Rohtak, April 27
Five persons, including shopkeepers, were injured when allegedly attacked by a group wielding sticks at Shourie Cloth Market here at 3pm today. The injured were taken to hospital. The asailants came in an SUV and fled before the police arrived on the scene.

It is alleged that the assailants belonged to the ruling Congress but a local Congress latter denied the charge.

All shops and commercial establishments in the city remained closed till late evening in support of the bandh call given by Opposition parties, including the Indian National Lok Dal and the left parties.

Shopkeepers at Quilla Road, Railway Road, Subhash Road , Shourie Market and Civil Road downed their shutters. Protesters marched through various markets in support of the strike and raised slogans against the UPA and the Hooda government for their alleged failure to rein in the prices of essential commodities.

Despite pleas of local Congress men to remain open, shopkeepers chose to down their shutters till late in the evening. Officials of local administration were seen security to the shopowners if they kept their establishments open but to no avail, claimed Inderjit Singh, general secretary of the CPM, who worked alongside INLD leader KC Banger to ensure the bandh was successful.

Sirsa: An almost complete bandh was observed in Sirsa district. Activists of the INLD led by district president Padam Jain moved around in the main markets in groups, making appeals to shopkeepers to keep their establishments closed. Krishna Fogat, district president of the women cell of the INLD, also went shop to shop to ensure success of the bandh.

A majority of shopkeepers had closed their shops on their own this morning. Activists of the CPI, the CPM, the All-India Students Federation, the Democratic Youth Federation of India and the All-India Kisan Sabha worked for the success of the bandh.

There was heavy deployment at the residence and office of minister Gopal Kanda. Rania, Ellenabad, Dabwali and Kalanwali towns also saw a complete shutdown. Thanking people, Ellenabad MLA Abhey Singh Chautala claimed that the bandh would have far-reaching consequences in Haryana in particular and the country in general. The bandh call evoked a mixed response in Fatehabad, Ratia and Tohana towns. INLD leaders led by former MLA Swatantar Bala Chaudhary, district women wing president Suman Lata Siwach, Ram Raj Mehta, Balwan Singh Daulatpuria and Kuljeet Singh Kulheria and CPM leaders Krishan Swaroop Gorakhpuria and Ram Kumar Bahbalpuria were seen in the markets in Fatehabad appealing to shopkeepers to close their shops.

Hisar: The bandh called by 13 Opposition parties in protest against inflation evoked a massive response here today. All shops and commercial establishments remained closed till late in the evening. Even Sabzi Mandi where most of the business is conducted early in the morning remained closed. Roadside eateries on handcarts also suspended busines.Workers of the Indian National Lok Dal visited the markets throughout the day to ensure that these remained closed. Traffic was as usual but since the markets were closed, the roads wore a deserted look, especially by noon as the temperature soared.

The bandh did not affect the exams being held at various centres. Schools and other educational institutions remained open. Banks functioned normally though with few consumers with commercial establishments closed.

Bhiwani: The oppossition bandh call against price rise threw life out of gear. in Bhiwani where all remained closed. INLD local leaders visited different areas of the city, requesting traders to join the bandh. They divided Bhiwani and Charkhi Dadri into zones where groups of leaders were deployed to keep a watch on the bandh. Buses plied as normal. Since villagers did not move out, local transporters suffered a setback. Some schools in Bhiwani remained closed on account of the strike. Congress leaders in Bhiwani and Charkhi Dadri were seen persuading the traders to keep their shops open.

Sonepat: The bandh call evoked a partial response in the district. Shops and business establishments in different markets of Sonepat, Gohana, Gannaur and Kharkhoda towns remained closed for a few hours before noon. Teams of INLD activists took out processions in the towns and urged shopkeepers to down shutters. Activists led by CPM district secretary SN Solanki and state vice- president of CITU BS Dahiya, CPI’s Hans Raj Rana and SUCI’s Hari Prakash, took out a protest march in the town here and raised slogans against the UPA government.

