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KU teachers threaten to launch agitation
BJP Kisan Morcha to meet parliamentary panel on Nov 16
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Karnal police constitutes anti-auto theft force
8,000 participate in marathon against drug abuse
14 IAS officers redesignated
Farmers burn Pawar’s effigy
‘Fighting drug addiction top priority’
Ambala students display skills at zonal fest
Sampat Singh defends petrol price hike
Workshop on MEMS technology held
Yamuna group celebrates International Volunteer Managers Day
Old-age home inaugurated at Kurukshetra
Biz skill development programme at Y’nagar institute
NIT director lays stone of health centre
TERII students win medals in
Thailand
Open Army recruitment rally in Rohtak from Nov 21
MIT advises Education Dept to hold remedial summer camps
Police to constitute NGO to check crime
51 couples tie knot at mass marriage
Rotary Club holds mass wedding
28.58 lakh MT of paddy purchased in Haryana
Sarpanches put forward demands at ‘ru-baru’
Applications invited for multipurpose health workers’ course
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Non-fulfilment of demands
Kurukshetra, November 14 KUTA president Dr Pradeep Chauhan said he was under pressure from the teachers to start an agitation if their demands were not fulfilled within the stipulated period. He said he had already given a notice to the VC for the implementation of their demands by November 15, otherwise the association would boycott the classes as well as the forthcoming examination and stop evaluation and paper-setting work. Chauhan said in addition to this, the KUTA had resolved that it would stage indefinite protest in front of the VC office after November 15, if the demands were not implemented by this date. He said the agitation had become imminent due to the total apathy shown by the university authorities towards the genuine demands of the teachers. He said KUTA held a day-long meeting with the university authorities at the behest of the Vice-Chancellor on June 8, but it remained inconclusive. Moreover, 110 pages of the Haryana Government notification dated July 21, 2011, was notified by the government after the teachers boycotted examination and evaluation work in May 2011. However, an agreement had reached between the state government and the Haryana Federation of College and University Teachers Organisation on May 17, 2011, at Chandigarh after many rounds of discussions. Although, the state government had not honoured the agreement completely, the university had not granted even a single benefit to the teachers out of the agreement reached, he alleged. Chauhan said KUTA had many rounds of meetings with the university authorities, including the Vice-Chancellor, but in vain, as no promises were kept and the teachers were left at the mercy of the clerical staff of the university. “KUTA has complained time and again to the Vice-Chancellor regarding “anti-teacher posture” of the staff, but to no avail,” he said. “There is a complete economic blockade for the teachers in the university, which has created a hopelessness and despair among the teaching community,” Chauhan said. “Teachers are waiting for their interviews for professorship for the past six years under the CAS. No teacher has been granted any MPhil, PhD, MTech and LLM increments,” he alleged. Chauhan said there was an impression outside the campus that the university teachers were given good pay scales, but it was an irony that nobody got any benefit. Moreover, their old benefits were withdrawn forcefully and recovery was made on the plea that their salaries were reduced due to new pay scales, he added. Their demands included the Haryana government notification dated July 21, 2011, regarding UGC/HRD recommendations that pay scales and quality education be implemented immediately in toto, promotion from stage I (AGP Rs 6,000) to stage II (AGP Rs 7,000) to stage III (AGP Rs 8,000) and advance increments in these stages, associate professorship to all incumbent readers/lecturer selection grade up to July 21,2014, promotion of all eligible associate professors up to July 21, 2011, to professors under CAS for all university teachers, probation period of one year for teachers, benefit of past service without any discrimination and executive council membership to all the university teachers.
