Panipat, November 19
Unlike the rest of the country, trading prospects at the local wool market have been hit hard by the imposition of Value Added Tax (VAT).The Panipat wool market is the only trading centre for wool in the country where traders have to pay 4 per cent VAT.

Wool from as many as six states, comprising of Punjab, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, is brought here for trading as this is the only wool market in the region. The market trades over 1-lakh tonnes of wool every month. Most of the commodity being traded here gets consumed in the local textile industry, while some is sent to the markets in Rajasthan.

However, due to the VAT charges, wool from this market costs a little more as compared to other states and is not bought by any other state where the demands are high.

Traders here rued that despite repeated attempts made by them, they had failed to move the state government, which had been reluctant to safeguard the interests of the wool traders.

Naresh Kumar, a local trader, said other than local spinning mills and other textile units, none bought wool from this market. He said in case they had to sell the wool to other states, they had to bear the VAT charges all by themselves which affected their margins in a big way.

He contended that when no other state in the country imposes tax on wool, the state government should also withdraw this tax so that the trading could reach new heights.

The Panipat wool market has survived the test of times and even as other markets in the region, including the one in Delhi, were closed down over the years, it continued to exist.

Besides, the market has been facing official neglect as even the basic facilities are missing here. There is no water supply, security personal, streetlights and other amenities.

The traders said they had themselves constructed a small water tank to meet their water needs, but the government had almost done nothing for the market. They said the market had been sifted here in 1991 and since then no development had taken place in the market.

Rs 10 cr sanctioned for Yamunanagar roads
Kiran Deep
Tribune News Service

Yamunanagar, November 19
Finally, realising the need of proper roads, the state government has sanctioned Rs 10 crore for re-carpeting and maintaining 22 roads in the district. Besides, nearly Rs 28 crore would be spent on the national highways, especially widening, maintaining and blacktopping of the Jagadhri-Poanta Sahib stretch.

People of the district, especially of the rural areas of Jagadhri, Chhachhrauli, Radaur and Sadhaura, have been demanding the maintenance of the roads for the past many years as their poor condition has led to a rise in the number of accidents. This year alone, 130 persons have lost their lives in road accidents. Besides, poor roads have cost the ruling Congress dearly in the Assembly elections.

Deputy commissioner Amit Kumar Agrawal said emphasis was to complete the maintenance of all roads till December end and the officials concerned had been issued instructions in this regard.

Meanwhile, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has started the maintenance of the NH-73A from Jagadhri to Poanta Sahib, which will take around six months.

“A tender worth Rs 14.25 crore for recarpeting and maintaining the Jagadhri-Bilaspur road has been given while tenders for the maintenance of the Radaur-Jathlana-Gumthala road have been invited,” he said.

The state government has also sanctioned Rs 2.93 crore for the development of internal roads, community centres and crematorium in Yamunanagar, the DC added.

Potable water source or filthy pond
Bijendra Ahlawat
Tribune News Service

Rohtak, November 19
Residents of various HUDA sectors have resented the poor condition of a reservoir meant for supplying potable water to their localities.

The resident welfare associations of these sectors, including those of sectors 1 and 3, have alleged that despite various complaints and reminders, the authorities have failed to address the problem which has become a potential health hazard.

The residents say water is being supplied from a source which has not been cleaned for a long time and thus stinks. The association has also submitted a memorandum to the HUDA administrator here, demanding an immediate action.

The residents have claimed that an inspection reveals that the water tanks are in poor condition and have become home to wild plants and weeds, besides being full of silt and mud.

The non-removal of silt and unwanted growth in these tanks has turned them into mud ponds, posing a grave health risk as drinking water is being supplied from here, although it might be cleaned before being supplied through various agents.

But the authorities cannot ignore the importance of maintaining the cleanliness of the water source as it could lead to germination of large number water-borne diseases, they say. Quoting figures released by the WHO, the residents claim that almost 80 per cent of the diseases are caused by contaminated water.

