The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Gorakhpur Atomic Power Plant Travails Starved of power, opposition to project still strong Sushil Manav /TNS Fatehabad, July 19 Only a few days back, farmers across Haryana were seen locking power stations because they did not get enough power to irrigate their fields for the next crop. Angry residents blocked roads as they had to spend sleepless nights for want of power to run their ACs, air coolers and fans. Political leaders of opposition parties left no opportunity to castigate Bhupinder Singh Hooda for an abysmally poor power situation and charged his government with failing to keep pace with demand. Now, the same opposition parties - the INLD, the HJC, the BJP and the CPM - are opposing the government in its endeavours to set up the first nuclear power project of the state at Gorakhpur in Fatehabad. It sounds rather surprising as to why in a state starved of power, there is so much of opposition to a project, which has the potentials of mitigating electricity grievances to a great extent. The upcoming plant named as Gorakhpur Atomic Power Project (GAPP) by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) will have a total production of 2,800 Megawatts after commissioning of all the four of its reactors. At least half of this power will come Haryana’s way. A perusal of old correspondence between the state and the central government on this issue reveals that the plan to set up a nuclear power plant in Fatehabad was made in as early as the 1980s, when the then Chief Minister, Bhajan Lal, wrote his first of the three letters written to the Centre. In his letter written to Indira Gandhi on July 20, 1984, Bhajan Lal expressed his happiness at the Centre’s decision to set up a nuclear power plant is Haryana and offered a site near Kumharia in Hisar for this purpose. The village has now come under Fatehabad, which was carved out as a new district in 1997. On October 25, 1985, Bhajan Lal wrote another letter, this time to Rajiv Gandhi, who had taken over the reins by then, and cited 12th annual power survey figures to draw his attention to the deficit in installed capacity of power in Haryana. The former chief minister again offered Kumharia in Hisar and said it has the benefit of being closer to Punjab as well as Rajasthan. Devi Lal, who came to power after a “Nyay Yudh”, wrote a letter to Rajiv Gandhi on November 23, 1987 requesting him for his “urgent and benign” attention to the matter and early clearance of the project. Bhajan Lal wrote yet another letter to PV Narasinmha Rao on July 16, 1993 in this regard. However, it took more than three decades to the centre to approve the project, as another team visited Kumharia, Kajal Heri and Gorakhpur on June 18, 2007 and found the present site as better option. Incidentally, more than 1100 acres out of the notified land is highly fertile and is irrigated by a canal passing nearby, which will also cater to the 360 cusecs water needs of GAPP for cooling of the reactors. The rest of 400 acres is either prone to water logging or is not fit for cultivation due to its soil quality. “This land is like our mother. How can the government snatch our mother from us?” asks Hans Raj Siwach, president of the Kisan Sangharsh Samiti spearheading the agitation. “Aisi bijli se to diya jala ke kaam chala liyange (rather than having such power that separates us from our lands, we will prefer to light our house with lamps),” says Om Pati (80). Deputy Commissioner ML Kaushik says only a handful of farmers are behind this agitation and a majority of them has possession of the lands, but not the ownership rights. Kuldeep Bishnoi, MP from Hisar and president of Haryana Janhit Congress, whose parliamentary constituency is very close to Gorakhpur, says the government wants to put people’s life in peril by setting this hazardous plant. Both Chautala and Bishnoi maintain that the letters written by their respective fathers were relevant at that time, but not now, when people have experienced Fukushima disaster.
