Chandigarh, December 30
Though 2009 gave no reason to cheer when it came to the state’s dwindling sex ratio, the New Year in Haryana seems to be kicking off on just the right note - with a prayer for more girl children.

Come January 1, Bhiwani, which has a sex ratio of 862 per 1,000 in the newborn category, will see as many as 501 women, who have given birth to girl children in the past two months, come together to perform the “Kuan pujan” or “Jalwa”, conventionally performed for sons in the Jat heartland.

Tradition has it that praying to the well and at the well, the only source of water in olden times and the lifeline of the village, will not only bring good luck for the newborn son, but will also earn the blessings of the God in the process “ensuring” that the next born in the family too is a son.

This is for the first time that, at the initiative of the district administration, so many families will get together to pray at the well in the district’s famous Jogiwala mandir to pray for more girl children in their families.

“Since redressing the issue of a skewed sex ratio is more about changing mindsets and mobilising the public, we thought of playing the game by the rules of society. We sent out a message through the Red Cross volunteers and the local cable for a “maha kuan pujan” for the girl children born in November and December. We asked those interested to come forward and register their names. Despite the overwhelming response, after we touched the 501 figure, we had to stop registration since we wanted to keep the crowd manageable for the prayer,” said Deputy Commissioner Vikas Gupta, who, after finding that efforts to check the dwindling sex ratio in the district were not bearing fruit, initiated the effort in the district.

And, that’s not all. The district administration, on its part, as an incentive to check female foeticide has arranged an insurance cover to protect the newborn girls. Under the scheme, the administration, out of the funds available to the Red Cross, insures every girl child at the time of birth for all sections of society.

In case the child loses one of her parents, before or at the age of 18 years, she will be given a sum of Rs 50,000 under the scheme. This incentive too has shown desired results in the society, especially in the rural pockets, where girls were seen as a burden for their families. The girl children of all the families participating in the “maha kuan pujan” on January 1 will be insured the same day.

“We rolled out the scheme a few months ago and are getting a very good response. The main concern of any family in bringing up a daughter was that she was not only born a burden but became more so if a parent died. To address this very bottleneck, we brought in this policy whereby the worries of a family to raise a daughter in case of a parent’s death are reduced. As many as 300 families with girl children have already been given the policy while 500 more will be added on January 1,” explains Gupta.

Given the rising concern to check the skewed sex ratio, hopefully 2010 should turn out to be a better year than the one that went by.

Ellenabad, December 30
Local Congress workers exhibited a semblance of solidarity when the party today organised a rally to mark the filing of nomination of its candidate for the January 20 byelection, Bharat Singh Beniwal.

Several local leaders, who had been keeping a distance from the party’s campaign ever since Beniwal was nominated on December 25, were seen on the dais today when Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Union Minister and in charge of Haryana affairs in the AICC Prithviraj Chavan, Indian Youth Congress president Ashok Tanwar, HPCC president Phool Chand Mullana and executive president of the state Congress Kuldeep Sharma addressed the rally at the local grain market.

Also present on the dais were Haryana ministers Randeep Singh Surjewala, Geeta Bhukkal, OP Jain, Gobind Kanda, chief parliamentary secretaries Prahlad Singh Gillankhera and Jaleb Khan, MLA Sampat Singh and others like Ranjit Singh, KV Singh, Dura Ram and LD Arora though none of them got the opportunity to speak.

“Contest the byelection unitedly,” was the message of most of the speakers to Congress leaders sitting on the dais, many of whom had given written complaints against each other to the Congress high command regarding sabotage after the recent Assembly elections.

Hooda went a step further by issuing a stern warning to detractors within the party.

“Enough is enough. This time, I will not tolerate any sabotage against my candidate,” warned the Chief Minister. “Jo mere ummidwaar ki taang kheechega, main uski taang kheech doonga (whosoever pulls the leg of my candidate, I will pull his leg).”

