Rohtak, March 24
There are around 15,000 TB patients in Haryana who have been undergoing treatment at various places. Out of these, at least 10 per cent of the patients are undergoing treatment at the PGIMS here. Though there has been considerable progress regarding the treatment of this deadly disease, there is still scope for creating more awareness, especially among the younger generation, which is most vulnerable to the disease.

This has been revealed in a report released by the doctors of the Chest and TB Department of the PGIMS here. Dr KB Gupta, Professor and Head of the department, said there had been a significant decrease of around 50 per cent in the number of TB patients reporting in the OPD here over the years.

Earlier, while the number of patients reporting here had been 50 per one lakh patients, the number at present had fallen to 25 per one lakh patients registering at the OPD here.

The PGIMS, Rohtak, is the largest government hospital in the state with over 5,000 patients reporting at the OPD daily. While claiming that the success rate of curing the TB patients in the DOTS scheme was around 15 per cent, he said the main cause of concern was the lack of continuation of drug intake as many cases go drug- resistant due to this problem.

He said while the number of such patients could be at least three percent, there had been many others, especially smokers and those affected with HIV and diabetes, who were vulnerable to TB in the present circumstances.

He said the virus of TB could spread if the affected person did not take adequate precaution while spitting or coughing in a public place. He said that while the treatment of TB was being provided free, they were running a drive to create awareness among the people so that the menace could be wiped out in an effective manner.

Panchkula, March 24
The Haryana government achieved yet another milestone as the Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board (HSAMB) today exported the first consignment of one lakh metric tonnes of potatoes to Malaysia.

Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda flagged off the first consignment of potatoes from the Kisan Bhawan at Sector 14 here today. He also inaugurated the first two-day Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board Fruit, Vegetable and Flower Festival at the venue.

Urging the farmers to adopt vertical farming in place of horizontal farming to increase their production from the available limited resources, Hooda said that today when landholdings and availability of water were limited, this technique of farming could prove beneficial for the farmers. Similarly, they should make more use of liquid fertilisers instead of manure.

Hooda said a Centre of Excellence for Vegetables has been set up at Gharaunda in Karnal district in collaboration with Israel. He said that due to concerted efforts of the state government, the area under horticulture crops had increased from 2.47 lakh hectares in the year 2004-05 to 4.15 lakh hectares in 2010-11. To popularise drip and sprinkler irrigation, the state government was providing 90 per cent subsidy to the farmers.

The CM said that after assuming charge as head of the Chief Minister's Working Group on Agriculture Production, he had made recommendations in the interest of the farmers not only of the state but of the country. As a result of these recommendations, four per cent rate of interest was being charged on crop loans by all cooperatives and nationalised banks not only in the state but also in the entire country. His major concern was to improve the economic condition of the farmers.

He also evinced a keen interest in the different varieties of flowers, fruits and vegetables displayed at various stalls there. A large number of farmers from the state are participating in this two-day festival. He said the festival would not only provide useful information to the farmers but would also prove to be a milestone in increasing their income. He urged the farmers to adopt the latest technique of cultivation and also divert to the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, dairy farming and bee keeping. He said that the conventional technique of cultivation has now reached its optimum and continuing with the same would not help in increasing production. 

Rohtak, March 24
In a tragic incident, one person was killed on the spot and 10 others were injured when their vehicle collided head on with a truck near Lakhanmajra town, about 15 km from here, last night.

The injured, who have been shifted to the PGIMS, are guest teachers who had been on their way back after attending a state-level rally here on Friday. The condition of six of them is serious.

The mishap occurred around 9.30 pm when the Tata Sumo in which the teachers from Kaithal district were returning home rammed into a truck coming from the opposite direction.

It is learnt that the accident took place when the driver was trying to overtake a vehicle when a truck coming from other side collided with it, leading to the mishap.

Police said Sontha, who was driving the Sumo died on the spot. The injured teachers have been identified as Sudama, Pala Ram, Naresh, Virender, Partap, Mahabir, Khusi Ram, Rajesh and Jitender.

The victims had come to attend a state-level rally organised by the Association of the Guest Teachers to lodge their protest against the reported move to relieve them from service by March 30. The association, which held a meeting at the Sector 6 grounds, here, adopted a resolution demanding immediate regularisation of their services. It also announced to carry on with its dharna till March 31 and another rally on April 1, if the demand was not met by then. 

Chandigarh, March 24
In a significant judgment, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has allowed a candidate with a fractured wrist to take the HCS (Executive Branch) examination through a scribe.

The judgment is significant as the rules and instructions do not permit a scribe for a person, who is not physically handicapped.

The ruling came on a petition by Amit Kumar Panchal, a candidate for the HCS (Executive Branch) and other Allied Services Preliminary Examination 2011 scheduled to be held on March 25.

