Faridabad, December 17
Vested interests are allegedly setting up an “illegal” concrete mixing plant in Sector 15-A behind Regent Motors near the Delhi-Mathura national highway. The plant will prepare a concoction of gravel, cement, saw dust for construction purposes.

Such ventures fall strictly in the “polluting industry” category and cannot be established close to a residential area.

Only a part of the land being used for the purpose has been sanctioned as an industrial plot. The mixing plant is being set up on half an acre in the heart of the city. The land has high value as Sector 15 and 15-A are considered to be posh areas.

It is learnt that the entire land belongs to a political family. The land has been given on lease to a private party, learnt to be a builder, who is setting up the plant.

The Residents Welfare Association of Sector 15-A(South Wing) has met the authorities concerned, including the Deputy Commissioner, the police, the chairman of the Haryana Pollution Control Board, the then Commissioner, Municipal Corporation of Faridabad, CR Rana, and the Haryana Urban Development Authority over the issue, but to no avail.

A couple of days ago, the residents took up the issue with Congress MLA Anand Kaushik. The construction work on the land for the plant is nearing completion.

Those involved in the “illegal enterprise” are carrying on the construction work on the land in a planned manner. They have constructed makeshift boundary walls to ensure that people from outside cannot see the construction activity inside.

A word has been spread in the nearby area that influential persons are involved in the venture and the residents should not meddle in the affairs.

When The Tribune staff went on the terrace of a nearby house, the inmates pleaded not to click pictures of the construction activity within the boundary walls, fearing dire consequences from the vested interests.

According to the residents, if the plant becomes operational, there will be a serious traffic problem as the main gate on the plot will open on the internal road passing through the sector which will be used for heavy vehicles.

Residents said that more than 100 families having senior citizens lived near the area where the plant was being set up.

Interestingly, the residences of the Deputy Commissioner, the police authorities, District and Sessions Judges and some other top bureaucrats fall in the vicinity of the land where the plant is being set up.

Fatehabad, December 17
Pandemic Influenza A (H1N1) has claimed its first victim in Fatehabad. Seema (32) from Nai Basti in Jakhal town died in the PGIMS, Chandigarh, last night.

She was admitted to a private hospital in Tohana with symptoms of influenza last week and shifted to Chandigarh on December 10, where she tested positive for swine flu.

She died last night after she developed multiple disorders.

“The patient slip issued by the PGIMS shows she had enlargement of spleen, respiratory distress syndrome and acute renal failure,” said Civil Surgeon OP Arya.

Dr Arya maintained that the health authorities had launched a survey in the area.

Meanwhile, the 11 nursing students hospitalised with symptoms of influenza at Ratia yesterday were discharged today.

A report from from Sirsa said two more suspected cases of swine flu have been reported from Sirsa. “The samples of a woman from Ellanabad and a youth from Nathor showing symptoms of category C influenza, have been sent to the NICD for testing,” said Dr Viresh Bhushan, nodal officer.

The woman is in the isolation ward of the local general hospital while the youth is getting treatment at a private hospital.

Rohtak: The district authorities have imposed Section 144 with about 100 H1N1 cases reported in the district so far.

The authorities said this had been done to check the spread of the disease.

Now, children suffering from any kind of fever or with symptoms of flu will not be permitted to attend classes.

If any violation takes place, the school and parents will be liable to a punitive action. The DC said all schools had been told about the decision.

“The prime responsibility in this regard would lie with the principal, classteacher and management,” he added. 

Chandigarh, December 17
No more bags to bog down students - that’s the mission Haryana the Education Department has set for students of lower primary classes in government schools in the next academic session.

Further, to add excitement to the mundane classroom teaching, the department has decided to introduce computer-aided learning for the benefit of these students under the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA).

These initiatives come as part of a larger strategy of the department to not only “catch them young” but also in continuance with its experiment to make education a joyous 
experience.