Hooda urged people to reject the Chautala clan this time as he had resigned from here to retain Uchana Kalan though Ellenabad returned him by a bigger margin.

Terming the INLD as a party of just one family, he said the party could not find a candidate outside the Chautala clan.

Prithviraj Chavan, Mullana, Kuldeep Sharma and Tanwar also called upon workers to forget petty issues and work for winning the byelection.

Earlier, the Chief Minister, Chavan, Mullana and Tanwar accompanied Beniwal to the office of returning officer Munish Nagpal, where Beniwal filed his papers.

As per the earlier programme, Hooda’s helicopter was to land in Ellenabad at 12.30 pm but it was delayed and he reached the town at 2 pm as foggy conditions in the morning delayed his take-off from Delhi, said police sources.

The weather was so murky till the afternoon that few people had gathered in the grain market venue of the rally till noon.

However, people started pouring in once the weather opened up and by the time Hooda arrived at the rally venue at about 2.45 pm, the shed under which the rally was organised was packed with people. 

Returning officer Munish Nagpal today received three nominations for the January 20 byelection to the Ellenabad seat here today.

The papers were filed by Congress nominee Bharat Singh Beniwal, his wife Ram Murti (as his covering candidate) and Samast Bharatiya Party candidate Kusum Chaudhary.

SBP president Sudesh Agarwal and his wife Neelam Agarwal, president of the women wing of the party, were also present.

As per the affidavit submitted by Beniwal with his nomination papers, a criminal case under Sections 447, 307 and 34 of the IPC and Sections 25/27/54/59 of the Arms Act is pending against him.

The case was registered in Nathusari Chopta police station of Sirsa district on August 25, 2008, when he was a sitting MLA of the ruling party. The case is still under investigation.

SBP candidate Kusum Chaudhary has been facing a trial in a criminal case registered against her in Rohtak. A criminal case under Section 452, 506 and 34 of the IPC is pending against her. Chaudhary is BA (third year) dropout as per her declaration and possesses movable assets worth Rs 30.45 lakh and immovable assets worth Rs 128 lakh.

Beniwal’s declaration mentions his educational qualification as literate only. He possesses Rs 1.40 lakh in cash, while his wife Ram Murti has Rs 25,000.

Beniwal’s bank deposit is Rs 10,938, while Ram Murti has Rs 91,558 in saving accounts and Rs 50,000 in fixed deposit accounts.

The couple together possesses 250 gm of gold and Beniwal also possesses a double barrel gun. Beniwal and his family members own immovable property worth Rs 1.50 crore and a Hyundai Accent car.

Sirsa, December 30
Former Haryana minister and Congress MLA from Nalwa Sampat Singh today denied that he was in any way responsible for the denial of justice to Ruchika’s family.

Sampat Singh was the Home Minister in the Hukam Singh government when Ruchika was molested by former DGP SPS Rathore and former Home Secretary JK Duggal had recently accused him of shielding Rathore at that time.

Welcoming the registration of fresh cases against Rathore by the Panchkula police following Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s intervention, Sampat Singh alleged that former Home Secretary JK Duggal and former DGP RR Singh, who were now trying to find scapegoats, were themselves responsible for the denial of justice to Ruchika’s family.

“I was the Home Minister under a Chief Minister, who said on record that he was “dummy of a dummy”; so how could have I interfered in the working of the government at that time,” Sampat Singh asked.

He said everyone in Haryana knew whom Hukam Singh referred to when he made the statement that he was “dummy of a dummy” and hence people should have no doubts as to who was responsible for shielding Rathore at that time.

Sampat Singh maintained that when a complaint regarding the molestation on August 12, 1990, was received by the police on August 15, 1990, it became the duty of the SHO to register an FIR as provided under Section 154 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

However, the police, that was headed by RR Singh, failed in its responsibility and then Duggal succeeded in deviating the case by getting a departmental inquiry marked from Hukam Singh.

