Jind, November 14
Traffic movement on the Narwana-Patiala highway was disrupted for over five hours today after hundreds of residents of Belarkha village of the district squatted on the main road, demanding the arrest of the truck driver who had allegedly crushed a villager to death in an accident last night.

The blockade came to an end after the intervention of senior police officials.

Police sources said the residents of Belarkha came out on the highway this morning after it was revealed that the victim, Dharamvir aged 25 years, had been killed in an accident last night.

His body was found dumped under leaves near the Dharodi minor, located about 100 yards from the main road.

The villagers told the police that Dharamvir had gone to his field late last night and failed to return home.

He was allegedly run over by a truck passing on the highway while crossing the road around midnight last night. It is claimed that the truck which had run over him had skidded and got stuck in the adjoining field after the accident.

Villagers alleged that the driver got the body of Dharamvir dumped near the canal and covered it with vegetation and threw his belongings and a bicycle at a secluded place before absconding with his vehicle.

Hundreds of villagers assembled on the highway this morning and did not allow the traffic to pass for over five hours. Hundreds of vehicles got stuck in the jam on both sides of the blockade. The movement was resumed around 3.20 pm this evening after the police assured them of tracing the truck and its driver.

Chandigarh, November 14
Over 1,400 candidates selected as Information Officer-cum-Library Managers in the Haryana Education Department have been moving from pillar to post to get their appointment letters for the past the three months.

The candidates alleged that though they were asked to be ready for document verification in August, the Haryana School Shiksha Pariyojana Parishad (HSSPP), Panchkula, was yet to complete the selection process and issue the appointment letters. This is despite the aggrived candidates meeting Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Education Minister Geeta Bhukkal.

In anticipation of the appointment in the Education Department, several selected candidates have already quit their jobs. “ With the HSSPP dragging its feet on issuing the appointment letters, I am in a Catch-22 situation as I have already served a one-month notice on my previous employer,” said a candidate. Meanwhile, official sources said the selection process would be completed soon following which the selected candidates would be issued the appointment letters.

The HSSPP had advertised about 3,000 posts of Information Officer-cum-Library Manager in February this year. The examination was conducted in June and the result was declared in the same month. Meanwhile, official sources said the selection process would be completed soon following which the selected candidates would be issued the appointment letters. 

handigarh, November 14
Twentyfive years after the Haryana Selection Service Board issued an advertisement for the recruitment for clerks in various departments, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the filling of the vacancies “strictly on the basis of merit”. In all, 103 vacancies will now be filled on the basis of the merit list prepared by the state of Haryana and other respondents.

A list of 5,373 candidates was declared on October 15, 1989, pursuant to the advertisement issued on July 22, 1987. Out of the total, candidates up to merit number 4,645 were appointed.

A single Judge directed the appointment of first 12 meritorious petitioners after 43 unsuccessful candidates filed a writ petition in the High Court. The order was passed on the premise that there were only 12 vacancies.

After a series of litigation, the matter ultimately went to the Supreme Court and was finally decided on August 19, 1998, in the case of Roshni Devi versus state of Haryana. Referring to the judgment in Roshni Devi’s case, the Bench of Chief Justice

Arjan Kumar Sikri and Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain asserted that “necessary directions have already been given in this very judgment”. A direction “clearly maintains that if the vacancies exist during the period in question, the appointments could be made strictly on the basis of their merit position in the list…. A cumulative reading of the directions

provides the complete answer and the course of action to be chartered.

“It is clear that the court had directed that the appointments are to be made strictly on the basis of merit in the list prepared by the state on the basis of selection. It does not leave any room for the original writ petitioners to argue that others who did not approach the court should be excluded”.

The Bench concluded: “We, thus, set aside the direction of the single Judge given in the order or other orders confined to the filling of the posts on the basis of the inter-se merit of the writ petitioners alone.

“Instead, it is directed that 103 vacancies which according to the state of Haryana still exist pertaining to the period October 15, 1989, to November 18, 1995, shall be filled strictly on the basis of the merit position in the list prepared by the respondents”.

