Gurgaon, September 14
Resentment prevailed among BJP workers after state party media in-charge Umesh Aggarwal was allocated the ticket from Gurgaon and Rao Narbir got a ticket from Badshahpur.

A major protest was staged by Brahmin Samaj, who is now threatening to field an Independent candidate. Traditional BJP loyalists are raising a hue and cry over the alleged indifference to their leaders in both Gurgaon and Badshahpur constituency.

It may be noted that leaders such as Trilok Sharma, GL Sharma and Kulbhushan Bhardwaj had applied for tickets from the Gurgaon constituency. Out of these GL Sharma a well known loyalist of MP Rao Inderjeet Singh, who joined the saffron brigade along with him, was speculated to be a strong contender.

Similarly, Trilok Sharma, a close aide of Baba Ramdev was quite confident of getting a ticket. Local leader Mukesh Sharma was hoping to secure a ticket from Badshahpur, but when the candidature was handed over to Rao Narbir Singh, an enraged Mukesh Sharma declared that he would go ahead and contest as an Independent.

A visibly irked Sharma, said, “We have been slogging in the constituency for the last decade, but our efforts have not been recognised by the party. The party went ahead and gave the ticket to a candidate who has never been to the constituency. The party has duped sincere workers like me and now I will strive that their candidate (Rao Narbir Singh) loses from here.”

Narbir and Umesh justified their candidature claiming it was the party’s decision. “I have not been favoured, but a survey conducted by the party considered me as the best bet for Badshahpur, so I got the ticket. All resentment is uncalled for,” said Narbir Singh.

Meanwhile, the Brahmin Samaj held a meeting at the Parshuram Bhavan and resolved to field an Independent candidate. It may be noted that not just community leaders, but also Rao Inderjeet Singh’s supporters are resenting the non-selection of Gl Sharma.

Karnal: Chander Parkash Kathuria, BJP state general secretary, is unhappy at the party's decision to field national executive member Manohar Lal Khattar from Karnal. Sources said Kathuria may contest the Assembly elections. “There is resentment among party workers and people of Karnal over ticket allotment,” Kathuria told The Tribune. He claimed that he had been serving the BJP for long and did a lot for city residents, but the party ignored his work. Ever since the announcement of Khattar’s candidature, the district unit has been crying foul. Even before it, BJP workers were opposed to him. They had shown black flags to Khattar during the party's Vijay Sankalp Rally. And posters calling him an “outsider” dotted the city. The rebellion in the district unit could damage the party’s poll prospects in the constituency, a political observer said. — Parveen Arora

Narnaul, September 14
A war of words has broken out between BJP leaders after the party announced Om Prakash Yadav, a supporter of Union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh, as its candidate from the Narnaul Assembly segment.

Former BJP state vice-president Kailash Chander Sharma reportedly charged MP Dharamvir Singh with lobbying for the ticket to Yadav. Singh has, however, criticised Sharma for leveling “baseless allegations” against him.

In a release issued here today, Singh threatened to file a defamation case against all those who were insulting him in connection with the ticket allotment.

“The leaders criticising me without any reason should either prove their allegation or get the matter investigated by sending complaints to the party leadership. Otherwise I will move court,” the MP said.

Sharma, who was a strong contender for the ticket from Narnaul, reportedly had held Singh responsible for his non-selection during a meeting of his supporters in Narnaul on Friday.

He has, however, taken a U-turn in view of Singh’s strong reaction. “I did not level any allegation against Singh regarding the ticket allotment. All I said was there were murmurs of manipulation in selecting the candidate from Narnaul,” Sharma claimed.

Yadav, meanwhile, has stoked controversy by saying that he had neither sought not applied for the ticket. “The party fielded me on the basis of its survey. Thus, there is no question of lobbying. The party has shown faith in me. I will leave no stone unturned to live up to the party’s expectation,” he said.

BJP district president Kanwar Singh Yadav said the party was investigating into the Thursday’s episode, wherein some workers burnt the effigy of state chief Ram Bilas Sharma in Narnaul. 

Chandigarh, September 14
The number of women voters in Haryana has swelled over the years. In the coming Haryana Vidhan Sabha elections, 74,49,287 women voters will cast their votes as against just 20,57, 541 in the 1967 poll.

The voters’ list updated by the Election Department up to July 31 shows that of all the assembly constituencies, Badshahpur has the highest number of women voters at 1,47,730 while Narnaul has the lowest at 59,187.