“The statement of Duggal that he received a complaint is rather intriguing. It is not common for anyone to approach the Home Secretary for any complaint. So it seems that the whole exercise was aimed at deviating the case and deny justice to the aggrieved family,” said the former minister.

Accusing former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal of having shown extra favouritism towards Rathore, Sampat Singh alleged that the former Chief Minister dropped the chargesheet against Rathore on January 4, 1994, barely six days after Ruchika’s suicide on December 29, 1993.

“That was the most insensitive behaviour of the former Chief Minister to have not only withdrawn the chargesheet against him but to promote him to the post of ADGP on November 4, 1994,” Sampat Singh said. 

Chandigarh, December 30
The year 2009 was crucial for Haryana and it was not just for the fact that the government went to polls. Power cuts and water shortage emerged as the biggest headache for the Congress government as it tried to balance various sections in its limited supplies in the election year when its troubles were further compounded by the drought-like conditions. That was 2009.

With elections over and the Congress regaining power after “playing” its number game to perfection, the New Year promises to come packed with some relief and respite for its people.

While power will be augmented with the commissioning of new units of power plants, water, its corruption and paucity, will be among the priority areas. In many ways, it will be a “carrying-forward” year with some of the projects rolled out and set up in the government’s last term fructifying in 2010.

In the power sector, though summers are unlikely to be “sweat-free” for department officials and the public, the commissioning of two units of 600 MW of the Rajiv Gandhi Thermal Plant at Kheddar will add to the much-needed power pool in the state by March end. Also, of the three units of the Indira Gandhi Super Thermal Power Station, the first 500 MW unit will come in July while the second unit will come in October next year.

The Power Department has planned a special loss reduction drive where teams will be given targets to bring a significant improvement on the distribution side as well. If 2010 promises to be a “powerful” year, it’s likely to bring good news on the water front too. The second leg of the Rajiv Gandhi Drinking Water Scheme for parched villages of Mewat is likely to be completed by March 31, taking water by tapping ground water for drinking purposes and carrying it through a 68-km-long pipeline. The New Year will also mark the beginning of a project to check contamination of sub-soil water for which a Rs 200 crore stimulus package for 16 non-NCR towns was announced early this year.

Satisfied by the Nandi Foundation experiment of setting up reverse osmosis plants, the project will be extended to pockets with high fluoride content and villages where water is brackish. Tenders for the same are likely to be floated in the next two months. In the Information Technology sector, Haryana will likely be more aggressive in the coming months with compulsory finger printing of each stakeholder to become a reality in effecting a transparent public distribution system.

Also, while the entire VAT and GST can go online, the department is likely to extend the e-tendering concept to 18 departments, including the panchayati raj, municipal councils, excise and taxation.

The public can look to having better roads with 11 more roads declared as national highways and the laying of an economic corridor for which a feasibility study is already on.

Yamunanagar, December 30
Bollywood actor Yashpal Sharma today assured all possible support to promote the Haryana international film festival from next year stating that cinema was a powerful medium for social reform and also educate people about their rights and motivate them to fight together.

He said this on the concluding day of the Second Haryana international film festival at the DAV College for Girls here today.

“I will help the festival reach the national level by providing all kind of help and also take up the issue with like-minded actor of Bollywood to extend their support,” he added.

“We all have to work hard in Bollywood and have a busy schedule. However, besides professional commitment, I also want to contribute towards society. Film festival is a unique way to promote cinema and I strongly feel to promote such activities,” he said.

Sharma, who was the chief guest here, distributed certificates to students of different universities of north India, who had participated in the film appreciation course here and also honoured all those involved in different works in the film festival.

College Principal and organiser of the film festival Sushma Arya said: “After the success of the festival for the second time, our commitment for the cause further strengthens. We got tremendous support from actors and directors. All those who visited here assured support and we will hold the festival at a grand scale next year.”

More than 70 movies of 20 countries were shown at three different venues in the college, she added.