	Yamunanagar, Khedar thermal plants 100 m units shortfall in power generation Manish Sirhindi/TNS Yamunanagar, July 19 The Yamunanagar and Khedar thermal power plants in the state have topped the list of thermal units in the country where the shortfall in generation in the first quarter has been more than 100 million units. According to the latest report brought out by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), there was nil generation at Yamunanagar thermal and Khedar, causing a shortfall of 451 million units in the state. The report stated that the country lost nine billion units (BU) of thermal generation on account of fuel shortage. The coal supply of around 8,000-MW capacity of thermal plants commissioned during 2011-12 had not yet even commenced, the report said. While the shortage of coal led to the generation loss of 4.37 billion units, the shortage of gas led to a loss of 2.10 billion units of thermal power. The balance generation loss was attributed to transmission constraints and unforeseen outages of thermal units. According to sources in Haryana Power Generation Corporation Limited (HPGCL), while the corporation was to import two MT of coal in the current fiscal year, it could bring in only a fraction of this quantity till date. The electricity generation in the country during June was 76.31 BU. The cumulative electricity generation during first quarter of financial year was 231 BU. The thermal generation during June was 61.91 BU with Haryana not being able to generate thermal power anywhere near the installed capacity of 5050.50 MW of power. As per the report, during the month only 82 per cent of the total requirement of coal was available. The thermal power stations received about 33 MT of coal against the demand of 40.0 MT. As many as 31 thermal power stations (TPS) had critical coal stock of less than seven days. Out of these, 25 TPS were having coal stock of less than 4 days as on June 30. During the current financial year 2012-13, the anticipated gap between the requirement and availability of domestic coal was estimated around 70 MT. Out of 70 MT, 46 MT of coal was to be met through import of coal for which all the utilities have been advised to take necessary action. In addition, 24 MT of coal would be needed to operate power plants designed on imported coal, the sources said.
	Blank phone calls to PCR Jhajjar police to take legal action against guilty Ravinder Saini Jhajjar, July 19 Beware! Mischievous elements who have been teasing policemen posted at the Police Control Room (PCR) here by making blank phone calls on toll-free emergency police assistance number 100. Taking a serious view of several incidents of such blank phone calls, the district police authorities have now decided to take legal action against these elements. The Jhajjar SP, Patram Singh, has recently directed the policemen posted at the PCR to contact SHOs of police stations concerned to get a case booked against the caller if they receive any blank call on 100 number. Giving this information, Devender Dangi, Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Jhajjar police, told The Tribune that a sharp rise in the number of blank calls made by anti-social elements on emergency police help number had been reported during the past couple of months. These calls were not only misguiding the policemen persistently but wasting their precious time as well, he added. “Callers several times give missed calls at the number especially during late night hours. When the policemen call back at the same number, either no one attends the call or if he receives it, then he pretends that the call was made by mistake,” said the PRO. Dangi maintained that the callers had also given incorrect information many times about ‘criminal’ activities with an intention to misdirect the police. Acting on the information, the policemen used to reach the spot but had to return empty handed due to false information, he added. “These false inputs not only waste the time of police but also cause several other difficulties. Therefore, we have decided to book such callers who deliberately try to tease or misguide us by making blank calls on 100 number,” he said. The PRO maintained that the emergency police assistance numbers 100 and 8930500677 were to garner public support so that any one could give the police vital tip-offs about any crime spot, illegal activities or criminals hence misuse of this facility was not in favour of society from any angle, he added. “To misguide the police by giving wrong information or making blank calls at the emergency numbers is also a crime in the eyes of law, thus people should abstain from these calls; otherwise they have to face the music as directives have been issued by the SP in this regard,” said Dangi.
	Kurukshetra villagers urged to keep their villages clean DR Vij Kurukshetra, July 19 A panchayat should impose a fine on a villager who lets drinking water flow without any purpose. If people are not vigilant about judicious use of water, they will have to contend with scarcity of drinking water in future. This was stated by the Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC), Sumedha Kataria, while apprising villagers of Pratapgarh recently about the ‘Apna Gaon Apni Shaan’ scheme. The scheme was launched on a pilot basis to make villages clean. Kataria visited the village to tell the villagers about the cleanliness drive launched in the district. District administration personnel along with other people picked up polythene bags from the streets and dumped them into a ditch on the outskirts of the village. Kataria said when this village was inspected in 1990, there was no drainage system and the streets were ‘kutcha’ in contrast to the present situation. In spite of all the available facilities, the sanitary condition in the village was still bad. Each resident of the village should contribute an hour every week to clean it. She asserted that efforts to establish waste-management units in 28 villages were underway and one such unit was made operational in a village of Jyotisar, where collection of garbage and waste was started by the village panchayat. Kurukshetra was the first district in the state, where this scheme had been launched on a pilot basis.
