The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Migrant labourers’ pathetic life moves tribunal jury Their living, working conditions termed ‘modern-day slavery’ Sunit Dhawan/TNS Gurgaon, October 1 Pathetic living and working conditions of the migrant workers employed in the garment and allied industries here, moved a jury comprising members from the International Labour Organisation (ILO), National Federation of Indian Women and Supreme Court Bar. The labourers aired their grievances at a public hearing on the condition of workers in garment industry organised by the Garment and Allied Workers Union, Gurgaon, here yesterday. The hearing was part of a series of such regional hearings being held throughout the country, which will culminate in a National People’s Tribunal at Bangalore in November. The exercise is aimed at preparing and fighting for living wages as a fundamental right of garment workers. Most of the workers in Gurgaon’s garment industry, who happen to be migrants from other states such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, maintained that nearly half of their monthly income was spent on rent and electricity that kept on increasing regularly. The workers lamented that they were forced to follow the diktats of their house owners even for buying their grocery, which the jury described as “modern-day slavery”. The jury asserted that the wage theft prevalent in Gurgaon in gross violation of national and international laws must stop. They further stated that Labour Inspectors should have the right knowledge of the law and the right intentions to resolve the industrial disputes. Commenting on corruption in the Labour Department, the jury remarked that even 50 per cent reduction in corrupt practices by labour officials could result in significant improvement of workers’ conditions. The workers also complained of lack of living wages and rampant wage theft prevailing in the industry in the form of illegal wage deductions, non-payment of wages according to grade, single overtime payment and non-provision of pay slips etc. The other issues which came up at the hearing were the violation of freedom of association by the management and contractors and the increasing use of contract labour in the industry as a means of keeping workers powerless. The jury maintained that interference of employers in trade union activities must stop to ensure a fair working environment, adding that any assault on freedom of association and right to organise amounted to serious human rights violation. Emphasising on the need of unionisation, they also suggested that the trade unions should also introspect and keep abreast with contemporary issues, ideas and practices. The jury comprised Dr Coen Kompier from ILO, Annie Raja from the National Federation of Indian Women and Rajiv Agarwal, a lawyer at the Supreme Court.
	SHUTTING DOWN DISTANCE-EDUCATION STUDY CENTRES Govt’s move anti-education, illogical: Political parties Ravinder Saini Jhajjar, October 1 The decision of the Congress-led state government to restrain the state universities by shutting down their study centres of distance-education courses has evoked a sharp reaction in the political circles of the state. Describing the government’s move as “anti-education” and “illogical”, the BJP, the HJC and the TMC have demanded a roll back of the decision, pleading that it would turn out to be a major setback for those who wish to education themseves by sitting in their homes due to various reasons. Satish Tyagi, chief of the Intellectual Group of the Haryana Trinmool Congress, said the government was deliberately trying to deprive people of their fundamental right to get education by closing down the study centres with an intention to extend undue benefits to the private self-financing professional institutes being run by Congress men. “A large numbers of seats remain unfilled in these institutions every year due to lack of basic facilities, resulting in a loss to the institute owner. Thus, the government has taken this “illogical” decision so that the aspirants could indirectly be made to take admission in these institutions instead of enrolling themselves in distance-education courses through study centres,” said Tyagi. Pradeep Jain, a senior leader of the BJP, said the concept of distance education was launched to provide an opportunity to especially those working youths and women who wanted to increase their educational qualifications, who were not able to attend regular classes due to their job conditions but wanted to enhance their education for a brighter carrier. “The party condemns the government decision as it is a major jolt to extension education programme for which special stress is being given not only at the national but also at the global level. The government should roll back its decision after reconsidering its future effect on the educational system,” said Jain. Jagjit Dagar, senior leader of the youth wing of the HJC, said on the one hand, the Congress government had been making tall claims of developing the state as an “educational hub” with the setting up of several professional courses, on the other hand, it was contradicting this approach by ordering closing down of the study centres of distance courses across the state, he added. Charging the state government with patronising the organised education mafia in Haryana, Dagar said the government had been providing full opportunity and liberty to the mafia to flourish in the state. Consequently, higher education had become too expensive for by common men.
