New Delhi, November 2
A day after Congress president’s son-in-law Robert Vadra’s footage showing him lashing out at a journalist for asking Haryana land deal questions went viral, the Congress said the incident was being propagated as part of a political agenda.

Defending Vadra’s right to privacy as an individual who happens to be related to a political family, the Congress said: “It is unfair to hound him for an issue settled by the Supreme Court.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala lashed out at the BJP recalling instances when the then CM of Gujarat Narendra Modi, now PM, walked out of a TV show on one occasion and had a near scuffle with two journalists on another when asked about the Gujarat riots.

“It is clear that the entire episode (read Vadra’s) is being propagated as a political agenda for obvious reasons which cannot be considered either fair or proper. I want to remind BJP leaders and friends of the media as to how none less than the current Prime Minister (the then Chief Minister) — Narendra Modi — had removed the mike and walked out of a pre-fixed interview with leading journalist Karan Thapar who questioned him about the Gujarat Riots. May I also remind about the shoddy treatment meted out by Modi to two senior journalists —Rajdeep Sardesai and Barkha Dutt— when they had similarly questioned him about his role in the Gujarat riots,” said Surjewala.

The Congress made an argument that this was not the first time that someone had decided to refuse comment on an uncomfortable question. There was no word in the Congress statement, however, on the force Vadra used to put off a reporter’s mike when he asked a question.

Surjewala also said to the media, “In this age of professional competition, hope the media will always continue to honour social mores as also balance out the freedom of speech with respect for individual privacy.”

The Congress went further to ask journalists to “avoid the unpleasantness of repeatedly asking the same question at private functions, like what happened with Robert Vadra yesterday at a local hotel”.

The Congress almost seemed to inquire as to why the media did not ask enough questions about fringe elements affiliated to the BJP-RSS-Shiv Sena that have attacked news media offices.

Chandigarh, November 2
The 13th Haryana Assembly will witness changed party equations with the BJP government in the saddle and the Congress — having occupied the treasury benches for over five years — reduced to one corner among the Opposition benches with the INLD being the main Opposition party.

While Day 1 will witness the administration of oath to the newly elected members — many of them first-timers — by pro-tem Speaker Raghuvir Singh Kadian.

Kadian, who is the Congress MLA from Beri constituency in Jhajjar district, was appointed pro-tem Speaker by Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki on Thursday, being the senior most member of the state Assembly. He served as Speaker of the Haryana Assembly from 2005 to 2009.

The pro-tem Speaker performs the duties of the office of the Speaker from the commencement of the sitting of the House till the election of the Speaker.

The election of the Speaker of the House is being viewed with a lot of interest. The election of the Deputy Speaker was unlikely to be held in the session, sources said.

Party leaders said Jagadhari MLA Kanwar Pal Gujjar, Krishan Lal Panwar, an INLD turncoat, Panchkula MLA Gian Chand Gupta and Ateli MLA Santosh Yadav are being considered for the post of Speaker by the party leadership.

The sources said while Panwar, elected from Israna (reserved), and Gujjar, a second-time MLA, have an edge over the rest as neither the SCs nor the Gujjars have got representation in the Manohar Lal Khattar cabinet, the former’s seniority has an advantage.

Gupta belongs to the trader community, which is the backbone of the party, and Yadav’s name has been doing the rounds since women have got a “raw deal” in the Khattar cabinet.

Meanwhile, inside the House, a complete change of equations will dominate the proceedings.

The BJP, aggressive in its newfound success, will turn the heat on the Congress, which ruled the state for two consecutive terms. With the maximum first-timers, it is yet to be seen how the party plans its strategy.

The INLD will miss its two “veterans” — Ashok Arora and Rampal Majra. The entire onus of managing the MLAs will fall on senior leader Abhay Singh Chautala, who, previously would only take charge when the party wanted to present its stand aggressively or take to the well.

With the two veterans losing the poll, a “diluted” INLD, already “weakened” by the absence of its leaders OM Chautala and Ajay Chautala, will take on the BJP for its present rule and the Congress for the scams during its rule. This Assembly will be an acid test for Abhay Chautala to prove his worth.

