Rohtak, November 18
Residents of at least six villages in the district are facing an acute shortage of drinking water for the past over a month reportedly because the canal that carries potable and irrigation water for them is being used to dump flood water being drained out from fields.

Hundreds of hectares in the area had been flooded in September.While the dewatering process is likely to continue for another 15 days, residents have been forced to fetch drinking water from far-off places.

“We have to travel at least 4 to 5 km daily to get drinking water as the supply from the waterworks has been lying suspended for over a month,” said Satish Kumar of Ballam village in the district. “The problem started after villagers and officials started using the canal for dewatering, and the process has been going on for the past about a month.

According to Ravinder of Timarpur village, the villagers had taken up the issue with the authorities concerned, but claimed that some of the officials had stated that the problem would continue till the excess water lying in the fields was cleared out and they had no option than to use the canal for it.

The officials told him that the waterworks would receive highly contaminated water if the supply was started in the canal at present. “Women and youth carrying cans of potable water from neighbouring villages, which are around 3 to 4 km away, are a common sight these days,” said Rajender of Sundana village.

Some villagers had been using motorcycles, jeeps and tractors to fetch water, he added. The underground water supply in the affected villages, including Kakrana, Garnawathi, Timarpur, Sundana and Masoodpur, was brackish and unfit for human consumption, claimed residents.

New Delhi, November 18
Dalit victims of the April 21 violence in Mirchpur today told the Supreme Court that the witnesses were turning hostile in the Hisar trial court as they were being threatened. Arguing before a Bench comprising Justices GS Singhvi and AK Ganguly, senior counsel Colin Gonsalves said all first 10 witnesses had turned hostile before the Special Judge at Hisar under the SC/ST Act.

As many as 42 witnesses had lodged a complaint with the Additional Superintendent of Police (SP) in this regard and a copy of the same filed with the trial court, he said.

The Bench, however, said it was not proper for the victims to make oral submissions through their counsel on this aspect. “This is a serious matter. You can’t make an oral statement. You should file an affidavit,” the court told Gonsalves.

The Bench also pointed out that the witnesses should have directly approached the trial court, not the police, to complain about the threat they were being subjected to. Directing the victims to file an affidavit putting their submissions in black and white, the Bench adjourned the hearing till November 23. About 150 people had fled to Delhi following the attack on Dalits in Mirchpur. Two persons had lost their lives in the violence.

On October 25, the Bench had directed the Haryana government to file a status report on relief and rehabilitation measures.

Tribune News Service

Hisar, November 18
Justice Iqbal Singh (retd) heading the one-man judicial commission probing the violence against Dalits in Mirchpur village in April last today recorded the statements of seven witnesses.

The judge had set up a temporary office in the local PWD Rest House. All statements were recorded in camera. The witnesses who deposed today were: Karan Singh, Dharamveer, Jaipal, Ram Niwas, Pradeep, Sanjay and Chander Singh.

They apprised the judge of the situation in the village. This was the panel’s second visit to Hisar to record statements. Interestingly, a local court is also holding hearings in the criminal case registered after the violence.

The court has recorded the evidence of several residents of the village. Nine of the witnesses have turned hostile during the proceedings.The Justice Iqbal Singh panel will record statements of other witnesses tomorrow.

The complainant Karan Singh and three other Dalits who are main witnesses in the Mirchpur case refused to identify the accused.

A Dalit polio-stricken teenaged girl and her father were burnt alive when upper caste villagers torched Dalit houses after a minor altercation. As many as 112 members of the Jat community have been languishing in jail since the incident.

Most of them had absconded but the police had to arrest them following the apex court’s order that all accused must be arrested by a certain date. Four witnesses appeared in the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Baljit Singh earlier this month.

Sirsa, November 18
Doctors empanelled by the government for providing treatment to families living below the poverty line (BPL) under the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojna (RSBY) here have expressed their inability to continue their work alleging inordinate delay in the settlement of their claims by the insurance company.