A spokesman of the Election department said Haryana’s Badshahpur Vidhan Sabha constituency had the highest number of voters at 3,13,082 while Narnaul had the lowest at 1,26,605. Similarly, Badshahpur had the highest number of male voters at 1,65,352 and 1,47,739 women voters while Narnaul had the lowest number of male voters at 67,418 and 59,187 women voters.

In the 1968 Vidhan Sabha elections, women voters totalled 21,30,120; in 1972, their number soared to 23, 99,536. While In 1977, there were 27, 87,124 women voters; the number soared to 33, 39,032 in 1982, and to 40, 59,951 in 1987. The women voters aggregated 44, 84,426, 51,46,835 and 50,72,844 in 1991, 1996, and 2000, respectively.

In the 2005 Vidhan Sabha elections, the number of women voters was 58,32,156 whiletheir number rose to 59,67,250 in 2009 .

More women voters in Sonepat district this time

The number of registered women voters in six Assembly segments of the district had witnessed an increase since January 2013.

According to the official electoral rolls, the average sex ratio was at 811 on January 1, 2013.

In the next electoral roll published on June 9, 2014, it increased to 819. The final roll was published on July 31, 2014 with a further increase to 825.

In the final roll, the highest sex ratio of 896 was recorded in the urban Assembly segment of Sonepat; whereas the lowest among the six segments was 787 recorded in the Jat dominated Baroda Assembly constituency having around 51 per cent of Jat voters. Similarly, the semi-urban Gohana constituency had the sex ratio of 834, just above the average sex ratio of 825.

The remaining three constituencies had recorded less than average sex ratio. The sex ratio of 795 was recorded in Rai constituency, 811 in Kharkhoda (Reserve) and 822 in Gannaur Assembly segment. 

New Delhi, September 14
Ahead of the Haryana Assembly elections, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in Punjab has raised the political temperature by saying that the INLD-SAD alliance would form the government in the state and root out the Congress in the process.

The SAD’s optimism to form the government with the INLD in Haryana today drew reaction from the BJP that hopes to be in the saddle after the elections.

“It is SAD’s wishful thinking. The INLD is losing political ground by the day, and the ruling party in Punjab cannot fill the vacuum,” said Om Prakash Dhankar, president of the BJP Kisan Morcha.

He claimed that the BJP had a strong support base among Sikhs in state. “The SAD’s entry in the electoral arena will have no bearing on the BJP’s prospects.”

He alleged that the INLD did nothing to resolve state’s water and territorial disputes with Punjab when it was in power. It could have resolved the issues as the SAD was in power in Punjab at that time.

Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal had said here yesterday that Haryana was all set to vote for the INLD-SAD alliance to begin a new chapter of friendship between the two neighbouring states.

Addressing a delegation of farmers in the programme, he charged the Congress of attempting to drive a wedge between the agricultural communities in the two states for its vested interests. “The Congress has been instigating bilateral disputes between the two states,” Sukhbir had said. He, however, was soft on the BJP, with whom the SAD is in alliance at the Centre.

According to many, singling out the Congress by the Akali leadership is based on a “shrewd” political strategy. The peasantry and rural masses have been the traditional support base of the INLD. However, the Congress government led by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has lost a major chunk of this base.

Those inclined to see a game plan in the SAD’s attack on the Congress are of the view that Hooda retains his popular image among the Jats; if the INLD has to make a mark in the Assembly elections, it has to effectively demolish its nemesis.

The INLD is losing political ground by the day, and the ruling party in Punjab cannot fill the vacuum. The SAD’s entry in the electoral arena will have no bearing on the BJP’s prospects

The INLD did nothing to resolve state's water and territorial disputes with Punjab when it was in power. It could have resolved the issues as the SAD was in power in Punjab at that time

Sirsa, September 14
After spending 37 years in the Congress, former minister Jagdish Nehra is hoping to end his losing spree. Nehra joined the BJP two months ago, and is contesting from the Rania Assembly segment, trying to end his 20-year drought.

Nehra (73) is pitted against INLD’s Ram Chander Kamboj, a follower of the Dera Sacha Sauda.

A veteran of eight electoral battles, Nehra could win only two of these in 1982 and 1991. He is perhaps the only former Congress leader in the state to have faced members of the Chautala clan on most occasions.

He contested six out of his eight elections against members of the Chautala clan – against Partap Singh Chautala in 1977, 1982 and 1991, against Ranjit Singh in 1987, against Om Parkash Chautala in 1996, 2005 and a byelection held in 1990.

Nehra won twice in 1982 and 1991 and secured a ministerial berth in Bhajan Lal’s Cabinet on both occasions.

Owing to his proximity to former Union Minister Kumari Selja, Nehra was denied the ticket in 2009 and he was not hopeful of a nomination from the Congress this time, which lead to his switch to the BJP.

