Hisar, January 11
Old age pensioners are up in arms against the decision of the local Municipal Council to disburse pension at its office instead of designated premises in different wards.

Thus far pension was being disbursed in a staggered manner in different wards. This system ensured that the elderly pensioners received their pensions almost at their doorsteps.

However, the council decided last week to disburse pension at its office here citing security as the reason. Pensioners from 15 wards were asked to collect their pension on Friday last.

Hundreds of pensioners gathered at the council office in the morning. The staff was not adequately prepared to disburse pension to such a large number of pensioners. This led to chaos and the elderly blocked traffic on the road outside the Municipal Council office.

The elderly pensioners were made to wait in the open in biting cold for hours together. Many were asked to go to the first floor of the building to receive the pension. Many of the pensioners had to be carried by younger relatives to the first floor. Disbursement could begin in the afternoon only and only a handful could collect their pension. The rest were asked to come back on Saturday.

They lifted the blockade after a councillor convinced them that the decision to disburse pension at the office itself had been taken to ensure the safety of the staff as well as the money.

However, a similar fate awaited the aged and the infirm the next day too. As a result. there were protests.

A 103-year-old pensioner, Vasdev, and his 90-year-old wife, Lilawati, who live in an Old Age Home said they had never felt so humiliated in their life. "It is not sammaan pension, it is apmaan pension", Vasdev commented wryly. Interestingly, the old age pension has been officially named as sammaan pension.

The pensioners also lamented that most of them were not in a position to travel long distances to collect the pension. Besides, they had to hire rickshaws or autorickshaws to reach the council office, which meant additional expenses they could ill afford.

The pensioners have demanded that pension should be delivered at their doorsteps either by the council staff or through money orders.

Rohtak, January 11
Dr. Sachit Sharma, a senior medical officer (HCMS-1), Department of Urology, PGIMS, Rohtak, affiliated to the Pt. B.D Sharma University of Medical Sciences, Rohtak, Haryana, has been selected for the coveted SIU International Fellowship by the Canada-based Institutes and Scholarships Committee of Societe' Internationale' d'Urologie (SIU), the approved Official International Authority in the field of urology, the world over.

Dr Sharma has been trained at the premier medical institute of the country - the AIIMS, New Delhi, under laparoscopic and robotic surgery stalwarts. The Fellowship pertains to "Advanced endorology, laparoscopy and renal transplant". Being the first doctor from Haryana to bag this International Fellowship, the honour has brought laurels to the state, the PGIMS in particular, in the field of urology at the international level.

Incidentally, Dr Sharma also bagged two 'Best Paper Awards" at the recent 55th annual conference of International College of Surgeons (IS). He has been felicitated with various international and national fellowships, including the ' Fellow of Association of Surgeons of India, Fellow of Indian Academy of Medical Sciences, Fellow of International Medical Specialities and the Fellow of International College of Surgeons.

Prof S.S Sangwan, Vice-Chancellor of Pt. BD Sharma University of Health Sciences, Rohtak, and Dr C.S Dhull, Director, PGIMS, Rohtak, have congratulated the young doctor on his achievement and expressed the hope that the advanced state-of-the-art urology training received during the fellowship will be of great benefit for the patients of Haryana.

Jhajjar, January 11
The much-awaited project of setting up 100-bed Central Research Institute of Yoga and Naturopathy by the Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy (CCRYN), an autonomous body under the Department of AYUSH, Union Ministry of Health, has been shifted from Bhadsa to Deverkhana village under the Bahadurgarh sub-division here due to some technical reasons.

Following the development, the gram panchayat of Deverkhana village has not only unanimously resolved to make available 10 acres of its shamlat land (common land) for the establishment of the institute here, but also the project has been sent to the director, Panchayat Haryana, Chandigarh, by the Jhajjar district administration for getting final nod in this regard.

Since the district authorities have lend a hand to the CCRYN in getting all required formalities fulfilled in this connection, the project will not have to wait for long in getting a green signal from the state government side.

Jhajjar deputy commissioner Nitin Yadav said the Deverkhana site was much suitable than the earlier one as it had not only got connectivity with Gurgaon, New Delhi and other surrounding states of Haryana but also drinking water was readily available from NCR water channel and Gurgaon water supply scheme.

Notably, a majority of Jhajjar villages have either groundwater salty due to the excess of TDS or not drinkable. Hence, people have to remain dependent only on the water supply of the public health or natural sources.