The doctors met at the local Sirsa Club last evening and decided that they would not provide any services under the RSBY in case the insurance company did not settle their claim bills by November 30.

The doctors also decided to submit a memorandum to the district authorities in this regard.

Dr Anjani Agarwal, a spokesperson for the doctors, said as many as 25 hospitals in Sirsa district were empanelled to provide treatment to the BPL families having smartcards issued by MD India Healthcare Private Limited, a third-party administrator (TPA) appointed by National Insurance Company (NIC).

The doctors, he maintained, had been providing treatment to patients that included consultation, admission, medication and surgeries, but the insurance company had not cleared their claims in this regard.

He said most of the doctors had not received any payments from the company in the past six months, while some others had received cheques of small amounts.

The cumulative arrears of all the doctors put together had exceeded Rs 50 to 60 lakh, he said.

Dr RK Mehta, who runs Apex Hospital in the town, said their agreement with the insurance company provided that they would get reimbursement of their claims within one month of the treatment.

However, the company had delayed their claims for six months and that too without any cogent explanation.

Dr Parveen Arora, Dr Ajay Punia, Dr Ashish Khurana, Dr KK Goyal, Dr Ankush Mehta, Dr GS Gupta, Dr Dinesh Gijwani, Dr MR Bansal, Dr YK Chaudhary, Dr Satish Jhunthra and Dr Jagdish Chaudhary were also present on this occasion.

Under the RSBY, the Central as well as the state governments make payment of the premium as per their share to the insurance company, which in turn is liable for providing free treatment to BPL families up to a limit of Rs 30,000 per annum.

The insurance cover is valid for only those ailments, where indoor admission or surgery is required.

The contract of insurance was with ICICI Lombard for Sirsa district till last year, but it has been given to the NIC from this year.

The NIC, in turn, has been executing the treatment of the BPL families through their TPA, MD India Healthcare Private Limited, Pune.

Doctors allege that their payments were regular till the contract was with ICICI Lombard.

A spokesperson for MD India Private Limited said they were in the process of releasing some funds of the doctors soon.

Rewari, November 18
Residents and ex-servicemen from various parts of the Rewari region participated in the Rezang La Martyrs Memorial Conference organised at Rao Tula Ram Stadium here today by the Vijay Diwas and Rezang La Shaheedi Samaroh Samiti to commemorate the supreme sacrifice made by Ahir jawans in the battle of Razang La.

The battle has gone down in the annals of the world history as a saga of the gallantry and the supreme sacrifice made by Ahir jawans.

As many as 114 Ahir soldiers, including the company commander, Major Shaitan Singh, of Charlie Company of 13 Kumaon, had made the supreme sacrifice while fighting against the Chinese at the Rezang La post in the dizzy heights of 16,420 ft in the Chushul sector of Ladakh region on the November 18, 1962. The turnout at the conference was impressive, indicating that the Finance Minister, Capt Ajay Singh Yadav, who is the chief patron of the organising samiti, holds a firm grip over the region.

Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda was the chief guest while HPCC chief Phool Chand Mullana presided over the function.

Paying tributes to the martyrs of the Rezang La battle, the Chief Minister exhorted people, particularly the youth, to seek inspiration from them.

The Chief Minister praised Captain Yadav for the development of the region and said he had discharged his responsibility properly as the elected representative of the people.

The Chief Minister said development works worth Rs 2,416 crore were accomplished in the region during his tenure, which were far more than what Chautala had done.

Hooda said various projects launched by his government had benefited all sections of society.

In response to certain demands raised by the local minister, Captain Yadav, the Chief Minister accorded his concurrence for a postgraduate regional centre at Mirpur village to be named as Indira Gandhi PGRC. He also announced a financial assistance of Rs 11 lakh for the Vijay Diwas and Rezang La Shaheedi Samaroh Samiti.

War widows and ex-servicemen were also honoured on the occasion.