	People urged to report theft of power to nigams Raman Mohan Tribune News Service Hisar,October 1 The Haryana power distribution utilities (Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam and Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam) have urged the people to report theft of power to the nigams through e-mail round the clock or on the telephone from 9 am to 5 pm on all working days. The identity of the informers will be kept secret. A spokesman of DHBVN said here recently that theft was the main cause of interruptions, tripping and breakdowns. The public could reduce such occurrences by reporting theft of power. He said information of theft of electricity in respect of Gurgaon, Mahendragarh, Mewat and Rewari districts could be sent through email at xen.enforcement.ggn@gmail.com or telephone number 0124-2384757. In respect of Faridabad and Palwal districts, the information of theft of power may be sent to email id dgmenf.fbd@gmail.com or telephone number 0129-2231604. For Hisar, Sirsa, Bhiwani and Fatehabad districts, the information of pilferage of power can be sent to email id enf.hsr@gmail.com or telephone number 01662-223192. The information of theft may be sent to xenvigiluhbvnambala@gmail.com through email or on telephone number 0171-2542049 in respect of Ambala, Panchkula, Kurukshetra and Yamunanagar districts. The XEN, Vigilance, Karnal will cover Karnal, Panipat and Kaithal districts for which e-mail id is xenvigiluhbvnkarnal@gmail.com and telephone number is 0184-2272353. Information regarding pilferage of power in respect of Rohtak, Jhajjar, Jind and Sonepat districts may be sent through email at envigiluhbvnrohtak@gmail.com or telephone number 01262-245036. In case a person opts for the theft informer scheme for giving information regarding theft of electricity, he will be given 20 per cent of the realised amount of the penalty (assessed loss of revenue to the nigam), excluding compounding amount assessed. Under the scheme, an informer may call power distribution utilities on telephone number 01662-221527 or toll free number 18001801011 during working hours.
	HUDA land-pooling scheme Chandigarh, October 1 To protect the interest of land owners, the Haryana Government has notified a Land Pooling Scheme for development of residential sectors by Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA). An official spokesman said recently that the Urban Estates Department Haryana acquired land for planned development undertaken by HUDA as the state’s nodal agency for the purpose. Such land is acquired under the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. He said the government had now decided to introduce a land pooling scheme whereby the landowners were given an option to become partners in the development process. The land owners whose land is acquired for the development of residential sectors would have the option either to accept the compensation in monetary terms as available under the Land Acquisition Act along with non-statutory benefits under the Rehabilitation and Resettlement policy or to seek the compensation in the form of developed plots as full and final settlement. The landowners would be eligible to participate in the Land Pooling scheme only if a minimum of 1000 sq yards or more of their land was acquired, the spokesman said. — PTI
	PG owners thrive on high rentals, minimum services Sushil Manav Tribune News Service Sirsa, October 1 In the absence of any government regulations, the paying guest (PG) operators are thriving by charging hefty payments and providing the minimum services. There are nearly 100 PG operators in Sirsa, a majority of them for girls and working women, where students, bank officials, college teachers and women working in other institutions reside. However, women living in these PGs complain that those operating them ask for heavy charges for accommodation and food besides for extra services like cooler or warm water. “On an average, a girl has to pay a minimum of Rs 4,000 to Rs 4,500 to the PG operator for accommodation and food. Against this, the PG operators provide her a bed in a small room that she has to share with two others. There is hardly any space left for walking in the room,” said Mamta (name changed on request), who works in a central government organisation in Sirsa. These charges do not include the money they demand for use of coolers, geysers, using an electric iron or having a glass of milk. “We have to pay Rs 500 per month for the cooler, Rs 100 for the geyser and so on for other additional services,” Mamta added. Rekha (not the real name), alleged that in the absence of any rules to regulate the business, the PG operators increase their rates every six months and some of them demand security deposit of Rs 2,000 or more. She alleged that the quality of food in most of the PGs is not good and often the vegetable and dal prepared once is served again the next day. “The PG operators make their own rules and implement these arbitrarily. If we fail to follow any of these rules, we are asked to leave. In some cases, the PG operators do not even give a notice,” alleged a student of a local educational institution. The authorities had, last month, issued directions making it mandatory for all PG operators to register with the District Child Protection Officer (DCPO). The directions said that it would be mandatory for the operators to furnish all information regarding the girls living in their PGs to the police as well as the DCPO. However, not a single operator has so far registered itself with the authorities. “We are not aware where to apply for the registration,” said Harish Sethi, who runs his SS Paying Guest for women at Suvidha Marg in Agarsen Colony of Sirsa. Sethi said working women and girls studying in colleges prefer PGs than the hostels due to the better quality food and security. When contacted, Deputy Commissioner J Ganesan said he had already issued directions for the registration of all PGs functioning in the district and he would review the implementation soon.