Appearing before Justice Augustine George Masih, the petitioner contended that his right hand wrist was fractured in an accident on March 6. As the petitioner was a right-hander, he was not in a position to “darken the circles required to be filled in the OMR sheet”.

Going into the background of the matter, his counsel contended that the petitioner’s right hand was plastered for six weeks. In support of his assertion, the petitioner placed on record the a medical certificate dated March 7 issued by the Chief Medical Officer, Government Hospital, Ambala Cantt.

After hearing the arguments, Justice Masih asserted, “It is correct that the rules/instructions do not permit a scribe for a person, who is not physically handicapped. However, in view of the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case and a situation, which has arisen, which is beyond the control of the petitioner and such exigencies cannot in all situations be covered by the rules/instructions, the prayer made by the petitioner in the present writ petition deserves to be accepted….

“The contention of counsel for the respondent that some scribe be made available, who is not related to the petitioner, is accepted. This writ petition is allowed with direction to the commission to permit the petitioner the services of a scribe to write his HCS (Executive Branch) and other Allied Services Preliminary Examination 2011.

“This shall, however, be subject to making available a student, who is unrelated to the petitioner and fulfils the mandate for a scribe as prescribed for handicapped category candidates….

“The petitioner is further permitted to affix his left hand thumb impression as he would be unable to sign the attendance sheet. This shall, however, be not treated as a precedent as this order has been passed in the peculiar facts and circumstances of this case.” 

Kurukshetra March 24
Elaborate security arrangements have been made for conducting Haryana Civil Services (HCS) examination, scheduled to be held in the district tomorrow.

District police chief Parul Kush said as many as 850 police personnel would be deployed at 45 examination centres in 32 schools and colleges. To maintain law and order, these examination centres have been divided into three sections and each section would be looked after by the DSP.

Kush said entry to the examination centres would start an hour before the commencement of examination and every examinee would be screened. The examinees would not be allowed to carry mobile phone or any objectionable item to the examination centre. Assembly of five or more persons would be prohibited under Section 144 within 200-metre radius of each examination centre, she added.

She said every examination centre would be video-graphed and no police personnel would be allowed to enter the examination centre. The photostat machines installed near examination centres would not be allowed to function. — OC

Sirsa, March 24
The Haryana Urban Development Department will spend Rs 1,761 crore on providing civic amenities in the state in 2012-13.

Minister of State for Urban Local Bodies Gopal Kanda said in 2011-12, the department’s budget was Rs 1,017.40 crore.

The allocation of additional funds would be utilised to make the cities more beautiful and more developmental projects would be initiated.

Talking to mediapersons here today, Kanda said in the financial year 2012-13, National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) would be started in Haryana to provide necessary health amenities in the urban slums. Haryana would be the first state in the country to start this mission, he said. He said under the NUHM, polyclinics and dispensaries would be established in various cities.

He said this mission would be implemented in a phased manner and emphasis would be laid on the slum areas. 

Ambala, March 24
The high-profile Delhi-Lahore bus of Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation, known as ‘Sada-e-Sarhad’, had to stop for one hour at Ambala City today when one of its passengers, an Indian citizen, suffered a serious asthmatic attack during the journey.

The passenger, Kanwar Shakil (52) from Kolkata, was going to Lahore along with his wife Rubeen Begam to meet his relatives.

The bus had departed from Delhi in the morning, carrying around 40 passengers. Shakil suffered a minor asthmatic attack when the bus halted at the Parakeet Tourist Complex in Pipli for a few minutes as per its schedule. When the bus reached near Ambala Cantt, his condition started worsening.

His wife informed the conductor of the bus about her husband’s condition who informed the police escorting the bus. After getting a nod from senior officers, the bus was taken to the civil hospital at Ambala City. The Ambala police was also informed in this regard.

Ambala Civil Surgeon Satish Aggarwal was present in the hospital along with a team of doctors before the arrival of the bus. Shakil was taken to the emergency ward, where the doctors referred him to the PGI, Chandigarh. He was rushed to the PGI in an ambulance of the civil hospital along with his wife.

Later, the civil surgeon said Shakil was suffering from a serious asthmatic attack.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Shashank Anand also reached there along with a police force. The bus was cordoned off by the police. No passenger, except Shakil and his wife, was allowed to come out. The bus departed for its destination after one hour. The matter was also brought to the notice of the Indian embassy.

Gurgaon, March 24
Justice M.M.Kumar of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has inaugurated a library and an IGNOU study centre on the premises of Bhondsi jail in the district during an inspection of the jail and the local labour courts.

Justice Kumar, who is the Inspecting Judge for Gurgaon, is slated to inspect the judicial and revenue courts during the annual inspection which will continue till March 24.

The IGNOU study centre has five classrooms, including a computer room and a music room.

Jail Superintendent Harender Singh said an inmate, who is a chartered accountant (CA) and proficient in computers, would help the fellow inmates learn computers.

