Mustafabad (Karnal), August 25
Vast tracts of agricultural land in Mustafabad village were inundated following a major breach near the Jammukhala river complex on the right bank of the Yamuna early this morning, even as the floodwaters surged towards Dhakwala Gujran, Dhakwala Rodan, Motipur and Jammukhala villages, causing panic among villagers.

“Our villages will be flooded if nothing is done to plug the 200-ft breach which is expected to further widen if more water is released from the Hathnikund barrage,” said villagers working to hold the flowing water with boulders, fallen trees and debris. The situation in Mustafabad is alarming because of massive soil erosion. Despite the warning by villagers, the administration did nothing to salvage the situation and expectedly, embankments and bundhs on a 200-ft stretch were washed away this morning, causing floods. The Irrigation Department had asked the people to take precautionary measures like raising spurs, placing sand bags and wire crates filled with stone to stop the flow of the water, but these proved inadequate. The angry villagers now hope that the breach will be plugged at the earliest.

However, the flood threat persists as more water is expected to be released from the Hathnikund barrage following more rain in the catchment areas of the Yamuna in Himachal Pradesh.The Army was called to assist the administration but it was withdrawn as technical men were already on work and no threat to human lives was envisaged. The sarpanch of Mustafabad, Lucky Ram, who was on the spot since morning, said that it was due to sheer negligence of the Irrigation Department that the breach had occurred. “We along with the sarpanches of Kundu Kalan and Dabarchi had sent a written request to the department as last year also we had had a narrow escape,” he explained. “Mustafabad is highly vulnerable to soil erosion during the monsoon. It is for the fifth time since 1988 that embankments and bundhs have been washed away,” claimed the villagers.

The Deputy Commissioner of Karnal who visited Mustafabad village said the administration had started rescue work and the breach would be plugged at the earliest. The IG Rohtak range, V Kamraja, SP Sonepat KK Rao and MLA from Gharaunda Narinder Sangwan also visited the breach site.

The SE, Yamuna Water Supply, Karnal, SK Sharma, said as the land level was higher than the level of the Yamuna, the water flow had not reached an alarming level.

Meanwhile,villagers of Pauwari and Nukumb in Yamunanagar have been asked to shift to safer places. Agricultural land in at least 15 villages in the district has again been inundated with 2.72 lakh cusecs released intothe Yamuna from the Hathnikund barrage at 6 pm.

New Delhi, August 25
The Haryana government today sought to amend its original suit filed in the Supreme Court opposing Punjab’s control over the Shahpur Kandi Dam, Modhopur Head Works and Thein Dam/Rajit Sagar Project.

Appearing for Haryana, Senior Counsel VR Bobde did not specify the amendments. Senior Counsel Rajiv Dhavan, representing Punjab, said the state would like to file its response to the unamended original suit number 3 filed last year.

Besides Punjab, Haryana has arrayed the Centre, the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir as respondents.

A Bench comprising Justices JM Panchal and Gyan Sudha Misra granted two weeks to Punjab to file its response. Additional Solicitor-General Mohan Jain represented the Centre at the hearing.

According to Haryana, constructing the Shahpur Kandi Dam, the third on the Ravi, would further reduce the flow of water downstream, affecting lower riparian states.

Contending that Punjab could no way go ahead with the construction without the consent of all riparian states, Haryana had sought status quo on the project as interim relief.

However, a Bench comprising Justices Deepak Verma and HL Gokhale had rejected the plea for instant relief on April 30 this year.Haryana wants the BBMB to execute the projects and also look after administration, maintenance and operations for all purposes such as regulation of releases protecting the interests of all partner states, including Himachal Pradesh, J&K and Rajasthan.

The state has also sought a decree declaring that Haryana is entitled to share power from the Anandpur Sahib Hydel Project, Kukerian Hydel Project, Thein Dam, UBDC Stage-II and Shahpur Kandi hydel scheme in proportion to its share in the waters.

Haryana should be given legal right to the records and data relating to the release patterns of the three projects.

The state also wants to have information, data, project reports and other details, such as the detailed project report (DPR), relating to these projects so that it could have a say in such matters.