According to the residents, these water tanks are also being used by many people as a place for defecation and washing clothes and other activities which are not permissible at such a place. The residents have asked for immediate cleaning of the two water tanks located in these sectors and the erection of fence around the reservoirs to check any illegal activity, besides ensuring regular inspection and upgrading of filtration and chlorination process at the tubewell here.

“We are ready to cooperate and help the authorities in this regard,” claims a representative of the residents.

Faridabad, November 19
The addition of three more Assembly constituencies in Faridabad district on account of delimitation has caused anxiety among the officialdom as it apprehends being bogged down and subjected to needless political interference and pressure by MLAs.

The suspense in the officialdom has been heightened on account of comparatively disproportionate distribution of ministerial berths and ministerial status among Congress and Independent MLAs.

Earlier, there were only three assembly segments of NIT, Mewla Maharajput and Ballabgarh. Now, Prithla, Faridabad, Tigaon and Badkhal have been created afresh, disbanding the Mewla Maharajput segment. In effect, there are now six MLAs instead of earlier three from this district.

Although the system has apparently nourished the political class by giving an opportunity to people to contest elections, problems of the executive have not been addressed.

There are many who feel that the posts of SDM, tehsil offices and block division headquarters must also be increased or some equivalent framework of babudom must be laid down, especially for the districts which have comparatively high percentage of modernisation and growth.

The delimitation has convoluted the jurisdictional authority of both government officials and MLAs. For example, there are a number of roads which start in one constituency and pass through other segments to end in a separate constituency. Given the model of segmented growth plans on the part of the government, officers at the level of tehsil, SDM and BDOs of areas of more than one Assembly constituency will be subjected to the charges of partisanship and selective approach on the part of MLAs.

While one MLA of the Congress, Mahender Pratap, has been made a minister, the other, Sharda Rathore has been made Chief Parliamentary Secretary and given the status of a minister. The Independent MLA, Shiv Charan Sharma, has also been made a minister. Although the Tigaon seat has been won by the president of the Haryana unit of the BJP, Krishan Pal Gurjaar, the official class will be wary to take his claims and proposals about development plans in his constituency on account of his high profile political status.

Presently, there are only two offices of SDM, two tehsil offices and two block division headquarters in this district. On the contrary, the claims and demands from the political class as well as the workload and accountability of the SDMs, tehsil offices and SDOs have increased twofold.

The apprehension in the babudom is not without a reason. It has a bitter experience of being coming in the crosshairs of MLAs and politicians, especially of the ruling parties, on account of ego clashes for political supremacy in the district.

There are, however, many who feel that Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda will have to take care of competing interests among the MLAs and their followers as well as treating the officialdom merely as the ones who have simply the brief to execute the plans and government policies and keep them honest in redressing the grievances of the common man.

Fatehabad, November 19
The health authorities have decided to get tough with doctors indulging in sex determination tests in violation of the provisions of the Prenatal Diagnostic Techniques (PNDT) Act.

Civil surgeon OP Arya said in a meeting of the Advisory Committee constituted under the PNDT Act that cooperation of social, religious and political organisations would be sought in the department’s endeavours to end the menace of sex determination.

Deputy civil surgeons DK Dadhitch, MK Gupta and Ramesh Chakarwarti, district attorney Subhash Mehta and members of the committee Suman Lata Siwach, Usha Dahiya, Suvarsha Mehta, Usha Gera and Santosh Batra were present in the meeting.

“Several proactive steps have been taken by the authorities in this direction,” Dr Arya informed the members of the committee and asked them to keep a vigil on ultrasound centres around their residence.

He said it was through the efforts of the authorities that a doctor couple Rajesh Bansal and Vandana Bansal was arrested red-handed while performing sex determination test at Kulan recently.

He said the Health Department was preparing a list of families, who have first and second issues as girl children.

“We will motivate such couples to desist from sex determination as it is not only against the law but also bad for society,” he said.

Dr Arya claimed that improvement in the sex ratio had been witnessed in the district in the recent times.

“Sex ratio of the district is 881 females against 1,000 males, with the Jakhal block being the best with a ratio of 916 females against 1,000 males,” he added.

