Rewari, January 4
Uncovered high-tension (HT) wires have been proving fatal for the national bird, peacock, in rural areas of the Ahirwal region.

More than 36 peacocks have perished due to electric shock caused by their incidental entanglement in HT wires in various villages of Rewari and Mahendergarh districts in the past few months.

Every week, one or more of the peacocks get electrocuted in the region.

If the administration as well as the DHBVN authorities failed to initiate positive measures urgently to save peacocks or the bird might face extinction in the area.

In a latest incident at Paldi Panihar village in Mahendergrah district, while one peacock got electrocuted, another sustained injuries after they came in touch with high tension wires.

Locals said while there were plenty of peacocks in the village, the 11 KV line of the new feeder had been taking a heavy toll on peacocks. They rued that the apathy of DHBVN officials could spell more a disaster for the birds in the days to come.

In another such incident, which occurred at Khariwada village in the Ateli area of Mahendergarh district, a peacock died of electric shock when it abruptly got entangled in HT wires.

Stating that five more peacocks had been electrocuted in the village previously, villagers deplored that overhanging high tension wires had been proving a death trap for peacocks.

In another incident at Lukhi village of Rewari district recently (December 23), three peacocks were electrocuted after they got entrapped in HT wires.

Irked over the death of three peacocks, the villagers urged the DHBVN authorities to insulate bare wires expeditiously.

Subsequently, officials of the wildlife department, functionaries of the People For Animals and officials of the Nahar police post also visited one such spot where peacocks were electrocuted.

The inclusion of all such incidents which took place in various villages of the region in the past several months will make the story voluminous.

Meanwhile, residents of the region have appealed to the administration as well as the DHBVN authorities to do the needful to save peacocks.

Chandigarh, January 4
If all goes well, each district of Haryana will soon have its digital database.

The Haryana Space Applications Centre (HARSAC), Hisar, of the Department of Science and Technology has embarked upon an ambitious project of the Geographical Information Systems (GIS)-based resources and infrastructure mapping in the state.

The project envisages the creation of digital databases for each district on 1:50,000 scale for the rural areas and 1:2,000 scale for the urban areas. The database will include linear features like roads, railway lines, canals/drainage network, settlement locations; administrative boundaries (state, district, tehsil, block, village, assembly and parliamentary constituencies, police station jurisdiction etc.); natural resource maps like water bodies, forests/ plantations, land use/ land cover, soils, geology/ geo-morphology, wastelands, cropping patterns, crop rotations, ground water prospects, land degradation etc.

The database will also include GPS locations of government infrastructure and facilities in all villages and marking on the base maps the basic urban amenities, major land marks, institutions, facilities, government offices etc for each town like schools, colleges, technical, vocational institutions, health centres, veterinary hospitals, police stations, water supply schemes, bus stands, railway stations, mini-secretariats, judicial complexes, power houses. It will also contain census data (households, population, Scheduled Caste population, sex ratio, literacy rate, number of voters etc.).

The state government has sanctioned Rs 298 lakh to HARSAC for the project.

Already as a pilot study to test the project design and its implementation, HARSAC has created the digital database of Rohtak district. Using this database it has also prepared a resource atlas of Rohtak district.

Haryana Science and Technology Minister Randeep Singh Surjewala says that until recently maps in paper form have been the mainstay for a wide variety of applications and decision-making.

With the promotion of e-governance this trend is changing as more spatial data and information on a wider variety of topics or themes is being demanded in the digital form. He is confident that the resource

atlas would be very useful for the planners, administrators and government officials in the developmental planning of the district.

The Departments of Science and Technology of the state and the union government have signed an MOU to collaborate technically to prepare base maps of all major towns of the state on 1:2,000 scale using very high-resolution satellite data. The base map will include network of roads/ streets, sector and locality names and boundaries and locations of all basic urban amenities, major landmarks, institutions, facilities, and government offices.

All data to be created under the project will be put on a geo-portal to be created by HARSAC in the near future.

Jhajjar, January 4
Here is a good news for physically challenged persons who have been waiting for the clearance of their backlog in government jobs. They should get ready to avail the chances for getting the posts soon, as the Haryana government has decided to fill the backlog of vacancies of disabled category seats lying vacant for a long time in various government departments.

Following the move, the state government has not only directed all its departments to send information regarding the present status of posts to be filled by the physically challenged persons, but also set a deadline for the purpose.

