Hisar, December 9
Hisar has become the first city in the area of the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam to become overloaded transformer-free.

Under a special campaign launched to augment all overloaded transformers in its area, the DHBVN replaced 52 transformers with those of higher capacity and set up 36 additional transformers in the city to augment the capacity of 222 transformers identified as overloaded.

Hisar is followed by Faridabad to become an overloaded transformer- free town where the capacity of 131 existing transformers has been augmented by replacing overloaded transformers with new ones of higher capacity or by setting up additional transformers beside the overloaded ones.

Sudhir Rajpal, Managing Director, DHBVN, said here that the nigam had augmented the capacity of its 822 distribution transformers during the past three months under a campaign to make DHBVN’s area overloaded transformer-free.

In the first phase of the campaign, all overloaded transformers of urban areas are being replaced with those of higher capacity while overloaded transformers in rural areas will be replaced in the second phase. The nigam has identified 3627 transformers as overloaded. Besides the augmentation of transformers, the nigam has carried special maintenance of 6,000 distribution transformers.

Rajpal said a massive campaign to strengthen the power distribution system had been launched to avoid breakdowns and trippings interrupting power supply. Under the campaign, division of load on overloaded feeders, replacement of overloaded transformers, special maintenance of the distribution system, replacement of bare conductors with insulated cables was being carried out on a war footing.

The nigam had identified 2,628 feeders requiring special maintenance out of which the maintenance of 2231 feeders had already been carried during the past three months. As many as 342 villages and 332 urban localities had been made bare conductor-free during this period so as to give safe and qualitative power supply.

During the next two months, 280 additional villages would be made bare conductor-free.

Sonepat, December 9
The local Chhotu Ram Arya (CRA) College has scored a hat-trick of winning the Inter-College Hockey Boys Championship of Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak, by defeating Jat Heros Memorial College, Rohtak, by a convincing margin of 3-0 in the final of this year’s championship concluded here recently. The third position of the championship was bagged by Vaishya College, Bhiwani.

Jag Niwas, SDM, Sonepat, who is also the administrator of the CRA College management, gave away prizes to the winners. Congratulating the players, he said sportspersons of the state had scripted a history in the recently held Commonwealth Games and Asian Games by giving outstanding performances.

“The sports policy of the state government has given a new enthusiasm among budding sportspersons also,” he added.

Stressing that a man had to work hard to achieve the target, he remarked, “Perseverance is never unfruitful”. He said the saying “kheloge kudoge-banoge kharab” had now changed to “kheloge kudoge-banoge nawab”.

Dr Narender Singh Khatri, principal of the college, congratulated the players and hoped that they would give better performance in coming championships.

With this outstanding performance, 14 players of CRA College - Atul, Sachin, Deepak, Pawan, Sunil, Jitender, Ajai Malik, Ashok, Naveen, Pradeep, Rahul, Arhun, Ankit and Amit, have been selected for coaching camp to be organised at MDU, Rohtak, before participation of the university team in the North Zone Inter-University Hockey Championship to be held at Jamia Milia University, Delhi, from December 27.

Faridabad, December 9
The tough posture of Mahtab Singh Sehrawat, commissioner, Municipal Corporation Faridabad (MCF), and pressure from municipal employees forced Kamal Yadav, councillor, to compromise with the agitating employees, bringing close to their fortnight agitation.

The employees were on the warpath since November 22, which adversely affected the functioning of the civic body. They were demanding registration of a criminal case against Yadav, who represents a ward in the Ballabgarh area, for manhandling two of their colleagues on duty. The grouse of the employees was that instead of entertaining their complaint, the police registered a criminal case against them allegedly under pressure from Ballabgarh MLA Sharda Rathore.

What further agitated the employees was Yadav’s complaint that he was kidnapped by the two accused personnel and misbehaved with him.

According to the employees, their colleagues had gone to their areas to make a survey of illegal constructions. The MCF later demolished a number of unauthorised commercial structures in the Ballabgarh areas. One such structure belonged to two councillors, Kamal Yadav and Rao Ram Kumar, both considered close to Rathore.