Rewari: Traders and shopkeepers observed a total bandh in protest against the skyrocketing prices of essential commodities. A markets wore a deserted look. INLD activists were led by their district chief Sunil Chaudhary, Zila parishad chairman Satish Yadav and the mahila wing district president Kamla Sharma who visied all markets amid sloganeering.

Likewise, SUCI activists led by their district secretary Rajender Singh and Ramesh Chand also held a protest rally thorough the main markets . A bandh was complete at Bawal and Kosli. While INLD legislator Rameshwar Dayal led the protest at Bawal, prominent youth INLD leader Ram Phal Kosalia and Subhash Garg played a leading role at Kosli.

KAITHAL: The bandh call evoked a mixed response in Kaithal . While shops in Main Bazar , Sarafa Bazar and Talai Bazar remained closed, in other areas the bandh was partial . INLD district president Leela Ram claimed the bandh was a success while DCC president Kavi Raj Sharma said that bandh was a flop show. The call for bandh evoked a good response in Guhla-Cheeka and Kalayat. INLD workers and CPI ( M) activists held processions in Kaithal.

Karnal: The bandh here was complete and peaceful. Nobody was forced to down shutters. Local transport remained unaffected.

Gurgaon: An FIR was lodged here against some INLD workers.. A clash broke out when INLD workers tried to shut down some shops were opposed by Congress leaders. In a police complaint, Sunita Sehrawat, president of the Congress’ district women cell, alleged that she was assaulted by Sunita Kataria and Dinesh Aggarwal of the INLD.

A case under Sections 147, 148, 149, 341, 506 and 509 of the IPC against Kataria and Aggarwal has been registered.

Chandigarh, April 27
The Haryana Cabinet, which met here today under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, approved the modified policy guidelines for preferential allotment of land to sitting Haryana MLAs and MPs from the state for construction of houses or flats in Panchkula and Gurgaon.

As per the new guidelines, the legislators of the state will be eligible for allotment of flat or plot only in the Urban Estate, Panchkula, and not any other station, including Gurgaon. Since the scheme has been conceived to address the housing needs of public representatives from Haryana, only those MLAs and MPs of the state will be eligible for land who do not own a flat or house in Urban Estate of Panchkula, whether acquired by way of allotment or otherwise.

The plot so allotted or flat so constructed shall not be transferable for 10 years from the date of allotment. The above modifications shall be made applicable with effect from August 5, 2008, the day on which the Cabinet approved the existing policy.

In view of the unwillingness shown by a large number of HCS officers to go on deputation to the Union Territory of Chandigarh, resulting in UT posts of Haryana quota remaining unfilled, the Cabinet today amended the HCS (Executive Branch) Rules, 2008. Now there will be no need for obtaining the consent of the HCS officers for deputation to the UT.

The Cabinet approved an amendment in the Acts of various universities of the state to increase the retirement age of Vice-Chancellors and Pro-Vice-Chancellors to 68 years from the present 65 years.

The decision, official sources said, was taken for effective administration of the universities and to retain “eminent and seasoned persons”. The Acts of various universities will be amended by Ordinances.

While the entertainment duty on fun parks and cultural activities was cut from 25 per cent to 10 per cent, the Cabinet exempted Golf Clubs from this duty.

The loss to the exchequer will be to the tune of Rs 10 crore per annum. At the same time, the Cabinet decided to increase the lump sum tax charged from brick-kilns by 20 per cent with effect from October1, 2009.The tax has been revised after three years.

Now, Central Sales Tax (CST) will be levied on interstate sale of goods produced in the Neptha Cracker Complex of the Indian Oil Corporation, Panipat, at the rate of 0.5 per cent against declaration in Form C for seven years beginning from the date of commercial production and thereafter at the rate of 1 per cent for further three years.

The Cabinet also amended service rules of certain departments like the Excise and Taxation, local audit and the Haryana Civil Service.

