The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Co-op mills to produce 37 lakh quintals of sugar Tribune News Service Chandigarh, November 17 The 10 co-operative sugar mills in Haryana, having an installed capacity to crush 2,37,500 quintals per day, have set the target of crushing 385 lakh metric tonnes of sugarcane with an average of 153 crushing season days. Given the average sugar recovery target of 9.6 per cent, the mills are expected to produce 37 lakh quintals of sugar. Krishna Mohan, Financial Commissioner and Principal Secretary, Cooperation, said if the mills succeed in achieving this target, it would be the highest-ever production by the cooperative sugar mills since the inception of the state. The previous highest production was 32.41 lakh quintals in 2002-03 when the sugar mills also contributed 11 MW of power daily to the state grid. The sugarcane crushing operation for 2011-12 season had commenced in the cooperative sugar mills with the Panipat Cooperative Sugar Mills taking the lead. The crushing season, which was inaugurated on November 14, would have all the 10 co-operative sugar mills on board by November 25. The power cogeneration plants at Shahabad and Rohtak sugar mills would daily export about 16 MW and 11 MW of power, respectively, to the state grid. In a season of 153 days, it would work out to 5.88 crore and 4.04 crore units, respectively, earning sufficient revenue for the mills at Rs 4 per unit to repay the installment of loans taken to part-finance the project. The current season would have the maximum sugarcane area of two lakh acres with the production of 5.5 crore metric tonnes of sugarcane against the last year’s 1.45 lakh acres. The acreage this time is 38 per cent more than the last year. To ensure optimum productivity and best technical efficiency levels in the cooperative sugar mills, Rs 40 crore had been allocated to all 10 units for comprehensive repairs, maintenance and capital works. “The mills have been given the targets for increased recovery from an average of 8.43 per cent last year to an average of 9.6 per cent this year, which, at the prevailing rate of Rs 3,000 per quintal, will mean extra earning of Rs 135 crore for all the mills because of increased recovery from same quantity,” Krishna Mohan said. Besides, many innovative modifications have been carried out by Sugarfed experts to ensure a minimum saving of 5 per cent of bagasse, which will amount to Rs 25 crore at the average current rate of Rs 130 per quintal of bagasse. Bagasse is a by-product, which is used as feed in various industries, and as raw material in cardboard/paper industry. Krishna Mohan said foolproof arrangements had been made this year in all cooperative sugar mills to ensure smooth crushing operations, least inconvenience to the farmers and the overall emphasis would be on the achievement of the given targets. Prompt action would be taken wherever any slackness was observed. The managing directors of all cooperative sugar mills had been directed to achieve the targets. The achievers would be suitably honoured, while non-achievers would be held accountable, he added.
	Haryana to recruit 550 Urdu teachers Ravinder Saini Jhajjar, November 17 The state government has decided to recruit as many as 550 Urdu teachers in government schools in order to promote Urdu language on a large scale in the state. Application in this regard would be invited soon to initiate the process of recruitment. Haryana Education, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Geeta Bhukkal disclosed this while interacting with mediapersons after listening to public grievances at her residence here recently. She said the state government was determined to make the Right to Education campaign launched recently from Mewat a big success. “The campaign has been launched to make people aware of the Right to Education Act. Besides the government, it was the duty of educationists, panchayats, school management committees and non-governmental organisations to ensure that no child is deprived of education,” said Bhukkal, adding that the Act was being implemented in the state in the right earnest. Besides, providing free education and other facilities, the state government was also giving scholarships to the children from class I. Referring to Dastak-e-Talim programme being carried out in Mewat for the last month, the minister said one lakh houses of 163 villages had been approached under the programme and the people had been urged to send their children in schools. Apart from this, social organisations and panchayats women of Mewat had also contributed overwhelmingly to this programme. As a result of this programme, about 5,500 children out of 7,000 non-schoolgoing children had been admitted to schools. As many as 125 villages would be covered under the second phase of this programme, the minister added.
