Ratia (Fatehabad), May 24
Residents of the Ratia area in Fatehabad, where a large number of patients suffering from hepatitis C have been detected in a recent survey, are feeling let down by the government's failure to provide free treatment despite repeated assurances.

Patients visiting the community health centre at Ratia or the special centre for treatment of hepatitis C in the PGIMS are being told that free treatment is available for only Scheduled Caste and below poverty line patients.

"During and after the byelection for the Ratia Assembly seat, we were assured that free treatment will be provided to all patients," said Gagandeep Singh, a local resident.

Survey teams of the PGIMS, Rohtak, which visited Ratia in March, 2012, took blood samples of 7,469 suspect cases and 1,848 were found positive for hepatitis C during rapid tests.

The samples of those who tested positive were sent to the PGIMS for the enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) test, which revealed that 1,584 patients had been suffering from hepatitis C.

The government had ordered the survey after local residents brought the high percentage of hepatitis C patients in Ratia to Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda's notice during his visit to the town in connection with a byelection in 2011.

Residents demanded that free treatment should be provided to all, irrespective of caste or economic status, as injections required for treatment were very expensive.

Dr VK Jain, Senior Medical Officer at the community health centre in Ratia, said the spread of the disease had been checked after several measures were taken.

The health authorities had banned blood donation camps in Ratia, started conducting tests on all pregnant women and banned the use of recycled syringes and needles.

Like HIV infection, hepatitis C spreads through unsafe physical intimacy and blood transfusion and from infected mothers to their children.

Jhajjar, May 24
It is turning out to be an uphill task for the Education Department to conduct an evaluation test of government school teachers under its training need analysis programme following stiff resistance by teachers' associations.

The associations are adamant on getting the test cancelled, pleading that there is no purpose of such a test for teachers when the performance of teachers is evaluated every year on the basis of school results. The Haryana Master Varg Association and the Rajkiya Adhyapak Sangh have convened a joint meeting in Jhajjar tomorrow to decide the future course of action.

"When teachers are already being appointed on the basis of the HTET, it is not understandable why the Education Department is raising a question mark over the capability of teachers without reason?" said a member of the Haryana School Lecturers Association, adding that the government would have to cancel the test as it was not justified.

Anil Tanwar, chief of the Haryana Rajkiya Prathmik Sangh, said primary school teachers would not appear in the test. "We have informed the Education Department about our decision by submitting a memorandum to officials in this regard," he said.

On the other hand, the Education Department started preparations for smooth conduct of the test across the state. The department said the test was like a survey and was being conducted to assess strengths and weaknesses of teachers. The test for PRTs and TGTs would be held on May 26 and 30, respectively.

The test was aimed at empowering teachers after finding their weak and strong points and plugging competence gaps that would be known, said the department. Jhajjar DEO Sadhu Ram Rohila said the test would be conducted at the block level on dates stipulated. "As many as 1,022 PRTs and 1,080 TGTs are working in Jhajjar, Beri, Bahadurgarh, Matanhale and Salhavaas blocks of this district," he added.

Faridabad, May 24
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the Municipal Corporation and HUDA to ensure removal of all encroachments by September 26.

The order comes in response to a PIL filed by a local resident. It is claimed that encroachments on sides of main roads and public places galore in the city and the civic body had failed to take a proper action.

KL Gera, a social activist, had filed a PIL alleging that encroachments in various parts of the city were on the rise and the Municipal Corporation Faridabad (MCF) and the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) were not taking strict action against the guilty. He also raised the issue where the MCF had claimed that it could not take action against the encroachers since several parts of the city fell under the jurisdiction of HUDA.

He said the MCF had taken ‘half-hearted’ decisions against the encroachers. He also alleged involvement of certain officials. Claiming that while several acres of public land was under illegal occupation, Gera said nearly all green belts and foothpaths had been encroached upon by a mafia in the city. He said the problem had become acute in various parts of the city.

