Hisar, November 14
Soon after the Supreme Court turned down an appeal by Sant Rampal for relief against the non-bailable warrants issued by the Punjab and Haryana High Court against him, the police cordoned off Satlok Ashram to arrest the self-styled godman.

The police, apprehending backlash from followers, have deployed forces and roped in a fleet of Haryana Roadways buses, ambulances and fire tenders to deal with any emergency at the time of Rampal’s arrest. A clash seems imminent, as the followers have declared to oppose the police attempt to nab the ashram chief and vowed to “lay down their lives to protect him”.

The police sealed the NH-65 (Hisar-Chandigarh road), leading to the ashram around 2 pm. By evening, the police set up barricades in 500-meters radius around the ashram.

Sources said the police were unlikely to swoop down on the ashram at night and the operation to nab Rampal could be taken up early tomorrow morning. The paramilitary forces and a commando team could be given the task to pick up the ashram head, while the police would back them from behind.

The police build-up started early in the morning as the additional forces from other districts, including Rohtak, Yamunanagar and Ambala, started gathering at the Hisar Police Lines. The Hisar police had called in 25 companies of the police and 10 companies of the paramilitary forces.

When the apex court refused to accept the plea against the HC’s non-bailable warrant against Rampal, the police swung into action and deployed their personnel near the ashram. They put in barricades in Barwala, Bahbalpur and Barwala turn in Hisar town at 2 pm and started diverting the traffic.

Rampal’s followers, too, kept dropping in at the ashram. The police reportedly impounded four buses carrying followers in Jind and stopped several private vehicles of the followers.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Jai Prakash, who is leading the force at a barricade near the ashram, said they were out to maintain the law and order.

Hisar, November 14
Sant Rampal followers alleged today that the district administration had cut off power and water supply to the Satlok Ashram.

“The police are resorting to pressure tactics, but followers have decided to oppose Rampal’s arrest,” ashram spokesperson Rajkpoor said, adding “we will approach the President for justice. If our grievances go unheard, we will ask the President to allow us to immolate ourselves”.

He claimed the judiciary had turned against Rampal, as he had written three books highlighting “corruption” in the judicial system.

The followers of self-styled godman, facing murder and attempt to murder charges, have formed a shield around him. Women and children are part of the multi-tier security ring around Rampal.

Deputy Commissioner (DC) ML Kaushik said the police were following the directions of the High Court. On cutting the power and water supply to the ashram, he said the police had chalked out a strategy to implement the court orders which could not be disclosed. The DC said he had invited a representation from Rampal’s followers to hammer out a peaceful solution to the issue. “I am hopeful that they will respond positively and attend the meeting scheduled for Saturday in my office,” he told The Tribune.

IGP Anil Kumar Rao is supervising the preparations and chalking out operational strategies.

“The operation (to arrest Rampal) is likely to be carried out tomorrow (Saturday) morning. It’s difficult to carry out such an operation in the dark, as there could be causalities,” a source said.

Palwal, November 14
Curfew imposed on Wednesday in wake of rioting and clashes between two communities at Hathin town was relaxed for 12 hours during daytime today. Despite the relaxation, shops remained closed in support of the demands raised by the trading community who are demanding compensation for the loss and adequate safety measures in future. A former MLA, Azmat Khan, was among those booked by the police in this incident.

Though the curfew was lifted between 7 am to 7 pm today, it was of no use as the markets remained shut and the people could not procure items of daily use,’’ claimed Sanjay Kumar, a local resident.

While families wanted to stock up, the decision of the shopkeepers proved inconvenient. The traders association held a meeting this morning to review the situation submitted a memorandum to the IG, Rewari Range, seeking compensation for damag to shops and stationing a paramilitary unit on a permanent basis to keep a check on such incidents in the future.

“While we suffered a loss of several crores, the riots put the lives of thousands of residents at risk,” claimed Moti Lal Sharma, a local trader.

Over 1000 shops remained closed in protest today and will open only when their safety is ensured, he said.

The Beopar Mandal also demanded a speedy probe by an independent agency to arrest the accused and put measures in place to prevent such incidents in future. Police sources said so far 27 FIR’s have been registered 176 accused have been booked. Over 400 persons booked by the police are still to be identified.

