The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Haryana police joins hands with Delhi to nab criminals
Ravinder Saini

Jhajjar, August 30
Having launched various special drives to check criminal activities in the state, the Haryana police has now joined hands with the Delhi police to nail those notorious criminals, who have been taking shelter in the national capital for evading arrest.

Working on the strategy, top cops of both the states recently met in Bahadurgarh town on the border of Delhi and Haryana and shared vital information about most-wanted criminals of their states. The officers also exchanged the history sheets of the dreaded criminals and discussed at length over their possible hideouts in each other states.

There are significant numbers of most-wanted criminals in both Delhi and Haryana, who have been hiding in each other states. These criminals are still running their gangs at various parts of their states concerned from outside. This modus operandi is, virtually, turning out to be helpful for the criminals and the police of both the states are not getting expected success to nail them as they take shelter outside the state after perpetrating the crime.

“Due to lack of proper coordination between the police of both the states, most of the time criminals manage to leave for other hideouts just sometime before the raid conducted by the police outside its state to apprehend them,” said a Haryana police officer.

“The police succeed in finding out the hideouts of criminals outside the state but usually could not succeed to nab them as it does not get such sort of coordination from the police of other state. That’s why adjoining states have become the safe haven for criminals to evade police arrest,” he said.

The officers at the meeting agreed to the point that the most wanted could not be nailed without the proper coordination between the police of both the states.

Presiding over the meeting, Alok Mittal, Inspector General of Police (IGP) of Rohtak Range, said with the efficient coordination between the police of both the states, not only criminal activities could be checked in an effective manner but also those criminals could be nabbed at the earliest, who take shelter outside the state after committing crime.

Besides police chiefs and DSPs of Rohtak, Sonepat, Panipat and Jhajjar districts, top officers of the Delhi police, including V Rangnathan, ACP (South), Anil Kumar, ACP, Ravi Shankar, ADCP (South West Delhi), BS Jaiswal, DCP (Outer) and Rajeev Ranjan, ADCP, attended the meeting.

Non-participation in ragging
5 lakh students in state to give affidavits
Govt directive had recommended self-declaration in place of affidavit
Raman Mohan
Tribune News Service

Hisar, August 30
About five lakh students of universities, all types of colleges and regional centres in Haryana will have to submit affidavits stating that they will not participate in ragging. The exercise will cost them together around Rs 1.75 crore.

The Director-General of Higher Education, Haryana, has directed the principals of all colleges in the state to obtain affidavits from all students stating that they will not abet or “commit ragging” inside or outside their institutions.

This directive is in contravention of a government directive issued in 2010 (No. 62/09/2010-6GSI dated April 28, 2010) which says: The government has decided that no government department or organisation will henceforth require the applicants to file affidavits for delivery of services except in those cases where affidavit is required by law or under the statutory rules. In place of affidavit, a self-declaration will be accepted.

This directive stated that “the practice to obtain affidavits has been increasing over a period and the departments are asking for submission of affidavits as a matter of routine.

The public has to undergo a very cumbersome and tortuous procedure for preparation of affidavits. Besides the harassment, the public has to spend considerable money for preparation of affidavits.

This has also been resulting in unnecessary piling up of records in the offices”.

Significantly, the Director-General of Higher Education has asked for affidavits in compliance with the Haryana Prohibition of Ragging in Educational Institution Ordinance 2012. The ordinance nowhere mentions that the heads of institutions obtain an affidavit from a student or a parent in case the student is below 18 years of age as the case may be.

Instead the ordinance merely mandates that the head of the institution will “obtain an undertaking in writing from the student, in case he is 18 or above or from his parents/guardian in case he is less than 18, that he shall not attempt, abet or commit ragging inside or outside the educational institution at the time of admission”.

The requirement of an affidavit from students numbering about five lakh in 30 universities, approximately 693 colleges inclusive of Government, Government-Aided and Self-Financing Colleges and two Postgraduate Regional Centres will cost them collectively a whopping Rs 1.50 crore by way of cost of judicial paper (Rs 10) and at least Rs 20 as the Oath Commissioner’s attestation fee.

Besides they will have to pay the typists at least Rs 5 each for getting the affidavit typed. The cost of travelling to courts and man hours spent there will be extra.

The government has dealt with the issue of ragging in a lackadaisical manner. The ordinance was notified in the gazette on July 5 when admissions to colleges had already begun. The DG, Higher Education, issued the directive to colleges on August 7. By then classes had begun.

