Chandigarh, November 2
Perturbed over the “misleading statements” of opposition parties that Maruti Suzuki had decided to shift base from Haryana to Gujarat, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said on the contrary, the company was planning to expand its base in the state.

Addressing a press conference here today, Hooda accused INLD and Haryana Janhit Congress leaders of issuing misleading statements to send out wrong signals that were detrimental to the interest of the state.

Maintaing that he had recently received a letter from Osamu Suzuki of Suzuki Motor Co, stating that the company was planning to bring in more investment to Haryana, Hooda said the plant in Gujarat was a completely new project for an export market near a port. "They are free to expand elsewhere and the Gujrat project has nothing to do with labour unrest in Manesar," he emphasised.

Hooda stated that Maruti, which had three plants in Haryana, was ready to pump in more money. “One plant is operational in Gurgaon while plants A and B in Manesar came during our rule in 2005. A combined investment of Rs 12,000 crore exists on the ground and plant C in Manesar is coming up at an investment of nearly Rs 2,000 crore. Further, the company is keen on investing in a testing centre at Rohtak. Every inch of land with Maruti is in use. Then, how can the opposition claim that industry is moving out of Haryana?" he asked.

Stating that Haryana’s labour policy, too, was one of the best, Hooda said the Manesar unrest had nothing to do with it. “There can be protests by workers against managements. It has nothing to do with us,” he said.

Hooda added that Haryana had acquired the number one position in per capita investment as per various studies carried out by known agencies and Haryana’s investment was growing at a steady pace.

Clarifying that the Congress had the interest of the farming community at heart, Hooda said the Opposition which was raising a demand for an increase in MSP had done nothing for the farming community when they were in power.

“They only know how to shed crocodile tears while we have statistics to prove that we have given the best prices for wheat, paddy, sugarcane and other crops. I have already asked for a hike of Rs 200 in MSP for the paddy crop," he said.

Speaking on the Ratia and Adampur byelections, Hooda said the Congress would work as a team and win both seats.

Fatehabad, November 2
The Election Commission’s announcement to hold the Ratia (SC) and Adampur Assembly byelections on November 30 has come as a big surprise for all political parties in Haryana.

Expecting the byelections by February, 2012, when Punjab and some other states go to the polls, the ECI announcement to hold the byelections on November 30 has disturbed the calculations of all political parties.

Hardly an hour before the news broke, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who was in Fatehabad, was unwilling to speak on the issue of bypolls, saying that these were hypothetical questions as the elections had not yet been declared .

Hooda summoned Sirsa MP Ashok Tanwar, Fatehabad MLA Prahlad Singh Gillankhera and others to Chandigarh today for planning a poll strategy. HPCC chief Phool Chand Mulana will now address Congress workers at Ratia on November 4.

When asked about the party’s strategy on the two impending elections, senior BJP leader Abhimanyu, who was in Fatehabad yesterday in connection with LK Advani’s November 12 rally here as part of his Jan Chetna Yatra, said the party would apply its mind on this issue only after Advani’s yatra was over in Haryana. Now, the chunav samiti of the BJP is meeting tomorrow, according to BJP sources.

HJC supremo Kuldeep Bishnoi rushed to Chandigarh today for a meeting with BJP leaders.

Sources close to Bishnoi and the BJP said the HJC-BJP alliance would in all likelihood field Bishnoi’s wife, Renuka Bishnoi, from Adampur and BJP’s Mahabir Prashad from Ratia (SC).

INLD secretary-general Ajay Singh Chautala, who addressed a meeting of workers at Ratia today, said the INLD would announce its candidate on Friday.

After the announcement of the Ratia and Adampur byelections , the Health Department today postponed till further notice the interviews for several posts under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM).

The interviews for posts of staff nurse, auxiliary nurse midwife, driver, safai karamchari, among others, under the NRHM were to start today Meanwhile, the draw of lots for the distribution of subsidised farm implements tomorrow has been postponed.

Karnal, November 2
The Senior Citizens Council Haryana (SCCH) yesterday demanded 50 per cent concession in Haryana Roadways buses for men also and said the government was discriminating between men and women senior citizens by allowing the facility only to women.

The council, with representation in 20 districts in the state, also expressed its resentment over the non-implementation of the “Maintenance of Parents Act 2007” and said that the said Act was passed and notified in 2007, but no tribunal has so far been formed in any district.

The council members were peeved that several demands made by them in the past had not even been acknowledged and there was no response from the authorities concerned. A letter was also sent to the Health Minister, Rao Narender Singh, demanding cashless treatment of Haryana pensioners on the pattern of the Central Government where the credit base facility is available, coordinator of the council JR Kalra said.

The members also requested the Health Minister to set up a CGH dispensary in Sonepat on the pattern of Gurgaon and Faridabad as this facility was necessary in view of the increasing day-to-day illnesses and long-term diseases among senior citizens.

The council complained that even after the government had provided the funds and various provisions to help the old, senior citizens were suffering due to an “insensitive and non-responsive” attitude of the authorities.

