Sirsa, April 8
Irked at the long wait for permits for the purchase of Bt cotton seed, farmers ransacked the Kisan Bhawan here.They smashed windowpanes of the building and raised slogans against the authorities.

“We have been waiting for the arrival of the officers of the Agriculture Department for the past three hours, but there is no news about them,” said a furious Sita Ram, a resident of Nejadela.

He said they had been told by the department that their officers would issue permits for the seed at the Kisan Bhawan. “We have been in queue here since 8 in the morning, but the authorities are least concerned about our plight,” alleged Krishan Kumar from Suchan.

The farmers alleged that the agriculture authorities were hand in glove with black marketers. While they faced problems in getting the seed at the control rate, it was freely available at a higher raste in the open market.

SDM Roshan Lal, DSP Puran Chand Panwar and Deputy Director (Agriculture) Jagdeep Brar had a tough time pacifying the farmers. Brar said the problem had occurred because almost all farmers wanted to purchase 6488 and 6588 Bt hybrid seeds manufactured by Shriram Bioseeds.

He said the Agriculture Department had only 80,000 packets of these seeds which were being given to the farmers on a first come, first get basis. He advised the farmers to purchase seeds of over 20 other brands which were freely available in the market. The Deputy Director (Agriculture) said the sowing season for cotton was yet to begin and the department expected a demand of about 10 lakh packets of seed for the 2 lakh hectares of land expected to come under cotton cultivation this year.

Brar claimed that the department had over 12 lakh packets at its disposal, but the farmers wanted only a particular brand. The farmers, on the other hand, alleged that they had incurred losses by sowing certain varieties suggested by the Agriculture Department last year and were not ready to take a risk this time.

The agriculture authorities in Sirsa district, the main producer of cotton in Haryana, had identified five varieties of cotton seed responsible for the low yield last year and recommended a ban on these. However, for reasons best known to the government, the varieties have are being sold in the market this year too.

Rohtak/Jind, April 8
The ongoing agitation against corruption by Gandhian Anna Hazare has received a widespread support from various sections of society, who have joined his demand by staging protests and starting indefinite fast.

Some of them have even submitted a memorandum seeking immediate drafting of the Lokpal Bill and notification of the draft committee.

The Maharshi Dayanand University Teachers Association (MDUTA) held a meeting here today and adopted a resolution extending support to the demand raised by the veteran leader. It asked the government to come out clean on the issue by setting up a draft committee in accordance to the wishes of the protesters and pass the Bill.

The Senior Citizens Council in Rohtak also held a protest and submitted a memorandum to the President through the district administration to get the draft prepared and implemented as soon as possible. It claimed that corruption at the top level of the government had surpassed all limits and there was no option left now to check the menace.

Joining the chorus, the Haryana State Secretariat of the CPM has backed the move against corruption.

The Haryana Medical and Sales Representatives Association, the Ambedkar Sangharsh Samiti and the district unit of the VHP have also started indefinite chain fast in support of the demand.

In Jind, various organisations came forward in support of the stir. Activists of the Bharatiya Yuva Jagriti Manch took out a candlelight march last night and started a chain fast near the mini-secretariat this morning. They claimed that they would continue their agitation till the acceptance of the demand.

YAMUNANAGAR: The management, staff and students of Guru Nanak Girls College, Santpura, Yamunanagar, organised a meeting here on Friday to support Anna Hazare’s fast unto death against corruption. The college staff and students will remain on one-day fast.

Dr Varinder Kaur, Principal of the college, said Hazare’s mission had reminded them of the do-or-die mission of Mahatma Gandhi. She said the college had also started a signature campaign. If the talks between the representatives of Anna Hazare and the government failed, the students would sit on one-day hunger strike tomorrow, she added.

SONEPAT: Hundreds of school students led by Dr Yash Pal Arya and Yashvir Arya under the aegis of the “Bharastachar Virodhi Manch” on Friday took out a procession in the town in support of Anna Hazare’s fast unto death against corruption.

Carrying placards and banners, the students started their procession from Arya Samaj, passed through Subhash and terminated at Mahatma Gandhi Chowk.

The Sonepat Bar Association, in a meeting held here, favoured the Lokpal Bill and a delegation of the association led by its president Mastan Sharma left for Delhi to support Anna Hazare’s demand. Sharma said the association members would take out a candlelight procession in the town and would sit on an indefinite dharna on Saturday.

Meanwhile, district convener of the Patanjali Yog Samiti Urmila Virangana and founder president of the Sai Jan Sewa Samiti Satpal Singh Ahlawat have started fast unto death at the local Subhash Chowk.

KAITHAL: A large number of persons, including mediapersons, advocates and social workers, extended their support to the agitation launched by Anna Hazare.

