The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Birth anniversary of founder of Bishnoi sect Celebrations marred by politicking; Godara, Bishnoi trade charges Raman Mohan Tribune News Service Hisar, August 16 The birth anniversary celebrations of the founder of the Bishnoi sect here on Janamashtami day were marred by politicking. Although the celebrations have always been a political affair especially during the lifetime of former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal, himself a Bishnoi, the personalities on the stage had rarely sparred. This year the function was chaired by Kuldeep Bishnoi, MP and the younger son of the late Bhajan Lal. During his speech, Additional Advocate-General, Haryana, Subhash Godara, who is also a former office-bearer of the All-India Bishnoi Mahasabha, floated a proposal to thank Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda for giving government jobs to a large number youth belonging to the Bishnoi sect. Kuldeep Bishnoi was visibly upset by the proposal. He remarked that there were certain “gaddaars” at the meeting who wanted to politicise the celebrations. Godara was stung by the remark. He immediately countered Bishnoi saying that it was he who had betrayed members of the sect and his own cousin, Dura Ram, who had been elected as a legislator on Congress ticket from Fatehabad. Godara alleged that Kuldeep Bishnoi had done his best to defeat his first cousin and a fellow Bishnoi. Godara did not stop here. He approached the Mahasabha for immediate removal of Bishnoi as patron of the organisation on charges of acting against the interests of the sect. He said a non-controversial person of eminence should be installed in his place. He also demanded an audio and a video copy of the proceedings of the function to let the organisation decide whether the language and logic given by Kuldeep Bishnoi was justified. In his representation, he alleged that Bishnoi had tried to defeat Dura Ram twice. Besides, he had worked against the interests of dozens of young Bishnois who had contested elections to the zila parishad, municipal bodies and panchayats. Guru Jambheshwar’s birth anniversary falls on Janamashtami. The Bishnois hold a big function in the Bishnoi temple here every year on the occasion. In the past, Bhajan Lal and former Home Minister Mani Ram Godara dominated the proceedings. Despite being friends-turned-political adversaries, they never sparred publicly in this function to maintain its dignity. Both the leaders have since died. Last week’s incident involving Kuldeep Bishnoi and Godara has upset elder members of the sect. Many have approached the Mahasabha leaders to formulate an informal code of conduct for members of the sect during such religious functions. However, considering the political angle to the incident, it is unlikely that both Bishnoi and Godara will relent.
	Skewed sex ratio makes bride hunting a difficult proposition Sushil Manav Tribune News Service Fatehabad, August 16 Ram Partap, a farmer from Jandli Kalan village in Fatehabad, had heard about the skewed sex ratio in the state. However, he did not actually realise the gravity of the situation until he went for a bride hunt for his son Rajinder a few years ago. It was only after he was faced with the stark reality that there were no takers for his son that he was able to comprehend the impact of lesser number of females than males in society. Today, Rajinder (40) is a member of a big army of middle-aged men living a life of forced bachelorhood due to gender imbalance in society. The paucity of girls due to a skewed sex ratio in this part of the country has made it difficult for people like Ram Partap to find brides for their sons. In the neighbouring Gorakhpur village, farmer Partap Singh was able to find suitable brides for his two elder sons, but no one came forward to marry their daughters to the three others, Mohinder, Raj Kumar and Kala. Kala has since gone insane, while Mohinder and Raj Kumar are part of some 500 unmarried men of the village. The problem is not confined to Jandli Kalan or Gorakhpur alone, but it has become a scourge for almost the entire Haryana. Sex determination and female foeticide seems to be now making telling effect on society in this part of the state. Armies of bachelors, having well passed their marriageable age, is ever increasing in almost every village of this area. Jat youths, particularly those having small landholdings, are being forced into bachelorhood due to paucity of brides. Though some have been lucky that their families procured wives for them from other states like Bihar, Assam and Orissa, the number of old bachelors has been on the rise with each passing day. However, procured wives have added to the problem rather than solving it in many cases. Balraj purchased a bride for himself through some go-between. However, she ran away after a few days with cash and ornaments leaving Balraj distraught. Tasha, too, procured wife from