Sirsa, January 1
Violations of traffic rules in Sirsa did not attract challan slips from cops today, but the violators were rather offered flowers by friendly constables, who told them politely that they were not driving safely.

The police today launched a “Traffic Safety Week” to create awareness about traffic rules.

In its distinctive “Gandhigiri” style, the traffic police cops stopped vehicle drivers flouting traffic rules and made them realise their mistake after offering them flowers.

The DSP, SS Sheoran, formally launched the drive from Laal Batti Chowk of the town today.

He said the traffic-safety week was normally observed in the first week of January throughout the state.

He said the police would create awareness among people about observing safety while driving their vehicles and added that the main objective of the event was to minimise road accidents.

During these rallies, the vehicle drivers would be advised to use headlights during fog and to drive their vehicles at a slow pace.

He said the police would advise them to park their vehicles on the roadside, if necessary, and to keep the indicator lights of the vehicles on in such conditions.

Volunteers of the Road Safety Organisation also joined the traffic cops in creating awareness among motorists and those riding two-wheelers.

Fatehabad: Rotary Club (Fatehabad Greater) joined the endeavours of the traffic police to create awareness about traffic rules among road users to mark the beginning of the Road Safety Week on Sunday.

Shamsher Singh Dahiya, DSP (Headquarters), inaugurated the programme at Laal Batti Chowk of the town in the morning today.

Dahiya said that observing traffic rules was very important, as it prevented many avoidable accidents.

The cops distributed pamphlets among motorists and riders of four-wheelers advising them to avoid smoking or using mobile phones while driving.

The pamphlets also gave information regarding the emergency numbers of the police, where toll-free calls could be made in case of any road accident.

Members of Rotary Club installed reflectors on the vehicles. 

Hisar, January 1
The Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) and the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) have decided to release all new tubewell connections on the Andhra Pradesh model.

A spokesman of the Power Utilities said the Nigams would release four or more connections from one transformer in which case the applicants would be required to pay Rs 20,000 as cost of the transformer and a fee of Rs 7,000 as the cost of the span.

For release of three connections from one transformer, the applicants would have to pay Rs 30,000 and Rs 7,000 per span. Only one connection from one transformer would be released if the applicant paid the full cost of transformer, in addition to the cost of spans. He said the Nigams would seek fresh options from all applicants, whose demand notices had been issued and the connections were yet to be released. He said the connections would be released without LPR mode meters.

Meanwhile, the Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) has approved two schemes for improvement of power distribution system in Faridabad and Fatehabad districts at a cost of Rs 26.54 crore.

Under the scheme meant for Faridabad, the entire system of 10 feeders would be improved at a cost of Rs 24.28 crore. The improvements would include erection of 140-km-long high-tension lines by replacing low-tension lines and erection of high-tension lines by using Aerial Bunched (AB) cable.

As many as 1,333 additional transformers of 25 KVA and 16 KVA capacities would be provided in the system to reduce overloading. The meters would also be replaced under the scheme.

On providing high tension lines and AB cables, chances of theft of electricity are minimised and additional transformers would help improve voltage considerably. Thus execution of the scheme would be beneficial for DHBVN as well as the consumers by way of reduced loss of electricity and improved power supply.

Rohtak, January 1
Rohtak has joined the league of those cities having an all-women cop PCR vehicle. For the first time this facility meant mainly for the complaints by women residents has been pressed into service here. The police has also announced to start a “beat” system in the town to keep a tab on the crime in various localities.

According to police officials, the demand of all women PCR had been long due as the number of complaints by women had been on rise and in many cases the complainants avoided due to the fact that PCR’s had only male cops. This PCR will be deployed at various congested places especially near the colleges and educational institutions where female students have possibility of eve teasing or molestation.

The first PCR started has been kept under the control of the Civil Lines police station and this would be extended to all police station in due course. The number of female cops in the district police had risen in the past couple of years in comparison to their number a decade back. It may be recalled that the authorities had suspended an ASI last year on charges of eve teasing at MD University campus last year. The complaints of eve teasing and molestation had been common at girls colleges and other educational institutions, said sources in the department. 