Panipat, April 27
Picture this: A sun-bathed school corridor, a noisy bunch of students, some playing with water from a solitary hand pump in the school compound and some others seated in the corridor on durries, busy writing or drawing.

In the corridor, surrounded by children, a teacher, head down on his table, snores away. This sums up the way teaching work goes on in most government schools.

This is what we found at the primary school in Baroli where the teacher, not expecting visitors, repeatedly rebuked his pupils for “disturbing” him while he was being clicked.

Photo-shoot over, he explained: “I just finished teaching. Everybody is away on census duty and I alone am managing the primary wing. It is very hot, I gave them work and put my head down for a while.” “I’m giving you brotherly advice, don’t use my picture,” was the parting shot. The story of school education in Haryana is not about this one teacher who slept his way through the class or about the kids who had a good laugh while the teacher was being clicked.

It is about the slumber that has struck the system as a whole where teachers look for the first opportunity to skip work. Census duty has come as a boon in that sense.

Go to any school in Ambala or Karnal, Kurukshetra or Panipat and one realizes that teaching is nobody’s priority. While teachers and principals raise a hue and cry about the census duty, the fact remains that some faculty is “bunking” school in the name of duty.

Those who have stayed back are not taking classes anyway.

Their reason: a few hands can’t manage so many classes. The result is that students are having a picnic.

At the government school in Aurangabad, it’s noon. The principal is out for work and the teachers sit huddled in a room. Asked why classes are not being held, one of them replies:

“We broke up for lunch very late. Instead of having the interval at 11 am, we had it 11.30 am. It’s nearly over now,” even as another teacher asks the peon to ring the bell and shouts at surprised students to return to their classrooms.

“We cannot function with half the staff strength. The department is mum about duty timings for the census. Our teachers will skip classes unless the department specifies that census duty will be after school hours,” a principal in Karnal states. While the teachers are “busy”, students have hardly anything to do with the books yet to reach them.

“We have not got the new set of books. So, there are no classes,” remarks a student. Junior classes are yet to get their books while a few books for Classes VI to VIII have come.

With no classes and all play, school days certainly are fun these days. They will continue to be so till the authorities wake up to clean the mess.

— To be concluded

Sirsa, April 27
In a horrendous act, a differently abled girl was allegedly raped by some persons in Rangri village here yesterday.

The accused allegedly called the girl, who had gone to the market to purchase some household item, inside a shop and made her consume liquor before raping her.

The shopkeeper and two other persons sitting inside are alleged to have perpetrated the crime. The victim narrated the incident to her family members, who took the matter to a “panchayat” of village elders.

The victim’s family members, who met the police today to seek action in the matter, alleged that the police was reluctant to register an FIR. They alleged that the police and the “panchayat” were forcing them to enter into a compromise with the accused.

SHO Jatinder Kumar admitted that a complaint had been received in this regard, but added that the victim herself had not come forward with the allegations.

When his attention was drawn that the victim, being differently abled, may not be in a position to come to the police station to lodge her complaint, he said he was outside the town in connection with some other case and would get the matter inquired after coming back.

SP Satinder Kumar Gupta said he had no knowledge of the incident and assured that he would get the matter probed.

REWARI: A 14-year-old was allegedly raped by a youth at Pali village near here on Monday. Sources said the accused had intruded into the girl’s house and raped her when she was alone in the afternoon. — OC

Chandigarh, April 27
The Punjab and Haryana High Court today made it clear that the State Information Commission can ask the high court to divulge details sought by compulsorily retired judicial officer. “More than any other public institution, it shall be judiciary which shall set an example to herald the era of transparency,” Justice K Kannan today ruled, adding, “any attempt to conceal information will go to erode the majesty of judiciary in public perception”.

Justice Kannan also dismissed a civil writ petition filed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court through its Registrar (Rules).

The petition by the high court on administrative side had challenged the orders passed by the Haryana State Information Commissioner directing it to provide details sought by a judicial officer compulsorily retired from the service.