Justice Kumar interacted with the CA, who is serving a life term in connection with the death of his wife. He is here for three years now.

The Judge also visited the music room and was impressed by the rendition of a ‘raagni’ presented by a group of inmates.

The Jail Superintendent pointed out that the furniture required at the study centre had also been prepared by the inmates.

A representative of Canara Bank also met the Inspecting Judge and expressed the bank management’s desire to start vocational courses for the jail inmates.

He said they proposed to impart training in horticulture, embroidery, beauty treatment, computer and TV-repairing etc to the prisoners under their Rudset programme.

Justice Kumar appreciated the effort and maintained that this would help the inmates get self-employment after their release from the jail.

The Judge also visited the women’s ward and inspected the kitchen.

He heard the grievances of the inmates.

The Bhondsi jail has more than 1,700 inmates, of whom 42 are women. The Inspecting Judge expressed satisfaction over the clean environment at the jail.

Kurukshetra, March 24
“Qualitative improvement in education is the need of the hour and model schools are required to be opened in large numbers to enable our children to face the challenges posed by global competition,” said Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda here today.

Addressing the 36th annual function of Saini Samaj after laying the foundation stone of senior secondary school of Saini Samaj Sabha here today, Hooda said the government had decided to develop the state as an education hub of international standards.

“The world is shrinking in a global village and fast changing developments in every field are throwing up new challenges which could be met only by becoming a leader in education”, he said adding that only those countries, states and societies would achieve progress who would build the capacity to lead in the education sector.

He said the Haryana Government had launched a number of welfare schemes and programmes for the people of every section of the society, including Scheduled Castes, Backward Classes, women, senior citizens, urban and the rural areas.

Captain of Indian women kabaddi team, Priyanka Saini, was also honoured on the occasion.

Announcing a discretionary grant of Rs 31 lakh to the Sabha for school building, he said Rs 15 lakh each would be contributed by local Member of Parliament Naveen Jindal and Rajya Sabha MP Ram Parkash for the construction of school buildings.

Speaking at another felicitation function organised by the Haryana Pal Gadaria Samaj ,Hooda laid stress on quality education and announced a grant of Rs 25 lakh to the Samaj. He also announced that MP Naveen Jindal and Rajya Sabha MP Dr Ram Parkash would also give a grant of Rs 11 lakh each for the construction of dharmshala.

Later, the Chief Minister inaugurated the second phase of mini secretariat, Kurukshetra, constructed at a cost of over Rs 8.28 crore.

Chandigarh, March 24
Next time when you travel on the Jalandhar-Ludhiana-Ambala-New Delhi stretch, you will not be travelling by the National Highway 1 (NH-1) but by the National Highway 44. In an attempt to make the numbering of national highways more scientific, the Road, Transport and Highways Ministry has re-numbered all highways affecting 41 national highways passing through the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh.

The longest highway in the country covering a distance of around 4,000 km from Srinagar to Kanyakumari (NH-1), which is known as NH 1-A on the Srinagar-Jammu-Pathankot and Pathankot-Jalandhar stretches will be known as NH-44. The Delhi-Faridabad-Hodal section of the NH-2 will be added to the NH-1.The popular Delhi-Mumbai highway (NH-8), which had been extended to Babal (Haryana), will be known as NH-48.

The Zirakpur-Panchkula (NH-22), the Panchkula-Dhanana (NH-73), the Dhanana-Naraingarh-Paonta Sahib (NH-72), the Fazilka-Abohar-Malout (NH-10), the Malout-Bathinda (NH-15), the Bathinda-Patiala-Zirakpur (NH-64) and the Naraingarh-Paonta Sahib-Dehradun (NH-72) stretches of the road will now come under NH-7.

Sources in the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) said the renaming had been done on the principles of direction and location. “Though commuters may face certain problems initially, in the long run it is going to benefit the motorists, particularly who travel long distances,” the officials said.

They informed that the Attari-Amritsar-Jalandhar stretch of the erstwhile NH-1 and the Jalandhar-Hoshiarpur-Nadaun stretch (NH-70) will now be known as NH-3.The Hoshiarpur-Nadaun-Mandi (NH-70) and the Mandi-Manali (NH-21) sections will also form a part of the NH-3. Similarly, the Ferozepur-Hoshiarpur-Nadaun (NH-70), the Ferozepur-Ludhiana-Kharar (NH-95), the Kharar-Chandigarh (NH-21), the Chandigarh-Zirakpur-Kalka and the Kalka-Shimla-Tibet border (NH-22) sections will be renamed as NH-5. The Chandigarh section of the old NH-21 will also form a part 
of the NH-5.

The new NH-52 comprises Sangrur-Narwana (NH-71) and Narwana-Kaithal-Ambala (NH-65) stretches of the road.

At present, the numbering of the highways is irrational as several highways were running parallel to each other. To enforce the new numbering system, new signages and milestones would be written on the highways, the sources added.