Sonepat, January 18
Despite assurances by political leaders, the 20-year-wait had not brought any hope in the lives of hundreds of jobless employees and workers of Bharat Steel Tubes (BST) industry at Gannaur which was closed a day after Diwali in 1989 reportedly due to political and administrative reasons.

The industry, which once upon a time was one of the leading industrial units in the country and brought the name of Gannaur on the world map, was opened in 1965 and hundreds of residents of Gannaur town and adjoining areas got job in it.

Within a short span of time, its annual production reached to a record of 80,000 tonnes. When the unit was at its peak, BST pipes used to be exported to 42 countries, including the USA, England, Germany, Canada and Australia, in the world.

The unit was spread in 213 acres and besides its buildings, there had been 479 houses for offices and residential accommodations for the unit's officers, engineers and other employees. Nowadays, a number of houses are being retained by former employees of the unit and many others have been occupied by some state government officers posted at Gannaur.

Sardar Raunak Singh, owner of the unit, also opened Raunak Public School at the unit's premises for giving education to the children of its employees as well as of the town and surrounding villages. When it was opened, it claimed to be the first public school of the district and students of the area had great hopes for better education in their neighbourhood.

Ram Lubhaya, 70, a former employee who has been staying in one of the houses of the unit, recalled that the day after Diwali was the black day in the lives of hundreds of employees when they were rendered jobless.

"I have three children and to bring them up, I have to work as a labourer," he said, adding: "Still they are hoping for the restarting of the unit".

Similar feelings of despair and unsettlement of life were expressed by 65-year-old Bhim Sen Sharma, Madan Lal, SP Talwar, Manish, Lekh Raj and several others.

They also pointed out that MLAs elected from the Gannaur constituency after the closure of the unit had promised that they would work for restarting the unit; but there had been no success so far.

However, according to Satender Pal Singh, senior manager of the BST, the company had applied in the Delhi High Court for the reopening of the unit under the Scheme of Revival; but the decision in this regard was awaited.

Rohtak, January 18
No construction, including those of residential units, will be allowed without the prior approval of the map of the proposed building. All constructions done without map approval from the authorities will be pulled down or stopped by the officials. This warning-cum-order has been issued by deputy commissioner PC Meena at a meeting of the district officials of the local bodies recently.

Addressing the officials, the deputy commissioner expressed concern over the lethargic attitude of both officials and residents regarding the following of the rules connected with the construction of buildings, including residential dwellings, in the town.

Blaming the loopholes in the functioning of the machinery itself, he said it was the duty of the authorities to conduct raids and visit the spots and check if all norms were being followed.

It has been revealed that several building owners do get their maps approved from the office concerned, but they hardly stick to them. This was just not possible without the involvement or connivance of the officers or employees of the civic body or other offices who ought to play a constructive role in this work, it is claimed.

"The issue of violation of the house or building norms leads to generation of several problems, which include encroachment and damage to the symmetry needed for the dwelling unit in any part of the city or the district," the DC said.

He has asked the officials concerned to pull up their socks and ensure that there was no violation of building norms in any part of the city and take a strict action to prevent the practice of avoiding implementation of the rules.

He said the authorities should keep a watch on construction activities as some of the residents add construction later which was not present in the map approved earlier. The construction of basement by the owners should be allowed only after one gets it approved in the map prior to that and the authorities should initiate an action against those who go for such constructions later, he instructed the officials.

He also directed the officials to take a stern action against the dairy owners who fail to relocate the dairies on the outskirts of the town. It is reported that there has been hundreds of dairies functioning inside the city despite the fact that the administration has made available land in some of the adjoining villages which include Kanheli village for relocation of the dairies. The authorities have been asked to issue challans amounting to Rs 5,000 or more each week to the dairies which fail to shift outside the town, said the deputy commissioner.

The DC also pulled up the officials of the civic body to step up their drive for the recovery of house tax from the commercial areas of the city. Residential buildings rented out should also be notified for the collection of house tax.