Kurukshetra November 14
A group of 25 girl students, accompanied by four female teachers and one woman guardian of the Lolab valley, Kupwara district, Jammu and Kashmir, reached the this historic city today.

The tour was flagged off on November 6 for a 12-day voyage. The students are on ‘Watan ki Sair’, a national integration tour, conducted as part of Operation Sadbhavana of the Indian Army by 28 Rashtriya Rifles.

The students have visited Jammu, Chandigarh, Dehradun, Mussoorie and Ambala before reaching Kurukshetra, covering a distance of around 3,000 km. The group has visited a number of prestigious institutes like Panjab University, Kurukshetra University, Indian Military Academy, Forest Research Institute, Rashtriya Military College, Indian Institute of Remote Sensing and the National Institute for Visually Handicapped.

The girls belong to isolated and rural areas of the Lolab valley and this is the first opportunity wherein the children are visiting places outside Jammu and Kashmir. The tour is aimed at exposing the children to the rich cultural heritage and development of our country.

In Kurukshetra, the group visited the Saraisukhi village and was felicitated by a former sarpanch, Sahab Singh Deswal. The girls got a feel of the culturally rich Haryanavi tradition and warmth. They also enjoyed the musical fountain at the OP Jindal Park and visited the Brahm Sarovar here.

They will visit Kurukshetra University, Kalpna Chawla Planetarium, Kurukshetra Panorama and Science Museum and Dharohar here tomorrow and will return at Kupwara on November 17.

Fatehabad, November 14
The Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) has hit rough weather in Fatehabad as the local chapter of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has announced that its members would not provide treatment to cardholders under the scheme in future.

Sanjay Bansal, district president of the IMA, said yesterday that the doctors had taken this step because the insurance agency and the third party administrator (TPA) appointed by the agency had failed to clear their bills for the past over eight months.

Eight doctors from Fatehabad town are empanelled with the insurance agency for providing medical treatment free of cost to BPL families registered under the RSBY, a scheme of the central government to provide free health insurance to poor families.

“The company is yet to clear bills worth over Rs 12 lakh to these doctors,” said Dr Suresh Wadhwa, surgeon.

He said he alone had over Rs 6 lakh to receive from the insurance company for the treatment provided to the poor.

Dr Manmohan Pahwa, orthopaedic surgeon, said the contract that the company had with the government last year had ended on October 31.

He said the new TPA had already collected fees from doctors against their service charges. He, however, said the doctors had decided against accepting any cases till their last dues were cleared.

He said the company was now making excuses that the doctors had not uploaded the transaction online in time.

Each BPL family registered under the RSBY scheme is issued a smart card that entitles the family to indoor or surgical treatment of its members up to a limit of Rs 30,000 per annum. As per the guidelines issued by the insurance company, the doctor on their panel has to register the patient online, when he or she comes to him for some treatment requiring indoor admission.

After this, the doctor has to block the smart card on his computer at the start of the treatment and the transaction has to be uploaded online while discharging the patient.

Doctors allege that due to software problems, uploading of the transaction was delayed sometimes, but the company was now making excuses to shirk its liability to clear their bills. 

Kurukshetra, November 14
The city and its neighbouring township are dotted by numerous hoardings of various political parties. In violation of directions of the Supreme Court and the Punjab and Haryana High Court, a large number of hoardings have been put up along the busy national highway and other roads.

The hoardings have been put up by supporters of various political parties, including the ruling Congress and the opposition INLD party.

The MC had removed some hoardings, but advertising agencies and political parties continue to flout court directions and compromise public safety. The local authorities remain oblivious to the violations.

Dhuman Singh, a lawyer, said, “Putting up hoardings announcing political rallies and other such things along busy roads amounts to contempt of court and those doing it or allowing it are liable to prosecution”.

But the question is: Who will bell the cat?

The HC had directed that all signboards, hoardings, neon sign boards and advertisement boards facing the main road and side road/lanes be removed.