Kalra said that exclusive police helplines to assist the senior citizens in case of an emergency were non-existent in most of the districts.

Kaithal, November 2
The sale of adulterated milk, sweets and other articles has reached alarming proportions in the district, but there seems to be no concrete action on the part of the health authorities to check this health menace.

The alleged half-hearted attempts on the part of the departments concerned have failed to curtail the activities of such elements who are out to make a fast buck, putting people’s health and lives at risk.

The quality of khoya products has been deteriorating day by day despite a steep increase in the prices of these products. It is learnt that a huge quantity of spurious khoya, procured from other states, is used by local sweets shop owners.

A huge quantity of spurious khoya had been seized in the neighbouring districts but authorities in the district are yet to lay their hands on spurious khoya being supplied to halwai shops. Some consumers complain that in many cases they find khoya products below standard and sometimes sweets taste saline and they feel like vomiting after consuming these items.

Not only this, the desi ghee sweets sold by some halwais at a high price are also allegedly prepared with spurious ghee or low-quality material. The span of such products is reported to be two or three days, but they are sold even when they are stale.

It is a common complaint of the consumers that the quality of the milk supplied by the milk sellers has been declining gradually, affecting the consumers’ health.

It is learnt that some in the business of selling dairy products such as milk, cheese, ghee and cream extracted from milk allegedly take recourse to adulterating these items to earn huge profits.

A number of dairy owners prepare cheese to cater to the demand of bulk consumers and such cheese could be had at rates as low as Rs 80-Rs 100 per kg that went up to Rs 180-200 per kg, depending on the quality of the stuff. Cheese is allegedly prepared by using chemicals.

Similarly spurious desi ghee is prepared and sold in the market by mixing refined and vegetable ghee in it.

The Health Department teams, with the help of the local police, conduct raids and unearth such rackets, but they remain the tip of the iceberg.

The residents’ demand that the authorities should act strictly and create fear in the minds of those selling spurious items of daily use.

Kurukshetra November 2
Youtube will now upload cultural visuals of Haryana in India and abroad with various thematic items to be produced by the Youth and Cultural Affairs Department in collaboration with the Computer and Electronic Department and the Mass Communicaton and Technology Department of the university.

This was announced by Kurukshetra University (KU) Vice-Chancellor, Lt-Gen Dr DDS Sandhu(retd), while inaugurating the four-day annual cultural extravaganza “Ratnawali” here today.

About 3000 students from all over the state are participating in 25-odd cultural, artistic, literary and stage-performing competitions.

Dr Sandhu asked the students to dedicate themselves to the cause of promotion of Haryanavi culture. He also advised the judges to be impartial and accurate in judging competitive items.

Rich tributes were paid to ghazal king Jagjit Singh. Jagjit Singh was a student of the History Department of this university in 1963-64 and was adjudged best in music items that year.

Ratnawali.net will be launched during the four-day Ratnawali festival.

Anoop Lather , Director, Youth and Cultural Affairs Department, said a special cultural competition on Haryanavi chaupal has been introduced this year. Chaupal is a famous rendezvous for ruralites of Haryana to get rid of their daily woes and generate passion for life.

Karnal, November 2
Farmers of 10 villages, agitating against setting up of a liquor factory between Talheri and Jundala, today announced that they would not allow the factory to come up in their area “at any cost”.

The farmers of these villages, who had come to the mini-secretariat to submit a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner opposing the setting up of the liquor factory, rued that the attitude of the Deputy Commissioner was not "cooperative and positive" and that they were determined not to allow the factory to come up in their area.

The farmers of Talheri, Jundala, Bansa, Pyont, Alipur Viran, Aungad, Hathlana Manjura and Dadpur also raised slogans against the liquor factory and decided to constitute an 11-member action committee.

The farmers alleged that the factory would become a nuisance, cause pollution in the area.

Sarpanch Laxmi Chand said the action committee would meet on November 15 to decide the future strategy.

He said the promoters of the factory were trying to assure the villagers that water sources would not get polluted, but there was no reason to accept their version as villagers were aware of the adverse effect of a liquor factory, he added.

Sonepat, November 2
BJP legislator Kavita Jain has demanded the setting up of a new power substation at the HSIIDC complex, Kundli, not only to meet the electricity requirements of the industrial units but also for restarting the units closed due to an irregular power supply.

In a letter to Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Jain stated that in the 30-year-old Kundli industrial area, power was being supplied from a 33-KV and a 11-KV power substation and because of this the industrial units were hardly getting a daily power supply of four to six hours.

She said a proposal to set up a 132-KV substation was sanctioned in 1991, but because of the neglectful attitude of the authorities concerned, its construction had not started even after 20 years.

Jain pointed out that even today, when the number of industrial units had increased manifold in the Kundli industrial area, the electricity supply was dependent on the two substations installed 30 years ago.

