Chandigarh, September 11
The newly formed HJC-BJP alliance today announced its candidate for the Hisar Lok Sabha byelection. It is none other than HJC chief Kuldeep Bishnoi. The younger son of former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal will contest the seat to retain his father’s legacy. The byelection has been caused by the death of Bhajan Lal.

Bishnoi’s candidature was announced by his mother, Jasma Devi, in Hisar after opening the election office of the alliance. Earlier, the HJC high-powered committee had decided to field Jasma Devi. However, she refused and declared that her son would contest the seat, which was won by her husband in 2009.

Now the Congress is the lone major party, which is yet to announce its candidate. The INLD has fielded Ajay Chautala, elder son of party chief Om Prakash Chautala.

The BJP’s arrangement with the HJC for sharing the post of Chief Minister for half term each is not a new experiment. The party had entered into similar arrangements with Mayawati in UP and Deve Gowda in Karnataka. In both cases the experience was disastrous for the BJP. The alliance partners, after enjoying power, courtesy the BJP, refused to let the national party had its turn. Will the BJP be lucky in Haryana? This is the question the party cadre is debating these days. The success of the new alliance depends much on its abilty to capture the imagination of Jat voters. If the non-Jat voters find the alliance a creditable alternative to the Congress and the INLD, they are likely to flock together towards it.

With the speculation rife in Congress circles that the party ticket may go to a member of the family of a senior party leader, will the situation in Hisar be a repeat of what had happened in Bhiwani in 2004?

That year the INLD had fielded Ajay Chautala from Bhiwani against Surender Singh of the Haryana Vikas Party (HVP) and Kuldeep Bishnoi of the Congress. The Jat vote was divided and Bishnoi emerged victorious. Bishnoi must be hoping and praying for such a situation.

Another major party, which is yet to announce its plans for the Hisar byelection is the BSP. The party had polled about 92,000 votes in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections in the constituency. This was one of the major factors behind the defeat of Congress candidate Jai Prakash Barwala, who was the sitting MP from this seat. The Dalits, considered to be traditional voters of the Congress, had swung in a big way towards the BSP in the hope that its chief, Mayawati, might become the Prime Minister if the general election returned a hung House. The BSP is likely to announce its decision within a week.

Rewari, September 11
Following the recovery of a suicide note from a farmer, Suraj Bhan Sharma, who committed suicide yesterday by hanging himself at Bawwa village, near Kosli, the police has booked Rajender Singh, Inderjit, Manoj Sharma, Arun Sharma, all residents of Bawwa village, as well as ASI Harbhagwan on the charge of abetment to suicide.

A case under Sections 306 and 34 of the IPC has been registered against them on a complaint filed by Virender Sharma, a son of the deceased.

Virender stated that following a bid made on the life of his father on July 15, 2011, by assailant(s), the police had registered a case of attempt to murder. The case was entrusted to ASI Harbhagwan for investigation and further proceedings against the culprits.

However, when nothing concrete emerged even after a passage of over six weeks, depression that gripped his father led him to end his life.

ASI Manoj Kumar, who is now the investigation officer in the case, said the circumstances that led to Suraj Bhan’s demise as well as the veracity of the suicide note were being probed.

Karnal, September 11
With just seven days to go for the SGPC poll, Haryana Sikhs, hoping for a separate gurdwara parbandhak committee, are in a dilemma as rival factions of the HSGPC, claiming to be champion of the cause of Sikhs in the state, are engaged in a bitter fight, giving an edge to the SAD-backed SGPC candidates.

Jagdish Singh Jhinda, heading one faction of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (HSGPC) is himself on a sticky wicket in Karnal, while president of the rival faction Didar Singh Nalvi, contesting from Kurekshetra, was facing tough challenge from the SGPC candidate.

Both rival factions have fielded candidates against presidents of other factions, creating a sharp divide among anti-SGPC Sikh voters. The Jhinda faction has fielded nine candidates, while the Nalvi faction is contesting six seats. Both factions are supporting Shrimoni Akali Dal (Haryana) candidates Harpal Singh Palli and Amreek Singh from two Ambala seats and keen triangular contests are on the cards on six seats.

