Panipat, May 29
Objections raised by the Haryana Bureau of Public Enterprises against the introduction of a dress code in the state power utilities four years ago has put the authorities in a fix. Besides calling the dress code a financial burden on the utilities, the bureau has asked the authorities to recover over Rs 20 crore from the employees, which was paid to them for maintenance of uniform over a period of four years.

In 2007, the then managing director of the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN), Vijender Kumar, had introduced the dress code in the utility and all employees irrespective of their class were sanctioned Rs 2,000 per annum for wearing a proper uniform at work. The idea was to promote a corporate culture. He believed that the code would enhance discipline amongst the employees and officials.

Later, Vijender Kumar was shifted to the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) and he introduced the same code there also. Following this, the Haryana Power Generation Corporation (HPGCL) and Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam Limited (HVPNL) also adopted the same code for its officials.

After its implementation in all four utilities, around 27,000 employees and officials of the Haryana power utilities started getting Rs 2,000 a year in the name of dress maintenance. Though, the officials were not very pleased with the meagre amount being given to them for uniforms, it definitely increased the financial burden of the utilities by over Rs 5 crore a year.

However, the Haryana Bureau of Public Enterprises, which approves all allowances given to the state employees, recently found that no approval was sought from it before giving Rs 2,000 to the employees and officials.

Following this, it sent a notice to the four utilities asking the authorities to recover the money. The bureau maintained that it was okay for class IV employees to be given a dress allowance, but it was redundant for class III, II and I employees.

Sources said the authorities would now have to ask the employees to either return the money or come up with a suitable explanation for the slip up of their predecessors. Asking the employees and officials to return the money would be asking for much trouble, as it would provoke resentment.

An employee of the utilities said none was happy to get Rs 2,000 for dress maintenance, as it was nothing but a mockery. “How many dresses can one maintain with that much amount of money,” he contended. “All employees had to spend from their pockets to wear white shirts, blue trousers and black shoes.”

He said it would be unjust on the part of the authorities to now recover the money, which the employees never wanted to receive in the first place. He stated that the dress code had not only increased the burden on the utilities but also on the employees and officials as well.

Meanwhile, Financial Commissioner Madhusudan Prasad, who is also chairman of the Haryana power utilities, was not available for comments.

Rohtak, May 29
The recent firing incident in the emergency wing of the local PGIMS has exposed some glaring chinks in the administration of the premier medical institute of the region.

The shootout, in which two persons were killed and another was injured, was a result of some business rivalry. A PGIMS security guard, Tejvir, also lost his life while he was chasing the assailants. He was shot dead.

PGIMS doctors and other staffers assert that though incidents of patients and their attendants clashing with them took place earlier as well, but the frequency and intensity of such cases have increased in the recent past.

“Patients’ attendants threatening and even assaulting doctors and paramedical staff members has now become a routine affair, especially in the emergency wing,” said a resident doctor at the PGIMS.

On the other hand, patients and their attendants feel that they do not get due attention and care unless they have some high connections or exhibit aggressive behaviour.

The alleged rude approach and misbehaviour by the PGIMS staff also sparks retaliation from patients and their attendants.

Proposals to install a foolproof security regime, including metal detectors and CCTV cameras, have been lying buried in files under consideration of the authorities concerned. The overall management of the institute also leaves much to be desired.

The whole thing boils down to the disturbing fact that the PGIMS administration, of which security is an integral part, is not being run in an efficient manner.

And, as enquiries made by The Tribune revealed, the reasons behind the rot are not hard to comprehend.

To begin with, an officer known by the designation of Medical Superintendent looks after the administration of the PGIMS. Now, there is a medical specialisation called Master’s in Hospital Administration, which should be the logical and technical eligibility to qualify for the post.

However, for reasons best known to the PGIMS authorities, a clinician (doctor specialising in some clinical discipline) is appointed as the Medical Superintendent.

And this despite the fact that the PGIMS has a Department of Hospital Administration and a couple of specialists in the field are also posted in the institute.

Again, for some strange reason, the authorities concerned fix such eligibility criteria for the post of Medical Superintendent which suit the clinicians more than the available specialists in hospital administration.

Panipat, May 29
Expressing strong resentment over the new transport policy, a large number of Haryana Roadways employees gheraoed the residence of Om Prakash Jain, Cabinet Minister for Transportation and Tourism, here today. The employees have been protesting against the proposed move to issue 2700 permits to private bus operators in the state.

Raising anti-establishment slogans, the employees marched towards the minister’s house from the local bus stand where they held a demonstration. The employees’ union had last month threatened to intensify its stir against the move. Union leaders alleged that despite repeated requests, the government had not so far addressed the union’s concerns.