Earlier, the Chief Minister laid the foundation stone of a government college at Kharkhara village and an ITI at Dharuhera. He announced a grant of Rs 51 lakh for the development of Kharkhara village. Hooda also went to the nearby Tehna Deepalpur and Nainsukhpura villages where he offered his condolences to the bereaved families which lost nine persons in a tragic road accident on November 14.

The Chief Minister announced an ex gratia of Rs 1 lakh each for next of kin of those killed, Rs 2 lakh each for orphaned children and Rs 50,000 for the injured.

Chandigarh, November 18
Coming down heavily on a section of Gurgaon advocates for “deliberately and intentionally” preventing the lawyers from entering the courtroom of a judicial officer, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has not only issued a show-cause contempt notice to the Bar Association secretary and another lawyer, but also directed the police to prevent obstruction of work.

The police has been asked to identify those obstructing the proceedings so that contempt of court proceedings can be initiated against them. Senior advocate SD Sharma has been appointed amicus curiae.

Justice Satish Kumar Mittal and Justice Jora Singh came out with the directions on fresh references by Gurgaon District and Sessions Judge “for initiating contempt proceedings” against Bar Association secretary Ajay Chaudhary and advocate Bansi Lal, “who have deliberately and intentionally prevented the other advocates from entering the courtroom of civil judge (junior division)-cum-judicial magistrate (first class), Gurgaon, on November 13 and November 15”.

The High Court has already taken suo motu cognisance of the alleged humiliating and insulting remarks against the judicial officer. Taking up the fresh references, the Bench asserted: “We are of the prima facie opinion that the conduct of both the advocates amounts to criminal contempt.

“Let notice be issued to Ajay Chaudhary and Bansi Lal for November 23 to show cause as to why contempt proceedings be not initiated against them”.

The Bench asserted: “We have been informed few advocates in the district courts, Gurgaon, have put chairs in front of the courtrooms of the judicial officer and they are preventing the advocates, litigants and other public persons from entering the courtroom.

“No person/advocate or office-bearer of a Bar Association can be permitted to obstruct the administration of justice.

“Thus, we direct Commissioner/Superintendent of Police, Gurgaon, to ensure that no person, whosoever may be, including the advocates and the office-bearers of the Bar Association, obstruct the court proceedings or sit outside the court premises with the object to prevent the advocates/litigants from appearing in the courtroom.

“Any person indulging in any such activity should be identified and his/her name be sent to this court for initiating contempt proceedings against him/her under the Act.”

Chandigarh, November 18
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has approved the proposal to prosecute Parmod Kumar Gupta, XEN, Public Health, Engineering Division, Faridabad, as he was caught red-handed taking a bribe of Rs 50,000 from Dev Raj, a contractor.

The proposal to hand over the inquiry against Ajit Singh, canal patwari, Anil Kumar, JE (Construction Division of Kurukshetra) and Ruchi Lather, to the Vigilance Bureau has also been approved by Hooda.

A case was registered against Ajit Singh in Panchkula under Sections 420, 467, 468 and 471 of the IPC in 2007.

A departmental inquiry was also being conducted in the case by RK Garg, SE (Works), Panchkula. A spokesman said the inquiry officer came across certain documents relating to the service record of Anil Kumar, JE. Accordingly, a complete record of Anil Kumar, JE, was summoned on September 29, 2010 from the SE concerned.

The Junior Engineer, on the same day, vacated the government accommodation allotted to him and left for an undisclosed destination. Since then, he had been absent from duty. No intimation of his whereabouts was known to the department till date, the spokesman said.

It was noticed by the SE (Works) that copies of his appointment letter, date of birth certificate and educational qualification were not available.

Some discrepancies regarding genuineness of the office record relating to different place of postings mentioned in the service book was also pointed out by the inquiry officer.

The possibility of the documents having been forged could not be ruled out.

The spokesman said the government had also directed the SE, HKB Circle, Jagadhari, that no pay or other emoluments be disbursed to Anil Kumar.

The inquiry into allotment of GIS number to Ruchi Lather, tracer, had also been handed over to the Vigilance Bureau .