“The surrounding area of the new site has already been notified as “controlled areas” under the provision of the Punjab Scheduled Roads And Controlled Areas Restriction of the Unregulated Development Act, 1963. The government has been envisaged the controlled and planned development of the area in the vicinity of this site. Moreover, the Reliance SEZ is also being developed around the site,” informed Yadav adding that the land was also free from floods. Even in case of heavy rains, the land was properly drained through drain no 8 which became Najafgarh drain in New Delhi.

He maintained the mammoth project of AIIMS-II in Jhajjar was also being set up merely 4 km away from the site of the institute.

Notably, the project had stuck in official formalities last year when the director, Panchayat Haryana, Chandigarh, had raised some objections in connection with the allotment of proposed land in Bhadsa village on lease for 33 years.

In the objection letter to the Jhajjar deputy commissioner, office of director, Panchayat Haryana, had sought that it be clarified that the proposed land did not fall under the jurisdiction of the one that had been allotted to set up AIIMS-II in Bhadsa village. The collector rate and market price of the proposed land had also been sought.

Besides, a consent report of the authorities concerned regarding the suitability of the land and resolution of allotment to the CCRYN, with a confirmation by competent officer, had also been sought.

The CCRYN, working on scientific lines in yoga and naturopathy and to undertake any education, training and research, had proposed the Jhajjar administration to establish the Central Research Institute of Yoga and Naturopathy in December 2006. It was to invest about 11 crore for the preparation of infrastructure of the centre at that time, but the project took nearly three years to get 10 acres now in Devarkhana village owing to ‘apathetical’ attitude of the authorities towards it.

Karnal, January 11
Intense cold wave and foggy conditions cast shadow on the first-ever four-day "Job and educational fair" organised by an NGO 'Naukri Paisa.com", which received a lukewarm response as more than 60 per cent recruitment agencies failed to show up.

Only 12 of the 26 companies expected to take part in 'recruitment' festival kept date with job-seekers even as more than 1200 registrations were done in spite of adverse weather conditions.

The coordinator of the event Amit Gautam said that the role of their NGO was of a facilitator and mediator between the companies and the job-seekers, especially those hailing from rural areas which had no connection or link with the recruiting organisations and agencies.

"We bring the companies and job-seekers on a common platform and cater to special needs of clients and provide them all possible help and guidance to enhance their job profile and enable them to get suitable employment", he added.

The spectrum of job market was wide open and it was not possible even for those in the mainstream to follow the emerging job opportunities in different trades and professions and the 'Naukri Paisa.com' acts a bridge to reduce the information gap.

"We have established a countrywide network with client companies in corporate, banking, retail, BPO, Industry and education, software, service and other major sectors and our aim is to build long term relationship with client companies to fully understand their business and manpower requirements and draw up strategies to meet their recruitment needs", he explained.

He said the main objective of the job and educational fair was to reach out to youth in rural areas and guide and educate them about the whole gamut of market prepositions and jobs available to them as per their educational and professional qualifications and experience.

Gupta informed that the charges for registration were only Rs10 while Rs 200 were charged for SMS alert for one year for informing the prospective job-seeker about the employment opportunities available in specific sectors.

Arena multimedia, IELTS, GR Institute of medical sciences, IIT JEE career solutions and companies like Tata Indicom, HDFC, Bajaj alliance, IBM and BPO call net were among the recruiters who made it to the fair. 

Rewari, January 11
With the mustard crop almost in full bloom, mustard fields on the Kosli-Kanina and Nahar-Charkhi Dadri roads in the Kosli region of Rewari district have become a lively hub for numerous beekeepers-cum- honey collectors of Bihar, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan.

These honey-collectors have hired mustard fields from farmers to put up hundreds of bee-containing boxes in the fields in various villages of the region.

Each box contains at least one fertile female, which persistently maintains the breeding growth of bees at a fair level in that box.

The essence sucked from mustard flowers by bees is then stored into the above boxes where it is moulded into honey.

Simultaneously, this gathering of essence from flowers by the bees also leads to immense pollination which again is instrumental in a luxuriant growth of the mustard crop much to the benefit of the farmers.

Raj Kumar and Pappu, both honey-collectors from Bihar, who have set up apiaries (bee boxes) in several mustard fields on the Kosli-Kanina road , said each such box provided 10 kg of honey every week.

