Hisar, September 27
Chastened by the falling graph of the Congress in the wake of the recent political developments, senior party leaders have started closing ranks.

The process has been initiated by none other than Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda himself who heads a lame-duck government dependent on the support of legislators from outside Congress ranks.

The recent violence at Mayyar by pro-reservation members of the Jat community and the coming together of non-Jat communities against the Jats has raised fears of isolation of the Jats politically and socially. The Congress leadership has realised that the development is likely to affect their party’s prospects the most.

Hooda made a bold attempt to win over his estranged schoolmate and former Union minister Rao Inderjit Singh, MP, at a public meeting at Rewari last week where the two shared dais. Though both of them engaged in a vitriolic oral exchange, it was clear to all in the end that the two stalwarts had decided to bury the hatchet and work together.

Likewise, Hooda and former minister Kiran Chaudhry are reported to have come closer in the recent weeks. Chaudhry who has direct links with Congress President Sonia Gandhi had been sulking ever since she was kept out of the Hooda Ministry after the last Assembly poll.

Both she and her daughter, Bhiwani MP Shruti, had been maintaining a stoic silence for months. They made no bones about the fact that they had been sidelined in the corridors of power because of their differences with Hooda. The Chief Minister’s camp now maintains that the Hooda and Chaudhry would publicly bury their differences shortly.

The recent reports of Jats withdrawing the allegations against Union Minister Shelja levelled in the context of the Mirchpur incidents are another indicator of Hooda and Selja making a beginning to close ranks. The Selja camp had been of the firm view that supporters of Hooda were behind these allegations.

Although this is good news for Congress supporters the differences between Hooda and Rajya Sabha MP Birender Singh are yet to be sorted out. Hooda and Birender Singh, once close allies in their fight against Bhajan Lal in the nineties, have drifted apart after Hooda became Chief Minister.

The Hooda camp may find it tricky to med fences between these two Jat leaders. But insiders claim efforts are afoot to bring the duo closer in the interest of the party.

Hisar, September 27
To bring about efficiency and openness in its working, the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam has decided to introduce the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system at the corporate level.

Managing director of the nigam Sudhir Rajpal said here that the SAP-ERP being implemented above the subdivisional level, would cover financial management, material management, inventory management, plant maintenance and project systems.

He said the SAP reports in office communication would enable and encourage employees to feed data into the system and utilise the system online. The system was being introduced in one of the operation divisions in Hisar and would subsequently be rolled all across the DHBVN.

With the start of ERP-SAP, all financial transactions would be handled in SAP financial management and control. All material procurement transactions and transfers would also be handled in SAP. All equipment and plant maintenance and preventive maintenance schedules would also be handled in SAP.

The system would be used at the SDO level and later at other levels also. This module was tightly integrated with other modules and took care of project planning to execution and completion.

Chandigarh, September 27
In view of the rising demand for upgrading schools coming from various quarters, the Haryana Education Department has framed guidelines to do away with arbitrariness in giving sanctions.

Under the new policy prepared by the department, a branch of a primary school can be opened wherever the total number of children is at least 25 over 0.5 acres in rural and 0.25 acres in urban areas with an availability of five classrooms (one classroom per class).

For opening a primary school, the policy lays down that the distance from the nearest school should be in 1 km and five rooms should be available in the premises over 0.5 acres. For students between 150 and 300, there should be one school, two for a student-strength between 301-600 and three for 601-900 students.

For upgrading a primary school to a middle school, the premises should be spread over one acre with 2 km distance from the nearest school with an availability of eight classrooms. The school should have at least 50 students from class I to V and at least 25 students studying in class V for the last two years.

Upgrading a middle to a senior secondary school would be allowed if a school has 14 rooms, is spread over two acres and the distance from the nearest school is 5 km. Further, at least 210 students in classes VI to VIII and at least 70 students should be in class VIII for the last two years for starting IX and X classes. In a radius of 5 km, one of the middle schools having highest student strength, adequate infrastructure and easy accessibility may be upgraded to senior secondary stage.

While the policy has specified the room size as well, other facilities available include playgrounds, boundary walls (minimum 5’ height), separate toilets for boys and girls, firefighting equipment, water harvesting structures, drinking water facilities, dual-desks, principal’s room, drinking water, electricity, ramps for barrier free access and multimedia/EDUSAT rooms.