Sirsa, November 18
Government Primary School in Kirti Nagar here is the first government school in the state to acquire a knowledge yantra (K-yan), a novel teaching system based on integrated computer-cum-projector.

The Sirsa MP, Dr Ashok Tanwar, inaugurated the K-yan in the school yesterday.

Deputy Commissioner CG Rajini Kaanthan said that such a K-yan had earlier been set up in schools of Andhra Pradesh. Sirsa was the first district in the state to have acquired the same. Students of Class I, II III IV and V will get lessons on science, mathematics and English through special cartoon programmes, making learning fun. They will also practice spoken English through the K-yan, an easy-to-use compact unit that combines a high-end multimedia computer, a TV set, a projector and Internet connectivity.

K-yan’s features make it a powerful tool for entertainment, education and communication in a variety of settings - residential, educational, government and corporate.

Under the Sirsa parliamentary constituency, K-yan would be intriduced in nine schools, five schools of Sirsa district, three of Fatehabad and one of Narwana.

Tanwar said a sum of Rs 22.50 lakh had been spent on setting up these K-yans.

The expenditure would be borne from his MP Local Area Development Fund. Two teachers of each school would be trained for running the programme.

Bhiwani , November 18
The police has registered a case against former chairperson of the Bhiwani Municipal Council, Mrs Seva Devi Dhillon, for alleged irregularities in sanctioning a building plan on the complaint of the SDO.

The case is related to a multi-storeyed building at the Hansi road here. It is alleged that the building plan was sanctioned in violation of norms. Besides Dhillon, the names of council officials BM Bharti, engineer Raj Rishi Sharma and storekeeper Madan Lal Mehta and one more appear in the case.

However, Dhillon said the chairperson had no direct role in sanctioning a building plan. “The council’s building section primarily sanctions a building plan and then it is cleared by the House. The same process was adopted in this case.” The municipal council had passed an order on dismantling a multistoreyed building on the Hansi road. Earlier, it had arranged for videography of the illegal construction on October 15, accusing the owners of flouting nine conditions while raising the building. Some of these were no provision for parking space and violation of fire safety measures.

The administration had marked 38 such buildings in the city which have been raised violating several building norms.Though action has been taken against two of these buildings, no action has been initiated against the remaining 36.

Jhajjar, November 18
The State Information Commissioner has issued a show-cause notice to the state public information officer (SPIO) of financial commissioner and principal secretary to the state government, Health Department, for not complying with the orders of the commissioner.

The commissioner has also asked the SPIO to show cause why action under Section 20(1) of the RTI Act should not be initiated against him besides directing him to be personally present on December 23 for the hearing of the case after submission of his written reply by November 29.

Complainant Subhash, an RTI activist and state coordinator of the Haryana Suchna Adhikar Manch, on April 13 had submitted an application to the Department of Health and Food and Supply under the RTI Act seeking documents and information that how many laboratories were functional in the state to check food adulteration and how many numbers of food samples had been taken by the food and supply department from April 1, 2000, to March 31, 2010. He had also asked that how many samples among them were found failed and what action had been taken against the guilty.

Subhash had sent the application along with the requisite fee to the public information officer (PIO), Chief Secretary, Haryana (RTI cell), who later directed the financial commissioner and principal secretary to the state government, Food and Supply Department, and Principal Secretary to the state government, Health Department, for supplying the sought information to the applicant within stipulated time.

The Health Department had supplied the information concerning it within time, but the SPIO of the Food and Supply did not furnish any information claiming that the sought information was not covered under Section 2 (F) of the RTI Act. Dissatisfied with the response of the Food and Supply Department, the complainant on May 5 filed an appeal with the First Appellate Authority.

“The First Appellate Authority cancelled the appeal on June 18 after justifying the plea of the SPIO that the sought information was related to the Health Department hence the Food and Supply Department was not bound to supply the same,” said Subhash.

Later, the complainant filed another appeal against the verdict of the appellate authority before the State Information Commissioner, who ordered the SPIOs of the Health and Food and Supply Department to supply the sought information to the complainant.