Fatehabad, September 14
With several leaders from the Congress and INLD joining the BJP, there is a jostling for the Fatehabad ticket.

The latest to enter the BJP from Fatehabad is Dr Virender Siwach, who was associated with the Congress for long. He has been campaigning in the constituency for the past several months and announced to contest the elections whether or not the party fielded him.

He joined the BJP on Thursday in the presence of former minister Ganeshi Lal. INLD turncoat Ram Raj Mehta and Haryanvi Punjabi Sabha president Sant Kumar, too, joined the BJP on Thursday in Fatehabad.

A few days ago, Swatantar Bala Chaudhary of the INLD and Dr Atam Parkash Mehta of the Congress joined the saffron party.

Former minister Mani Ram Godara’s grandson Sudhir Godara had left the Congress to join the BJP. He is campaigning in the constituency in the hope of getting the ticket.

It will be a tough task for the BJP to choose the nominee from Fatehabad, considering party veterans are also in the race for the ticket.

Sonali Singh, convener of the Scheduled Tribe Morcha of the BJP for Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh and Delhi, is hopeful of getting the ticket based on her work in the segment for the past six months.

Besides Sonali, BJP district president Molu Ram Rulania, former journalist Vigyan Sagar Baghla, Bharat Bhushan Midha and several other veterans are aspiring for the ticket.

Sources said if the party decided to field a non-Jat candidate, one among Swatantar Bala, Mehta and Sudhir would be chosen and, if it decided to for a Jat nominee, the choice would be between Sonali Singh and Dr Siwach.

Jagadhri, September 9
This constituency is represented by the lone Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA in the state and the Deputy Speaker of the Vidhan Sabha, Akram Khan. Besides devoting maximum time among the people, he undertook several developmental works in this segment.

However, in the forthcoming Assembly elections the pressure will be on the BSP to repeat its good performance. Khan has to cope with anti-incumbency and counter the rise of the BJP especially the latter's good showing in the LS polls.

In the changed political scenario, over 40 percent urban voters of Jagadhri, Chhachhrauli and Khizrabad towns will play an important role in the win of any candidate. A majority of the urban voters are Hindus. Though Akram Khan enjoys a good rapport with voters of all communities, but he would have to make extra efforts to get the votes of the urban voters this time.

People of the rural belt of the Jagadhri segment are grateful to Khan since he got a government college at Chhachhrauli and a government polytechnic at Hathnikund barrage (Tajewala) for the first time. It has proved to be a boon for girls in the inner areas since getting higher education was out of their reach. A Kisan Modal School at Malikpur village was also opened due to his efforts.

Sirsa, September 14
Within four months of joining former minister Gopal Kanda’s party, Shilpa Verma today quit his Haryana Lokhit Party (HLP) and joined Kuldeep Bishnoi-led HJC.

Devi Lal Manjhu, chairperson of the HJC media cell, said the party was contemplating to field her from the Rania Assembly segment in Sirsa district. She is pitted against, among others, Kanda’s younger brother Gobind Kanda.

Shilpa later told the media that there was no option, but to leave the HLP because Kanda had relegated it to a party of his family alone.

“The Kandas neither have a policy nor a programme. They are befooling people and their workers, as their aim is to use politics to further their business and family interests. A party such as the HLP can never do any good to the public,” Verma alleged.

She was the former district president of the Mahila Congress. She quit the Congress to join the HLP in May. “I was under the impression that the party believed in social service and it would serve people in a better manner. But I was wrong. The party’s poor functioning shattered my faith,” Verma said, adding that this was the reason that several party workers had left the party before the Assembly elections.

“I belong to a backward class and am pained to learn that the party leadership humiliates members of my community,” she claimed.

Chandigarh, September 14
The state chief electoral officer (CEO), Shrikant Walgad, reviewed the arrangements being made for the smooth conduct of the Assembly elections in the state yesterday. He apprised the district election officers and returning officers about all constituencies and various aspects of the model code of conduct.

Walgad, who held a video conference with them from here, asked them to ensure effective implementation of the model code of conduct. He directed the election officers to hold district-level meetings with all political parties and make them aware about the poll code.

Walgad said this time, single window system would be implemented in all Assembly constituencies to facilitate a candidate in completing all procedures and requirements related to elections. He said the Election Commission would start a campaign to motivate more voters to cast their vote and for this, help of the state icon Meghna Malik would be sought.

Walgad directed all officials to ensure that government transport including official aircrafts, vehicles, machinery and personnel, should not be used for furtherance of the interest of the party in power.