The department has decided to do away with bags for students from classes I to III in select government schools, which will be given a computer, an LCD projector, a sound system and education software for regular classes.

“Initially, we plan to start this as a pilot project in 40 schools, nearly two in each district, from the forthcoming academic session, which begins in April 2010. Students of these select schools will come empty-handed and go back the same way. Their books and copies will be kept in the school itself.

These students will not be given any homework because at their level, learning at home is not required,” disclosed Chief Parliamentary Secretary Rao Dan Singh, given the Education portfolio and attached to the Education Minister.

The department is in the process of finalising a list of these schools which will pioneer the move in Haryana.

“We want to go slow in this initiative which is why we are keeping the number limited in the first round. Based on the response and feedback from these schools, and alterations in the programme, if any, we will extend it to all schools of Haryana gradually. The project will be rolled out in urban schools initially and stabilised before extending it to the rest,” PK Das, state Project Director, SSA, said.

While students of junior classes will be spared the torture of carrying burdensome bags to and fro all through the year, computer-aided learning will be introduced for students up to Class VIII in these schools.

Though the department maintains that its EDUSAT programme, started to provide quality education in the remotest of villages, has been a success, the ground reality seems different given the fact that it is plagued by problems, including those of snapped signals and power cuts, thereby failing to deliver.

Given this, it remains to be seen how the department decides to package its computer-aided learning programme to kindle the students’ interest in
academics. 

Karnal, December 17
Haryana BJP president Krishan Pal Gurjar today demanded a high-level inquiry by a sitting High Court judge into allegations of moral turpitude against some senior police officers linked to the Haryana Police Academy at Madhuban.

He said the credibility of the state police was at stake and as such the allegations must be probed to ascertain the truth in the larger interest of the state and the people, he told mediapersons here.

Taking exception to criminal cases against key functionaries of local daily “Abhi Abhi” which published a series of articles on the police academy, Gurjar urged Chief minister BS Hooda to immediately withdraw these as it was an assault on the freedom of the press.

He said earlier lower-level officials like inspectors, SIs and constables were found involved in “sordid acts”.

Now names of senior IPS officers also figured in such incidents. This was, indeed, shameful.

He urged the government to set up a separate police academy for women run by women officers to avoid such situations. Taking the government head on on law and order, the BJP president claimed that Haryana was now second to Delhi in atrocities against women as per official statistics. Cases of atrocities against Dalit women had gone up six times from 53 cases in 2003-2004 to 301 in 2008-2009. Haryana was among top three states infamous for female foeticide. Gujjar lashed out at the Congress for indulging in undemocratic and corrupt practices to muster a majority in the assembly and sought the resignation of five Independent MLAs who had “joined hands” with the Congress to form the government, betraying the trust of people who had elected them.

Pleading for making the Anti-Defection Act more stringent to curb ”opportunistic defections” , Gujjar said the Act should be amended to incorporate a provision that made it mandatory for anyone defecting to resign and seek re-election.

Chandigarh, December 17
The Punjab and Haryana High Court today asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to consider if it was appropriate to seek cancellation of the bail to Sant Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, the “main accused” in sect manager Ranjit Singh’s murder case.

The assertion came during the hearing of a bail plea filed by an accused, Avtar Singh. He had contended, “In the present case, prime accused Baba Gurmeet Singh was allowed anticipatory bail”, while he had been in custody since November 6, 2006.

As the matter came up, Justice Ranjit Singh asserted: “The prime submission made by the counsel for the petitioner is that the main accused, who is a baba, was granted anticipatory bail by the court and subsequently regular bail. But the persons like the petitioner, who are alleged to have conspired in the case, have been behind the bars for a prolonged period. The present application is the third attempt on the part of the petitioner to seek bail.”

“There is some justification in the grievance made by the petitioner. In fact, one of the bail petitions of the co-accused had earlier been fixed before this court when the CBI had made some statement that they would seek cancellation of the bail of the main accused.