He said majority of the plot holders in sector- 7 and 10 had illegally occupied the green belt on the dividing roads of sector- 7-8, sector 8-9 and sector 9-10, where he said the mafia had built large showrooms and warehouses on the back side of the plots. The 11 acre land owned by HUDA in sector- 10 (DLF) had also been encroached due to delay in the launch of a shopping centre.

Sunita Verma, Joint Commissioner, MCF, said the court had asked the civic body to present the fresh status report regarding the action against encroachments by September 26.

Yamunanagar, May 24
INLD leader Abhay Singh Chautala today said that the Modi wave would no longer work in the coming Assembly elections in the state and the people would reject the BJP.

“The BJP has a misconception that it can win the Assembly elections on its own. During the parliamentary elections, the people have voted for Modi, not for the BJP,” he said.

At a party workers’ meeting here today, he said the INLD would form the next government in the state as it had secured two LS seats despite the Modi wave sweeping across the country.

State INLD president Ashok Arora, newly elected Hisar MP Dushyant Chautala, Yamunanagar MLA Dilbag Singh, Radaur MLA Bishan Lal Saini, youth leader Gurvinder Singh Tejli and Suresh Sharma were present at the meeting. The INLD leader said, “Several Congress MLAs are in touch with him and they are in a position to dismantle the Congress-ruled state government, but we will not do it.”

Bathinda, May 24
A minor boy from Rohtak made the Haryana police personnel travel nearly 600 km, besides making the Bathinda police go on a wild goose chase of a begging racket he claimed was being run from a Bathinda slum.

A joint team of Bathinda and Rohtak police today conducted raids and search operations at slums across the city and some colonies near the Railway Station in vain, searching for the base of the alleged begging racket where limbs of minor kidnapped children were amputated and they were allegedly forced to beg.

Rahul, a minor boy from Rohtak, missing since May 5, had told the Railway Police on his recovery that he was kidnapped by a gang from Bathinda who ran a begging racket. But the boy failed to identify the place today when he was taken around the slums in police raids.

Police said it seemed the boy took the cops of both the states for a ride. Officers also claimed that the boy had run away from home earlier also.

While news reports from Rohtak claimed that the boy was found travelling with four persons in a train on May 19 by his neighbhour, Pale Ram, the local police officials said the boy’s claims about the kidnapping and begging racquet was a fabricated story. News reports said two youths with whom the boy was caught travelling were in custody of the Rohtak Railway Police and their role was being investigated.

“It was an alarming lead but it has turned out to be a cock and bull story,” said local SSP Gurpreet Singh Bhullar. He said a joint team of the local and the Rohtak police went around the entire city but the boy could not identify any place where he was allegedly kept or where the gangsters amputated limbs of other children.

Sources in the police team claimed that the boy told them he had run away from home earlier also.

Hisar, May 24
The burn victim who was kept waiting for about 40 minutes and was later denied treatment at the civil hospital here succumbed to injuries at a private hospital in the wee hours today.

The woman, Kailaso Devi (35), a resident of Siwani town of Bhiwani district, was taken to the civil hospital after she was reportedly set ablaze by some neighbours following an altercation on Friday.

The Bhiwani police had registered a case of murder against three neighbours, identified as Yashpal and his parents. The accused are absconding.

The woman had gone to a shop in her locality where she reportedly had an altercation with her neighbours. She returned home and after a few minutes rushed outside of the house engulfed in flames. The victim’s husband, Rajender, alleged that the neighbours had set her ablaze after which a case of murder was registered.

The doctors at the civil hospital had allegedly refused to admit and treat her and asked the family to take her to the Bhiwani hospital as the matter pertained to the Bhiwani police. The family, however, shifted her to a private hospital in Hisar where she died at around 2 am.

Kurukshetra, May 24
“It is a matter of concern that our country lacks the sense of discipline and responsibility to others. If we inculcate these in our children right from the beginning, we would be able to give them a bright future,” said Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court.

He was addressing the gathering on the 5th annual function of the student legal literacy mission, organised by the Haryana State Legal Services Authority (HALSA), in collaboration with the Education Department at Kurukshetra University here today.