	State govt to promote micro-irrigation system Sushil Manav Tribune News Service Fatehabad,October 1 With an objective to improve productivity, profitability and sustainability in farming, the Haryana Government has initiated programmes to encourage micro-irrigation system and greenhouse farming in the state by providing subsidy to farmers on these projects. Haryana is the only state in the country which is giving 90 per cent subsidy on installation of micro-irrigation system, also called drip irrigation, trickle irrigation or localised irrigation. The Union Government provides a subsidy of 50 per cent on drip irrigation while Haryana has been giving 90 per cent subsidy to its farmers. “We have brought 9,343 hectares of agriculture land under micro-irrigation system during 2010-11, which is quite an achievement,” said Paramvir Singh, Agriculture Minister, Haryana, who represents Tohana Assembly seat of Fatehabad in the state Assembly. He said the government had spent a sum of Rs 40 crore for this purpose. Micro-irrigation helps farmers irrigate maximum crops by using very small quantities of water while in the flood irrigation, commonly in practice, huge quantities of water were wasted due to seepage in the soil leading to growth of unwanted weeds. “Looking into the high cost involved in setting up of greenhouses, the state government first introduced a subsidy of 15 per cent, which was later increased to 65 per cent,” said the minister. By the end of 2011, greenhouses had been set up on an area of two lakh square metre in Haryana, he added. Greenhouses help farmers increase their production by growing disease-free genetically superior transplants and earn more profits by growing vegetables and flowers in off season. Suitable for vegetables and floriculture, greenhouses have helped farmers increase their vegetable production from 11 metric tonne per hectare to 13 metric tonne per hectare. Paramvir Singh said the Haryana Government had set up a target of increasing vegetable production to 17.5 metric tonnes per hectares in the next five years.
	Ladwa government school in a shambles Tribune News Service Ladwa (Kurukshetra), October 1 Government Primary School of Ladwa has complained that it does not have enough teachers and infrastructure. The only thing they have is ‘Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan’ inscribed on the walls of the dilapidated buildings. Parents allege that the school has no peons and safai karamcharis and students come half hour early to clean up the campus. The school has only three teachers for 210 students of five classes. It does not have a boundary wall, a toilet and proper drinking water arrangements. The students are being taught in the open as the school lacks classrooms. The only classroom is in a shambles and is serving as a store-cum-kitchen and administrative office. Some residents said the school was in the same condition since 1997. “Being poor, we do not have any other choice to provide education to our wards. We have heard that the government is spending lots of money on education but seeing the conditions here, all government missions look like a sham,” said Ram Kumar, a parent. The District Education Officer, Sudesh Madaan, said staff was not short but the school lacked space. The department had ensured that space would be provided to the school as soon as possible. The space had also been earmarked and the file was under process, she added.
	Fire station opened Tribune News Service Gurgaon, October 1 In order to ensure safety of its residents, DLF opened a fire station at DLF City Phase V here recently. This is the second fire station of the DLF, following the launch of its earlier fire station at DLF Cyber City, the first-ever private fire station in the country. DLF claims to have procured the latest state-of-the-art fire tenders and rescue equipment with hydraulic platforms with chassis of Mercedes Benz sourced from Finland. “The hydraulic platforms are the latest and the most sophisticated equipment and the and two fire tenders of 90 metre height will be crucial in providing complete fire safety to current as well as future high-rise development at DLF City Phase V,” said Akash Ohri, who heads the golf and infrastructure division at the DLF.
	Sonepat teacher adjudged best programme officer Our Correspondent Sonepat, October 1 Dr Jyoti Raj, programme officer of the National Service Scheme (NSS) unit of Government Women College, Murthal, Sonepat, was adjudged the best woman programme officer of the NSS among 164 NSS units under the jurisdiction of Maharishi Dayanand University (MDU), Rohtak, in an interview conducted by a team of the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports recently. Radha and Suman, students and NSS volunteers from the college, were given the first and the third prizes of the NSS volunteers of the university, respectively. Suprabha Dahiya, Commissioner, Rohtak Division, gave away the prizes to the winners. Dr Raj said the NSS unit of the college had participated in national-level programmes like NSS camp for disaster management held at Ooti in Tamil Nadu, national adventure camp at Narkanda, Shimla, NSS summer camp at Vishakhapatnam and NSS pre-Republic Day parade camp held at Modi Nagar in Uttar Pradesh. She said the unit also participated in different programmes like pulse polio campaign, AIDS awareness campaign, eye donation, eradication of anaemia and survey of primary education standard.
