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State pegs drought relief at
Rs 4,000 cr
Rains miss Sirsa, Fatehabad
Three children drowned in pit
Devi Lal’s statue vandalised
Mobiles banned in women’s college
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Car, cash looted
Panchayat for CBI probe into Fiza’s death
Farmers against giving 20% cost of transformers
Israel to set up 10 more centres of excellence
Nominations for teacher’s awards invited
second charge sheet in Samjhauta Blasts case
Independence Day Gift
Karnal Apna Ghar ex-manager remanded in police custody
Former general secretary of Karnal’s Apna Ghar Manav Dass being produced in a court in Karnal on Thursday. Tribune photo: Ravi Kumar
MDU commerce students oppose dress code
Gurgaon college girl
gangraped; 1 held
Suspension of Jind councillor set aside
Hazardous waste burnt in plant fire
One killed in mishap
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State pegs drought relief at
Rs 4,000 cr
Chandigarh, August 9 A sum of Rs 1,500 crore is being sought for the power sector for supplying power, which was bought at an exhorbitant rate since May 1, for the farm sector. Besides, Rs 1,260 crore is being demanded for the agriculture sectors, including payment of compensation to farmers whose crops had been affected on account of highly deficient rainfall. Sources said while the Irrigation Department had demanded Rs 350 crore, an amount of Rs 720 crore had been sought by the Cooperation Department. The Public Health Department has sought Rs 50 crore while Rs 90 crore had been sought for the MNREGA scheme, the sources told The Tribune here today. Justifying the bigger special economic package than Punjab, a senior official said the damage to crops in Haryana was much more than Punjab. A detailed presentation justifying the demand for each department would be made before Sharad Pawar to convince him to declare the drought year for the state, he added. Against the backdrop of nearly 74 per cent deficient rainfall in the ongoing monsoon which has played havoc with the crop production in the state, the district-wise rainfall deficiency varies from 33 per cent in Gurgaon to 93 per cent in Kaithal. Earlier, the state government had come out with a contingency plan aimed at mitigating the suffering of farmers. Is the demand justified?
With heavy rain lashing different parts of the state in the past couple of days, the massive Rs 4,000-crore package seems to be far-fetched. In fact, the Centre is already having second thoughts on declaring a drought year for the state. The Centre had declared a relief package of Rs 400 crore for Haryana for the 2009 drought year (kharif season) |
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Rains miss Sirsa, Fatehabad
Sirsa, August 9 Sirsa and Fatehabad remained without any rain today, while light intermittent showers were witnessed in patches in the two districts on Tuesday and Wednesday. According to the agriculture departments of the two districts, Fatehabad observed 6 mm rainfall during the present spell of monsoon, while Sirsa remained almost dry with light drizzles at some places. “The impact of this spell of monsoon has been weak in Fatehabad and it almost fizzled out in Sirsa,” said Surinder Singh, a farmer from Sirsa. “The rain is not enough to bail out paddy farmers, who have already abandoned parts of their fields in the absence of rains,” said Harnam Singh, a farmer from Rania block of Sirsa. He said the farmers in Sirsa were still burning costly diesel to irrigate their paddy fields. The farmers, however, admitted that even these light showers had mitigated their problems to some extent. Rakesh Kumar, a technical assistant in the Agriculture Department in Fatehabad, said that these light showers would help the farmers a lot. “With the humidity in the atmosphere being near 100 per cent, there is practically no evaporation of water from the paddy fields. In contrast, much of the water farmers managed to irrigate their fields with, used to be lost through evaporation,” he added.