	Dog squad to check smuggling of drugs, narcotics Bhanu P Lohumi/TNS Karnal, November 17 The uncanny ability of dogs to sniff out the earliest signs of danger and disease will be fully utilised by the Haryana Police by raising a specially trained "dog squad" for checking smuggling of drugs and other narcotic substances at the inter-state borders. The Crime Branch of the Haryana Police has already purchased five Labrador sniffer dogs, who will be imparted specialised training at the ITBP headquarters and deployed at vulnerable locations in Panchkula, Rohtak, Bhiwani, Karnal and Sirsa, sharing borders with states of Himacha Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Large quantities of drugs and narcotics, including opium, sulfa, charas, cocaine, smack and ganja are smuggled into Haryana from Himachal, Punjab and Rajasthan and despite tremendous advances in law enforcement technology, detection of drugs has remained a grey area for crime-detecting agencies that are turning increasingly to a canine's sophisticated sniffing system for detection of drugs and explosives through smell. The experts believe that canines exceed the human sense of smell by a factor of at least 10,000 and even in today's high-tech world, trained dogs are still the best bomb and narcotics detectors with accuracy between 88 and 97 per cent. The Labrador pups will be sent for training along with their trainers on December 19 when they are six months old. At present, these pups have been kept in the dog squad of the Crime Branch at Haryana Police Academy at Madhuban. The specially trained dogs will be of immense use in tracking the drug smugglers, Rajinder Kumar, SP (Crime Branch), who is also in charge of the narcotic dog squad, said. Dogs with an ability to trace narcotics are trained to search through buildings, cars and luggage for their scent. They can be trained to alert on more than one kind of drug and can do so despite ingenious efforts on the smuggler's part. These trained dogs have been known to locate drugs concealed in gasoline, rotting food, skunk oil, and many other efforts and also discriminate between large and small amounts.
	ADAMPUR BYPOLL INLD, HJC-BJP combine, Cong intensify campaign Raman Mohan Tribune News Service Hisar, November 17 All the three main candidates contesting the byelection to the Adampur Assembly segment have intensified their campaigns. For the INLD former Chief Minister Om Parkash Chautala, today began a whirlwind tour of the constituency. He addressed about a dozen meetings in as many villages. These included, Bagla, Ghursal, Moda Khera, Adampur, Kohli and Asrawan. He lashed out against the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government saying the Congress had not given the voters anything other than inflation and corruption. The situation had come to such a pass that the common man was unable to make both ends meet. The rates of farm produce had fallen sharply. Basmati was rotting in the mandis these days in the absence of procurement by government agencies. The rates of cotton had come down from Rs 7,000 to 3,500 a quintal. So far as Adampur was concerned, the Hooda government had not even laid a single brick in the area in the name of development. Not a single youth from the constituency had been given a government job. He said the INLD had put up an honest retired judge from this seat. He said he would serve the constituency with humility. He said he always believed in encouraging deserving persons to contest elections from their constituencies. Chautala said on the contrary the Bhajan Lal clan had never allowed anyone outside their family to contest an election. This had gone on for 43 years. It was time for a change and the voters were evidently keen to bring about this change in the byelection. For the HJC-BJP nominee, Renuka Bishnoi, former MP Dharampal Singh Malik campaigned in the constituency today. He termed both Chautala and Bhupinder Singh Hooda as two sides of the same coin. During Chautala’s rule, farmers were the worst sufferers and there were several instances of firing on agitating farmers. He said the people had rejected the Chautalas fairly and squarely in the recent byelection to the Hisar Lok Sabha poll. The Congress had met the same fate there. Now these two parties were sure to lose in both Adampur and Ratia. The Congress nominee, Kulbir Beniwal, today toured several villages, including Mehalsara, Sarangpur, Mothsra and Khairampur. He asked voters to oppose the attempt by the Bishnois to keep their hold on the constituency. He said in politics it was important not to let a particular family gain complete control over constituency for decades. He promised to unleash unprecedented development in the area during the remaining three years of the Congress government. Beniwal said the Bishnois were only interested in promoting their own political interests. Roy is expenditure observer Hisar: The first randomisation of electronic voting machines to be used in the Adampur Assembly byelections will be conducted in the presence of political parties at Zila Vigyan Suchna Kendra here on November 17. While stating this here today, a spokesman of the Election Department said that the contesting candidates could spend Rs 16 lakh each as election expenditure. They should keep the account of their election expenditure up-to-date. The expenditure observer would check their accounts at the conference hall in the office of the Deputy Commissioner on November 18, 23 and 29. All candidates should get their election expenditure account checked on these dates. The Election Commission of India has appointed Debashish Roy as expenditure observer for checking the accounts of the candidates contesting the Adampur Assembly byelection. His mobile number is 94160-59120 and 01662-270331.
