Jind, January 16
The dharna by the Sarvajatiya Sarvakhap Mahapanchayat on the railway track near Julani village in the district entered the second day today.

The protesters continued to squat on the track, demanding that the Mirchpur violence be investigated afresh and that the trial of the accused not be shifted to Delhi. The police and the district administration continued to maintain a distance from who have pitched tents near the dharna site. One of the tents by the “Youth Liberation Front” has been raised right on the track.

One of its members, identified as Sandeep Chaudhary of Budana village in Hisar,who is also president of this new front, announced an indefinite fast. He said he would continue fasting till the acceptance of their demands by the government.

“Several persons, including representatives of various khaps and tapas, and PK Chaudhary, a former BJP leader, visited the protest site today to express solidarity with the protesters,” claimed Rajbir Dhanda, head of the Mahapanchayat.

Suresh Koth, coordinator of the Mahapanchayat, warned that the movement of trains on the Bhiwani-Sirsa section would also be blocked beginning Tuesday, if the government failed to accept their demands.

He said a meeting of the Mahapanchayat would be held tomorrow to chalk out its next move.The agitation could spill over to other parts of the state if the government failed to respond soon, he warned.

The Mahapanchayat wants a fresh probe into the Mirchpur violence in April last year in which a man and his daughter belonging to the Dalit community were killed after their house was allegedly set afire by members from the dominant community.

Opposing the arrest of over 100 youths of the village, the Mahapanchayat, which staged a dharna in Mirchpur village earlier, wants the case shifted back to Hisar besides the release of the arrested persons.

It disrupted rail services on the Jind- Ferozpur section yesterday after a 48-hour ultimatum. About 45 companies of the reserve police have been deployed in the district to prevent violence during the agitation.

“No official from the state government has approached the protesters for any dialogue or negotiations,” claimed a spokesperson of the Mahapanchayat.

The administration has deployed police personnel at sensitive points, including the railway stations, bus stands as well as government offices.

Thousands of commuters in Kurukshetra were put to great inconvenience yesterday with the Northern Railway cancelling two trains between Kurukshetra and Jind while one train was stopped at the Kurukshetra railway station because of the protest. The situation remains tense.

Ambala, January 16
As many as five persons, including two women and two children, died when the car they were travelling in fell into a pond near Noorpur village, 20 km from here, today.

The deceased were identified as Jasvinder Singh (40), Parvinder Kaur (37), Binder Kaur (12), Aryan (14) and Manish (17). Jasvinder Singh, who was an NRI, basically belonged to Patiala. He had returned from Italy 10 days ago. He was going to Malwa village to visit a religious place.

The incident took place when he was crossing Noorpur village located on the Jatwar-Shahabad road. His car skidded and fell into a pond adjoining the road. The pond was so deep that the car completely drowned into it.

A number of villagers reach there and informed the police. Additional SP Devender Yadav and Ambala SDM Mukesh Ahuja reached there. A crane was summoned to the site.

Four youths of Kalerna village entered the pond and traced the car. They tied a rope with the hook of the car and later the crane took out the car from the pond. The car remained in the water for two hours. The bodies were shifted to the Civil Hospital. According to hospital sources, the occupants could have died due to asphyxiation.

One of the villagers, Karnail Singh, said the footpath along the road was broken for the past two months, which led to the accident. He said he had reported the matter to the SDO of the PWD Department several times, but to no avail.

Kurukshetra, January 16
In yet another move to confront the SGPC, the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (ad hoc) has announced that it will perform Sukhmani Sahib path at Akal Takt in Amritsar on January 28.

Kanwaljit Singh, president of the youth wing of the committee, said the members would meet the Jathedar of Akal Takht after the path on the SGPC highhandedness in not allowing the Haryana Sikhs to undertake community service (sewa) and hold path in the Haryana gurdwaras under the control of the SGPC.

This was tantamount to denying them their right to religion as provided under the Constitution.

He also said that attempts by the HSGPC members to perform path in Haryana shrines were being thwarted by the SGPC with the help of the police and the administration.

Kanwaljit Singh said senior HSGPC leaders participating in the path at the Akal Takht would offer ardas at Harmandar Sahib.

Several HSGPC leaders, including its president Jagdish Singh Jhinda and Kanwaljit Singh, were detained at the Thanesar police station on December 3 when they tried to enter Gurdwara Chhevin Patshahi at Kurukshetra.

Faridabad, January 16
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda yesterday asserted that the state had the potential of becoming a medical tourism hub and the government was taking steps in this regard.

Attending a function at Fortis Escorts Hospital here, Hooda said the government had taken a pledge to promote medical tourism under its new industrial and investment policy, 2011, which came into effect this year.

Such projects involving an investment of Rs 100 crore and above would be given the status of industry as a measure of incentive to the investors.

He appealed to the private sector to invest in the health sector to facilitate establishment of quality healthcare institutions.

Dwelling on the country’s potential for growth of the pharmaceutical sector, he said the government had selected Haryana to set up a biotechnology park along with research and development facility and a pharma industrial park.

Therefore, the state government has decided to earmark 1,000 acres for the development of Pharma Park along the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway Global Economic Corridor, he added.