Rest houses, dak bungalows or other government accommodation where elections have been announced or are taking place can be given to the political functionaries, who are provided security by the state under Z-category or above or equivalent by various state governments or the central government under provisions of their laws, on equitable basis.

Karnal, September 14
As political parties prepare for the electoral battle, the district administration is also gearing up to ensure peaceful polling. It has marked 77 of the 877 polling booths as hypersensitive and 38 booths as sensitive in the five Assembly segments of the district.

Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Election Officer Balraj Singh said there were a total of 9,61,451 voters, 5,14,949 of which were male, 4,42,973 female and 3,529 from the service category.

Of the district’s total 877 booths, Nilokehri has 30 urban and 142 rural, Karnal has 158 urban and 13 rural booths, while Indri has nine urban and 142 rural booths. Gharaunda has 17 urban and 160 rural booths, while Assandh has 14 urban booths and 167 rural booths.

To conduct the elections in a systematic manner, 3,463 EVMs have reached here, he said, adding that there will be a model polling station in every constituency. A candidate would have to open an account prior to his nomination and his expenditure limit would be Rs 28 lakh. He has to spend the entire amount from this account only and has to keep a record of it.

Directing officials to remove hoardings put up at various places in the district, the DC said that no hoarding would be displayed at any place without any permission.

The Deputy Commissioner, accompanied by ADC Girish Arora, said that the counting will be at Dyal Singh College, DAV College, DAV Senior Secondary School, SBS School and the Skating Rink on October 19.

“The process of registering votes is on. People should make sure their names are in the voter list,” the Deputy Commissioner said, adding nobody can cast his vote without his name in the list.

The administration has demanded four companies of police and paramilitary forces for conducting peaceful elections, said the DC. A committee has been constituted to keep vigil on news items and advertisements of each candidate, said the District Election Officer.

Ambala, September 14
The AAP may have decided against contesting the upcoming Assembly elections, but in order to keep its flock together, the party has decided to extend support to independent candidates with a clean background on various seats across the state.

After facing a debacle in the Lok Sabha elections, the AAP had decided not to participate in the Assembly election. However, apprehensive that the party workers might abandon its fold and join rival political parties, the party has now decided against maintaining political silence in the state.

Top sources from the party said the decision was aimed at keeping the party rank and file politically active. The state leaders have been asked to scrutinise the backgrounds of various independent candidates contesting these elections after which the party leadership would decide in favour or against supporting the chosen candidates in the elections.

The sources stated that the party would be throwing its weight behind candidates with a clean image. They added the move would also ensure that the party continued to exert its political presence in the state.

The decision to this effect was taken recently, during a meeting of senior party leaders, where it was considered that remaining silent during the elections might have a weakening effect on the party’s political standing in the state.

Confirming the development, state convener of the AAP Dr Ashawant said the party had asked its workers to identify independent candidates with a good public image and support them in the elections.

Jind, September 14
The BSP today accused political parties of fleecing non-Jat communities and announced its intention to form a ‘sarvjaat’ (all-caste) government after the Assembly election.

“The Congress, INLD and other parties have always cheated non-Jat communities in the state and never thought of their welfare. We want to form a ‘sarvjaat’ government in Haryana. We are getting overwhelming support and hope and will form the next government,” said Arvind Sharma, the party’s CM candidate and former MP.

He said despite having more votes, Dalits, Backward Classes and Brahmins have never seen the formation of their own government and power has remained in the hands of others.

“Welfare schemes for the Scheduled Castes and Backward Classes remain on paper and never reach the beneficiaries. Everyone must support BSP for their welfare,” said Sharma.

Supporters of local BSP leaders Sumer Chabri and Sudhir Gautam allegedly tried to remove posters of each other others during the rally and got into a heated argument. Senior leaders intervened and pacified both parties.

Kurukshetra, September 14
The INLD is likely to get another setback soon as Kurukshetra Zila Parishad chairman Praveen Chaudhary, an INLD supporter, may contest the forthcoming assembly elections against the party.

Sources said Praveen Chaudhary, a member of the Ror community, was in contact with the Congress for the ticket from Thanesar, currently being represented by state INLD chief Ashok Arora.

There are about 15, 000 Ror voters in Thanesar.

One of the ZP chairman’s confidants told The Tribune that Praveen had started preparations for the assembly elections. He had also met senior Congress leaders at 24 Akbar Road, New Delhi.

Sources said Praveen had started strengthening his position by holding meetings with sarpanches of villages that fall in the Thanesar constituency. In case he didn’t manage to get the ticket from any party, he might contest as an Independent and an announcement was likely to be made in a couple of days.