The departments have been asked to send the information in a prescribed performa before January 15 so that the process of clearing backlog could be initiated at the earliest.

The Education, Health, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister, Geeta Bhukkal, disclosed this here recently. She said the information had been sought with a view to giving due share in government jobs to the physically challenged persons as per the state government policy.

“The state government is determined to bring disabled persons in the mainstream. For that, the government has been spending a sum of Rs 71.40 crore on various schemes being pursued for their welfare,” said the minister, adding that under the scheme, persons with minimum 70 per cent disability and above 18 years of age were given monthly pension of Rs 500 and those with 100 per cent disability were given monthly pension of Rs 750.

Geeta Bhukkal informed as per the reservation policy of the state government, three per cent posts were reserved for physically challenged persons. Out of this, one per cent was meant for the persons with locomotor disability, one per cent for deaf and dumb and one per cent for the visually impaired persons.

She maintained a boarding school for blinds was also being run at Panipat in which blind students in the age group of 6 to 18 years were being provided free education, boarding and lodging facility. 

Gurgaon, January 4
Cases of cyber crime and economic offences showed a significant increase in the past year, during which many bank accounts got opened on the basis of fake identity proofs were detected in the city and other parts of the region.

“Such bank accounts were sold for Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 and the possibility of these being used by anti-social elements like terrorists and drug mafia etc cannot be ruled out,” said Gurgaon Police Commissioner SS Deswal in a recent interaction with the newsmen here.

He said the bank authorities had been directed to conduct physical verification of the accounts opened in 2009.

“From now on, if any such case is detected, the bank authorities will be held responsible for that,” Deswal said, adding that the complaints of bank accounts opened on fake identity proofs were received more from private banks as compared to the nationalised ones. The police personnel would also be trained on various aspects of checking cyber crime, he maintained.

He pointed out that the post-mortem report system had been computerised so that the report is legible and is given to the family-members of the deceased before they were handed over the body.

“The move is aimed at bringing transparency in the procedure. If the family members are not satisfied with the report, they can get the body re-examined by a medical board or some other agency,” he said.

Deswal, who was accompanied by Joint Commissioner of Police Alok Mittal, DCP (Headquarters) Kulwinder Singh, DCP (East) Jagdish Nagar, DCP (West) Rakesh Arya, DCP (South) Pala Ram and DCP (Crime) Anil Dhawan, further asserted that a prosecution cell would also be set up to monitor and follow the trials of accused in courts in order to ensure maximum convictions.

In view of the forthcoming Commonwealth Games, the local police authorities had asked all weapon licence-holders to deposit their weapons at their respective police stations by March 30. The deposited weapons would be handed over to their owners after the games were over.

Replying to a question, Deswal said the Haryana Government had introduced rules for the registration of private security agencies in the state. Now, those desirous of running a security agency will have to get themselves registered and obtain a licence.

The application in this regard should be addressed to the Additional Director-General of Police (Law& Order), Haryana, Chandigarh, he added.

Meanwhile, giving the annual crime statistics, the Police Commissioner said the Gurgaon police busted 35 gangs of criminals during 2009 and recovered property worth about Rs 4.42 crore from their possession.

“As many as 5,250 criminals were arrested during the year,” he said, adding that the district recorded a lesser number of criminal cases in 2009 as compared to the previous year.

Sonepat, December 31
Under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, around 21,000 families have been issued job cards in seven development blocks of the district by the end of November so far, according to deputy commissioner Ajit Joshi.

He disclosed that 3,987 job cards had been issued in the Gannuar block and other blocks included 3,606 cards in Gohana, 3,165 in Sonepat, 2,920 in Murlana, 2,523 in Kharkhoda, 2,495 in Rai and 2,241 in the Kathura block. Out of these, bank accounts of as many as 12,231 beneficiaries had already been opened.

Giving details of the scheme being implemented in the district since April 1, 2008, Joshi informed that the district had so far received over Rs 3.67 crore from the Centre and Rs 36.73 lakh from the state government. Out of this, around Rs 3.44 crore had already been spent on the execution of different works under the Act.

Under the programme, he said, the administration had sanctioned as many as 320 projects in different blocks of the district and out of these, 72 projects had already been completed and work on 91 was being completed and remaining 157 works yet to be started.

He said as many as 1,303 works had been proposed for construction in different blocks of the district with an estimated expenditure of Rs 6.50 crore.