	Rainwater quenches thirst of schoolchildren! Sunit Dhawan/TNS Mewat, November 17 A rainwater harvesting (RWH) system has been commissioned at Government High School at Pathkhori village in Nuh (Mewat) district in order to quench the thirst of schoolchildren. The RWH system, which stores rainwater and caters to the drinking water requirements of more than 350 students at the school, was dedicated to the school by Surina Rajan, Principal Secretary (Education), Haryana, on the school premises recently. Rajan was accompanied by district elementary education officer Jagbir Singh, district project coordinator of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan Dinesh Shastri and other government officials. The project has been set up with the help of the Institute of Rural Research and Development (IRRAD), an initiative of SM Sehgal Foundation, a Gurgaon-based NGO, under its water management programme. Rajan pointed out that the model was self-sustainable as it was not dependent on energy. She appreciated the images made by students depicting various aspects of water conservation and rainwater harvesting. According to IRRAD functionaries, the RWH system at Pathkhori school channels water to four storage tanks of 25,000 litres each. There are two tanks on each side of the school building, collecting rainwater from an area of 606 square metres, with a total rainwater harvesting potential of 3,06,317 litres per year (average annual rainfall 594 mm). The storage tanks can store approximately 1.08 lakh litres of rainwater collected during monsoon and get refilled several times during rainy season as stored rainwater is continuously used to meet daily water requirements. This amount meets drinking water requirements of students and teachers for about eight months. Given the monsoon period (average rainfall 594 mm approx), the tank can be refilled and used throughout the year. Following the visit to Pathkhori school, a panel discussion at IRRAD headquarters in Gurgaon was planned to workout mechanisms to address drinking water and sanitation facilities in the schools of Mewat. The findings of a survey conducted by IRRAD on infrastructure and facility assessment of 89 government schools in Mewat was presented before the participants. Rajan remarked that although models such as Pathkhori RWH were impressive and held high scope of replication, things should not stop at infrastructure support. “What is needed is capacity building of school management committees (SMCs) to bridge the gap between the administration and communities to strengthen the education system and empower rural community.
	Ex-Sarpanch’s Murder Action-taken report sought from SP Ravinder Saini Jhajjar, November 17 Taking a serious note of killing of a former sarpanch of Dhakla village here on Friday, Alok Mittal, IGP, Rohtak Range, has sought an action-taken report from Jhajjar SP Patram Singh. According to sources, the IGP has asked the SP what steps were being taken to arrest all three accused of the case, who had been absconding after the incident. The IGP has also directed him to expedite the investigation process, besides taking strong measures to control the crime in the district. Earlier, Mittal along with police force visited the spot at Dhakla village and took stock of the situation. He also interacted with villagers regarding themurder of the sarpanch and motivated them to inform the police well in time if they come to know any vital information about any criminal. During his visit, the IGP also directed the police officials concerned to prepare a record not only of those residents of the village, whose involvement had been recorded in the crime but also of those controversial issues leading to violence in the village so that efforts could be made accordingly to curb the crime there. Sombir, a former sarpanch of Dhakla village, was allegedly gunned down by three co-villagers in broad daylight outside the village here. The accused opened several rounds of fires upon Sombir from a close range when he was returning to home after attending a function at a government school in the village. The accused fled from the spot on a motorcycle after perpetrating the crime. Though the police had booked three youths Sandeep, his brother Vikas and Sudeep, all residents of Dhakla village, under Sections 302/34 of the IPC and Arms Act 25/54/59 in this regard but failed to nab any of them . Meanwhile, Patram Singh said three police teams were persistently carrying out raids at possible hideouts of the accused but no success had so far been achieved.