He said the state government was also taking steps to improve the sex ratio in the state.

Sonepat, November 19
With an ever increasing demand for flowers, floriculture is fast catching the fancy of a large number of farmers in the region.In towns which are situated close to the national capital, where flowers remain high on demand, more and more farmers are now opting out of traditional crops to sow flowers so as to reap huge profits.

Floriculture crops include bedding plants, flowering plants, foliage plants or houseplants, cut cultivated greens, and cut flowers. But in this area, it is the marigold, rose and gladiolus which have found favours with the growers.

A large number of fields in this part of the national capital region (NCR) which previously carried traditional crops like wheat, paddy, mustard and sunflower, now adorn vast expanses of marigold, which get farmers more profits and that too on a daily basis.

Narinder Singh, a local farmer, says marigold fetches anywhere between Rs 20 and Rs 100 per kg depending on the demand. The rates are higher during summer when the flower production is quite low, but in winter, the rates come down due to high production. In any case, the earnings are quite good, he adds.

Virender Kumar, another farmer, says local farmers emulated their counterparts in Faridabad and Gurgaon, who have been making huge profits from floriculture. He says during the festive and marriage season, the demand for flowers soars and so do prices, which means more profits.

Fields in Akbarpur Barota and Gharorda village along the NH1 have become a hub of floriculture. Farmers there find it convenient to take the produce to markets in Delhi which are always ready to buy the produce due to high demand, says Vikram, a farmer. He says a field of marigold enables him to pluck flower every third day which he sells in Delhi markets.

Kishan, who has brought more than two acres of his land under floriculture, says traditional crops fetched him in thousands, but flowers have enabled him to earn in lakhs as their demand remains high throughout the year. “This has helped us consolidate our economic standing”, he says.

Hisar, November 19
Despite sending four Congress nominees to the Vidhan Sabha and then adding one to the tally with one Haryana Janhit Party legislator switching over to the ruling party, Hisar district continues to be unrepresented in the Bhupinder Singh Hooda Cabinet.

Originally, four Congress nominees won from this district. They were Sampat Singh (Nalwa), Savitri Jindal (Hisar), Ram Niwas Ghorela (Barwala) and Naresh Selwal (Uklana). Later on, Vinod Bhayana, who won as HJC nominee from the Hansi Assembly segment, joined the Congress taking the tally to five.

Savitri Jindal was a minister when the state Assembly was dissolved. She was inducted in the Hooda Cabinet in 2005 following the death of her husband industrialist-turned-politician Om Parkash Jindal in a chopper crash.

Problems for Hisar arose when the Congress had to scout for support from independents and the HJC to attain a simple majority in the House. Hisar district was not considered when the first lot of ministers took oath of office as the Congress was trying to rope in the HJC. Had that materialised, HJC chief Kuldeep Bishnoi would have been inducted from Hisar district.

But, HJC legislators walked in without their leader complicating matters for the representation of Hisar. Hooda now has to accommodate Bhayana first thus diminishing the chances of senior leaders like former Finance Minister Sampat Singh.

A senior leader like Sampat Singh, who joined the Congress before the Assembly polls, would have been a big asset for Hooda as he would have brought in his rich administrative as well as floor management experience. Despite the presence of Randeep Singh Surjewala and Ajay Yadav, the Hooda Cabinet is still relatively raw and inexperienced.

For the record, Bhayana, Ghorela and Selwal are first-time MLAs who would not normally be considered for a berth in the Cabinet or appointment as a parliamentary secretary even. But Bhayana in all likelihood will have to be accommodated as he switched sides.

Hisar has been seeking effective representation in the Cabinet ever since Bhajan Lal demitted the office of the Chief Minister in 1996. No major development projects have been allocated to the district since then with the exception of a thermal power plant at Khedar near here. But, even that was approved years ago when Devi Lal was Chief Minister.

Voters in this district are hoping that they would get their due once the political situation stabilises and the government goes about its functioning in a normal way.

Sirsa, November 19
Pallabi De, a fine Kathak dancer, is on tour of the state these days, where she is performing at educational institutions.