In primary and middle schools, there should be an additional provision for a kitchen-cum-store on account of mid-day meal programme.

Kurukshetra, September 27
A talent show was organised at the National Institute of Technology here recently. The three-day event was inaugurated by Dr MN Bandyopadhyay, director, NIT.

The maiden day witnessed Mr and Miss Fresher contest. Aadi won the title of Mr Fresher while Varsha was selected Miss Fresher. It was followed by English and Hindi literary debating events, such as “Just-a-Minute” and “Ad Hash”.

Music and dramatic events attracted more students, which witnessed stiff contest and left the audience asking for more. The group dance competitions witnessed students of first year stealing the show.

Other events such as solo singing and solo dance also drew crowds in good numbers. Events conducted by the Photography and Fine Arts Club too attracted a lot of students. Its main events were “scavenger hunt” and “t-shirt painting”.

The final day witnessed Mr and Miss NITK contest. Vineet of third year B.Tech won the title of Mr NITK and Priyanka of MBA-I won the title of Miss NITK. Vipul, Aarushi, Charu, Vinay, Varsha were among the winners in various events. 

Panipat, September 27
The enraged Yamuna that had put a number of villages in the Sanuli segments of the district at high risk of floods, has started showing signs of decline in water level.

The river was carrying around 4 lakh cusecs of water, which was passing through the district without much trouble. The administration that had been going all out to place sandbags along its banks has heaved a sigh of relief. However, work to strengthen its embankments wherever required is continued.

Work to plug a breach that had occurred in one of the embankments of the Yamuna between Tamsabad and Pathergarh village has also been started with a number of workers deployed along with JCB machines.

Even as large chunks of agricultural lands in this segment of the district were still submerged, with the water level in the Yamuna going down, villagers were expecting that the situation would become normal within a day or two.

JS Ahlawat, deputy commissioner, said the administration had been monitoring the situation round the clock and even villagers had been participating in maintaining a vigil along the river throughout the district.

He said as per reports, water in the Yamuna had gone down by 80,000 cusecs at Tajewala barrage, which was now at 1.3 lakh cusecs. “If there is not much rain in the catchment areas of the river up hills, the situation in the district would return to normal soon,” the DC said. He said officials were still camping in the affected areas and all arrangements were in place.

Rewari, September 27
Activists of various parties and voluntary organisations from the Ahirwal region participated in a mahapanchayat held in Panchayat Bhawan at Sehlang village of Mahendragarh district here on Sunday. SP Subhash Yadav is a resident of Sehlang village.

Former sarpanch of Pota village Ratipal presided over the mahapanchayat.

Expressing resentment against the registration of a murder case against SP Yadav, the mahapanchayat gave an ultimatum to the state government stating that if the murder case was not withdrawn unconditionally by October 1, they would be compelled to launch an agitation against the state government.

They announced that a dharna would be staged before the Deputy Commissioner’s office in Narnaul on October 2, which would be followed by a statewide agitation.

Flaying the state government for according the status of martyr to the youth, who lost his life in the Jat agitation, the mahapanchayat demanded the appointment of a claim commissioner as well as recovery of indemnity from the protesters, who had indulged in vandalism.

While former legislator Raghu Yadav asserted that the state government should invariably be held responsible for singling out Yadav for penal action when the DC, ASP and other senior officers, belonging to the Jat community, were also present at the site of occurrence, another former legislator Naresh Yadav stated that conferment of the status of martyr on the deceased youth was an insult to the martyrdom of patriotic heroes and jawans.

Sonepat, September 27
HUDA’s residential sector 23 has become a soft target of anti-social elements for want of police patrolling. Day-to-day incidents of chain snatching, eve teasing, consumption of alcohol in the open areas of the market and cars parked on roads and trespassing into houses have become a routine here.

Open roads of the sector are being used for training of drivers by individuals and driving institutes at the risk of residents. Even jhuggis of migrant labourers are not being spared by these anti-social elements.

Womenfolk have stopped wearing gold ornaments after the incident of chain snatching and fatal stabbing of a lady teacher Savita in front of her house in the sector about 20 days ago.

Savita was hit with some weapon when she resisted chain snatching attempt by two motorcycle-borne youths on August 31 evening.