a Punjab village through some mediator. She also ran away with all his savings, leaving Tasha in the lurch. Further, these “procured brides” are looked down upon by other women of the village. Due to a cultural divide, some find it difficult to adjust in the society here and some of them eventually escape leaving their husband’s families in the lurch. “Initially, when these women come to our village, neither we are able to understand their language, nor do they understand ours. But those who spend some years get accustomed to our culture and dialect,” says Guddi Devi, sarpanch of Jandli Kalan village. Krishan Swaroop Gorakhpuria, a social activist, says that while rich and prosperous Jat families don't face any problem in finding suitable brides for their sons, those having small landholdings find it almost impossible to get brides as parents of girls of marriageable age prefer to send their daughters to families where their future is bright. “The problem is more severe in upper caste families, particularly Jats, because the incidents of female foeticide are more common in them,” Krishan Swaroop adds. He says the fear of losing a part of landholdings to daughter is one big reason, if not the only reason behind the craving for male children among the Jats. Sunita Jandli, president of the district Fatehabad unit of the All-India Democratic Women Association (AIDWA), said stricter implementation of laws relating to the determination of sex was needed to bring an end to the problem. Jaswant Kaur, district secretary of the AIDWA, says the social implication of the gender imbalance, which was not visible earlier, had manifested over the years. (Some names of village youths have been changed to protect identity)
	Powerful politicians, ambition prove their nemesis Sushil Manav Tribune News Service Sirsa, August 16 Almost two decades ago, a young student leader from Delhi, Naina Sahni, dreamt to make big in the field of politics and found a politician, Sushil Sharma, to help translate her dreams into reality. However, her saga ended with Sharma allegedly murdering her and burning her body in a ‘tandoor’ in Bagia restaurant owned by him on July 2, 1995. Seventeen years from the infamous “tandoor kand”, another young woman, Geetika Sharma, dared to dream big and make her career in aviation and hospitality and she came in contact with Haryana’s powerful Home Minister Gopal Kanda in connection with her first employment. However, her saga, too, ended in her death, though not due to murder but because of suicide for which she has held Kanda responsible. In between, there have been a number of cases like Bhanwari Devi, a nurse and her affair with former Rajasthan minister Mahipal Maderna, and poetess Madhumita Shukla and her proximity to Uttar Pradesh politician Amarmani Tripathi. These, too, ended with the tragic deaths of the female protagonists; allegedly, at the hands of powerful male politicians, they trusted, but who played villains in their stories. The mysterious death of former Additional Advocate General Anuradha Bali, alias Fiza, who married Haryana’s then Deputy Chief Minister Chander Mohan, only to be divorced within months, is also another case in point. Though Fiza’s death is still a mystery for the Punjab police, who is probing the case, one of her friends has already raised fingers on a prominent politician from Haryana. The question is whether women are victimised in relations with politicians. Shamim Sharma, academician and author of two books on women empowerment, “Aajanmi Beti Ki Maa Ke Naam Chithi” and “Hindustan Ke Sasur,” said women, who fell in the trap of such politicians were also to blame for their plight. “Most of these women, it seems, tried to use politicians as a ladder for their success without realising that these men were already married had children to look after,” she added. “So far as these men are concerned, they considered women as commodities for use and throw,” said Shamim Sharma, who also heads an NGO “Jazba” on women empowerment. “The sensitivities of the women, who trusted them, did not have any meaning for these politicians,” she added. Jagmati Sangwan, state president of the All-India Democratic Women Association (AIDWA), said a political culture had developed in the country, where women had been rendered as objects of use and throw. “In this political culture, women, who try to come closer to politicians in pursuit of their careers, they have to pay a heavy price, which sometimes is paid through their lives,” she said. Jagmati Sangwan said if the Geetika Sharma suicide case was investigated properly and without any influence on the police, people will come to know that there was an element of coercion, which finally drove the young former airhostess to suicide. She said it was high tome to decide some norms for the politicians. “It is quite strange that the Chief Minister remained unaware of what his powerful minister for Home was doing,” Jagmati Sangwan wondered.
