Chandigarh,December 31
The year gone by set the tone for the shape of things to come in the election year 2014 when Haryana goes to the polls for the Lok Sabha and the Assembly.

Massive rallies--be it BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi’s Rewari rally(September 15), the Congress’ Gohana rally(November 10, INLD’s Kurukshtra rally (November 1) or the HJC’s Hisar rally( December 1)---dominated the political spectrum of the state in 2013 .

The year saw the jailing of former Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala and his MLA son, Ajay Chautala, in the infamous JBT teachers’ recruitment scam. A former minister OP Jain and former Chief Parliamentary Secretary(CPS) Zile Ram Sharma also went behind bars even as there were serious allegations against certain MLAs and ministers in the Hooda Government.

While dissidents, led by Rao Inderjit Singh, Birender Singh and Selja kept Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on tenterhooks throughout the year, the Opposition parties-INLD, BJP-HJC alliance-failed to put up a united front. It was only at the fag end of the year that the Aam Aadmi Party(AAP), fresh from its splendid success in the Delhi Assembly elections, forced the mainstream parties to sit up and take note in the wake of its well-attended mass contact programmes.

Besides the Opposition, whistleblower IAS officer Ashok Khemka put the Hooda Government on the back foot against the backdrop of the cancellation of the mutation of land deal between UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra and realty giant DLF in Gurgaon.

Haryana continued to be in the news for wrong reasons such as the spiralling crime graph, honour killings, poor health and education services. On the flip side, Haryana’s six-year-old child prodigy Kautilya Pandit( Google boy) put Haryana on the global map by his amazing knowledge. The land acquisition continued to raise dust in the state with courts quashing land acquisition in a number of cases.

Despite being given quota in the state service, the influential Jat community held the state to ransom through its violent agitations across the state demanding its inclusion in the OBC list of the Central Government.

Rohtak, December 31
A seven-month-old child of a labourer was denied adequate treatment at the local PGIMS and referred to the AIIMS in New Delhi allegedly because the doctors were unable to handle the case.

As per the discharge card of Harsh issued on December 30, (a copy of which is in possession of The Tribune), the doctors concerned at the Department of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery at the local PGIMS, the patient had severe PAH and "might be difficult to manage" post-operatively due to non-availability of nitric oxide. Hence he was being referred to the AIIMS for further evaluation and management.

However, Dr Chand Singh Dhull, PGIMS Director, maintained that the non-availability of nitric oxide was not an issue and it could be arranged at any given time.

"Actually, the doctors might have felt that the child' surgical treatment was beyond their reach and capability. We have arranged for an ambulance to shift Harsh to the AIIMS and the government funds meant for his treatment will also be transferred to the AIIMS authorities," he asserted.

The Director said the PGIMS authorities referred patients elsewhere despite the fact that the institute was a tertiary-level facility.

He, however, pleaded ignorance about the fact that poor parents of the child were made to get his echocardiography done at a high-end private medical centre in Delhi. He also had no answer as to why the parents of Harsh were not told about non-availability of proper treatment at the PGIMS when they first brought the child to the institute.

On the other hand, Harsh's father Bijender, who belongs to Sisai village in Hisar district, told this correspondent that he had been borrowing money on interest from various quarters for his son's treatment.

Chandigarh,December 31
New Chief Secretary Satish Chandra Choudhary, who assumed charge today, said his priorities would be to ensure the execution of welfare schemes and keep the administration active.

Choudhary was appointed Chief Secretary on the retirement of PK Chaudhary today.

Talking to mediapersons, Choudhary said 2014 was an important year as announcements made by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda would be implemented from January 1. Effective steps had been taken for the execution of all important announcements like interim relief to employees, risk allowance to police personnel and old-age allowance. He said the Lok Sabha elections would be held in 2014 and it would be his priority to maintain law and order in the state so that elections could be held in a peaceful manner.

On being asked about Ashok Khemka, Choudhary said that he did not have full information about facts of his case. Therefore,he would be able to take any decision only after getting complete information about this case.

Hisar, December 31
While the slate stone mine fails to draw any buyer, 12 stone quarries in the Aravalli range of Bhiwani, Mahendergarh and Rewari districts fetched nearly Rs 609.04 crore, four times more that the reserve price of 112.52 crore, in an auction at Bhiwani last evening.