Further, 10 per cent seats in schools would be reserved for those students in respect of whom the fees will be determined on the basis of the means and merits of individual students.

Similarly, the Department of Town and Country Planning imposes certain similar obligations on the educational and health institutions at the time of allowing CLU.

With a view to ensuring compliance that these committees have been set up, headed by the chief secretary, the state level committee will evolve a detailed mechanism for the guidance of the district-level committees and monitor on a quarterly basis the overall status of compliance across the districts.

Rewari, January 18
Supporters of former legislator Raghu Yadav, founder president of the Sarvajati Janata Panchayat, a regional political outfit of the Ahirwal region, from Rewari, Mahendergrah, Narnaul, Ateli, Pataudi, Gurgaon and other parts of the region, participated in the 45th Sarvajati Mahapanchayat held here recently.

In view of the tussle over the sharing of river waters between Haryana and Punjab vis-à-vis the persistent deprivation of the Ahirwal region from its legitimate share of the canal water, the mahapanchayat unanimously adopted a resolution to launch a comprehensive mass awareness campaign to educate the people about the 'truth' of the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960.

The speakers at the mahapanchayat described the treaty as "unjust and suicidal" for the nation as well as the root cause of the river water scarcity severely affecting North-West India comprising the states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi and Rajasthan.

They said time had now come to abandon the treaty altogether in the interest of the aggrieved peasantry as well as millions of the citizens of the above states.

The treaty signed on September 19, 1960, by India, Pakistan and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development maintained that while the waters of the three eastern rivers- Ravi, Beas and Sutlej, would be for the exclusive use of India, the waters of the three western Rivers- Indus, Jhelum and Chenab--would be for the exclusive use of Pakistan.

Delivering his keynote address at the mahpanchayat, Raghu Yadav said a just comparison between the quantum of waters possessed by the two countries palpably indicated that while India had been continuously getting less than 20 per cent of the total waters of the six rivers, Pakistan had been utilising more than 80 per cent of the waters.

Describing this scantier apportionment of the waters to India under the treaty as most appalling, Yadav asserted that the people of the above states had been facing 'disastrous consequences" of the treaty for the past 50 years.

He wanted to know if time had not come to reject it outright in the interest of the nation. Yadav announced that his panchayat party would organise seminars from May 15 to June 30 at Delhi, Chandigarh, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Jammu, Srinagar, Shimla, Jaipur, Jodhpur and other important places to highlight the 'disastrous demerits' of the treaty.

Sirsa, January 18
A seminar-cum-workshop on challenges before school education was organised at the Rashoba College of Education here recently.

While inaugurating the seminar, Dr Kuldeep Singh Dhindsa, director general of JCD Vidyapeeth, said, "Teachers are the builders of ideal citizens and if they discharge their duties adequately, all is well with society and the nation".

Group Captain Anil Sabharwal, station commander, 45 Wing, Air Force Station, Sirsa, in his valedictory address, said, "A student spends the best formative years of his life in the company of teachers. Therefore, teachers are responsible for their physical mental and emotional development". It is their duty to put the interest of students before their own personal interest.

Dr Deepti Dharmani, reader in the English department of Chaudhary Devi Lal University, spoke on application of new methods and approaches in teaching-learning.

She opined that teaching skills came only with good leaning habits. "Only a constant learner can become a good teacher. A teacher who has stopped learning is like a stagnate water of a pond".

Dr Umed Siingh, reader, English department, CDLU, spoke on problems amongst adolescents. He was of the view that adolescents were bursting with all types of energies. "It is the duty of parents, teachers and society to positively channelise their energy".

Ram Niwas, principal, Baba Deep Singh College of Education, Ahharwa (Fatehabad), spoke on stakeholders' responsibilities.

Anju Shharma, principal, GRG National Girls Senior Secondary School, Sirsa, spoke on developing innovative spirit in students.

"Innovative spirit means doing something new or doing something in a different way that affects humanity in a positive way".

Karnal, January 18
The SBI's one-day farming training and credit programme to apprise the farmers about the latest package and practices to increase their farm yield and maximize profits evoked an overwhelming response with more than 200 farmers taking active part in deliberations.