“The administration has sent a request for the release of the next instalment of the 
budget allocation for making payments for the ongoing works and starting new ones,” he said.

The major works, numbering 163, had been completed so far at a cost of Rs 3.21 crore, he said, and added that these included de-silting of 85 village ponds at a cost of Rs 1.80 crore, construction of six new ponds, construction of 12 retaining walls involving the expenditure of Rs 52 lakh, metalling of 38 open drains and repair of three ring bunds.

Sonepat, January 4
Savera is a community development initiative taken by students of the Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram University of Science and Technology to voluntarily teach underprivileged children. The programme was initiated by Vir Sein, a student who passed out in 2008, and is being continued with commitment by several other students under the guidance of university’s Vice-Chancellor HS Chahal.

The initiative took wings in a building that had no lights or fans. There was no seating arrangement for student or their young teachers. The students used to sit in the verandah.

However, acknowledging the selfless service of students, the Vice-Chancellor later sanctioned some funds to upgraded facilities in the school. “We now have seating and light arrangements. The building has also been repaired and spruced up. Computer education has also been started,” remarked students of the university and that of the school.

Dr Chahal said a team of 40 students of the university was currently teaching around 125 students, including students of senior secondary classes. The classes are held for two hours in the evening daily. “Ten volunteers are present everyday for teaching students,” he said. Those attending classes regularly were given free books, he added.

Hisar, January 4
An occasional visit to his hometown Hisar rejuvenates actor Yashpal Sharma, who is among the few Haryanvis who have made it big in Bollywood. Sharma, who was here last week visiting his elder brother, Ghanshyam, said a visit to Hisar was a great stressbuster.

"Whenever I feel like taking a break from my busy schedule in Bollywood, I head for Hisar to relive some of the best moments of my life", he said. He remembers the times he pulled a rickshaw borrowed from a rickshawpuller, Ram Charan, to earn a few bucks. He recalls how as a teen he used to steal radishes, mangoes and lemons from fields that lay just beyond his Canal Colony residence here.

Sharma adores his elder brother who, he said, always supported him when he was a struggler doing the rounds of film studios in Mumbai. "Bhai sahib used to send me money which helped me survive for years before I started getting good roles", he recalls.

After graduating from the National School of Drama in 1994, he remained in a repertoire for about two years before moving to Mumbai in 1997. He considers veteran actors Pankaj Kapur and Naseerudin Shah as his ideals who, like him, started with theatre and never gave it up even after making it big in films.

It was Aashish Vidyarthi who egged him on to get a portfolio prepared and meet good directors. "His advice was invaluable. It was because of him that I came in contact with notable directors and, ultimately, Sudhir Mishra gave me a role and also helped me bag roles in Shool and Arjun Pandit", he said.

Sharma said Govind Nihlani's film, Hazar Chaurasi ki Maa, offered him an opportunity to work alongside noted actors like Jaya Bacchhan and Nandita Das. But it was Lagaan, which brought him to limelight. "After that I did not need to introduce myself anywhere", he chuckled adding that thereafter roles came his way effortlessly which included films like Gangajal and Ab Tak Chhappan.

His forthcoming films include Lamha whose cast includes Sanjay Dutt, Bipasha Basu and Anupam Kher. He is also playing an important role in a film based on the stories of Shivani Bhatnagar and Madhumita Shukla. Other titles are: Yeh Sunday Kyun Aata Hai, Shyam Benegal's Well Done Abba and Rajpal Yadav's Ata Pata Laapta and Gitanjali.

Yashpal says he is devoting a lot of time to theatre these days. "I will again be in Hisar after three months and stage a play in my home town", he adds with the enthusiasm of a teenager. Such is his love for theatre.

Panipat, January 4
A number of firms from this textile hub of the nation are all set to participate in the 20th Heimtextil International Trade Fair to be held at Frankfurt (Germany) from January 13 to 16.

The local industry hopes to get export orders worth Rs 500 crore through the fair this year. Exhibitors from around 60 countries would present their products at the fair.There would be high-grade special shows and workshops aimed at revolutionising the textile trend in the international arena.

According to local textile producers, the Heimtextil International Trade Fair hosts special shows at the beginning of every year that help them rediscover international trends, besides bagging attractive contracts worth crores. Manufacturers also get first-class orientation aid for product development, furnishing and latest designs at the fair.

This is the 20th year in a row that the organisers have invited product and material designers to harmonise trends and tendencies from all fields of interior design from across the world. This would help in breaking down the rigid structures and generate new ideas with unequivocal emphasis on future. The fair would would present a unique range of products to the visitors from all over the world.