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Proposed Land Acquisition Bill
Jhajjar, November 14 This was stated by Om Prakash Dhankar, national president of the morcha, while addressing a press conference here recently. He said the meeting aimed at apprising the committee about the plight of the farmers who were struggling hard to sustain their livelihood after the acquisition of their land by the state governments at very low rate. “Land should be acquired only for the works related to social cause instead of benefiting industrialists who later utilise the land to fulfil their vested interest. This sort of game for pushing farmers and the common man on the path of devastation must be ended with immediate effect,” Dhankar said. The state government was playing the role of a “middleman” and acquiring the land to create a “land bank” for the moneyed class whereas the farmers were being given a raw deal, he added. “Thousands of acres of land in various states of the country still remain unused, which was acquired by the state governments concerned several years ago in the name of development. The Haryana government had also taken thousands of acres away from the farmers in the name of special economic zones (SEZ). However, nothing has been initiated in the area notified for the purpose so far,” he said. He added that the governments, while acquiring the land, had assured the owners not only of providing them and their kin ample employment opportunities but also of setting up industries and other big projects as well for the development of the region. Dhankar said the governments had failed both the way as it neither succeeded in setting up any big industry or project in the area concerned nor to provide any employment to the people concerned. “An autonomous authority of the people with judicial background should be constituted for the land
acquirement and the authority should be given the power to sort out all the issues of the area, nature and compensation for acquired land, besides making rehabilitation arrangement for those whose entire land had come under the effect of the acquirement,” Dhankar said. Such law should be enacted so that the acquired land be re-consigned to its real owner if the project, for which the land had been acquired, was not concluded in time so that the land should not remain unused, he said, adding that the farmers should have the right to fix the price of their land as per the market value.
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Karnal police constitutes anti-auto theft force
Karnal, November 14 The force, headed by Rohtash Singh (ASI) and comprising Suresh Kumar, Arvind Kumar and Sukhbir Singh (all head constables) and other supporting staff, has already cracked 30 cases and arrested 18 persons, said Rakesh Arya, SP, “The anti-auto theft force is keeping a strict vigil on people
involved in vehicle thefts in the past and evolving different strategies
for taking prompt action in case of vehicle thefts,” he said. Arya said the newly constituted force has solved 30 cases of vehicle theft registered under Civil Lines, Gharaunda, Sadar and Kunjpura police stations and recovered 25 motorcycles, three Octavia cars, a laptop and a scooter and nabbed 18 persons, who were also involved in the cases of chain snatching and house thefts. The drive against automobile theft would be further intensified and more cases of thefts would be tracked, he added. As per the police records, 144 cases of vehicle thefts were registered in different police stations of the state from August 31 to October 10, 2011, which meant that on an average 25 vehicles were stolen every week.
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8,000 participate in marathon against drug abuse
Sonepat, November 14“Aao Bhajen Saare” (Let’s All Run) marathon, the first-of-its-kind in Sonepat, was organised by the voluntary organisation, “Chaupal”, here recently to create awareness among the people about ways to maintain a good health. The event was a great success as about 8,000 people from all walks of life participated in the run.
The marathon that was flagged off by a former Governor of Sikkim, Randhir Singh, from the local police lines passed through various areas of the town and terminated at the Chaupal Community Health Centre at Baiyanpur village. Besides a large number of students from different schools, international wrestlers Anil Khatri, Yogeshwar Dutt, Ramesh Gulia and Sanjay were the star attraction of the marathon. Youths from the adjoining districts as well as from Delhi also participated in the marathon. Speaking on the occasion of the closing and prize-distribution programme of the marathon, chairman of the Chaupal Dr Rajinder Singh Tonk said the main objective of the marathon was to create awareness among the youth against bad habits
like smoking, drug addiction, alcohol consumption, etc. Dr Monika, marathon coordinator, and in charge of the Chaupal Community Health Centre, said such an event had taken place for the first time in rural India and response from the public was positive. The first Haryanavi to win a medal in the Asian Games in 1966, Bhim Singh, Commonwealth gold medallist Anil Khatri and assistant education officer (Sports) Jagbir Singh Malik, who played a key role in the participation of renowned wrestlers and students, appreciated this rare effort of the Chaupal representatives. The winners of the marathon in different age groups were honoured with cash prizes by the organisers. The first prize of the common category of Rs 21,000 was won by Virender of Rohtak and the second and third prizes of Rs 11,000 and Rs 5,100 were won by Ankit and Vikas, respectively. In senior citizens age group, Suresh got the first prize of Rs 7,100, whereas the second and third prizes of Rs 5,100 and Rs 3,100 were pocketed by Rajesh and Naresh, respectively. Naveen, Amit and Deepak in the under-14 boys’ category got cash prizes of Rs 5,100, Rs 3,100 and Rs 2,100, respectively. Amita, Shushila and Anju Yadav in the girls’ above 14 years of age group were given the first, second and third prizes of Rs 11,000, Rs 5,100 and Rs 3,100, respectively. The first, second and third position holders Neha, Meenakshi and Nikki in under-14 girls age group received cash prizes of Rs 5100, Rs 3100 and Rs 2100.