The honey thus collected was sold at Rs. 80-90 per kg to private agencies, they said. They went on to say that it was a seasonal business, which lasted two to three months in the winter season.

However, they collected honey by putting up bee boxes amid sun flowers as well as eucalyptuses during the off-season period, they added.

Sirsa, January 11
Event management industry in the country is poised to grow very fast in the next two years. The expanding industry would definitely require more and more trained and skilled youths for handling the scenario. So those having potential and orientation suitable for the industry must hone their skills and obtain formal education in the event management.

Vineet Gera, event manager in Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad, said this while interacting with students and teachers of the media, during a seminar organised through video-conferencing in the Media Centre of Chaudhary Devi Lal University here. Virender Singh Chauhan, CDLU radio director and chairperson of Mass Communication Department presided at the event.

Gera said, as per an estimate of the FICCI and PricewaterhouseCoopers, the event management industry in the country was destined to become a Rs 1900 Crore industry from its current size of Rs 900 Crore, in the next two years.

Interacting with the participants via web-conferencing, Gera said event managers and event management companies were now managing all kinds of events, including conferences, convocations, product launches, marriages and even birthday parties.

More and more people from upper-middle and affluent classes are now hiring the services of the professional event managers to make their events memorable.

Gera said presently only a few institutes, including the Event Management Development Institute (EMDI), National Institute of Event Management and the Ramoji International School of Event Management, offered a diploma in the event management. A full-fledged postgraduate degree or an undergraduate degree was yet to be started in the country.

Responding to a query, Vineet Gera said performing arts was yet another field that was poised to grow at a faster pace.

He said the interested candidates must posses good communication skills, common sense and an artistic nature.

Apart from this, one must be ready to work round the clock, as at times the professionals had to work overnight to meet the deadlines.

He said Ramoji Film City was world's largest film city, as per the Guinness Book of Records, and it owned Telugu Daily Eenadu and twelve satellite channels in the regional languages.

He said at the media institute of the Ramoji Film City, 40 students are offered free education on the basis of an entrance test, and those who qualify get to work with the news-media venture of the Ramoji Group.

Author of the book 'From Resume to Selection in Job Interview and Group Discussion, Vineet Gera said, writing a good resume and the way one faces an interview were very important aspects that determined placement of the young graduates of any discipline in their respective industries.

Speaking on the occasion, Virender Singh Chauhan, chairperson of the host department, called upon the students to explore their potentialities and shape themselves as per the requirements of the industry.

Ankita Bansal, Aparajita, Mamta Khyalia, Daya, Surjeet Nehra and Praveen Kumar also participated in the online seminar.

Ambala, January 11
Ambala City will soon be included in the category of Industrial Model Township. Deputy commissioner Samir Pal Saro had summoned a meeting of senior officers of the district two days ago to formulate all necessary formalities for the project. A committee under the supervision of SDM Arvind Sharma was also set up to finalise the site of land for it.

Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda at a function in Ambala City last month had announced that an industrial model township like other industrial towns of the state would be set up in Ambala City. It is learnt that local MLA Venod Sharma had played an important role to convince the Chief Minister for the project.

According to information, the industrial township would be developed in more than 250 acres and most probably the land adjoining to the Ambala-Chandigarh Highway would be selected for it.

The entrepreneurs of Ambala are of the view that after the setting up of the industrial township, the prospect of setting up new industries will be boosted. Ambala was a most suitable place for industrial township as it is connected with the railway station and three national highways, they added.

Rajinder Nath, a pioneer of mixie (kitchen gadget) industries in Ambala and former chairman of the Haryana Chamber of Commerce and Industries, while welcoming the new venture, said some big industry should have been set up in the township as it would help to develop a number of insularly units. He said exemption in central excise tax should also be offered to the entrepreneurs for setting up of their units in new township like Himachal Pradesh and Uttrakhand.

Bharat Bhushan Jain, a young entrepreneur of Ambala, said it would prove a blessing for this city as Ambala was always ignored in the past. He said in the coming years this city would be known for its industrial development which would create a lot of job opportunities too.

Arun Aggarwal, president of the Ambala Beopar Mandal, said the industrial township would ultimately benefit other small traders too.

The deputy commissioner said the administration would put its best efforts to complete all formalities for it at the earliest. He said it would be a most successful industrial township and would attract big investors.