He further said the National Rural Health Mission of the UPA government was proving to be a revolutionary step for providing health services in rural areas.

Rewari, January 16
The BJP has criticised the hike in the prices of petrol. State BJP president Krishan Pal Gurjar said here today that the hike was unwarranted.

Addressing a press conference here, he said the petrol price hike would affect not just vehicle owners, but other sections of society as well.

Having a dig at noted economists - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia - who are at the helm of affairs, Gurjar said the Congress-led UPA government had failed to curb the spiralling prices.

Asserting that inflation and corruption were inter-linked, he said corruption scams had been rapidly tumbling out of the UPA government’s cupboard. Reiterating his party’s demand for a White Paper on the acquisition of farmers’ land at throwaway prices and “distribution” of government jobs during the Hooda regime, he alleged that its “misrule” had touched a new low in the state.

Later, Gurjar addressed a party workers’ meeting and asked them to massively participate in the Rohtak rally on February 6, which would be addressed by BJP president Nitin Gadkari, senior party leaders LK Advani, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and JDU chief Sharad Yadav.

Yamunanagar, January 16
Nephew of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Kiran Jeet Singh sought the Bharat Ratna for late Jagan Nath Kapur, founder DAV institutions and former vice-president of the DAV Managing Committee, New Delhi, on the occasion of the birth centenary of JN Kapur yesterday.

He said before the partition, Jagan Nath played a very active role in the Arya Samaj and DAV movement, as he was closely associated with Lala Lajpat Rai, Shaheed Bhagat Singh’s family and Mahatma Hans Raj. After the partition, he played a unique role by establishing a chain of DAV institutions and collecting donation to propagate literacy among the masses.

Former information commissioner Ashok Mehta also praised the role of JN Kapur in the field of education and freedom movement.

NRI Arya Samaji and member of the DAV College Managing Committee, New Delhi, Swaran Mehendru has urged UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi to confer the Bharat Ratna on her father Jagan Nath Kapur, an eminent educationist and founder of several educational and health institutions. She said DAV Girls School was set up by her father to impart education to girls for the women empowerment

Gurgaon, January 16
The Haryana Government has decided to connect Gurgaon with Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, through the Metro rail link. Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited has been requested to prepare a detailed project report and its terms of reference finalised. The Metro rail service will soon be extended till Manesar.

This was stated by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda while interacting with mediapersons here today. To a question regarding the elections to the local Municipal Corporation, Hooda said the state Election Commission would take a decision after the preparation of electoral rolls.

The Chief Minister claimed that Haryana would emerge as an international education hub in the next five to seven years.

The Chief Minister inaugurated Shri Sharda Peeth Ved Pathshala on the premises of Sheetla Mata Shrine, Gurgaon, and participated in the Vidvat Sammelan organised on the occasion. He dedicated the office of the newly constituted Haryana Kisan Aayog in the new grain market to the people. Hooda also unveiled a statue of Prithviraj Chauhan at Wazirpur Xing and on the demand of Badshahpur MLA Rao Dharampal directed the officials concerned to name the crossing after Prithviraj Chauhan.

Karnal, January 16
The sleepy village of Naru Kheri in Karnal district has shot into prominence as a symbol of empowerment with a sex ratio of 1,857 females against 1,000 males.

The figures are incredible in the land of khap panchayats and honour killings. The village is rated the best among 18 villages with a sex ratio in favour of women. It boasts of having sent a woman to the Army and seven to the police force.

The women in the village are bold and refuse to be dominated by their male counterparts. “I have three daughters and all are studying. I want them to excel in whatever field they chose and compete with men,” said a village woman.

Chief Medical Officer Vandana Bhatia said some pockets had shown remarkable improvement in the sex ratio but the wider picture remained grim. In some areas, the sex ratio continued to decline further, which was alarming, she observed.

The NGOs, campaigning against female foeticide and the dowry menace, need to show results on the ground. “It is intriguing that no NGO has adopted a village to make it free from the evils of female foeticide and dowry. Much of their claims remain on paper,” said social scientist Prof Ranbir Singh. Sarpanch Sandeep Narval and former Zila Parishad chairman Prakashwati Narval said all credit went to the residents of Naru Kheri for the change in mindset and they no longer discriminated against the girl-child.

This was one reason why a large number of girls from the village had excelled in sports, they added. Health Minister Geeta Bhukal will present a cheque for Rs 1 lakh to the village sarpanch at a Republic Day function for setting an example in gender equality.

Karnal, January 16
An Indo-Israel project for growing off-season vegetables will be inaugurated at Gharaunda tomorrow. Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Haryana Chief Minister BS Hooda and Israel’s Ambassador in India Mark Sofer will jointly inaugurate the project.

State Agriculture and Horticulture Secretary Ashok Yadav, who visited Gharaunda to oversee preperations for the launch, told mediapersons that growing off-season vegetable would immensely benefit the farmers as it would help augment their income.

Under the project, the farmers would be supplied saplings of off- season vegetables and training imparted to them to grow the vegetables properly.