Dalbir Kirmara, president of the Haryana Roadways Employees Joint Committee, said the employees feared that the grant of 2700 bus permits to private players would pave the way for privatisation of public transport. Instead of promoting private bus operators, the government should chalk out a strategy to revamp the existing infrastructure of the state roadways and add new buses.

Om Prakash Jain recently announced that the government was in the process of introducing a new transport facility under which additional 2700 bus permits would be issued. The employees stated that if the government did not withdraw the move, they would go on a complete strike on June 8.

The district police as well as the civil administration had made elaborate security arrangements outside the minister’s residence. As the minister was not present, the protesters handed over a memorandum to his son, listing their demands. 

Chandigarh, May 29
Officials, oblivious to the piling up of supplies and “missing” beneficiaries at the state’s aanganwaris, seem to have finally been shaken up from their deep slumber. Three anganwari workers of Panjokhra village in Ambala have been served notice by the Women and Child Development Department to explain the “absent children”, poor storage and piling stocks.

Even as officials go about inspecting stocks in the village following the expose by The Tribune, the anganwari workers are up in arms against their “odd-hour interrogation” to look into the mess.

Maintaining that the rot in the scheme runs through and through from the moment the supplies are procured, Jagmati Malik, general secretary of the Anganwari Workers Association, said today that the government should target the “big fish” if it is really serious about setting its house in order.

“The workers are nobody in the scheme of things and only distribute what they receive. Let the government identify and punish the officials responsible for dumping foodgrains where they are not required and supplying jaggery when sugar can be provided. By targeting poor workers, the department is only attempting to cover-up the mismanagement on its part,” she said, addressing a meeting of anganwari workers in Ambala .

The workers complained that despite the absence of proper storage space at anganwaris, officials had gone ahead and dumped 10 quintals of wheat and two quintals of jaggery at the premises. “The ration should come on a monthly basis and should be deliv ered to the anganwaris instead of being piled up at one centre. Also, on the pattern of schools, holidays for anganwari workers should also be introduced,” district unit president Anupama said speaking on behalf of the workers.

Listing out their grievances against indifferent officials, they said anganwaris had no power and water connections and demanded water coolers. Malik said anganwari workers were being “harassed” by the staff carrying out inspections. “They come as early as 7 am or call workers in the evening. The entire village stands watching as they go about their job. The workers can’t be blamed for the wrongs being committed by the higher-ups who have earlier never bothered to carry out regular inspections ,” Malik alleged.

The workers maintained that the inspections seemed a knee-jerk government reaction to the report with officials focusing their entire attention and action on a handful of anganwaris. “The situation remains unchanged elsewhere in the field where other anganwaris are facing similar problems. Also, the government should sit across the table and understand our problems failing which will we have to take recourse to agitations and dharnas,” Malik said. 

Jhajjar, May 29
Schoolteachers staged a massive state-level rally under the aegis of the Haryana Rajkiya Adhyapak Sangh at Jahan Aara stadium here today to show off their strength and step up their ongoing campaign.

They warned the state government of launching an indefinite dharna outside Shiksha Sadan in Panchkula from June 6 if the state government did not roll back its decisions to execute the PPP mode and three-tier system in the schools.

The teachers also announced that they would not let the government commercialise education in the state. However, if the government tried to do so, they would not hesitate to launch a statewide agitation against it.

Later, the teachers staged a protest demonstration in front of the local residence of Haryana Education Minister Geeta Bhukkal, where elaborate security arrangements were made to prevent any untoward incident.

The protesters also submitted a memorandum to SDM Chander Shekher seeking fulfilment of their long-pending demands at the earliest.

Balbir Singh, president of the adhyapak sangh, said senior officials of the Education Department had taken such decisions without evaluating the factual situation. He warned the government that the teachers would start implementing the earlier guidelines on the school timings, fixing six working hours in a day for a teacher if the government did not withdraw its decision to extend the school timings up to two and an half hours.

During the rally, the teachers also passed some resolutions in favour of their demands. The resolutions included free-of-cost education to students up to class XII, transfer of all those DEd teachers to their home districts who have been posted at Mewat region, regularisation of the services of teachers working on contract basis in the government schools, clearance of backlog of reservation, filling the vacant posts on merit basis and implementation of the 85th amendment in the Constitution on the pattern of June 17, 1995. The teachers also laid stress on improvement in the education standard by passing another resolution in this regard.

Jind, May 29
DR Chaudhary, a former Haryana Public Service Commission chairman and convener of the newly formed Haryana Parivartan Manch, said here that the manch would take up social issues and undertake action-oriented research revolving around various challenges being faced by society.

