Gurgaon, September 12
Workers of Maruti Suzuki India's first plant at Manesar today approached the district authorities for intervention to bring an end to the impasse that has resulted in production being affected since August 29.

Around 1,500 workers also took out a protest rally near the mini-secretariat here, demanding that the company management should not force them to sign a good-conduct bond.

Representatives of the workers met VK Hooda, ADC, and apprised him of the situation at the plant and submitted their demands. "We are willing to work but will not sign the good-conduct bond," a workers’ representative said, adding the dismissed and suspended colleagues must also be reinstated. The workers' demand for forming a new union, Maruti Suzuki Employees Union (MSEU). must also be allowed, he added.

On August 29, the company management prevented workers from entering the Manesar plant unless they signed a good-conduct bond.

The bond required the workers to declare that they would "not resort to go slow, intermittent stoppage of work, stay- in-strike, work-to-rule, sabotage or otherwise indulge in any activity, which would hamper normal production in the factory".

Taking a tough stand, the management has refused to meet the workers’ demands. In fact, the management has reportedly decided to recruit new workers tomorrow onwards to replace the existing permanent workers unless they signed the good- conduct bond. —PTI 

Hodal (Palwal), September 12
About 15 persons were injured in a clash between two groups here today. Five of the injured have received gunshot injuries.

The condition of one of the injured was stated to be critical. All injured persons have been admitted to various hospitals, including Escorts Hospital and Sarvodaya Hospital in Faridabad.

Members of the two groups, one related to a realtor and the other comprising residents of Shyam Colony in the town, clashed using country-made guns, swords and other lethal weapons.

The clash was a sequel to a dispute between a realtor, Rajju, who owned three plots near the colony, and residents of the colony over the possession of a public passage.

In spite of objections from residents of the colony, the realtor started constructing a boundary wall around his plots, encroaching on the public passage in the process. The wall would have obstructed the movement of residents of the colony.

The residents alleged that the matter was also taken up with the local police yesterday where the area SHO allegedly assured them that no construction would be allowed on the said public passage till the dispute was resolved. However, the realtor started erecting a boundary wall around his plots last night.

Over 20 armed goons of the realtor swooped on the colony in the afternoon and attacked its residents. The residents retaliated. Gunshots were allegedly fired from both sides. The police has registered a case but no arrest had been made till the filing of this report. 

Ambala, September 12
The district administration has launched a drive to weed out undeserving below poverty line (BPL) cardholders.

Deputy Commissioner Sameer Pal Srow said here today that the administration had cancelled cards of 308 beneficiaries under the BPL Scheme. Announcing this at a gathering of people who had come to get their BPL cards made, Srow said families that had a monthly income of Rs 424 would be issued such cards.

The district administration has set a deadline of May 15 as the last date for surrendering wrongly procured below poverty line (BPL) cards by residents of the town. A decision to this effect was taken at a review meeting held here under the chairmanship of the Deputy Commissioner.

Srow held out a warning to undeserving BPL card holders that strict action would be taken against those found guilty of concealing information, adding that they may face police action.

The Deputy Commissioner directed the officials of the Civil Supplies Department to conduct a survey to identify undeserving BPL card holders. Srow pointed out that action against those found possessing illegally procured cards was imminent as enough time had been given to them.

The Additional Deputy Commissioner, SS Phulia, said that families that had a car, a fridge, a telephone, a scooter and a TV were not entitled to this benefit.

Tohana, September 12
Peeved at the “apathetic” attitude of the authorities towards the problem of stagnant rainwater and sewer contents on Ratia Road, residents have started an indefinite dharna on the road.

The irked residents have erected tents in the middle of the road and have been sitting on charpoys in protest.

The angry residents turned down the requests of an executive engineer of the Public Health Department and the SHO of the City Police Station, who went to the dharna site to request the protesters to stop their agitation.

The Haryana Pradesh Vyapar Mandal’s local unit has also extended its support to the dharna.

“We will sit under the tents by turn till the authorities find a permanent solution to our problems,” maintained the agitators.

They alleged that a little rain was sufficient to submerge the road under water and it forced the traders to close their businesses for several days.

While the local traffic remained diverted through other routes, the commuters travelling in roadways buses had to face a tough time as the buses were stopped at Ambedkar Chowk in view of the dharna.

Several roads of the town are badly damaged and are submerged under rainwater.

The situation is so bad on Ratia Road and Chandigarh Road that the police had to select an alternative road of the Canal Department along the Bhakhra Canal for the Punjab Chief Minister, Parkash Singh Badal, when he visited the town on Sunday. 

Karnal, September 12
Irate relatives and villagers of Evala village, demanding registration of a case against the accused in a drowning case, today blocked traffic at Hospital Chowk here for nearly three hours.

The district administration had hard time persuading the protesters to lift the blockade.

The body of Sher Singh, who was drowned in the canal three days ago, was recovered today and his relatives alleged that "it is a case of murder" and demanded registration of a case.

They alleged that three friends of Sher Singh took him along and they had drinks at the canal.

Later Sher Singh was drowned.

Karnal, September 12
Didar Singh Nalvi, president of the rival faction of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (ad hoc), today lashed out at the SGPC and the SAD for spreading canards about the Miri Piri Medical College Project being set up at Shahbad. He asserted that there was not an iota of truth in the allegations that he was responsible for obstructing the project.

Nalvi, who is contesting the SGPC elections from Kurukshetra constituency comprising Babain, Thaneswar, Shahbad, Pehowa and Ladwa, said he had only opposed the setting up of a new trust, headed by Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, for the project and questioned how the SGPC, which was itself a trust could create another trust for this project in the state.