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14 IAS officers redesignated
Chandigarh, Noveember 14 TC Gupta has now been designated as Director-General, Town and Country Planning and Urban Estates, Haryana; and Special Secretary, Town and Country Planning and Urban Estates Department; Director-General, Urban Local Bodies, Special Secretary, Urban Local Bodies Department and Project Director, Swaran Jayanti Shehri Rozgar Yojna and State Urban Development Society, Haryana. Avtar Singh has been designated as Director-General, Environment and Special Secretary, Technical Education and Environment Departments. Mahavir Singh has been designated as Special Secretary, Haryana Finance Department and Director General Employment and Special Secretary Employment Department. Arun Kumar is Director-General, State Transport, Adviser, Civil Aviation, and Special Secretary, Transport and Civil Aviation Departments and Director General, Renewable Energy. Shiv Raman Gaur is Director-General, Information, Public Relations and Cultural Affairs and Grievances and Special Secretary, Information, Public Relations and Cultural Affairs and Grievances Departments and Additional Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister. Ankur Gupta has been designated as MD, HARTRON, Special Secretary, Electronics and Information Technology Department and Director-General, Information Technology while Anand Mohan Sharan is Additional Resident Commissioner, Haryana Bhawan, New Delhi, and Administrator, TFAH, Director General, Development and Panchayats, Special Secretary, Development and Panchayats Department, Managing Director, Haryana Tourism Corporation and Director General, Tourism and Hospitality, and Special Secretary, Tourism and Hospitality. Balraj Singh is Director-General, Food and Supplies, Special Secretary Food and Supplies Department and Managing Director, CONFED; and HS Malik is special Secretary, Revenue and Disaster Management-II; Director-General, Consolidation of Holdings, Director-General, Land Records, Special Collector (H.Q.) and Special LAO, Haryana. Phateh Singh has been designated as Director-General, Archives, Archaeology and Museums and Special Secretary, Archives, Archaeology and Museums Departments and Anurag Agarwal as Special Secretary Personnel, Training, Vigilance and Parliamentary Affairs Departments, Director-General, Training, Haryana (ex-officio) and Inquiry Officer, Vigilance and Director-General, Science and Technology, Haryana. Vijayendra Kumar is Director-General, Secondary Education and Special Secretary, Secondary Education Department. Subhash Chandra has been designated as Director-General, Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes, Special Secretary, Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes Department; MD, Haryana Scheduled Caste Finance Development Corporation Limited and MD, Backward Classes and Economically Weaker Sections Kalyan Nigam.
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Farmers burn Pawar’s effigy
Kaithal, November 14 The farmers led by the BKU’s national adviser, Ajit Singh Habri, and district president Pala Ram held a meeting, raised slogans and burnt the effigy. While addressing the farmers, Habri said that due to the “faulty” policies of the government, the farmers were forced to sell their paddy at a very low price as many buyers were hesitant to enter the market for purchases. The basmati paddy that was sold at rates ranging between Rs 2500-2800 last year was being sold at Rs 1600-1800 per quintal this season. Similar was the position of 1121, ‘muchhal’ and ‘sarbati’ varieties of paddy. Those farmers who had sown these varieties suffered great losses. The farmer leaders said that the increase in the rates of diesel, fertilisers and pesticides of late and a fall in the rates of paddy had made agriculture a losing proposition. The government should immediately take steps to ensure that farmers got remunerative prices for their produce. The government should formulate its export policy much before the arrival of the crop in the mandis so that the traders had a clear-cut picture about the prevailing situation. When the traders were reluctant to purchase the crop, how could the farmers get a good price for their produce. The government should reduce the price of diesel and DAP, demaded BKU leaders. The union leaders said if the government failed to act, they would be forced to launch an agitation to safeguard the interests of the farmers.