An SIT will soon be investigating the FIR’s, claimed a senior official. Over three dozen shops, houses and vehicles were set ablaze in the riots on Tuesday night.

SDM Jagniwas Verma, claimed that the assessment report of the loss has been submitted to the state government.

Ambala, November 14
Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij today raided the district food and civil supply office in Ambala Cantonment and suspended three employees, including the Assistant Food and Supply Officer (AFSO), for being absent from duty without a sanctioned leave.

Besides, he ordered an investigation into irregularities that came to the fore while scanning the office record.

The minister reached the office around 11 am and found five employees, including AFSO Anil Sharma, absent from duty. On checking the attendance register, it was found that inspector Sandeep Kumar and sub-inspector Deepak Kumar were on leave to attend a computer course. Sharma and two other employees — Prithvi Chand and Anil Batra — were absent without a sanctioned leave. It was also found that Batra had left a leave application for November 17 and was missing from the office.

Vij called up Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Arvind Sharma and Sub-divisional Magistrate (SDM) Priyanka Soni, and ordered the suspension of the AFSO, Chand and Batra.

He summoned the District Food and Supply Officer, in whose presence records of the department were scrutinised. The minister found that a ration card bearing series number 22839 was issued in September and another one bearing series number 37909 was issued the next month. This means that more than 15,000 ration cards were issued in one month alone. The office register, however, showed that nearly 150 ration cards were issued in a month. “The difference in the series number point to the irregularities in the working of the department,” he said. Vij ordered an investigation, asking the SDM to submit a report in 15 days.

The records further brought out that ration cards were issued to families that already had ration cards. In violations of norms, some families were issued BPL cards after plots under the state’s Ashiyana Yojana had been allotted to them.

Vij said investigation into the irregularities might unearth a scam.

Adi Badri (Ambala), November 14
After remaining suspended for eight years, the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) will revive the project to dig out the ancient Saraswati by drilling two borewells at Adi Badri and Kapal Mochan where the much-revered river is believed to have originated.

The oil exploration giant has signed an agreement with the Haryana Government under its Corporate Social Responsibility initiative to revive the river after satellite imagery revealed a 1,600-km stretch of Saraswati basin between Adi Badri and Dwarka on the Western coast.

Those working on the project have also identified two sites near Chappar village on the Ambala-Yamunanagar border where huge reservoirs of underground water were found. These are believed to be the river’s underground channels. In the light of this, ONGC is planning to drill similar borewells at these spots to tap the river’s underground channel, satellite imagery of which was provided by Haryana Space Application and Research Centre, HAU Campus, Hisar.

Kuldeep Prakash, group general manager and head Knowledge Management Group at ONGC headquarters, visited Adi Badri along with Vaibhav Garg, general secretary of Saraswati Nadi Shodh Sansthan, an NGO that has been working for the revival of the river for the last two decades. They took stock of the ground reality and narrowed down the location for drilling two borewells to tap Saraswati’s palaeochannels. Prakash undertook a detailed study of all sites related to the river in Adi Badri and confirmed the project would soon get underway.

The Archaeological Survey of India has already conducted excavations at some sites that were identified as ABR-I, ABR-II and ABR-III. The state government got water-retaining structures constructed at different points on the Saraswati Channel at Adi Badri, which would help revive the river once it is dug out.

Vaibhav Garg said people had begun to accept the fact that the mighty Saraswati once flowed in this region, paving way for the emergence of ancient civilizations along its basin.

He said it was in 1985 that renowned historian Dr VS Wakankar of Ujjain took along a team of historians, archaeologists and photographers and travelled between Dwarka and Adi Badri to rediscover the Saraswati’s course. “Following his initiative, others also started taking interest in the existence of the river and persistent efforts finally led to signing of an agreement between the state government and the ONGC,” Garg said.

He said now that a BJP government was at the Centre and in the state, they were hopeful the project would to taken to its logical conclusion. “A few years back, water suddenly gushed out of the ground at some sites in Adi Badri, which further consolidated the belief that the river existed here,” he said. The NGO had urged the previous government to set up a Saraswati Development Authority to inject life into the project.

Chandigarh, November 14
The Haryana Government is not likely to buy another aircraft for use by its VVIPs, especially the chief Minister and the Governor.