	cut in market fee of cotton Govt decision brings relief to industry Sushil Manav Tribune News Service Sirsa, November 17 The recent decision of the Haryana Government to reduce the market fee and Haryana Rural Development Fund (HRDF) on the purchase of cotton has come as a relief to cotton ginning industry in the state, which was facing financial crunch due to higher fees. After efforts by Haryana Minister for Home, Industries and Urban Local Bodies Gopal Kanda, and CONFED chairman and president of the Haryana Pradesh Beopar Mandal Bajrang Dass Garg, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda agreed to the Haryana Cotton Ginning Association’s (HCGA) demand of reducing the market fee on cotton from 4 per cent to 1.60 per cent. The HCGA, led by its president Sushil Mittal, had been agitating for the reduction of market fee from 4 per cent to 1 per cent. The members of the association even remained on strike for over a month, and due to this, the cotton-ginning season was delayed this year. The contention of the cotton ginners was that the market fee was 2 per cent in Rajasthan and 1.60 per cent in Punjab. As both the states shared borders with Haryana, the ginners had been alleging that they did not get level playfield with their counterparts in those states. The difference in the market fee was also leading to loss of revenue to the state government due to the large-scale pilferage of taxes. When the cotton ginners started their strike outside the Marketing Board at Sirsa, HPCC state delegate Gobind Kanda approached them and arranged their meeting with Hooda through his elder brother Gopal Kanda. Later, the ginners met the Chief Minister again with Garg. However, the decision was delayed due to the Hisar byelection which was in progress at that time. But, before the government could take any decision on their demands, the byelections for Ratia and Adampur were also announced. The state government, however, sought permission of the Election Commission and reduced the market fee during the course of the bypolls. HCGA president Sushil Mittal said the decision of the government would go a long way in improving cotton arrival in the state and thereby increasing the collection of revenue.
	In Jind, only 56 pc of eligible youth have voter ID cards Bijendra Ahlawat/TNS Jind, November 17 Only about 56 per cent of the eligible youth in the district have got their voter identity cards prepared. This is about 5 per cent less than the national average of 61 per cent. The district authorities have directed officials to plan and launch a drive to improve the percentage of the voter identity card holders in the district. Stating this, the Deputy Commissioner, Yudhvir Singh, said here yesterday that there could be several reasons behind the low awareness and insufficient attention of the eligible persons towards the requirement of having a voter identity card. Addressing a meeting of the heads and principals of various educational institutions here today, he said the district appeared to be lagging behind in the field perhaps due to lack of attention and care on the part of the parents and the officials concerned and this had resulted in about only half of such persons getting their voter cards. He asked the educational institution authorities to prepare a detailed data of the students who had either attained the age of 18 years or were going to attain the voting age by January and supply the details to the election officials so that they could be covered under the scheme to get voter identity cards prepared for all eligible persons in the district. Providing details, he said in Jind only 564 persons out of a population of 1,000 get the voter card prepared against the national average of 610 at present. He asked the teaching community to extend its help and cooperation in this regard. Stating that there could be hundreds of students in both the urban and the rural areas, who had been driving vehicles without a driving licence, he said the school and college authorities ought to keep a check and exhort the students to get their licences prepared before taking up driving and desist from doing so till the age of 18 years. “Despite several warnings issued earlier and the issue raked up now and then, the police and the district authorities had failed to plan and launch a drive to check the menace of driving without a licence in the district,” claims Ravinder, a local resident.