Praveen Chaudhary said:“ I want to enter active politics but nothing is final yet.” 

Jhajjar, September 14
People For Animals (PFA), Haryana, an NGO, has urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to ban the post-poll alliance between the political parties with a twin aim to check horse-trading and to make the parties accountable for their promises which they make before election.

In his letter sent to the ECI in this regard, Naresh Kadian, chairman of the NGO and member of the Haryana State Committee for Slaughter House, said the post-poll alliances by the political parties to serve their interests should be treated equivalent to forgery and malpractice with the voters.

“The political parties take the electors for a ride after entering into post-poll alliances to form the government. This act of the parties cannot be treated less than forgery and cheating as the voters exercise their franchise in favour of any party after going through its manifestos, declarations and promises hence the ECI should ban the post-poll coalition,” said Kadian.

He said it would turn out to be instrumental in preventing the horse-trading in the politics besides giving good governance to the people if such action was taken by the ECI to check the malpractice

Kadian also demanded the ban on using polythene materials for publicity and plastic straw, plates and tumblers by the political parties and their candidates in the elections.

He also urged the ECI to make the provision of right to recall so that voters can recall their representatives if they violated their manifestos.

Sirsa, September 14
With six albums under his belt, Dera Sacha Sauda head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is set to make his film debut. ‘MSG – The True Wonder Revolutionary’ with the dera chief in the lead will hit theatres by January next year.

The dera chief released the title of his film presently being shot here and directed by Jeetu Arora, who has directed several television serials. ‘MSG’ is the acronym of the three chiefs the dera has till date: Shah Mastana, Shah Satnam and Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.

Asked about the purpose and motivation behind the film, the dera chief said the main reason was to promote people’s welfare, good deeds and remove social evils such as drug addiction. He said the proceeds from the film would go to thalassemic children.

“Apart from Hindi and English, the film will be dubbed into several South Indian languages. It is slated for an all-India premiere and efforts are underway to schedule a world premiere,” he said. The duration of the film would be comparable to the standard Bollywood pattern.

While most actors in ‘MSG’ are drawn from the youth and children at Dera Sacha Sauda, some professionals from Mumbai are playing the role of the dera chief’s daughters. Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh is involved in every aspect of the film with director Jeetu Arora and in cinematography with director of photography, Vineet. The villain is an overseas actor.

The dera chief has already released six music albums: ‘Thank U for That’, ‘Network Tere Love Ka’, ‘Chashma Yaar Ka’, ‘Insan’, ‘Lov Rabb Se’ and, the most recent, ‘Highway Love Charger’. All these albums were released by Universal Music. 

Yamunanagar, September 14
Deputy Commissioner Mandip Singh Brar has suspended the sarpanch of Khanpur village for allotting 126 plots measuring 100 square yards each to ineligible candidates, including some dead persons, under the Mahatma Gandhi Gramin Basti Yojna.

The action was taken on the basis of an inquiry conducted by the Jagadhri SDM. After the arrival of the inquiry report, the sarpanch Jarnail Singh was issued a show cause notice by the DC to take action against him for the lapses and the irregularities committed by him.

The inquiry report revealed that seven persons had died before the allotment while the gift deeds had been made later on February 2, 2012, in favour of their legal representatives.

The sarpanch had also allotted plots to other ineligible persons including those who were not residing in the village and whose names were not available on the list of people living below the poverty line prepared in 2007 by the Rural Development Department and those who were allotted plots earlier too. The inquiry report said the sarpanch even allotted a plot to people from the general category by filing him under the schedule caste category. Interestingly, the sarpanch also allotted the plots to income tax payers. As per the report, sanction was not taken for the allotment of said plots from the competent authority. In addition to this, it was found that the sarpanch misappropriated panchayat funds too. The assistant collector-cum-district development and panchayat officer (DDPO), Yamunanagar, Gagandeep Singh granted stay on construction of homes on the said disputed 126 plots.

The DC also issued directions to the Block Development and Panchayat Officer, Mustafabad, to immediately initiate proceedings for cancellation of allotment of the said plots. DDPO Gagandeep Singh confirmed the sarpanch was suspended from his post.

Jhajjar, September 14
Days after a clash between two groups of students at the Government College in Birohar village here some days ago, a mahapanchayat of 19 villages decided to station a “surveillance team” at the institution’s entrance to check hooliganism and maintain discipline.

Presided over by Capt Guljari Lal, the mahapanchayat recently formed a panel of 56 villagers for the purpose and decided to take stern action against students ind-ulging in hooliganism and anti-social activities.