Several principals said on condition of anonymity that had the ordinance been issued in June, the undertaking against ragging could have been included in the admission forms only as the ordinance nowhere says that students had to submit an affidavit.

This would have saved a lot of money and harassment both to the students, their parents and college staff.

MoD lays claim on Skinner Estate
Raman Mohan/TNS

Hisar, August 30
The Ministry of Defence has laid its claim on the famed Skinner Estate in Hansi, a sub divisional town of the district about 25 km from here. The estate under litigation is located on the Delhi Road. Its commercial value is estimated at Rs 200 crore.

The Defence Estate Officer of the Bathinda circle of the ministry has filed an application in a court at Hansi saying that the land belonged to the Indian Army and its sale by a builder was illegal. It said that the estate was established by Col James Skinner who raised the Skinner’s Horse regiment, a cavalry unit which was now a part of the Indian Army.

Skinner established the regiment’s headquarters on this land measuring 214 kanals of land. The Officers’ Mess and a graveyard to bury the martyrs was also established on this land. Through a lawyer the Defence Estate Officer pleaded that the respondents had accepted these facts in a petition before the Punjab and Haryana High Court. He reiterated that the land had historical monuments which are of great importance to the army and these should not be allowed to be demolished.

The estate has been a subject of controversy for three decades now when it was first sold in the late eighties. However, the deal fell through. About two years ago, a group of residents of Hansi led by a politician purchased this land from some of the descendants of Skinner. The legal complications however prevented the group of builders from selling plots carved out from this land.

After reaching a settlement with the company which had purchased the land in the eighties, hundreds of trees inside the estate were cut and plots were carved out for sale.

Some of the other descendants of Skinner filed a suit in a local court against the builder. The Defence Ministry has pleaded in its application that it be made a party to this case.

The land was granted to James Skinner as a ‘jagir’ by the British for the services he rendered to the British in the battle for Bharatpur in 1818. The ‘jagir’ rendered Skinner a revenue of Rs 20,000 a year in those days.

Skinner was born in 1778 in Calcutta to Lt Col Hercules Skinner, a Scottish officer in the British Army. James Skinner’s mother was a daughter of a blue-blooded Rajput zamindar. She was taken prisoner in her teens during a battle. James’s father took her under his care and married her. They had six children. His mother committed suicide when he was 12 years old.

Because of his Indian lineage, Skinner was ineligible to serve as an officer in the British army like his father. So at the age of 16, he joined the Maratha army as an ensign under a French commander of the army of the then Gwalior state. He served the Gwalior army for several years and impressed his superiors to rise in the ranks. However, he was dismissed from the Maratha army after the outbreak of the second Anglo-Maratha War. He was sacked along with all other Anglo-Indians.

He kept trying to join the British Indian Army then commanded by Lord Lake. On February 23, 1803, Skinner raised a regiment of irregular cavalry and named it as Skinner's Horse. The officers and men of the regiment were called the Yellow Boys after the colour of their uniform. The regiment showed its prowess in many battles and ultimately it became the most decorated regiment of light cavalry in the British Indian Army. It is still a part of the Indian Army.

In 1828, James was promoted to the rank of a Lt Col in the British Army, while his brother, Robert was promoted as a Major. Later, James became a Colonel after having been appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath on December 26, 1826.

Lawyer-turned-novelist pens ‘The Morning After’
Sunit Dhawan/TNS

Kamini Patel

Gurgaon, August 30
A major course in international relations from Boston University could not enable Kamini Patel to take off with a flashy career in business management. Nor did her law degree make her a leading lawyer.

However, a casual stint as a freelance journalist led Kamini to the path eventually chosen by her -- of being a writer. Well, that’s what we call destiny.

In her debut novel “The Morning After”, the bold-young authoress has dealt with the intricacies of man-woman relationship. With her first book hitting the bookstores and making her presence felt, Kamini now aspires to become a full-time writer.

“I’ve tried to make the story more realistic and not too idealistic,” maintains Kamini in a chat with The Tribune on the sidelines of a book-launch-cum-talk event organised here recently.

“The Morning After” is a story of four young women who are close friends and love their booze as much as they love each other. At one point of time, when all of them happen to be bogged down by relationship crises, they decide to get away to Goa in a bid to sort their heads out.

It’s there that these 20-something girls realise that there is nothing a little chocolate, cocktails and bonding with their best (girl) friends can’t cure.