	Metro to extend to Haryana towns soon BS Malik Sonepat, August 16 The state government is making sincere efforts to link the National Capital Region (NCR) in the state with the Metro lines. This was stated by Rohtak MP Deepender Singh Hooda, while inaugurating a wrestling competition at Rohna village recently. “The construction work of metro line from Mundka in Delhi to Bahadurgarh in Haryana will commence soon,” he said, adding that the Centre was being approached for Metro link from Jahangirpuri in Delhi to Sonepat, Bahadurgarh to Asaudha and from Nazafgarh in Delhi to Badli in Haryana. He said the Metro had become the need of the hour for the NCR area in the state as lakhs of people from these areas commute to Delhi everyday and their number had been increasing day by day. Highlighting the role played by the new sports policy of Bhupinder Singh Hooda government in generating enthusiasm among the youth, he said Haryana’s sportspersons had excelled not only at the national level but also at the international level. “It can be judged from their wins in the Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, other world sports meets and participation in the London Olympics,” he said and hoped that the youth would do better in all sports in the coming years. Sonepat MP Jitender Singh Malik and Chief Parliamentary Secretary and Kharkhoda MLA Jaiveer Singh also spoke on the occasion. In response to the demands raised by village sarpanch Sanjay Rohna, the Rohtak MP announced a grant of Rs 61 lakh for drains and streets of the village.
	Video-conferencing of 7 undertrials in Kurukshetra Our Correspondent Kurukshetra, August 16 Kurukshetra is the first district in the state where video-conferencing of seven undertrials of Kurukshetra University murder case was conducted simultaneously, connecting six different district jails of Jind, Bhiwani, Kaithal, Hisar, Fridabad and Kurukshetra at a special court here recently. The state police is considering to extend video-conferencing in the state for the speedy trial of cases involving notorious criminals. Stating this here recently, district police chief Rakesh Kumar Arya said video-conferencing was used for the trial of criminals to secure their presence without posing any danger to them as well as the police. At present this facility was being used for only a few crime cases in the district, while it would be used for more cases in future, he said. Arya said this could be possible only due to the cooperation and support of Lalit Batra, District and Sessions Judge, Kurukshetra, and the personnel of Hartron posted in Kurukshetra and Chandigarh.
	UHBVN yet to recover arrears of Rs 1007 lakh Suman Bhatnagar Ambala, August 16 Even after the repeated efforts of the officials of the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN), the number of power bill defaulters has been increasing. Though some of the consumers have bills pending in lakhs, their power connections have not been disconnected so far. At present the nigam has to recover Rs 1,006.90 lakh from defaulters. Around 91,357 commercial and domestic power connections exist in Ambala city circle, out of which 8,977 are defaulters. In 2011, the number of power defaulters was 8,652. In the east sub-division there are 4,455 defaulters and arrears pending against them are to the tune of Rs 389 lakh. In the west sub-division, 1,117 defaulters have not paid the arrears totalling up to Rs 157 lakh. The amount of Rs 303 lakh of 1,300 power defaulters attached to the Model Town sub-division is still pending. Similarly, around 2,100 defaulters of Chaurmastpur division have to pay arrear of Rs 166 lakh to the nigam. Congress Bhawan here has a pending bill of Rs 1.22 lakh, which has not been paid for the past several years. However, the Ambala City circle office has informed the divisional office in this regard. An official of the Power Department said it was difficult for them to disconnect the power connection to the office of the ruling party and a few other influential persons who were enjoying the facility without paying a single penny to the nigam. The Haryana Tourism Centre here has also not paid the power bill for the past several months. Some of the officials occupying government positions are also included in this category. The Public Health Department, HUDA, Municipal Corporation and the mini-secretariat also have to pay the pending power bills amounting to lakhs of rupees. According to an official of the nigam, generally the power connection of the consumer is disconnected temporarily if he does not deposit the bill within 7 days and if the bill is not deposited within 30 days, the connection is disconnected permanently.