A postgraduate in Economics, Pallabi took to dancing at the age of 4 and has been under the tutelage of Pandit Birju Maharaj, one of the best exponents of Kathak dance in the country today, since 2003 and has performed in several countries with him. Today, at the age of 28, Pallabi is one of the best performers of the country.

“Kathak is one of the most important classical dances of India. Kathak is derived from the word ‘katha’, meaning the art of storytelling. In ancient India, there were ‘kathakars’ or ‘bards’ who used to recite religious and mythological tales to the accompaniment music, mime and dance,” said Pallabi.

“Under the influence of Persian and Muslim traditions, Kathak dance assumed the form of courtly entertainment. Under the patronage of medieval rulers and nawabs, a class of dancing girls and courtesans emerged to entertain the palaces and courts. During the 19th century, Kathak enjoyed a revival and gained prominence among the kings and zamidars (feudal lords) not only as a form of entertainment but also as a classical art form. Slowly and gradually, gharanas or schools of Kathak emerged. The Jaipur Gharana of Kathak emphasised the technical mastery of pure dance. In the court of Wajid Ali Shah, the Nawab of Oudh (a student of Kathak), Kathak dance emphasised dramatic and sensuous expression and developed into a distinct style called the Lucknow Gharana. This gharana is said to have originated with Wajid Ali Shah's court dancer Thakur Prasadji,” said Pallabi, who belongs to the Lucknow Gharana of Kathak dance form.

During her performances, Pallabi has been performing Devi Vandana, Shiv Vandana and Guru Vandana. She has also been performing on ‘teen taal’, ‘thaat’, ‘aamad’ (welcome) and ‘chakar’ (footwork).

The biggest applause are reserved for Pallabi, when she performs ‘tukra of 17 chakkars’ or ‘ginti ki tihai’, which is “bhav in laye” i.e. abhinay in rhythm.

During this performance, she exhibits the game of hockey and also enacts moments of cricket during her dance performance. Pallabi has performed in Bollywood films like ‘Gadar’ and ‘Devdas’ under the choreography of Pandit Birju Maharaj.

She has also performed at the Rashtrapati Bhawan, the UNO Summit at Siri Fort and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s Summit at Taj, Delhi, during the SAARC Summit.

Besides performing at several occasions in different cities of the country, Pallabi has performed at the 2nd Asia Arts Festival (Beijing), Songhai, Guangzhou in China, Myanmar and Malaysia in the group choreography of Pandit Birju Maharaj organised by the ICCR, New Delhi.

Gurgaon, November 19
“BLITZKRIEG”, a two-day management and cultural festival of IBS, Gurgaon, was held at the institute campus here recently. The IBS Students Council organised the annual event, which was attended by representatives from nearly 200 management schools and corporate across the country.

Subhash Bansal, manufacturing director, Gillette India, inaugurated the management festival. The top B-Schools that participated in the festival include MDI, Gurgaon; IMI, New Delhi; Fore School of Management, New Delhi; TAPMI, Manipal; BIMTECH, Greater Noida; and ITM, Gurgaon.

The main attractions on the opening day were “Goonj - The War of Bands” and “Zephyr - The Biz Quiz” conducted by noted quizmaster Derek O. Brien.

A cross-corporate team of Accenture and Citibank was the winner of the “Zephyr” contest, while ITM, Gurgaon, appeared as winner in the “Goonj” event.

The second day of the fest also witnessed a bouquet of events and activities that enthralled the crowd. Abhinay, the dramatics competition, was won by IBS, Gurgaon.

A talk show on “Expectation of Corporate Sector from Upcoming Managers” was also organised.

The panel comprised business leaders like Sandeep Bansal, director, Silicon Biztech, Rajeev Kabra, CEO, Telegent Teletraining, Ajay Chowdhury, CEO, Benifys, ST Kalairaj from the Market Research Department of Ranbaxy, Rishi Mehra, faculty members, and PC Verma, dean, IBS, Gurgaon.

The event concluded with singer-cum-dancer Juggy D’s performance.

