Sirsa, May 26
Haryana lags behind many states when it comes to providing roof to the urban poor living in slums in towns and cities.

The fact is substantiated from Haryana’s performance in Rajiv Awas Yojna (RAY), a scheme to provide affordable housing to the urban poor under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).

Incidentally, the JNNURM is a flagship programme of the UPA government and comes under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation headed by Union Minister Kumari Selja, MP from Haryana.

Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Orissa, Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh are the six states that have shown the best performance in implementation of the RAY.

Incidentally, four of these are NDA-ruled states and only Andhra Pradesh has a Congress Chief Minister.

All these states have already started preparation of their city/state plan of action, while the draft plan of action with respect to Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh and Indore in Madhya Pradesh has already been submitted to the Union Ministry.

Three cities of Haryana - Faridabad, Panipat and Yamunanagar - were included for implementing the yojna and the union government had released an initial instalment of Rs 151.3 lakh for preparatory activities like establishing a city and state-level technical cells, conducting socio-economic survey, data entry, geographical information system (GIS) mapping and management information system (MIS)-GIS integration.

However, sources said the state was yet to submit the utility certificate of the first instalment received by it from the Union Ministry.

The state has, however, outsourced work to Water and Power Infrastructure Consultants (WAPCOS) for undertaking socio-economic survey and GIS mapping. The state is also in the process of procuring satellite imagery from Haryana Space Application Centre (HARSAC), sources said.

In contrast, Andhra Pradesh received its first instalment of Rs 472.72 lakh with Haryana last year and the state has already received its second instalment of Rs 969.40 lakh in March this year.

Greater Hyderabad, Greater Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Titupati, Guntur, Nellore, Kurnool, Kadapa, Warangal and Nizamabad are the 10 cities and towns of Andhra Pradesh, which have been taken up under the RAY.

In Gujarat, the scheme is being implemented in eight cities - Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Jamnagar, Bhavnagar, Bharuch and Porbandar.

The preparatory phase of the RAY was launched in March 2010 for the implementation of the scheme in 157 major cities of the country.

Among the major cities of the country, where the RAY is being implemented, are Itanagar in Arunachal Pradesh, Guwahati in Assam, Patna in Bihar, Raipur in Chhattisgarh, MCD area in Delhi, Panaji in Goa, Shimla in Himachal Pradesh, Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir, Ranchi in Jharkhand, Bangalore in Karnataka, Thiruvanathapuram in Kerala, Indore and Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, Greater Mumbai and Pune in Maharashtra.

The scheme is also being implemented in major cities like Imphal in Manipur, Shillong in Meghalaya, Bhubaneswar and Puri in Orissa, Ludhiana in Punjab, Jaipur in Rajasthan, Chennai in Tamil Nadu, Lucknow in UP and Kolkatta in West Bengal.

Chandigarh, May 26
While wheat is still arriving in the mandis of Haryana, the state has recorded the second highest wheat arrival of over 68.06 lakh metric tonnes. The highest wheat arrival of 69.24 lakh metric tonnes was recorded in 2009-10.

A spokesman for the Food and Supplies Department said of the total arrival of wheat, over 68.02 lakh metric tonnes of wheat had been purchased by government-procurement agencies and the rest 4,084 metric tonnes by traders.

He said over 23.82 lakh metric tonnes of wheat had been purchased by HAFED, over 18.01 lakh metric tonnes by the Food and Supplies Department, over 8.23 lakh metric tonnes by the Food Corporation of India, over 6.82 lakh metric tonnes by the Haryana Agro Industries Corporation, over 6.09 lakh metric tonnes by the Haryana Warehousing Corporation and over 5.03 lakh metric tonnes by CONFED.

Sirsa district was leading in wheat arrival where over 10.17 lakh metric tonnes of wheat had so far arrived in the mandis, followed by Fatehabad district where over 7 lakh metric tonnes of wheat had arrived. Karnal district ranked third in wheat arrival where over 6.41 lakh metric tonnes of wheat had arrived.

Chandigarh, May 26
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has decided to formulate a comprehensive scheme based on Haryana’s initiative to promote institutional deliveries by providing free health services to pregnant women belonging to all sections of the society.

Haryana Health Minister Rao Narender Singh, who was speaking after attending a meeting with Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad in Delhi, said the scheme would be formulated after making some amendments to Haryana’s scheme. He said the state government’s initiative to promote institutional deliveries by providing free health services to pregnant women belonging to all sections of the society has been highly appreciated by the Central Government.

Those present at the meeting included Joint Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department, Anuradha Gupta, Financial Commissioner, besides state officials.