	Two-day global conference on pharmacy concludes Sushil Manav/TNS Sirsa, August 16 A two-day international conference on the ’Current and Future Scenarios in Drug Development and Delivery’ concluded at the Jan Nayak Chaudhary Devi Lal Memorial College of Pharmacy here in Sirsa. Dr Biju Benjamin, senior manager, Vanthys Pharmaceuticals Development Limited, was the chief guest. Dr Bhupinder Singh Bhoop, a professor in pharmaceutical sciences from Panjab University, Chandigarh, inaugurated the international conference. In his address, he said drugs had become a necessity for people today due to a decrease in immunity. In her welcome address, Dr Shamim Sharma, managing director of JCD Vidyapeeth, said it was sad that the government had not been able to develop a foolproof mechanism to check the sale of spurious and adulterated drugs in the market. On the concluding day of the conference, four eminent speakers from the field of pharmacy were invited to share their research expertise. Prof Sameer Dhingra of the Swift College of Pharmacy, Punjab, delivered a talk on the importance of pharmacy and its status as a profession in India. Dr Reema Gabrani, Department of Biotechnology, Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, Noida, discussed about animal cell culture and its role in drug development. Dr Pawan Krishan, Professor, Punjabi University, Patiala, presented his views on medication errors. He emphasised that ‘look-alike’ drugs and ‘sound- alike’ drugs could create confusion among patients, which could cause serious side effects. Dr Shweta Dang, Department of Biotechnology, Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, Noida, gave a very informative talk on the role of green tea in the treatment of vaginal infections.
	Draft development plan-2031 for Gurgaon, Manesar okayed Sunit Dhawan Tribune News Service Gurgaon, August 16 The District Planning Committee (DPC) and District-Level Committee (DLC) have approved the draft development plan of Gurgaon-Manesar Urban Complex-2031 AD. At a recent meeting presided over by Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner PC Meena, senior town planner RK Singh told the committee members that the final development plan of Gurgaon-Manesar Urban Complex-2025 AD was published in 2011. “However, according to a recent government decision, the development plans in the state are to be prepared with 2031 AD prospective. Accordingly, the draft development plan of Gurgaon-Manesar Urban Complex has been prepared for 2031 AD to accommodate a projected population of 41.65 lakh,” he said. According to the plan, 32,408 hectares of land are proposed to be brought under urbanisation, of which 15,828 hectares is for residential, 1,577 hectares for commercial, 4,533 hectares for industrial and 4,420 hectares for transport and communication purposes. Besides, 626 hectares have been reserved for public utilities, 1,877 hectares for public and semi-public use, 2,761 hectares for open space, 153 hectare for special zone and 633 hectare for defence purposes. The Wazirpur-Farukhnagar road and Gurgaon-Badli-Bahadurgarh road via Chandu has been proposed to be widened to 75 metres with 30-metre green belt on both sides. A bypass of 90-metre width and 30-metre green belt on both sides has also been proposed connecting Sohna road with NH-8 beyond Manesar. The bypass will take off from Sohna road near Jail road stretch and will culminate at NH-8 near National Brain Research Institute, Manesar. It will help in reducing traffic congestion on the National Highway-8. Approximately 50 hectares of land has been reserved exclusively for wholesale market for building material, grains and vegetables market in Sector 99-A, on the northern side of railway line along the newly proposed 75-metre wide road. An area measuring 40 hectares by the side of this market site has been reserved for idle parking where heavy vehicles like trucks and trailers can be parked. Another chunk of land measuring 45 hectares has been reserved near Dhankot village for shifting of dairies from the city. Apart from these decisions, the members of DPC and DLC also made suggestions for improving the draft plan. These include provision of land for educational hub on about 200 hectares along the newly proposed bypass around Sector 68, making the proposed bypass and additional link to Sohna road 90-metre wide instead of the proposed 60 metres with 30-metre green belt on either side. It was also suggested that the existing Gurgaon-Sohna road, beyond urbanisation, may be widened to 60 metres with 50-metre green belt on either side to bring it on par with the draft development plan of Sohna. Some members proposed that the existing Naurangpur road from Sector 79 to the KMP Expressway be widened to 60 metres. The meeting further maintained that the fashion hub, world-trade hub and entertainment hub proposed along the KMP Expressway may also be depicted in the draft plan.