The two-hour dharna was initially started by mediapersons and later activists of the Vishav Hindu Parishsd, advocates and other social workers joined them at the dharna site. Senior RSS leader Indresh Kumar also reached the dharna site and gave a call to the countrymen to join the war against prevailing corruption.

PANIPAT: Even as the union government on Friday reached out to Gandhian Anna Hazare and decided to set up a joint drafting committee to bring out a strict anti-corruption law, support for the fasting reformer grew in the industrial hub of the region today.

A number of social groups today staged dharnas at various places in the city to express solidarity with Hazare. Law enforcing agencies remained on high alert and even forced protesters to shift their base from strategic locations.

Members of the District Bar Association also organised a similar dharna on the premises of the courts complex. A number of doctors and prominent citizens gathered at Ram Lal Chowk and sat on fat.

Sirsa/Fatehabad: Anna Hazare’s tirade against corruption is becoming a mass movement in Sirsa and Fatehabad districts. Dharnas, candle marches, motorcycle rallies and hunger strikes were witnessed at several places in both the districts today.

Treading on the footsteps of Anna Hazare, three social activists Ram Murti Arya, Hanuman Kasnia and Surender Kaswan sat on fast unto death at Tau Devi Lal Chowk at Nathusari Chopta town in Sirsa. At Sirsa, the dharna organised by Shaheed Bhagat Singh Sansthan continued for the third day today. Students organised a motorcycle rally in the town.

Chandigarh, April 8
Nearly 27 years after 23 members of the Sikh community were “brutally killed” in “horrific incidents of communal violence” in Haud Chhillar village of Rewari district, the State of Haryana told the Punjab and Haryana High Court today that its one-man commission would submit a report in six months.

As a petition filed in public interest by New York-registered “Sikhs for Justice” and the All-India Sikh Students Federation came up for hearing, the state told the Bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Kanwaljit Singh Ahluwalia that Justice TP Garg who had retired from the Allahabad High Court, had been appointed to probe the massacre.

In their petition against the State of Haryana and the Rewari Superintendent of police, the petitioners had earlier sought that a retired High Court Judge, assisted by the CBI, should hold a probe into the killings.The petitioners, through their counsel Navkiran Singh, had said the victims’ belongings were burnt and a gurdwara was reduced to ashes. But the State on January 16, 2006, had pronounced compensation for the families of the deceased alone.

Chandigarh, April 8
The Haryana Government has decided to engage the services of guest teachers for one more year, from April 1, 2011 to March 31, 2012, subject to certain conditions.

According to a spokesman of the education department, after March 31, 2012, the services of all guest teachers will be understood to have lapsed in view of a judgment of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

In case a regular teacher becomes available in place of a guest teacher, that guest teacher would be adjusted at another place in accordance with the adjustment policy already framed by the department.

The services of the guest teachers would be subject to the outcome of pending writ petitions before the High Court or the Supreme Court.

A delegation of the Haryana Guest Teachers’ Association had recently met the education authorities and demanded their service contract be extended for another year. Earlier, the delegation had also met the Chief Minister.

The guest teachers were first appointed in 2006-07 by the Hooda government to overcome shortage of teachers. Though the government had categorically stated that the appointment of a guest teacher would be purely temporary and his or her service could be terminated as and when a regular teacher would be available, over the years the guest teachers started exerting pressure on the government to regularise their services.

Recently, the Punjab and Haryana High Court ruled that the guest teachers would not be retained beyond March 31, 2012. Despite the recruitment of regular teachers, the education department continues to face a shortage of teachers because of the opening of new schools. Also, old schools are being upgraded, for which more teachers are required.

After the implementation of the Right To Education Act, the shortage of teachers is certain to get worse.

At present a section comprises 40 to 50 students. As soon as the student strength crosses 50, another section is constituted. But under the RTE Act, a section will not comprise more than 40 students. The recruitment of teachers is a long process, which takes time. Sometimes, the process is held up by judicial intervention.

Sirsa, April 8
Ignorance of laws is the biggest bane of rural people. To create awareness about the existing laws and remedies available to people under various Acts, the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) has been organising camps in various villages of the district.

As a part of its campaign to make villagers aware of their rights, the DLSA has announced to hold a two-day legal literacy camp at Suchan Kotli village from tomorrow.

“Legal experts will provide information about the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) and other Acts to villagers in the camp,” said Naresh Kumar Singhal, Chief Judicial Magistrate-cum-secretary of the DLSA, Sirsa. Singhal himself will preside over the legal literacy camp.

Besides the lawyers associated with the DLSA, teachers and students of the Law Department of Chaudhary Devi Lal University, Sirsa, and Lala Hans Raj Phutela College of Law will participate in the camp.

