Sirsa, January 28
Noted environmentalist Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal today expressed concern over the manner our rivers and drains being polluted through industrial pollutant and warned this will have serious consequences for our future generations.

Speaking in a conference on “Energy-Water-Waste Nexus for Environmental Management” (ICEWWNEM) organised by the Department of Energy and Environmental Sciences in the Chaudhary Devi Lal University here today, Seechewal said progress at the cost of environment was of no good to the society.

Quoting verses from Shri Guru Granth Sahib and linking them with the environment, Seechewal, who, among other feats, has restored the Kali Bein, a holy river associated with Guru Nanak, to pristine, sparkling purity, cleaning it of weeds, effluents, sewage and other pollutants, said God rests in the nature and not in temples and shrines.

Seechewal said the Water (Control of Pollution) Act 1974 has become a mockery in India and owing to corruption prevalent in the bureaucracy, industries are being allowed to pollute our rivers and drains mercilessly with their chemical waste.

He said though he himself was a member of the Punjab State Pollution Control Board, the state of affairs in the Central Pollution Control Board as well as in various states had failed to rein in the industries.

He said it was due to the ill-effects of this pollution that the Malwa and Doaba areas of Punjab were fast becoming cancer belt of Punjab.

RP Dahiya, from the Centre for Energy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology, IIT, Delhi, said water resources were fast shrinking from the earth, as there was a gap of nearly 160 billion cubic metres of water used and water replenished every year.

Karnal, January 28
Despite increase in number of crime cases decided by the courts during 2011 in the state, the conviction rate remained below 35 per cent while the acquittal rate in cases of heinous crime was 68 per cent.

As per the data of the Haryana Crime Record Bureau, as many as 46,271 cases, including 3,451 cases of heinous crime, were decided during the year and the accused were punished in only 1,114 cases of heinous crime, while the conviction in other crimes cases was only 14,916.

As such the accused in 2,337 cases of heinous crime and 27,904 cases of other crime were found “not guilty” and acquitted. During 2009, over 30,000 cases were decided by the courts and the number increased to more than 37,000 in 2010, but in 2011 there was a quantum increase of 16,000 and 46,271 cases were decided.

A maximum number of 4,150 cases were decided in Panipat, followed by Faridabad 3,348, Kurukshetra 2,920, Karnal 2,826, Rohtak 2,624, Bhiwani 2,762, Hisar 2,879, Mewat 1,315, Panchkula 8,17 and Jind 570.

Layak Ram Dabas, director, Crime Record Bureau, attributed the increase in number of cases decided by the courts to the new strategy adopted by the Haryana police to track the cases after filing the challan, ensuring servicing of summons and present witnesses, scientific investigation and constant review of the case by senior officers.

He said special teams had been formed at the district level to ensure servicing of summons to the witnesses and also their presence in the court on the day of hearing.

Thus, the delay in trial, which was mainly because of failure of the witnesses to appear in the court on the pretext of non-delivery of summons, had been cut short.

Yamunanagar, January 28
The unscheduled long power-cuts have severely affected the metal industry of Jagadhri and the production has fallen drastically to one-fourth of the installed capacity.

Former president of Haryana Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Shiv Partap Singh Bajaj, said here today that the metal and iron industry of the town is on the brink of closure because of the cuts.

General Secretary of Jagadhri Metal Manufacturers and Suppliers Association said the association had sent a communication to the Managing Director of the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam demanding that power be supplied to the metal manufacturers in accordance with the supply schedule laid down, as unscheduled power-cuts had plunged the economy of these units into disarray.

The association has pleaded with the Bijli Vitran Nigam that the metal manufacturing units should be given power supply for at least four hours and that too in accordance with a fixed schedule.

Bajaj said the cuts were unscheduled and these were causing an irreparable loss to the traders. There are around 500 big and small metal units in Jagadhri, accounting for an average daily production of 300 tonnes. He lamented that several units had closed down as they could no longer sustain recurring losses because of erratic power supply schedule.

He said workers had been facing financial hardships and many of the units had been closed. Many workers who had come from other towns had since left for their native places, he added.

Panchkula, January 28
The state government will soon appoint 54 district food safety officers to ensure the supply of quality drugs, cosmetic and foodstuffs to people at reasonable prices.