“As per the mahapanchayat’s decision, a five-member committee, comprising three members from Birohar and two from other villages will sit at the entrance to the college every day on rotation basis to watch the movement of college boys and girls. College security guards will also assist them,” said Birohar Khap chief Jagdev Singh. Nearly 1,200 girls and boys from nearby villages study in the college. Some students from Bhiwani district got into a scuffle with some students of Birohar village outside the college some days ago. Villagers had to intervene when the situation went out of control.

Sources said as soon as the incident came to the notice of the village sarpanch, he convened a mahapanchayat of 19 villages to take preventive steps to check such incidents in the college. He said students indulging in anti-social activities would be rusticated.

“The villagers’ surveillance team will also help maintain discipline at the Government Girls Senior Secondary School located opposite the college,” Jagdev Singh said.

Karnal, September 14
Minorities Commission chairman Tarlochan Singh today visited three villages in the district to know the problems of the minorities and to make them aware about their rights.

Interacting with the minorities in Barsat, Sonkra and Bairsal villages, the chairman said their rights would not be repressed by anyone and he will fight for their rights. “Injustice with minorities will not be tolerated. The commission will provide them all legal support in the fight for justice,” he said.

“For ensuring rights to the minorities the state government has constituted this commission, which is trying to understand the problems faced by them, so I am here to listen to them and will try to rectify their problems. It will have long-lasting effects,” Tarlochan Singh said.

He said that the commission will ensure assistance to youths of minority communities in the fields of education and employment. He called upon the people to approach the commission if they face harassment by government officials.

“I have visited 15 villages and interacted with the minorities. I have also inquired about their problems and am making list that would be tabled in a meeting with Union Minister of Minority Affairs Najma Heptulla soon.

Karnal, September 14
To enhance the production of wheat and barley in India, scientists of various wheat and barley research institutes have identified seven varieties of wheat and three of barley in the 53rd All India Wheat and Barley Research Workers’ Meet held at Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh recently. Out of these, two varieties of wheat and one of barley have been developed by the scientists of the Directorate of Wheat Research (DWR), Karnal.

Indu Sharma, project director, DWR, said 23 proposals were received and only seven varieties that include five bread wheat and two durum wheat were identified mainly for yield superiority and resistance to different diseases such as Karnal bunt, leaf blight and rust.

Three out of the seven varieties of barley were identified by the Varietal Identification Committee, she added.

Elaborating the features of the varieties, the project director said, “The scientists have developed wheat varieties WH-1142 for the northwest plain zone, DBW-107 and HD-3118 for the northeast plain zone, DBW-110 for the central zone and UAS-347 for the peninsular zone. These are bread wheat varieties and have a good potential for these specified areas.”

“The scientists have also developed two durum wheat varieties HI-8737 for central zone and UAS-446 for peninsular zone,” she added.

The scientists of various institutes have done a lot of work to develop barley varieties as the demand for malt has been increasing since long, the project director stated, adding that the scientists have also developed DWRB-101 and RD-2849 for the northwest plain zone and BH-959 for the central zone.

Dr Sharma further stated that the initiative for sowing wheat in late January in the northwest plain zone and the northeast plain zone would also be undertaken. For getting good yield of wheat in the northeast and northwest plain zone and in the peninsular zone, sowing should be done in the first week of November. 

Chandigarh September 14
The Haryana Government has released a grant amounting to Rs 10.56 crore for development works in Municipal Corporations, Municipal Councils, Municipal Committees and the Haryana Slum Clearance Board under the Urban Solid Waste Management Scheme for 2014-15.

A spokesman of the Urban Local Bodies Department said Rs 32 lakh had been released for the Municipal Corporation, Ambala, and Rs 6.40 lakh for Naraingarh in Ambala district.

A sum of Rs 48 lakh has been released for Bhiwani, Rs 6.40 lakh eachfor Bawani Khera, Charkhi Dadri, Loharu and Siwani in Bhiwani district. A grant of Rs 6.40 lakh each had been released for Bhuna, Fatehabad, Ratia and Tohana in Fatehabad district. A sum of Rs 6.40 lakh each had been released for Farukh Nagar, Haily Mandi, Pataudi and Sohna in Gurgaon district. — TNS

Rohtak, September 14
Union Sports Secretary and Haryana-cadre IAS officer Ajit Mohan Sharan said badminton academies would be established at Rohtak and Gurgaon in collaboration with the Union Sports Department.

Sharan, who was the chief guest at the prize-distribution ceremony of Ch Ranbir Singh Memorial National Sub-Junior Badminton Championship, held here recently, said: “Badminton is getting popular across the country and we will encourage the players who aspire to pursue this sport.”

