Sirsa, July 18
Renewed rescue and relief operations have been launched in flood-hit villages downstream of Ottu Weir in Sirsa, after the flood situation worsened causing huge losses to crops and properties in these villages.

A battalion of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) of the ITBP from Bathinda comprising 40 men and two officers has been put into service in the worst affected villages - Nakoda, Firozabad and Kariwala.

Besides, jawans of the 33-Armored Division, Engineering Brigade from Hisar, have been deployed to plug several breaches in the Ghaggar that have inundated over 15 villages.

“The NDRF jawans are equipped with mechanised boats and other rescue equipments and have been working relentlessly to salvage people from the flooded villages,” said Deputy Commissioner CG Rajini Kaanthan. Over 5,000 volunteers of an NGO of the Dera Sacha Sauda and a large number of villagers have been assisting the Army and the NDRF in the rescue and relief operations. The flood waters from the breaches near Firozabad today marooned Bani, Damdama, Sainpal, Thedh and Khudewali Dhani villages near the Rajasthan border after striking against the Raj canal. The authorities have evacuated villagers from Bahiya, Bacher, Thuiyanwali, Sainpal and Mattuwala.

Meanwhile, the level of water has reduced by one foot at Ottu weir. “The discharge of water at Ottu head has been recorded as 20,000 cusecs today as against 24,000 cusecs registered on Friday and Saturday,” maintained an official source, claiming improvement in the flood situation. Sources said the discharge on the upstream at Khanauri and Chandpur had also receded considerably and today it was 2,400 cusecs and 48,00 cusecs, respectively. Panic gripped residents after learning about the heavy discharge of water in the Ghaggar near Panchkula yesterday.

An unprecedented discharge of 61,000 cusecs was recorded at 4-B site of the Ghaggar at Chandigarh-Ambala crossing between Zirakpur and Dera Bassi at 12 noon yesterday. However, the discharge receded fast and by 4 pm, it had decreased to 8,800 cusecs, said a source in the Irrigation Department, adding that the discharge was the highest recorded in the season.

Brushing aside any danger from the unusual discharge, Om Parkash, executive engineer of the Irrigation Department at Tohana, said the high discharge for a longer duration could have caused damage.

The water, he said, would reach Fatehabad and Sirsa districts after spreading and hence would make a very little difference to the overall flood situation. A central team would visit Sirsa tomorrow for an on-the-spot survey of the flood loss.

Fatehabad, July 18
Residents need not fear floods in Fatehabad. There has been a decline in the water pressure and flood waters have been diverted to Khan Mohammed on route to Sirsa villages via siphons underneath the Fatehabad-Ratia road.

Ashok Nagar, Shashtri Nagar and Inderpura heaved a sigh of relief after the waters started receding at Majra Road.

Chief Parliamentary Secretary Prahlad Singh Gillankhera and DC OP Sheoran today visited these localities and reviewed preventive measures. At least 88 villages have so far been affected by floods in this district.

Flood waters entered a schoolbuilding and a Dalit colony at Dhani Issar village today when villagers from the other side of Nagpur broke a road. This resulted in a clash.

Meanwhile, Satish Jinaawa, XEN, Fatehabad, today clarified that the impression about Rangoi Kharif Channel being responsible for floods in the district was erroneous.

Describing the course taken by flood waters in the district, he said the Ghaggar crossed the Bhakra Main Line right to left at Khanauri in Punjab at a (reduced distance) RD 460, where the siphon had a capacity to carry 17,250 cusecs of water.

As the discharge was too high, the excessive waters entered the spillways some distance upstream at RD-455.The water moving to the spillways travelled in the open towards Moonak in Punjab and was to enter in the Ghaggar again, but the left embankment of the river was breached and water spilled over to the neighbouring villages of Jakhal in Fatehabad. This resulted in accumulation of water on the right side of the BMB downstream of the Baliala head.

While a major share of the water crossed BMB at Chandpur at RD 69 as Ghaggar, the excessive waters went into Rangoi Nullah and the Joiya stream by crossing BMB through siphons at RD 43 and RD 35, respectively.

While Rangoi Nullah empties into the Ghaggar between Kanwalgarh and Kamana, the Joiya stream crosses the Chimo head through a siphon and then spreads into the fields for its onwards journey towards Fatehabad.

He said as Rangoi Nullah as well as the Joiya stream were running far above capacity, the irrigation authorities closed the doors of RKC at Ghaswa on July 11 so that the water from the Joiya stream flowing into the open could be diverted towards the Ghaggar through this channel. The RCF, with a capacity of 500 cusecs, had been running much above the mark and had in the process slowed down the progress of floods, Jinaawa claimed.

He said the channel had rather proved Fatehabad’s lifeline by averting the danger of floods.