Yadav said saplings of gourd, tomato, capsicum and cucumber would be raised in green houses, polyhouses and net houses set up on over 25 acres. He asked the farmers to learn modern farming techniques to increase production and said growing tomatoes over an acre could help farmers earn between Rs 1 lakh and 1.5 lakh per season. He said the other project coming up at Mogyan village in Sirsa district would have an outlay of Rs 9.70 crore.

Meanwhile, to ensure quick transfer of research and technology from research institutes to farms, scientists working under the Cereals System Initative for South Asia (CSISA) have decided to impart necessary information to farmers through SMSes in local languages.

Under the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre-sponsored CSISA programme, a hub has been established at the CSSRI in Karnal and a database of 4,000 farmers from nine districts of Karnal, Kurukshetra, Yamunanagar, Sonepat, Panipat, Ambala, Kaithal, Meerut and Ghaziabad has been prepared in the first phase.

Since a majority of the farmers do not understand English, a facility has been developed to send SMSes in local languages and dialects of states. In Haryana, SMSes would be sent in Haryanvi dialects. Necessary details about farmers like their names, mobile numbers, addresses and crops produced by them has been fed into the databank, and a unique ID number has been given to each farmer for sending information through SMS.

Under the scheme, a panel of scientists has been set up to guide farmers regarding “what to do and when”. The panel will give information regarding the right time for sowing crops and safeguards against diseases.

Dr BR Kamboj, in charge of the Haryana hub, said the process of delivery of messages had already been started and the messages were short, clear, to the point and comprehensible, leaving no confusion in the minds of the farmers. — TNS

Gurgaon, January 16
Local BSNL customers who have not received phone bills for the past several months, will be getting these anytime now.

Addressing a press conference here recently, RC Hooda, BSNL general manager, Gurgaon, said the bills for the months of July, August and September-2010, which could not be issued in time due to technical reasons, had been sent to the customers.

The bills for the months of October and November would be issued shortly.The BSNL had switched over to a new CDR platform for billing purposes and the generation of bills had been delayed due to this switchover.

Hooda said customers could download the bills from the BSNL website, www.bsnl.co.in. “The customers can also walk into any collection centre and pay their bills,” he said.

To a question, the GM said most faults in the fixed-line telephone service were due to the laying of the sewer lines, especially in areas of old Gurgaon.

Karnal, January 16
An attempt by parents to marry off their minor daughter was foiled by the administration after a tip-off by an NGO at Indri, near here, today.

The marriage of 15-year-old Pinki, a resident of a slum near the Ghanaura drain and belonging to the Shorgir community, was fixed with Golu Ram of Rajpura in Punjab. An NGO came to know about the child marriage and before the arrival of the barat, it informed Deputy Commissioner Neelam Pradeep Kasni.

She directed the Indri police station in charge Mange Ram and panchayat officer Man Singh to immediately go to the village and take necessary action.

The officials rushed to the spot and after ascertaining that the girl was a minor, stopped the marriage. The marriage party also came to know about the police action and returned mid-way, sources said.

The Deputy Commissioner praised the NGO for informing the administration. The family members and relatives of the girl were taken aback when the police suddenly reached the place.

The invitees left after the marriage was called off. 

Panipat, January 16
A 13-year-old girl from West Bengal, who used to stay with her parents in a dwelling in Samalkha subdivision here, was found murdered in her house here today.

The police said the girl’s parents worked at a local handloom factory. Her body was recovered from the bathroom of their house and the police suspected that she was raped before being strangled to death.

SHO Subhash Bishnoi said from the circumstantial evidences that were collected from the spot, it appeared that an attempt was made to rape the girl.

He said the police had collected samples and sent these for chemical examination.

The girl’s parents stated that one Javed, who belonged to their native village in West Bengal, had been staying with them for quite some time and too worked in the same factory. They alleged that he had committed the crime as he had been missing since the body was recovered.

Meanwhile, the SHO said a case had been registered against Javed and a hunt had been lunched to nab him. The body was shifted to the mortuary of the Civil Hospital at the district headquarters. 

Sirsa, January 16
District and Sessions Judge Shiva Sharma has sentenced two persons to imprisonment for life for murdering a farmer and disposing of his body in a canal at Alika village in this district.

The court has also ordered the two convicts - Baljinder Singh and Tarsem Singh, both residents of Mattar village, to pay Rs 50,000 each as compensation to the legal representatives of the victim, Sukhdev Singh.

Baljinder and Tarsem had kidnapped Sukhdev Singh on September 10, 2008, and after killing him with iron rods, they threw his body into a canal.

Sukhdev Singh’s tractor was later recovered from near a police post in JJ Colony in Sirsa town. There was no clue of the murder to the family members of the victim for five months, after which the victim’s wife, Sukhjit Kaur, lodged an FIR suspecting the duo for the suspected murder of her husband.

She alleged that the two had sought a loan of Rs 5,000 from her husband on September 7, 2008, and upon his refusal, they forcibly took away his tractor on September 10.

She said Sukhdev Singh was also missing since then.

The police arrested Baljinder Singh and Tarsem Singh on March 22, 2009, who confessed the crime during their interrogation.