The high court had stated the information being demanded was not in public domain and could not be provided under provisions of the Right to Information Act. The State Information Commissioner had rejected the plea.

After hearing the rival contentions, Justice Kannan asserted: It must be remembered that the line that is being drawn between what is on public domain and what shall be sealed in iron chest of any establishment, as regard to service matters in particular, are getting dimmer by the day. The need for transparency in the administration of public bodies clicks on torchlight in every dark corner hitherto concealed from public gaze.

“A complaint against a judicial officer and a report made in favour or against him preliminary to bringing to end his service career cannot be eclipsed by a specious plea that such information is not in public domain...It shall be indeed ironic if rules of natural justice, rectitude and transparency could ever be causalities in the haloed corridors of court administration. They shall not be”.

Referring to the case in hand, Justice Kannan asserted: “If an aggrieved party seeks information of the report, it shall only be fair and appropriate that such information is disclosed to him. It will be wrong to throw a veil of secrecy to any decision taken by this court, especially when it results in pre mature termination of service of a judicial officer”.

Dismissing the high court’s petition, Justice Kannan held: “The decision taken by the information commissioner is under such circumstances perfectly in order and there is no scope for intervention in the writ petition”.

Hisar, April 27
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said today that criminal cases would be registered against the SHO of Narnaund police station and the tehsildar in whose presence violence against Dalit families of Mirchpur village near here took place last week resulting in the death of two members of a family.

Hooda visited the village today for the first time since the incident. He announced a grant of Rs 20 lakh for the family of the deceased, Tara Chand, whose handicapped daughter Suman was also burnt alive in the violence. Besides, two members of the family would be given government jobs. He said the injured would get Rs 25,000 each while every affected family would be given Rs 1 lakh each.

In addition, all Dalit families in the village would get two quintals of wheat each. The Chief Minister, however, turned down the demand for settling the Dalit families elsewhere in the state saying that their security was the responsibility of the government. A police battalion would remain posted in the village for as long as necessary. Hooda said 29 persons had so far been arrested in connection with the violence and no miscreant would be spared.

Jind, April 27
Four members of a family, including two women, and a child were killed after a car in which they were travelling collided with an oil tanker near Jajanwala village in the Narwana subdivision this noon.They were on their way to Narwana from Hisar..

Satya Narayan (50), a resident of Model Town, had gone to Hisar along with his daughter Monika (23), daughter-in-law Poonam (26), grandchildren Pari (2) and Dikshit (4) for Pari’s medical check-up. The car that he was driving collided with a tanker head on National Highway 65.

While all were shifted to a hospital, four of them, including Satya Narayan, Monika, Poonam, and Pari were declared brought dead. Dikshit, the only survivor, is in hospital in Hisar.

In yet another incident, driver of a canter was killed when his vehicle collided with a truck near Budhakhera village last night.

Karnal, April 27
At a function held at National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) here to mark the World Veterinary Day, animal husbandry and veterinary experts today cautioned against the emerging threat of “bio-terrorism” and spread of “zoonotic” diseases.

They also called upon the United Nations, WHO and other bodies to prepare the roadmap and strategies to combat the pandemic diseases spread by release of bacteria and viruses.

The issue was brought into focus by experts, who painted a grim picture of the scenario if terror outfits resorted to bio-terrorism.

The chairman of the World Buffalo Trust and Centre for Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development, TN Bhatt, said the recent outbreak of bird flu and swine flu were spread by release of bacteria. And if it was a “deliberate” release, it would be termed as “bio-terrorism” that was more dangerous than known forms of terrorism.

Pointing out that there were 1,407 “zoonotic” diseases, Bhatt said of these, 864 were transmitted from animals to human beings and 300 were dreaded. The scenario was so frightening that 78 per cent of these that had spread in the last two years were transmitted from animals.

He said biological agents spread through air, food or water and terrorists could use them for they could be very difficult to detect and did not cause illness for several hours to days.