She was admitted to a private hospital here and even one of her kidneys, which was badly damaged in the incident, was removed by doctors, but she finally succumbed to her injuries on September 19.

It may be recalled that earlier there used to be regular patrolling by the police, particularly during night hours, but it was being hardly seen for the past one year. In one of the incidents, a chowkidar was beaten and his torch was snatched during the night duty near the main market by some notorious elements.

The residents have urged the SSP to introduce night patrolling in the sector and taking strict action against these elements.

Rewari, September 27
An audio CD of children carols titled “Bachha Party” was formally released at a function held under the auspices of Shree Jee Entertainment (SJE) in the Bal Bhawan complex here recently. Child vocalists, their parents, citizens and schoolchildren participated in the function.

While Laxmi Shankar Vajpayee, station director of All-India Radio, Delhi, was the chief guest, Prem Kumar Yadav, district child welfare officer, presided over it. Besides, Urmil Satyabhushan, a senior writer and pursuant of child theatrics in Delhi, was a distinguished guest. The album, made by SJE, was released by Vajpayee and Satyabhushan, which contains 10 songs, all sung by a group of 12 child vocalists.

The songs were composed by Vipin Suneja, a noted lyricist and music director of the region, whereas the children were imparted one-month melodic training by Suneja and his co-music director Shripati Singh Shekahwat.

Simultaneously, while numerous schoolchildren lent lustre to the programme with a presentation of vibrant jig to the accompaniment of transmission of the songs, Vajpayee said by infusing children’s chaste and playful mischief as well as their latent restlessness into the carols, Suneja had rendered a valuable service to the youths.

Echoing similar sentiments, Satyabhushan said the songs had enlivened memories of her joyful childhood days.

Suneja, Shekahwat, child vocalists, their parents and principals of their respective schools were also honoured on the occasion.

Shyam Sunder Singhal, chief executive of SJE, expressed his thankfulness to the guests and others.

Kaithal, September 27
Randeep Singh Surjewala, Public Public Health and PWD ( B&R)Minister, Haryana, on Saturday inaugurated Rajiv Seva Kendra set up here under Mahatma Gandhi Rashtriya Gramin Rozgar Yojna .

The centre, aimed at effective execution of Manrega scheme and giving detailed information about the scheme to village sarpanches, has been built at a cost of Rs 26.53 lakh.

The centre would be the venue for seminars and would also be utilised to provide training to the departmetal staff responsile for execution of the Manrega scheme. Surjewala said the central government had planned to set up more than 2000 such centres in the country.

Ambala, September 27
Vijay Singh Yadav, civil surgeon, recently visited the civil hospitals at Ambala City and Ambala Cantt and called on health officials to take stock of the situation regarding waterborne diseases.

In the past couple of weeks, such diseases have been on the rise in Ambala. The chief medical officer has claimed that the health administration is well prepared to face any eventuality. Yadav emphasised that all primary health centres and civil hospitals had been alerted about the rising health problems. “Medicines are available in all medical stores and the public need not panic at all”.

He also appealed to people to drink boiled water and maintain proper hygiene levels as a measure to tackle swine flu. He urged residents to put chlorine tablets in water tanks. An anti-mosquito drive has also been intensified in all densely populated areas.

The civil surgeon said isolation wards in government hospitals of Naraingarh, Ambala City and Ambala Cantt were well equipped to deal with diseases like swine flu and dengue. “Free test facility for the suspected swine flu and dengue fever is also available in civil hospitals of Ambala City and Ambala Cantt”.

Gurgaon, September 27
Haryana Minister for Power and Urban Local Bodies Mahender Partap Singh today directed the mangemment of the Institute of Technology and Management (ITM) here to refund the fees charged from Scheduled Caste (SC) students and send the compliance report within a week.

The minister, who was presiding over the monthly meeting of the district grievances committee here today, took up the complaint stating that the institute authorities were forcibly charging tuition fees from SC students.

The complainant, a student of BTech (II year), contended that the institute had been charging tuition fees from him since he got admitted to it in 2008. He alleged that he had been told to pay a fee of Rs 85,100 and was threatened that if he failed to do so, his admission would be cancelled.

This, the student maintained, was a violation of the state government rules. The rules of the government provide for reimbursement of tuition fees of the SC students by the Director, Technical Education, Haryana.

