Karnal, September 14
A fresh confrontation between the HSGPC and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) is on the cards with HSGPC president Jagdish Singh Jhinda renewing his threat to take over “sewa” in key gurdwaras in Haryana tomorrow. SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar is determined to foil any such attempt.

Jhinda has convened a meeting of “Sikh Sangat” at Dera Baba Charan Singh in Kurukshetra tomorrow to finalise the strategy and translate the threat into action. “We will take over sewa in selected gurdwaras and the government and the SGPC will be responsible for the consequences”, Jhinda told mediapersons here.

He asked the government to “flush out” armed forces of the SGPC, camping in Haryana gurdwaras and said in case of any violence or bloodshed, the HSGPC would not be responsible. When asked about the gurdwaras to be taken over by the HSGPC, Jhinda said: “It is a secret which will be revealed after the action is over”.

Jhinda had created commotion on September 13 last year by taking over control of famous Chhati Patshahi Gurdwara at Kurukshetra but the high drama ended in a whisper with the HSGPC meekly surrendering and handing over the control back to the SGPC within eight hours.

A mellowed down HSGPC president had then said that taking over the control was “symbolic” to send a clear message to the Haryana government and the SGPC that “we are capable of taking control of gurdwaras if our just demand for separate gurdwara prabandhak committee is not accepted by November 1”. An imminent clash was avoided by quick intervention of KK Sindhu, IG, Ambala Range.

Later Jhinda and his four associates were found guilty of misconduct by Akal Takht, declared Tankhayia and awarded punishment to clean shoes, wash utensils of Sikh devotees, listen Shabad Kirtan (religious hymns) one hour for five days each at four places in Punjab and Haryana, including Takht Damdama Sahib at Talwandi Sabo in Bathinda, Takht Kesgarh Sahib at Anandpur Sahib, Akal Takht, Amritsar, and Chhewin Patshahi Gurdwara at Kurukshetra in Haryana.

SGPC president Makkar said the Sikh Sangat was with them and any attempt to forcibly takeover the control of gurdwaras would be foiled. Jhinda had indulged in similar misadventure last year also but left the gurdwara before we reached there, he recalled.

Samain (Fatehabad), September 14
Roads connecting the district to Hisar and Delhi were today blocked by angry Jat demonstrators here. They snatched stationery items from a government teacher at Jandli village and set these on fire.

The teacher was on the way to deliver the material to a school for board semester exams. The villagers also blocked the Fatehabad-Bhuna road near Jandli. Hundreds of demonstrators at Kanheri and Samain villages blocked traffic on the Tohana-Hisar road.

Traffic was also blocked near Gorakhpur village on the Bhuna-Agroha road and the Bhuna-Hisar road near Nehla village.

In Bhattu town, the demonstrators forced shopkeepers in the grain market to down shutters and locked the railway station.

A group of youths who came to Bhuna town had to make a hasty retreat after the shopkeepers confronted them.

The youths were beaten up and the tractor-trailer used by them set on fire.

With the bus services suspended, long queues of commuters were seen at the Sirsa and Fatehabad bus stations.

INSO, the student wing of the INLD,blocked traffic on the Hisar road outside Government National College for a few hours.

The students raised slogans against the Hooda government.

KAITHAL: Over hundred activists under the banner of Akhil Bhartiya Jat MahaSabha staged a dharna on the Karnal-kaithal and Ambala-Hisar road junction here, disrupting traffic for a few hours . They raised slogans in support of their demand for reservation.

A posse of policemen reached the spot and senior officials tried to convince the protesters to lift the blockade, but in vain.

Later, Sub-Divisional Magistrate Hawa Singh met the protesters and accepted a memorandum of demands ,to be forwarded to the Centre, from the protesters following which traffic was restored.

Chandigarh, September 14
Kurukshetra University, Maharshi Dayanand University and another university in Haryana have a week’s time to decide on the issue of giving affiliation to private institutes that have been granted “enhancement in intake capacity”.

Taking up a petition filed by the Association of Private Self-Financing Institution of Haryana and other petitioners against the state of Haryana and other respondents, Justice Ranjit Singh of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today asserted: “It is for the university to take into consideration the law and the position and pass an appropriate order either granting or denying affiliation. Counsel for the university prayed for two weeks’ time to do the needful. However, one-week time is granted to the university to take an appropriated decision.”

In his detailed order, Justice Ranjit Singh added: “The petition has been filed by colleges, which are members of the petitioner institution. The grievance that all petitioner colleges have been granted enhancement in the intake capacity for existing colleges, which have been approved by the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). However, the state as well as the university is not taking any action to grant affiliation. There is no order denying the affiliation as such.”