The Mining and Geology Department leased out the minor mineral mines of stone in the Aravalli range after the Supreme Court lifted the ban recently.

An official said Bakhrija site in Mahendergarh district fetched the maximum revenue of Rs 130 crore against the reserve price of Rs 16.38 crore, while Dadam site at Bhiwani village was leased out for Rs 115 crore against the base price of Rs 6.25 crore.

However, the slate site at Majra Manhethi in Rewari district did not elicit any response from the bidders. Another site in Narnaul in Mahendergarh district went for a mere Rs 5.01 crore against the reserve price of Rs 4.63 crore.

Mining officer RK Yadav said the Majra Manhethi site could not be auctioned as slate stone had little demand in the country.

He said as per the new rules, the lease holder would have to obtain environmental clearance for mining projects within a year of getting the lease.

Jind, December 31
AAP strategist Yogendra Yadav has said that the party has not yet taken any decision about projecting him as the chief ministerial candidate in Haryana.

“No formal decision has been taken about my candidature for the post of Chief Minister. I learnt about it in the morning as my colleague has given a statement to the media. But such a decision can only be taken by the central leadership of the party,” said Yadav .

About his present tour of Haryana, Yadav said the AAP wanted to assess the mood of people before the party leadership finalised a strategy for the forthcoming elections in January.

About his plans to fight elections, Yadav said he would contest any seat as decided by the party. He said the AAP did not want an alliance with any national party as it was fully aware of their blackmailing tactics.

Chandigarh, December 31
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has announced to enhance the rate of compensation being given on account of damage caused to human beings and cattle by wild animals.

He said in case of death of a person due to attack of wild animals, the amount of compensation had been increased from Rs 30,000 to Rs 2 lakh whereas in case of death of a minor due to attack of wild animals, the compensation had been raised from Rs 20,000 to Rs 70,000.

Similarly, the rate of compensation being given in case of disability caused to the human body due to attack of wild animals had been increased from Rs 15,000 to Rs 1 lakh whereas in case of disability caused to a minor due to attack of wild animals had been enhanced from Rs 10,000 to Rs 35,000.

Hooda said in case of death of a cow, bull, buffalo, calf, goat, camel, horse or mare due to attack by leopard, hyena or wolf, the rate of compensation had also been increased. 

Chandigarh, December 31
The Haryana Road Safety Authority will be constituted to address the issues pertaining to road safety, for which the draft of the Haryana Road Safety Authority Act has been prepared.

Transport Minister Aftab Ahmed said a fund would also be set up, in which 50 per cent of compounding fee collected for offences under the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988, would be deposited, which would be utilised by the authority to settle cases related to road safety.

He said the Transport Department had introduced e-payment facility for payment of road tax. He said an SMS facility had also been introduced, under which citizens would be sent an SMS, intimating the amount of tax or fee deposited for various services, in the offices of the Secretary, Regional Transport Authority, and Subdivisional Magistrates.

He said the national ‘Vaahan’ and ‘Sarthi’ programme had been implemented in all 79 Registering and Licensing Authorities in the state. He said all work pertaining to registration of motor vehicles and issue of driving licences had been computerised. Computerised receipts were being issued for cash received in all offices of Registering and Licensing Authorities, he added.

He said as many as 1,170 accident-prone points had been identified in the state and 870 of them had been rectified. He said 1,051 sites had been identified where speed-breakers were required to be constructed, of which 866 speed-breakers had been constructed.

He said speed governors had been installed on all transport vehicles during last year and reflectors or reflective tapes had also been affixed on all vehicles. The police issued directions for safe and smooth traffic and curbing road accidents during foggy weather.

A police spokesman said keeping fog-lights on and switching headlights off could be fatal because fog-lights alone were not visible to a driver coming from the opposite direction. Drivers of trucks and tempos should not park their vehicles on the road in front of hotels and dhabas, he said. He said indicators and parking lights should be kept on if a vehicle was parked on the edge of a road.

Karnal, December 31
Seven-year-old Anjali, a frail girl walking with a bucket of sewage and waste water for discharging it in an open field, is a pitiful sight.

This has become the fate of several others at Bhagpati village and adjoining areas, where the residents have been forced to become a scavenger, flushing out dirty water four times a day.

An epidemic threat looms over this village in the periphery of Karnal as every villager has been forced to be a scavenger in the absence of a drainage system.