The registrar of the ITM contended that the case to reimburse the fee of SC students had been sent to the Director, Technical Education, but the payment was often delayed. He said since the institution was privately managed, it was dependent on fees.

After hearing both parties, the minister asserted that the institute should have followed the orders of the government and if it faced any difficulty in reimbursement, it should have approached the authorities concerned.

In another complaint pertaining to exorbitant fee hike by the management of Chiranjiv Bharti School, the minister ordered an inquiry by SDM (Gurgaon-North) Satender Duhan and asked him to present the report at the next monthly meeting.

In this complaint, the parents of some schoolchildren had alleged that the school management had raised the tuition fee by 45 per cent, whereas as per the directions of the Haryana School Directorate, a school could increase the tuition fees only up to 20 per cent. This matter was also pending in the district courts.

Redressing another complaint regarding the digging of a bore well illegally in the Omnagar locality of Gurgaon for the sale of drinking water, the minister directed the hydrologist to seal such bore wells and get an FIR registered against those operating these.

Taking up another complaint, the minister directed the authorities concerned to take departmental action against Inspector Rajender Singh for not acting according to the CrPC. 

Yamunanagar, September 27
Thanks to the widespread use of fluoride toothpaste, which helps prevent and control decaying of teeth, the number of adults with none of their natural teeth fallen has increased. Oral health among children is also showing improvement.

This was stated by Dr Shalini Gugnani at a seminar organised by the Indian Dental Association, Yamunanagar, in association with Colgate Palmolive at DAV Dental College here. The main objective of the seminar was to create awareness regarding oral health among schoolchildren.

Dr Shalini highlighted the importance of oral health, dental hygiene and prevention of dental diseases. Children were taught a correct method of brushing teeth. "Brush your teeth twice a day with fluoride toothpaste. A healthy lifestyle, including eating well, not smoking and limiting alcohol intake, is good for your whole body, including teeth, gums and mouth," Dr Shalini added.

Dr Sushant Garg said it was important to have regular check-ups. "Do not put off going for a check-up at the dentist. Detecting problems early can mean they are easier to treat. If problems are not treated, they may lead to damage that is harder or even impossible to repair".

Dr Vikas Sehgal, honorary secretary of the Indian Dental Association, informed that about 25,000 schoolchildren had been covered in this massive programme in about 70 schools of Yamunanagar district so far. Another 5,000 children would be covered up to September 30, he added.

The association also organised a teachers' training programme in which about 70 schoolteachers from different schools of the district participated. Dr VK Sharma, chief medical officer, was the chief guest.

Teachers were taught the importance of oral health. They were made aware of common dental diseases that affect the majority of schoolchildren.

Chandigarh, September 27
The Haryana College Teachers' Association, a representative body of the government-aided colleges of the state, has accused the government of discriminating against retired teachers and recently recruited young teachers of such colleges.

In a statement issued here today, Rajbir Parashar, general secretary of the association, said pension and gratuity of the retired teachers of the government-aided colleges had not been revised as per the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission/HRD/UGC despite several requests to the authorities.

What made it more agonising for the teachers of private colleges was that this benefit had already been given to the teachers of universities and government colleges. Young teachers recruited after January, 2006, were frustrated over non-deduction of provident fund under the new pension policy.

The association said the government should immediately implement the HRD/UGC notification of revised pay scales in toto. The benefit of advance increments for M.Phil and PhD at the entry level of service should be allowed without any further delay. This benefit, Parashar said, was structural to the revised pay scales and was intended to attract and retain talent in higher education.

Panchkula, September 27
To generate more revenue without losing prime land, the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) is contemplating to make the best use of its commercial properties situated in major towns in the state.

For this the HSIIDC intends to hire the services of a reputed consultancy firm for undertaking best use study and bid process management for sites located in Vanijya Nikunj and Udhyog Vihar in Gurgaon and HSIIDC office complex in Manesar for development under the public private participation. The corporation has already invited request for proposal from the consultants in this regard.

Deputy General Manager (PR), HSIIDC, Manojpal Singh, said there were limited prime commercial lands with the cash rich corporation and they do not want to lose the same for generating a few crores. He said corporation has 17 acres of prime land in Gurgaon and the present market value of the land in the area was around Rs 50 crore per acre.