Karnal, July 18
In the land of khaps where honour killings have become the order of the day, villagers of Shaidpura have shown an exemplary courage and maturity by allowing two minor girls to live together.

Teenage girls, Rekha and Guddu of the village, had created a flutter yesterday by expressing their desire to live together and approaching the police for protection.

The girls told the police that they could not live without each other and sought police protection, apprehending serious repercussions from family members.

The girls refused to heed the advise of the police to go back home and insisted that they should be provided protection or sent to some safe place. Rekha, a tomboy, wore a shirt with a lower, while Guddu was wearing a traditional suit. Rekha, who was more composed and vocal, said: “We want to live together and not averse to getting married in the same family, but not ready to part come what may,” while Guddu did not speak a word and kept crying.

Guddu, who hails from Makhan village of Jind district, had been living in Shaidpura village with her aunt since she was five-year-old and was deeply attached to Rekha living in the opposite house.

Rekha’s father Ram Krishan did not seem unduly perturbed and said the girls had been living together since childhood and there was no harm if they stayed together. However, the villagers said he was mentally unstable and his views did not matter. Social activist Mamta Sharma took the girls to her home with the consent of the police and had long discussions with them. She said the girls were emotionally attached to each other and would not be able to bear the agony of separation. If any pressure was mounted on them to live separately, it would unsettle and upset them emotionally and they could take some extreme step, she said. “It will be better if the girls are allowed to stay together for some time and understand the social norms,” she told the villagers, who had gathered at the Sadar police station in large numbers.

She counselled the villagers for hours and finally succeeded in convincing them that coercion and harsh treatment of beating would not solve the problem. Any action unpalatable to them might backfire or prove counter-productive, she argued with the villagers, who expressed their willingness to take the girls back to the village and allow them to live together. The girls had yesterday reportedly threatened to consume poison if not allowed to live together or forced to go back to the village.

The melodrama ended on a happy note today with the girls having their say. Both the girls went back with their family members, who assured the police that they would allow the girls to live together and they would not be mentally or physically harassed. Sharma said she would visit the village every week and inquire about the girls.

Chandigarh, July 18
Permanent employees transferred on deputation without consent from Gurgaon to Mewat after the new district was carved have received relief from the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Allowing a petition filed by Kamal Singh and other employees of the District Rural Development Authority transferred on deputation from Gurgaon to Mewat, Justice K Kannan has not only imposed a cost of Rs 10,000, but also cancelled the deputation orders. “The petitioners shall be entitled to be repatriated in their respective posts, which they held,” Justice Kannan ruled.

Justice Kannan added that: “The action of the respondents in transferring the petitioners on deputation to the newly formed district without the consent his indefensible.

“All persons are entitled to be repatriated to their parent posts. Their seniority will be reckoned from the date of their initial appointment at Gurgaon district and any promotions that had been offered to persons who were holding that post subsequent to that date shall be given to the respective petitioners on the date when a subsequent appointee was offered promotion.

“It shall be of no consequence that the post from which the petitioners are vacated had been filled up subsequently by fresh appointments.

“If they are to be treated as surplus, they may either be readjusted to the newly formed district or their services shall be terminated in accordance with law.

“If the termination of service of such surplus posts become impossible by virtue of any order of any court at the instance of proceedings by persons, who have been appointed at the DRDA, Gurgaon, subsequently, it shall still be not taken as a ground to deny to the petitioners a right of repatriation.

Going into the background, Justice Kannan asserted: “The writ petition has been filed with the prayer that the orders sending them on deputation from Gurgaon to Mewat without securing their consent be declared bad in law…

“The transfer on deputation from Gurgaon to Mewat took place at the time when a new district was created, which was earlier a part of the Gurgaon district.

“The office order, which was issued on June 7, 2005, by the Additional Deputy Commissioner-cum-Chief Executive Officer read that the temporary transfers of the petitioners were made for the proper functioning of office in the newly created Mewat district. The orders of transfer specifically stated that the respective staff will be treated as on deputation to Mewat, but they shall not be entitled to any deputation allowance.”

Rewari, July 18
A gang of burglars ransacked shops in several main markets of the town today. The burglars broke open shutters of as many as 15 shops in the Barahazari market, old sabzi mandi, Gokal Gate bazaar, Circular road, Court road and the Katla bazaar areas. They stole away cash and jewellery worth lakhs from Rewari Art Jewellers in the Barahazari market.

Expressing resentment at the increasing incidents of theft and burglary in the town, irate shopkeepers and traders staged a dharna at Moti Chowk here today.

Addressing the demonstrators, former state BJP chief Om Prakash Grover, INLD leader Satish Yadav, district Beopar Mandal chief Ratnesh Bansal, Haryana Pradesh Vyapar Mandal district president Arvind Gupta and others expressed concern at the fast deteriorating law and order situation in the Rewari region.