	Don’t ignore pain in legs, says expert Bijendra Ahlawat Rohtak, August 16 If your legs hurt while walking or exercising, the common perception that it could be due to fatigue could be wrong. It could, infact, be Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD), an attack deep under the skin that may not be visible. Sharing these views on World Vascular Day on August 6, Dr Ajay Yadav, vascular and endovascular surgeon at a leading hospital in New Delhi, said that lack of awareness about signs and symptoms delays timely medical attention to Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD) that ultimately may lead to amputation or even death. “As per a report, 98 percent of the cases remain undiagnosed because of lack of awareness,” he claimed. Deliberating further, he said the short supply of blood because of blockage in arteries leads to pain or cramps in legs while walking or exercising. This is known as PVD and awareness about risk factors that lead to narrowing or blocking of arteries can help prevent it or treat it early. According to Dr Yadav, studies have reported that PVD prevalence was around 10 pc among Indians, especially in the 40 years and above age group. “With diabetes and heart diseases rising sharply, PVD is also expected to peak,” he said, adding that comprehensive study predicts presence of around 65 lakh cases of PVD every year in India, which could be more than that in China, Taiwan and South Korea. Dr Yadav said while high cholesterol, smoking, hypertension and diabetes were the major risk factors, preventive steps ought to be started by leading a healthy lifestyle like regular exercise and balanced diet along with a check on BP and sugar. He said if there is pain, weakness, numbness or cramps in the leg that get reduced after three to five minutes of rest, it could be a sign of PVD. Other symptoms are non-healing ulcer or gangrene. In case of any such symptoms, proper medical attention and investigation is suggested, he said. Regarding medical treatment in case of severe symptoms like non-healing ulcers, gangrene, severe blockages and narrowing in blood vessels of legs, he suggested angioplasty or very occasionally bypass grafting as the options available. “The more people know about the disease, greater are the chances of preventing disability and other serious consequences,” asserted Dr Yadav.
	ADC, Sonepat, honoured by Rashtriya Kisan Sangthan BS Malik Sonepat, August 16 The Additional Deputy Commissioner, Sonepat, Ashok Kumar Bishnoi, has been honoured with the “Unnat Bharat Seva Sri Puruskar” by the Rashtriya Kisan Sangthan for his outstanding contribution in rural development activities in the government field. The award was given by the Punjb Health Minister, Madan Mohan Mittal,in a programme organised on the premises of the Constitutional Club in Delhi on August 8. The award is given every year to those official or non-official personalities who work for the welfare of the farmers and rural development. Bishnoi has taken keen interest in the implementation and the execution of the rural development programmes undertaken by the District Rural Development Agency in the district. Besides holding the post of the Additional Deputy Commissioner, he works as the Chief Executive Officer of the DRDA, Sonepat. Congratulating Bishnoi for receiving this award, Deputy Commissioner Pankaj Aggarwal said this award would inspi other officers also to work with sincerity and dedication for the development of rural areas and to remain committed to the welfare of farmers.