Singhal said a lok adalat would be organised in the village on April 10, where Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Seema Singhal would settle cases pending before the court.

SONEPAT: The District Legal Services Authority has taken a decision to organise legal services clinics in the villages of the district every Saturday between 3 pm and 5 pm during April, May and June to settle the disputes between villagers by advocates deputed by the authority.

According to Chief Judicial Magistrate Major Phalit Sharma (retd), who is also the secretary of the authority, the advocates will also help the villagers in other activities like applying for BPL cards and issuing job cards under the NAREGA programme, besides providing free-of-cost legal service to the eligible persons.

Chandigarh, April 8
A three-member Backward Classes Commission under the chairmanship of Justice KC Gupta, former Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, has been constituted by the Haryana Government.

The commission has been set up in pursuance of an agreement between Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and representatives of the Jats, who held protests to press their demand for reservation in government jobs under the OBC category last month.

The term of the commission will be three years. The other members of the commission are Jai Singh Bishnoi of Hisar and Som Dutt, a Kurukshetra-based advocate.

Hooda said here today that the commission would entertain, examine and recommend upon receiving requests of Jats, Jat Sikhs, Rors, Tyagis and Bishnois or any other caste for inclusion in the list of Other Backward Classes of the state from time to time and hear complaints of over-inclusion or under-inclusion of any Backward Class. An IAS or an HCS officer of the rank of joint secretary will be the secretary of the commission.

Yamunanagar, April 8
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has ordered that a compensation of Rs 5,000 be paid to Sunil Kumar, a resident of Canal Colony in Jagadhri, for being overcharged. Sunil Kumar had in a complaint filed on July 21, 2007, through his counsel Yash Pal Sharma, said he had purchased some items from Easy Day, Yamunanagar, including a pack of ‘Everest’ coriander weighing 100 gm. The MRP printed on the pack was Rs 16. A turmeric powder packet weighing 200 gm brought by him mentioned the MRP as Rs 68.

When he compared these rates, he was astonished to find that the rates paid by him were higher than those prevailing in the market. He had been charged Rs 17.82 for the coriander packet and Rs 75 for the turmeric powder pack.

Thereafter, the complainant went to Easy Day (Bharti retail shop) and sought an explanation, but got none. Sunil Kumar demanded Rs 1.50 lakh as compensation for the “mental agony, physical and financial loss” he had suffered. Easy Day, through its counsel Ramneek Sharma, denied that the complainant had purchased the two items from the shop and said the allegation was false, defamatory and frivolous.

Dina Nath Arora and VK Sharma, after hearing the two sides, said it was clearly a case of unfair trade practice, resulting in loss not only to the complainant but to a large number of other consumers too. “The complainant is entitled to relief. The respondent is directed to pay Rs 5,000 to Sunil Kumar and deposit a sum of Rs 50,000 as fine”.

Faridabad, April 8
The district administration today announced the revised collectorate rates (circle rates) for Faridabad district.

The revised rates are, on an average, double the rates that were prevalent in the last financial year.

Earlier, the administration had increased the rates by a hefty margin, which were more than 20 times the previous rates.

The new rates had sparked off a wide-ranging agitation which was led by the opposition parties, including the INLD.

In wake of the protests, the administration was forced to revise the increased rates. Finally, the new amended rates were formally announced today. According to District Revenue Officer Manjit Singh Maan, the new rates have come into effect from today.

According to the official version, the new rate in Sector 15, pegged at Rs 16,000 per sq yard, emerges as the highest in Faridabad district. The rates in Sectors 2, 3, 61 and 62 were comparatively lower, ranging from Rs 11,000 per sq yard to Rs 13,000 per sq yard.

The rate in the trans-canal area was Rs 15,000 per sq yard. The Faridabad Estate Welfare Association hailed the amended rates. Its president Baljeet Singh lauded Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, saying that it was a pleasant surprise that the new rates were lesser than the rates demanded from him. He said the association had made out a case for Rs 20,000 per sq yard in areas of Sector 15, but the rate announced was much less.

Jind, April 8
A Narwana-based cement trader identified as Parvesh Kumar has received three ransom calls demanding Rs 5 lakh. The caller, who identified himself as Sultan, asked him to give a ransom of Rs 5 lakh, threatening to eliminate him and his family if the demand was not met.

The police has registered a case in this regard. According to the complaint lodged with the police, the calls were made from a mobile phone and a landline connection.

According to the police, the call made from the landline number has been traced to Kithana village of Kaithal district. However, preliminary investigations found no connection between the owner of the number and the person who called the victim.

The ID of the mobile number, from which calls were made, has also been traced to a village identified as Danoda in the district. The police had been investigating into the matter. — TNS