The Congress, which is yet to choose a leader for the Congress legislature party, has been reduced to the third position in the House with only 15 MLAs. With over nine years of being in the government, the party may have to spend a lot of its time defending its decisions. Sources said the party, unable to choose a CLP leader before the session, speaks volumes of the “laid back approach” of its top leadership.

Narnaul, November 2
With the new government’s first Vidhan Sabha session commencing Monday, political parties and social outfits of the area want the government to bring resolutions on burning issues such as SYL Canal water, cow smuggling and slaughter, separate capital and High Court for the state.

Former Ateli MLA and HJC leader Naresh Yadav said now that the BJP was in power at in Punjab, Haryana as well as the Centre, there was no legal hurdle in resolving the SYL Canal dispute and it should initiate work without delay to ensure water, especially to South Haryana.

“The BJP promised to sort out this issue on priority basis in its manifesto. It is now the party’s moral duty to bring a resolution in the Vidhan Sabha session for a consensus in the direction of resolving this issue,” Yadav said.

Naresh Kadian, chairman of NGO People for Animals, Haryana, said people had high expectations from the BJP government. “The government should bring resolutions to declare the cow a state animal to prevent its smuggling and slaughter. It must also get a separate capital for Haryana. All states that came into being after Haryana have their own capitals,” said Kadian.

Deepak Rathi, coordinator of social outfit Chankya Sena said people residing in South and West Haryana have been demanding a separate high court in the centre of the state where people from every nook and corner could reach comfortably. “We have written to the Chief Minister demanding a special resolution in the session for a separate High Court either in Jind or its surrounding area,” said Rathi.

Rewari, November 2
A group of persons torched a pick-up jeep on the Rewari-Narnaul road here last evening after they found remains of cattle in the vehicle. The police have registered a case against 50 unidentified persons on the driver’s complaint.

Rewari Deputy Commissioner RC Verma said the incident took place near Naayiwali Chowk railway overbridge when the jeep carrying remains of the cattle was on its way to Mewat from Narnaul.

“Some people roaming near the chowk intercepted the jeep suspecting it was carrying cows for slaughter. After they found remains of cattle in the vehicle, they started thrashing the driver. They also set the jeep on fire after some time,” said Verma. The police rushed to the spot and rescued the driver.

As soon as a fire brigade vehicle reached the spot to put out the flames, the infuriated mob also smashed its window panes by pelting stones, he said.

“Samples of the cattle remains have been sent to the laboratory for investigation. I have also asked the Rewari Superintendent of Police to probe the incident,” the Deputy Commissioner said, adding that adequate numbers of police force had been deputed near the spot to prevent any untoward incident.

The police have started investigation after registering a criminal case on the complaint of jeep driver Hasan Khan of Jamaalpur in Mewat under Sections 47, 149, 323, 341, 435, 283 and 427 of the Indian Penal Code. No arrest was made till the filling of this report.

• The incident took place near Naayiwali Chowk railway overbridge when the jeep carrying remains of the cattle was on its way to Mewat from Narnaul
• Some people intercepted the jeep suspecting it was carrying cows for slaughter
• After they found remains of cattle in the vehicle, they started thrashing the driver
• They also set the jeep on fire after some time

Kurukshetra, November 2
Green Earth, an NGO, has drawn Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar’s attention towards sweepers serving at the residences of bureaucrats, judicial officials and other officials of the state.

Naresh Bhardwaj, member of Green Earth, said, “Teams of Green Earth visited many regions and found that a large number of sweepers were deployed at the residences of bureaucrats, judges, elected representatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions, municipal councillors, politicians and other officials.”

He said, “It has been observed that sweepers are engaged in personal works of sarpanches and panches such as agriculture activities, animal husbandry and other household chores.”

He said it was difficult to achieve make the ‘Swachh Haryana-Swachh Bharat’ dream come true by 2019 or even after that if the practice goes on. To achieve the status, the sweepers must be called back and deployed in towns, so that they could embark on the cleanliness drive being carried out in the state, he asserted.

Bhardwaj said, “A letter has been sent to the Chief Minister, explaining the situation and requesting him to direct the departments and the Deputy Commissioners of the state to call back these sweepers and deploy them in the cities and villages.”