Director of the film festival Ajit Rai said many rare regional, Indian and international films were shown during the film festival. This festival would create new cinema environment in the state. People got a chance to see those movies that were earlier screened only at international festivals.

“Film festivals are important to provide a different kind of cinema to the people. Special movies highlighting art and culture were also shown during the festival,” said critic and writer Vinod Bhardwaj.

Chandigarh, December 30
The Haryana Rural Development Fund Administration Board has sanctioned Rs 696 crore to execute various development works during the current financial year. Out of this, expenditure to the tune of Rs 415.60 crore had already been incurred so far.

Stating this here recently, a spokesman for the board said the amount collected through the HRDF was being incurred in rural areas for development of roads, setting up of dispensaries, augmentation of water supply, sanitation and for providing other public facilities. He said Rs 594 crore had been earmarked for the construction of 6,340 streets with drains in the state. Besides, Rs 17.85 crore had been sanctioned for the construction of 595 women chaupals under the second phase of the innovative scheme.

To empower women in the state, an ambitious scheme for construction of chaupals for them was launched in the state. — TNS

Chandigarh, December 30
The Haryana government has notified 22 slum areas of the Municipal Corporation, Gurgaon, where various facilities are being provided free of cost by the government.

An official spokesman said here recently that the notified slums were Feroz Gandhi Colony No. 1, Manohar Nagar, Baldev Nagar, Amar Colony, Prem Nagar, Rajiv Nagar, Idgah Basti, Veer Nagar, New Jyoti Park, Gandhi Nagar and Hira Nagar.

Similarly, New Subhash Nagar, Mahavir Pura, Bhimgarh Kheri, Laxman Vihar, Vishnu Garden, Om Nagar, Shanti Nagar, Nai Basti, Madanpuri Gali No. 11, Rajendra Park, Bhim Nagar and a part of Krishna Colony had been notified.

Gurgaon, December 30
The Gurgaon police has arrested five youths in connection with the murder of a DPS student whom they had tried to kidnap for ransom.

Mohammad Azharuddin, son of Mohammad Akhtar, a resident of Maruti Kunj at Bhondsi in the district and student of Class XI, had gone missing on November 21 when he was on his way to Palwal.

Akthar had asked Azharuddin to submit his salary statement to a bank manager in Palwal district as he had applied for an educational loan for his daughter, a student of BBA.

While Azharuddin was on his way to Palwal, he reportedly met three of the five accused - Sayeed Aftab (a family friend of the victim), Ravi Kumar, alias Goldie, and Manoj Yadav (all neighbours of the victim), who offered to drop him at Palwal. They had an Alto car borrowed from a friend.

Ravi got down near Bhondsi while Manoj and Aftab drove till Palwal. There, they told the victim that since they had borrowed the car for the entire day, they wanted to drive a little further. Then, they took him to Itawa in Uttar Pradesh, where they were joined by two other accomplices.

Azharuddin eventually realised that the youths wanted to kidnap him for ransom; but by then, it was too late. “Fearing that they would be identified, the four strangled the victim and threw his body in the nearby forests,” said Anil Dhawan, DCP (Crime).

Meanwhile, when Azharuddin did not return till late in the evening and his cellphone being switched off, his father reported the matter to the police.

Then on December 17, Akhtar received a call from Azharuddin’s mobile number in which the caller claimed to have kidnapped his son and demanded for Rs 50 lakh as ransom. Following this, Aftab and Manoj accompanied Akhtar to the police station even in arranging the ransom amount, the police said.

The two other accused arrested in the case have been identified as Mohammad Anish, a call centre cab driver, and Thomas, an auto driver, both residents of Sangam Vihar in South Delhi. According to the police, the five have confessed to their crime and have been remanded in police custody for locating the body of the victim. The two accomplices who joined Manoj and Aftab in Itawa are still at large.

Manoj is a student of BSc (correspondence) while Aftab is pursuing MBA (correspondence) from a private university in Uttar Pradesh. Ravi is a photographer by profession. All accused are in their early twenties.