Alleging that the SGPC and the SAD have launched a disinformation campaign to mislead the Haryana Sikhs on this issue on the eve of the SGPC elections, he cautioned the electorate against falling prey to such malicious propaganda.

“We have asked the SGPC to release a white paper on the progress and functioning of the Miri Piri Institute of Medical Sciences and demanded a probe into alleged irregularities,” Nalvi said, adding that the SGPC had devised a novel modus operandi to “grab” 25 acres of prime land belonging to Shahbad Gurdwara after dissolving the local gurdwara managing committee.

A receiver was appointed to look after the affairs of the trust but it overstepped his jurisdiction and leased land worth about Rs 75 crore to the SGPC for 100 years and the latter constituted a trust for opening a medical college, he said.

Meanwhile, electioneering is reaching a feverish pitch and the parties and candidates are targeting Sikh sangats for eliciting support. Avatar Singh Makkar, SGPC president, was again in Haryana today to seek support for the SAD candidates from Kurukshetra and addressed the Sikhs at Pehowa. Dubbing the Congress as an anti-Sikh party, which was ousted by people in Punjab in last elections, Makkar said the SGPC candidates were receiving overwhelming support in Haryana and the INLD was also supporting its candidates.

The returning Officer for Karnal constituency, MK Pandurang, today took stock of preparations for the poll slated for September 18 and also held a rehearsal in which 200 polling officers from Karnal, Panipat, Jind, Rohtak and Jhajjar participated.

The carrying of firearms and other weapons has been banned in areas under Karnal and Kurukshetra constituencies and people have been asked to deposit their arms in nearest police station by tomorrow.

Panipat, September 12
A large number of dyeing unit owners in the district have alleged harassment at the hands of the HUDA officials. The latter, they allege, have delayed issuance of completion certificates to more than 90 per cent of industrialists, who had already come up with industrial structures in Part II of Sector 29.

The new sector had been carved out especially to accommodate the dyers to save the city from constant pollution from these units.

Yashpal Malik, president of the Dyers Association, said without the completion certificate, the units were not given water and sewage connections, without which they could not function. He said some of the industrialists had completed their buildings in 2009, but till date HUDA had not issued them a completion certificate.

Instead, HUDA served them with yet another notice recently seeking explanation as to why the allotment of plots given to them not be cancelled as they had not shifted their base to the new sector.

Malik lamented that without the completion certificate, even the Pollution Control Board did not allow them to run dyeing units.

Because of the non-shifting of the dyeing units to the new industrial sector the city is facing an acute pollution problem. The industrialists have been ruing the lack of basic facilities in the new sector and the HUDA authorities accuse them of being reluctant in shifting their units. The authorities claim that the sector was fully equipped with power, sewerage, water and roads. A treatment plant was already in place to support the manufacturing operations. After the authorities spoke to the industrialists, they had started shifting to the new sector.

Malik said the Dyers Association had sought the intervention of senior officials of the state government to resolve the issue so that they could finally start their operations from the new sector.

Meanwhile, HUDA officials maintained that the units which met the criteria, had already been given the completion certificates. 

Karnal, September 12
The Social Welfare Department has stopped the pension of Mangat Ram (64) of Panodi village in Karnal district, showing him as "dead' in the official records.

The old age pension of Mangat Ram was suddenly stopped in February, 2010, After running from pillar to post for more than one year, Mangat Ram finally approached the pension office which informed him that his name had been struck off from the rolls for payment of pension.

He made several rounds to the office of Social Welfare Department but he was not conveyed the reason for stoppage of his pension.

His son then filed an application under the RTI Act to know the reason for stopping his father’s pension. Having failed to get any satisfactory answer, he approached the pension cell at Chandigarh.

The department said Mangat Ram had been shown as dead in the official records.

Mangat Ram and his son blamed the local panchayat functionaries, who allegedly supplied wrong information to the department and got his name deleted.

Mangat Ram is struggling to prove that he is alive to get his pension restored. While panchayat functionaries are tightlipped on the issue, MK Pandurangn, ADC, said the matter would be probed and responsibility fixed .

Fatehabad, September 12
Gian Chand Odh(70), INLD MLA from Ratia, died today in Medanta Medicity, Gurgaon, where he was admitted on September 5 after a brain hemorrhage.

He is survived by his wife, four sons and three daughters.

Kaithal, September 12
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said here yesterday that the Congress was trying to weaken the SGPC and take its control. He said the party had put up its candidates indirectly for the SGPC poll in Punjab that was at variance with its stand on the management of gurdwaras in Haryana.

Badal was addressing a press conference at the house of the president of the Kaithal unit of the INLD, Kailash Bhagat, here. He said the three persons, Charanjit Singh Sarna, Surjit Singh Barnala and Ravinder Singh, who were given great respect and prestigious posts by the SAD in the past were now spearheading the move to “weaken” the SGPC. In response to a question, Badal said the gurdwaras in Haryana were starved of funds. “We are ready to give them more funds even while allowing them to spend their own funds for the maintenance of the gurdwaras of the state,” he added. He said the Sikhs had the right to control the affairs of the gurdwaras after making great sacrifices.

Rewari, September 12
The police raided a hideout at a canal crossing near Gokalgarh village, on the Rewari-Jhajjar road, here last night.

The police nabbed two miscreants, Sandeep Yadav and Ravi Balmiki, while their third accomplice, Satish Yadav, managed to escape. Two pistols, five live cartridges and a motorcycle have been seized from them.

Both Sandeep and Ravi were today produced in a court of Suruchi Atreja Singh who remanded them in police custody for two days. — TNS