Manojpal said under the best use study the consultants were required to submit detailed profile of the area, site analysis, mapping of the real estate supply and other developments in the area, including connectivity or accessibility in view of the anticipated traffic to be generated as a result of the project. He said after the completion of the project in Phase IV and V of Gurgaon and HSIIDC office complex in Manesar they would invite similar bids for other commercial properties.

He further said earlier the construction works, which includes office building complex in Manesar (5,552 sq mt), auditorium building (1,831 sq mt), cafeteria (503 sq mt) and exhibition halls (8,352 sq mt) were awarded to a construction agency, out of which only office complex could be completed. The corporation now intends to identify the best use possible for the three projects under the PPP model to make these functional and the process would take about four months.

Fatehabad, September 27
Sohan Singh, a resident of Jamalpur village near Tohana town in the district, has shown an exemplary concern for society even after his death.

Sohan, who died at the age of 96, recently, had executed a will to donate his body to a medical college for medical students to learn human anatomy.

The body was donated to the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Science and Research, Rohtak, after his death.

Sohan, in his will executed in 2007, had pledged to donate his eyes to the Bharat Vikas Parishad (BVP), Tohana, and body to the medical institute.

Volunteers of the BVP collected his eyes and sent them to Madhav Eye Bank, Narwana, for transplantation to some other individual.

Sohan was a philanthropist and used to provide herbal medical treatment to people suffering from chronic diseases.

In a society where a few people come forward for a noble cause, the step taken by Sohan and his family is being hailed by people.

Born in 1914, Sohan lived in Chak 232 village, Lyallpur district, in Pakistan even after the Independence.

He migrated to India in 1960 and settled in Jamalpur village. He started an ayurvedic dispensary in the village. For the past 17 years, he had been running the dispensary at Tohana town.

In 2007, he decided to retire on the request of family members and committed himself to socio-religious life. He decided to donate his eyes and body in 2007. He also told his family members not to mourn his departure and asked them not to hold any religious ceremonies after his death.

He told his family members that he had come to know about the ultimate truth of life and hence he had made this decision. He had six sons and two daughters and though they were taken aback by his will, they decided to honour it.

After his demise, family members contacted the BVP to manage and fulfil the wish of their father.

Kush Bhargava, a senior functionary of the BVP, said the organisation had been able to get 110 eyes donated so far.

"Body donation is very rare in this area. This is the second such instance and first in the rural area. Villagers and all those present there have appreciated this motivational step taken by the family," Bhargava added.

Kalka, September 27
As many as 40 students participated in different categories in a two-day talent search programme organised at Smt Aruna Asaf Ali Government PG College recently.

Prof Suman Bhatia, convener, public relation committee of the college, said SK Manocha, principal of the college, inaugurated the function.

Speaking on the occasion, he emphasised on the active participation of students in cultural and literary activities along with academics for all-round development of their personality.

On the inaugural day, students displayed their talent by participating in declamation, poetry recitation along with singing and instrument-playing contests. The function was organised under the aegis of Dr Shanti Sailani, convener, cultural and literary activities.

Dr Kapila Sharda and Prof Sumer Singh were the judges for declamation and poetry recitation contest while Prof Neena Sharma and Prof Sushil Kumar judged the singing and instrument-playing contests. On the concluding day, a quiz contest, dance competition, mimicry and a mono-acting contest were held.

In the two-day programme, students showed an active participation in all events. Harpreet Kaur, Davinder Kaur and Mukesh Badal were the judges for dance competition while Sumer Singh conducted the quiz.

Results of various contests are as follows:

Singing: 1 Manisha (BCom-II), Nishant (BA-I); 2 Priti Jha (BSc-II), Komal (Bcom-I); 3 Sunanda (BA-I), Naina (BSc-II).

Declamation: 1 Sunayana Sharma (BA-II); 2 Priti Jha (BSc II), 3 Manoj Kumar (MA-I Hindi).

Poetry recitation: 1 Naina (BSc-II); 2 Sunayana (BA-II); 3 Manoj Kumar (MA-I Hindi)

Instrument playing: 1 Nishant (BA-I); 2 Jatin (Bcom-II).

Quiz: 1 Navita (BA-II); 2 Manoj Kumar (MA-I Hindi); 3 Guru Pal (MA-I Hindi).