The employees, joined by various unions, under the banner of Nagaar Palika Karamchaari Union, had been staging dharnas outside the MCF headquarters since November 22 to press

for action against the councillor. The employees also took out protest march in the city.

According to the employees, the formula according to which the compromise was reached was that the councillor tender an apology to the employees and get the FIR against their colleagues quashed.

Later, the employees and the two councillors, Yadav and Rao Ram, met the commissioner to apprise him of the compromise. The commissioner while appreciating the development cautioned that there would be no let up in the demolition drive.

Gurgaon, December 9
In order to make companies and other private institutions responsible for the deeds of drivers, security guards and other support staff hired/employed by them, the Gurgaon police has decided to get a database of persons working with private companies located in Gurgaon prepared.

A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting organised under the chairmanship of Haryana ADGP-cum-Gurgaon Police Commissioner SS Deswal here.

Deswal told the company managements that they had to get the antecedents of their employees verified as it was not practically possible for the police to do so. The database of drivers will be prepared by the transporters while IT companies which utilise their services will facilitate its preparation.

The meeting decided that the drivers’ fingerprints would be taken on a biometric device, besides scanned copies of their photographs and driving licences. Nasscom would chalk out the methodology and BPOs and IT companies would upload the database on the Nasscom website. A rough database is likely to be ready by month-end and the final database will roll out by March next.

The Police Commissioner said the names and photographs of the tainted drivers would be uploaded on the website so that before hiring any driver, a transporter or a company can easily confirm that he was not tainted.

A database of security personnel employed will also be prepared on similar lines.

Deswal also directed the company managements to formulate a committee for hearing the sexual harassment cases. He said anybody could inform the police control room about such cases on phone numbers 0124-2316100 and 0124-2320100. Besides, a senior citizen helpline on 0124-2221559 and a women and child helpline on 0124-2335100 are also there.

The meeting was attended by DCP (Traffic) Bharti Arora, DCP (East) Vikas Arora, DCP (West) Maheshwar Dayal, Nasscom vice-president Raju Bhatnagar, manager Anirban Mandal, apart from other BPO and IT company managers and transporters.

Jhajjar, December 9
The Indian parliamentary system received a big applause from legislators of Commonwealth countries for at a 13-day International Parliamentary Governance Seminar in the UK recently.

MLA Bharat Bhushan Batra, chief whip of the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC), stated this while sharing his experience about this Seminar here . Batra was among six legislators, who attended the seminar.

“The seminar aimed at greater understanding of the principles and structures of governance in parliamentary democracies. Since Parliament recognises the value of international parliamentary outreach, interaction among parliamentarians is valuable in enhancing the expertise of members and their ability to implement the principles of good governance,” said Batra.

He maintained that the seminar held in-depth discussions on issues relating to corruption, transparency, accountability, trust, legitimacy, engagement and representation in a democratic setup. Besides, prominent political personalities, intellectuals and field experts threw light on principles of good governance, international governance, role of Parliament etc.

Batra said that citizens of UK had contributed a lot in the overall development of their nation.

They not only follow the developmental approach but also have a constructive frame of mind with endurance, discipline, etiquettes and spirit of giving their best for the nation. Indian people also needed to give back to society for the growth of the nation.

All activities in the UK were under constant surveillance as close-circuit cameras were installed in trains, bus stands, government offices, roads and roundabouts for better security, said Batra, adding that such arrangements must be made in India as well.

It was for the first time that a legislator of Haryana attended a seminar abroad. As many as 54 delegates representing 31 countries shared their experiences about governance at the seminar.

Yamunanagar, December 9
DAV College for Girls in collaboration with Yamuna Phulwari organised the annual chrysanthemum show in its premises. Speaking on the occasion, Dr Sushma Arya, principal of DAV Girls College, said: “The importance of flower cannot be described in words rather it can well be felt by the nature lovers,” adding that flowers increase interest in nature among those who remain estranged from natural environment.

Vijay, who was the chief guest on the occasion, said: “It is indeed commendable that DAV College organised such a wonderful event on their own in order to increase awareness among people regarding the significance of plants and flowers.”