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Three children drowned in pit
Jhajjar, August 9 The incident took place when the trio were enjoying rain shower outside their houses in the village. Later, they went to nearby fields where a deep pit was dug by a brick-kiln contractor. The pit was full of rain water. Reports said the trio entered the pit for a bath but were drowned as none of them knew how to swim. Their kin started looking for them when they did not return home. Someone later told them kin that the trio were spotted going towards fields in the evening. When kin reached the fields, they found Tushar floating in the pit. Tushar was rushed to a hospital at Najafgarh in Delhi but doctors declared him brought dead. Thereafter, the bodies of Sagar and Monu were also found in the same pit. A pall of gloom descended on Laadpur as the news of the boys’ death spread in the village. A large numbers of people rushed to the Civil Hospital . The police reached the Civil Hospital and recorded the statements of the deceased’s kin . The bodies were handed over to their kin after a postmortem examination. Preliminary investigation rules out foul play, said the police. |
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Devi Lal’s statue vandalised
Hisar, August 9 The villagers were shocked to find this morning that vandals had severely damaged the statue by hurling stones and bricks at it. A large number of stones and bricks were found around the statue. Suraj Mal lodged a complaint with the police. The police has registered a case. villagers demanded that the statue should be replaced at government cost. Umed Lohan, President of the Hisar district unit of the INLD, said : “We condemn the incident and urge the administration to check such criminal activities. The police should immediately arrest the culprits”. |
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Mobiles banned in women’s college
Rohtak, August 9 Reports said the students had been told not to use mobile phones on the campus though they could keep these phones with them in the switched-off mode. While two senior teachers have been assigned the job of supervision in this regard, CCTV cameras installed on the campus would also help the authorities nail the violators. The college has around 5,000 students Anjali, a student, said though mobile phones should not be allowed inside the classrooms or library, the students should be free to use during free periods or outside classrooms. Welcoming the move, a staff member said this would help maintain discipline and decorum. The Principal, Dr Lakshmi Beniwal Dalal, could not be contacted despite several attempts made on her mobile phone.
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Car, cash looted
Jhajjar, August 9 The Beri police has registered a case on the complaint of principal Harish Gulati of Rohtak. Gulati said two motorbike-borne youths intercepted his car near Wazirpur village when he was returning home from Chhuchhakwass village. — OC |
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Panchayat for CBI probe into Fiza’s death
Rohtak, August 9 In a statement here today, the convener of the panchayat, Shamsher Singh Kharkara, said since Fiza was a former wife of Chander Mohan who had been a Deputy CM of Haryana and had connections with influential persons in the political arena, the report that she had committed suicide was not credible. He said any probe by the state government may not expose the truth due to political reasons and it could be used to single out a political target than to expose the cause of her death. He said he believed that Fiza had been murdered with political motives and it was the duty of the authorities concerned to unravel the truth. |
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Farmers against giving 20% cost of transformers
Karnal, August 9 The Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU) decided to hold demonstrations in front of vidyut nigam offices at Assandh and Jundala on August 13 and 17 and submit a memorandum. BKU leader Rattan Mann said in future, the farmers would be required to bear 20 per cent cost of the transformers under the self-financing scheme and this would also be applicable to the replacement of faulty transformers. He said this was unacceptable to them. Initially, the scheme had been started for stolen transformers, but it was beginning to burden the farmers who are already under debt and reeling under the impact of drought-like conditions. The farmers would be required to deposit thousands of rupees under the new scheme which was unaffordable for them and the nigam must withdraw its orders, he said. He also demanded a compensation of Rs 20,000 per acre to drought-hit farmers so that they could save their kharif crop.
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Israel to set up 10 more centres of excellence
Gharaunda, August 9 The Israel's Ambassador to India, Alon Ushpiz, who visited the Gharaunda centre with a team of experts was satisfied with the success of the venture and said 10 more centres would be set up in next three years mainly in states of Haryana, Punjab, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. The Gharaunda centre of excellence has made a mark by matching production levels of Israel and this centre for excellence has achieved yields of 302 MT per hectare in tomato, 211 MT in capsicum and 151 MT in cucumber, which is on a par with Israel. |
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Nominations for teacher’s awards invited
Chandigarh, August 9 Sources said the state government took a long time in finalising the list of the awardees. As a result, no official Teachers Day function could be organised for the awardees of 2009 and 2010. In fact, questions are being raised on whether the Education Department would be able to shortlist the awardees for the Teachers Day (September 5) on time this year as the District Education Officers (DEOs) have been asked to recommend the names of the deserving teachers by August 15. With August 10 being a holiday (Janmashtami) followed by Saturday and Sunday, the DEOs will practically have two days —August 13 and 14 — to scrutinise the nominations on a comprehensive criteria and send the names of the shortlisted candidates to a state-level committee. A DEO requesting anonymity said he was finding its difficult to judge the teachers on different parameters, including academic efficiency, co-curricular achievements, good conduct, team spirit, engagement with the local community and utilising innovative teaching methods General secretary of the Haryana Vidyalaya Adhyapak Sangh CN Bharti termed the exercise of selecting the awardees as “a farce”. If the Education Department was serious in selecting the deserving the candidates, it should have set the selection process in motion several months back, he told The Tribune today. However, Education Minister Geeta Bhukkal assured complete transparency in the selection process. Sources said the district-level committee would examine the cases of various categories as per the criteria and prospective awardees who scored over 70 per cent would be recommended by the committee to the state-level committee chaired by Director, Secondary Education, who would finally select the awardees. The selection process for the prestigious award, which comprises a cash prize of Rs 21,000, a citation and a two-year extension in service, has been mired in controversies in the past with allegations of favourtism and corruption flying thick. Till a couple of years back, the awardees were selected from the names recommended by the DEOs on the basis of their results. However, a majority of the state awardees were later found to have “failed” in tests based on their subjects and classes they were teaching. Later, the department said it had evolved a comprehensive policy so that only the deserving teachers were selected for the awards.