	Decreasing water level cause of concern in Ambala Subhash Chauhan Ambala, August 16 Rapidly decreasing water level in the district for the last five years has raised concerns amongst farmers and agriculture scientists, who are already contemplating the far-reaching consequences of this problem. According to the farmers of Naraingarh and Barara sub-divisions of the district, underground water level had registered a fall of 60 to 70 feet during the last five years. According to progressive farmer Jaibeer Singh of Naraingarh sub-division, water level in his area had been continuously declining. He said in 2007, tube wells were installed at a depth of around 190 feet. However, now the water level has reached 270 feet. Agriculture scientist Dr Devinder Chahal said extensive cultivation of paddy in the district had resulted in the rapid decline of the water table. He said the underground water in the region was not getting recharged at a pace at which it was being pumped out. Moreover, the failed monsoon this year has also added to the problem. Farmers, who seem to be worried for the future of their crops, said pumping out water using diesel gensets had also become impossible for them as the device was incapable of pumping out the water from so deep. The scientists of the area have already cautioned that it was an alarming situation. The Agriculture Department had started a special drive to find a solution to this problem. The department is now advising the farmers to switch to alternate crop patterns, but their efforts failed to bring any relief in this regard as the farmers were more inclined to paddy as it yielded better profits. Ambala district has emerged as paddy growth district in the state in the past few years and nearly 70 per cent of the area is being used for cultivating paddy crop. Ram Chander Pal, a farmer of Dhanora village in Barara sub-division, while expressing his anxiety over drastic fall in underground water level, said hundreds of tube-wells had stopped working and the farmers had been adversely affected due to this. Ranbeer Sangwan, Deputy Director Agriculture (DDA), Ambala, said the department was worried over this situation and shortage of rains this monsoon was one of the major factors for the further decrease in the water table. He assured that the Agriculture Department would start a special campaign to control the situation. He urged farmers to cultivate maize, urad and mustard crop instead of paddy. Not only the farmers and the Agriculture Department of Ambala but the officials of the Public Health (PH) Department also expressed concern over fast decreasing underground water level in the district.
	Extension of trains to Hisar demanded Hisar, August 16 The Rail Commuters Association and the Railway Road Shopkeepers Association have demanded extension of two express trains, which originate from Bhiwani to Hisar. In a memorandum submitted to the Divisional Railway Manager, SS Gupta, the organisations pointed out that by extending the Ekta Express, which ran between Bhiwani-Chandigarh and Kalindi Express (Bhiwani-Kanpur) to Hisar, it would not only boost the railway’s revenue, but a large number of passengers from Hisar and surrounding areas would be benefited. The memorandum said at present people had to travel to Chandigarh by bus as there was no train available and the trains’ timings were suitable and fares were lower as compared to buses. The memorandum stated that Hisar railway station had six platforms as against three in Bhiwani; therefore, long-distance trains could be accommodated there more easily than Bhiwani. The organisations have also requested to introduce a train between Hisar-Haridwar and urged that the Mumbai-Hisar-Jammu train, which runs twice a week, be plied daily. — TNS
	Manch holds annual theatre festival Raman Mohan Tribune News Service Hisar, August 16 A unique theatrical experiment was conducted during Raas Kala Manch’s annual theatre festival held here recently by staging a play without a script. In the beginning, the director of the play comes to the stage with a bag followed by six different actors who then introduce themselves. They are then assigned a role they have to play on the stage. The role is decided impromptu on the stage itself. This is why every show of the play named ‘Let’s Unpack’ directed by Meenal Kapoor is different. During the show here the actors were said they were participants in a reality show like Big Boss. They were assigned the roles of an actor, a fashion designer, a copywriter, a painter, a cricket bookie and a girl who does not want to marry because her mother had committed suicide due to her husband’s behaviour. They were told they have been isolated from the rest of the world for two weeks. In this situation they had to play the assigned role for which no dialogues or script had been provided to them. The purpose was to depict the minds of the characters they were playing and how that conflicted with their real selves. At the end of the play they depart resolving to make a new beginning to their lives. The plays director said this experiment was the reality show of the stage and the theatre. She said this form of reality show was more genuine than television reality shows. The play received rave reviews from critics as well as the audience. The annual theatre festival has become a popular annual exercise here. This year’s star participant was Seema Biswas, a renowned actor who had played Phoolan devi in Shekhar kapoor’s blockbuster Bandit Queen.