	Stone of Rs 1.54-cr syphon project laid Our Correspondent Kaithal, November 17 The district will not face flood threat and all the flood preventive projects will be completed before March 31, 2012. This was stated by PWD Minister Randeep Singh Surjewala after laying the foundation stone of a Rs 1.54-crore Syphon Project on the Hansi Butana canal near Keorak recently. He said a master plan to check the occurrence of floods had been prepared after consulting experts of the Irrigation Department. As the town faced threat from the northern side, the Kaithal drain was being strengthened at a cost of Rs 8 crore and stone pitching work of the drain was under execution. The outer portion of the drain will also be strengthened with stone pitching. Surjewala said the width of the siphon on Keorak drain had been extended from 18 ft to 82 ft and another siphon had been constructed at a cost of Rs 1.50 crore. The minister said the Hansi Butana canal would prove to be a boon for the people of the area as it would help drain out flood waters from the area. He criticised the opposition parties of the state who were calling the Hansi Butana link canal a failure and said they could not foresee the benefits arising from the project. He said a new ITI would be opened in Dohar village and the admission to the newly set up university would start from the next academic session. Those who were present on the occasion included Shamsher Singh Surjewala, president, All-India Kisan Khet Majdoor Congress, and Arun Malik, SE, Bhakra Water Services Circle.
	GPS to keep track of PCRs in Rohtak district Tribune News Service Rohtak, November 17 To keep track of the movement of its vehicles, the district police has initiated a scheme to provide the GPS facility. It is likely to be operational soon. This will be the first time that such a facility will be provided on the police vehicles especially the PCRs. Stating this, a spokesperson of the department said here yesterday that installation of the GPS on about 30 PCRs had already begun and was likely to be operational in about a month. It is claimed that drivers and cops on duty on some of the PCRs have either been misusing the vehicle facility for doing private work or have been found to be sitting at one place instead of taking a round of several places as a part of their job. The GPS facility will help to monitor the movement of such vehicles effectively, claimed a police official. Meanwhile, the district police chief, Vivek Sharma, has issued some guidelines regarding the incidents of vehicle thefts and sale of SIM cards in the district. He has asked all persons engaged in the work of preparing duplicate keys of vehicles not to entertain any job till the production of the registration certificate and other valid documents by the owner of the vehicle. Directing the SHOs and those in charge of various police stations and posts in the district, the SSP has asked the officials to keep a watch on the sale of SIM cards those engaged in the sale and purchase of old and used items, including vehicle parts. Theft of vehicles especially two-wheelers had been going on unabated in the recent past. The SSP has instructed the staff to inscribe police control room and helpline numbers at all public spots in the town and the district.
	Instructions on attestation of affidavits issued Tribune News Service Chandigarh, November 17 The Punjab and Haryana High Court has taken a serious view of affidavits and documents being attested by the Executive Magistrates and produced in the courts without mentioning their names and, in some cases, even date. As per a circular issued by the Haryana administration of the Justice Department to all Head of Departments, Divisional Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners, all interlineations, alterations or erasures in an affidavit shall be initialled by the person swearing it and the person before whom it is sworn. Such interlineations, alterations or erasures shall be made in such manner as not to obliterate or render it impossible or difficult to read the original matter. In case such matter has been obliterated so as to make it impossible or difficult to read it, it shall be re-written on the margin and initialled by the person before whom the affidavit is sworn. Every person making an affidavit shall, if not personally known to the attesting officer, be identified to the officer by some person known to him; and the attesting officer shall specify, at the foot of the affidavit, the name and description of the person by whom the identification is made as well as the time and place of the identification and of the making of the affidavit. The attesting officer, before whom an affidavit is made, shall certify at the foot of the affidavit the fact of the making of such affidavit before him, and shall enter the date and subscribe his signature to such certificate, and shall, for the purpose of identification, mark, date, and initial every exhibit referred to in the affidavit. The name of the verifying authority must be signed in full and care must be taken that his proper designation as a civil court or magistrate is added. An affidavit purported to have been made by a female deponent, who has not appeared unveiled before the attesting officer, shall not be certified, unless and until has been duly identified before, and an affidavit of her identity by the person identifying her has been made before, and certified by the attesting officer. If any person making an affidavit appears to the attesting officer, to be ignorant of the language in which it is written or to be illiterate, such officer shall cause the affidavit to be read and explained to him in a language which both he and the attesting officer understand; either doing so himself, or asking another person to do so in his presence. When an affidavit is read and explained as herein provided, the attesting officer shall certify in writing at the foot of the affidavit that it has been so read and explained, and that the deponent seemed perfectly to understand the same. Every page of the affidavit shall be signed by the deponent and initialled by the attesting officer.