Chandigarh, January 11
“Monitoring”, “implementation” and “delivery” have become key words of the Haryana administration after Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, in his first New Year address of his second tenure, told senior bureaucrats that “good is not good when better is possible. You have worked well, but there is a scope for doing more. The New Year must begin with a new resolve to accelerate development”.

During informal in-house analyses of the “less-than-expected” performance of the Congress in the October Assembly elections, his confidants told Hooda that the ruling party had created a sort of records by forming the government for the second consecutive term in the state, the electorate of which is known as a hard task master, who does not hesitate to punish the ruling party hard. Still the party’s electoral performance could have been better if the bureaucracy, particularly in the field, had implemented the government schemes, many of which were unique and imaginatively, sincerely.

No wonder, Hooda chose to start the New Year by telling administrative secretaries of various departments the need for “systematic and regular” monitoring of various schemes because, as he put it, “best of ideas fail because of weak implementation”.

Leaving no one in doubt that the process of monitoring would be multi-layered, Hooda told the secretaries to focus on core functions of their respective departments, identify key performance indicators and visit the field to ensure effective implementation of the schemes. To keep the secretaries on their toes, chief secretary Urvashi Gulati was told to review the progress of the flagship schemes on a monthly basis. Not content with that, he also told the secretaries to send quarterly reports on the implementation of the Central Government Welfare Schemes to the Chief Minister Secretariat.

To ensure that the Chief Minister’s message to officers to focus on delivery of services, Gulati recently held a review of NABARD-funded schemes in the state.

Now, Anuradha Gupta, additional principal secretary to the Chief Minister, will review the ongoing developmental projects and welfare schemes of all districts falling under the Ambala division on January 13. Among other things, Gupta would try to ascertain the reasons why works under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), a prestigious programme of the UPA government, had not yet been started in certain villages of Ambala district.

Besides this, she would also review the implementation of various welfare schemes of the Electricity Department, Water Supply, Irrigation, Public Works Department, Rural Development, Education, Health, Public Distribution System, Old-age Pension, supplementary nutrition being provided in anganwaris and activities of the Sakhshar Mahila Samoohs.

Yamunanagar, January 11
The district police has adopted a unique technique to spread the awareness about traffic rules among those who violate them and get challaned. The police has set up a special unit where the traffic cops will show a movie about the traffic rules and regulations to those who were challaned while they come to pay fine. Besides it, the special unit of the traffic police will also give a book carrying all rules and regulation to each violator.

The police took the step keeping in view the ignorance and lack of concern among the people about the traffic rules and regulations.

As many as 196 persons were killed and 367 were injured in the accidents, while 14,430 were issued challan for violating traffic rules last year in the district. Besides it, the district administration too has identified 28 most accident-prone roads and studied the causes behind the most frequent accidents on these roads.

SP Vikas Arora said: “The district has been witnessing a huge flow of traffic on national highways, state highways and internal roads as the district is sharing its borders with UP and Himachal Pradesh. So, we have launched a campaign to reduce the number of accidents by spreading awareness among the people since last week. We have organised seminars at different places for locals, school and college children, taxi, bus and truck drivers to inform them about the traffic rules and regulations”.

“Besides it, we have set up a special unit to spread awareness among the people about the traffic rules and regulation through movie and are also providing books on traffic rules to the commuters,” he added.

Deputy commissioner Amit Kumar Aggarwal said: “In the absence of proper rules and regulations in India, 40 per cent more people are killed in road accidents than in European countries. Out of 1,000 road accidents, 40 persons are killed in the country, while only 2 persons are killed in the similar accidents in European countries”.

“We have been organising seminars at different places to spread awareness among the people about the traffic rules. Besides it, SDMs of the district have been directed to ensure that electric poles and all kind of hoardings that had been pointed as the cause of accident at the accident-prone roads should be removed as soon as possible. Besides it, maintenance and carpeting of roads has already started at different places so that the poor condition of the roads cannot become the cause of accidents in the future,” he added.

Ellenabad, January 11
Electioneering has picked momentum for the January 20 assembly byelection for the Ellenabad assembly seat.

Hooda has campaigned for Congress candidate Bharat Singh Beniwal from January 8 to January 10 and besides addressing public meetings at Nathusari Chopta and Ellenabad town, he covered 36 villages of the constituency on his “vijay rath”, an air-conditioned luxury bus with a lift fitted in it to the rooftop.

He will be visiting Ellenabad again towards the end of election campaign, said Congress sources.