A proposal in this regard has already been sent to the state government’s newly created Department of Food and Drugs Administration.

CR Rana, Commissioner, Food and Drug Administration, who was here to address a workshop on awareness among business operators here, said 14 food inspectors, who had been re-designated as drug officers, were enforcing provisions of the Food Adulteration Act. Four drug officers would be appointed in each district - two each in the rural and urban areas.

Rana said the government had also notified ADCs to act as adjudicating officers in their respective districts while all civil surgeons had been appointed as designated officers in their respective districts for one year or till the time qualified officers were appointed. He said food businesses having a turnover of over Rs 12 lakh per year would have to pay Rs 7,500 per year under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 while those having a turnover of less than Rs 12 lakh would have to pay Rs 100 per year.

He said small business establishments could pay Rs 500 at a time for five years.

Karnal, January 28
Colonisers and property dealers duping customers by selling plots in unauthorised colonies and people involved in illegal mining are in for trouble as the Karnal administration has prepared a new roadmap to rein in the defaulters.

Special teams would be constituted to inspect the unauthorised colonies and the Town Planner would immediately attend to the complaints and report the matter to the police for prompt action, Deputy Commissioner Neelam P Kasni said after discussing the matter with Rakesh Arya, SP, and other officials concerned.

The Town planner and special teams would not only inspect the colonies being carved out illegally in the peripheral areas of Karnal town but also in the rural areas and take necessary action.

The DC also appealed to people not to purchase plots or houses in unauthorised colonies and make necessary enquiries from the Town Planning and Revenue Departments before striking any land deal.— TNS

Chandigarh, January 28
A car gets stolen from Gurgaon, touted to be Haryana’s millennium city, every three hours! In fact, involvement of inter-state gangs in auto thefts have sent Gurgaon police in a tizzy, with 2,800 of the state’s 12,556 auto thefts reported from Gurgaon last year.

While the police and public pass the blame on to each other, the fact is that the fast-developing city has turned into heaven for auto-lifters. The crime graph related to the auto thefts has been on the upswing, with 1,890 auto thefts reported in 2009 and 2,449 car thefts reported in 2010.

The ever-increasing incidence of auto theft points towards involvement of inter-state auto lifters’ gangs besides petty criminals who usually steal two-wheelers. Since Gurgaon district shares the border with New Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, the porous border makes auto thieves’ escape an easy task, a senior police officer said.

This coupled with lack of secure parking spaces in the fast-developing city and high density of vehicular population only gives auto thieves a free run. They strike at will, cocking a snook at the police.

This despite the reported fact that Gurgaon police has a special anti-carjacking staff to keep a check on auto-lifters.

Police sources said not only Gurgaon but also other districts falling in Haryana and parts of the state in the National Capital Region (NCR) were prone to auto thefts. Faridabad reported the second largest number of auto thefts, 1,439, up from 1,352 in 2010.

Panipat reported 817 auto thefts last year - a substantial increase of over 640 auto thefts, in 2010. Kaithal with 201, Fatehabad with 202 and Jhajjar with 277 auto thefts seem to be the safest districts for the vehicle owners.

Police sources said a majority of the vehicles, primarily two-wheelers, were modified by middlemen and sold off in interiors of UP and Bihar, where documents are not frequently checked.

It may be mentioned that the project on affixing of new high-security registration plates (HSRPs) on over 40 lakh vehicles in Haryana with a view to checking theft of vehicles and preventing their misuse for commiting crimes has been hanging fire.

In November last year, the Transport Department had issued the letter of intent (LoI) to a Delhi-based joint venture company to start work on the project.

The project was delayed, with the service provider seeming to be having second thoughts on its implementation. 

Faridabad, January 28
Seven persons, including a lawyer of a local court, allegedly beat up a constable on being penalised for talking on cellphone while driving his Santro car.

The police said the lawyer, Rajesh Khatana, thrashed constable when asked to stop his vehicle near the Metro Chowk for violating traffic rules. The constable was a part of a four-member team checking vehicles at the time of the incident.

After Khatana was challaned, he allegedly returned to the site after sometime on his car along with seven others who were on Scorpio. They pounced on the constable, Mukesh Kumar, and started beating him. They escaped from the scene when intervened by other police personnel. SHO Narender Kumar said a case had been registered. — TNS