A random ride through Kurukshetra shows countless hoardings, fixed on huge iron frames put up on rooftops, green belts, footpaths and government and private buildings.

Residents feel that the exercise of issuing notices to the violators is just an eyewash as the MC itself had entered into a seven-year pact with the firm and could not take action.

This illegal activity also finds place on the rooftops of residential and private commercial buildings, while enjoying the patronage of local political leaders who themselves rake in big moolah.

“Here, commercialisation is the main motive. The authorities are least concerned about the ‘defacement’. This illegal trade is prospering and the lawbreakers enjoy immunity because politicians themselves are involved in this multi-crore trade,” alleged a resident.

Sirsa, November 14
‘Chhatrapati Samman’, an annual award named after slain journalist Ram Chander Chhatrapati would be conferred on the veteran journalist Kuldip Nayar this year.

Nayar will also deliver his keynote address in a symposium to be organised on this occasion. Sanwad, an NGO working in the cultural, literary and social fields, gives away this award and holds a symposium every year on the death anniversary of Chhatarpati that falls on November 21.

Chhatrapati, editor of evening daily Poora Sach, was shot at outside his residence on October 24, 2002, and he succumbed to the bullet injuries on November 21.

Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is among those facing trial in the CBI court in connection with Chhatrapati’s murder.

Anshul Chhatrapati, a son of the slain journalist, said Prof Jagmohan Singh, a nephew of martyr Bhagat Singh, would be the special guest on this occasion.

Jind, November 14
No one from the Congress party and the local administration turned up to pay obeisance at the lone statue of the late Prime Minister in the heart of the city here today, the 123rd birth anniversary of the first Prime Minister of the country, Pt Jawaharlal Nehru. The district Congress, however, claimed to pay tributes to the late leader at the party’s office here.

Requesting anonymity, a supporter of the party said that it was a matter of concern as district-level programmes had been held earlier to remember the late Indira Gandhi, also a former PM on her death anniversary on October 31.

The offices of the district administration remained closed today due to Vishvakarma Day, which was a holiday.

The chowk here where the statue of the late Pt. Nehru was installed in 1995 on the initiative of some senior party leaders was known as Jawahar Chowk till it was renamed as Rotary Chowk. But the identity of the chowk changed in 2003 to Devi Lal Chowk during the Chautala regime when a statue of the late Deputy Prime Minister was installed.

District Congress president Jasbir Deswal claimed that a programme was held in the district office of the party in which homage was paid to the first Prime Minister.

Yamunanagar, November 14
The synchronisation of the 300-MW Yamunanagar thermal unit, which was expected to be revived by the middle of October, has been further delayed following vibrations in the turbine.

Official sources said the unit was lighted up last week for synchronisation but had to be shut down again following high vibrations in the turbine. The unit ran for a few hours on 50-MW load. As the mandatory overspeeding test was being done, some bolts of bearing cover were damaged. Now the turbine is again being checked for some oil leakage, the sources said.

A complete overhauling of this unit and the auxiliary system were carried out under the supervision of Chinese engineers for more than six months.

The unit turbine rotor was received at Yamunanagar after repairs at Baroda and Mumbai in September, this year. The repair work had cost the power utility around Rs 5 crore, sources said.

The damaged rotor of other unit which was sent to China for repairs has been dispatched after final inspection. The rotor components are expected to reach the Indian port in the last week of December. The unit may be put back in operation early next year.

Meanwhile, the coal shortage has hit all the running thermal plants in the state, except the Yamunanagar thermal which is under long forced shutdown. As per latest Central Electricity Authority (CEA) report, the coal stock at the plant in Jhajjar was sufficient for just two days.

One of the 660-MW units at Jhajjar has been shut down for the past three weeks due to coal shortage.

The coal stock at Panipat and Khedar is sufficient for just three and six days, respectively, the sources said.

Chandigarh, November 14
With the demand for Indian honey increasing in Europe, the production of honey in Haryana is fast gaining ground as the state expects a production of 2,500 tonnes of honey this year as against 2,000 tonnes produced last year.