	Kurukshetra prepares to go green Our Correspondent Kurukshetra, July 19 To raise the green cover in the district, as many as 5,21,995 saplings will be planted by the Haryana Forest Department during the current monsoon season. Besides, 13 lakh saplings will be distributed free of cost to farmers, panchayats, institutes and other departments so that the maximum area could be covered under the green drive. Deputy Commissioner Mandeep Singh Brar has urged the people to plant the maximum number of saplings to keep a check on the rising atmospheric temperature and air pollution. He said life was impossible on the earth without plants as we fulfilled our basic needs from them directly or indirectly. “The stock of saplings of shady trees, fruit trees, ornamental and wood trees is available at various nurseries of the department,” he added. Ravinder Dhankhar, divisional forest officer, said 23,76,870 saplings of different varieties were available at various nurseries, including Rampur, HUDA Sector 13, Shahabad, Jyotisar Herbal Park, Kurari, Ravgarh, Gogpur, Pehowa, Lotani, Jalbera, Seonsar Block Headquarters, Seonsar Rest House, Murtzapur and Urlana nurseries.
	Sirsa villages to have more legal aid clinics Sushil Manav/TNS Sirsa, July 19 The District Legal Service Authority (DSLA) will now increase the number of legal aid clinics being held in Sirsa villages from 20 to 40 per week. Harish Gupta, Chief Judicial Magistrate of the Legal Services Authority, said the process for identifying villages for this purpose was in progress and the actual activities in these clinics would start soon. “Every Sunday, one advocate and two paralegal volunteers appointed by the DSLA visit each such legal aid clinic and solve legal issues of the villagers,” said Gupta describing the functions of the legal aid clinics. The advocates and paralegal volunteers help villagers in writing applications and doing other chores related to government offices. He said besides the villages, legal aid clinics would now be held in the urban slum areas, too. The clinics are held every Sunday and the DLSA pays to the advocates and paralegal volunteers at a rate of Rs 500 and Rs 250 each, respectively. The DLSA has also been holding legal literacy camps in villages, where advocates empanelled with it have been making people aware of their legal rights and remedies in case of violation of rights. “Now, the DLSA is starting such camps, exclusively for women,” said Gupta. During these camps, the protection officer under the Protection of Women from the Domestic Violence Act, social welfare officer and women and child development officers would also be informing women about their rights. The CJM said the DLSA had also assigned duties to lawyers to be present in the courts of magistrates during remand hours so that undertrials brought to the court could get legal help. Similarly, the advocates empanelled under the DLSA have also been visiting the District Jail to meet prisoners and ask them about their legal problems.
	Sirsa to have‘swachhta doots’ Tribune News Service Sirsa, July 19 'Sawchhta doots' will be appointed in Sirsa and a survey of houses left without individual toilets would be conducted in the district under the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan soon. While stating this here recently, the Deputy Commissioner, J Ganesan, said one such 'sawchhta doot’ would be appointed for a population of 1,000 in the district. Special training regarding cleanliness awareness would be imparted to them. He said these ‘sawchhta doots’ would move from one village to another to educate people about the advantages of cleanliness. He said these 'sawchhta doots’ would give various tips to the villagers regarding maintaining cleanliness in streets and homes. He said Sirsa was the only district in the state where 290 out of 303-odd villages had got the status of 'Nirmal Grams'. He said sanitation and polythene-free cleanliness campaign being implemented in Sirsa had yielded positive results.