The undivided HSGPC held a convention in Karnal on September 7, 2008, and served a one-month ultimatum on the government to concede to the demand for a separate gurdwara committee for Haryana, but nothing has happened in the past 36 months and the movement appears to be dying down.

The split in the HSGPC has weakened the 10-year-old struggle of the Haryana Sikhs for a separate gurdwara parbandhak committee. In case the HSGPC candidates belonging to both factions failed to win more seats than SGPC candidates, it would amount to putting a seal on the claims of the SGPC leaders that Haryana Sikhs were not in favour of a separate gurdwara committee.

The Jhinda faction was taken for ride by the government twice during the Assembly elections in 2005 and 2009 and in spite of promises made by the government, the demand was not accepted and the issue remained tangled in official committees set up by the government.

Realising that the rout of HSGPC candidates in the SGPC poll would spell doom for both HSGPC factions and the demand for a separate SGPC would get a decent burial, the SGPC and the Akal Dal, supported by the INLD, are not leaving any stone unturned to win the elections in Haryana.

SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar has toured Sikh-dominated areas of Ambala, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Sirsa and Fatehabad three to four times to elicit votes for their candidates, but both Jhinda and Nalvi have been left to fend for themselves with no powerful group coming out openly in their support.

Sonepat, September 11
Following the death of Shaily (23) after a cesarean delivery in the local Civil Hospital early today, the police has registered a case of negligence under section 304A, IPC, against a gynaecologist, Dr Payal, and two nurses.

The case was registered on the complaint of Shaily’s husband, Sonu, of Malikpur village. Meanwhile, the victim’s body had been sent to the PGIMS, Rohtak, for a postmortem examination on the demand of her family members. Further action will be taken after receiving the postmortem report.

According to information, Shaily was admitted to the Civil Hospital late last evening and she gave birth to a male child after a cesarean delivery. She was shifted to the ward and medicine was being administered to her intravenous in glucose.

As alleged by the victim’s family, power went off after some time for one hour. Though Shaily was reportedly moaning in pain, she was allegedly not attended to by doctors or other staff.

When power supply was restored, Shaily was found dead. Dr Ramesh Sethi, civil surgeon, said the incident was being investigated by a team of three doctors and it appeared from preliminary investigation that it was a case of cardiac arrest. However, the civil surgeon said he was waiting for the postmortem report.

Dr Payal said the operation was successful and there was no negligence on her part or the staff. But complications like cardiac arrest could develop after an operation, she said. She suspected cardiac arrest to be the cause of Shaily’s death.

Tohana, September 11
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal is confident that the Shiromani Akali Dal will win all 11 seats from Haryana in the SGPC poll.

Badal’s SAD candidates are embroiled in pitched electoral battles with Jagdish Singh Jhinda’s Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (Ad hoc) candidates in almost all 11 seats in Haryana.

Didar Singh Nalvi, who heads a splinter group of the HSGPC, and some other small parties have also fielded their candidates on some seats.

Badal was in Haryana today to campaign for SAD (Badal) candidates. Accompanied by INLD MLA from Ellenabad Abhey Singh Chautala, former Rajya Sabha member and ex-chairman of the National Commission for Minorities Tarlochan Singh, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, SAD youth wing president Delhi; and several other SAD and INLD leaders, Badal addressed public meetings at Kaithal, Ratia (Fatehabad) and Kalanwali (Sirsa).

Speaking to mediapersons at Tohana, Badal alleged that the Congress had always tried to grab power in the SGPC elections through proxy and the party, he alleged, had been putting forward parties like Panthik Morcha and Akali Dals by different names against the SAD. He said that the HSGPC candidates contesting against SAD candidates in this state were also supported by the Congress by proxy.