A spokesman of the Haryana Agriculture Department said the business in honey was showing an increase of 15 per cent every year in the state. He said India accounted for annual export of about 55,000 tonnes of honey. With the profession of beekeeping getting a congenial atmosphere, unemployed youths were finding ample opportunities in this field in the state.

He said with the flowering of early variety of mustard and eucalyptus in Jind, Bhiwani, Narnaul, Rewari and Jhajjar districts by the end of November, those engaged in beekeeping were installing their boxes for production of honey.

The state government was taking effective steps to promote this profession and the state Horticulture Department had been imparting training in beekeeping free of cost from time to time to unemployed youth. It also helped them in getting loans from banks to set up their own ventures. 

Rewari, November 14
As many as four school buses were gutted by fire in the Jiwan Jyoti Senior Secondary School complex at Mandola village, 32 km from here, last night.

School employees, villagers and the Fire Brigade saved over five other buses parked nearby from being burnt.

A senior police official said the crime branch would investigate the matter to ascertain the cause of the fire.

In another incident, scrap worth several thousands of rupees was also reduced to ashes in a fire in junk dealer Ashok Kumar’s godown near the Circular Road here last night. 

Ambala, November 14
The police arrested an under-training constable on a charge of molesting a minor girl at Ambala City on Tuesday. The police had booked two constables in this regard but later when the victim said that constable Sunil Kumar had molested her, the other constable was released. Sunil was produced in a local court today which sent him to judicial custody.

Sunil who belongs to Bhiwani was recruited as constable a few months back and was getting training in the Haryana Armed Force at Ambala. He was temporarily deployed in the city area during Divali.

The victim, around 13 years old, resides with her parents in a rented room in Khattarwara area. A few other youths are also tenants in the same building. Both the constables are friends of an occupant of the building, Kapil, who was out of the city on Monday. The two constables stayed the night in his room in his absence.

On Tuesday morning, Sunil asked the girl to give them a sticking tape. When the girl came to their room, he allegedly molested her. She tod her mother who informed some of her neighbours. The neighbours caught both the constables and thrashed them. In the meantime one of the constables managed to flee.

Statyion house officer city police station Ram Niwas reached there and took Sunil in the custody. Later, the second constable was nabbed. The matter was brought to the notice of deputy commissioner of police (urban) Ashok Kumar who directed action against the accused.

The victim was produced before the deputy commissioner of police (rural) Nazneen Bhasin who is also the nodal officer in such cases. The girl was taken to the civil hospital for a medical examination.

Hisar, November 14
Two youths travelling by a car were killed near Satroid village today when their car allegedly collided with a Haryana Roadways bus.

3 killed in mishapat level crossing

Sonepat: Three persons-- Surender of Baiyan Pur Khurd and his 12-year-old nephew Sonu and four-year-old niece Simran-- died on the spot when their motorcycle was knocked down by a train at a level crossing near the village on the Delhi-Ambala railway track on Monday evening.

The victims were returning on a motorcycle to their house after making Divali purchases. Surender was attempting to cross the railway line while the level crossing was closed for trains to pass.

On receiving information, a team of the Government Railway Police reached the spot from Sonepat and sent the bodies to the local civil hospital for a postmortem examination.

A case has been registered in this connection.

2 killed in Rewari

Rewari: Two persons were killed and two others sustained serious injuries when a dumper first hit a tempo on the Nahar road and then hit a motor cycle on the Kosli-Salhawas road yesterday.

The deceased have been identified as Jai Narain of Dakhora village, who was travelling in the tempo going from Kosli to Jharoda and Madan Lal (48) of Sudhrana village, who was on the motor cycle.

While Ravi of Jharoda village, who was travelling in the tempo, was admitted to a private hospital here, Rajesh of Sudhrana village, who was on the motor cycle, was under treatment at the PGIMS, Rohtak.

The police has booked the dumper driver who fled with the vehicle after the accident.