The manch would take up issues pertaining to agriculture, accountability of the state administration to the people and transparency in its functioning, issues related to human rights, gender discrimination and plight of weaker sections of society, problems being faced by the youth, the state of education and health services and the challenge of “emancipation from the semi-feudal mindset as reflected in the functioning of caste-based panchayats”.

One of its larger aims was to develop a scientific, secular and rational outlook among the people of the state. While the headquarters would be at 
Rohtak, units would be set up at the district, tehsil and block levels. 

Ambala, May 29
Union Minister Kumari Selja assured full support to farmers from Panjokhra and five other villages who visited her residence here today.

The residents and farmers of Panjokhra village have been protesting for the past several months against the alleged forcible acquisition of more than 1,852 acres on the Ambala-Naraingarh road by the Haryana Government. Notices under Section 4 for acquiring their fertile agriculture land for developing an Industrial Model Township(IMT) have already been issued to the landowners.

She assured farmers of taking up this issue with the Centre and was hopeful that the proposed Land Acquisition Bill would be in favour of farmers. Selja said she was not in favour of acquisition of fertile agriculture land having nearly 400 tubewells and had already written to Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, suggesting that the IMT should be developed on wasteland in the nearby Shivalik area.

The farmers condemned Ambala City MLA Venod Sharma for misguiding the Chief Minister by producing a list containing nearly one lakh signatures for his vested interests.

Leaders of different political outfits, including local BJP legislator Anil Vij, also met Balwant Singh, president of the Jameen Bachao Samiti and assured their full support to the stir launched by the farmers against land acquisition for the IMT.

The samiti has already decided that it would continue its stir and warned the government not to give an inch of the land for the IMT.

Meanwhile, five local INLD leaders today joined the hunger strike, which entered its ninth day today in support of the protesting farmers. Later, Kumari Selja inaugurated the Rs 25-lakh Rajiv Gandhi Service Centre.

Bhiwani, May 29
Taking a dig at the law and order situation in the state, the Haryana Janhit Congress president Kuldeep Bishnoi promised safety of women if his party was voted to power in the next elections.

Addressing a ‘mahila sammelan’ here today, the HJC supremo said it was his father and then Chief Minister, Bhajan Lal, who had launched the ‘Apna dhan, apni beti’ scheme and ensured free education to girls up to graduation. It was during the Bhajan Lal regime that participation of women in panchayati raj institutions was initiated.

Flaying the present Congress government, Bishnoi said :“Not a single day passes without any incident of rape or theft ”, adding that incidents of dacoity, murder and assaults were now in Haryana.

Bishnoi said each woman would get pension at the doorstep if he becames the next Chief Minister, Bishnoi said.

Kusum Sharma, convener for the mahila sammelan,said the Sarita, Sweety and Khokhari episodes were a blot on Congress rule in Haryana.

Ex-MLA Amir Chand Makkad, and HJC district unit president Bahadur Chand Sharma also spoke.

Fatehabad, May 29
A person was killed and 40 others were injured when a private bus overturned after colliding with an Alto car near Gillankhera village on the Fatehabad-Sirsa road here today.

Most of the injured persons have been shifted to the General Hospital here. Three seriously injured have been shifted to Hisar for treatment.

The bus was on the way to Hanumangarh and when it reached near Gillankhera, an Alto car suddenly came from the slip road.

The bus driver took a sharp turn in an effort to avoid an accident. However, he lost control over the vehicle and overturned after colliding with the car.

Farmers working nearby rushed the injured to the General Hospital, from where three seriously injured passengers - Ankush, Vipin and Nitin - were referred to Hisar.

The identity of the deceased could not be established and it is being presumed that the victim was the lone occupant of the car.

CPS Prahlad Singh Gillankhera and ADC Ashok Meena rushed to the General Hospital, Fatehabad, and supervised the rescue operations.

Sonepat, May 29
Rich tributes were paid to the former Prime Minister, Chaudhary Charan Singh, on his 24th death anniversary at a meeting of the Jat Sabha here today.

National spokesman for the All-India Jat Mahasabha Tara Chand Mor said Chaudhary Charan Singh was a true Gandhian, freedom fighter and well-wisher of the farmers and “kamgars”.

The budget presented by him as Union Finance Minister in 1977-78 was acknowledged as the kisan budget, he added.

His book titled “Economic Nightmare of India - Its Causes and Cure” was the testimony of his knowledge of economic and social problems of the country, he said, adding that his book “Shishtachar” inculcated spirit of discipline among the youth.

Dr Om Prakash Malik, Sunil Bisla, Jagat Singh Malik, Prahlad Singh, Rajinder Singh Rathi and Satvir Chahal also paid tributes to the kisan leader.