“Training programmes for the sweepers must be organised to make them aware of their duties, importance of cleanliness, health hazardous of burning of waste and garbage and how to manage cleanliness,” said Bhardwaj. He also appealed to the CM to issue instructions to all Divisional Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners and Additional Deputy Commissioners to ensure ban on open burning of waste and garbage.

Sirsa, November 2
State Congress chief Ashok Tanwar has welcomed Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar’s decision to establish CM windows across the state to redress public grievances.

Tanwar was the first to have advocated replication of an initiative on the lines of Jan Sunwai Kanoon, 2012, launched in Rajasthan by the Ashok Gehlot government. He said CM-Window was old wine in a new bottle, but it was a welcome move.

Tanwar said it was too early to say how much the move would help people as it depended on how the government and the bureaucracy implemented the scheme.

After the success of the Jan Sunwai Kanoon 2012 (also known as the Right to Hearing Act), Tanwar took up the matter with the Hooda Government. He had also started its replication in Fatehabad district as a pilot project, though not as a law, but with the support of the local authorities.

Later, the government enacted Right to Services Act, but Tanwar said it failed to take off as its only “purpose” was to re-appoint some retired bureaucrats as Right to Services Commissioners. — TNS

Ambala, November 2
The Health Minister’s surprise raids at various civil hospitals have made the authorities improve their working and make the staff patient friendly.

Recently, Vij paid a surprise visit to two civil hospitals, in Ambala cantonment and Kurukshetra, and subsequently suspended two staff members for their casual attitude. The doctors of the civil hospitals and primary health centres of the district have started a cleanliness drive at their own level. The doctors and the nurses, even class IV employees, have started wearing their uniforms. Earlier, most of the staff used to wear informal dresses during duty hours. Sometimes, the patients could not easily recognise hospital staff from outsiders.

When local MLA Assem Goel reached in civil hospital this morning to launch a cleanliness campaign, he was surprised to see that most of the doctors, nurses and class IV employees were in their proper uniform.

Civil Surgeon Vinod Gupta said he had directed all the SMOs to take special care of the patients and staff to wear uniform during duty hours.

Meanwhile, Anil Vij said the condition of primary health centres and civil hospitals in the state was bad. Most of the hospitals did not have basic medical equipments like ultrasound and CT scan.

Kaithal, November 2
Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala has criticised the BJP government at the Centre and in the state for the sharp drop in the prices of paddy and cotton, particularly in the northern states.

Addressing his first press conference after his victory in the Assembly elections, he said the prices of the 1509 and 1121 basmati and sharbati varieties of paddy had fallen considerably. Similar was the case with cotton, the prices of which had come down by 100 per cent this year, he observed.

The former minister said the low prices were neither in the interest of farmers nor of traders. The Congress leader said faulty policies of the BJP governments had led to this situation as the Modi government had mishandled the export situation after coming to power in May. “I would like to draw the attention of the government to the fact that it had promised to provide the investment cost along with 50 per cent profit to the farmers,” he said, stating it had miserably failed to keep its promise.

“The BJP used to criticise the UPA government for not implementing the Swaminathan Committee report, but why has it not implemented it even five months after coming to power?” he asked. The former minister also took a dig at the Modi government for announcing an increase of just Rs 50 on the MSP of wheat. He said even Agriculture Minister OP Dhankar had “admitted” that the rise was below expectation. “Why don’t Chief Ministers of Haryana and other BJP-ruled northern states approach their own government at the Centre and ensure an increase of the MSP of wheat as per the party’s pre-poll promises?” he asked.

When asked about any possible change in the Congress organisation after its defeat in the recent elections, he said only the Congress president or its general secretary were competent to answer the question.

Sonepat, November 2
Former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today thanked people of Sonepat district for their support to Congress candidates in the Assembly elections and said, “I wish to settle now in Sonepat.”

He was addressing a party workers’ meeting in Sonepat today. Rohtak MP Deepender Singh Hooda and party MLAs except Randeep Singh Surjewala and Kiran Chaudhary were present on the occasion.

Hooda claimed that during his 10-year term as Chief Minister, he had never acted against any one with ill will or a revengeful attitude. “The inception of the new government and its working will give an opportunity to people to compare it with the Congress government in the state,” he added.

He asked the state government to implement decisions taken by the previous government and passed in the cabinet for implementation from November 1.

He criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not taking part in the event held to observe the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. After all, she was a great PM and sacrificed her life for the unity and integrity of the country,” he said.

Rohtak, November 2
Dejected Congress workers have categorically told Congress MP from Rohtak and former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s son Deepender Hooda to learn a lesson from the party’s crushing defeat in the recent Assembly elections and change his conduct.

“You ignored dedicated workers and accorded undue respect to certain undeserving persons. That is why the party candidates lost even from the Assembly segments like Rohtak,” Congress workers told Deepender at a meeting organised to ponder over the party’s poor poll performance here today.

Some Congressmen even maintained that sincere party workers were insulted and if the trend continued, they would be free to switch their loyalty. They asked the MP to give due respect to the workers and keep the sycophants at bay if he wanted to improve the party’s performance.

Local Congress leaders, however, maintained that certain party supporters had betrayed them at the time of elections, which had led to the humiliating defeat.

On the other hand, Deepender stated that the defeat suffered by the party in the recent assembly elections indicated a need for honest introspection.

“Yes, the defeat is painful…especially the blow we suffered in our hometown, Rohtak…We may be down, but we are certainly not out…We need to learn from our failure so that we rebound as an even greater formidable political force,” Deepender said addressing a meeting of Congress workers here today.

The three-time Congress MP maintained that in the meantime, the party would focus on strengthening its organisation and ensuring that the party workers got due regard.

Former Congress MLA Bharat Bhushan Batra and Rohtak Mayor Renu Dabla were also present.

Karnal, November 2
In the week-long initiative under the “Swachh Haryana, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan” , Gharaunda MLA Harvinder Kalyan today undertook a cleanliness drive at Chora village in Gharaunda.

Addressing a gathering in the village, the MLA said the seven-day long mission would inspire people of the state to ensure cleanliness. He even swept streets of the village.

Hisar, November 2
Undeterred by widespread condemnation, the Hindu Mahasabha today toughened its stand on banning girls from wearing jeans-tops and carrying mobile phones and sought the support of the state government and khaps for enforcement.

In its state executive meeting here today, mahasabha leaders said wearing jeans-tops and other obscene dresses and mobile phones was responsible for incidents of rape. It also demanded enforcement of a dress code for college girls.

“If we are able to ban these attires and mobile phones, incidents of rape can be curtailed. We are committed to implement a dress code for college-going girls,” said its vice-president Dharampal Siwach after the meeting that was presided over by state chief Ramesh Panu. The outfit urged parents to keep a watch on children going to school and colleges whether or not they reach their institutions.

Siwach said they would seek the support of khaps to enforce the ban on Western wear and mobile phones and implement a dress code in colleges. Besides, a delegation of the mahasabha would also call on Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on the issue, he said.

The meeting also decided to launch a state-level awareness campaign to mobilise public support. “We are not issuing a diktat, but the agenda would be implemented with the support of the people. It’s a campaign to protect the Hindu culture in the state,” Siwach stated.

He claimed their appeal for the dress code for girls had already started showing results and members of the outfit had started this campaign with their own families. He claimed the mahasbha had over 41,000 enrolled members in the state. “We are not deterred by the positive or negative reactions from any quarters as it would show positive outcome in the end,” Siwach said.

The outfit supported love marriages, but said it must have the consent of families of both the bride and the groom. Apart from the dress code, the mahasabha also decided to oppose any move to legalise prostitution.

Hisar, November 2
Congress leader and state’s former Finance Minister Sampat Singh has countered incumbent Finance Minister Capt Abhimanyu on the financial status of Haryana, claiming that the situation was much better than that in other states. He added that debt was no indicator of financial stress.

The Congress leader said here today that it was not appropriate to suggest that the state was facing financial stress because it was under a public debt of Rs 80,000 crore as the debt was well within the limits of the Reserve Bank of India’s guidelines vis-a-vis the gross state domestic product (GSDP).

“Haryana is among those states which are under low debt in proportion to their GSDP. It has around 18 per cent debt vis-a-vis its GSDP. In fact, we are in a far better financial position than that of Gujarat, which has a consolidated debt of 26.4 per cent vis-à-vis its GSDP. It means that Gujarat has 1.5 times more debt than Haryana,” Sampat Singh said.

