become an author.

Born in a poor farmer's family in 1942 at Kharkhara village, 16 km from Rewari, he joined the state Education Department as a Hindi teacher in 1966.

After he did his M.A. in Sanskrit in 1979, he was promoted as a school lecturer in 1987.

In due course of time, the consistent quality of his teaching work won him the State Teacher's Award in September,1997, followed by the prestigious National Teacher's Award in September, 1999, before he retired in December, 2002.

However, much before his retirement, his passion for authorship resulted in the production of Bhagwat Gita's (the song celestial) versified translation in Haryanavi (local dialect) in 1992.

While three additional editions of the book were brought out successively in 1998, 2001 and 2003, copies of the book were mostly distributed free of cost among individuals and social organisations in north India.

Through a Podicherry-based education officer, who incidentally hailed from the Ahirwal region, the book also secured a place on the shelves of government libraries in Pondicherry territory.

Buoyed up with such a positive response, Munshi Singh delved into Upanishadic lore and came out with a poetical translation of the Upanishads in Haryanavi in 2003.

Simultaneously, the annals of the legendary rulers of the Yadav dynasty, which had originated from Lord Krishna in the pre-historic Mahabharata era, also engaged his attention which led him to bring out ' Yaduvansh Maha kavya" ( versified memoirs of the ancient rulers of the Yadav dynasty in Haryanavi language) in 2001 and 'Yaduvansh Gaurav Gatha"( Prosaic description in Hindi of the glories of the Yadav dynasty of yore) in 2005.

However, his latest book ' Shoorveer Avam Shahidon Ki Amar Gatha" (memoirs of the heroes and martyrs of the Ahirwal region) published in March, 2009, has lent a new dimension to the creative proficiency of Munshi Singh Yadav.

The book attempts to provide the young generation a peep into the heroic deeds of valour and sacrifice incredibly displayed by gallant jawans and martyrs of the Ahirwal region during various pre-Independence as well as post-independence wars.

Kurukshetra, November 16
On the occasion of the birth anniversary of great freedom fighter and educationist Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the first Education Minister of Independent India, the Students’ Clubs of the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Kurukshetra, under the guidance of clubs president Dr Dixit Garg celebrated the National Education Day at NIT campus here recently.

Dr Garg, in his speech, focused on the necessity of value addition with the technical knowledge. He motivated the students to understand their responsibilities as the citizens of India and use their knowledge for the benefit of humanity.

An essay-writing competition was organised in which about 60 students participated.

Among the inspirational and innovative essays, creative articles of Sanchay, Aman, Arushi, Aayushi, Bhaarat, Ekta and Neha were awarded the prizes.

Kaithal, November 16
Frequent traffic jams resulting into chaos on the main roads and commercial areas in the town have made the life of local residents miserable.

However, the civil and the police administration remain indifferent towards the plight of hundreds of road users who are caught in the traffic jams daily. There seems to be no end to the woes of harassed people as there is no move from any quarters to provide relief to the road users on this account.

The number of vehicles on the roads in the town has increased manifold during the past decade, thanks to the easy availability of finance for the purchase of vehicles and economic prosperity among the people.

The increase in the number of vehicles on the roads and the lack of traffic sense among the road users is the root cause of chaos on the roads.

But the indifferent attitude of the elected representatives, including municipal councillors, the police and the civil administration has aggravated the problem as these agencies have failed to take any initiative to find the solution to the problem concerning a vast section of population.

A few road users drive their vehicles on the wrong side of the roads to overtake other vehicles, while some others violating traffic laws obstruct the path of others coming from opposite directions.

All this leads to commotion and chaos. Besides this, parking of vehicles on roads and encroachment of roads by shopkeepers and rehriwalas leave congested passage for the road users which slows down the vehicular movement and results into frequent traffic jams. In prevailing chaotic conditions the traffic cops, who are supposed to regulate the traffic, are visible nowhere.

Some traffic police personnel remain deployed only at Pehowa Chowk. Here, too, they seldom make their presence felt and occasionally intervene to regulate the traffic or discipline the road users.

The situation near Chhotu Ram Chowk remains chaotic where private and the Haryana Roadways drivers stop their vehicles in the middle of the road and obstruct the normal traffic daily.

SSP Sandeep Khirwar said special drive would be launched soon to create awareness among the people about the observance of traffic rules and special enforcement teams would be constituted to regulate the traffic and provide relief to the road users. He added that strict actions would also be taken against the traffic violators.

Kurukshetra, November 16
Local citizens, including students, extended a warm welcome to a Bicycle Expedition Team led by G.U.G. Shastri, joint director, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy (NPA), Hyderabad, when it reached Pipli, 5 km from here, recently.

The team has undertaken a Bicycle Expedition from Srinagar to Kanyakumari with the theme “Indian police in the service of the nation”.

Stating this to mediapersons here recently, district police chief KV Ramana said the expedition, which had commenced from Srinagar on November 7, 2009, would conclude at Kanyakumari on December 12, 2009. The expedition would cover a distance of about 3,800 km in 38 days, he said.

While addressing the gathering, both, Shastri and Anand Kumar, assistant director, (outdoor) Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel NPA, Hyderabad, said the undertaken expedition, it was hoped, would help in creating awareness about physical fitness and adventure sports and enhancing morale in the police fraternity, besides spreading awareness about the contribution of the Indian police in maintaining the unity and integrity of the country. It would also help in uniting the diversity of languages, they added.

They said the students should make the use of bicycle maximum to keep their body healthy because its use keeps them fit on one hand and provides relief from pollution on the other.

Satish Balan, SP, Jind, Ashwin, Assistant Superintendent of Police, Karnal, Ganesh Pal Singh, Hari Om, and M. Plani Kumar, all ADIs from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel NPA, Hyderabad, were among those who were included in the team.