The traders later announced to observe a bandh tomorrow in protest against the unprecedented rise in criminal activities in the region. Meanwhile, district police chief KV Ramana also reached the venue of the demonstration and assured that the police would provide a safe and secure environment.

Karnal, July 18
The government has decided to launch a Rs 179 crore project for channelising the Yamuna, which turns into a “river of sorrow” during the rains, eroding vast tracts of land.

The project envisages construction of “studs” at vulnerable points where the Yamuna frequently changes course and causes floods.

The designs of the “studs” have been prepared by the Irrigation Research Institute, Roorkee. The basic objective of the project is to check soil erosion as each time the Yamuna changes course, vast tracts of land are inundated and the fixed pillars installed as per the Dixit Award marking the boundary of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are erased.

This has led to territorial disputes with both Haryana and Uttar Pradesh claiming rights on the land with no signs of any demarcation by the revenue authorities.

Under the project, five “studs” of heavy stone structure will be constructed at Jammukhala, besides two more “studs” on the other side at a cost of Rs 3 crore, Executive Engineer, Irrigation and Flood Control, Ajay Garg said.

Studs would be raised in Yamunanagar, Karnal, Panipat, Sonepat and Faridabad along the Yamuna to protect the embankments.

Mundigarhi (Gharaunda), July 18
Mundigarhi, a non-descript Muslim-dominated village along the banks of the Yamuna in Karnal may not have drawn the attention of the government like other Muslim areas in Mewat, but it tells a miserable story of neglect and despondency.

The village, with a population of about 5,000, has 450 below poverty line families, none in government job, no dispensary, no veterinary institute and no graduate so far. A primary school with three rooms in a dilapidated condition with a leaking roof is the only institution where 250 children, including 35 girls, are studying while only 10 children have passed the plus two examination.

The employment opportunities are almost nil and strangely, the people are not even aware of MNREGA as panchayat functionaries are not well-educated. A muddy road with potholes is the only approach to the village and the condition of the road is so bad that it is not possible to take a patient to hospital, says Shakyut, an elderly man.

There are 1,604 voters in the village and almost all leaders have visited the village and assured help, but nothing has changed, says a former sarpanch, Nazim, who was the first matriculate in 1997. The village is a victim of government apathy, the children are not keen on studies as there are no jobs, health and education facilities are in name only and 80 per cent of BPL families are yet to get cards,” he said.

The situation is so hopeless that a grant of Rs 1.75 lakh given by the government for a veterinary dispensary was returned unspent, simply because the panchayat functionaries were not aware of the grant. The villagers alleged that they were getting only kerosene on ration cards. Asked Mafzool: “What use is kerosene oil with no foodgrain?”

With no employment avenues, the number of thefts in the village have increased. “Two years back, some people started illegal extraction of sand and stone from the river-bed,” said a villager. The only silver lining is that unlike other parts of Haryana, women outnumber men, perhaps because the Muslims do not indulge in foeticide.

Kurukshetra, July 18
A multi-party delegation of newly constituted India-Israel Forum of Parliamentarians (IILFP) under the aegis of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) left for a six-day visit to Israel yesterday.

The delegation led by senior Congress MP Navin Jindal included co-chairman of IILFP Kalikesh Singh Deo (BJD), BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar, Naresh Gujral (SAD), Madhu Yaskhi (Congress), Jayant Chaudhary (Rashtriya Lok Dal) and Sanjay Jaiswal (BJP). Ramesh Chandran, advisor, FICCI, and Executive Director, Forums of Parliamentarians, is also accompanying the delegation.

The maiden visit of the IILFP members was aimed at discussing bilaterally important issues like trade and commerce.

Karnal, July 18
While lakhs of people are not getting two square meals a day, thousands of tonnes of wheat worth crores of rupees is rotting in the Hafed storehouse at Jundala due to alleged negligence of officials. Heaps of bags of wheat, stacked in the open, have been badly damaged by rain and the officials concerned have no explanation as to why nothing was done about it.

Due to seepage and waterlogging, bags of wheat were soaked in water, resulting in an increase in their weight. As a consequence, the weak wooden pillars of the sheds collapsed and the bags of wheat lying under the shed were also exposed and could not be saved from damage caused by the water.

Government agencies had procured huge quantities of wheat but there wasn’t enough storage space and as is the usual practice, the wheat was stacked in the open and allowed to get wet, said a farmer.

The negligence of the officials concerned was also exposed from the fact that there were no floods in Jundala and there was enough time to remove the bags of wheat to safer places when rain started, said an employee alleging that the damaged grain was dried and again packed in bags and sent for supply under the PDS.