To gauge the extent of their girlishness (and the novel’s girly character), sample this: “Palak and Raj greet the guests joyously. Palak looks radiant in her Tarun Tahiliani Swarovski diamond-studded lehenga. Raj matches her in a cream embroidered sherwani with a lilac-coloured dupatta. This evening is about Palak’s dream coming true, a dream she had nurtured since childhood; and according to me, Raj is just a prop! She hadn’t given that much thought to the kind of guy she would be standing with as much as she had on the details of the ring, stage, flowers, colours and food!”

And if you’d like to delve deeper into the female psyche, here you go: “The door unlocks and I am faced with a swollen-eyed, red-faced and dishevelled Palak, in shabby grey sweatpants and a messy ponytail with her glasses perched on top of her head.

“That bastard!” she yells and then falls into my arms and sobs uncontrollably.

“Shh. It’s okay, sit down.” I caress her head, “The others are coming. Here, I got you some candy, chocolate ice-cream and chips.”

I guide Palak carefully over the strewn items towards the bed. She plops face down and howls even more.

“I hate him. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him,” she rants on from under the covers.

“We hate him too,” announces Lara as she enters into the room with a bagful of comfort food.

Based in Ahmedabad, Kamini also dabbles in her family business. It took her a year and a half penning (in actual sense) “The Morning After”. She now plans to write a legal-financial thriller.

Ambala girls participate in UN conference
Subhash Chauhan

Ambala, August 30
Two students of Class XI of the SD Vidya School, Saundharya Khanna and Monika Bannerjee, returned after participating in the International Indian Model United Nations (IIMUN) Conference held at Delhi recently.

They were welcomed by the school management on their arrival and shared their experiences with the principal and the staff. As many as 900 students from 110 schools from across the globe participated in the conference. The students discussed the problems on a global arena and passed suggestive resolutions to bring about improvements at the global level.

The IIMUN is a student-run simulation of United Nations conducted by the students. The main aim of the conference is to inculcate the feeling of sacrifice and working hand-in-hand for the betterment and uplift of society.

Arjun Vajpayee, the youngest Indian to conquer the Mount Everest summit at the age of 16, also participated in the conference and shared his views and experiences with the delegates.

The two girls also interacted with JK Dadoo, Minister of Commerce, and shared their views about the global economy. They put forward their views and suggested solutions to check exploitation of natural resources. They also stressed on the concept of sustainable development.

Principal Rupinder Saini and the school management congratulated the students for their participation in the international event. The school was planning to help its students prepare for more such international events, she added. She assured that the concept of the model United Nations would soon be launched in the school where other students would also get an opportunity to participate in national and international events.

Police to launch drive against stray cattle

Hisar, August 30
The district police have decided to launch a campaign against stray cattle and other animals. Addressing a meeting of social activists working for the welfare of stray cattle here recently, Superintendent of Police Satish Balan said Deputy Commissioner Amit Aggarwal and he had toured the city and found that there were too many stray cattle on the roads. The number of such animals on the road during the night increased as the owners let off their cattle after milking them in the evening.

He said these animals were a major cause of road accidents in the city especially during the nights.

He sought the help of ‘gaushalas’ and other organisations in providing shelter to stray cattle. Representatives of social organisations asked him to request the administration to allot 27 acre piece of land on Dhansu Road for establishing a shelter for such animals. Such a campaign had been launched a few years ago by the police. However, it fizzled out once the then SP was shifted. — TNS

Land record online in Kamal village of Sirsa
Entire land of village linked to Net through satellite
Sushil Manav
Tribune News Service

Sirsa, August 30
All land record is now online in Kamal of Sirsa, the first village of the country where the process of modernisation of land records was started in 2007.

Following the Kamal model developed by the Haryana Space Application Centre (HARSAC), the Union Ministry of Rural Development launched the National Land Records Modernisation Programme (NLRMP) in the country in 2008, said Dr Sultan Singh, a senior scientist and project coordinator with the HARSAC.

A meeting of revenue secretaries of all states of the country is to be held in Hisar in the first week of September for this purpose on the initiative of the Union Rural Development Ministry, he added.

Sirsa Deputy Commissioner J Ganesan launched the online land record system at a function in Kamal village yesterday.

“Residents of Kamal village can now get copies of their land record sitting anywhere in the world,” said Ganesan after the launching.

He said the entire 1,626 acre, a kanal and 14 marla land of Kamal village was now linked to the Internet through satellite.

According to the present practice, if a person divides his land into two or three polygons, it is reflected in the land records after a long time, only after the person applies for mutation, which sometimes people do not go for at all.