	Officials told to adhere to guidelines Our Correspondent Sonepat, October 1 Sonepat MP Jitender Singh Malik said here recently that the government had issued guidelines for completion of official works within a time-frame and every effort should be made to adhere to those guidelines. “It will not only improve the image of the government and departments, but also give a relief to the common man to a great extent,” he said while listening to public complaints here at his office. “It is the duty of government officials to look after the interests of the people and discharge their duties honestly and dedicatedly,” he said, adding that any kind of lapses would not be tolerated. Malik received around 70 complaints relating to electricity, repair of roads and drinking water supply at his weekly programme.
	Mining and Material Science Engineering Course ‘available’ in Australia too Shekhar Singh Tribune News Service Kurukshetra, October 1 Indian students planning to take admission in the Mining and Material Science Engineering course can opt for Australia as in India this course is available only in a few universities with limited seats. This was stated by Prof Sharda Hema, Head, South-East Asia Relations of Western Australia University. Hema said the university had about 300 students from India and they were excelling. She said the population of Australia was low and, therefore, the job opportunities were high. Hema also visited the University Institute of Engineering and Technology and delivered a lecture on ‘Avenues of Research and Education in Australia’ to the students. Later she discussed the matter of initiating a dialogue to have a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Western Australia University and Kurukshetra University with Vice-chancellor DS Sandhu. “The university has excellent research and teaching infrastructure and very good faculty. We look forward to take the dialogue further to initiate the process of a formal MoU with Kurukshetra University,” said Hema. “Kurukshetra University is looking forward to provide its students, faculty and research scholars an opportunity to expand their educational experience by providing them chances to interact with an international faculty and work in international research labs. We are looking forward to signing a number of MoUs with universities abroad in future,” said Sandhu.
	Rail link to Agroha demanded Tribune News Service Sirsa, October 1 The Agarwal Vikas Sangathan has demanded that Agroha, the religious capital of the Agarwal community, be connected with a railway line soon. Bajrang Dass Garg, state president of the Agarwal Vikas Sangthan, said the UPA government announced the proposed train link to Agroha when Lalu Prasad Yadav was the Union Railway Minister. However, the project had been hanging fire since then and nothing was being done to honour the commitment made to the community, he added. Garg said Agroha had historical importance for Agarwals and owing to the medical college situated here, it was important for other communities, too, thus the work on linking Agroha with a railway line be taken up on priority.
	Educational institutions must relate to ‘community causes’ BS Malik Sonepat, October 1 Higher education must inculcate social responsibility in its fold and must be aimed at community and social development. The need of the hour is that educational institutions must relate to community causes and engage the community for its holistic growth. This was the essence of expert-speak at a one-day international symposium on “Fostering Social Responsibility and Strengthening Community Engagement in Higher Education” organised at BPS Mahila Vishwavidylaya, Khanpur Kalan, recently. The symposium was organised in collaboration with the UNESCO Chair, ‘Community Based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Education’. Speaking on the occasion, Dr Pawan Aggarwal, Adviser, Planning Commission of India, who was also the chief guest, said educational institutions must connect with society. “It is necessary to work for national integration through higher education, but it has sadly alienated itself from society in the recent years,” he added. Dr Aggarwal said a campaign had been launched by the policy makers, including the Planning Commission, to re-establish and strengthen higher education’s close linkage with society through a well-coordinated approach. The XII Plan for higher education also aimed at promoting greater social responsibility in the country, he added. Introducing the theme of the symposium, director of Centre for Society University Interface and Research (CSUIR), Prof Kapil Kapoor, said higher education and modern technology had been proving beneficial for industrial growth but the rural society and its economy had remained neglected. “The rural population has become the victim of inferiority complex from the prevailing trends in the higher education,” he said, adding that the disintegration of families and their migration from the rural areas were also the results of the prevailing trends. In her welcome address, Vice-Chancellor of the university Dr Pankaj Mittal said the main objective of organising the symposium was to deliberate on the meaning of social responsibility in higher education, share emerging lessons in community engagements and identify areas of future collaborations. She said educational institutions act as a catalyst for social development and provide intellectual leadership to society. Dr Rajesh Tandon, (UNESCO Chair), presented the vote of thanks. Pro-Vice-Chancellor Dr Balbir Kaur, Registrar Prof Asha Kadyan, Prof Raman Mohan and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.