Dance contest: 1 Moksh (Bcom-I); 2 Manoj Kumar (MA-I Hindi); 3 Vipin (BA-III). — OC

Dabwali (Sirsa), September 27“Lok Utsav - 2010”, a cultural festival of folk art organised here by the North Zone Cultural Centre, Patiala, and Virtuous Club, Mandi Dabwali, was a big draw.

As many as 125 artistes from seven states participated in the cultural fest and dressed in their folk costumes, they presented a glimpse of diverse cultures of the country.

The function began with “Kalbeliya” dance by the artistes from Rajasthan. “Kalbeliyas” are the snake charmer community from Rajasthan and they rely heavily on this dance performance to eke out a living for their families.

The costumes of “Kalbeliya” dancers drew people’s attention due to uniqueness.

Folk orchestra was also highly appreciated by a receptive audience. dandia dance by a group from Gujarat and “sambhalpuri” dance from a team from Orissa was also applauded by the audience.

“Lambadi”, a tribal dance by a group from Andhra Pradesh presented a peep into the life and culture of tribal people of that state.

Artistes from Jammu and Kashmir also gave their presentation before the audience. Manipur contingent received acclaims for their folk “pung chalam” dance.

However, the biggest applause was reserved for “jindwa”, “bhangra” and “gidhha” by artistes from Punjab.

Punjabi folk singer Balkaran Bal also enthralled the audience with his melodious voice. Theatre artiste Sanjeev Shad introduced the artistes of different states and gave some details about their dance forms.

Earlier, Sirsa MP Ashok Tanwar inaugurated the function. KV Singh, a former aide to the Haryana Chief Minister presided over while SDM Munish Nagpal was the special guest.

Youth Congress leaders Chiranjiv Rao and Amit Sihag were also present. Keshav Sharma, founder, and Vir Bhan Gupta, president of the club, welcomed the guests.

Karnal, September 27
Concerted efforts made by the Directorate of Wheat Research (DWR) have resulted in an increase in the wheat production, which has crossed the 80 million mark in the past three years. However, breaking the yield barrier continues to be a major challenge.

The implementation of various programmes envisaged in vision 2025 document prepared in 2007 by the DWR under its flagship programme - All-India Coordinated Wheat and Barley Improvement Project (AICW and BIP) - has yielded some positive results in increasing the wheat production, which was stagnating between 72 and 75 million tonnes till 2007. However, there has been no significant improvement in the yield.

The total wheat production was 80.53 million tonnes in 2008-09, which increased to 80.71 million tonnes in 2009-10 but the per hectare yield declined marginally from 2,891 kg in 2008-09 to 2,830 kg in 2009-10. The increase in production was due to inclusion of more areas under wheat, which increased from 27.86 million hectares in 2008-09 to 28.50 million hectares in 2009-10.

However, the DWR scientists hope that the total wheat production will cross 82 million tonnes mark this year, mainly due to good weather conditions and increase in yield.

The vision document had envisaged the country's wheat requirement to increase to 109 million tonnes by 2025, but the DWR scaled down the target to 90 million tonnes by 2030, citing various reasons for lower consumption of wheat.

DWR director SS Singh said with the passage of time there had been large-scale diversification of crops and the per capita consumption of wheat was also expected to come down to 162 kg from 180 kg per annum.

Further, the annual growth rate of population, which was assumed at 2.1 per cent, was also likely to decline to 1.6 per cent.

The area, productivity and production of wheat had increased by 119 per cent, 236 per cent and 634 per cent between 1965-66 (base year) and 2005-06, respectively.

During 1999-2000, the wheat production in the country touched the highest peak of 76.37 million tonnes. India has been maintaining the second position in wheat production in the world for the past 10 years, next only to China.

The DWR adopted a multi-pronged strategy to tackle problems like threat of abiotic stresses manifesting in form of yellow rust, Karnal bunt, foliar blights, pest management under changing climatic conditions, soil salinity, shortage of storage capacity and imbalanced use of fertilisers, resulting in low productivity and yield plateau, particularly in highly productive areas on north-western plains zone (NWPZ) known as the food bowl of India.

The stress was on evolving superior wheat varieties, tolerance to rusts, Karnal bunt, foliar blights as well as abiotic stresses of salinity and terminal heat.