The villagers have dug kutcha drains outside their houses to collect the dirty water and constructed small bundhs to check seepage.

Their morning starts with flushing the water from the drains and throwing it in an open field near the government primary school of the village.

The area around the field stinks as all villagers use it for throwing the dirty water and diseases have become a synonym with the village, says Anita, who lives close to the field.

“Our lives have become a living hell and living in such inhuman conditions has become our fate as no one is bothered about us,” she laments. This inhuman practice continues even after a ban on human scavenging.

It is happening under the nose of the administration in spite of the fact that the village, with 700-odd voters, had been included in the Karnal Municipal Corporation.

Not only men and women, but even children, who should be studying in school and carrying schoolbags, are seen carrying buckets filled with dirty water.

Villagers have to walk in knee-deep water even for entering houses and the primary school is submerged in water.

People want to keep the village clean, but are forced to defecate in the open as there is no sewerage, rue the villagers. In case they do not do so, they will be be required to clean human excreta with their hands, they add.

The village, located in a low-lying area, is inundated during the rains as the drainage is above the village level and stagnant water causes water-borne diseases.

Health officials admit that they have stopped the immunisation programme due to unhygienic conditions prevailing in the village as workers have refused to enter the village.

Municipal councillor of the area Balvinder Singh says the villagers are leading a miserable life in the absence of a drainage system.

An estimate of Rs 1.4 crore has been sent to the Deputy Commissioner for laying the drainage system to channelise the dirty water, but nothing has been done till date, he adds.

“I have got streetlights installed with my money and the colony has been regularised a month back. The Public Health Department says sewerage cannot be laid as no land is available,” he says.

Karnal Deputy Commissioner Vikas Yadav says: “It is a cause of concern and I will send a team to take stock of the situation.”

Yamunanagar, December 31
The no-confidence motion could not be brought against the chairman of the Jagadhri Block Samiti as the opposite group failed to arrange the required number of members.

“The opposite group failed to meet the quorum required to bring the no-confidence motion. The samiti has 20 members and there was a need of 14 members to bring the no-confidence motion. However, there were only 11 members present in the meeting today from the opposite side,” said Dr SS Saini, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Yamunanagar.

Deputy Commissioner Mandeep Singh Brar had issued a notice to Chairman Ramesh Kumar under the Haryana Panchayati Raj Rules, 1995, last Monday. A meeting had been fixed for December 31 to bring the no-confidence motion against the chairman at the Jagadhari BDPO office.

Ambala, December 31
A gang of robbers took away containers of transformer oil, batteries and hosiery goods worth Rs 40 lakh from the regional godown of a national-level transport company, located on the Ambala -Naraingarh Road, late last night.

The robbers entered the godown by breaking a part of its back wall. The security guard of the godown got to know about the incident early this morning when some farmers, having their fields on the backside of the godown, informed him. The farmers noticed that some containers and other goods were lying in their fields and the wall of the godown was broken. It seems that the robbers threw some of the goods, which could not be loaded in the vehicle, in the fields.

Regional head of the transport company JS Sekhawat said according to the initial reports, the robbers took way around 250 containers of transformer oil, costing around Rs 25 lakh.

Besides, the robbers managed to take away two dozens of batteries, hosiery goods and other materials worth Rs 15 to 20 lakh.

He said the goods were to be sent to Ludiana, Jallandhar and Amritsar and other parts of Punjab and Chandigarh.

The police rushed to the spot after getting the information today morning. Police sources said the marks of a truck’s tyres were found in the fields, which indicated that the robbers had used some mini truck for transporting the containers and other materials. A case was registered at Panjokhra police station against unknown robbers. No clue in this regard has been achieved so far.

Ambala, December 31
A married woman allegedly committed suicide by hanging herself from the celling fan in her room here last evening. The deceased was identified as Rajni (27).

The police have registered a case for abetting suicide against the husband of the deceased.

Rajni was married to Surender Pal in 2006 and had two children. The father of the deceased, Santokh Singh, who belongs to Yamunanagar district, alleged that Rajni was being harassed by her husband which forced her to commit suicide.

Last night he had got the information that Rajni had committed suicide. When he reached here, he found Rajni's body lying on the floor, Santokh added. The police said no suicide note was recovered from the possession of the deceased. Investigation into the matter was on, however, the accused had not been arrested so far.