It would also promote young people in the textile industry and trade. In 2010, the interdisciplinary focus of the world’s leading fair would be wall coverings and wallpaper would be a highlight.

There would also be several special shows like “Wallpaper Tuning”, a spectacular collection combining traditional and modern ideas introducing the work of young European designers in connection with interior walls. There will be an opportunity for local industrialists to understand current trends through special lectures to be held during the fair.

Textile manufactures from many other industrial clusters across the country, including Mau, Bhadohi, Gorakhpur, Ambedkar Nagar (Thanda), Pochampalli, Coimbatore, Tiruppur and Salem, are also expected to participate in the fair.

Local industrialists have already booked more than 100 stalls at the fair to display local textile products.

Sirsa, January 4
The district electoral officer (DEO) has asked all political parties and candidates contesting the January 20 Ellenabad Assembly byelection to observe the model code of conduct in its totality.

“No political party or candidate shall indulge in any activity which may aggravate existing differences or create mutual hatred or cause tension between different castes and communities, religious or linguistic,” said a release issued by the DEO, Sirsa.

There shall be no appeal to caste or communal feelings for securing votes. Mosques, churches, temples or other places of worship shall not be used as forum for election propaganda, he added.

“All parties and candidates shall avoid scrupulously all activities which are corrupt practices and offences under the election law. Activities like bribing of voters, intimidation and impersonation of voters, canvassing within 100 m of polling stations, holding public meetings during the period of 48 hours ending with the hour fixed for the close of the poll, and transport and conveyance of voters to and fro polling station are banned under the model code of conduct,” said the release.

No political party or candidate shall permit its or his followers to make use of any individuals land, building, compound wall etc., without his permission, for erecting flag-staffs, suspending banners, pasting notices, writing slogans, etc.

Political parties or candidates shall ensure that their supporters do not create obstructions in or break up meetings and processions organised by other political parties.

Workers or sympathisers of one political party shall not create disturbances at public meetings organised by another political party by putting questions orally or in writing or by distributing leaflets of their own party.

Processions shall not be taken out by one party along places at which meetings are being held by another party. Posters issued by one party shall not be removed by workers of another party.

The party or candidate shall inform the local police authorities of the venue and time any proposed meeting well in time so as to enable the police to make necessary arrangements for controlling traffic and maintaining peace and order.

A party or candidate shall ascertain in advance if there are any restrictive or prohibitory orders in force in the place proposed for the meeting, the release said.

The party in power whether at the centre or in the state shall ensure that no cause is given for any complaint that it has used its official position for the purposes of its election campaign.

The ministers shall not combine their official visit with electioneering work and shall not also make use of official machinery or personnel during the electioneering work.

Government transport, including official aircraft, vehicles, machinery and personnel, shall not be used for furtherance of the interest of the party in power.

Issue of advertisement at the cost of public exchequer in newspapers and other media and the misuse of official mass media during the election period for partisan coverage of political news and publicity regarding achievements with a view to furthering the prospects of the party in power shall be scrupulously avoided.

Ministers and other authorities shall not sanction grants/payments out of discretionary funds or announce any financial grants in any form or promises thereof or lay foundation stones of projects or schemes of any kind or make any promise of construction of roads, provision of drinking water facilities or make any adhoc appointments in government or public undertakings.

As per schedule issued by Election Commission of India for byelection to Ellenabad Assembly constituency, the nomination papers could be filed by January 2, 2010, and scrutiny of the nomination papers will be done on January 4, 2010.

Last date for withdrawal of candidature is January 6, 2010 and the poll will be held on January 20, 2010. Counting of votes will take place on January 23 and the election process will complete on January 24, 2010. 

Sirsa, January 4
“It is high time that instead of wasting time on cosmetic changes, the country goes for a major surgery of its ailing and archaic police system. A thorough revamping of the system that has loads of colonial burden on its shoulders is the need of the hour”.

Human rights activist and former BSF Deputy Commandant Aridaman Jit Singh said this while speaking at CDLU Radio’s “web-varta” programme.

In the backdrop of the Ruchika case, where a former Haryana top cop appears to have misused his powers and position in collusion with other pillars of the democratic system, the discourse focused on locating the root-cause of the problem.

Aridaman Jit Singh runs Nishan, an organisation dedicated to human rights and justice.