Eminent shuttler and national badminton coach P Gopichand also lauded the encouraging sports policy of the Haryana government and expressed the hope that the state players would make their presence felt in the game at the national and international levels.

Earlier, Haryana Badminton Association president Devender Singh said the state’s sports policy was a model for the entire country. Famous badminton players P Kashyap, Ashwini Ponappa and PV Sindhu were honoured on the occasion, besides members of the Haryana badminton team.

Kaithal, September 14
A central team of officers of several Union Ministries today visited drought-hit areas of the district to take stock of the situation.

The team visited villages, including Pinjupura, Kalayat, Batta, Balu, Kailram and Peoda, in the Kalayat block and talked with affected farmers.

The farmers told the team that they had suffered huge loss due to deficient rain, as they had to spend money to run generator sets to irrigate fields. Cotton and paddy were the most affected in the region, they said. “Paddy is a water-guzzling crop. But due to deficient rain and irrigation facility, crops are dying a slow death,” said Labh Singh, farmer from Pinjupura village.

The team said there was 65 per cent less rainfall this year in comparison with last year.

DP Malik, member of central team, said the government had declared the state drought-hit and demanded Rs 4,548 crore as compensation for damaged crops. He said the team had so far visited Rohtak, Meham, Hansi, Tosham, Bhiwani, Narwana, Siwani, Hisar and Barwala.

The other members of team included Ramanand, AK Rajput, RB Kaul and Asit Halder.

Rohtash, Deputy Director, Agriculture, said crops in 50 hectares in Pinjupura and 500 hectares in Kalayat had been damaged due to deficiency of rain. 

Fatehabad, September 14
A two-month-old child has died and eight others have taken seriously ill after the Health Department administered pentavalent vaccine to them at Ratia town in Fatehabad.

The vaccine was administered to the children yesterday in the Anganwadi Centre in Ram Nagar Colony of Ratia.

Paramjit, the two-month-old son of Om Parkash, a resident of the Ram Nagar Colony, who along with some other children developed high fever after the vaccine yesterday, died this morning.

Sanjana (five months), Depanshu (two months) and five to six other children have been admitted to private hospitals of Ratia after they too developed symptoms of high fever. Deputy Commissioner Rajiv Rattan has asked Civil Surgeon Suraj Bhan Kamboj to conduct an internal probe in to the incident.

Speaking to mediapersons at General Hospital, Fatehabad, where his child’s dead body was brought for postmortem, Om Parkash alleged that his son’s condition started deteriorating immediately after he was administered the vaccine yesterday.

He said when he visited the Anganwadi in charge with the complaint, he was given some tablets.

When he expressed his desire to refer his child to some private doctor, he was warned that he should not give any other medicine to the kid.

His conditions did not improve and he eventually died in the morning.

Ratia SDM Amna Tasneem ordered the postmortem of the child when his father and other kin alleged the child had died due to the negligence of the health authorities.

Civil Surgeon Suraj Bhan Kamboj, however, said the child had died due to aspiration (inhaling milk with the air) and not due to fever after the vaccination.

He said other children too had been getting the same vaccine.

He maintained that only one other child had come to the government hospital with the complaint of fever.

He, however, said the matter was being inquired. 

Rewari, September 14
With a view to ensure payment to the industrial labourers as per minimum rate of wages, the Labour Department, Haryana, has directed its labour inspectors to get the wages disbursed in at least two establishments in their presence every month.

The officers have also been asked to obtain the signatures of at least 20 per cent of the workers to whom the wages were disbursed in their presence.

Naresh Narwal, additional labour commissioner, NCR, disclosed this while talking to The Tribune during his visit to Bawal Industrial Town here. He said direction to this effect was issued following the complaints that several industrial units were violating the rules by paying the wages to their workers below the minimum rate.

“The presence of labour inspectors while disbursing the wages in the industrial units will not only ensure the full payment of wages to the workers, but also keep a tab on functioning of the factories,” said Narwal, adding that the provision had been made for only those units which paid their workers at minimum rate of wages and did not have a system of bank transfer of wages.

Besides, the Labour Department has taken a serious note over ‘arbitrary’ manner of welfare officers in serving the notices on the industrial units. In order to check any malpractices, the officers have been directed to maintain an inspection register for entering full detail of notices issued to the factories in it.

He maintained women welfare officers would now be able to inspect only those establishments in which majority of employees were females and their focus would be on laws relating to female employees.

Rewari, September 14
A Haryana police constable deputed at the Circular Road branch of Punjab National Bank (PNB) died of suffocation after a fire broke out there late last night. A fireman and a policeman also sustained burns during the rescue operation.