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‘Fighting drug addiction top priority’
Ambala, November 14 While addressing mediapersons at Ambala Cantt, Niddar said other priorities of the party included strengthening of youth network, improving power scenario, providing employment opportunities and enhancing youth activities in both political and religious sectors. He said it was undeniable that there had been efforts from the government where de-addiction centres had been set up in the state, adding that the treatment meted out to patients at a few of the centres had been inadequate. “The fact that a lot of illegal chemist shops are selling harmful drugs without prescription does not make things any better for the Punjab government,” he said. On face lifting of gurdwaras in Haryana, Niddar said it had to be decided by the party high command. He added that SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar had already announced to upgrade gurdwaras in the state and boost educational activities by opening three colleges and seven schools soon. He urged the state government to provide a NOC to the medical college at Shahabad to boost medical education in the state.
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Ambala students display skills at zonal fest
Ambala, November 14 HB Munjal, chairman, Tulsi Devi Educational Society, and Dr ML Goel, principal, were also present on the occasion. Speaking on the occasion, chief guest Mohinder Kumar said youth should utilise their energy and capabilities in a constructive manner and, therefore, contribute to the progress of the country. He laid stress on developing good values and creative potential among the students. He further said without strong determination and persistent efforts, students could not achieve their goals. Students from the colleges of the Ambala Zone performed in various cultural events like choreography, one-act play, folk song general, group song general, solo dance, Haryanavi, mime, mimicry, folk song, Haryanavi, group song, Haryanavi, and folk instrumental, Haryanavi. Results Haryanavi Skit: 1: SD College, Ambala Cantt; and 2: Govt College, Ambala Cantt Classical Vocal: 1: SD College, Ambala Cantt; and 2: MDSD College for Girls, Ambala City Light Music Vocal: 1: Govt College, Sec-1, Panchkula; and 2: Govt College for Girls, Sec-14, Panchkula Haryanavi Orchestra: 1: SD College, Ambala Cantt; and 2: Govt College, Ambala Cantt Indian Orchestra: 1: SD College, Ambala Cantt Sanskrit Drama: 1: SD College, Ambala Cantt; and 2: Arya Kanya Mahavidyalaya, Shahabad Markanda
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Sampat Singh defends petrol price hike
Chandigarh November 14 He said the crude price in the international market rose from $21.77 on October 8, 1999, to $29.55 per barrel on April 9, 2004, during the NDA regime, making it a total increase of only 35.73 per cent. However, the crude price rose from $29.55 per barrel on April 9, 2004, to $108.65 on November 2, 2011, an increase of over 268 per cent during the tenure of the UPA government. Sampat Singh said when the Congress assumed power at the Centre in 2004, the price of petrol was Rs 33.76 per litre as compared to Rs 69.06 per litre at present, showing an increase of 104 per cent as compared to the OPEC price increase of crude by 268 per cent during the same period. On the other hand, during NDA rule, when the INLD was in power in Haryana, the price of petrol increased from Rs 23.94 per litre to Rs 33.76 per litre, an increase of 41 per cent as compared to only a 35 per cent increase in the OPEC price of crude during the same period. Similarly, the price of diesel increased from Rs 8.89 per litre in 1999 to Rs 21.58 in April, 2004, an increase of 142.75 per cent as compared to the increase of 35 per cent in the OPEC price. The price of diesel increased from Rs 21.58 per litre in April, 2004, to Rs 40.07 on September 18, 2011, an increase of 85.68 per cent whereas the OPEC price of crude increased by 265 per cent. Also, in Congress rule, the price of kerosene increased from Rs 9.01 per litre to Rs 14.07 per litre at present, reflecting an increase of 56 per cent. When the NDA was in power, the price of kerosene increased from Rs 2.52.per litre to Rs 9.01 per litre, an increase of 288.44 per cent. When the UPA came to power, the price of LPG was Rs 261.60 per cylinder but now it was Rs 401.20 per cylinder, reflecting an increase of 53 per cent whereas when the NDA was in power and when the Lok Dal-BJP combine was ruling in Haryana, the price of LPG increased from Rs 136 per cylinder to Rs261.60 per cylinder, showing a hike of 92.35 per cent. He claimed the Congress government in Haryana was the only state in the country to take the lead in waiving VAT on LPG and kerosene, and reducing VAT on diesel to 8.08 per cent. VAT was 24.07 per cent in Gujarat, 23 per cent in MP, 18.36 per cent in Bihar, 14 per cent in Himachal and 16.05 per cent in UP.