Justice Ranjit Singh also took note of the assertion made by the counsel for petitioner Rajiv Atma Ram that “there is no requirement for obtaining a no-objection certificate from the state government, which primarily is a reason with the university not to grant affiliation”.

Fixing September 21 as the next date of hearing in the case, Justice Ranjit Singh asserted: “The question is what is to happen, if the AICTE grants permission for enhancing the intake.”

Chandigarh, September 14
The Haryana Board of School Education has postponed all examinations which were to begin tomorrow.

The exams will now commence on September 22. Though a spokesman of the board said the examinations had been postponed “due to unavoidable circumstances,” it is believed that the decision has been taken in view of the violence in Hisar district in the past two days.

Secretary of the board Shekhar Vidyarthi said the exams at 10 centres of Yamunanagar district, which were postponed due to the recent floods, would also commence on September 22.

The new date sheet would be declared soon and would be made available at the board’s headquarters, Bhiwani. It would be displayed at the District Coordination Centres. It would also be published in leading Hindia and English dailies.

Karnal, September 14
Panic gripped Kutel village in the Gharaunda area of Karnal district following the death of two children reportedly due to diarrhoea.

A pregnant woman died later in the evening.

Dozens of villagers also admitted to different hospitals in Kutel, Gharaunda and Karnal trauma centre with the symptoms of the disease.

A 6-year-old boy Monu and 10-year-old girl Swati, who fell sick after consuming water last evening, died today and almost every household in the village had a patient suffering from diarrhoea, the villagers said.

Over 12 persons, including Jyoti, Sushma, Krishan, Sanjana, Manisha, Arjun, Dherova, Anil and Anjali, rushed to the Civil Hospital here.Deputy civil surgeon Dr V K Chaudhry said patients with symptoms of diarrhoea had been admitted to the hospital.

A team of doctors had rushed to the village and medical camps had been set up, he added.

Village sarpanch Krishan Kalyan blamed contaminated water for the outbreak of the disease and alleged that in spite of several complaints made to the authorities in the public health department, no action was taken to clean water.Even the CMO wrote a letter to the department after all 10 samples taken from the village failed, but no action was taken, he added.

Fatehabad, September 14
The agitating farmers of Gorakhpur have rejected Chief Parliamentary Secretary Prahlad Singh Gillankhera’s offer for government-sponsored visit to a nuclear power plant in Uttar Pradesh.

Hans Raj Siwach, president of the Kisan Sangharsh Samiti, set up by the Gorakhpur farmers, today made it clear that they would not part with their lands, whatever might be the circumstances.

He also clarified that their agitation was not for hike in the acquisition price of their lands, but against the very idea of setting up the plant in this fertile area.

Gillankhera had yesterday offered to arrange a visit of the Gorakhpur farmers to a plant in UP to clear their doubts about nuclear power plants.

Farmers have been sitting on dharna against acquisition of their lands for the past 28 days and their relay fast entered eighth day today.

Meanwhile, Sudershan Agarwal, president of the Samast Bharatiya Party, completed his 24-hour fast in support of the Gorakhpur farmers today. Unlike leaders of some other political parties, whose support to the Gorakhpur farmers remained symbolic, Agarwal spent a night with the farmers and slept on the dharna site on the footpath.

Agarwal sat on fast at the dharna site of the farmers outside the mini-secretariat yesterday and left the town only after completing his fast with five farmers sitting on relay fast. He said his party was against the acquisition of fertile lands of the farmers for the purpose of such plants. The SBP chief said even AICC president Sonia Gandhi had said crop-yielding lands should not be acquired for projects.

Palwal, September 14
Much to the relief of residents of flood-affected villages, the water level in Yamuna has reportedly started to recede.

Flood waters that had entered the habitation areas in Mahabalipur and Indra Nagar, which had forced the residents to take shelter in camps in nearby villages, has started receding.

However, the fields in the two villages and a few other villages are still submerged. All these villages fall in low-lying areas and are located along the river.

A member of the district administration said as a precautionary measure, the residents had not been allowed to shift to their houses on account of uncertain rainfall. Sant Ram of Mahabalipur village, whose five family members have taken shelter in a camp at Khatka Nangli village, said they wanted to return home as soon as possible. Although he was satisfied with the relief works undertaken by the authorities at the camp, he said he and his cattle were missing their home.

According to the official sources, the flood situation will be reviewed late this evening.