	Regional sammelan of suppressed community held Nawal Kishore Rastogi Rewari, August 16 Functionaries of the samiti and representatives of the Chamar community from over 100 villages of south Haryana participated in a regional sammelan (convention) held under the auspices of the Chamar Samaj Sudhar and the Vikas Samiti at Gothra Tappa Dahina village, 30 km from Rewari, recently. While Bhagat Ram Dhania, a former member of the Staff Selection Committee of the Haryana Public Service Commission, was the chief guest, Gopal Das Maharaj (Bahadurgarh) presided over its proceedings. Besides Kaushaliya Devi, a member of the Block Development Samiti, Matanhale (Jahjjar), was a distinguished female guest. In his keynote address, Bhagat Ram Dhania exhorted parents and others to provide good education to their children while asserting that education was a sine qua non for holistic uplift of the samaj. Similarly, while Kaushaliya Devi urged women to come forward to bring the community on a par with other developed sections of society, Gopal Das stressed the need of creating an inner consciousness among its members whereas Ram Chander Ranga and Subedar Major Satya Narain urged one and all to take up the cudgels against social evils prevailing in the samaj. Besides Babu Lal Das, director of the Kabir Ashram, Capt Balbir Singh, Jagdish Dahinwal, Hoshiar Singh, Durga Das Nambardar, Jagdish Ranga, Hari Singh and several others also expressed their views at the convention. The samiti also honoured Nancy of Charkhi Dadri town of Bhiwani district, who topped among the successful candidates in the matriculation examination of the Haryana Board of School Education this year, by presenting a cash reward of Rs 1,100 and a shawl to her.
	Choudhry reviews Public Health Dept’s functioning Tribune News Service Chandigarh, August 16 Haryana Public Health Minister Kiran Choudhry had asked the officers concerned to explore the areas, which could be covered under centrally sponsored schemes for providing potable water to people in the state. Choudhry was reviewing functioning of the Public Health Department recently. Expressing concern over the delay in the execution of a canal-based scheme, she directed the Financial Commissioner and Principal Secretary Sarban Singh to take up the matter with the Irrigation Department and ensure timely completion of schemes. “I want all projects to be executed in a time-bound manner,” she said. The minister directed officers to take up maximum projects under the NABARD schemes and directed the Engineer-in-Chief to send projects to the government regarding the augmentation of rural water supply in Hisar and Sirsa districts so that loans could be sought from NABARD. Choudhry also sought a detailed report about the encroached land of the department and said encroachment of land should be prevented in future. She asked the superintending engineers to send a written complaint, before the next review meeting, against the officers in whose tenure the land was encroached. “Action will be taken against the erring officers,” she added. She reviewed the status of the Ranney well project of Mewat . She also reviewed the status of the Rajiv Gandhi Drinking Water Scheme, a flagship programme of the Union Government.
	School for underprivileged children opened Our Correspondent Sonepat, August 16 The Round Table India (RTI) in partnership with P&G has opened a school in Purkhas village in Gannaur here under its Freedom through Education (FtE) programme to impart quality education to underprivileged children. The school was inaugurated by the Haryana Vidhan Sabha Speaker, Kuldeep Sharma. Haryana Education Minister Geeta Bhukkal and the national president of the RTI, Vineet Parekh, were also present. Speaking on the occasion, Bhukkal said it was the prime duty of the government as well as of other organisations to arrange better education facilities for children from poor and backward families. She thanked the RTI authorities for taking this noble step for the welfare of the underprivileged children and hoped that more such schools would be set up in the state. Parekh said since the inception of the FtE in 1998, the RTI had constructed more than 420 classrooms in 1,620 schools.
	Kalka to get additional transformer Our Correspondent Kalka, August 16 To cope with power scarcity in Kalka, the UHBVN will provide an additional transformer for the 66-KV substation here. Stating this here recently, Pritam Singh, SDO, UHBVN, Kalka, said that the department had been perusing the matter since the past two years and recently a proposal in this context had been sent to the higher authorities. After the approval, the UHBVN had further sent the proposal to the Planning Department of the Haryana Bijli Vitran Nagam, which was on the verge of approval and the department would provide the above said transformer soon, he said. He said the 66-KV Kalka substation had been working with transformer of 12.5/16 mega volt ampere capacity, which catered to Kalka, its adjoining villages and some rural areas of Pinjore on the Pinjore-Nalagarh highway belt, up to Baddi. However, the Kalka substation is in the dire need of installation of an additional transformer.