Shahpur (Yamunanagar), November 19
The Shree Siddhivinayak Group of Educational Institutes hosted the three-day 32nd inter-zonal youth festival of Kurukshetra University last week.

The festival was inaugurated by Congress Rajya Sabha member Ishwar Singh and Mohinder Kumar, Commissioner, Ambala division.

MK Sehgal, CEO and chairman of the Siddhivinayak group, thanked various colleges affiliated with Kurukshetra University for sending their teams to the festival.

Winners of the seven zonal festivals of Kurukshetra University participated in various cultural events like choreography, one-act play, mimicry, mime, orchestra (Indian), classical dance, classical instrument (solo), classical vocal solo, folk song Haryanvi (solo), and group song (Haryanvi). Competition was in 28 cultural events and over 125 teams and more than 500 boys and girls participated in the festival.

Prizes were given to the winners by RC Mishra, Inspector-General, Haryana Police.

Sirsa, November 19
The National Trust, a statutory body under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, works in the areas of autism, cerebral palsy, mental retardation and multiple disability, which are often referred to as developmental disabilities.

“With India’s signing of the United Nations Convention for Rights of People with Disabilities (UNCRPD), the Trust is committed to bring about a paradigm shift in the approach to disability,” says a message by Poonam Natrajan, chairperson of the Trust.

To create awareness on these issues amongst people, the Trust has sent teams of volunteers to various parts of the country under its project “Badte Kadam.”

A team led by Vinod Shukla recently visited Sirsa town, where the team met several persons, including organisations working in the field of disability. The team included Dhanshekhra, a youth from Chennai suffering from autism.

Disha, a local NGO working for persons with disabilities, organised a special programme to welcome the team and to create awareness among local people for the needs of people.

Kuldeep Singh Dhindsa, director-general of JCD Vidyapeeth, who was the chief guest of the function, lauded the role of the Trust in the rehabilitation of persons with disabilities.

RS Sangwan, a local philanthropist, Chander Shekhar Mehta, Surinder Bhatia, secretary, and Geeta Kathuria, director of the Disha, Arun Mehta and several other prominent persons of the town were present on the occasion.

“Persons with disabilities are valuable part of our community and hence we should not separate or hide them. These persons can extend themselves to work towards progress provided they are given an opportunity,” said Shukla.

“We all have the right to live with dignity and enjoy life on an equal basis. However, some people erroneously think that life of disabled persons is inferior. They can be subjected to violence and abuse. They face low expectation and have low quality of life,” Shukla said.

He said: “Such people need support and cooperation of society to lead a normal life and it is the duty of all as human beings to provide them the support they need”.

Chandigarh, November 19
He has a record of being elected to the Haryana Assembly for the sixth consecutive time, making him one of the senior-most members in the House.

Having been PWD (B&R) and Irrigation minister in the last government, Capt Ajay Singh Yadav, MLA from Rewari, says this time, he has a greater load of responsibilities on his shoulders and more expectations to live up to this term.

While being the Finance Minister of a vibrant economy is a whole-time job in itself, Yadav is also busy dealing with water disputes which have denied the state its “rightful” share of water.

Speaking to TNS about his priorities as Finance Minister, he says his focus would be to improve infrastructure in the social sector as also in the medical stream and education. “I come from a law background and it will take some time to understand the basics of how an economy is driven. I am still learning the ropes in this new assignment. However, I’m clear that the social sector will require a lot of funds, especially since the Chief Minister keeps making announcements and promises. Further, our government, even in its last term, has laid great emphasis on developing the health infrastructure and introducing incentives in education as well. These will clearly be key areas,” he says.

Further, the additional burden of disbursing the 60 per cent arrears of the Sixth Pay Commission and managing the unexpected expenditures and deficit arising out of fall in revenue would require adept handling. “In my first budget, I will try to strike a balance between concessions and taxes. However, much we may want to spare the common man, improving the financial condition of the economy may require introduction of certain taxes. We will explore that when the time comes,” he said.