Badal refuted allegations that the SGPC discriminated against Sikhs living in Haryana and spent donations coming from this state in Punjab. “For the SGPC, all states are equal and funds are being spent equitably. We have now opened a separate office of the SGPC for Haryana ,” Badal maintained.

Gurgaon, September 11
Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner PC Meena has directed the District Town Planner (Enforcement) to remove all illegal structures coming up in the unauthorised colonies of the district.

In an unprecedented initiative, the district administration has provided a list comprising khewat numbers and kila numbers of the chunks of land where such illegal dwellings are coming up.

A team led by DTP (E) demolished several illegal constructions at Garhi Harsaru and Gopalpur villages in the district. Naib Tehsildar of Gurgaon Vijay Yadav was appointed the duty magistrate for the maintenance of law and order.

According to the orders, apart from the aforesaid locations, illegal colonies are coming up at Sadhrana, Harsaru, Kadipur, Basai and Garoli Khurd villages as well.

The Deputy Commissioner said specific locations had been identified in these six villages where illegal colonies were coming up and the khewat number, kila number and the size of the illegal dwelling had been specifically mentioned in the orders.

Meena asserted that no illegal construction would be allowed in the district and various teams had been constituted to keep a check on such activities.

The Deputy Commissioner maintained that the registration of sales deeds in such illegal and unauthorised colonies was also banned. 

Panipat, September 11
After having failed to get the prime land at the Samalkha grain market vacated from the encroachers for seven times in a row due to the alleged non-availability of the police force, the Chief Administrator of the Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board has now written to the police to provide adequate security to carry out a demolition drive at the market on “priority basis”.

Owners of 109 shops (out of a total of 151 shops in the market) have reportedly encroached upon 6,562.65 sq yd government land meant for roads and sewerage. The market value of the said land was put at Rs 24.11 crore about two years ago.

The Chief Administrator, in an order issued on August 30, has also asked the secretary-cum-executive officer of the Samalkha market committee, executive engineer and the DMEO, Panipat, to start recovery proceedings against encroachers.

Fatehabad, September 11
A family learnt the government’s rules regarding the provision of ambulance services started under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) the hard way.

A family of Ratia ran from pillar to post for hiring an ambulance from the Community Health Centre for its sick patient but doctors declined to provide the ambulance service citing government rules.

The harried kin tried for over three hours to find a private vehicle to carry their patient with the ventilator on, but the delay cost them dearly, as the patient died before they could shift him to Fatehadad.

The family members feel that their patient could have been saved had the authorities shown a humane attitude.

Angry residents met SMO VK Jain but he maintained that ambulance provided under 102 services of the NHRM were meant for specific purposes and could not be supplied for patients referred by private doctors.

Hans Raj, a shopkeeper, was admitted to a private hospital in Ratia.

The doctor advised the family members to shift him to Fatehabad or Hisar when his condition deteriorated.

However, the doctor told them that the patient needed oxygen supply regularly and hence he should be shifted with the ventilator.

The victim’s kin alleged that though an ambulance was parked in the CHC, doctors on duty refused to provide the vehicle.

“We were ready to pay full charges for the ambulance, but the doctors told us that they could provide this ambulance for accident and delivery cases only,” they maintained.

The victim’s kin have lodged a complaint with the local authorities, seeking action against the erring doctors.

Chandigarh, September 11
The rains in Haryana have reduced the demand for power in the state drastically. The power distribution companies, which normally face an uphill task to meet the demand for power, recently forced the Haryana Power Generation Corporation Limited (HPGCL) to ask its generating units to reduce generation by 540 MW. 

According to a spokesman of the HPGCL, according to the requirement of the System Operation Department of the distribution companies, the 110 MW Units 2, 3 and 4 and 210 MW Unit 5 of the Panipat thermal power station have been closed due to less demand of power in the state. These units will remain closed up to September 13.

The 500 MW Unit 1 of the Indira Gandhi Super Thermal Power Project (IGSTPP), Jhajjar, in which Haryana also has equity, has also been closed due to less demand. Further, one 137 MW gas turbine at the NTPC gas-based power plant at Mujheri in Faridabad district has also been shut.