	INLD accelerates campaigning Tribune News Service Faridabad, October 1 In a bid to thwart attempts of the BJP-HJC alliance and to hog greater opposition space in Faridabad’s political spectrum, the INLD has escalated its activities here. The party leaders have become conspicuous in the district, especially in the rural areas, impressing upon the people the virtues of their party. The INLD cadre has become more vocal, both in praise of their party and against the state government and the BJP-HJC. The INLD’s present no-holds-barred activism is seen by many in the context of increased political activism of the HJC-BJP, especially with regard to BJP’s three-day national programme in Surajkund, followed by a public meeting here on September 28.
	Gurgaon Metro to be extended Chandigarh, October 1 The Haryana government recently approved the extension of the Metro link from Sikanderpur station to sector 56, Gurgaon. This project will have the route length of 6.5 km, with the project cost of Rs 2,143 crore and will run from Sikanderpur station to sector 56, Gurgaon. This project was likely to be commissioned within a period of three years, an official spokesman said. The approval was granted by the state Cabinet, which met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. It will make commuting easier for lakhs of people living on the south side of Gurgaon and will further strengthen the mass rapid transport infrastructure in Gurgaon. This project will be a boon to the existing Metro rail project being developed in the Cyber City of Gurgaon, the trial runs of which will take place on October 2, 2012, in the presence of the Chief Minister. “This project has the provision of further extension of Metro rail towards old Gurgaon across National Highway, which will also be taken up subsequently for the benefit of residents of Gurgaon living on the north side of Gurgaon,” the spokesman said. M/s IL and FS Rail Limited will implement this project under the PPP Model and entire cost of the project will be borne by M/s IL and FS Rail Limited. The Haryana government will provide ROW on lease hold basis. This is the unique model for implementation of Metro rail projects in the country wherein not only the entire project cost will be borne by the private party but it will also be maintained and operated by the private party at its own cost. The private party that is M/s IL and FS Rail Limited will also pay Rs 2,010 crore to the Haryana Government towards connectivity charges over a period of 20 years starting from 16th year from the date of signing of the concession agreement. M/s IL and FS Rail Limited will also share with the state government 5 per cent to 10 per cent of the revenue generated from the property development and advertisements rights during the operation period. — PTI
	Bringing dropout students into mainstream Sushil Manav Tribune News Service Sirsa, October 1 To bring dropout students into the mainstream, the district authorities have taken the services of final year JBT students to provide them informal education. At a meeting held recently, it was decided that the JBT student teachers would teach those students who were outside the school system from October this year to March 2013 so that they could be brought to the mainstream from the next session. The dropout students would be given education according to their age, said the Deputy Commissioner, Dr J Ganesan, who headed the meeting under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA). Such students would be given admission from Class I to Class VIII according to their capability. He said during the current fiscal year, Rs 71 crore would be spent on various items under the SSA, out of which over Rs 15 crore had already been spent on construction works. Ganesan said the construction work of 130 rooms for principals of various schools at a cost of over Rs 5.70 crore was in progress. Along with this, 52 more rooms and separate toilets for girls and boys in various schools were being built at a cost of over Rs 7.44 crore. Ramps were being constructed in 136 schools for the benefit of differently abled students, he added. He said sports events had been organised for special children in schools. Under the SSA, free text books were being provided to Class I to Class VIII students studying in government schools at a cost of Rs 2.45 crore.
	Farmers told to arrange certified seeds Tribune News Service Hisar, October 1 The Agro-Met Department of Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University has predicted the possibility of variable weather and dusty winds during the next four days. Isolated light rain may occur after September 29. The maximum temperature is likely to hover between 33 and 36 degree Celsius and minimum between 19 and 22 degree Celsius. Change in the direction of winds is also likely to occur. In view of these weather conditions, the farm scientists of the university have advised the farmers to arrange for certified seeds and prepare the field for sowing of mustard and gram. They have advised that because of excessive moisture, pests could attack cotton crop and in case the damage exceeds economic brink, the farmers should spray pesticides prescribed by the university. They have advised the farmers to start harvesting early bajra crop only after the weather becomes clear. The department said due to excessive humidity, bacterial blight could attack ‘guar’ crop and in order to counter the situation, farmers should spray a mixture of 400 grams ‘Blitox’ and 30 grams of ‘Streptocyclin’ mixed in 200 litres of water in every acre of land. They should provide 50 to 100 gram good quality mixture of minerals per day to animals to keep them healthy and also for better milk productivity.