Haryana being essentially an agrarian state and irrigation being a chronic problem, Yadav maintains that catering to the farmers’ requirements and meeting the water requirements would pose the biggest challenge.

“Undoubtedly, we are getting less water than what is ours. We want to construct dams and we want to get water into the Hansi-Bhutana Link Canal. Then there is the Satluj-Yamuna Link Canal and the second phase of Dadupur-Nalvi. There is absolutely no time to sit and relax. We also intend working on creating water bodies with finances from the Centre. The falling water table is a problem and reviving lakes will be a priority area as time goes by,” Yadav explains.

As he settles in this new assignment, he’s willing to take challenges head-on. Yadav maintains that this term as minister has come with a lot of challenges and he is optimistic it will end up as the most successful of stints. 

Rewari, November 19
In commemoration of the 152nd anniversary of the historic battle of Nasibpur, the Ahirwal Andolan, a voluntary organisation, as well as the Rezang La Shauriya Samiti (RLSS), jointly held a samaroh at Nasibpur, near Narnaul, recently.

The battlefield of Nasibpur ranks among the legendary battlegrounds in the state like the one at Kurukshetra, where the battle of the Mahabharata was fought between the Pandavas and the Kauravas in the pre-historic times, and the other at Panipat, where three historic battles were fought in 1526, 1556 and 1761.

The battle of Nasibpur was fought between the Indian forces and the combined British forces on November 16, 1857.

The Indian forces comprised the Jodhpur Legion commanded by Risaldar Ahmad Ali, the Ahirs and the Ranghars of the Ahirwal and the Mewat regions jointly commanded by Rao Tula Ram and his commander-in-chief Rao Gopal Dev and the forces of the Nawab of Jhajjar commanded by his general Abdus Samad Khan. Their number was a little above 5,000.

Contrary to this, the British forces, commanded by Col Gerrard, an officer of conspicuous merit, consisted of the Bengal European Fusiliers, the Patiala Infantry, the Guides and the Multan Horse.

Thus the British forces, which numbered a little above 2,500, were well organised and equipped with heavy artillery.

A fierce battle was fought. The Indians fought valiantly. The then British chroniclers - Kaye and Malleson - wrote: “Never did the enemy fight better. There was neither shirking nor lurching. Never was there a charge more gallant and certainly never were the British cavalry met so fully or in so full swing by the Rebel Horse”.

Two of the best Indian commanders - Rao Kishan Singh and Rao Ram Lal - and many other top-ranking officers as well as a large number of Indian jawans were killed in the battle.

Eventually following the decisive victory of the British, both Rao Tula Ram and Rao Gopal Dev escaped incognito to remote places in Rajasthan.

Though the battle of Nasibpur was undoubtedly one of the most decisive battles of 1857, yet unfortunately Nasibpur has failed to acquire that prominence which it richly deserved.

As a part of the commemoration ceremony, former Union Minister Col Ram Singh, chief patron of the RLSS, Rao Bijender Singh, convener of the Ahirwal Andolan and also a descendant of Rao Gopal Dev, and several others paid tributes at the war memorial at Nasibpur. Simultaneously they also held a havan at the above site.

In his keynote address, Col Ram Singh said it was unfortunate that owing to a severe lack of identification, families of the martyrs, who had laid down their lives for the sake of the motherland in the battle of Nasibpur on November 16, 1857, were lying shrouded in obscurity.

Seeking perpetuation of the memoirs of the legendary heroes of the above battle, Rao Bijender Singh urged the state government as well as the Union government to develop the battlefield of Nasibpur into a national war memorial to provide patriotic inspiration to the coming generations.

Naresh Chauhan, general secretary of the RLSS, made it known that the Samiti would soon launch a signature campaign in the entire region to mobilise the people to press the government for the expeditious acceptance of their above demands.

Apart from the above functionaries, INLD supremo and former Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, Rao Sheoraj Singh, younger brother of former Chief Minister late Rao Birender Singh and also a descendant of Rao Tula Ram, and several other dignitaries also laid wreaths at the war memorial at Nasibpur separately to pay their homage to the heroes of the battle of Nasibpur.