Om Parkash Chautala, too, has started his campaign for his candidate Abhay Singh Chautala on January 10 and he will be staying here till the end, said an INLD source.

Congress campaign that looked lackluster in the beginning has picked momentum after campaigning by Hooda.

HPCC president Phool Chand Mulana and CM’s son His son Deepender Singh Hooda also accompanied Hooda during his campaign.

“The party has assigned duties to as many as 85 MLAs, former MLAs and senior Congress leaders from all over Haryana besides over 10 ministers and chief parliamentary secretaries to campaign for the Congress candidate,” said Ashok Tanwar, Congress MP from Sirsa, and president of the Indian Youth Congress.

State minister Randeep Singh Surjewala has also campaigned in the constituency and sought votes for Beniwal.

Besides, state minister Gopal Kanda, Shiv Charan Sharma, OP Jain, Sukhbir Singh, chief parliamentary secretaries Rao Dan Singh, Prahlad Singh Gillankhera, MLA Sampat Singh and leaders from Sirsa district Ranjit Singh, KV Singh, Sushil Indora, Mani Ram Keharwala and Jagdish Nehra have been campaigning for Beniwal.

Abhay Singh Chautala’s campaign, on the other hand, is well orchestrated and hundreds of INLD leaders have been camping in the villages assigned to them.

Besides Om Parkash Chautala, six other members of his clan have been campaigning regularly in the area.

Dabwali MLA Ajay Singh Chautala and INLD candidate Abhay Singh Chautala are the two other star campaigners of the INLD besides the former Chief Minister, while Ajay Singh’s son Digvijay Singh and Abhay Singh’s two sons Karan and Arjun have also been toiling hard.

Kusum Chaudhary, Samast Bhartiya Party candidate, is also carrying out a serious campaign with party president Sudesh Agarwal and his wife Neelam Agarwal.

Haryana Swatantar Party candidate Raj Kumar and 11 independents are also in the fray, but the real contest is between Bharat Singh Beniwal of the Congress and Abhay Singh Chautala of the INLD.

The heat generated by the campaign has already eclipsed the chilly weather prevailing in the area and electioneering is expected to reach feverish pitch in the coming days.

Meanwhile, the authorities have made elaborate arrangements for the smooth conduct of the poll.

The authorities have deputed as many as 400 officers and employees for conducting the byelections scheduled to be held on January 20.

In all, 142 polling centres have been set up and the entire assembly constituency has been declared sensitive.

A meeting was held recently here for the free and fair elections.

Dr Vinod Kumar Aggarwal, central election observer, addressed the sector magistrate, presiding officers and elections officers in the meeting.

He said the election should be held peacefully as per rules and directions of the Election Commission of India.

The presiding officers appointed for the election should ensure availability of all facilities at polling centres and also all necessary items needed for the election. All officers and employees associated with the election would be imparted training and would be acquainted with the election procedures in detail, he added.

Dr J. Ganeshan, additional deputy commissioner and in charge of the election, disseminated information on election procedure. He directed the presiding officers to conduct mock poll at polling centres and prepare a mock poll certificate having signature of all the polling agents.

He also directed to ensure that the electronic voting machine was set at zero through mock poll. The presiding officers had to prepare the sitting plan at polling centres for the smooth conduct of polling.

He said all items required for the polling would be distributed to the polling parties on January 19, 2010 at Panchayat Bhawan Sirsa.

No officer or employees would reach the polling centres on their own vehicles and only vehicles provided by the administration would be used. A list of the items required for the polling was also given to those present so that they should ensure that all items needed for election on that day had been collected.

They should inform their sector supervisors for the collected complete items.

Munish Nagpal, returning officer of the Ellenabad assembly constituency, said the election would be conducted from 7 am in the morning to 5 pm on January 20. Paramilitary forces would also be deployed to maintain peace during elections.

Sirsa, January 11
While the existing Societies for Prevention of Cruelty on Animals (SPCA) need to be made functional, the state government must direct deputy commissioners to ensure the formation of such societies in their respective districts.

Naresh Kadyan, a noted animal rights activist, and president, People For Animals, Haryana, observed this while interacting with radio listeners in web-varta programme of the CDLU community radio station. In a live show, Kadyan interacted with students as well as radio listeners using web-conferencing system.

Kadyan claimed that the formation of the SPCA was mandatory at the district level as per a notification of the Union government issued in 2001, under the Prevention of Cruelty on Animals Act.