The survey and surveillance by the DWR indicated satisfactory crop health in 2010 with NWPZ remaining free from disease, low incident of rust with no detection of Ug 99, the central and peninsular zone remaining free from Karnal bunt, resulting in yield advantage of 10 to 14 per cent, Dr Singh said.

In another major initiative to improve soil health and to intensify wheat rice cropping system, higher yield was achieved by inclusion of crops like green gram, vegetable pea and cowpea, he added.

Rewari, September 27
The martyrs’ memorial conference organised by the INLD on the occasion of “Haryana Veer and Shaheedi Diwas” at Mahendergarh on September 23 INLD chief Om Prakash Chautala lambasting the Hooda government for its “anti-people” working.

Asserting that law and order had collapsed in the state under the Hooda regime, Chautala branded it as a government being run by a ‘cluster of property dealers”.

Stating that south Haryana, sanctified by celebrated martyr Rao Tula Ram, was a nursery of heroes and martyrs, he called upon the people to launch a crusade from the Ahirwal region to get rid of the “dark-skinned anglo-Indians” who, he alleged, were bent upon ruining the state as well as the nation.

Taking a dig at the Hooda government, he alleged that it was a government which was conducting its affairs according to the ‘diktats” issued by the Congress brass in Delhi whereas the INLD government always acted according to the wishes and sentiments of the masses.

Mentioning the issue of Jat reservation, he deplored that the Hisar SP , who followed the orders of the state government, had now been unnecessarily implicated in a case of murder.

Describing INLD leader Rao Ajit Singh, a sibling of the Rao family, as a genuine descendant of Rao Tula Ram, Chautala, in a lighter vein, chided Rao Inderjit Singh as a ‘ devotee of power”.

Fatehabad, September 27
Hitender Kumar Joiya, an engineering student of Deen Bandhu Sir Chhotu Ram College of Science and Technology, has bagged Dr Ambedkar National Merit Award for his meritorious performance in the 12th class examinations in 2007-08.

The award is given to the meritorious SC/ST students by Dr Ambedkar Foundation working under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India. Deputy Commissioner Vijay Singh Dahiya handed over the award carrying a citation and a demand draft for Rs 51,000 to Hitender.

Earlier, Hitender had got an award of Rs 20,000 for his performance in the matriculation examination in 2005-06.

Hisar, September 27
Former Home Minister and Congress legislator Sampat Singh has appealed to people to come forward to help the administration identify miscreants behind the arson in Mayyar village and other places in Haryana.

Addressing mediapersons here recently, he said the government was firm on bringing the guilty to justice and to prevent such elements from raising their head again. Criminal cases had been registered in connection with the violence and many culprits identified too.

He said it was the duty of every right-thinking citizen to help the police identify the arsonists. He said the identity of such citizens would be protected.

Sampat Singh appealed to the Jats to refrain from violent means to further their cause. He said the right way was to mobilise public opinion by lobbying with opinion-makers and lawmakers.

Citing the instance of Rajasthan Jats. he said the community had created a favourable opinion by presenting their case before parliamentarians.

He said no community could survive in isolation and the demand for reservation would not be acceptable unless other communities supported the Jats too. Violent means would lead to isolation of Jats.

Faridabad, September 27
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said traditional sports like kabaddi and wrestling were simple in nature and part of common culture of India and Pakistan.

Inaugurating an exhibition kabaddi match between the two countries here recently, Hooda said these games were part of common sporting legacy of India and Pakistan and they could help bridge the gap between the people of these countries.

The match was organised under the aegis of the Haryana Olympic Association in which the Indian side won the contest. This was first in a series of five matches, which would be held in other four districts of the state.

Mohammad Anwar Bhatt, chief of the Indo-Pak Circle Kabaddi Federation, too, averred on the point and added that visa rules for players visiting the two countries should be relaxed. He also expressed the view that sports like kabaddi had the potential to help people of the two countries to identify each other. He said strict action must be taken against the forces that were trying to generate bad blood in the relationship between the two countries.

Hooda said just like the European nations, SAARC countries must also collectively change their mindset and come together to promote their interests. In the age of globalisation, it was more important that SAARC countries come together and take advantage of each other’s strength, he added. He said the government was taking steps to make the state strong in sports culture. He said the state was taking measures to contribute to the national efforts to make the Commonwealth Games a big success.