“As per the counsel, the appeal, though filed, was not pursued. The CBI will consider why the undertaking given to this court has not been honoured and why the application filed for the cancellation of bail has not been pursued. The CBI may consider in case it is appropriate to seek cancellation of the bail of the main accused”. 

Ambala, December 17
Two victims of a highway robbery were admitted to Sarwal Nursing Home in the city today. Chander Kishore, a resident of the Ambala City Housing Board Colony, was waiting for a bus at the Pipli highway last night when a silver Indica car stopped near him. The driver of the car offered to take him to Ambala if he paid him the bus fare.

Four persons were already seated in the car. An unsuspecting Chander Kishore accepted the offer. On the way, the occupants started beating him.

They snatched his ATM card and forced him to disclose its code. The robbers withdrew Rs 15,000 from a nearby ATM by using the card. They took away his mobile phone and Rs 2,800 in cash and then threw him into a field near Ismailabad in Kurukshetra.

A police patrol in a Gypsy helped him to board a truck going toward Ambala. He reached home early this morning and was later admitted to Sarwal Nursing Home, Dr Ashok Sarwal said that Chander Kishore had sustained a fracture on one hand and injuries on the chest.

The highway robbers also targeted Ravi Bharti. He too was waiting for a bus on the main road near the Pipli bus stand when a driver of an Indica car offered to take him to Ambala. He too was thrashed by four persons already seated in the car.

Chandigarh, December 17
A hike in tariff for the Haryana Roadways buses is being considered though no substantial and immediate increase in the bus fare is expected in the near future.

This was stated by OP Jain, Transport Minister, while addressing a press conference here today. He said since the prices of all commodities were rising, bus fares, too, needed to be revised.

“However, it is only a proposal and we don’t even know if it will be effected,” he said.

Jain said the Transport Department had a plan to convert the Panipat bus stand into a five-storeyed structure to raise its height to the level of the Panipat flyover so that Haryana Roadways buses could also use the flyover.The minister said instructions had been issued to all drivers to halt buses at fast food counters of Haryana Tourism.

Chandigarh, December 17
The 4th Pinjore Heritage Festival will be held at the Yadavindra Gardens, Pinjore, from December 18 to 20. This was disclosed by OP Jain, Tourism, Transport and Civil Aviation Minister, while addressing a press conference here today.

He said the Governor Jagannath Pahadia will inaugurate the festival on December 18 and Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda will be the chief guest at the closing ceremony on December 20.

Stating that Haryana Roadways had made special arrangements for plying buses between Chandigarh-Panchkula-Pinjore and back at short intervals, Jain said the festival was being organised with the support of Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, in which J&K was a partner state. The partner state would put up a stall in the ‘Food Bazaar’ and also give cultural performances during the festival.

He said that a street bazaar reminiscent of the Mughal times would be created with shops and clusters of stalls, tented pavilion, food plaza, performance stage. Jain said that a Crafts Baazar would also be set up in which a number of craftsmen and weavers have been invited to sell their Handlooms and Handicrafts products.

He said that cultural evenings will be hosted on all the three days with the assistance of the Information, Public Relations and Cultural Affairs Department. Jain said on December 18 classical and sufiana music will be presented by Ustaad Iqbal Ahmed Khan and Ustaad Imran Khan; on December 19, qawali will be sung by Shabab Iqbal Sabri and Afzal Sabri; and on December 20 ghazals will be rendered by Hariharan.

“A number of competitions have been planned for children, including painting, rangoli, facing-painting, mehandi, fancy dress and sudoku,” he added. Keshni Anand Arora, Financial Commissioner and Principal Secretary Tourism and Housing, said the Department was hopeful of attracting more tourists after the declaration of Kalka-Shimla railway track as World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

She added that a ‘travel mart’ will be held at Gurgaon on December 19-20 on the pattern of Dubai. A shopping festival will also be organised for 15 days in February 2010. In addition, a new project in an area of 32 acres was would be set up besides the Oasis Tourist Complex at Karnal.