	Babbu Mann expresses concern over piracy in music industry Raman Mohan/TNS Hisar, November 17 Noted Punjabi film actor and singer Babbu Mann has said piracy had harmed the music industry to such an extent that film-making has become more profitable than producing an audio album. Mann was here to promote his next film “Hero Hitler”. He said the film industry too had suffered, but the music industry had suffered more. Besides, film-makers were able to check piracy effectively, but that was not the case with the music industry. Mann regretted that the government did not view piracy in the music industry as a serious challenge and, therefore, it did not implement anti-piracy laws effectively. The singer, who has sung songs for films like “Sahib, Bibi Aur Gangster” and “Crook”, said he wanted to establish a north Indian film industry on the lines of the south Indian film industry. There was a lot of scope for films in Punjabi and north Indian languages and dialects. Mann said he was paying more attention to Punjabi films than Hindi films. It was a matter of great joy that Punjabi film-makers were using the same technology to make films as was used in the US for Hollywood films. Mann said Punjabi films were more popular abroad than Hindi films. Mann said he considered acting and singing as a part of the overall entertainment industry. “The more the merrier”, he added. Mann said he would release an album soon after the release of his film.
	National Press Day ‘Free media strength of strong democracy’ Tribune Reporters Kurukshetra, November 17 Endorsing the view of Chairman of Press Council of India Justice Katju that the media needs to contemplate for the progress of the country, Dr DDS Sandhu, Vice-Chancellor, Kurukshetra University, said the role of the media was crucial in the democracy and free media was the strength of a strong democracy. While addressing a seminar organised by the Institute of Mass Communication & Media Technology on National Press Day, he said, “The awareness generated by the media is responsible for the positive changes in the country”. During the seminar, “Broking News”, a documentary made by Parsar Bharti on the issue of paid news, was shown to the students. A student from the institute presented a poem, “Main media mazdoor hun, ilm se mazboor hun”. Dr KK Rattu, director, Doordarshan, Chandigarh, said there was a dire need of change in the mental makeup of the present day mediapersons. He blamed a few of the private channels for the ill practices prevalent in the present day media. “The news is given a product treatment and being served to the audience. This makes them accountable to the manufacturer rather than the readers and the viewers,” he said. He raised concern over the loosing credibility of the media. Prof Sanjay Wadwalkar of Panjab University, Chandigarh, said the market forces had affected the essence of news severely. Through various models of communication, he discussed the ill effects of advertising on future generations. Sonepat: The media has played an important role in maintaining checks and balances in working and strengthening the functioning of the democratic system in the country. This was stated by Deputy Commissioner Pankaj Aggarwal while addressing mediapersons on the occasion here recently. “Journalism is a profession of self-discipline, self-governance and positive thinking for serving society,” he said, adding that instead of creating news, it should be given as it is. “Press continues to be believed by the people as a reliable platform for raising their problems and expressing their opinion on various issues,” he added. Stating that social and economic independence was also necessary for a fair journalism, he said though journalism had been commercialised during the recent past, it had to be continued as a mission for the welfare of society. Kaithal: Media can bring about a positive change in society. It should adhere to the principles of positive reporting on all the aspects concerning society. This was stated by Deputy Commissioner A Mona Sreeniwas while speaking at the National Press Day function organised by the Department of Information and Public Relations here. She said healthy criticism by the media helped in improving the prevailing shortcomings in the administration. SP Simardeep Singh said press was considered the fourth pillar of democracy.