Rao Narender Singh said during the meeting Azad appreciated the health services being provided in Haryana, especially the referral transportation service being provided to expectant mothers as well as improved and safe delivery facilities for women in the rural areas.

He said institutional deliveries in the state had increased from 53 per cent to 74 per cent in the past few years and were indicative of the fact that the programmes and policies of the state government in the field of health had yielded better results. He added that the schemes of the state Health Department were discussed at length in the meeting with special focus on the referral transportation service and provision of free of cost meals to pregnant women while undergoing treatment in hospitals. The provision of free of cost medicines to OPD patients in all health centres in the state was also discussed.

The minister said that the popular low-cost surgery package programme of the state government was also appreciated in the meeting as all surgeries were being provided free of cost for BPL cardholders and residents of urban slums notified by the local and urban bodies under it.

Yamunanagar, May 26
Retired private college teachers have sought parity with government teachers in the matter of benefits of full pension after 28 years of service and leave encashment on superannuation.

The Haryana College Retired Principals’ and Teachers’ Association representing the teachers of government-aided private colleges of the state has urged the government to give full pension benefits to the employees of privately managed government-aided colleges.

Talking to The Tribune, Prof Subhash Vohra, secretary of the association, here recently said the benefits of full pension after 28 years of service should be given from the date when the rules were made effective i.e. from January 1, 2006.

He said the Haryana Civil Services (Revised Pension) Part-II Rules, 2009, were made effective from January 1, 2006, and the Revised Pension Rules were made effective from the same date, but the benefits had been given only to those teachers who had retired after October 12, 2010. It was unjust for the teachers who retired on or after January 1, 2006, and before October 17, 2010.

Prof Vohra pointed out a discrepancy of leave encashment in the case of government-aided privately managed colleges and government college teachers. Whereas, the Punjab and Haryana High Court in the case of TC Dogra and others, who retired from private government-aided colleges in Haryana after attaining the age of superannuation, gave a judgement on November 17, 2010, that “employees of privately managed-aided colleges are treated on a par with government college employees in respect of pay and pensioners benefits”.

The association also demanded that medical facilities available to retired government teachers should also be given to the retired employees of the privately managed government-aided colleges.

Kurukshetra, May 26
A three-day workshop on linkage with industry and promotion of entrepreneurship, organised by the Geeta Institute of Management and Technology (GIMT), Kanipla, Kurukshetra, in collaboration with the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, was inaugurated by chief guest Amit Gupta, chairman, Education Committee of the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, on the premises of GIMT, 8 km from here, recently.

In his inaugural address, Gupta said industry academia partnership as well as promotion of entrepreneurial movement was the need of our country. Efforts in making qualitative improvement in the traditional Teacher-Centered Teaching Learning System had only marginal effects, resulting in continued criticism with workbench requirements to produce appropriate technical human resource who were able to face the challenges of this millennium.

He said technical institutions were much ahead of industry as they provide all types of consultancy for the growth and development of industrial world. Students undertake real life problems of industry as project work.

He further mentioned that for the economic growth of our country, it was essential that technical institutions initiate steps for diverting at least 15 per cent to 20 per cent students to start their own enterprises. It is practically impossible to provide employment to each and every student who joins technical institutes.

For the survival of technical education in the country, it was essential to bridge the gap in the respect of above, he added.

Guest of honour GIMT managing director DK Gupta said it was high time that technical institutes should initiate steps to make teaching-learning process more meaningful and motivating.

He stressed the need for better utilisation of laboratories and workshops, proper implementation of practical training phases and undertaking real life problems as project work.

Faculty should take a lot of interest to equip themselves with the requirements of the world of work.

Dr LN Mittal, chief programme coordinator, GIMT, mentioned that teaching-learning process in a majority of the technical institutions was theoretical and bookish and devoid of its linkages with the world of work. It is utmost essential to link teaching-learning process with workbench requirements.

He also briefed the delegates regarding the objectives of the workshop.

Er Raman Gupta, Director-Projects GIMT highlighted the initiatives taken for creating world-class infrastructure for effective instructions at GIMT, while Sorabh Gupta, director-principal, welcomed the dignitaries and introduced the chief guest and the guest of honour.

Deepali Gupta proposed the vote of thanks. In the second half of the workshop, Sr. executives like G. Sunder, deputy director, BITS, Pilani, Krishan Gupta, managing director and Global CEO of Organic India Pvt. Ltd, and SP Sahni, head strategic - HR, Jindal Steel and Power Ltd, Gurgaon, made theme presentations in respect of bridging the gap between the industry and academia.

As many as 150 delegates covering various states of the northern region are participating in the workshop.

Fifteen top-level professionals from industry and academia will be making theme presentation in the workshop.