Scientists and experts from Haryana Agriculture University, Hisar; National Dairy Research Institute, Wheat Research Centre, Krishi Vigyan Kendras and Regional Research Stations specialising in the fields of dairy, vegetables, wheat, sugarcane, paddy, flowers, herbal plants, mushroom and fruit plants interacted with farmers in the training programme.

Several progressive farmers shared their experiences with scientists and narrated their success stories at the training programme named "Haryali Ganga".

Addressing the farmers, Dr. D. N. Balodi, Director, State Bank of India, said that the SBI was the pioneer in providing financial assistance for the agriculture sector and various schemes and products had been devised to meet the short-term and long-term financial requirements of farmers.

Any time, anywhere banking facilities had been provided and kisan ATM cards were being issued to farmers. Further, to strengthen bonding with farmers, the bank had been regularly taking a series of initiatives like conducting farmers meets, celebrating Kisan Divas, establishing Kisan Manch and adoption of villages for their overall development under the "SBI Ka Apna gaon" programme, he added.

The bank recently entered into an arrangement with a progressive flower expert of Pune for supply of inputs and "buy-back" of flowers from interested farmers which would boost floriculture in the state, Dr. Balodhi stressed.

The SBI has 181 branches in Haryana out of which 122 (67 per cent) are in the rural and semi-rural areas. These branches have already advanced loans worth Rs 1880 crore to farmers and targeted to increase the lending by 25 per cent to Rs 2200 crore by the end of the current financial year.

Dr. Balodhi commended the bank for achieving the 18 per cent national benchmark in the agri priority sector lending. He also exhorted the farmers to adopt modern farming techniques and diversify into cultivation of other crops to supplement their income and reduce dependence on single crops. He presented mementos to the progressive farmers and certificates of participation to all farmers present in the programme. Packets containing seeds of high-yielding varieties of different seasonal vegetables were also distributed among farmers.

Kurukshetra, January 18
"The progress of power generation in the state is slow but sure which promises sustainable future to people who as consumers should stay away from power theft and pay their electricity bills regularly. There is a need to adopt a lifestyle which is affordable and cost effective".

This was observed by Prof (Dr) MM Goel, chairman, Department of Economics, Kurukshetra University, and convener, Intellectual Cell of the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee, at International Symposium on Sustainable Future (ISSF-2010) organised by the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR), Goregaon (Mumbai), recently.

He shared dais with eminent personalities from India and abroad, most notably Prof Yoginder K. Alagh and Suresh Prabhu both former ministers, Padam Vibhushan Dr Man Mohan Sharma, Dr Sonia Valdivisia of UNEP, France, and Dr Martina Prox of Germany.

"To secure sustainable future of the people, we need to recognise electricity as the most important infrastructural facility, which calls for its sufficiency and efficiency which is possible through good governance, he said.

Earlier, Prof Dilip Nachane, director, IGIDR, welcomed the guests and Prof Vinod K Sharma, convener, ISSF-2010, introduced the guests and proposed a vote of thanks.

Sonepat, January 18
Two residents of Sonepat - Dr Sant Ram Deswal, an associate professor, and Vijender Kumar, deputy commandant, Home Guards, - are among the few personalities who have been awarded with Kinkar Samman for their outstanding contribution in various fields at a ceremony organised by Rashtra Kinkar, an NGO, in New Delhi recently.

Dr Deswal, who is also a Hindi essayist, poet, critic and a social activist, was honoured for his contribution in the field of Hindi literature as well as folk literature of Haryana.

He is the recipient of Hindi Samman, Best Teacher Award, Lok Shiromani Award, Best Journalist Award and Best Programme Officer by MD University, Rohtak. He had authored four books of folk essays, two critic books and one book each of folk literature of Haryana, besides poems, ghazals and rubais.

Similarly, Vijender Kumar was honoured with Sanskriti Samman-2009 by Rashtra Kinkar for his social service and literary works. Vijender is the founder of “Adabi Sangam Haryana” and has a collection of around 1,000 rare handwritten documents of ancient times.