	16 left in fray for Ratia bypoll Sushil Manav/TNS Ratia (Fatehabad), November 17 As many as 16 candidates have been left in the fray after the deadline for withdrawal of names for the Ratia Assembly byelection passed off today. Three candidates, Jassal Singh, alias Jarmal Singh, of the Bhartiya Sant Samaj Party, Pyare Lal and Ram Lal, both independents, withdrew their names today. Out of 24 persons, who filed their nominations till November 12, the last date for this purpose, five were rejected during scrutiny on November 14. The candidates left in the field include Jarnail Singh of the Congress, Sarfi Bai of the INLD, Mahavir Parshad of the BJP and Ram Kumar Bahbalpuria of the CPM, all belonging to recognised national and state-level political parties. Balwant Singh of the Bhartiya Sant Mat Party and Devi Lal of the Rashtriya Bahujan Hitai Party, both from registered political parties other than recognised national and state-level political parties. Independents Ram Singh, Bhaga Ram, Bharat Kumar, Lachhman Dass, Balbir Singh, Surender Kumar, Karnail Singh, Kuldeep Singh, Darshan Singh and Jai Prakash are also in the fray. The returning officer, HC Bhatia, today issued election symbols to all candidates in presence of VJ Bhonsle, Observer appointed by the Election Commission for the Ratia byelection. Meanwhile, keeping in view the fact that many of the independents are normally fielded by candidates of major political parties for hoodwinking the authorities in their efforts to enforce model code of conduct and for the purpose of getting more number of polling and counting agents, the authorities have announced to keep a tab on dummy candidates. “We will take videos of the activities of all candidates and if any of the independent is found campaigning for another candidate, the expenditure incurred by such independent will be added to the expenditure statement of the candidate for whom he is found acting as a dummy,” said ML Kaushik, District Election Officer, said.
	Mega joint campus placement drive at GNIT Our Correspondent Ambala, November 17 Guru Nanak Institute of Technology (GNIT), Mullana, organised a mega joint campus placement drive for B.Tech (7th Semester) students recently. Mobikwik, a leading on line mobile software company of the country, visited the Guru Nanak Institutions (GNI) campus for the recruitment of budding engineers passing out not only from this institute but also from the institutes of the surrounding areas. This company not only provides on line recharge facilities and a range of mobile applications but also sells cellphones at attractive prices in India. More than 2,000 students of various branches of engineering from various parts of Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh participated in this placement drive. Abhishek Chandra, HR Head of the company, conducted the interview process. He said the company was visiting the GNI campus because of the good quality of its students as well as the high level of efforts, resources and infrastructure being committed by the institute towards this drive. He further said the selection criteria of the company required students to pass through three levels: aptitude test, group discussion and personal interview. As many as 58 students could finally make it to the personal interview round. Out of these, 12 candidates were shortlisted to be appointed as software developers. The selected students would be placed in the company immediately after they pass their B.Tech. Students thanked the management, especially Dr Sachin Chawla, dean of GNI Group, for conducting such a joint campus placement drive. Dr Sachin Chawla congratulated the successful candidates. Abhishek Chandra, HR head, said the company would visit the GNI in future too.