Now, the moment a sale deed is registered, the land records would show the land divided into as number of polygons it is divided for sale or transfer by any other means.

Dr Sultan Singh said the HARSAC, which is implementing the programme in Haryana, started the work in Kamal in 2007 as a pilot project and later it was expanded to a patwar circle, in a block and then in the entire Dabwali subdivision of Sirsa.

The entire land record of the district is computerised and digitised now.

At present, the work of making the land records online is in progress at several places in the state.

As far as completion of the project is concerned, Kamal is the fifth village in Haryana as well as in the country because the other states are still in the initial stages.

He said under this project, primary, secondary and tertiary monuments, which were in fact sort of chips placed under the ground and linked to satellite, had been set up at specified distances.

The primary monuments had been installed at a distance of nearly 20 km each, secondary at 8 km each, while 4 to 5 tertiary monuments have set up in each village depending upon the village size.

The main server for the programme would be installed at the district headquarters as well as state headquarters in Chandigarh from where the officers concerned would be able to assess the present status of the land in the district by sitting at a single place.

Seminar on design sensitisation organised
Our Correspondent

Kurukshetra, August 30
A seminar on design sensitisation was organised by the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Kurukshetra, in collaboration with the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad, on the NIT campus here on Tuesday. The seminar was inaugurated by Sudhir Kumar, an eminent resource person from the NID.

Dr Dinesh Khanduja was the chief convener for the event while Dr A Swarup, Dean (Research and Consultancy), NIT, was the chief guest. Shashank Mehta and Sudhir Kumar, both from the NID, were the two eminent resource persons in the field of design and its application.

In his welcome address, Dr Khanduja said with the revolutionising growth in design and technology worldwide, expertise in design had become the most coveted characteristic in the industry. He also encouraged the participants to work in collaboration with the NID on their research projects.

Mehta talked about design as an “application-based education” which requires a holistic approach to any ordinary situation while Kumar stressed on “user-centred” design approach and the methodology involved at various levels leading to a good design.

About 150 students from 13 institutions participated in the seminar.

Students showcase talent at science exhibition
Tribune News Service

Sirsa, August 30
Under the Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE), a scheme to encourage students for acquiring excellence in science, a three-day science exhibition ended here, recently.

The best 12 models were selected for display in the state-level science exhibition, to be organised shortly, said Jagdish Yadav, Deputy Director of the State Council of Educational Research and Training, Gurgaon, who gave away the prizes.

Yadav said under the INSPIRE, Rs 6 crore would be spent in the 11th Five-Year Plan by the end of next year. Earlier, Deputy Commissioner J Ganesan inaugurated the fair in the Science Centre building. Over 150 students came with their entries in the science exhibition.

Ganesan said INSPIRE was an innovative programme of the Union Ministry of Science and Technology to attract talent in science. The basic objective of INSPIRE was to communicate to the youth of the country, the excitement of creative pursuits of science and to attract talent to the study of science at an early age, he added.

Under the science exhibition project of the scheme, Rs 9.60 lakh had been spent in Sirsa by selecting 192 students and providing them Rs 5,000 each for building science models.

A model of a planetarium by Meenakshi, a student of Government School in Kairanwali village, attracted the maximum number of visitors. The model showed how days converted into nights and vice versa.

Children from Pawandeep Public School in Suchan village prepared a model of a bomb detector.

Students of Government School, Dabwali, came with a model of a low-cost multi-utility tractor.

Sukhmani, a student of Dashmesh Jyoti School, Desujodha, showed how people could grow crops on their roofs with the help of her model.

There was a plethora of models showing a solar cooker, a water alarm system, water conservation, power generation and pollution control etc.

Students leave for adventure sports tour
Our Correspondent

Sonepat, August 30
A 30-member group of students of the School Of Engineering Sciences at BPS Mahila Vishwavidyalaya, Khanpur Kalan, have left for Sirmaur in Himachal Pradesh for an adventure sports tour.

This is the first such tour of the students after the inception of the university about six years ago. The tour was flagged off by the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Dr Pankaj Mittal. He also gave the students some tips on safety and cautioned them to follow the guidelines while undertaking trekking.

The sports in charge of the university, Sanjit Malik, said the students would participate in a nine-day adventure sports camp that started on August 29 at Sirmaur. “The students will undertake trekking in different training sessions of the camp,” he said and added that the students were very enthusiastic about the tour.

The Registrar of the university, Dr Asha Kadiyan, Dr Ajit Singh, Dalbir Singh and Jagdish Malik also conveyed their best wishes to the group.