Vijender was honoured with the Rashtrapati Padak by the President of India in 2008 and in the same year, he was honoured by the Babu Bal Mukand Gupt Parishad of Rewari.

Gurgaon, January 18
Under the banner of Haryana Power Engineers and Workers Joint Action Committee, a protest rally was held outside Gurgaon Circle Office here recently. They raised slogans against the Nigam’s management and the Haryana Government to protest against the government’s move to franchise the distribution system of Gurgaon and Panipat districts.

The rally gwarned that if the government went ahead with the move, the whole transmission and distribution system in the state would be brought to a grinding halt and employees of the franchisees would at no cost be allowed to enter any of the offices of the nigams. The rally was presided over by RS Dahiya, president, Haryana power Engineers’ Association, and was organised under the leadership of Subhash Lamba, a senior member of the Joint Action Committee.

Addressing the mammoth rally, where engineers & workers from Gurgaon, Sohna & Mewat divisions took part, the leaders demanded, among other things, the removal of all pay anomalies, service to kin of all employees who died on duty, extending this facility to all contractual workers, doing away with out-sourcing of services and immediate filling of 30000 posts lying vacant. All speakers deplored the negative attitude of the nigam managements and the government in this regard.

JAC leaders affirmed that at the time of re-organization of the HSEB in 1998, the total losses in UHBVN were only Rs. 400 crore which now had swelled to more than Rs. 2700 crores mainly due to arbitrary and feudal attitude of the management which included outsourcing of even the core areas of operation.

They claimed the government was trying to shield such officers and trying to franchise two such districts which were actually earning revenue for the respective nigams and, to some extent, making up the losses of other districts.

All engineers and workers expressed solidarity with the joint action committee and vowed to step up the agitation if the government did not respond to the JAC suggestions.

Chandigarh, January 18
Haryana Cooperation Minister Paramvir Singh has said for the first time two mechanised cane harvesters with harvesting capacity of 10 to 12 acres a day were being introduced this year in the cooperative sugar mills.

The minister said the mechanised cane harvesters were being introduced for demonstration purpose and as a part of the cane development scheme. He said other equipments like power tillers, tractor mounted boon sprayers, trench planters, sugarcane cutter planters and ratoon management devices were also being procured.

He said a new thrust had been given to the mechanisation of cane cultivation and strengthening of sugarcane seed programme to overcome the acute harvesting labour problem being faced by the cane growers since the introduction of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.

Rewari, January 18
Industrialists from Rewari, Dharuhera, Bawal and other parts of the district participated in a seminar on Energy Conservation held under the joint auspices of the Haryana Renewable Energy Development Agency, the Rewari Chamber of Commerce and Industries (RCCI) and YKK India Private Limited, Bawal, here recently.

Additional deputy commissioner A. Mona Sriniwas was the chief guest on the occasion. Delivering her keynote address, she emphasised upon the urgency of conservation of energy and called upon the industrialists to go for solar and other alternative energy efficient devices to ensure its feasibility with their optimum contribution.

Exhorting the corporate sector to take up alternative methods and techniques in general and solar energy devices in particular for energy conservation, she asserted that it was prerequisite to achieve the triple purpose of decimating the menace of carbon emission, protecting the planet from global warming and preserving conventional energy for posterities.

She further informed that a number of solar lanterns were recently distributed free of cost by the state government under a special project to meritorious girl students in the district to enhance their study hours, especially during the nights of interrupted power supply.

Furnishing the essential details of the Energy Conservation Act, 2001, Rameshwar Birthal, project officer, also highlighted the dos and don’ts for industrial and commercial institutions.

Simultaneously, an exhibition of various energy saving devices was also held on the occasion by INSTA Power Private Limited, Gurgaon.

Thanking the chief guest and other participants, Amit Swami, convener of the RCCI and director of REI Agro Limited, Bawal, also assured that the RCCI would make all possible efforts to switch over to the use of solar energy devices expeditiously.

