Ratia (Fatehabad), November 21
All three major political parties, the INLD, the Congress and the BJP, have thrown in all strength in the campaign for Ratia while the Left parties’ campaign is at a low pitch.

Former Union Minister Buta Singh, Haryana Agriculture Minister Paramvir Singh, Chief Parliamentary Secretaries Prahlad Singh Gillankhera and Vinod Bhayana, and Sirsa MP Ashok Tanwar today campaigned for Congress nominee Jarnail Singh.

For the INLD, Ashok Arora and Subhash Goyal, former ministers, sought votes for party nominee Sarfi Bai. Abhey Singh Chautala, MLA from Ellenabad, has been taking village-wise meetings of party workers to ensure maximum polling when Ratia goes to the polls on November 30.

While BJP candidate Mahavir Parshad concentrated on door-to-door campaigning in Ratia town, senior BJP leader Ram Bilas Sharma sought votes for him in villages.

Earlier, HJC Supremo Kuldeep Bishnoi campaigned in over 25 villages during his two-day tour
of Ratia on Saturday and Sunday.

Pawan Duggal, CPM MLA from Rajasthan, who campaigned for party nominee Ram Kumar Bahbalpuria, said only the Left parties were capable of providing an alternative policy framework that could tackle issues like agrarian crisis, joblessness, social security and sustainable pro-people development.

Meanwhile, former Deputy Chief Minister Chander Mohan today reacted sharply to Abhey Singh Chautala’s remarks against him yesterday.

“Those living in glass houses should not throw stones at others. If I start exposing his ‘misdeeds’, he will not find a place to hide,” Chander Mohan said. He demanded that the CBI should probe under what circumstances Abhey Singh’s first wife had died of a bullet injury.

Kurukshetra, November 21
Implementing their threat to resign all additional responsibilities, 53 of the 75 agitating Kurukshetra University teachers today submitted their resignations.

These included deans, heads of departments, wardens and others holding additional responsibilities. The remaining teachers would resign tomorrow, Dr Pradeep Chauhan, president of the Kurukshetra University Teachers Association (KUTA), said.

Holding the university authorities responsible for the “deadlock”, Dr Chauhan said the authorities were delaying acceptance of its demands.

Saying that the university would be responsible for disruption of teaching work if KUTA was compelled to intensify the agitation, Chauhan said after boycotting the Ph.D entrance test yesterday, the teachers were determined to boycott examination duty and evaluation work which would derail the examination system.

The teachers have been holding a realy fast since November 16 to press their demand for implementation of the revised UGC scales and recommendations in toto.

The All-India Federation of University and College Teachers organisations (AIFUCTO) and the Haryana Federation of University and College Teachers Organisation (HFUCTO) have extended full support to KUTA and urged the authorities to accept its demands.

Meanwhile, Lt-Gen(Dr) DD Sandhu, Kurukshetra University V-C, said all demands of the teachers except for two had been accepted and appealed to the striking teachers to resume their duties.

Panipat, November 21
Crossing legal hurdles to get compensation for the death of their near and dear ones, who lost their lives in the Samjhauta Express Blasts, seems to have become more difficult for their relatives as the National Investigating Agency (NIA), which at present is in possession of all related documents, has refused to divulge any information about blasts victims.

In a reply to an RTI query filed by local lawyer, Momin Malik, a counsel in the Samjhauta blasts claim cases, the NIA denied the information stating that the “NIA has been exempted from the RTI Act by the Centre.”

Malik had filed the query on September 28 this year, seeking general information about 11 victims, all members of a joint family of Karachi.

The query included questions about the presence of the 11 victims on the Samjhauta train on the day the blasts occurred, their identification and the DNA reports.

After taking over the investigations into the blast case on July 29 last year, the NIA had also taken into custody all related documents. Malik said in order to pursue the compensation claims, official records pertaining to the victims needed to be produced in the court of law.

As the required information was now in possession of the NIA, he had moved the query. This information, he said, was required to claim the compensation by the relatives of the victims, without which legal proceedings could not be completed. The lawyer said the information sought by him was required to get the compensation announced by the Union government in July 2007 for the victims.

He contended that earlier the NIA had provided him with information under the RTI Act itself, which had established the identity of Mohammad Wakil, who was lying buried in grave number 38 at Mehrana village graveyard for the past four years. However, this time his RTI application was refused.

Chandigarh, November 21
The Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) and the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) plan to recover more than Rs, 50,000 from defaulters by filing civil suits.

An official spokesman said here that each nigam would file 20 cases in civil courts for recovery from erring consumers in the first phase. The utilities have already identified permanent defaulters in their respective areas.

The defaulters had been given ample opportunities to clear their outstanding bills which included launch of the electricity bills waiver scheme and personal contact by executive engineers and SDOs from time to time.

Chandigarh, November 21
Noting the difficulty faced by visually challenged persons, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today directed the Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC) to allow them 30 minutes extra in entrance examination.

The directions by a Bench headed by Justice Permod Kohli came on a petition by Abhay Partap Singh. A law graduate with not so strong vision, the petitioner has applied for the Civil Judge’s post. He is seeking directions for 30 minutes extra, as given to persons suffering from other disabilities.

The Bench without issuing notices to the HPSC ordered that the relief should be given to visually challenged persons. “It provides for making a scheme to provide aids and appliance to persons with disabilities. In case of the Haryana Civil Services (Executive Branch), a relaxation has been granted on the visually handicapped candidates by granting them additional time of 30 minutes. We are of the considered view that the petitioners is entitled to, at least, similar treatment relaxation”.

The Bench allowed the petition and directed the commission to grant 30 minutes extra time to the petitioner in all papers of the Haryana Civil Services (Judicial Branch) main examination to be held on November 24, 25 and 26 provided the petitioner himself attempt the examination.

Gurgaon, November 21
As many as 60 photo-sensitive CCTV cameras with recording facility will be installed at 15 major traffic intersections along the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway.

A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the local police and HUDA authorities with the expressway concessionaire DSC Ltd here.

The officials also discussed plans to improve traffic in all parts of the city by incorporating measures like repairing and widening of roads and creating more slip roads, among others.

The HUDA administrator, Dr Praveen Kumar, said they had also decided to push a pending litigation for 100-metre land near the IFFCO chowk and write to the NHAI to increase the number of tollgates at the Delhi-Gurgaon as well as Kherki Daula toll plazas in the city.

DCP (Traffic) Bharti Arora said, “We have told the parties concerned, including DSC Ltd, to have proper safety and precautionary measures in place on the expressway and other city roads so to check accidents.”