In Haryana, some districts like Hisar, Rohtak, Faridabad and Panchkula have SPCAs, but the same are not performing their duties properly.

Kadyan said the SPCAs are supposed to be registered under the Societies Act of 1860 under the chairpersonship of the respective districts.

He said provisions of the PCA Act 1960, were being grossly violated in various parts of the state.

While places for slaughtering animals for sale of their meat for human consumption have been notified by respective local bodies, other rules in this regard are seldom followed.

Claiming that oxytocin injections were being grossly misused in the state despite a ban on its misuse and strict provisions for its sale, purchase and use, the PFA chief called upon the people to stand against this evil practice.

He said complete dependence on government and administrative action on this front was not the right approach to deal with issues like atrocities on animals. Social initiative and action must take a lead and official machinery should supplement such efforts, he added.

Virender Singh Chauhan, chairperson of the mass communication department, called upon the people of the region to wake up to the issues of animal rights and take affirmative action on this front.

He said the community radio station would work for sensitising the citizens on their responsibilities in this regard.

Responding to PFA chief's suggestion that an online certificate course on the PCA Act and other related legislations should be started by the department in association with the PFA, Chauhan said possibilities of such a venture could be explored.

Ambala, January 11
The number of voluntary blood donors have considerably increased in Ambala during the last few years. During the year 2009, as many as 41 blood donation camps were organised in Ambala City and Ambala Cantt, in which 3,290 persons donated their blood voluntary. It indicates that awareness among the people of the twin city for serving the society has amplified.

A decade back, there was a time, when the Red Cross Society and civil hospital authorities had to make repeated requests to the social and the religious organisation, to organise blood donation camps. But only few educational institutions in the district had taken interest in it. As a result, the civil hospital's blood bank always faced shortage of blood.

This year the Red Cross society has organised 28 blood donation camps, with the support of social organisations like, Rotary and Loins Clubs, in which 1,751 units of blood was collected. Other 13 camps were organised with the assistance of the educational and the religious organisations, where 1,540 people donated their blood. According to the secretary of the Red Cross Society, majority of blood donors are from young generation. The females still have some reservation to come forward.

Saviours Club, whose president Rajinder Garg (50) donated blood for 143 times, has played significant roles to convince people for blood donation. He organised a number of meetings and seminars in colleges and religious places. Chandigarh PGI and the Haryana Governor have already honoured him for his contribution in the field.

Garg started this charity from his home. His wife, son, daughter and daughter-in-law, all have donated blood for more than a dozen times. There is a long list of blood donors in Ambala, who donated blood for more than 50 times. The Ambala blood bank has the storage of plenty of blood units of various blood groups. The day is not far, when the city would be recognised for its blood donors.

Recently the deputy commissioner, Ambala, Samir Pal Saro, who is also the chairman of the Red Cross Society has prepared a blood donation camps calendar, in which 24 social organisations and colleges have been included.

At least two blood donation camps would be organised every month, so that there should be no scarcity of blood in the blood bank, Saro added.

Chandigarh, January 11
The state police registered 3,274 cases against trespassers, arrested 2,870 accused persons and recovered looted property worth Rs 114.66 lakh from them in an extensive search campaign launched in the second fortnight of last month. It also succeeded in getting conviction of 270 criminals involved in various cases in different courts of the state.

A police spokesman said here today that the force was fully committed to weed out anti-social elements from society. He said during this period, the police nabbed one person involved in dacoity, robbery, motor vehicle theft, burglary and other thefts. As many as 79 proclaimed offenders and 63 bail jumpers were also apprehended during the fortnight.

The police sorted out 260 cases out of the 1,153 registered under crime against property like robbery, dacoity, burglary, extortion and theft. As many as 357 persons were arrested who were found to be involved in such cases.

He claimed that the state police worked out 161 out of the 186 cases of murder, culpable homicide, hurt and kidnapping throughout the state and 200 suspects were sent behind the bars. The police also succeeded in solving 162 cases out of the 154 registered under the crime against women category like dowry deaths, kidnapping and abduction, rape and molestation and arrested 186 persons involved in these cases.

The police registered 335 cases under the Excise Act and recovered 3,956 bottles of illicit liquor by convicting 73 persons. Under the Gambling Act, 36 cases were registered and 45 persons were apprehended, from whom about Rs 8.70 lakh was recovered. Under the Narcotic Drugs and the Psychotropic Substance Act, 34 cases were registered and 1217.65 kg of poppy husk, 5.18 kg of opium, 1.65 kg of charas and 2.4 kg of ganja were recovered.