	Seminar on ubiquitous computing Ambala, October 1 The Department of Computer Science and Application of Hindu Girls’ College, Jagadhari, organised a UGC-sponsored national seminar on “Application Tools and Techniques of Ubiquitous Computing in Building Intelligent Space World”. Ubiquitous computing is widespread and everywhere at the same time. The aim of the seminar was to bring together researchers and practitioners from various communities who share the vision of computing support in all situations of everyday life. Nearly 150 resource persons, delegates, research scholars from different universities participated in the seminar. — OC
	Panel visits HAU, inspects research work Raman Mohan Tribune News Service Hisar, October 1 The Public Accounts Committee of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha, headed by former minister Sampat Singh, visited Haryana Agricultural University campus to apprise itself of the progress on research, teaching and extension activities. Addressing a meeting with the Vice-Chancellor and other senior functionaries of the university, Singh said the money allocated by the government for extension activities and Krishi Vigyan Kendras should not be spent on other activities. He directed the university officials to provide the panel a detailed account of money allocated and spent on extension activities at the earliest so that it could suggest remedial measures in its report. He asked the VC to ensure proper maintenance of the 4,000 acre Ram Dhan Singh Seed Farm of the university. The farm is a unique institution and all efforts should be made to ensure that it is run efficiently to ensure production of highest quality seed for the farmers, he added. He directed the university to make available good quality seeds of different crops with high germination rate to the farmers. The quality of seed had a direct bearing on the incomes of farmers, he added. The panel members also inspected the pollution control mechanisms installed in several industrial units here. They spoke to workers of these units to know if they were getting all the benefits given to them under several government welfare schemes. Singh said the main purpose was to inspect whether the pollution control mechanisms met the required standards. He asked the managements to install water harvesting systems to avoid wastage. He said it was necessary to ensure that pollution was tackled at source so that life and environment was not affected. He asked managements to define their social responsibility and act on it so that the society in general benefited from their functioning. He also asked them to employ locals wherever possible. The former minister appealed to managements to provide training to students of industrial institutes.
	Smriti bags 3rd title on 6th leg Sunit Dhawan Tribune News Service Gurgaon, October 1 Nalini Singh Siwach faltered on the back nine when a second straight title was well within her sight at the sixth leg of the Hero-WGAI Women’s Pro Tour at the challenging Golden Greens golf course here recently. Leading by one with seven holes to go, Nalini bogeyed three in a row from 12th to 14th and allowed veteran Smriti Mehra not only to catch up but also move ahead by two and win her the third title of the season. Smriti, starting the day two shots ahead, returned a card of 75, the same as Nalini but she won with a total of 226, as compared to 228 by Nalini. Neha Tripathi (77) was a distant third with 234 the same as Saaniya Sharma (80). Vani Kapoor (77) ended fifth at 235 and Ankita Tiwana was sixth. It was a see-saw battle between Smriti and Nalini in the final round with Smriti holding a two-shot lead. Playing together, both bogeyed the first hole, but Nalini closed the gap with a birdie on second. A bogey by Smriti on third meant the two were alevel. The pair again bogeyed the fifth, but Smriti pulled ahead by one as she birdied the sixth and both birdied the ninth. On the back nine, Smriti leading by one fell back by one as she bogeyed ninth and 10th. But the clincher for the veteran golfer was the 12th, which she birdied, while Nalini bogeyed for a two-shot swing. Thereafter, Nalini lapsed into further errors with bogeys on 13th and 14th to allow Smriti move clear by three. She even had the luxury of a bogey on 17th as Nalini failed to birdie any of the back nine, leaving Smriti a winner by two shots. This was the third title of the season for Smriti, while Nalini’s first win came last week when Smriti holding a commanding lead dropped a quadruple bogey in closing stages at the DLF Golf and Country Club. The win also allowed Smriti to increase her lead at the top of the Order of Merit. Interestingly, none of the participating golfers could manage a sub-par round during the week.
	Man robbed of Rs 1 lakh Tribune News Service Hisar, October 1 An employee of a cooking gas agency located in the Mill Gate area was robbed of Rs 1.18 lakh by four masked miscreants here recently. The employee identified as Bhoop Singh was going to the agency owner’s house to deliver the money. On the way he was accosted by four masked men who stabbed him repeatedly before snatching the cash. The incident took place in front of the owner’s home. The employee had stopped his motorcycle outside. Just as he alighted from it, he was robbed. The culprits escaped before help arrived. The injured employee was admitted to General Hospital here for treatment. The police has registered a case.