When asked to suggest how to deal with the crisis, he said the recruitment system must be changed.

He said officers of the Indian Police Service (IPS) were enjoying unlimited powers under the present system while their subordinates were handling the real work.

Cut off from the ground realities and lack of training and orientation to deal with real life situations, they often wreak havoc, he said, adding that Rathore and others like him are products of this colonial legacy that India must act.

Presently associated with NATO for its High Readiness Land Forces as trainer on international training exercises, Aridaman Jit Singh demanded revamping of the IPS route of entry into the police system.

“All recruitments should be direct from a single route so that everybody, including those rising to the ranks of district and state police chiefs, should be made to pass through the same route”.

He said while it was a fashion these days to accuse the political leadership for the failure of the police to deliver in most of the cases, including the glaring ones (Ruchika, Jessica, Priyadarshini Matoo, Nithari etc), the elitist IPS was the real culprit.

Disclosing that his organisation was working on a pilot project against corruption in Nilokheri block of Karnal district and under this project, Nishan would be releasing a corruption level report on the lines of the reports of the Transparency International.

“We would strive to declare this block as zero tolerance area so far as corruption is concerned,” he said.

He said the organisation was trying to use social action as a tool for the eradication of corruption and did not want to wait for the government to act.

Responding to a query raised by Sunil Nehra, an LLB student and former IAF personnel, Aridaman Jit Singh said the corruption bug had already infected the armed forces and judiciary as well.

He said while collective action would certainly help in rooting out this evil, this action itself would originate at the level of individuals.

The guest speaker congratulated the department for its efforts to initiate a debate on various issues of social and national importance. He said media students with pro-pubic orientation might become effective catalysts of change as and when they entered the media industry.

Others who participated in the discussion included Roshan Suchan, Chetan Singh, Surjeet Singh, Mukul Monga and Pravin Dhoon. 

Jhajjar, January 4
With a view to keeping alive memories of Abdur Rehman Khan, a martyr of the 1857 revolution, and the last monarch of the Jhajjar riyasat, the district authorities have decided to develop a park on the Old Tehsil campus located in the middle of the city.

A life-size statue of Abdur Rehman Khan will be installed inside the park. His tale of valour and heroism will also be displayed there so that a spirit of patriotism could be inculcated among the younger generation.

The Old Tehsil campus, at present, is in dilapidated condition, and the tehsil office has already been shifted from here to mini-secretariat.

Disclosing this, Nitin Yadav, deputy commissioner, said the contribution and sacrifice of Nawab Abdur Rehman Khan could not be forgotten as he not only showed audacity to resist the policies of the British but also provided succour to freedom fighters despite adverse circumstances.

History reveals that even as the freedom movement was believed to have begun with the revolt of 1857 from Meerut, the then Nawab of Jhajjar, Abdur Rahman Khan, was a warrior who not only gave an impetus to this movement by revolting against the English rule but also played a vital role in inspiring people, especially the youth, to fight against the foreign regime.

In 1857, when the British rulers started to take hold of the assets of various riyasats of the then Jhajjar province, Rahman resisted to this act by turning down their orders.

Consequently, British rulers initiated a case against him on the charge of helping freedom fighters government.

Besides, the Nawab had also to face the charges of dereliction of duty and having correspondence with freedom fighters. Eventually, Rahman was hanged to death in front of Red Fort, New Delhi, on December 23, 1857, following a death sentence announced by a court.

Yadav said, “It is a matter of pride for residents of the district that they had a brave king like Abdur Rehman who not only fought for the country’s freedom but also was among the royal revolutionaries who gave a tough time to British rulers”.

Now, it was the responsibility of the residents to keep his memories alive so that the new generation could be made aware of his contribution in the freedom movement, the DC added.

“Since some residents of this district have vital information about the life and struggle of Rehman in the form of documents, a public notice has been issued that anyone having such documents should submit them with the District Information and Public Relation Office (DIPRO) so that they could be used for public interest”.

“We have also decided to contact some prominent historians who had written about Rehman in their books/ journals in order to collect more information about him,” he added.

Faridabad, January 4
Irked at the alleged indifferent attitude of private schools towards the state government's directive with regard to a hike in tuition fees, parents have decided to give a fresh momentum to their ongoing agitation against the “errant” institutions.

The parents have been waging a struggle under the banner of Haryana School Abhibhavak Ekta Manch against managements of private schools for raising tuition fees since February last year. They are also appalled at the fact that the institutes remained unmindful of the interim order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on the issue.