According to Punjab, it has spent Rs 190 crore on the Rs 2,200 crore Shahpur Kandi Dam.

Jammu and Kashmir counsel Anis Suhrawardy said this project was to come up under an agreement reached with his state more than 10 years ago on the condition that J&K would get a share in the power generated from it. Hence, it was also opposed to allowing the project to be set up solely by Punjab.

Chandigarh, August 25
The treasury and Opposition benches of the Vidhan Sabha may have agreed to disagree but they are one on starting the Asembly session on a Friday.

So, on September 3, yet another Vidhan Sabha session begins on the chosen day. This will be the eighth of 12 Assembly sessions held over the past five years to begin on a Friday.

The Congress as also the INLD, rivals in the House, are in this together, both equally guilty of putting the interest of the MLAs before everything else.

The state of health of the exchequer, the tightening of purse strings and the advisory on stringent economy measures by the government notwithstanding, Haryana can’t be accused of giving its MLAs a “raw deal”, no matter which party is in power.

They are, instead, obliged by spreading the three-day session over the weekend, starting it on a Friday to enable them to earn a little more.

Sources in the Vidhan Sabha maintain that for a three-day session to “spill over” into the next week, it means an additional burden of nearly Rs 1.30 lakh on the state exchequer.

This expenditure is incurred only on account of travlling expenses of 80-odd MLAs from their constituency to Chandigarh to attend the session. Further, this can easily be avoided if the session is contained within the week it begins. This proposal, however, has no takers and mum’s the word for those occupying the Opposition benches.

Unlike the uproar on “public interest issues” raised in the House, the Opposition, too, seems to have chosen to ignore the extra payment for a to and fro trip to Chandigarh. The treasury benches, of course, aren’t expected to raise the issue.

So, while the hike in salary for Members of Parliament may be the envy of MLAs, a session commencing on Friday seems one way they can be compensated till a salary hike comes their way.

It may not be enough compensation, but then something is better than nothing. 

Fatehabad, August 25
The farmers’ agitation against the acquisition of their agriculture land for the proposed nuclear power plant at Gorakhpur has picked up momentum with villagers from 14 neighbouring villages coming out in their support.

Villagers, who were earlier agitating against the acquisition of their fertile agriculture land for the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) project, have now announced that they would not allow the plant to be set up here at any cost.

The striking farmers today got a shot in the arm, when Kuldeep Bishnoi, supremo of the Haryana Janhit Congress, visited them in the tent installed outside the mini-secretariat.

The district committee of the Akhil Bharatiya Kisan Sabha also held a separate demonstration under the leadership of its president Krishan Swaroop and among its other demands, the sabha supported the Gorakhpur farmers, though the organisation demanded “land for land” or rates equal to that in the national capital region for the farmers.

Hans Raj Siwach, president of the Kisan Sangharsh Samiti, today claimed that farmers from the neighbouring Jandli Kalan, Jandli Khurd, Mochi, Chaubara, Dahman, Baijalpur, Nahla, Siwani, Kumharia, Sabarwas, Kajalheri, Khajoori and Badopal villages had now come out in their support and would oppose the setting up of the plant in this area for the “hazards involved” with the project.

“The government sets up universities and medical colleges in other districts and when it comes to setting up of hazardous units like a nuclear plant, they find Fatehabad suitable,” Siwach alleged.

Kuldeep Bishnoi, who sat in dharna with the striking farmers for some time, alleged that the Central Government and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi adopted a dual approach towards farmers of UP and those from Haryana. “When farmers from Uttar Pradesh agitate, both Sonia and Rahul Gandhi rush there to know their problems.

Here farmers have been sitting on dharna for many days to save their ancestral land, but the central leadership is not concerned about their plight,” Bishnoi alleged. Coming down heavily on the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government, the HJC supremo alleged that ever since this government had assumed power in 2005, it had acquired fertile land of farmers. “I was the only leader who opposed the acquisition of land for SEZs and now everyone knows, what has been done in the name of SEZs in the state,” Bishnoi maintained.

Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Vijay Singh Dahiya today urged the agitating farmers to submit their written objections to the notification issued by the government under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act.

“I have assured them that their objections will be examined as per the rules,” Dahiya said.