“The power supplying capacity of the two power houses is 22,000 Kilo Watt whereas the registered load of electricity on these substations has gone up to 62,750 Kilo Watt,” she stated, adding that the load was likely to increase up to 2,00,000 Kilo Watt after industrialisation of the Phases 4 and 5 of this industrial zone.

She also pointed out that despite waiving the service connection charges in the industrial zones developed by the HSIIDC, the Bijli Vitran Nigam was charging service connection charges from the new industrial units. A copy of the letter had also been sent to the managing director of the UHBVN, she said.

Sonepat, November 2
A delegation of the representatives of the farmers of Badkhalsa village, who have been staging an indefinite dharna against the acquisition of their land, today met Sumitra Mahajan, MP and chairperson of the standing committee of Parliament on drafting of the land acquisition reforms Bill, at her residence in Delhi.

Led by BJP legislator Kavita Jain and the party’s state media in charge, Rajiv Jain, they handed over a memorandum of their demands, urging her to incorporate provisions of the farmers’ welfare in the new land acquisition draft Bill.

The main demands included provisions for going to the court against land acquisition, representation to a farmers’ representative in the Land Acquisition Committee, acquisition only in public interest, release of the acquired land, if not utilised for the purpose of acquirement, reservation in government services for three generations of the affected farmers, etc.

During an hour-long discussion, Jain pointed out that the state government was not releasing even an inch of the farmers’ acquired land, whereas it had released more than 10,000 acres of land of the builders during the past seven years. Even the government had announced the award for such released land, she added.

Mr Jain said the farmers of Badkhalsa, whose land was acquired in 2006, had not yet accepted the award money of the land and they had been staging an indefinite dharma for the past 95 days under the banner of the “Bhoomi Adhigrahan Virodhi Sangharsh Samiti” for the release of their land.

Chandigarh, November 2
The Haryana Election Department has selected boxing champion Vijender Singh as the brand icon for the summary revision of electoral rolls in Haryana, which will last till November 28 in the state.

Chief Electoral Officer Sumita Misra said Vijender Singh was a national sports figure from Haryana. As a brand icon, he was appearing in all advertisements of the Election Department in the print and the visual mediums.

She said summary revision of electoral rolls had already commenced on October 20 in Adampur, Uklana, Narnaud, Hansi, Barwala, Hisar and Nalwa Assembly constituencies of Hisar district, Uchana Kalan of Jind and Bhiwani Khera of Bhiwani district.

The process would last in these areas up to November 8. The summary revision of electoral rolls would commence on November 8 in Badshahpur of Gurgaon district and Gurgaon and would last up to November 28.

In all the other areas of the state, the summary revision of electoral rolls had already commenced on October 1.

She said all those who would attain the age of 18 on January 1, 2012, could register their names in the electoral rolls. They could contact their booth-level officer at their polling booth in this regard.

Kurukshetra, November 2
Mystery surrounded the alleged suicide by a final year Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS) student, Aarti, in the girls’ hostel of Srikrishna Government Ayurvedic College here last night.

She was found hanging from the ceiling fan in her room (No 4) on the second floor. The warden, on being informed by some students that Aarti was not opening the door of her room since last night, peeped into Aarti’s room from the window of the adjoining room and was stunned to see her hanging from the fan. She immediately informed the police. Later she got opened the door of the room.

The deceased had returned to the hostel yesterday after Diwali holidays and did not have dinner. Her friends thought she may have brought some eatables from home. Later Aarti’s brother rang up her friend and said that she was not picking up the phone and requested her to connect him to her.

When Aarti’s friend went to her room along with some other girls and knocked at the door, there was no response and later when the door was opened, Aarti was found hanging by the ceiling fan with her ‘chunni’.

Dayal Chand, DSP, City Police Station (Kurukshetra) said that Aarti had committed suicide and her parents had been informed. Aarti’s friends also said that she had returned from her home in Sirsa and they were unable to understand why she took such an extreme step.

The father of the deceased said that he could not say why Aarti committed suicide as she was very happy when she left for the hostel after the Diwali holidays. However, Aarti had been complaining that she was being insulted and no one talked to her, he added.

Jind, November 2
A five-year-old girl was killed and two others, including her brother(3), were injured after a truck hit them near Pillukhera village in the district this morning. The victims were on a bike when the accident took place. The police has impounded the truck and has booked its driver on a murder charge.

According to a complaint lodged with the police, the accident was deliberate as the accused, Lakhmi, wanted to kill Randhir Singh riding the motorcycle along with his niece, Shruti(5) and nephew Sidharth(3).

It is reported that the accused, a cousin of Randhir and an uncle of the deceased, rammed his truck into the motorcycle near Pillukhera. Randhir and the two kids were on their way to school located near Jamni village. While Shruti was run over and killed by the truck, Randhir and Sidharth fell on the road. They have been admitted to hospital.

Randhir told the police that Lakhmi was nursing enmity with him regarding a dispute over farm work at his native village of Taloda. The accused fled after the incident.