College students plant saplings, observe ‘earth festival’
Sushil Manav
Tribune News Service

Sirsa, August 30
The National Service Scheme (NSS) volunteers of the Mata Harki Devi College for Women at Odhan in Sirsa observed Dharati Parva (Earth Festival) in their college recently.

Dr Shamim Sharma, Principal of the college, and Mandar Singh, a member of the governing body, inaugurated the function by planting a sapling each.

Thereafter, the girl students of the college planted saplings of Amla, Neem, Peepal, Amaltas, Gulmohar and Sheesham etc.

The NSS volunteers took a pledge that they will nurture the saplings planted by them till they matured into trees.

“I am very much excited to plant a sapling with my hand. I will look after this till I remain in this college,” said Manisha, a student.

“Plants are essential for our survival as no human life can be imagined on the earth without trees,” said Mandar Singh in his address.

He said besides providing us oxygen, the plants gave us several kinds of herbs used in medicines, wood used in furniture and buildings and fruits. “Saving trees and saving daughters are the two most vital issues before society today,” said Dr Shamim Sharma in her address.

She said it was not enough to plant saplings and forget them thereafter.

“As we provide all care to our children, the same kind of concern is needed about the plants,” she said.

Chanchal Setia, in charge of the NSS wing of the college, administered the girls the pledge to take care of the plants till they were in the college. Dr Abhilasha and Suman Monga, both teachers in the college, were present on the occasion.

Orientation course for teachers at KU
Our Correspondent

Kurukshetra, August 30
We may have the latest technologies, infrastructure and modern syllabi to offer advanced knowledge to our students, but the key to make education an effective tool of economic growth, social development and welfare of mankind lies in the hands of good teachers.

This was stated by Lieut-Gen DDS Sandhu (retd), Vice-Chancellor, Kurukshetra University, who was speaking as the chief guest at the valedictory function of the 69th orientation course for college and university teachers, organised by the UGC Academic Staff College of Kurukshetra University, here recently .

Addressing the participants, Dr Sandhu said it had become important for educationists to have knowledge and pedagogic skills to pass on the latest knowledge in their respective areas of study to the students, who played a key role in the future growth of the country. A teacher is an important agent of social change and preserver of human values, who can transmit these values to his students, creatively and effectively.
He congratulated the participants on their successful completion of the orientation course and gave certificates of participation to them. Professor Shashi Anand, Director, Academic Staff College, Kurukshetra University, welcomed the chief guest while Professor RP Grover, Deputy Director, proposed the vote of thanks.

Maulana to officials: Expedite poverty-alleviation projects
Ravi S Singh
Tribune News Service

Faridabad, August 30
Haryana’s vice-chairperson of the high-powered committee of 20-Point Programme, Phool Chand Maulana, has directed the authorities here to expedite projects related to poverty alleviation and development of rural areas.

At a meeting of the committee with officials here, which was convened to review the implementation of the Central Government’s 20-Point Programme in Faridabad, Maulana inquired from the authorities concerned, among others, about the Haryana Government’s scheme of providing 100 sq yd residential plots to those falling in the BPL (below poverty line) category, mid-day meals to students in schools, plantation of trees, and implementation of the Indira Awaas Yojna.

Addressing officials, he underlined the importance of the 20-Point Programme that was launched by a former Prime Minister, the late Indira Gandhi. It was introduced to give thrust to the government’s welfare policies and programmes and ensure balanced growth of all sections of society, he added.

He said officials of the departments concerned who were found lax in implementing the social welfare policies and projects would be made accountable.

Faridabad Deputy Commissioner Balraj Sing More, who was present at the meeting, assured the members of the high-powered committee of proper implementation of the 20-Point Programme. He informed them that Faridabad stood first in country in 2011-12 in implementation of the programme.

HAU issued patent on bio-technique
Tribune News Service

Hisar, August 30
Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University has been issued a patent on a bio-technique for controlling the population of an insect pest called Helicoverpa armigera, commonly known as ‘sundi’ which attacks several crops.

An official spokesman said a team of scientists comprising Kamla Chaudhary, Harish Dhingra and KS Boora of the Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology of the university had developed a low-cost liquid formulation of native strains of Bacillus thuringensis for the control of Helicoverpa armigera. The Indian Patent Office has granted patent no. 253532 to this liquid formulation, he added.