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar coming out of the railway station in Chandigarh on Friday. Tribune photo: S Chandan

Against the backdrop of a severe resource crunch, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar is not ‘favourably inclined’ to the purchase of an aircraft as part of the government’s ‘austerity measures’, sources told The Tribune here today.

After the crash of state government-owned King Air B-200 aircraft in which Governor Jagannath Pahadia and eight others had a narrow escape at Chandigarh Airport on March 27 this year, the state government had formed a high-level committee to explore the possibilities of purchasing a new aircraft.The aircraft was severely damaged in the accident. The state already had another aircraft for use by the Chief Minister and the Governor.

The committee, which was constituted during the tenure of the Hooda Government, had prepared a preliminary report and wanted a go-ahead for fixing the terms and conditions for the purchase of the aircraft after the formation of the BJP Government in the state.

The sources, however, said the purchase of the proposed new aircraft had not found favour with Khattar, who is reportedly not in favour of incurring huge expenditure on the new aircraft. Unlike his predecessor Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Khattar is not very fond of flying. The new chief minister generally prefers to travel by road except to New Delhi and other remote areas in the state when he uses the state aircraft.

Sources said the purchase of new aircraft or new vehicles for ministers or the Chief Minister was not on the priority list of the Khattar Government. “Good governance was topmost on the agenda of the new government against the backdrop of the fact that the Hooda Government put a lot of strain on the state exchequer during its 10-year regime,” sources asserted.

Khattar travels by Shatabdi

Khattar, accompanied by former HP Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, today preferred to travel by the evening Shatabdi from New Delhi to Chandigarh.

Karnal, November 14
Rajya Sabha MP Ram Kumar Kashyap has adopted Bhadson village in the Indri Assembly constituency under the Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana.

“The village, which has a population of 3,200 meets all the parameters in the scheme but had been neglected till now. Now it will receive the attention it deserves,” he said. “I will ensure the availability of clean drinking water, sanitation, education, health services, and maintaining the clean environment of the village,” Kashyap added.

Karnal, November 14
After the poor monsoon wreaked havoc with paddy, farmers of the district are now struggling to get a suitable price for their produce. Raising the red flag, the Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) said the situation could trigger suicides by debt-ridden farmers as seen in other states and threatened to take to the roads if the government failed to step in.

BKU state president Sewa Singh Arya said the production cost had increased two-fold after land lease rates rose from Rs 30,000 an acre to around Rs 50,000. Rates of diesel, DAP and fertilisers have shot up over last year. “Transplanting cost increased to Rs 2,500 an acre from Rs 1,500 last year. Harvesting an acre which cost around Rs 3,500 last year is now up to Rs 5,500,” he said.

The mismatch between input costs and remuneration is taking a toll on farmers. “1121, a variety of basmati, is being sold for Rs 2,400-2,700 as against Rs 4,500 last season. Basmati-30 is being sold between Rs 2,800 and Rs 3,100 as against Rs 6,000 last season, while 1509, a variety of basmati is selling around Rs 2,400 as compared to Rs 4,000 last year,” Arya said.

Adverse climatic conditions have also led to decrease in paddy production, increasing the burden on farmers, Arya said. “Production of PR variety fell from 30-32 quintal per acre last year to 22-25 quintal. Basmati production hovered around 13 quintal an acre this season as against 16 quintal last season,” he said.

BKU spokesman Ajit Singh Kahlon said, “Farmers have high expectations from the new government, but they are disappointed so far. Paddy has been purchased without auction in various grain markets due to the ignorance by the administration and government.”

Kurukshetra, November 14
Though Haryana Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Kavita Jain has made it clear that the beneficiaries of various social security pension schemes are not required to produce their Aadhaar cards for availing the benefits, many aged persons are found standing in long queues at Aadhaar centres.

A large number of people, especially the aged, are reaching Aadhaar centres to get themselves enrolled .

Bhuro Devi, who is in her late 70s and a resident of Ganesh Colony, Pipli, reached the Aadhaar centre at the Mini-Secretariat along with her other family members. She said: “I got myself enrolled as someone told me that my Aadhaar card is a must and I will not get the pension if I fail to produce it.”