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Workshop on MEMS technology held
Kurukshetra, November 14 The inaugural session was presided by Satya Pal Aggarwal, chairman, KITM, Kurukshetra, while Dr AK Paul, deputy director, CSIO, Chandigarh, was the guest of honor. During the three-day activity, a number of eminent speakers shared their views on the MEMS technology and application. In his inaugural address, Prof Mohan stressed upon the role of semi-conductor devices (MEMS) in our daily life and congratulated the institute for organising such workshop to create awareness among the faculty members and the postgraduate students regarding this technology. Prof Vinay Gupta, Delhi University, Delhi, who was the guest of honour, in the concluding session, delivered his expert talk on technology and applications of these devices. During the workshop, Dr Anurekha Sharma, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, Dr Rajesh Khanna, Thapar University, Patiala, and Dr Manish Hooda, senior scientist, Semi-Conductor Lab (SCL), ISRO Government of India, Mohali also delivered technical talks on various aspects of this technology. Dr PJ George, director-principal, KITM, Kurukshetra, in the valedictory address, urged the participants to utilise the experience they gained from this workshop and spread the knowledge about this technology for the benefit of the masses. He also expressed his gratefulness to the chairman and the managing director of the institute for their support in this workshop. According to Dr Anil Arora, convener of the workshop, a total number of 22 participants from various engineering institutes of North India took part in this workshop and it was the first MEMS research-oriented workshop being organised in a private engineering college. Along with these expert talks, practical hands on training were given on MEMS simulation tools like COMSOL, INTELLISUITE and COVENTERWARE, he added. The participants of the workshop also expressed satisfaction and happiness stating that they had an opportunity to learn a lot of new concepts in the field of semi-conductor devices.
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Yamuna group celebrates International Volunteer Managers Day
Yamunanagar, November 14 The function was inaugurated with the lighting of the lamp by chairman of the group Rajinder Singh, director-general Dr SR Mehndiratta, director Sarvjeet Kaur, principal Nirmaljit Singh and Dr Rajeev Khanduja. Dr Sarvjeet welcomed the chief guest. She said students should participate in such events as it would help boost their confidence and would improve their communication skills. While addressing the students, the chief guest said it was a proud moment for the Yamuna Group of Institutions. As many as 50 students took part in speech contest from BTech, polytechnic, MBA and BBA courses. Dr TP Singh, Prof Rajeev Narula and Prof SK Sharma were the judges on the occasion. Sahil Chawla from BTech bagged the first position, while Reshma from BTech and Jyoti from MBA scored 2nd and 3rd positions, respectively. — TNS
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Old-age home inaugurated at Kurukshetra
Kurukshetra, November 14 Chattha said it would fulfil the needs of the elderly of the district, who required company of their equals to pass their time happily and get solace from the loneliness which generally overtook such persons. He urged the members of the forum to concentrate on providing relief to the needy and use their experience to articulate their problemssharma before the government. Welcoming the Finance Minister, Virk said the project could not have been brought to this stage without Chattha’s efforts. He said it would be an endeavour on part of the forum to raise the Old-Age Home-cum-Day Care Centre as an example for other associations of the senior citizens in the state. “This will draw the attention of other citizens towards duty of society to people who are left to fend for themselves at the old age owing to fragmentation of joint families,” he said. Virk said owing to a decision of HUDA in arbitrarily raising the prices of lands from Rs 1,007 per sq m to Rs 1,760 per sq m and delay in release of grant of Rs 10 lakh, case for which was sent to the Centre last year, further work was held up. He requested the Finance Minister to look into such issues. Virk thanked all the guests, who were not members of the forum but had given moral and financial support to the project. The Finance Minister announced a grant of Rs 2 lakh to the centre from his discretionary fund, while Jai Bhagwan Sharma, president, District Congress Committee, Kurukshetra, too announced a grant of Rs 2 lakh to the centre.