	Applications invited for bio-gas plants Tribune News Service Chandigarh, November 17 The Haryana Department of New and Renewable Energy has invited applications from institutions for the installation of bio-gas plants on their premises. The state government is giving 40 per cent subsidy on the total cost of installation of such plants. While stating this here recently, an official spokesperson said in institutions like gaushallas, milk dairies and other institutions where cow or buffalo dung is available in adequate quantities, could apply to the office of the additional deputy commissioner in the prescribed format for the installation of bio-gas plant. The application form and other details could also be downloaded from www.hareda.gov.in He said: “The cost on the installation of 25 CUM capacity bio-gas plant comes out to be Rs 3.18 lakh, out of which the government will provide Rs 1.27 lakh as subsidy. Similarly, the cost of 35 CUM capacity plant is Rs 5.05 lakh, of 45 CUM plant is Rs 5.97 lakh, of 60 CUM capacity plant is Rs 7.56 lakh and of 85 CUM capacity plant is Rs 9.89 lakh. The government will provide a subsidy of Rs 2.02 lakh, Rs 2.38 lakh, Rs 3.02 lakh and Rs 3.95 lakh, respectively”.
	IIM-Rohtak completes two years Tribune News Service Rohtak, November 17 Stressing on all-round development of infrastructure, industry stalwarts joined the IIM, Rohtak, in the celebration of the institute’s third foundation day today. The chief guest, Arunabh Das Sharma, executive president, Bennett Coleman Limited, claimed that leadership was not only about numbers such as the GDP and per capita income, but also about softer measures such as becoming a net donor of aid, adopting a strategic or tactical foreign policy and sustaining inclusive growth. Sharma said there was a dramatic possibility of growth in India, which could be achieved by developing good infrastructure, investing in agriculture and fostering the existing talent pool. He remarked that MBA graduates from IIMs head most companies in India, but urged that the IIMs must upgrade their programmes by considering the emerging skill-set requirements of the industry. Ajay Srinivasan, Chief Executive, Financial Services, Aditya Birla Group, threw light on the role of innovation, better governance and vocational training in propelling India’s growth. SP Gathoo, Director (Human Resources), BPCL, said India could build its brand as a spiritual and soft power and regain leadership through frugal innovation. Dr D Subrahmanyam, executive director, HUDCO, discussed sustainable development and the path ahead for our country to fulfil its potential. The Social Development Programme at the IIM, Rohtak, received a special mention for its association with NGOs in Haryana, Uttaranchal and Delhi NCR.
	Prisoner’s bid to flee foiled Tribune News Service Karnal, November 17 An attempt of an undertrial prisoner to escape while he was being taken to the court for hearing was thwarted by the cops escorting him recently. Sher Singh alias Sheru lodged in Kurukshetra jail tried to escape from the bus near Nirmal Kutiya while on his way to Karnal under police cover. Sher Singh who was accompanied by ASI Gurcharan Singh and Head Constable Nirmal Singh tried to run away when the bus stopped. Gurcharan Singh fired a shot in the air and warned the prisoner who finally surrendered. Sher Singh has been charged under Section 224 and 225 of IPC for numerous cases of dacoity and Arms Act by the Karnal and Kurukshetra police.
	Movie This Week Shakal Pe Mat Ja Directed by Shubh “Shakal Pe Mat Ja” is a situational comedy about a bunch of youngsters who are keen to demonstrate how easy it is to blow up any prime locations in this country. Earlier, there were plans to release the film on September 9, but it was postponed to September 23. Finally, “Shakal Pe Mat Ja” releases today at theatres near you. The film, entirely shot at the Delhi airport, stars Saurabh Shukla, Raghubir Yadav, Umang Jain, Aamna Sharif, Shubh, Pratik Katare, Chitrak, Harsh, Joy Sengupta, Adtiya Lakhia and Zakir Hussain. The buzz is that it is a complete entertainer which promises to be a perfect laugh-riot. The movie opens today at Fame Shalimar-Panchkula, Bangar Multiplex-Rohtak, Cineplex-Sirsa, Fun-Ambala, Fun-Panipat, PVR Sahara, PVR Audience, PVR MGF, SRS Omaxe, SRS Celebration, DTCC, DTMM, DT Mega Mall, DT Star Mall (Gurgaon), SRS Pristine, SRS Sec 12, SRS Eldeco, PVR Crown, Inox (Faridabad), Dimple Cineplex-Jagadhri. — Dharam Pal