Sonepat, August 25
A student died and two girl students were hospitalised after inhaling poisonous gas during the anti-mosquito spray of pesticide in their classroom of Government Senior Secondary School at Thana Kalan village on Monday.

One of the schoolteachers deputed three students - Rajesh, Ravina and Situ - of class IX for spraying pesticide in a school classroom. While spraying the pesticide, they fell ill and were rushed to the PGIMS, Rohtak.

During treatment in the PGIMS, Rajesh died. However, the girl students recovered and were discharged after 24 hours. Enraged over the boy’s death, his family members and other villagers reached the school and demanded stern action against the guilty teachers.

After receiving information, SDM Jagbiwas, DSP Randhir Singh and Deputy DEO Sheela Balhara reached the school and told the villagers that an inquiry would be conducted and action taken against the guilty teachers.

Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Ajit Joshi has instructed the District Education Officer to inquire into the incident. He said such practice was not allowed and action would be taken against the guilty teachers.

A financial assistance of Rs 10,000 has been given to the bereaved family from the District Red Cross Society. The teaching community has also volunteered to give financial assistance to the family. 

Chandigarh, August 25
The state of Haryana’s action of denying family pension to the widow of an ex-serviceman with just a day’s regular service with a government department has failed to find favour with the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Coming to his widow’s rescue, the High Court has ruled: “The completion of one year continuous service is wholly irrelevant in view of the phraseology of the Family Pension Scheme. The High Court also made it clear that the family pension can be handed over to the dependants of the deceased, even if he had not completed “one year regular continuous service”.

Allowing the petition filed by Krishna Devi, Justice Ranjit Singh observed: “Even though her late husband had not completed one year regular continuous service, he had completed more than three years of continuous service.”

Justice Ranjit Singh asserted: “Having served in the Army from July 23, 1976, to March 31, 1993, and upon his retirement in the rank of nayak, the late husband of the petitioner joined the respondent as a driver on June 16, 1994. Initially, he had joined as a contractual employee.“Though he was entitled to be regularised on completion of two years of service, his services were not regularised. He died on January 7, 1998, in a road accident.

On February 10, 1999, the services of the husband of the petitioner were regularised with effect from January 7, 1998. The petitioner was granted ex-gratia amount due to the death of her husband but her claim for family pension was declined.”

Referring to the Family Pension Scheme, 1964, Justice Ranjit Singh asserted: “The only interpretation which can be placed upon the scheme is that even if the deceased government employee does not complete one year of continuous service, his dependents would nevertheless be entitled to the grant of family pension.”

Chandigarh, August 25
Whenever the Haryana Assembly is to meet, expectations of Haryana Sikhs, who are fighting for a separate body to manage their gurdwaras, soar. They feel that the Assembly may pass a resolution, if not a Bill, recommending the creation of a separate SGPC for the state.

This time, too, is no exception. The Haryana Sikhs are hoping that the Assembly, which is to meet from September 3, may do justice to them. Before the 2005 Assembly elections, the Congress had promised a separate SGPC for the state in its election manifesto. After the party came to power in March 2005, the Sikhs reminded it of its promise. A committee headed by the then Speaker, HS Chatha, was formed to look into the issue.

After a considerable time and receiving about one lakh affidavits in support of the separate SGPC, Chatha submitted the report.

Though the report was not made public, it is believed that the Chatha committee favoured a separate managing committee for Haryana gurdwaras.

The report was sent to the Haryana Advocate-General for legal opinion before the last Assembly elections in 2009. The legal opinion is still awaited, leading to an impression that for reasons best known to it, the government is going slow on the issue.

The executive committee of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (ad hoc) met in Kurukshetra today under the presidentship of Raminder Singh Juneja and demanded that a Bill for a separate HSGPC should be introduced in the coming session of the Assembly.

In a letter signed by Juneja, Didar Singh Nalvi, working president, and Baldev Singh Khalsa, vice-president, the committee urged Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda to direct the Home Department to scrap the SGPC elections in Haryana as these elections were against Section 72(3) of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966.

The committee also demanded that since Punjabi had been declared the second official language of the state, necessary steps to recruit Punjabi teachers on a regular basis should be taken on priority.