He said the state’s financial condition and public debt are no justifications for denying compatible prices to farmers’ produce and pay scale on a par with Punjab to the employees of the state. “The previous regime has taken the decision to revise the pay scales of the state’s employees to put them on a par with those of Punjab. Other decisions, including the increase of pension to the old aged and the disabled, were taken in public interest, which were set to be implemented on November 1,” he said, while urging the government not to review the decisions.

Sampat said farmers in particular were facing acute crisis as they had to suffer the vagaries of weather, resulting in below average produce of cotton and guar crops. “Poor prices for their produce have come as a double blow to them. The government should step in to bail them out of this crisis and offer them prices at least on a par with those fixed last year,” the Congress leader said.

Hisar, November 2
Facing an uncertain future after the High Court disallowed industrial units in residential areas, the small scale industries (SSIs) have urged the state government to develop new small-scale industrial zones across the state.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court, in a judgment in July, had asked the Haryana Government to frame a policy to shift industries operating in non-conforming zones within six months. While the authorities have asked the industries to submit proposals for such a policy, the Laghu Udyog Bharti (LUB)- a body representing the small and cottage industries in Haryana- has appealed to the government to bail out 50,000 SSIs functioning in non-conforming areas in various districts.

Deepak Jain, president of LUB, said they had sought an appointment with Chief Minister Monohar Lal Khattar to submit a memorandum stating that the sector was already passing through a rough phase due to tough competition from the Chinese market.

“We would not be able to survive if the government ousts us from the non-confirming zones without any other help. The government should develop new zones for such units and provide them soft loans for shifting,” he said.

Justice Paramjeet Singh, in his judgment, had said dangerous and hazardous industries that cause pollution cannot be allowed in the residential zones. The judge had asked for a compliance report on February 16, 2015.

Acting on the order, the Faridabad Municipal Corporation held a meeting in September and asked the industrialists to submit a proposal to frame a policy for them.

“The authorities have just passed the buck by inviting proposals from us as it is up to the government to take a decision. There are around 50,000 small-scale units in the non-conforming areas. But successive governments have failed to do anything for the promotion of tiny and small scale units”, Jain said.

If these small-scale units are forced to shift to conforming areas, most of them would rather close down as they cannot afford high price land and other shifting expenses.

Jain also suggested that the areas where large numbers of tiny units are functional in different districts should rather be converted into a conforming industrial zone and all basic amenities required for these units should be provided by charging nominal fees from them.

Hisar, November 2
For the want of a building, a government primary school is being run in a temple here for more than 30 years. The temple authorities want the school situated in the new grain market to be shifted, but the authorities are in a bind.

Nearly 300 children are enrolled in the school.

The grain market was set up on government land on the Sirsa road in the late 1980s. With this, several colonies came up in the vicinity. Local traders felt the need to set up a school in the market.

The government school caters to children of traders, workers and people from adjoining localities. As a simultaneous development, a temple came up within the four-room school building spread over 900 square yards.

Later, local residents as well as the government failed to develop the school but devotees contributed raised a huge temple structure.

Grain market association president Pawan Garg said, “The school should be shifted out of the temple as it is hampering religious activities. Traders have written to the authorities several times, but it expressed its inability to shift it due to non-availability of land.”

He claimed that a school building was being constructed in Vikas Nagar and traders had urged the government to shift the school there.

District Elementary Education Officer BS Sehrawat, however, said there was no proposal to shift the school that had been catering to children from the grain market and adjoining localities.

Temple priest Rajender Prasad said the entrance to the school and temple was common and that caused inconvenience to devotees while visiting the temple. “Children often enter the temple wearing footwear and take away eatables and other items offered by devotees,” he said.

School teachers and children complain that they had been facing hardships, as the temple authorities wanted the school to be shifted. “Temple authorities don’t allow children to drink water from a tap installed in a temple,” a teacher said.

Jind, November 2
The beautification work of Rani Talab is far from competition even as the January 2015 deadline of the project is approaching fast.

The government has already released Rs 6 crore for the beautification of the site, but negligence on the part of officials has been delaying the project.

Sources said to restore the lost glory of the site, then Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda in 2012 had promised beautification of the heritage site and had also approved a detailed beautification plan. It was prepared by a special committee under the supervision of then Jind Deputy Commissioner Rajiv Rattan. As per the plan, the site will have Dholpur red stones, special 3-D lighting arrangements and musical fountains.