He maintained that flowers were the part and parcel of human lives as they add beauty and fragrance to gardens, homes and their lives. He said apart from beautification, flowers were great source of recreation and entertainment for people.

Around 400 participants from the district participated in the event. In the flower show, more than 12 varieties of chrysanthemum included intermediate, incurved, reflex, sprays, anemone, pompons, korean hybrid, single flowered, quill flowered, decorative, spoon, etc, and other Autumn Flower And House Plats like bougainvillea, begonia, coleus, gerbera, dahlia, poinsettia, impatiens, marigold, geranium, flowering shrubs, etc, were displayed.

A panel of judges, including SS Sahi from Chandigarh, Ashok Jain, Rajesh, Gurdial Saini from Saharanpur, announced positions to the beautifully arranged flowers and Dr Sushma Arya, chaired the whole-day event.

The competition was divided into three categories - institutional, phulwari members and individual category.

In the phulwari category, the first prize was bagged by DAV College and the second by Preeti Gupta for guldadaudi flower, Dr Sushma Arya clinched first while Rachna Nayyar stood second for coleus flower, DAV College remained first and the second position went to Preeti Gupta for cactus and bougainvillea. Sneha Jain ranked first and Darshan Pal stood second for green foliage and Rachna Nayyar stood first and GS Jain second for palm and cycas flower.

In the individual category, DAV got the first position and Rishiraj Gupta stood second for guldaudi flower. Gayatri Nayyar clinched first position while DAV got second for coleus flower. Dr Anil Aggarwal stood first and Ankur Gambhir stood second for cactus. Preeti Gupta bagged first prize while DAV won second for bougainvillea flower. DAV bagged both first and second prize for green foliage and palm and cycas flower.

In the institutional category, the first prize was bagged by DAV College and second by ISGEC for guldaudi flower, DAV stood first and DAV Hostel ranked second for coleus flower. ISGEC clinched first position while DAV stood second for cactus. Uttar Bharat Udyog Pvt Ltd bagged first prize and ISGEC won second for bougainvillea flower. DAV hostel ranked first and ISGEC second for green foliage and DAV clinched first position while Atul Sales Corporation got second for palm and cycas flower.

Kurukshetra, December 9
Gender discrimination and issues relating to sexual harassment of women came into sharp focus during a lecture on “Protection of Women against Sexual Harassment: Legal Perspective” organised in Kalpana Chawla Bhawan Girls Hostel.

The participants were informed that a law existed to protect womenfolk against sexual harassment and there was a need to create awareness about the law among women.

Delivering the lecture, Prof Suman Gupta of the Law Department, who is also a member of the Gender Sensitisation Committee against Sexual Harassment, (GSCASH), traced the development of the law relating to sexual harassment and cited several cases, including the Vishakha case.

She elaborated the definition of sexual harassment, clearly specifying the actions or acts that fall under this category and referred to the efforts made by the university for preventing incidence of acts of sexual harassment through the GSCASH.

In her presidential remarks, Prof Leela Yadava of the Political Science Department, and chairperson, GSCASH, explained that sensitisation, regulation and enquiry of acts of sexual harassment on the campus were key functions of the GSCASH and stressed the need to sensitise boys about the issue and provisions of the law.

Prof Saroj Malik, chief warden, stated though constitutionally equal rights had been granted to women, they were discriminated in society, politics and all other walks of life and even face sexual harassment at work place. Women should not only be aware of their rights, but should also be assertive, she emphasised.

Around 300 girls of all hostels attended the function and actively participated in the discussion and demanded that such type of programmes be organised frequently in hostels.

Rewari, December 9
With the arrest of a notorious gangster, Saleem, a resident of the Tijara area in Alwar district in Rajasthan, the Rewari police claims to have solved at least six cases of robbery.

Saleem was arrested by the police from the Dharuhera area recently.

SP KV Ramana said during interrogation Saleem disclosed the names of his nine accomplices, all residents of Mewat and Alwar districts, and told the police that they were involved in many cases of robbery.

The district police chief said these miscreants had looted a safe containing over Rs 2 lakh from Aravalli Filling Station in Kund on November 7. Besides, they had also looted over Rs 70,000 from a petrol station at Tankri village, near here, earlier.