He said to keep the grid frequency within the specified limits, backing down (closing down or forced to operate at a reduced load) was a regular practice being followed during the periods of less demand or load crash due to heavy rainfall or storms.

He said the HPGCL had generated 659 lakh units yesterday at an overall plant load factor (PLF) of 86 per cent. The two units of the Rajiv Gandhi Thermal Power Project (RGTPP), Khedar, contributed 212 lakh units at a PLF of 74 per cent. The Panipat thermal power station contributed a lion’s share by generating 309.43 lakh units on this day at an overall PLF of 94 per cent. The Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram Thermal Power Plant (DCRTPP) also performed well and produced 130 lakh units at an overall PLF of 90 per cent. — TNS

Karnal, September 11
The Deputy Director-General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Dr Swapan Dutta, has urged the farm scientists to make full use of bio-technology tools to increase wheat production to 100 million tonnes to feed the increasing population.

He said the Karnal-based Directorate of Wheat Research had developed many new varieties of wheat and seven varieties had been recommended for release so that farmers could get quality seeds.

Dr Dutta said the yellow-rust disease in wheat was a cause for concern and scientists were working on various projects to save the crops from this infection. He said wheat production was gradually increasing during the past three years and a record production of 85.96 million tonnes was achieved during 2011.

He said the yellow-rust disease had infected the wheat crop in the high-altitude Leh area of Jammu and Kashmir and a team of scientists had been sent to Leh to deal with the problem.

Dr Randhir Singh, senior scientist at the Directorate of Wheat Research, said wheat was grown on a 10-acre area at Dalang Ground in Leh on a trial basis and the crop had been infected by yellow rust and teams of scientists were camping there. 

Chandigarh, September 11
The Haryana Civil Medical Services (HCMS) Association has served an ultimatum on the government to accept its demands till October 2 . A resolution to this effect was adopted by the state executive of the association, which met under the presidentship of Rajesh Kumar in Rohtak today.

The meeting criticised what it called the new trend of re-employing retired doctors as administrative head (Director-General, Health Services and Chief Medical Officer) with all powers and perks, leading to stagnation of junior officers.

Demanding immediate changes in the post-graduate policy framed by the government, the association said it had resulted in unnecessary litigation as it was “unreasonable and impractical”.

The other demands of the association included declaring the non-practising allowance as part of the basic pay for all purposes.

Sirsa, September 11
The Haryana State Legal Services Authority (HSLSA) will soon set up an alternative dispute resolution centre (ADRC) here at a cost of Rs 1 crore. Deepak Gupta, an Additional District and Session Judge and member-secretary of the HSLSA, visited Sirsa to select a suitable site for the centre.

Accompanied by District and Sessions Judge Subhash Goyal, Yudhbir Singh Khyalia, DC, and Additional Civil Judge (Senior Division) Sudhir Parmar, the judge visited some sites near the judicial complex.

“Under guidelines from the Supreme Court, such ADRCs are to be established in all district headquarters of Haryana. The centres will house permanent and continuous lok adalats, mediation centres and office of the secretary of the District Legal Service Authority,” said the judge. He said the HSLSA provided free legal aid to people with an income less than Rs 1 lakh per annum.

Free legal aid was also provided to people belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, women, children, mentally challenged persons, differently abled persons, industrial labourers, victims of sexual trafficking, victims of riots, senior citizens, among others. — TNS

Hisar, September 11
The annual poll of Guru Jambheshwar University Teachers Association (GJUTA) will be held on September 22, it was officially announced here. Elections will be conducted for the posts of president, vice-president, secretary, joint secretary and treasurer. Besides, six members of the executive committee will be elected.

Nominations will be accepted on September 14 and 15.

The nominations will be scrutinised on September 16 after the withdrawals.

The debate for the presidential poll will be conducted on September 20 followed by two days of campaigning. Polling will be held on September 22 and the results will be declared the same evening.