Kaithal, May 26
The District Bar Association, Kaithal, under the aegis of the district Red Cross Society, organised a blood donation camp in the premises of the local judicial complex here recently. As many as 26 persons donated blood in the camp which was inaugurated by district and sessions judge RS Baswana.

RS More, secretary, district Red Cross Society, Bar president Nafe Singh Berwal, secretary Jatinder Sharma other Bar office-bearers and advocates were present on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, Baswana said blood donation was a noble cause as it helped in saving precious lives. He advised lawyers present on the occasion to donate blood without any hesitation as it had no side effects on the health and it rather helped in rejuvenating the body due to the formation of fresh blood.

He appreciated the gesture of the Bar functionaries who took the initiative to organise the camp and asked them to organise such camps in future also.

Sirsa, May 26
The 27th Haryana State-Level Open Chess Championship - 2011 concluded in the Lord Shiva College of Pharmacy here recently.

Deputy commissioner Yudhbir Singh Khyalia inaugurated the championship, dedicated to memory of late advocate Sukhbir Singh Jain. He also launched the official website of the Sirsa District Chess Association www.sirsachess.com on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, Khyalia exhorted children to work towards the all-round development of their personalities and participate in outdoor as well as indoor games. Ved Beniwal, chairman of the Shiv Shakti Blood Donors Society, who presided over the function, said: “A player shall keep his anger under control and keep cool if he or she has to emerge winner”. He emphasised the need for providing healthy and comfortable environment for chess players.

Virender Ganda, a senior advocate from the Delhi High Court, who was chief guest of the concluding ceremonies, said: “Chess not only sharpens the memory, but also helps in keeping children away from sitting before television or Internet for a long time”.

Himanshu Sharma of Rohtak was the winner and he took away a cash prize of Rs 5,000 with a trophy. Yogesh Gautam of Bhiwani, who got the second position, was rewarded with a cash prize of Rs 4,500 and a trophy, while Anil Tiwari from Yamunanagar secured the third position and was rewarded with a cash prize of Rs 3,500 and a trophy. Among others, Vikrant Verma stood fourth, Anil Rathee stood fifth and Manav Saxena secured the sixth position.

All these players have been selected for the 49th National Challengers (National ‘B’) Chess Championship to be held at Aurangabad from June 15 to June 26 this year.

Ganda appreciated the work of Sukhbir Singh Jain Memorial Trust for contributing in this creative work and gave Rs 51,000 to the Sirsa District Chess Association, said AS Kalra, secretary of the association.

Pardep Gupta, secretary of the Haryana Chess Association, and vice-president Umed Sharma were also present on the occasion.

Panipat, May 26
The Rayat-Bahra group, which has a number of technical education institutes, has taken over the Innovative Institute of Technology and Management, Sonepat.

Declaring this, chairman of the group, S Gurvinder Singh Bahra, said the institute would now be known as Rayat- Bahra Innovative Institute of Technology and Management.

Rayat-Bahra is a decade old professional and technical educational group. The group has strength of 25,000 students in 40 institutes located in seven campuses in India and abroad. The seven campuses include five campuses in Ropar, Mohali, Hoshiarpur, Jammu and Patiala, One Global University in Shimla and International Management College in London.

Affiliated to Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, and Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram University of Science & Technology, Sonepat, the institute runs courses approved by the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) and the Ministry of HRD.

The institute is spread in sprawling 18.6 acres and strategically located on the national highway-1, Gannaur in Sonepat.

The institute would be offering courses in B.Tech (mechanical, ECE, CSE, IT and civil) with 60 seats in each stream. Gurvinder Bahra said the group had plans to herald in a new era of technical education in the region.

Rewari, May 26
As many as 49 boys and 63 girls from various districts of Haryana participated in the state-level trials held for the selection of men and women’s throwball teams of the state at Panipat recently.

While as many as six boys - Avin, Ishwar Singh, Ashok, Ghanshyam, Sanjiv and Sandeep - all from the Kosli area of Rewari district, were among the 14-member men’s team, as many as four girls - Nisha Sharma, Dulari, Pinki and Nisha - all from the Kosli region, constituted a segment of the 14-member women’s team of the state.

Jasbir Yadav, chairman, and Gaurav Deshwal, general secretary of the Rewari District Throwball Association, informed that these Haryanavi teams would now participate in the All-India Throwball Federation Championship for Men and Women to be held at Bharatpur in Rajasthan from May 31.

They further said teams from Haryana, Punjab, Delhi, Rajasthan, UP, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu would participate in the tourney.