Lauding the role of the HALSA, Justice Kaul said it had been playing a vital role in developing the children into aware citizens. It was a matter of pride that the HALSA ranked number one in the country, he added.

Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who presided over the function, exhorted the young generation to make constructive use of legal knowledge so that they could contribute in building a strong nation.

Hooda said with an aim to make the young generation legally aware, national legal literary mission was launched by the National Legal Services Authority in March 2005.

He said along with education and sports, legal literacy was essential for inclusive development.

The legal literacy club had been constituted in more than 2,600 senior secondary schools and 192 colleges in the state by the HALSA, in collaboration with the Education Department. Apart from this, such 1,045 clubs had also been opened in private school and colleges, he added.

The CM said the HALSA had also published 27 books on various topics of law in easy language to enlighten the society about their rights and responsibilities.

On this occasion, Hooda and Justice Kaul released two books of the HALSA on Fundamental Rights and Senior Citizens.

Later Hooda also honoured the students who had won various competitions organised by the HALSA.

Jhajjar, May 24
Education Minister Geeta Bhukkal said Haryana was the first state in the country to implement Class Readiness Programme (CRP) at the school level to ensure the all-round development of children.

She stated this while interacting with mediapersons at an exhibition put up by students under the CRP at Government Senior Secondary School here today. She also distributed cycles among students under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA).

Bhukkal said the state government was making concerted efforts to not only provide quality education to students, but also groom them as good citizens by making them realise their responsibilities in each and every field.

“In this direction, CRPs are being implemented in all government schools of the state to make the students realise their social roles. Schools doing commendable work are being honoured under the Mukhya Mantri Siksha Diksha Yojna,” she added.

“Cycles are being provided by the state government to students, who have to cover a distance of above two kilometres to reach school. Also, free of cost study material is being given to the poor students,” said the minister.

Fatehabad, May 24
The health authorities have raided an illegal ultrasound centre at Bhuna in Fatehabad and recovered an ultrasound machine, medicines and equipment used in abortions from the centre. However, the doctor, a nurse and an assistant managed to escape with a portable ultrasound machine.

Civil Surgeon Dr Suraj Bhan Kamboj said the department had been receiving complaints for long that illegally abortions were being conducted at Bhuna to determine sex of the unborn children.

“An ASHA as a decoy client approached the doctor for a sex determination test. The doctor agreed to give a report for Rs 15,000,” the civil surgeon said.

When the doctor was conducting her tests, a team of the Health Department comprising Dr VK Jain, Dr Sunita Sokhi and Dr Jai Prakash raided the clinic. However, an employee of the centre standing in the stairs raised the alarm. This helped the doctor, a nurse and a helper to escape with a portable machine from the terrace route.

“We have lodged an FIR under the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act against the doctor and others and will move court against them under the PNDT Act,” the civil surgeon said.

Karnal, May 24
The crime investigation agency (CIA) today produced Pankaj, accused in the kidnapping case of Ketan Sardana, in a local court which remanded him in seven-day police custody.

Kulbhushan, in charge of CIA-I, said, “Efforts were being made to arrest other three accused.”

He said Pankaj admitted, during investigation, that after seeing that Mahesh Sardana, a shoe trader and father of Ketan Sardana, was a wealthy person, they decided to kidnap one of his family members. They even tried to kidnapped Ketan’s elder brother and Mahesh, but in vain.

He said Pankaj was a professional kidnapper. He had kidnapped a Panipat resident and demanded a ransom of Rs 45 lakh. He has also been sentenced to jail in another case.

Kaithal, May 24
As many as 101 cases were settled in a special Lok Adalat held at the judicial complex, here today. These cases were taken up by seven Benches set up by District and Sessions Judge Ritu Tagora. Three Additional District Judges RS Chaudhry, JS Sidhu and Jai Veer Singh, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Amarjeet Singh, Judicial Magistrates (first class) Davneder Singh and Ms Sonia Sheokand decided the cases.