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second charge sheet in Samjhauta Blasts case Arun Sharma/TNS
Panchkula, August 9 This was revealed in the second charge sheet filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) before a designated court here today. The NIA, which took over the probe in 2010, filed the first charge sheet in June last year. That time the NIA had charged the accused, including Aseemanand, Sunil Joshi (now dead), Lokesh Sharma, Dange and Kalasangra for hatching a criminal conspiracy, leading to the blasts. According to the fresh charge sheet, Kamal and Amit both visited the Jama Masjid area to find a suitable place for planting the bomb. However, on finding tight security in the area they went to the Old Delhi Railway Station and finding it a soft target they decided to plant bombs on the Samjhauta Express, said the charge sheet. It was on February 18 night that blasts in two coaches of the Samjhauta Express at Diwana village near Panipat claimed 68 lives. The train between India and Pakistan was en route from Delhi to Attari. The charge sheet further stated that on February 18 the four accused, Kamal Chauhan, Amit, Lokesh Sharma and Rajinder Pahalwan, reached the Nizamudin Railway Station in Delhi from Indore carrying four briefcases and explosive material. From there, they boarded a local train to reach the Old Delhi Railway Station and after planting bombs they returned to Indore via Jaipur. Lokesh, with the help of Sunil Joshi, another accused, in the case who had been killed by his associates later, had even arranged training in handling arms and firing at Madhya Pradesh and Karni Firing Range at Faridabad, said the charge sheet. While Lokesh and Kamal are in judicial custody, Amit and Rajendra are at large, said special public prosecutor RK Handa.
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Yamunanagar to be first district with ramps for disabled
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, August 9 While stating this here today, an official spokesman said this facility would be provided in compliance of the spirit of the The Persons with Disability Act enacted by the Government of India. With this facility, children to elderly persons with disabilities would be able to move in any educational institutions or government offices or in a mall in the district. He said the ramps had been constructed not only in the urban areas but also in the rural areas. The efforts to construct these ramps were being made by the Red Cross Society through the district administration for the past two years. However, a positive initiative was taken six months ago when the job to construct ramps was taken as a mission. The campaign to construct ramps was given special impetus in all blocks of the district. The gift of ramps to be given by the Red Cross Society, Yamunanagar, to disabled persons on the Independence Day would be a source of inspiration for other Red Cross Societies in the country, he added.
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Karnal Apna Ghar ex-manager remanded in police custody
Karnal, August 9 More trouble seems to be brewing for Manav Dass as the medical examination report of three other minor girls has corroborated the allegations of sexual abuse. “One of the three minor girls had alleged that she was raped while the other two had alleged molestation in their statements”, Shashank Anand, SP, said. Anirudh, a poor labourer from Bihar, had left his three minor daughters and two sons in Apna Ghar. Anirudh had accused Manav Dass of sexually abusing his daughters last year but the matter was hushed up as the medical report did not corroborate the rape charge. However, the girls’ fresh medical examination has given credence to the allegations that the report of the medical examination conducted last year was manipulated to hush up the matter. Anirudh got suspicious about Manav Dass’ activities after his daughters’ suddenly started looking frightened. After getting more information from his daughters, Anirudh made serious allegations of sexual abuse against a top functionary of Apna Ghar. Anirudh wanted to take his children back home but the management allowed him to take only the sons and not the daughters, which strengthened his suspicion. The administration conducted an inquiry and the three girls were shifted to Shardhanand Anathashram. Later, another case of beating inmates was registered against Monica Dias, Director of Apna Ghar . Manav Dass was also booked in this case and remanded in judicial custody. However, she is at large . On the intervention of the local administration, 11 minor inmates, five girls and six boys, were shifted to Nirmal Dham and Manduban Ashram after the allegations of beating and exploitation of inmates surfaced.
