Fatehabad, August 14
The occurrence of another tornado-like phenomenon at Ahlisadar village in Fatehabad within a span of 20 days has baffled climatologists and Meteorological Department officials.

Some teachers and students of Government Senior Secondary School located in the village yesterday noticed a funnel-like vertical cloud descending from the sky and one of the teachers managed to film the last few seconds of the phenomenon on his mobile.

“I noticed a pipe-like object coming down from the clouds in the northern direction. It was at a considerable distance, but clearly visible. I shouted and called Jaiveer Singh, another lecturer, who filmed the last few seconds of it on his mobile,” said Mohinder Saharan, a lecturer in political science in the school.

Several other teachers and students witnessed the development and corroborated Saharan’s statement.

The weather was cloudy and it was raining in and around Fatehabad, towards north of Ahlisadar.

The funnel dissipated before it could reach the ground and the whole development lasted over three minutes at about 1 pm yesterday.

“I have received calls from some others too and from the pictures available to me, it appears that it was a tornado-like phenomenon, which could not fully develop,” said Surender Pal, Director of the Meteorological Department in Chandigarh, after watching video clippings provided by The Tribune.

Echoing his assertions, Dr Mahabir Jaglan, an Associate Professor of geography in Kurukshetra University, who teaches climatology, said the video and accounts of weather described by eyewitnesses revealed that a tornado-like atmospheric feature was developing again in the sky near Fatehabad on August 13.

He observed the videos and spoke to the eyewitnesses on the phone to have an objective estimation.

“It seems to be quite an immature low-pressure system marked by vertical cloud formations caused by immense influx of latent heat from the flooded area. It appears to have created the atmospheric instability as a consequence of large-scale condensation and consequent formation of vertical column of cumulonimbus clouds,” Dr Jaglan added.

Expressing concern over a rare phenomenon appearing again so early in the area, he said it was fortunate that recently two tornado-like low-pressure systems originating in the area did not develop into full-fledged tornadoes.

“Keeping in mind the unstable atmospheric conditions prevailing in the region, the administration and people should be alert to any eventuality of tornado formation because a mature tornado is a bundle of immense amount of kinetic energy and could be very destructive,” he warned.

Chandigarh, August 14
Harsamadhan, contrary to what the name suggests, has no solution for anybody and anything. Though this ambitious web portal was launched by the Haryana government with much fanfare as a platform for the common man to air grievances, two months on, it has ended up being a grievance itself.

Most of the complaints and queries from the public, pertaining to various departments of the government and which have been piling up over the past couple of months on the portal, have so far gone unanswered.

“Under process” is the staple reply the portal has provided to all complainants even as the queries remain “stuck” in the offices of authority, waiting endless to be seen and addressed.

As of now, it seems, there are no takers for public grievances in the Haryana government and there’s no hurry to address these despite a time frame of 30 days to dispose of the complaints.

In view of other “pressing assignments”, the state’s babudom thinks these can wait.

And, while officers sit pretty on these complaints, the public awaits the fulfilment of tall promises of bringing transparency and accountability, saving their time, money and energy through this modern system of grievance redressal, launched under the aegis of the Government of India.

As soon as the portal was uploaded on June 18, a complaint (DRGPO/E/2010/00003) about a pending arms licence was put up for the perusal of the Police Department on June 19 which was followed up with a reminder on July 19. The complainant is yet to hear from the office concerned.

Similarly, another complaint (FCTRA/E/2010/00001) about an outdated website of the Transport Department which failed to provide the latest timetable of buses and contact information was sent on June 19. A reply is awaited.

A third query about steps initiated to check child labour at tea stalls was addressed to the Deputy Commissioner, Bhiwani, on July 8.

However, the only reply the portal can offer is that the complaint is under process.

A random check of the status of complaints on the portal in other districts also shows that most of these continue to be “under process” despite a gap of four to six weeks.

A complaint (DRGO/E/2010/00015) to the Police Department on June 21 has gone unanswered. The department has failed to respond to a subsequent reminder.

Sources in the Department of Grievance Redressal point out that though the initiative is a progressive one, it will take time to stabilise since it is a pilot project which is vulnerable to teething troubles. Officials add that the staff is yet to be fully trained to handle complaints and send replies.

Follow-up meetings to smoothen its working are being planned.

Of the 1,038 complaints received so far, only 88 have been disposed of. 

Kurukshetra, August 14
The Chhatisgarh High Court at Bilaspur has quashed the FIR and complaint against the management of Jindal Power Limited (JPL) for flying the National Flag after sunset.

The court quashed the criminal proceedings against the JPL, a subsidiary of Jindal Steel and Power headed by MP Naveen Jindal, observing that: “Not lowering the National Flag after the sunset is not violative of the Flag Code of India and hence both the FIR and the complaint against the JPL and its management is hereby quashed.”