He said with effective patrolling, the regulation of traffic and timely help, the police helped 51 persons in 385 serious road accidents on national and state highways passing through the state.

The police solved 104 cases pending over one year, 276 cases pending over six months and 682 cases pending over three months in the state. It also succeeded in dealing with 65 complaints pending over three months, 131 complaints pending over two months and 507 complaints pending over one month all over the state during the fortnight. 

Chandigarh, January 11
The Haryana police appear to be dithering over the arrest of its former head, S.P.S. Rathore, in the Ruchika Girhotra molestation case. If he is arrested, the disgraced police officer will not be the first state police chief to go behind the bars as a criminal. Two of his predecessors have also spent terms in prison.

Former Haryana DGPLachhman Dass was the first state police chief to be arrested by the force he once headed. Dass, who was DGP from August, 1994, to April, 1995, was arrested soon after his retirement after being accused of involvement in a conspiracy to kill a man, Jatinder Pehal, in a staged gunfight in 1994.

Pehal's mother, Ishwati Devi, had approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court, saying that her son was killed in a staged gunfight while in police custody. Dass, who spent several months in prison before getting out on bail, has written in his biodata on the Haryana police's official website that his "fond memories" of the police service included being "framed" in the case.

It was "a saga of torture and humiliation by a politician CM who wanted illegal actions which he (Dass) refused and suffered awfully as some police officers became tool against him", Dass wrote on the website.

Dass got the President's gallantry medal in 1970 and the President's police medal for distinguished service later. He now lives in Panchkula's Sector 8 and is involved in social activities apart from running a petrol pump with his son. His case is pending in various courts.

Dass's successor, DGP Ramesh Sehgal, who headed the state police between May, 1995, and November, 1995, was arrested in December, 1996, just a year after heading the force. Sehgal was arrested after he was allegedly caught taking a bribe from a Gurgaon businessman for releasing a prisoner on extended parole.

Sehgal, who retired in December, 2000, and died a year later, had alleged that the corruption case against him was set up by jealous colleagues in the state police.

Senior police and IAS officers had personally gone to catch Sehgal 'red handed' and arrest him at his Sector 7 residence in Panchkula, adjoining Chandigarh.

His case ended after his death.

Earlier too, Sehgal was accused by a junior officer of corruption in a recruitment scam in the state police.

Of the state's 26 DGPs since it was created Nov 1, 1966, two have already been behind bars and the third one, Rathore, may be arrested in fresh cases registered against him in the Ruchika Girhotra molestation case after his conviction last month by a CBI special court in Chandigarh.

Ruchika, then a 15-year-old budding tennis player, was molested by Rathore, then an inspector general of police, in Panchkula on Aug 12, 1990. She committed suicide three years later as Rathore allegedly hounded her and her family to drop the charges against him. — IANS

Karnal, January 11
It was a momentous event for St Theresa Convent School, Karnal, as golden Jubilee celebrations of foundation of Bethany Province in the North commenced here recently.

A colourful function was organised by the school to mark the beginning of celebrations to commemorate the “Golden year” with State Education and Health Minister Geeta Bhukal as the chief guest.

Students staged a captivating Dance drama, “Scintillations of compassion” which was a unique presentation in which nearly 900 students took part. A tribal group from Badi Bahal presented folk dance of Orissa.

The grand cultural show was manifestation of extracurricular activities being undertaken for holistic development of talent and personality of students, the principal added.

Gurgaon, January 11
Premal Udani has taken over as the new chairman of the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC). He took the charge from Rakesh Vaid, who is now the president of the Garment Exporters Association.

Udani has been AEPC’s executive committee member since 1986. He has been a part of the Clothing Manufacturers Association of India and the Federation of Hosiery Manufacturers Association for several years.

“Apart from our traditional markets of the US and the European Union, the council is actively engaged in assisting exporters to diversify exports to the markets like the ASEAN region, Latin America and East European countries,” Udani added.

He has presented several papers on textiles and clothing industry in national and international seminars and has been on the committee of Indo-Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the past five years and was a part of the committee of the Indian Merchant Chambers till 2006.

In the near future, the AEPC plans to launch initiatives to improve productivity of factories and also impart guidance in the matter of compliance.

India exports apparel worth $11 billion annually and ranks as the fifth largest worldwide.