Earlier, the private schools had moved the court against a directive of the Education Commissioner-cum-Director General of School Education which prohibited them to increase the tuition fees unilaterally.

The directive had said private schools must meet the increased expense on account of salaries of the teachers following recommendation of the Sixth Pay Commission from their own special funds. However, the schools could raise the tuition fees up to 20 per cent. Significantly, the directive specified that only those schools which have submitted their accounts of annual income and expenditure to the government by July 21, 2008, could raise the fees.

A majority of the schools have, however, flouted the directive and also the High Court's interim order upholding the government's decision till the case is pending.

The parents allege that the schools have unilaterally increased the fees by up to 45 per cent.

The state executive committee of the Haryana School Abhivavak Ekta Manch in its meeting, held recently, has decided to hold demonstrations at district headquarters from January 13 to press the government to intervene.

The manch has also written to MLAs and MPs and state ministers, urging them not to attend functions of private schools which had flouted the government’s directive and disobeyed the court's interim order. The manch has cautioned them of public action if they did not heed to its suggestion of boycotting the schools.

The manch has decided to hold a state-level convention of parents in Februrary to chart out the future course of action against the “errant” schools.

Meanwhile, the manch has initiated contempt of court cases against some schools in the high court. It has also lamented the indifference of the state government for not doing enough to get its own order implemented.

Ambala, January 4
Police DAV Public School, Ambala City, has been gradually becoming a model for other educational institutions in the field of water conservation and environment endorsement.

The design of the school building is such that the rainwater flows toward one side. It is then channelled into the ground through a deep pipe fitted in an underground tank. The groundwater level of the school campus, which was very low a few years back, has gone up considerably over the years. The school has managed to collect the runoff rainwater that otherwise goes to the sewer or storm drains.

Principal of the school Vikas Kohli said rainwater harvesting could be an ideal solution to the water woes of a city like Ambala. Rainwater was bacteriologically pure, free from organic matter and soft in nature. Moreover, it helped in checking flooding of the school premises during the rainy season, he added. Solar lights would also be installed on the school campus to save electricity.

The school has lawns spread in around two acres, where a number of herbal and flower plants have been planted. The school has set up sprinkler system in the lawns to make watering of plants automatic and proper.

The school thus saves around 70 per cent of water required for its irrigation in a common way. Green monitors have been appointed in all classes who persuade students to keep the school campus green and clean.

The school has launched a special campaign for the students and staff to grow more ‘tulsi’ plants on the school campus and in their houses. Hundreds of ‘tulsi’ plants can be seen on the school campus, which is maintained by the students themselves. Recently, an organisation has awarded the school for promoting ‘tulsi’ plantation. No student is allowed to bring any polythene bag to the school.

In fact, any solution to the environment crisis will require environment awareness to be deeply rooted in the educational system at every level.

An environmentalist of Ambala and chairman of the Green Circle Society RP Gupta is of the view that a subject on environment should be introduced in the school curriculum so that the coming generations could be made aware of its importance.

Q. What do you do to de-stress at home?

A. I don’t take stress at all because one can’t take decisions under stress.

Q. What are your favourite leisure activities?

A. Reading and listening to music, chatting with friends and family, playing cards or tennis, watching TV, exploring investment options and indulging in sports, especially badminton.

Q. What do you always carry?

A. My guru’s blessings are always with me.

Q. Anything you learnt from your parents that you would like to share?

A. Everybody learns from their parents but I am a self-made man. My father died when I was 13 years old. Since then, I resolved to build myself up.

Q. Who are your closest friends and what do they do?

A. That is very personal. I don’t wish to disclose their names.

Q. What is the job that you have valued most and found most rewarding?

A. I think politics is the most rewarding job since it provides an opportunity to serve the public. What I could not do by being outside the system, I will do now.

Q. Are you a good leader or a good follower?

A. I don’t know about myself. What I know is that Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda is a good leader and I am a good “sewak”.

Q. Do you consider yourself a fast or a slow learner?

A. I think I’m super-fast in whatever I take on.

Q. Do you set goals for yourself and your departments?

A. Of course, I set goals for my departments and in public interest, I also realise these goals.

Q. How do you divide your working hours?

A. I spend 10 days in the constituency redressing grievances of my people. The rest of the time in any month I spend in Chandigarh, attending to office work.