Jhajjar, January 18
Here is a good news for lecturers of government colleges who had been eagerly waiting for a revised seniority list. The Higher Education Department has not only prepared a revised draft seniority list of lecturers but also invited objections in this connection, if any, up to February 6 next after making it public.

A communiqué in this regard has recently been dispatched to all 75 government colleges in Haryana, colleges of UT administration, Chandigarh, state universities, the SCERT Gurgaon headquarters and Utkarsh Society, Panchkula.

It has been mentioned that all objections should be addressed to additional director (administration) of the HED under whose chairmanship a committee has been constituted to consider and decide the objections.

“A large number of representations have been received highlighting certain anomalies in the seniority list of lecturers working in government colleges of Higher Education Department, Haryana. A revised draft seniority list has been prepared keeping in view the principles. Persons who were appointed as lecturers prior to 1982 and are presently working in the department will be shown in the order of seniority as it exists at present. The inter-se seniority of persons recruited on the basis of recommendations received from the Haryana Public Service Commission in 1982 and thereafter has been determined strictly in accordance with the recommendations sent by the commission,” the communiqué informs.

It maintains that some recruitment from time to time has been made through departmental committees. The inter-se seniority of persons figuring on such lists has been determined in accordance with the principles included different recommendations may have been made in respect of different subjects. The inter-se seniority of the lecturers of different subjects has been prepared on merit by taking into account the overall marks obtained by them during the selection process. If more than one person had obtained the same marks, the inter-se seniority between such persons has been prepared by taking into account the age of the persons, the communiqué adds.

“The older person has been listed higher in seniority. In case, more than one person secured the same number of marks and they were of the same age, the inter-se seniority between such persons has been prepared in accordance with the date of joining in the present service. The person who joined earlier has been given higher seniority,” maintains the communiqué, adding that a small number of persons are still working on adhoc basis in the department. The issue regarding their regularisation is at advanced stages of consideration with the government. A list of names of such persons is being shown as an annexure to the main draft seniority list. 

Rewari, January 18
If the problems faced by residents of various villages in the district are any indication, the district administration as well as the departments concerned should rightfully share the blame.

The problems mainly relate to acute lack of drainage, drinking water shortage and erratic power supply.

Members of the Dalit Samaj (Scheduled Castes) are still bearing the brunt in the matter of water supply in many villages.

Owing to the absence of drainage, filthy water and mud emanating from Fatehpuri village, has accumulated in large quantities on the thoroughfare from Fatehpuri to Rampuri village, near Jatusana.

Besides being a thoroughfare, the cremation ground of Fatehpuri village, the village Government Girls' Middle School, Mahila Mandal as well as the Anganwari centre are all located along this pathway.

This muddy pathway has been causing considerable hardship to the villagers, including girl students and village women.

The villagers said they had already made representations to the deputy commissioner, the SDM of Rewari and the BDPO of Jatusana block for expeditious pavement of the pathway but nothing concrete had yet followed. Owing to alleged apathy of the administration as well as the village panchayat, numerous SC families, living in an almost secluded colony of Kishanpura (Pranpura) village in Bawal block, have been leading a miserable life for the past many years.

Hazari Lal, an aged resident of the above colony, said while they had to fetch drinking water from a tubewell of a distant temple in the village, all other residents of the village had been regularly getting their water supply from the panchayati tubewell of the village. The residents of Govindpuri village, 12 km from here, have also been facing untold difficulties owing to lack of any water supply arrangement.

A deputation of the villagers led by nambardar Dharambir Singh met deputy commissioner A. Sriniwas here recently and sought power connection for their private tubewell to get the needed relief.

The DC told them while a departmental tanker would supply drinking water in the village for the time being, he had also directed DHBVN officials for providing a power connection to their tubewell expeditiously.

Hisar, January 18
In a plot reminiscent of Shah Rukh Khan's 2007 blockbuster "Chak De India", the newly founded Hockey Haryana has been accused of a gender bias by former office-bearers of the now defunct Haryana State Women's Hockey Association (HSWHA).