	Faridabad officials told to expedite development projects Ravi S Singh/TNS Faridabad, August 16 Faced with public criticism on the delay in the completion of development projects in Faridabad, including the ones announced by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, the local Deputy Commissioner has directed officials of the district to expedite the projects. Deputy Commissioner Balraj Singh More during a monthly meeting with officers of the district, convened at the MCF auditorium, impressed upon them a sense of urgency to complete the projects soon. He warned of taking action against officers found lax with regard to the projects. In order to drive home to the point to the officers, More said the district administration had to submit a status report on the projects to the Chief Minister. A senior officer present at the meeting confided that the Deputy Commissioner was concerned, inter alia, about the delay in setting up a 400 KV power sub-station at Nawada village. Also, he was unhappy about the progress of work to set up two smaller sub-stations, each of 220 KV, in the district. The sub-station at Nawada was expected to bolster power supply in Faridabad. The government hopes to commission the sub-station, which is behind schedule, by this October-November. The Deputy Commissioner ticked off the officers for the delay in the completion of two bridges on the Agra canal. These are aimed to afford better connectivity between Old Faridabad and the trans-Agra canal area of the city. Apart from the opposition parties, Congress leaders have also criticised the district authorities in the past for the slow pace of development works.
	Students urged to take up politics as career Tribune News Service Faridabad, August 16 The country needs honest, disciplined, educated, hardworking and alert persons to be in politics and lead it. This was stated by INLD leader Rajeev Jaitly during the Independence Day function at a local school here yesterday. Jaitly, who was chief guest at the function, urged the student community to take up politics as a career as they do with regard to professions such as engineering and MBBS to serve the country. He attributed the corruption in public life, inequality, squalor and other ills plaguing the country to ‘sub-standard people’ calling the shots in the political system. “Naturally, politics and politicians have assumed negative denotations in the minds of youths,” he said. He, however, tried to dispel the notions that politics and politicians, per se, were unholy concepts saying the latter led successful struggle for Independence from the front.
	State to provide self-defence training to school girls Tribune News Service Chandigarh, August 16 The Haryana School Shiksha Pariyojna Parishad under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan will provide training in self-defence and other martial arts to girl students studying at elementary level during 2012-13. An official spokesman said here recently that under the scheme, training would be provided in five schools of each block, adding that trainers would be appointed for a duration of three months for the purpose. He said in Mahendragarh district, this programme would be organised at 20 schools. For this programme, there would be a batch of minimum 50 students in a school, which would be chosen at district level. For the appointment of trainers, a committee under the chairmanship of the Additional Deputy Commissioner and having district project coordinator, assistant project coordinator and elementary education officers of blocks concerned as members had been constituted, he added.
	3,000 examined at health camp Kurukshetra, August 16 To commemorate the 82nd birth anniversary of the late OP Jindal, a free health check-up camp, organised by the OP Jindal Grameen Jankalyan Sansthan, was inaugurated by MP Naveen Jindal at Ladwa, 20 km from here, recently. Free medical tests were conducted. Specialists in the field of ENT, orthopaedics, gynaecology, dentistry, psychiatry, clinical psychology, skin, physiotherapy, eye, mammography, among others, were present to give free treatment to the patients and medicines were also distributed free of cost. A team of more than 200 doctors and paramedics was available at the camp where more than 3,000 patients were examined. Jindal said, “Immense efforts are being put in by our team towards bringing better healthcare facilities in the constituency. Initiatives are being made to bring in advanced physiotherapy techniques, which will benefit general public and sportspersons for redressal of ailments and help improve their fitness,” he added. — OC
	Divine Solitaires Gurgaon, August 16 Loose-solitaire brand Divine Solitaires has partnered with Diamond Plus Ornaments pvt Ltd, a jewellery firm having outlets in Delhi and Gurgaon. Divine Solitaires MD Jignesh Mehta and Diamond Plus Ornaments MD Shashi Kapoor said: “We are pleased at this association and will collectively work to offer quality products." The company publishes a price index every month to bring transparency and credibility in the pricing of diamonds and safeguard the investments made by customers, maintained Mehta. — TNS