	250 examined at free health check-up camp Our Correspondent Kurukshetra, July 19 A one-day free health check-up camp, organised by the Gyanwati OP Memorial Trust, Chandigarh, in collaboration with Medanta the Medicity, Gurgaon, was inaugurated by Lt General DDS Sandhu, Vice-Chancellor of Kurukshetra University, at the university health centre recently. In his inaugural address, Dr Sandhu said such camps should be organised more frequently and university employees must avail themselves of the facilities offered for their better health and well being. During the camp, a cancer specialist, Dr Kanchan Kaur, and two heart specialists, Dr KP Singh and Dr Smita Singh, from Medanta the Medicity educated people about the common causes of cancer and heart diseases and told them about the precautionary measures to be adopted along with medication. About 250 patients were examined and various tests, including blood sugar, blood pressure and ECG, were conducted free of cost. Dr Surender Deswal, Registrar of Kurukshetra University, Dr Girish Chopra, Dean Academic Affairs, Dr Anil Vashisht, Dean Students Welfare, Dr P Kumar, Dr Anupama Deswal, Dr Ashish Aneja were present on the occasion.
	Schools, colleges told to form legal literacy clubs Sunit Dhawan/TNS Gurgaon, July 19 Gurgaon District and Sessions Judge-cum-District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) Chairman Dr Bharat Bhushan Parsoon has exhorted the principals and heads of government colleges and schools to constitute legal literacy clubs at their institutions. Addressing a meeting of school and college principals convened by the DLSA here recently, Dr Parsoon also impressed upon them to hold legal literacy classes for the benefit of the students and society. The Judge pointed out that government schools are supposed to impart legal education through social science teachers, while colleges can educate students on legal matters either through their own faculty members or by the resource persons provided by the DLSA. The DLSA Chairman also set up block-level coordination committees, of which the block education officers (BEOs) concerned would be the conveners and principals members. These committees would coordinate with the DLSA regarding matters relating to the welfare of students and about legal literacy clubs. “Students are the future of the nation and it is the moral duty of every teacher to pay attention to their overall development,” Dr Parsoon said, adding that channelising the vast potential and energy of the students in the right direction was also the responsibility of the teachers.
	Preparation for Judicial Services Exams Sonepat varsity sets up centre Our Correspondent Sonepat, July 19 The Law Department of Bhagat Phool Singh Mahila Vishwavidyalaya, Khanpur Kalan, here has set up a university centre so that students of the university can prepare for judicial services examinations. According to Prof Vimal Joshi, head of the Law Department, this step was taken on the initiative of Vice-Chancellor of the university Dr Pankaj Mittal in the interest of the law students. Its main objective was that the law students, while continuing their regular studies, could prepare themselves for the judicial services examinations being conducted by the Public Service Commissions of different states. He said two teachers from the Law Department Ashok Kumar and Priyanka Jain were selected as civil judge-cum-judicial magistrate in the judicial services examination recently conducted by the Haryana Public Service Commission. “Along with regular studies, activities like mute courts, case discussions, quiz, presentations, seminars, debates etc are being organised at the centre,” he said, adding that prominent lawyers from various parts of the country were being invited to deliver lecturers on law-related matters. Prof Joshi said besides preparing the students for judicial services examinations, they were also being prepared for seeking better career in the corporate world.
	DRUNKEN DRIVING Illegal liquor shops flourish along NH1 Bhanu P Lohumi/TNS Panipat, July 19 Despite stringent measures adopted by the Haryana Government to curb drunken driving, illegal liquor vends abound along the national highway in the state. According to section 24(1) of the Control of National Highways (Land and Traffic) Act, 2002, no shop or liquor vend can be opened along the national highways, but liquor shops are thriving along NH1. Earlier, the Punjab and Haryana High Court in an order on August 6, 2010, had directed the state government to remove all such encroachments without any further delay. The Project Director, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Nirmal Kumar Jain, had also written to the Panipat administration on April 26, 2010, and informed it about 17 such establishments that had come up on the area along NH1, but no action was taken as the administration feared to disrupt public tranquility, which could create a law and order problem. Among the 17 encroachments were nine liquor vends, five tyre shops, a milk booth and a religious structure. RTI activist PP Kapoor, who collected information regarding illegal encroachments, alleged that the police and the administration were hand in glove with the liquor mafia, so they did not take action against encroachments. Interestingly, in a reply to the RTI activist, the Excise and Assistant Information Officer, Ambala, had informed him that the government was earning a revenue of Rs 13 crore from these vends and if removed, the government would suffer losses. The RTI activist demanded action against the erring officers for failing to implement the Act and follow the directions of the high court. “The problem was not confined to Panipat alone as the same situation prevailed in Karnal, Ambala, Kurukshetra, Faridabad and Sonepat districts,” Kapoor added. He said the existence of liquor vends along the highway was a temptation for drivers, which could lead to accidents.