Several computers, furniture and hard copies of the official record were reduced to ashes in the fire that continued for over four hours. The police managed to protect the currency room of the bank. The deceased has been identified as Mahipal Singh (48) of Kaasan village of Gurgaon.

Though the short-circuit is believed to be the reason behind the fire, Rewari Deputy Commissioner (DC) RC Verma has ordered an inquiry into the matter.

The incident took place at 10 pm. Someone noticed the flames and informed the police. Before the fire brigade reached, the flames had engulfed the entire building.

Verma and SP Hamid Akhtar, along with other officials, reached the spot on getting information and led the rescue operation.

The fire was so devastating that the authorities had to call more fire tenders from Gurgaon, Narnaul and Dhaaruhera.

Mahipal was rushed to the trauma centre, where he was declared dead. Fireman Maam Chand and cop Manoj Kumar also suffered injuries while rescuing Mahipal.

“I have formed an inquiry committee headed by the Rewari SDM to find out the cause of negligence, if any, on the part of the bank,” said Verma.

“All required financial assistance will be provided to the victim’s family,” Verma added.

Ambala, September 14
Cremation of an Azad Hind Fauj sepoy without the guard of honour has irked the residents of Barara village today.

Shyam Singh (95) a freedom fighter, who spent a number of years in foreign jails, while taking active part in the Azad Hind Fauj died last evening. His mortal remains were consigned to the flames at his native village, Barara, today afternoon.

His son, Charan Singh, said his father was receiving the freedom fighter pension from state as well as from the Union government. Charan added that he had informed the district administration about the demise of his father.

He said the Barara SDM and ACP reached at his father’s cremation to pay homage, but there was no guard of honour.

However, the villagers paid a tearful homage to Shyam Singh. Former MLA of the constituency and chairman of Haryana SC Commission Phool Chand Mullana also paid tribute to the freedom fighter.

Sonepat, September 14
An NRI distributed study material, lunch boxes and other articles among destitute children in a programme organised by the Social Action for Promotion of National Aspiration (Sapna), a voluntary organisation, at Juan village of the district, yesterday.

Speaking at the occasion, Monika pointed out that a large numbers of destitute children were deprived of education for want of financial and other help from society. “NGOs should follow Sapna’s initiative,” she added.

She appreciated Sapna’s efforts, an initiative of village youth, and said it was necessary to bring the destitute children into mainstream society by way of sponsoring their education. 

Faridabad, September 14
The district health department has announced to provide cash incentives to volunteers who help in getting children immunised for tuberculosis, polio, Hepatitis-B and measles, among other viruses, on time.

“The cash reward is up to Rs 300 per week and the incentive is likely to motivate several persons to avail the benefit of the immunisation drive,” a senior official of the department said, adding that the cost of vaccines was cheaper in government health facilities than in private hospitals.

Dr Virender Yadav, Senior Medical Officer (SMO) in the Civil Hospital, said there could be more than 4 lakh children up to the age of five in the district and many of them were deprived of immunisation due to poverty.

He said the hospital had fixed every Wednesday and Saturday for providing immunisation. “Several children have been administered vaccine, but there are several who haven’t been vaccinated.” Dr Yadav said private hospitals and clinics charged between Rs 200 and Rs 400 per dose, while it was free of cost in government facility. “Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA), Auxiliary Nurse Midwives and angwanwadi workers are offered incentives every week for motivating parents to immunise their children,” the SMO added.

Gurgaon, September 14
A special surveillance team headed by SDM Trilok seized Rs 20 lakh cash in Mewat today.

The money was discovered in a car of a family during a routine check at the Akera chowk. The SDM was called on spot and he seized the cash. He is investigating its political connection, if any.

“During the code of conduct for the Assembly poll, this huge amount of cash cannot be carried around this way. We will now get in touch with income tax officials. The family from whom the amount was recovered belongs to Ferozepur Jhirka. They are being questioned about the money,” said the Sub-Divisional Magistrate. 

Sonepat, September 14
Joint teams of the police and the Excise Department seized 1,178 boxes containing 13,416 bottles of IMFL from two places last night soon after enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct.

DSP Ajit Singh said they received information that a truck loaded with liquor was on its way to Delhi. They stopped it near Sector 15 and recovered 548 boxes of IMFL liquor from the vehicle during checking. The police have arrested the truck driver and conductor. They confessed the liquor was brought from Ambala and was to be stored in Sonepat for use during the election.

The DSP said another team raided a house in Sainik Colony last night and seized 570 boxes. — OC