As per estimates for beautification, the government released total Rs 6 crore to the Jind Nagar council in 2012. But since the administration and the special committee assigned the work to the PWD, the Nagar Parishad authorities released Rs 1 crore in 2012 and Rs 5 crores in 2013. But surprisingly, even after receiving the required amount, the work has not gained momentum. Apart from the construction work, electrical and water drainage work is also pending.

“We have completed around 70 per cent of the work and trying to complete it all before January 2015. Electric and water drainage works are going slow,” said Jaspal Singh, executive engineer (EE), PWD, who has been appointed a nodal officer for the work.

Initially, Jaspal Singh tried to pass the buck to other officials, but when asked about the specific reasons for the delay, he failed to give any satisfactory reply.

Locals have demanded strict action against the officials, who have failed to execute the work in the stipulated time.

“Rani Talab was the most popular evening spot among the locals some years back. But in the name of beautification, the government has damaged it. The authorities are not working sincerely. The CM must take action against the officials concerned,” demanded Anil, a local shopkeeper.

Faridabad, November 2
In line with Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar’s “Swachh Haryana Abhiyan” (cleanliness drive) launched here yesterday, the district administration has resolved to make the city polythene-free within three months.

But the task appears to be challenging, believe a section of residents.

The authorities during a function yesterday claimed that no stone would be left unturned to make the drive a success. “The administration will seek support of social, educational, religious, industrial and residents’ bodies to eradicate the menace of polybags,” Deputy Commissioner Vijay Singh Dahiya said.

Interactive programmes will be held in schools, colleges and universities, the DC said, adding that students and youth would be inspired to take the initiative and make the drive a success.

Attempts to stop or check the use of polythene bags were made but, due to improper implementation, the drive got derailed, claimed Ram Kumar, a senior citizen.

“State’s Environment Department has already banned the manufacture, sale, distribution and use of virgin and recycled polybags, and recycled plastic containers made of virgin or recycled plastic that are less than 30 microns in thickness. There is a provision of penalties for manufacturers, suppliers, retailers, vendors and individuals. In spite of all this, the use of ploybags continues unabated,” said Deepak Kumar, a resident of Sector 7.

“The authorities ought to aware people and ensure availability of paper bags at nominal rates in all shops,” Amarjeet Singh of Sector 15 said. He added that the administration needed to ensure proper collection and disposal of garbage in all localities by providing garbage bins before taking any punitive action.

Karnal, November 2
Unidentified persons posing as buyers of an expensive idol attacked and killed a shopkeeper and injured his father-in-law here today morning.

Cyber café owner Rajan (33) had purchased an idol from Jaipur and later decided to sell it. He posted an online advertisement and asked for Rs 12 lakh for the idol made of an alloy and studded with stones, said a police official.

Rajan had been in negotiations with some persons for the idol’s sale for nearly two weeks and had met them once earlier. After fixing up a second meeting for Sunday morning to seal the deal, he shared his shop’s address with them. Around 9.30 am, four persons came to his shop at Ibrahim Mandi. His father-in-law Suraj Parkash was also present.

After some negotiations on the price, they attacked Rajan and his father-in-law and fled with the idol. Rajan succumbed to injuries while his father-in-law was injured.

Superintendent of Police Abhishek Garg and Deputy Superintendent of Police Raj Kumar rushed to the spot with the forensic expert and examined the body and spot thoroughly. The police have questioned eyewitnesses and neighbours for clues. There was no CCTV installed at the shop.

“The police have registered a case under Section 302 and other relevant section of the IPC. Some clues have been collected by the police and soon the miscreants would be apprehended,” the SP said.

Sirsa, November 2
Various social organisations in Sirsa have joined hands to propagate “Swachha Haryana Swachha Bharat”, a cleanliness drive initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

Volunteers of Dera Sacha Sauda, students of various schools and colleges and members of NGOs are hitting the streets with broom in their hands.

Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Rajesh Jogpal launched a cleanliness drive at the Sirsa bus stand on the second day of the campaign today.

City Magistrate Nirmal Nagar, Haryana Roadways general manager Suresh Kaswan, Municipal Council executive officer VN Bharti and volunteers of Green S Force of Dera Sacha Sauda cleaned the bus stand and the railway depot.