	Scrap single-window system: Faridabad industry Ravi S Singh Tribune News Service Faridabad, July 19 The industry here wants the single-window system with regard to the units, which are already in existence, to be scrapped as it has “failed” to take off even after four years of its introduction. The system was introduced in the Industrial Policy of the state. The provision enjoins the owners of the industrial units, both existing and those who want to set up new ones, to get prior clearance from the District Level Clearance Committee (DLCC) headed by deputy commissioners in the respective districts. According to the policy, there is a clearance committee in each of the districts and the one at the state headquarters. The committee grants the annual ‘consent to operate’ to the units already in existence and ‘consent to establish’ for proposed ventures. The applications are approved by it following a green signal by more than half-a-dozen departments. S Kapoor, executive director of the Faridabad Industries Association (FIA), said the functioning of the committee in Faridabad had been crippled, as the departments concerned, except the Haryana State Pollution Control Board, had not devolved their authority to it. The idea behind introducing the ‘single-window’ concept to make things easy for entrepreneurs had been belied, he added. An industrialist said the track record of the committee in the past four years was not encouraging. “It is never punctual in holding its mandatory monthly meetings,” he said. He added that the units, which were already in existence, were better off without the system. The FIA had also raised the issue before YS Malik, Principal Secretary, Industry, Haryana, during its recent annual general meeting.
	9 new breeds of farm animals registered Bhanu P. Lohumi Tribune News Service Karnal, July 19 Nine new breeds of livestock species, including three breeds of cattle, one breed of buffalo, two breeds each of goat and pig and one breed of donkey have been registered by the National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources, Karnal (NBAGR). NBAGR is the nodal agency for the registration of newly identified germplasm of the livestock and poultry of the country. The registration of indigenous pig and donkey breeds has been done for the first time and these new breeds were identified through a comprehensive survey conducted by NBAGR, other ICAR institutes, state universities, state departments and NGOs in their respective breeding tracts in the country, Director, NBAGR Dr B K Joshi said. With the inclusion of these breeds which have been approved by Breed Registration Committee headed by Deputy Director General (Animal Sciences), Indian Council of Agricultural Research, the total number of indigenous breeds in the country has gone up to 144, which include 37 for cattle, 13 for buffalo, 23 for goat, 39 for sheep, 6 for horses and ponies, 8 for camel, two for pig, one for donkey and 15 for chicken. The newly-identified breeds are well adapted to the local climate and thrive better in adverse environmental conditions and nutritional scarcity and possess specific milk protein type which is more beneficial to human health than milk from exotic and cross-bred cattle. The NBAGR would now work to identify the genetic peculiarity conferring these unique characters. The newly registered breeds include Kalahandi buffaloes, Pulikulam, Kosali and Malnad Gidda breeds of cattle, Konkan Kanyal and Berari breeds of goat, Ghoongroo and Niang Megha breeds of pigs and Spiti breeds of donkey. Kalahandi buffaloes are dual type medium sized with long, strong, half circled horns with broad base, excellent in heat and drought tolerance, used for milk and draught purpose in Kalahandi and Rayagada districts of Odisha. Kosali is small sized, draft purpose cattle breed of bullocks used by farmers in Chhattisgarh for cleaning of weeds from paddy field. Pulikulam cattle are maintained in large migratory herds in Madurai and nearby region of Tamil Nadu and utilised in draught and for manure, more resistant to communicable and parasitic diseases. Malnad Gidda is a short statured cattle breed from Western Ghat of Karnataka, reared for milk and manure purpose. Konkal Kanyal goat is meat type breed adapted to high rainfall and hot and humid climate of Konkan region of Maharasthra. Berari goat is also reared mainly for meat purpose in Vidarbh region of Maharashtra. As a unique feature, animals have light to dark strips on lateral sides from horn base to nostrils of face. Ghoongroo pig is reared for pork and manure purpose in Darjeeling and nearby Tarai area of West Bengal. Niang Megha is a pig breed from Garo, Khasi and Jaintia hills of Meghalaya reared for pork and bristle purpose. Spiti donkey is found in tribal Lahaul and Spiti region of Himachal and is utilised for transportation at high altitude (around 3500m above sea level) area with low level of environmental oxygen.