A complaint was lodged against the JPL at Tamnar police station that the National Flag was flying on the premises of the company in the dark at around 6.30 pm, which was violation to the Prevention of Insult to the National Honour Act (1971) and Flag Code, 2002. However, after investigations by the police it was found that no offence was made and a closure report was filed on June 26, 2007.

Meanwhile, another complaint was filed by one Rajan Tripathi, a representative of NGO Jan Chetana, alleging that the company had committed an offence under Section 2 of the Prevention of Insult to National Honour Act read with Sections 153-A, 295-A and 268 of the IPC. The JPL filed a case seeking quashing of the FIR and the complaint and the court accepted the plea.

Jindal fought a protracted battle for over a decade on behalf of the people of India and won them the right to fly the National Flag publically.

The Supreme Court in a landmark judgment said every citizen had the right to fly the National Flag with respect, dignity and honour and the union government amended the Flag Code.

It was again in December 2009 that Jindal won another battle and the Flag Code was again amended allowing flying of the National Flag - “day and night”.

The Lok Sabha on February 18, 2010, also allowed the members to wear lapel pins displaying the National Flag. Earlier, the members were not allowed to wear badges of any kind under Rule 349 (XIV) of the Rules and Procedure of Conduct of Business.

Jind, August 14
Following reports of breeding of mosquito larvae in various parts of the district, there is a threat of malaria outbreak, thanks to the ongoing rainy season and accumulation of water due to poor drainage in almost every residential colony here.

Hundreds of cases of patients suffering from malarial fever and its symptoms have been reported in the civil and private hospitals in the past one week. While the health authorities are still to release official figures of the cases, it is reported that samples of several patients have been sent to laboratory for test.

“The malaria incidents in the district are set to rise dramatically due to lack of adequate measures to control the growth and spread of the larvae breeding in the open water pools present at every step in the city in the ongoing monsoon,” claimed the sources in the department.

“The fogging of anti-malaria spray is missing so far, though water has accumulated at various places in both the urban and rural areas,” claimed Dilbagh Singh, a resident of the nearby Intel Kalan village.

“Swarm of mosquitoes can be seen in the morning and evening,” claimed Kitab Singh of Igrah village in the district. He said some cases of fever had been reported in the village in the past two weeks, though no case of malaria had been confirmed so far. ‘We have appealed to the sarpanch to get fogging done in the village,” he added.

“Demand of fogging has also come from various localities in the town, where the poor drainage system and dumped garbage has resulted in growth of mosquitoes in a large number,” said an employee of the civic body. The authorities had claimed to have supplied a special breed of fish to contain the breeding of the mosquitoes in ponds and open water pools last year.

Karnal, August 14
Slow growth in the production of wheat in the country has raised concerns amongst the Union Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), which has started working to develop a strategy to increase the annual yield of the crop.

This was stated by PK Basu, secretary of agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture, here today while addressing a meeting on “Planning strategies to enhance wheat and barley production in north-western region of the country”, which was convened by Dr SS Singh, project director of directorate of wheat research.

Basu said even as the country’s farmers, scientists, policy makers, planners, development agencies had worked towards making the nation self-reliant, stagnation in wheat production had started concerning the ministry.

He said there was an urgent need to make available the latest advents in technology in the field of agriculture to farmers so that food production could be improved further.

The secretary said policy, programme and research should be used effectively and collectively to evolve new methods to augment wheat productivity in the country.

Dr Gurbachan Singh, agriculture commissioner, MoA, said seed, fertilisers, pesticides and weedicides were critical inputs and it should be ensured that these were readily available to farmers. He said scientists were specially concerned over climate change as it could effect the food production.

Dr SS Singh said the directorate had been making similar efforts, which had translated into reduction in area under some varieties of wheat that were highly susceptible to certain diseases. He said there was a wide scope to increase wheat production with full adoption of existing technologies. 

Ambala, August 14
The CBI produced an eyewitness in Ranjit Singh murder case, in which Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is an accused, in the CBI Court here today.

The hearing was conducted through video conferencing in the court of Special Judge, Haryana, AS Narang. Dera chief appeared in the court of Sirsa, while the other accused of the case were present in the Ambala court.

CBI witness Sukhdev Singh of Khanpur Kulian village, where Ranjit Singh was murdered in 2002, stated in the court that he had seen Sabdil Singh and Jasdbir Singh murdering Ranjit Singh. He identified the accused in the court.

CBI counsel HPS Verma told that the prosecution had already produced six witnesses in the case and Sukhdev was the prime witness of the case. The Judge adjourned the hearing for September 7.

Ranjit Singh, a member of the 10-member committee running the Dera affairs was murdered at his native Khanpur Kulian village on July 2002.

The father of the deceased had written letter to the Prime Minister, Chief Minister and the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in this regard. The High Court had taken suo muto notice of the letter and had ordered a CBI probe into it. 

Jhajjar, August 14
A dramatic scene was created during the protest demonstration of the midday meal workers here today when some state policemen reportedly snatched an effigy of Haryana Education and Health Minister Geeta Bhukkal from the hands of the protesters and tried to run away with it from the spot.