He said this was the third patent granted to the technologies developed by the scientists of the Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Department. Earlier, patents had been granted on two processes, one for genetic transformation in chickpea and another for preparation of tissue culture medium for enhancing in vitro plantlet regeneration in air yarn plant using bacterial cultural supernatant.

He said the newly patented formulation would be very useful in the effective control of insect pest Helicoverpa that caused heavy losses in important crops including cotton, chickpea, tomato and brinjal.

Dr KS Boora, Head, Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, said the liquid formulation would not only minimise yield losses in various crops due to the attack of Helicoverpa armigera, but also increase the income of the farmers.

Saha residents, industrialists oppose government
Subhash Chauhan

Ambala, August 30
The state government’s decision to set up two toll-tax barriers on the Saha-Shahabad road in Ambala district has provoked a sharp reaction from local residents and industrialists of the Saha growth centre.

Upset by the move, the residents are now planning to meet Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and put up a strong plea against the setting up of the toll plazas.

The industrialists of the centre have already held a couple of meetings and decided to oppose the setting up of the toll barriers.

Recently, the state government had decided to set up two toll-tax barriers on the Saha-Shahabad road. One would be set up near the Saha growth centre and the other would be 4 km from Shahabad towards Saha.

This 17-km road connecting Saha to Shahabad is in a bad condition for the past many years. Local residents and industrialists have been raising a demand to get this road repaired. Some months ago, the government spent Rs 14.75 crore on repairing the road, following which it decided to put up toll plazas here on a proposal moved by the Public Works Department (B&R), aiming at recovering the spent amount.

It was on July 20 that the state Cabinet approved of setting up the toll barriers, where toll would be charged only from commercial vehicles, but this move did not go down well with the locals.

Bharti Kisan Union (BKU) president Madan Pal Rana said local farmers were against the setting up of the toll barriers and would oppose the move at the highest level. He said it was unjustifiable that the government would now recover money from the public for a service which should have been provided by the government of its own.

The industrialists of the centre called a meeting at Saha. Speaking to The Tribune, president of the Saha Growth Centre Association, Rajbeer Singh, said the toll tax recovery from the industrialists would prove a deterrent for the new industry in the area. He said the lack of basic facilities had already hit the growth centre hard and by putting up the toll barriers, the government was trying to put additional financial burden on the industrialists.

Rajiv Sharma, president of the Food Park Industry Union of Saha, said the government should improve the facilities at the growth centre to attract bigger industries. Instead it was taking steps which would discourage the growth of industries at this centre.

Meanwhile, local INLD legislator Rajbeer Barara said that he would take up the matter in the state Assembly. District BJP general secretary Satish Mehta said the BJP would extend full support to the industrialists and farmers against the government’s decision. He alleged that the state government had been neglecting the growth centre ever since it was established and the latest step would not prove favourable for the industries.

Haryana sportsmen shining, says social media
Yoginder Gupta
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 30
The success of Haryana sportspersons in the London Olympics has been widely noticed by people on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook.

Out of the six medallists, four players have their roots in Haryana.

Led by Bollywood actors Mallika Sherawat and Randeep Hooda, both Haryanvis, many showered appreciation on the medal-winning sportspersons as well as Haryana.

Sherawat tweeted, "Yogeshwar Dutt, Sushil Kumar, Gagan Narang and Nehwal are Haryanvi gems." Randeep Hooda said, "I am very proud of what they have achieved for the country. Look at their performances, be it Yogeshwar Dutt or Sushil Kumar. Their grit, determination and confidence were unparallelled."

While common people of the state felt proud on being "Haryanvi", many belonging to other states called upon their governments to learn from Haryana.

Lionel Fernandes from Mumbai said, "If 10 Indian states replicate Haryana's focus towards sport, we could have 5-10 times the medals won at the next Olympics."

Kiran Kumar from Bengaluru tweeted that Haryana origin athletes won 60 per cent of India's medals inthe 2010 CWG and 67 per cent in 2012 Olympics. All this while only 2.1 per cent of Indians live in Haryana!

R.K. Mohan, who call himself a Thala fan, said all Chief Ministers should take Haryana as a benchmark, since most of players get good facilities there.

Kolkata-based financial consultant Aditya Agarwal tweeted that Haryana should be declared as the Olympic zone of the country. An engineer from Bengaluru, Kishor_Narayan, said "Sushil Kumar winning a medal on the last day marks a super Olympics for Haryana! Lots to brag about for the state."

The shadow of the deaths of Fiza and Geetika Sharma were also visible on the minds of networkers.