	Rare 1,000 books donated to library DR Vij Kurukshetra, July 19 Kurukshetra University’s Dharohar Haryana Museum (DHM) library was enriched when a rare collection of 1,000 books on Haryanvi folk culture, literature and heritage was donated by Prof Lalchand Gupta to the library recently. Professor Gupta is a former dean of the university. DHM curator Dr Mahasingh Poonia said Haryanvi writers were requested to donate books on Haryanvi folk culture, literature and heritage to the DHM library, which is a centre of Haryanvi folk culture and heritage. “Prof Amrit Lal Madan, Fakir Chand Gupta, Sumer Chand, Kawal Haryanvi, Chattarbhuj Bansal, Anand Prakash (an artist) and Harikrishan Dwivedi had also contributed books on the Haryanvi literature to the DHM library recently,” Poonia added. Lt General DDS Sandhu, Vice-Chancellor of Kurukshetra University, appreciated Prof Lalchand Gupta’s generous contribution to the library.
	Minister wishes luck to Olympics players Sushil Manav/TNS Sirsa, July 19 Haryana Home Minister Gopal Kanda recently wished luck to all the players of the state who are participating in the Olympics and appreciated the initiative of the Haryana Sports and Youth Affairs Department to launch the Best of Luck India Roadshow Campaign in support of players. Kanda said it was a good initiative of the state government and would surely boost the morale of the players. He said 18 players of the state would participate in London Olympics, adding that it would be a record as the highest number of players from the state would participate in the Olympics. He hoped that this time also the players would give an excellent performance and win many medals. The minister said the players winning gold, silver and bronze medals in the Olympics would get Rs 2.50 crore, Rs 1.50 crore and Rs one crore, respectively. He said the state government had implemented “Padak Lao Pad Pao” (bring medals, get jobs) in its Sports Policy to ensure a secure future to the players. Apart from this, the state government was considering to implement the Right to Play Act. The implementation of this Act would not only help in bringing forward the hidden talent in sports but also provide an opportunity to the youth to come to the playground, he added.
	Training programme for caddies Sunit Dhawan/TNS Gurgaon, July 19 The Women’s Golf Association of India (WGAI) and Union Ministry of Tourism (MoT) announced a joint training programme for golf caddies here recently. The initiative, titled “Incredible India Golf Caddy Training Programme”, is part of the ministry’s “Hunar se Rozgaar” campaign and aims towards skill development for aspiring golf assistants. Under this programme, prospective candidates to be trained as golf assistants would be identified and the shortlisted ones would undergo a six-week-long extensive training programme. The DLF Golf and Country Club, Gurgaon, had volunteered to train the first lot of women golf assistants, while the Qutub Golf Club would train the men aspiring to be golf assistants. The programme is aimed at creating a pool of certified golf assistants who could assist national and international golfers during golf tours in India. As of now, the project would focus on Delhi-NCR.
	Movie This Week Mere Dost Picture Abhi Baki Hai Directed by: Rajnish Raj Thakur “Mere Dost Picture Abhi Baki Hai” will take you on a wild journey inside the dreamy world of Bollywood, where audience will see the reality of film industry. It will not just make you laugh but will make you appreciate the efforts of those who try to entertain you every Friday. The film stars Sunil Shetty, Rajpal Yadav, Udita Goswami, Shayan Munshi, Shahwar Ali and Om Puri. The movie releases today at Sun City-Hisar, Minerva-Ambala, Q Cinema-Faridabad. — Dharam Pal