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Biz skill development programme at Y’nagar institute
Yamunanagar, November 14 Speaking on the occasion, Dr MK Sehgal, chairman-cum-CEO of Siddhivinayak Institutions, said the role of entrepreneurship was not only limited to upbringing and improving the economy of the nation but also to encourage innovation. He said entrepreneurship development was one of the most important areas of management. “There is a deeper message in the entrepreneurship that we must enjoy our life in the midst of one mundane existence, in our failure as well as success,” he said. Dr Rajni Sehgal, director-general of the institute, said: “The institute will always be a part of the skill development activities of the students for their overall progress and enhanced employability”. Rakesh Vaid, assistant director, MSME, Karnal, in his inaugural speech introduced programme and its objectives to the students. Vikas Gupta, deputy director, MSME, introduced provisions and assistance that the MSME provided in starting up micro, small and medium scale business. RK Saluja from Ludhiana motivated the participants to initiate new ventures in service centres. Prof RC Sharma, additional director, said such programme would give a clear vision to the students and would also help them to have a successful career.
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NIT director lays stone of health centre
Kurukshetra, November 14 Expressing happiness on the occasion, Prof Mohan said the faculty, staff and students of the NIT would be benefited after the completion of this additional block and its facilities. Prof Mohan informed that the additional block of the health centre would cost about Rs 55 lakh with covered area of about 240 sq m. The building, which is expected to be completed with in the next 10 months, would accommodate a general ward, an intensive care unit (ICU), doctor duty and rest room, nurse duty and rest room, a nurse station apart from a garage for ambulance. The institute has recently purchased an ambulance which was also launched on this occasion, added Prof Mohan. Prof SP Jain, Dean (Planning and Development), Prof VK Arora, Dean (Students Welfare), Prof AK Gupta, Dean (Academics), Prof A. Swarup, Dean (Research and Consultancy), Prof VK Sehgal, Dean (Faculty Welfare), Dr Dixit Garg, Prof in charge, Public Relations, Prof KK Singh, chairman (Estate, Construction and Electrical Maintenance), Prof GL Pahuja, Prof in charge, Health Centre, and a large number of students were among those who were present on the occasion.
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International Kickboxing Competition-2011
Kurukshetra, November 14 Claiming this here recently, Garima Gupta, chairperson, TERII, said the students won three silver and three bronze medals in the competition. Teams from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Thailand, Burma and India participated. She said: “This stupendous performance of the students has made all of us proud and will motivate others to excel in their respective fields”. Abhishek, Ankit and Pankaj won silver medals, while Dev Mittal, Aakash and Dev Choudhary bagged bronze. The students were full of praise for Australian coach Tomy Moursis whose expert guidance and training helped them win these medals. They also thanked the management of the school which provided them an opportunity to compete in an international-level tournament. During the award ceremony, Thailand’s sports director appreciated the performance shown by Indian students.