After the Government of India recognised Hockey India following disaffiliation of the Indian Hockey Federation and the Indian Women Hockey Federation, it asked states to form unified state hockey bodies to look after hockey for both men and women.

The states were directed to ensure that the process of formation of the unified hockey bodies should be done with mutual understanding between office-bearers of the defunct men and women's hockey associations in a fair and transparent manner.

Krishna Sampat Singh, who had been at the helm of affairs in the Haryana State Women's Hockey Association for over a decade till the body was dissolved, has alleged that the Haryana Hockey Association (Men) founded the unified Hockey Haryana without taking her and other office-bearers of the HSWHA into confidence.

In a letter sent to Union Sports Minister MS. Gill and other authorities concerned she has alleged that the Haryana Hockey Association (Men) led by M L. Tayal completely ignored the HSWHA and went ahead to form Hockey Haryana without even informing her. "No transparency and fairness was ensured while setting up the new unified body", she said, adding that she had sought reconstitution of the unified body as per guidelines issued by the Government of India.

She said a bias against women was very much apparent in the manner in which the men office-bearers of the defunct Haryana Hockey Association completely usurped the rights of the women's hockey administrators in Haryana.

Krishna said under the leadership of M L. Tayal and Sunil Malik, former president and general secretary, respectively, of the Haryana Hockey Association who had planted themselves in the same slots in the unified body. The Haryana Men's hockey team, she said, never even qualified for the National Games whereas the Women's hockey team won laurels at the national level.

She said Haryana's three women hockey players won the Arjuna award for their performance. Eight other members of the Haryana team won the Bhim award. The state produced 35 international players and one of its team members made it to the World XI.

Krishna said as against this, the Haryana men's team had performed poorly and stood nowhere at the national level.

She said if the bias continued and Haryana Hockey was not reconstituted as per guidelines, the future of women's hockey in Haryana would be very bleak.

Manesar, January 18
Darshan bagged the title of the best female golfer at the IMT Open Golf Tournament held here recently. Kaushal was chosen as the best golfer in the 17 years category, while Arjun Singh for the 17-50 years category and DV Sidhmukh won above the 50 years category.

This was the first golf tournament organised by the HSIIDC. Rajeev Arora, managing director, HSIIDC, inaugurated the tournament.

More then 50 golfers, including participants from Japanese companies, took part in it. The tournament was held in three categories i.e. below 17 years, 17-50 years and above 50 years.

Divya Kamal, state officer, HSIIDC, said: “This is the first tournament since the club was opened and to promote the game they will organise the tournament every year from now onwards”.

Sirsa, January 18
The JCD National Cricket Academy, Sirsa, will host season-2 of the T-10 gully cricket "Ab Har Koi Khelega" from January 19 to February 3.

This was informed by Anup Wadhwa, director of Reasonable Communication, organiser of the event.

Describing the salient features of the tournament, Wadhwa said the tournament is one-of-its-kind talent hunt-cum-social initiative for all cricket enthusiasts and youngsters.

This is shorter and entertaining format of T20 with just 10 overs each side encapsulated in 90 minutes. The tournament will be played amongst 17 teams.

It will be an all-night cricket tournament and matches will be telecast live on DD Sports.

Riteish Deshmukh is the brand ambassador of this initiative while actors Divya Dutta, Rajpal Yadav and Jimmy Shergill are owners of Ludhiana Gullies, Kanpur Gullies and Jalandhar Gullies, respectively.

"Charu Sharma will host an exclusive on the ground show, 'Gully Dreamz' to highlight cricket talent finds of Season-2," said Wadhwa and added that "Gully Dreamz" programme is a perfect amalgamation of entertainment and sports.

The event will kick off with the opening game between the last year's finalist Ludhiana and this season's debutant Amritsar, on the opening day at 4:30 pm.

The teams feature non-first class cricketers in the age group of 15-24 years.

A total of 39 games will be played in this edition to crown the winning city of the trophy.