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MDU commerce students oppose dress code
Rohtak, August 9 Some students met the Vice-Chancellor and submitted a memorandum against the move today. “We have been asked by Prof M.S.Malik, acting Head of the Department (HOD), not to wear jeans, tops and T-shirts in the department with anyone found violating the directions liable to face the music,” said a student who wished to remain unidentified. Even boys have been asked not to wear T-shirts in the classroom. The department has 60 seats each in the two-year M.Com course and the five-year integrated PG course. The students met the Vice-Chancellor today in this connection and lodged a protest. Mr Malik, however, described the students’ allegations as baseless, claiming that he had just asked the students to dress decently and avoid wearing short tops in the class. He said he had not threatened or forced anyone to wear any kind of dress. |
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Gurgaon college girl
gangraped; 1 held
Gurgaon, August 9 She was taken to Alwar in Rajasthan on August 3 and gangraped for several days. “The main accused, Rahul, a resident of Feroze Gandhi Colony, has been arrested. He offered her a lift and took her to Alwar,” the police added. Other accused included two students from the victim's college, Manish and Rambir. The fourth accused, Sawant, hails from Alwar. |
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Suspension of Jind councillor set aside
Chandigarh, August 9 Allowing councillor Mukesh’s petition, Justice Ranjit Singh of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has not only set aside the orders, but also imposed costs of Rs 50,000. Half of the costs are to be recovered jointly from the Director-General, the DC and the Additional DC. The remaining half is to be recovered from council president Sudesh Kumari. Elected unopposed, Mukesh had challenged the suspension order allegedly passed to save the president from the no-confidence motion moved by her and other councillors. The petitioner claimed a complaint dated November 17, 2011, was obtained from Jagdish, alleging that the petitioner was a resident of Dakotan in Bahadurgarh tehsil. Seeking legal action against her, the complainant had claimed that Mukesh “could not have her vote at two places”. The petitioner alleged the Additional DC, without holding a proper enquiry and waiting for her response, submitted a report against her to the government “under political pressure”. She added the impugned order was passed on December 30, 2011, by the Director-General on the basis of the ex-parte illegal inquiry report. In her petition, Mukesh alleged the order was illegal and arbitrary to save the president, who belonged to the ruling party. Relying on some newspaper reports, the petitioner also alleged that Congress MP Varinder Singh visited Jind and pressured the councillors not to participate in the special no-confidence meeting. She further alleged that even the Chief Minister was taking a keen interest in the matter. As the Chief Minister was not impleaded as a party, and the allegations were found to be vague, Justice Ranjit Singh did not lay much emphasis on it. But Justice Ranjit Singh concluded: “More I think and more I am inclined to believe that this suspension order was passed just to defeat the no confidence motion somehow or the others. It is sad to notice that a senior officer became a willing tool in this exercise”.
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Hazardous waste burnt in plant fire
Faridabad, August 9
A huge quantity of hazardous waste stored was burnt. The fire was confined to the storage area. No one was injured in the incident. The District Fire Officer, Faridabad, Devender Nanda, said the cause of the fire could not be ascertained immediately. It seemed to be a case of short-circuit, he added. Eight fire engines were pressed to douse the fire. Six belonged to the department and one each was requisitioned from the NTPC and the local Air Force Station. Nanda said the fire-fighting operation was affected as the fire engines had to go Sainik Colony, about 5 km away, for refill of water. MK Jaitly, general manager, Gujarat Enviro Protection (Haryana) Pvt. Ltd which manages and operates the plant, said the loss on account of the fire could not be immediately ascertained. The plant, which provides facilities for treatment, storage and disposal of industrial hazardous waste for the state, functions under the aegis of the Haryana Environment Management Society (HEMS), a non-government organisation promoted by the Haryana State Pollution Control Board. The plant had come in operation on April 1, last year. Jaitly said it would take at least one month for the plant to get operational.
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One killed in mishap
Rewari, August 9 The mishap took place when the youths were coming to Rewari to undertake physical exercise at Rao Tula Ram Stadium here to make preparations for the Army Recruitment Rally to be held here on August 19, whereas the bus was on its way to the Industrial Estate at
Bawal.
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Manav Dass, a former manager of Karnal Apna Ghar, who was yesterday remanded in 14-day judicial custody by a local court for beating minor inmates of the shelter home, was today remanded in one-day police custody in another case of alleged rape by Bhupinder Nath Sharma, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate.