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Open Army recruitment rally in Rohtak from Nov 21
Chandigarh, November 14 A spokesperson for the Recruiting Office, Rohtak, said recruitment would be made to the post of soldier-general duty, soldier clerk and soldier technical. The youths of Rohtak, Jhajjar, Panipat and Sonepat districts, besides wards of ex-servicemen of Chandigarh could take part in the recruitment rally. He said recruitment to the post of technical soldier of Rohtak, Jhajjar, Panipat and Sonepat districts and soldier general duty from Rohtak district would be conducted on November 21 and November 22. The youths of Rohtak district intending to be recruited as soldier clerk should report for screening on November 23. The youths of Jhajjar district intending to be recruited as soldier-general duty and soldier clerk should report on November 24 and 25, respectively. The candidates from Sonepat and Panipat districts for the post of soldier-general duty should report on November 26 and candidates of these districts for the post of soldier clerk should report on November 27. Candidates for soldier-general duty should be between 17 and 21 years of age and they should be matric pass. The candidates for the post of soldier clerk and soldier technical should be between 17 and 23 years of age and they should be 12th pass, he added.
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MIT advises Education Dept to hold remedial summer camps
Chandigarh, November 14 The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), US, has suggested that the Haryana Education Department should conduct remedial summer camps for schoolchildren before the start of intensive school year curriculum to combat the challenge of low-learning level in education and to bring the students on a par with basic levels of reading and mathematics. This recommendation was made during a presentation on “Key Learnings for Policy Inputs in respect of Poverty Reduction Strategies and Government Service Delivery Systems” given by Prof Esther Duflo, MIT, to Chief Secretary Urvashi Gulati here recently. The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) is a centre in the Department of Economics at the MIT which aims at reducing poverty by ensuring that policy is based on scientific evidence. It was founded in 2003 by three professors from MIT, Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo and Sendil Mullainathan. The lab had a MoU with the Haryana School Education Department for supporting research and evolution activities. It helped the department in establishing a Centre for Research and Evaluation for Policy (REAP) in the State Council of Education Research and Training (SCERT), Gurgaon. In her presentation, Prof Esther Duflo said that need-appropriate education provided in the early school years for students who required help could have substantial impact on learning. Children might be in school but the learning level continues to be low. Private schools were not always doing better than public schools. It was possible to improve learning outcomes considerably as per their experience. The focus in the schools was on the best performing child to the determent of everybody else. Changing the focus to teach the child at the current level was essential, besides regular testing. She said India had made significant gains in primary school enrolment in the recent years. Close to 99 per cent of children aged 6-14 in the rural Haryana were now enrolled in schools, but many of them seem to be learning very little. Performance-based pay to teachers was more cost-effective way of improving learning than providing additional school inputs on extra teachers. Urvashi Gulati said children should imbibe life skill education in schools itself. Doing their own chores like washing utensils after the mid-day meal served in the school would be one such exercise. This way the children learn to be more self-dependent. She said there was a need for conducting study and assessment of the impact of social programmes implemented by the government so that gaps in them could be filled to achieve the maximum benefits. Prof Esther Duflo also gave recommendations on the challenges in other social sectors like health, environment, police performance, governance and poverty alleviation. The lab had been working in other states also like Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan. The recommendation made by them for giving gifts during the health camps was well appreciated which was under consideration of the state government for better attendance in the camps.
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Police to constitute NGO to check crime
Rewari, November 14 Furnishing details in this regard, the SP said while the district-level NGO would be open to all the citizens, it would have a direct linkage with the police administration. He said its various units would be headed by senior police officers of the district. He said while the activists of the “Police Dost” would provide information to the police regarding eve teasers, chain snatchers, bootleggers, gamblers, peddlers and others, the senior officials would occasionally hold evaluative parleys and furnish tips to ensure effective functioning of the organisation. The SP said the enrolment forms could be collected from his office and the duly filled forms should be deposited by November 15. Subsequently, the aspiring citizens would be interviewed by the SP on November 16.