Suman Sharma, a defence journalist from Delhi tweeted, "Why is Haryana so much in the news, Chand-Fiza, Geetika-Kanda, Saina, Krishna Poonia, for all good & bad reasons, Haryana makes news!!".

A radio Jockey from Mumbai, Sadiya said, "Yogeshwar win has proved haryana is d only state to look for medals in Olympics:-) god this time d state is in news for gud reason."

Another person noted that Olympians with Haryana connection were earning millions. "It pays to be a Haryanvi for now -- with or without a medal." Pune resident Abhishek Kolekar sarcastically noted "Heavy loss for haryana government, most of the medal winners are from Haryana."

A Mumbai banker, E. Pradeep, noted, "With 4 out of 5 Olympic medals for India coming from Haryana, there must be something that the state is doing right."

Haryana Tweets noted that "Haryana is Shining in Olympics: Where are you, Mr Modi."

Farm scientists should be equipped to handle ‘food challenges’
Tribune News Service

Hisar, August 30
Dr Gurbachan Singh, chairman, Agricultural Scientists Recruitment Board (ASRB), said here recently that excellence in agricultural education, research and extension achieved by the College of Agriculture of Haryana Agricultural University in particular and the university in general was reflected in the significant contribution being made by the state to the Central foodgrains pool.

Speaking at the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the college here, he said since modern agricultural practices were increasingly turning out to be knowledge-based, hence it was imperative for the young agriculture scientists to equip themselves to handle the challenges of food and nutrition security, globalisation and climate change.

Underlining the need for financial support to agricultural research institutions, he said there were many agricultural universities in the country which did not possess sufficient basic infrastructure necessary for carrying out teaching, research and extension activities. The private sector that was harvesting the benefits of teaching and research products of these institutions also did not reciprocate in terms of financial support to these institutions.

He said, “Our future agricultural human resource development must aim at training our graduates in the frontier areas and our courses should be restructured regularly so that these graduates not only have competence but are also aware of the latest tools of technology”. Vice-Chancellor Dr KS Khokhar said during the past 50 years, the college had earned a unique place in agricultural education, research and extension. The college had produced a large number of scientists, teachers and entrepreneurs who had carved a niche for themselves nationally and internationally. Since many stalwarts from this college have been elevated to the position of Vice-Chancellor, it was also known as nursery of Vice-Chancellors for the state agricultural universities.

He said he was proud to be an alumnus as well as teacher of the college. Two former Vice-Chancellors, Dr PS Lamba and Dr DR Bhumbla, five former deans of the college, DS Gupta, DP Singh, SR Poonia, DC Gupta and SS Pahuja and three members of the Board of Management KPS Sirohi, SS Yadav and Rattan Jindal were felicitated. Five books and the latest issue of the college magazine were also released on the occasion.

Children Film Festival in Sirsa from tomorrow
Sushil Manav
Tribune News Service

Sirsa, August 30
A district-level Children Film Festival will begin in Sirsa from September 1. Films on patriotism, character-building and culture will be shown to children in as many as 200 schools of the district during this festival.

The district administration is organising the festival under the aegis of the Children Film Society of India (CFSI), currently chaired by Nandita Das, a renowned actor and director.

Deputy Commissioner J Ganesan will inaugurate the festival with a premium show of a children’s film Ek Ajooba (A Miracle) in Panchayat Bhawan, where nearly 250 children from different schools will watch the film. Filming of other films will continue in the bhawan for three days, said an official spokesperson.

The authorities have also arranged to serve popcorns and other refreshment items to children during these shows. The authorities have constituted clusters of schools so that students of schools falling under a particular cluster could watch films in the hall of a school selected for their respective cluster.

Feature films like Karamati Coat, Ek Ajooba, Bapu Ne Kaha Tha, Nandu Ka Raja, Kabhi Pass Kabhi Fail and Bandu Boxer etc will be shown during the film festival.

A senior functionary of the CFSI said the films to be exhibited during this festival were educative as well as entertaining.

The CFSI is a national government body committed to nurturing a dynamic children's film culture in the country.

Since its inception in 1955, CFSI has been producing, exhibiting and distributing exclusive, entertaining and enriching content for children, said the functionary of the society.

Advance life-support ambulance lying abandoned
Suman Bhatnagar

Ambala, August 30
An advance life-support ambulance known as ‘Jeevan Rekha’ which was not used even once and was lying abandoned on the trauma centre premises for the past seven months as neither the driver nor the medical technicians’ team have been made available by the Health Department for it.