Sirsa, January 1
The police has arrested Labh Singh, a nephew of Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh’s predecessor Shah Satnam Singh in a case under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, registered against him on the complaint of a dera follower.

The DSP (Detective), Puran Chand Panwar, who is investigating the case, said the police arrested Labh Singh yesterday from Punjab.

After his arrest, Labh Singh alleged that he had been framed in a false case, as he was a witness in a case against the dera chief and had filed a criminal complaint against the dera chief’s son in a Delhi court.

Faqir Chand disappearance case in which Labh Singh was a witness against the dera chief has since been closed, as the CBI, which investigated it, found no truth in the allegations and had filed a closure report.

The present case was registered against Labh Singh, after he actually lodged a complaint with the police against Lakhbir Singh, a dera follower, accusing him of following his car on November 19, when he was coming to Sirsa from Bathinda for appearing in a court in connection with some case.

Chandigarh, January 1
The Human Rights Cell of the Haryana BJP has moved the NHRC in connection with the severe shortage of staff in the Health Department.

Reacting to the news report in The Tribune “Severe staff shortage hits health services” published on December 29, RP Malhotra, state convener, in a representation termed this as “a clearcut case of human rights violation and lethargy of the state government.”

The report had highlighted the healthcare services continued to reel under severe staff shortage in Haryana in 2011. While the state government initiated certain major health projects, an acute shortage of doctors and paramedical staff at the grassroots level in the primary health centres and community health centres sent the rural healthcare for a toss. — TNS

Rohtak, January 1
A mahapanchayat held to help a former INLD MLA from Meham in a murder case could not reach an out-of-court settlement as the main opponent in the case ruled out any patch-up on the issue. Former MLA Balbir Singh, alias Bali Pehalwan, has been in judicial custody for the past about seven months in this case. The panchayat was held at Basana village in this district on an initiative taken by INLD activists .

It is claimed that representatives from 36 villages in Meham and Kalanaur blocks comprising Meham Chaubisi khap and Panwar khap converged today in order to reach an agreement between the two sides and to help former MLA Balbir Singh, a resident of Mokhra village, who has been in judicial custody since he surrendered in September last year.

Bali and 21 others were booked on a complaint lodged against them Mr Sita Ram Rathi, sarpanch of Basana village, after an armed clash in which a youth, Vishnu, was killed in firing at Anaj Mandi in Kalanaur last year. It is reported that Rathi, who was present at the meeting, refused to provide any respite to the main accused in this case and demanded the surrender of nine others still at large in this case. “The panchayat must ensure that the remaining nine accused also surrender first to the police before we could think about such an option,” he told the meeting. Around 750 persons from these villages attended the meeting

Bijender Malik, sarpanch of Mokhra village, urged the panchayat to work out a formula to reach a compromise so that cordial relations between residents of neighbouring Basana and Mokhra villages were not disturbed. 

Yamunanagar, January 1
Ashok Sangwan, Deputy Commissioner, last night found 40 occupants in two shelter homes here last night. Sangwan said he had constituted a special team to motivate and persuade people sleeping on the roadside to take benefit of the shelter homes.

Sangwan said when some of the inmates pointed out to Shayam Sunder, Secretary of the Red Cross, Yamunanagar, that they were suffering from different ailments, the administration decided to provide free treatment to them. He said free food was being made available to the inmates.

Shayam Sunder said the low occupancy in the shelter homes was primarily because of poor public awareness about the availability of this facility at night shelters.

There are two shelter homes in Yamunanagar, both managed by the Red Cross. The first one is located at Makhan Lal Dharamshala and has 25-bed capacity with provision of quilts. The other one is located at the Red Cross Bhawan with a capacity of 50 beds with provision of quilts. The Deputy Commissioner said there were no charges for staying there. 

Faridabad, January 1
The government is expected to pump in at least Rs 50 crore before this financial year ends to boost infrastructure in industrial sectors in Faridabad, if its commitment to the industry was to be relied upon.