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51 couples tie knot at mass marriage
Rewari, November 14 While the wedding ceremonies of two Muslim girls, one Christian girl and one Sikh girl were duly performed in accordance with their respective religious customs, the marriages of 47 Hindu girls were solemnised according to the Vedic rites. The couples hailed from various parts of Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, UP, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and other states. The dignitaries included Ram Murti, a minister of the Uttarakhand government; Girja Shankar, Praveen Kumar, Feroz Khan, who played the roles of Dhritarashtra, Bhim and Arjun, respectively, in the Mahabharata, Swami Harsha Nand, Swami Sudha Nand and a host of other celebrities and saints. The couples were administered a pledge that they would never indulge in foeticide.They were given blessings by the dignitaries for a happy married life and were also given Rs 21,000 each as well as requisite household items by the
organisers.
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Rotary Club holds mass wedding
Sonepat, November 14 Besides solemnising the marriages in accordance with the customs and convention of the couples, the club also provided all the essential domestic articles . While blessing the couples, Kavita
Jain, MLA, said such auspicious occasions should be celebrated with noble initiatives which not only helped the needy but also motivated others for social welfare activities.
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28.58 lakh MT of paddy purchased in Haryana
Chandigarh, November 14 Haryana Food and Supplies Minister Mahender Partap Singh said here today that over 37.28 lakh MT of paddy had arrived in the mandis of the state till yesterday. Kurukshetra was leading in paddy arrival where over 7.21 lakh MT of paddy had so far arrived in the mandis followed by Karnal where over 7.07 lakh MT of paddy had arrived in the mandis. Fatehabad ranked third in paddy arrival where over 4.52 lakh MT of paddy arrived in the mandis, whereas Kaithal with over 4.46 lakh MT of paddy arrival stood at fourth place. Over 4.35 lakh MT of paddy arrived in Ambala, over 3.08 lakh MT in Yamunanagar, over 1.89 lakh MT in Jind, 1.03 lakh MT in Panipat, 92,301 MT in Palwal and 59,300 MT in Panchkula. The minister said out of the total arrival of paddy, over 28.42 lakh MT of paddy had been purchased by the purchasing agencies. Over 10.18 lakh MT of paddy had been purchased by Food and Supplies Department and over 9.99 lakh MT by HAFED. The Agro Industries Corporation had purchased over 3.70 lakh MT of paddy, CONFED 2.41 lakh MT, Haryana Warehousing Corporation over 2.23 lakh MT and the FCI procured 200 MT of paddy.
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Sarpanches put forward demands at ‘ru-baru’
Ghaghas (Mewat), Nov 14 The panchayat heads and members discussed various local developmental issues. Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh was slated to be the chief guest, but he could not make it. In his absence, Nuh MLA Aftab Ahmed delivered the address. The interaction was later extended to Notki village for a case study of a “public-private-people’s partnership” (PPPP) model in rural development. IRRAD functionaries claimed that Notki, a village of 192 households with a population of about 1,200, had been developed as a model village. The sarpanches of Mewat present on the occasion put forward their demands, which included inclusion of Mewat under the Backward Region Grants Fund (BRGF) of the Central government, regular and sufficient supply of potable water, better education facilities in Mewat villages, especially for girls, and demand for a direct road from Nagina town to Tijara that would shorten the travel distance to 10 km from the current 40 km. This charter of demands will be handed over to the Union Ministry of Rural Development.“We have developed and tested innovative models to meet the needs of water, drainage, proper roads and street lighting in villages. These models are ready for mass replication,” said IRRAD CEO Jane Schukoske.
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Applications invited for multipurpose health workers’ course
Chandigarh, November 14 While stating this here yesterday, an official spokesperson said the candidates applying for this course should be matric pass with at least 50 per cent marks (45 per cent marks for Scheduled Castes/Backward Classes/handicapped candidates) and they should be between 16 and 27 years of age. Handwritten applications in prescribed proforma should be submitted to the office of Director, Medical Education and Research Department, Haryana by November 30. — TNS
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Sonepat, November 14
Kaithal, November 14
Kurukshetra, November 14
Kurukshetra, November 14
Rewari, November 14