Around seven months ago, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had flagged off as many as 23 Jeevan Rekha ambulances for the various trauma centres of the state. Two of those ambulances were allotted to the Ambala trauma centre. This super ambulance equipped with life-saving medical equipments is around four times costlier than a common ambulance.

The ambulance is equipped with the ventilator facility required for a patient suffering from a respiratory problem. Besides it, a defibrillator and ECG, splints and spine boards, autoloader, syringe pump, BP and pulse-reading operators and life-saving drugs are also made available in the ambulance for the pre-treatment care of a serious patient. The provision of a medical-technical team is also made in it for providing care during transportation to the patient.

One of the Jeevan Rekha ambulances of this trauma centre has been converted into a common ambulance as no medical-technician team was made available for it. The medical equipment which are installed in it are lying unused.

The second Jeevan Rekha ambulance is lying abandoned for the past seven months as no driver was appointed for it. Interestingly during the past seven months the Health Department did not bother to take a regular registration number of the vehicle. The temporary number of the vehicle has already expired and now it cannot ply on the road, according to the traffic rules.

The district Health Department has not taken up the matter with its directorate seriously and nobody knows who will appoint a driver and a medical technician for this ambulance which can save the lives of several patients while transporting them to the PGI, Chandigarh.

Free dental check-up camp held

Ambala, August 30
A seven-day free dental check-up and periodontitis (pyorrhea) treatment camp was organised at DAV (C) Dental College, Yamunanagar, from August 28 till September 4. The camp was inaugurated by the chief medical officer, Dr Satish Aggarwal.

While speaking on the occasion, the CMO said that more such camps should be organised by the college and other NGOs for the benefit of the masses. The Principal of the institution, Dr IK Pandit, said the camp had been organised as the management considered it to be a moral and an ethical duty to serve society.

The camp was preceded by a lecture by Dr Nymphea Pandit, Professor and Head of the Pyorrhea Department, Dr Rajvir Malik, Professor, and by Dr Shalini Gugnani, Associated Professor. During the camp, free mouth washes sponsored by Listerine and ISP (Indian Society of Periodontology) were distributed among the patients. — TNS

Rs 32-cr loan to state
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 30
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has sanctioned a loan worth Rs 32.28 crore to Haryana for construction of godowns with a storage capacity of 74,000 metric tonnes each.

In a statement issued here, K Sayeed Ali, Chief General Manager, NABARD, Haryana Regional Office, said NABARD had sanctioned this loan for the construction of two godowns for the creation of a storage capacity of 74,000 MT in Fatehabad district under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF)-XVIII (2012-13). The construction of these godowns would benefit farmers of 13 villages attached to Ratia, Fatehabad and Bhattu mandis, storing precious foodgrains harvested by farmers in a scientific and hygienic manner.

He said the construction of new godowns would reduce post-harvest losses of grains to an extent of about 6 per cent. The implementation of project by the Food and Supplies Department will also generate about 3.81 lakh man-days of non-recurring employment and around 32 man-days’ recurring employment. With this loan, NABARD has sanctioned an RIDF loan of Rs 237.98 crore till date during 2012-13.

Movie This Week
Joker

A still from the movie, “Joker”

Directed by Shirish Kunder

Farah Khan’s husband Shirish Kunder is ready to take the centre stage again with sci-fi fantasy adventure ‘Joker’. Akshay Kumar, Sonakshi Sinha, Shreyas Talpade and Minissha Lamba play lead roles in this alien adventure movie. Chitrangada Singh’s ‘Lavani’ item song titled ‘Kaafirana…..’ has already created curiosity among the viewers.

Directed by ‘Tees Maar Khan’ fame Shirish Kunder, this eagerly-awaited Akshay-Sonakshi film has Farah Khan in a guest role. Those who have seen the rushes say it is a possible box-office winner.

Watch this sci-fi fantasy from today at Fame Shalimar, KC (Panchkula), Fun, Nigar Minerva (Ambala), Fun, Cinemax (Panipat), Movie Time, Inder Palace (Karnal), Radhika, BMG (Rewari), Bangar, Sheila, Satyam (Rohtak), Glitz-Kurukshetra, Sun City-Hisar, PVR MGF, PVR Sahara, PVR Ambience, SRS Omaxe, SRs Wedding, Big Palam, DTCC, DTMM, DT Star Mall (Gurgaon) SRS Sec 12, SRS Parsavnath City Mall (Faridabad), Amrit Sonepat, Dimple-Jagadhri.
— Dharam Pal