According to the Faridabad Industries Association (FIA), Rs 50 crore includes at least Rs 20 crore, which the Union Ministry of Commerce is tipped to provide as grant to the state under its scheme to boost up growth of export-oriented units. Under the scheme, the maximum money that could be received is Rs 30 crore. The scheme enjoins upon the state government to provide the same amount as matching grant.

The industry sources say, Sectors 4, 6, 24 and 25 have been identified for infrastructure development with regard to the proposed grant from the Centre. The reason being that export-oriented units are in good numbers in these areas.

SK Goel, president of the FIA, said the industry was expecting at least Rs 20 crore, if not more, as grant from the ministry. According to him, a delegation of the FIA had met Chief Secretary of Haryana Urvashi Gulati a few months back, to draw the government’s attention to the poor condition of the industrial sectors. Later, a meeting of the delegation with Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda was arranged.

Besides, the Municipal Corporation Faridabad (MCF) is said to have made commitment to the FIA to spend Rs 10 crore from its own funds to repair roads and upgrade amenities in all industrial sectors of this city, Goel added.

According to the FIA, the government has already appointed a private consultant to prepare a detailed project report with regard to infrastructural development in Sectors 4, 6, 24 and 25. The report would be submitted to the Commerce Ministry through the state Industries Department.

The FIA disclosed that the infrastructure development in the sectors with regard to the Centre’s grant would be confined to electrification, roads and measures for outlet of storm water.

Chandigarh, January 1
The Town and Country Planning Department, Haryana, has asked the persons intending to buy a plot or flat in private licensed colonies of Haryana to ascertain the details regarding the licences granted to such colonies before purchase of plots or flats or office space or shops.

Officials said it had come to the notice of the department that some of the colonisers were issuing advertisements inviting the gullible public to invest in a project even before they were granted licences to set up such colonies thereby misleading and defrauding the general public.

While action against such unscrupulous elements was taken by the department, the general public was cautioned not to be allured by such advertisements and refrain from investing money in such projects for which licences have not been issued by the department.

In this regard, a spokesman said that plots or flats for residential, commercial, institutional and industrial use within the controlled areas and urban limit as declared under the Punjab Scheduled Roads and Controlled Areas Restriction of Unregulated Development Act, 1963, and Haryana Development and Regulations of Urban Areas Rules, 1976, respectively, could be sold only after obtaining a licence from the Department of Town and Country Planning, Haryana. The sale or pre-launch of plots without a licence was illegal and there was no guarantee of any such project ever taking off.

The general public has been advised to contact and verify whether the licence has been granted by the Director-General, Town and Country Planning Department, Haryana, before booking of plots or dwelling units or commercial property to avoid any legal problems and financial implications. Details of contact persons and their email IDs could be seen at the department’s website: tcpharyana.gov.in <http://tcpharyana.gov.in/>

The persons or companies or property dealers were also cautioned not to sell or pre-launch or offer plots or dwelling units or commercial property without obtaining licences from the Department of Town and Country Planning, failing which legal action would be taken against them, he added.

Hisar, January 1
The Board of Management of Haryana Agricultural University has agreed to give land to the government for the southern bypass under construction.

A spokesman for the university said here that the government had been asked to give details of the land required. The university will examine the impact of the bypass on the campus before releasing the land.

The southern bypass will start from Satrod village on the outskirts of the city. It will pass through Tosham Road and then connect to Rajgarh Road. From here the bypass will pass through Haryana Agricultural University land and merge with Sirsa Road near Bagla village. The bypass will reduce traffic congestion in the city.

The board has also approved the appointment of five heads of teaching departments.

They are: BK Hooda (mathematics and statistics), Ramesh Kumari (chemistry and physics), Sudesh Gandhi (family resource management), Saroj Dahiya (food and nutrition) and Vimla Dhanda(human development).

Two non-official members of the board Kuldeep Singh and Sunita Sehrawat, were retired through draw of lots. Every year, two such members are eased out and new members nominated in their place.