Karnal, May 26
Dr Vandana Vinayak, senior scientific officer of Forensic Science Laboratory, Madhuban, has been honoured with Meritorious Fellow City Montessori Award (FCMS) 2011 by City Montessori School, Lucknow. Popularly known as CMS, this school is recognised as the world’s largest school in a single city by the Guinness Book of World Records and was awarded the UNESCO prize for peace education for 2002.

City Montessori School awarded its seven former students with this fellowship at the teachers’ thanksgiving function recently at their World Unity Convention Centre. Dr Vandana Vinayak was presented with a trophy and a certificate.

In 2008, Dr Vandana got Young Scientist Award, followed by Noel Deer Gold Medal from former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam in 2009. She is also a recipient of Director General of Police Haryana Class-I Commendation Certificate for her outstanding work at Forensic Science Lab, which also carried a cash reward of Rs 10,000.

She gave a forensic report in the most controversial and sensitive case of national importance, Shopian rape and murder case, which rocked the J&K Assembly last year.

Dr Vandana was also awarded a research project by the Department of Science and Technology to make an in-depth study to solve cases of death due to drowning and has 28 research papers published in reputed journals to her credit. 

Sirsa, May 26
Factionalism in the Congress is not a new phenomenon in the district. It has come to the fore once again ahead of the June 11 rally of the party to be addressed by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

This will be the second rally of Hooda in Sirsa in less than six months, as earlier the CM addressed “Badhte Kadam” rally here on December 25 last year.

While “Badhte Kadam”, which had the participation of several Congress leaders of the district, had Sirsa MP Ashok Tanwar on the forefront, the June 11 rally is being organised by Urban Local Bodies Minister Gopal Kanda, who represents Sirsa in the state Assembly.

Infighting between the two factions was noticed here recently when Kanda and Tanwar organised two parallel meetings of the party workers on the same day and almost at the same time, but at two different venues.

While Kanda addressed party workers at his MDLR office in the main market of Sirsa town, the MP’s supporters gathered at the Congress Bhawan for Tanwar’s guidelines with regard to Hooda’s visit. Among the prominent Congress leaders present in Kanda’s meeting were the minister’s brother and an HPCC executive member, Gobind Kanda; former MLA Bharat Singh Beniwal; District Mahila Congress president Shilpa Verma; director of the Haryana Punjabi Sahitya Akademi Sukhchain Singh Bhandari; Krishan Saini; Vyapar Mandal district president Hira Lal Sharma; Kuldeep Gadrana; and Anil Khod.

The Congress leaders present in Kanda’s meeting included supporters of Fatehabad MLA and chief parliamentary secretary Prahlad Singh Gillankhera, who wields a considerable influence in some villages of Sirsa, which were earlier in Darba Kalan, twice contested by him.

Addressing workers, Kanda said the Chief Minister would lay the foundation stone of several new projects in Sirsa. He would also lay the foundation stone of Agarwal Dharamshala and Arorwansh Dharmashala, land for which was earlier given by the government on nominal rates.

The CM would also lay the foundation stone of a multispecialty hospital and water works at the cost of Rs 162 crores. Tanwar’s meeting, on the other hand, was attended by district Congress chief Malkiat Singh Khosa; former MLA Mani Ram Keharwala; Block Congress president Bhupesh Mehta; and Anand Biyani.

Tanwar claimed that Hooda wanted to make Sirsa number one district in the state and that was the reason he was coming here for the fourth time since December.

Narnaul, May 26
A three-day workshop on “Addressing Discrimination Against Women” was organised on the temporary campus of the Central University of Haryana here recently.

Welcoming the delegates, Dr Renu Yadav, coordinator of the workshop, pointed out that the women faculty members and students had taken the initiative to arrange the workshop and got wholehearted support from male members of the university.

Prof Rajul Bhargava, director of the event, said a series of such workshops with concepts weaved around real-life experiences of women would be held throughout the year.

After inaugurating the workshop, the vice-chancellor, Prof Mool Chand Sharma, said despite all-round progress in all walks of life, women still remained at the receiving end.

A session of the workshop was dedicated to the enactment of a play on the predicament of a woman by the faculty as well as students. It was followed by an exhaustive open-house discussion.

Another session titled “Doubly Condemned” was chaired by Dr S Lakshmi Devi, principal, Shahid Rajguru College, Delhi University. The session centered around a story narrated by Dr Ritu Tomer.

Students from the women wing of the local Industrial Training Institute, who were invited as delegates, got an opportunity to share their views and experiences.

Pawan Sharma, who has done much research and writing in the area of women and children, also shared various laws, judicial developments and her views on the subject with the participants.

The last day of the workshop was marked by the narration of a story of a girl from a rural background who, after sustained efforts, succeeds in convincing her parents to let her get higher education. Dr Indu Yadav from Department of Economics enacted the story.