	College sets up museum on archaeological artifacts Sushil Manav Tribune News Service Fatehabad, October 1 The History Department of the local Manohar Memorial Post Graduate College has developed a museum exhibiting artifacts of archaeological importance. The museum set up in a room in the multi-purpose hall of the college has relics of Harappan and pre-Harappan culture found in Kunal, Bhirdana and Banawali etc during excavations. The objects include earthen pots and utensils, ornaments made of terracotta and certain other relics depicting the life style of people during that age. “In this museum, we have also displayed coins prevalent during various times, including the Janpad era, Morya era, Kushan era, Delhi Sultanate era, Mughal era and the present times,” said history teachers Krishan Kumar and Surinder Pal, who have developed the museum. The museum also has dies used in the making of coins. The museum also has relics portraying Haryanvi culture and those found from Agroha during excavations. Principal DK Kaushik said his teachers had put in great labour in collecting rare relics of archeological importance and that these would help students in understanding their subject better.
	Play on pain of Partition staged Suman Bhatnagar Yamunanagar, October 1 A play depicting the pain of India-Pakistan division, “Jine Lahore Ni Vekhya Oh Jamya Ni”, organised jointly by the Music Department and Spick Macay, was staged at the local DAV College. The play was directed by late Habib Tanvir. The programme was chaired by the college Principal, Dr Sushma Arya. It starts with India-Pakistan division in 1947 when Hindus migrated from Pakistan to India and Muslims from India to Pakistan. Due to some reasons, the mother of Johri Ratan Lal (a Hindu man) is left back in Lahore. The Government of Pakistan allots the house of Ratan to Sikandar Mirza (a Muslim man) who had migrated from Lucknow to Lahore. When Mirza shifts in the house of Ratan, he finds the latter’s mother there. They try to oust her, so that she can migrate to India. But the family starts feeling great affection for the woman and treats her as their own mother. This does not go down well with the communist people. They conspire to send her to India. The old woman decides to go to Delhi but the family convinces her to stay back in Lahore. The old woman dies due to a heart attack. The question arises of the old lady’s last rites -- to cremate her or to bury her? The Maulvi makes the people understand that the woman was a Hindu, so she should be cremated. But before any decision is taken, the Maulvi is murdered. When the old woman is to be cremated and the Maulvi is to be buried, riots take place and hundreds of people are killed. The play reaches its dreadful end.
	Heritage Rail Museum Railways for new additions to attract visitors Nawal Kishore Rastogi Rewari, October 1 The Mechanical Wing of the Northern Railway has decided to initiate new additions in the Heritage Rail Museum (HRM) at the Loco Shed in Rewari to attract more visitors in general and the student community in particular. Ashwini Lohani, chief mechanical engineer (CME), and Vikas Arya, deputy chief mechanical engineer of the Northern Railway, along with their team recently visited the HRM here. Jayanto Sanyal, state convener of the Haryana chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), and Sudhir Bhargava, convener of the Rewari chapter of INTACH, coordinated their visit. The Rewari HRM in the Loco Shed is one of the oldest Loco Sheds of the Indian Railways and comprises models of several old engines, allied equipment and other such exhibits. However, it has not been able to draw a fair number of visitors during the past two years. While seeking reorientation of the HRM, the INTACH functionaries put forward suggestions regarding showing of documentaries about the history and present operations of the railways, addition of new exhibits to depict the working of the railway network in the hilly and desert terrains of the country, appropriate reconditioning of the restaurant, showing steam locomotives in running condition and provision of a special guide to draw more visitors. Lohani directed his staff to prepare a brochure about the history of the museum, the railways and other vital exhibits of the museum and distribute them free of cost to the visitors.
	HPCC for interaction between ministers, party leaders Ravi S Singh Tribune News Service Faridabad, October 1 In order to increase the coordination between the Congress and its government in the state, the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) has asked its ministers and chief parliamentary secretaries to meet leaders of the party in districts so that their problems could be solved locally. The move for better coordination between the party and the government is said to be at the behest of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. In a recent letter to the ministers and the chief parliamentary secretaries, state president of the Congress Phool Chand Maulana has asked them to meet the office-bearers, particularly when they visit various districts to preside over meetings of the district public relations and grievance redressal committees. Maulana has mentioned in the letter that Hooda wants further coordination between the Congress and the government. Incidentally, the Grievance Redressal Committees are statutory bodies constituted by the state government in all the districts with a mandate to solve problems of the public at large. The meetings of the bodies are held each month. The state unit of the Congress has also informed all its district presidents about the new initiative to improve the interface between the higher government functionaries and party leaders. Many in the party see the move in the context of alleged reservations of party workers in the districts against ministers and higher functionaries of the government for being inaccessible to them. Meanwhile, the initiative by Hooda has invited plaudits from wide spectrum of party workers. Harinder Pal Singh, district president of the party, said, “The measure will go a long way in boosting the morale of the party leaders”.