Sirsa, November 16
The community radio station(CRS) at Chaudhary Devi Lal University, Sirsa, organised a "radio awareness rally" on the completion of 100 days.

Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda was among those who congratulated radio listeners on the occasion.

In his telephonic message, which was broadcast on the community radio, Hooda called upon the educational institutions of the state in general and universities in particular to initiate the establishment of community radio stations on their campuses.

Hooda said apart from being a tool for training of students, the CRS could be used as an effective tool of socio-economic change. Congratulating Vice-Chancellor KC Bhardwaj and radio director Virender Singh Chauhan on successful completion of 100 days of the community radio, Hooda said the station had the potential of becoming a model community radio for the entire country.

In his message addressed to the people of Sirsa, Hooda said the state government was committed to the upgradation of health and education infrastructure in Haryana.

In his message Gopal Kanda, minister of state for home, industries and youth affairs thanked the chief minister for establishment of a state of the art media centre in the department of mass communication of Chaudhary Devi Lal University.

He said the University,which was on the verge of extinction when Hooda became chief minister of Haryana was now on fast track of development.

Gopal Kanda said establishment of CRS was a milestone not only for the University but for the region as a whole.

He promised to use the radio station as a forum for interacting with the people of Sirsa frequently.

Sirsa MP and Indian Youth Congress chief Ashok Tanwar too congratulated the varsity administration, the community radio team as well as the people of Sirsa on this occasion.

He assured that he would interact with the people of Sirsa on its program Hello Sirsa on regular basis so as to stay in touch with the city people as well as the residents of over fifty villages falling in the coverage area of the station.

Earlier, the students, radio fans and faculty members took out a Radio Rally in the town to spread awareness regarding radio.

Registrar RK Sehgal flagged off the rally.

The rally passed through various markets of the town.

Poet Sukhchain Singh Bhandari CRS Program Coordinator Amit Sangwan, Senior Lecturer Sewa Singh Bajwa and guest teachers of the department were among the participants of the rally.

Kurukshetra, November 16
A three-day international conference on "Saraswati River - A Perspective" will be organised by the Saraswati Nadi Shodh Sansthan (SNSS), Haryana, at Radha Krishan Sadan of Kurukshetra University here from November 20 to 22, said sansthan spokesperson Dhuman Singh Kirmuch.

The sansthan was engaged in unravelling the heritage, future water resources and tourism potential associated with the river system in northern India. The Saraswati is a sacred river of north-western India on the banks of which were composed the Vedas and the Bhagwad Gita.

The conference would be inaugurated by Sri Shankaracharya of Kanchi Kaam Koti Peetham, Sri Jayanendra Saraswati. The scholars and specialists, including NGOs, would participate in the conference to be presided over by Haryana Finance Minister Ajay Singh Yadav.

Chandigarh, November 16
The Mewat Development Agency is rudderless. Its guiding light has gone with the sudden death of its CEO, DIG Attar Singh Ahlawat, who took a keen interest in building up the reputation of the Board for being support of the minorities in this backward pocket.

Credited with a number of schemes implemented for the welfare of the people of Mewat, Ahlawat, from the Indian Police Services, was handpicked by the then Haryana Governor, Dr AR Kidwai, in March 2008, for the post of CEO which has traditionally been with IAS officers. Here’s a look at the various programmes Ahlawat brought to Mewat in his term of over one-and-a-half-years:

Apparel training: An Apparel Training and Design hub has been set up in the Mewat area while the MDA has started an Apparel Training and Design Centre at Rozka Meo and Kherla, Nuh, with the collaboration of SEUNE Cottonlife, Gurgaon. The SEUNE, Gurgaon has imparted training to 57 women of the Mewat area at Kherla while 50 women have been provided employment at Rozka Meo which has received an order for 11,000 uniforms from MCD, New Delhi. The Chairman, Khadi Board, Jharkhand, has also given an order to make available khadi items to their six centres.

Keeping in view the success of this programme, the MDA has expanded it to other parts of Mewat like Malab, Nai Nangla, Khanpur Ghati and Ghagas.

Artificial Jewellery and leather goods Training: The MDA conducted a six-month training programme for making artificial jewellery at Nuh where 20 youths were provided training. They are now able to earn their livelihood independently.

Another programme on the production of leather goods/articles was conducted at Mandkola where 20 youths were provided training.

IIJT, Gurgaon: As many as 34 youths are getting training in complete business accounts at IIJT, Gurgaon. The total course fee is Rs 28,000 per student of which, 75 per cent is being borne by the MDA. All students will be provided jobs on the successful completion of the course.

General nursing and midwifery diploma in nursing training and MESCO: The MDA has sent 22 girls for a 42-month course in general nursing and midwifery to SHIFFA Nursing School, Bangalore.

At the Muslim Educational Social and Cultural Organisation, Hyderabad, girls and boys are getting training in different paramedical courses with the financial assistance from the MDA.

Institute of Hospitality Management: The Institute of Hospitality Management has been set up at Mewat Model School, Nuh, for the educational and socio-economic development of the people of Mewat, particularly the minority community.

Self-help groups: The MDA has formed 3,212 self-help groups covering 41,857 poor women of the Mewat area. These self-help groups have contributed Rs 10.90 crore as savings. An amount of Rs 43.24 crore has been given as loan to 48,562 SHG members and they have repaid Rs 34.56 crore. The recovery rate of these SHGs is 100 per cent.

School of science and math: The MDA is running six model schools with a view to imparting quality education. To develop bright children in order to enable them to enter into various professional colleges, a school of science and mathematics has been set up at Nagina with greater emphasis on science, mathematics and English. At present, this school is running from class VI to class XII.