BJP leaders Jagdish Chopra, Yatinder Singh and others too joined the initiative.

Members of Lions Club Glaxy, Sirsa, launched a cleanliness drive in and around Shaheed Bhagat Singh Stadium on the Barnala road today. Club member Dr Anjani Agarawal said if each one of us cleaned his/her surroundings, there would be no filth around us.

Chaudhary Devi Lal University Vice Chancellor Radhe Sham Sharma led the cleanliness drive in the campus while Mata Harki Devi College for Women Principal Shamim Sharma led the drive in her college.

The impact of the campaign was also seen in rural areas of Sirsa district.

Women of Ali Mohammad village cleaned the road surrounding the village.

The ADC said the campaign would continue till November 7 and during this period, the authorities as well as volunteers would clean various places.

Mahendragarh, November 2
The state government has decided to develop the historical fort at Madhogarh village in the district as a tourist centre to preserve it and generate employment avenues as well.

Ram Bilas Sharma, Tourism and Transport Minister, disclosed this while interacting with mediapersons today. He, along with a team of administrative officials, visited the fort and took stock of the site.

It is believed that the Madhogarh fort, located on the Mahendragarh-Satnali road, was built more than 500 years ago by Maratha emperor Madhoji Rao.

Sharma directed the officials to prepare a blue print to develop it as a centre of attraction so that it could attract domestic and foreign tourists. He assured them of providing all help for developing the fort on the pattern of other forts in the country.

“Aravali hills of Madhogarh and Rajavaas villages in Mahendragarh are unique and fascinating. Hence, the development of Madhogarh fort will be instrumental in boosting tourism in South Haryana,” Sharma said.

The construction work would be initiated soon after the blue print is prepared, he added.

Earlier, the minister launched Volvo bus service from Chandigarh to Jaipur by flagging off a bus from the Mahendragarh bus stand. “This bus will start from Chandigarh and reach Jaipur, passing through Rohtak, Dadri, Mahendragarh and Kotputali. It was a long-pending demand of the people of this region,” he said.

Sharma also directed the roadways officials to ply direct buses for Delhi from Mahendragarh so that locals did not face any problem in travelling to the national capital. More roadways buses would be plied on other routes in the coming days, he said.

• The Madhogarh fort (in pic) is believed to be 500 years old
• It was built by Maratha emperor Madhoji Rao
• Ram Bilas Sharma, Tourism and Transport Minister, has directed officials to prepare a blue print to develop the fort as a centre of attraction so that it could attract domestic and foreign tourists
• It will be instrumental in boosting tourism in South Haryana, he said

Sirsa, November 2
A youth was allegedly stabbed to death by miscreants in GTM Ground here last night.

The incident came to light this morning when some youths went to play in the ground. A police party from Khairpur police post and a CIA team arrived there with a dog squad to establish the victim’s identity. The victim was identified as Shera (30) of Mahabir Colony, Sirsa.

It is believed that Shera consumed liquor with another person at the same place before his murder.

It is believed that the other person allegedly stabbed him to death after some altercation. The assailant allegedly dragged the victim’s body and tried to conceal the latter’s identity by crushing his face. An empty bottle of liquor, two glasses and a packet of namkeen have been found from the crime scene. — TNS

Kurukshetra November 2
Additional Sessions Judge Poonam Suneja has sentenced a man to five years’ imprisonment for kidnapping and attempting to rape a minor girl.

The court has imposed a fine of Rs 15,000 on the convict, Sanjeev alias Deepa, a native of Shadipur Shahida village in this district. He has been sentenced under Section 363 of the IPC and Section 10 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. He was arrested on March 12.

Jhajjar, November 2
Haryana boys Kartik Jindal and Hardik Makkar have been selected in the Indian Badminton Team (under-17 double) that would participate in the Junior Asia Badminton Championship, 2014.

Haryana Badminton Association general secretary Ajay Singhania said Kartik and Hardik had done well at the National Games this year. “Both are second-rank holders and bagged silver in the All-India Junior Ranking Tournament (under-17 double) in August,” said Singhania. The Asia Championship will be held in Bangkok from November 11 to 15. — TNS