Q. Who is the first person you consult in the department?

A. The principal secretary.

Q. How well do you know your departments?

A. I am learning slowly and identifying what I can do for the common man.

Q. What difference would you like to make in 2010?

A. I want to bring about improvement in the three departments that have been given to me and make these public-friendly. I am doing all this in accordance with the wishes of the Chief Minister.

Q. Between the time you were younger and now, what are the changes you see in Haryana?

A. In the last few year, the NCR has made rapid strides. The proximity to Delhi has helped develop our towns and cities, bringing more industry to Haryana.

Q. What are the three most serious challenges the state will face during the next five years?

A. I think the most serious challenges will come from power, employment and infrastructure development. If we can address these, I don’t think Haryana will have any further challenges.

Q. What are the handicaps under which your own departments work?

A. In sports, we are short of coaches and we require foreign expertise as well to come up in any game which we are presently lacking. The police force, anyway, is understaffed.

Q. Are your departments overstaffed or understaffed?

A. I think we are highly understaffed.

Q. What kind of people will your departments require during the next five years?

A. We will require all kinds of people and all kinds of qualifications.

Q. Should the Anti-Defection Act be made more stringent?

A. I think the Act is absolutely fine in its present form.

Q. If defection by one-third of the members is unlawful and immoral, why should defection by two-third of the members be deemed acceptable?

A. The decision of the majority in any party ought to be respected, which is why I think it is acceptable.

Sirsa, January 4
Qualified ayurvedic practitioners should be given medico-legal rights and adequate budgetary provisions should be made for research in ayurveda. This is necessary for popularising and reviving this ancient Indian system of medicine. Although the efforts being made by personalities like Baba Ramdev have rekindled the curiosity of entire world about the strengths of ayurvedic system, it’s potential is yet to be explored to its optimum level.

Dr Baldev Kumar, associate professor in ayurveda at the National Institute of Ayurveda (NIA), Jaipur, observed this while interacting with radio audience and students of the media in web-varta series of programmes started by CDLU Community Radio here.

The programme was hosted by station director Virender Singh Chauhan. Dr Hetal Dave of Shri Krishna Government Ayurvedic College, Kurukshetra, too participated in the on line discussion that was broadcast on the radio.

Dr Baldev said ayurveda was yet to get the importance due to it so far as the government support in terms of policy and funding was concerned. He said apart from the lack of official support, several misconceptions prevalent in society about ayurvedic medicines were responsible for the lack of its popularity.

“It is generally presumed that ayurvedic medicines work slowly and it has no treatment for severe and critical ailments,” he said stating that in several diseases ayurvedic medicine give faster results vis-à-vis allopathic treatment.

“Another misconception relates to the cost of these medicines. Not all ayurvedic medicines are as costly as they are perceived to be and generally the cost of treatment is lesser than the corresponding treatment available in the modern system of medicine,” he said.

He informed that admissions to BAMS course being run by the NIA were made through an all-India competitive examination and 10 seats in the course were reserved for girls. Apart from BAMS, the institute is running postgraduate course named MD in ayurveda and also PhD in ayurveda.

Responding to a query, Dr Hetal said intake of water at the end of meal is prohibited under the ayurvedic system.

‘Bhojnante visham vaari’, she quoted from ancient scriptures stating that drinking water immediately after taking food dilutes digestive fluids in our body thereby making it hard for the body to digest the food.

Kurukshetra January 4
Dr Neelima Shangla, Additional Sessions Judge, Kurukshetra, has sentenced Chaman Lal, alias Chimnu, to life imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 50,000 for raping his 12-year-old niece.

Neelam (name changed) was playing in front of her house on August 19, 2008, when her uncle, Chaman Lal, took her inside a room and raped her. Her parents were away at the time of the crime.

Upon their return Neelam narrated the entire incident to her mother. The victim was taken to a hospital for a medical examination after which the matter was reported to the police. Consequently, the accused was arrested.

After hearing arguments and perusing the evidence on record, Dr Shangla held the accused guilty raping his minor niece.

In addition to the above offence, the convict was also guilty and convicted under sections 452 and 506, IPC. He was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment of five years along with a fine of Rs 2000 under section 452, IPC. Under section 506, IPC, the convict was awarded rigorous imprisonment of one year and a fine of Rs 1000. All sentences were, however, ordered to run concurrently.

In default of payment of the fine of Rs 50,000, the convict was ordered to undergo simple imprisonment of three years.