The incident happened when the protesters were all set to burn the effigy after holding demonstration at Ambedkar Chowk here. In fact, the policemen reportedly wished to restrain the protesters from setting ablaze the effigy of the Education Minister, but they could not succeed to do so, as the women protesters chased the cops and took the effigy back from them. Thereafter, the protesters did not waste any more time to set the effigy on fire.

Earlier, a significant number of mid-day meal workers, under the aegis of the Midday Meal Workers Association, gathered at Shri Ram Park to protest and burn the effigy of the Education Minister for paying no heed to their long-pending demands.

The protesters started their demonstration with shouting slogans against the minister. The protest culminated at Ambedkar Chowk after passing through Jahanaara Bagh Stadium and road in front of the bus stand here.

Addressing the gathering, district president of the association Suresh Lakriya said their agitation would continue until the demand of regularisation of the mid-day meal workers and cancellation of women help groups were met.

“The midday meal workers have apprised the Education Minister of their demands several times, but she is not ready to lend an ear to the demands. Hence, the workers have to launch the campaign against the minister to press for their demands,” said the president, claiming that their demands were genuine, thus the minister should not take much time to meet them.

Chandigarh, August 14
Eleven police personnel of Haryana have been awarded the Police Medal in various categories by the President on the occasion of the Independence Day.

A spokesman for the Haryana police said Assistant Commissioner of Police Rajesh Duggal and Sub-Inspector Jitender Kumar have been award the President’s Police Medal for gallantry.

Additional Director-General of Police, CID, Panchkula, Yash Pal Singal has been awarded the Police Medal for distinguished service.

He said eight other police personnel, who have also been awarded the Police Medal for meritorious service, included Anil Kumar Rao, Superintendent of Police, Rohtak, Luxmi Devi, Inspector, In charge, EOW, Sonepat, Chander Gupt Parsad Singh, Sub-Inspector, SCRB, Madhuban, Mandroop Singh, Sub-Inspector, Haryana Police Academy, Madhuban, Attar Singh, Sub-Inspector, Gurgaon, Ganesh Kumar, Sub-Inspector, HPA, Madhuban, Subhash Chander, Assistant Sub-Inspector, State Vigilance Bureau (SVB) headquarters, and Jaipal Singh, Assistant Sub-Inspector, SVB headquarters, Haryana.

He said Director-General of Police Ranjiv Dalal congratulated all these police personnel for their distinguished and meritorious services. He hoped that they would continue to work with same zeal and dedication.

Sirsa, August 14
Cotton libraries will be soon set up in the district under a public-private partnership (PPP) project taken jointly by the North India Textile Mills Association (NITMA) and the Mayhco Monsanto Biotech (India) Limited (MMBL), a producer of hybrid seeds and herbicides. The project includes several other aspects and aims at educating farmers about pests damaging their crops and methods of their management.

The promoters of the project, named “Navodaya”, have adopted 15 villages of the district, considered the cotton bowl of Haryana. Additional Deputy Commissioner Pankaj Chaudhary launched the project here yesterday.

“The NITMA is a non-profit making body solely engaged in promoting the interest of India’s textile industry particularly in the northern part of the country covering states like Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, J&K, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, UP and Madhya Pradesh. The NITMA represents more than 100 textile mills of northern India. The NITMA has been running various projects to train farmers on the IPM approach,” said a spokesperson for the NITMA.

Jagresh Rana, Deputy Managing Director, Cotton Traits, MMBL, said the projects primarily aimed at enhancing a farmer’s focus on the management aspects in cotton.

Faridabad, August 14
The Rajput community today lamented that it was not getting its due status in the political processes and government apparatus in the state.

They stated this in a public meeting of the community organised here by the local unit of the Haryana Rajput Pratinidhi Sabha in Asavati village near here. The meeting was organised to felicitate the newly elected members of Panchyati Raj Institutions, consisting of panches, sarpanches and members of block samitis and zila parishads. The elected members were from Faridabad and the adjoining Palwal district.

The president of the Faridabad unit of the Haryana Rajput Pratinidhi Sabha and the state office-bearer of the organisation, Raja Ram and Rajveer Singh, respectively, said the public meeting was non-political and had been organised to honour the newly elected members.

They said political parties and the successive governments in the state had been neglecting them since long. Even at the time of distribution of the ticket during elections, parties neglected their numerical strength. The community was neglected as it always raised its demand and concerns.

President of the Haryana Rajput Pratinidhi Sabha and retired IAS officer from Haryana Hukam Singh Rana, who was the chief guest on the occasion, urged the community to organise itself, demonstrate its unity of spirit and purpose, unionise its voice and focus on educating its children to achieve political power. The community should stop making pleas to political parties and compel them to reach out to them on their own volition and for their own vested purpose, he added.

Raja Ram and Rajveer Singh urged members of the community to spread awareness against social evils prevalent in society.

The asked the community to work with others communities and caste groups to make the state and the country strong and to maintain the unity and integrity in the country.