	Research for Anti-HIV drug GJU signs MoU with Kolkata firm Raman Mohan Tribune News Service Hisar, October 1 Scientists of the Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology here, in collaboration with a Kolkata-based life sciences company, TCG Life Sciences, are in the final stages of formulating an anti-HIV drug which is expected to cost 200 times less than the similar drugs available in the market. Dr Rajesh Malhotra and Dr Subho Ray of the Chemistry Department of the university in collaboration with Chhanda Rahri of the TCG are engaged in research for this project. The Vice-Chancellor, Dr ML Ranga, said under the MoU signed by both the parties, employees of the TCG would pursue their PhD programmes from the GJU and the patents accruing from the research would be given to the university. The scholars would be allowed the use of university laboratories. AIDS is considered a global crisis. It is a major threat to global workforce affecting the most productive segment and thus imposing huge costs on enterprises in all sectors. The patients face great socio-economic difficulties in obtaining treatment. Despite the availability of the current clinically approved anti-HIV drugs, new classes of anti-viral agents are still urgently needed to combat AIDS. Traditional medicinal plants are a valuable source of novel anti-HIV agents and may offer alternatives to expensive medicines in the future. Various medicinal plants or plant-derived natural products have shown strong anti-HIV activity and are under various stages of clinical development in different parts of the world. These scientists say the current research is directed towards assessment of anti-HIV activity of extracts available from the Indian medicinal plants. The plants were chosen on the basis of similarity of chemical constituents with reported anti-HIV compounds or on the basis of their traditional usage as immuno-modulators. The scientists have tried to isolate pure compound from Argemone Mexicana but the quantity derived was insufficient. They are now trying to synthesise this compound for testing its anti-HIV activity. Once the project is complete, scientists expect the price of the drug to come down from Rs 1.5 lakh per dose to Rs 750 only.
	UHBVN to set up transformer banks in each operation circle Bhanu P Lohumi/TNS Karnal, October 1 In a major initiative, which would go a long way in minimising the complaints of electricity consumers, the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) has decided to set up a transformer bank in each circle for quick distribution of transformers. The Superintending Engineer (SE) concerned of each circle would be authorised to make allocation of transfers on need basis and complaints of consumers would be minimised, Devender Singh, Chairman-cum-Managing Director (CMD) of the Haryana Power Distribution Corporations, said here recently during a meeting with public representatives. A special consumer grievance redressal mechanism would also be evolved under which all the complaints would be monitored and sub-divisional officers would be assigned night duties on a rotation basis on the pattern of medical doctors to attend to the complaints during the night, he added. The CMD said as per the schedule, the daily supply of electricity was 20 hours to urban domestic consumers, 18 hours to industrial consumers, 11 hours to rural domestic sector and 8 hours daily to tube well consumers and asked the officials to ensure that power was supplied to consumers according to the schedule. However, he said the DISCOMS (distribution companies) could not manage electricity in the event of sudden unit failure of any generating unit as at least 24 hours advance time was required to arrange electricity. Expressing concern over pilferage of power, adding to transmission and distribution losses, he said stringent steps would be taken to check power theft and an intensive campaign to check power theft would be launched all over the state and FIR would be registered in all theft cases. In case FIR was not registered for a month, the DISCOMS would go to court with an application against the erring consumer, as per the provisions of the Electricity Act, he said. He also directed the nigam to release power connections on the spot to domestic applicants and regularise “kundi connections”. MLAs Balbir Pal Shah and Dharam Singh Chhokkar urged the people not to indulge in power theft and stressed the need for more such meetings for better interaction between the officials of DISCOMs and the consumers.
	Lok adalat settles 386 cases Faridabad, October 1 As many as 386 cases, mostly related to criminal and summary, were dispensed at a lok adalat here recently by the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA). Ravinder Gupta, coordinator of the District Legal Services Authority, said 560 cases in all came up for consideration before the adalat. Out of the total cases solved, 180 were criminal cases, 71 pertained to civil nature, 20 disputes were under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act and 10 disputes under the Motor Vehicles Act. In the 102 summary cases adjudicated, a total fine of about Rs 4 lakh was announced. Besides, a legal awareness camp on municipal laws was organised by the DLSA. — TNS