Munish (19) of Umri, who reached here with his grandmother, said: “We have been told that the card is must for pension. So we have reached here to get her (grandmother) enrolled.”

When informed that the Aadhaar card was not required for the pension schemes, Mahender Singh (77) said: “You never know when they will again make it mandatory.”

Nikhil Gajraj, Deputy Commissioner, Kurukshetra, said: “As the number of people at the Aadhaar centres has increased over the last few days, it has been decided to extend their timings. The centres will now open remain open for enrolment from 8am to 6:30 pm. New timings will come into force within a couple of days.”

He said the contractor had been asked to install extra machines and deploy more operators. There were six Aadhaar centres in the district.

Chandigarh, November 14
The state government will spend an additional amount of Rs 8,580 crore on payment of social security pension following the recent announcement of an annual increase of Rs 200 in these schemes over the next five years.

The increase in pension will benefit over 22.37 lakh beneficiaries, said Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Kavita Jain here today. — TNS

Panipat, November 14
Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki today paid tributes to county’s first PM Jawaharlal Nehru on Children’s Day and recalled his contribution in the freedom struggle. He said children were the future of the nation and efforts must be made to ensure their development.

Kaithal: Our children are our nation’s asset. Every effort must be made to ensure that they have a bright future. This was stated by NK Solanki, Deputy Commissioner and chairman of the District Child Welfare Council, while speaking at a function organised on Children’s Day today.

Kaithal, November 14
Even as the nation celebrates Children’s Day today but for a group of rag pickers here it was life as usual.

Raja (9), Sani (8), Balwinder (7),Suraj (6),,Bittu (5) Lakhan (12) were busy searching for scrap on one of the busy roads of the city to put together a meal at the end of their efforts.

Initially hesitant to talk to this reporter, they gradually opened up about their travails at such tender ages. Belonging to a family of poor snake charmers, their parents did not have the means to send them to school. They too were least interested in studies and were happy with what they earned, which ranged between Rs 50 -100 every day.

Being traditional snake charmers, they too had learned its finer aspects but with the changing social scenario the profession had become unprofitable. They lived in temporary huts and each member worked for making the ends meet, they revealed.

Chandigarh, November 14
The Haryana Government has engaged eight additional advocates-general (AAGs), a deputy advocate-general (DAG) and an assistant advocate-general in the office of the Advocate-General on a contract basis.

The AAGs are Pritam Singh Saini, Ashok Singla, Jasmeet Singh Bedi, Deepak Balyan, Naveen Kaushik, Vishal Garg, Lokesh Sinhal and Deepak Manchanda. The DAG and assistant advocate-general are Anil Mehta and Mahima Savin Bansal. — TNS

Ambala, November 14
Terming the Chhattisgarh incident in which 13 women died after undergoing vasectomy as a tragedy in the making, Haryana doctors have demanded a change in policy under which such operations are performed in villages in sterile conditions.

The doctors claim that they have been raising the issue of dedicated vasectomy centres for the past 30 years. Such centres with operation theatres should be set up at government hospitals to avoid a repeat of Chhattisgarh.

Doctors said it was a general practice for them at sterilization camps in the villages to perform surgeries in unhygienic conditions and high infection chances.

The manner in which the medical teams are constituted was also questionable as those performing the surgeries were mostly unaware of the equipment and drugs being used by them.

The authorities should formulate a policy under which a regular surgeon and anaesthetist perform the surgeries along with paramedical staff. Instead of sending out teams, awareness camps should be held in villages to encourage residents to undergo vasectomy at state run health care centres, they added.

While the vasectomies in Pandari village in Chhattisgarh were conducted in a grimy room of an unused private hospital in the village, the conditions are no better when similar camps are held in Haryana, they alleged.

Sonepat, November 14
A team led by Gannaur SDM Regan Kumar and DSP Jitesh Kumar today seized a large quantity of illegally mined Yamuna sand from the fields in the Yamuna belt and a HAFED godown near Gannaur during a raid.

The team also seized two JCB machines, two Hyva trucks and two tractor-trailers loaded with Yamuna sand from different areas of the region.

The SDM asked the mining department officials to weigh the seized stock of the sand and seal the sites where the illegal mining was being carried out. A case has also been registered against the persons involved in illegal mining.

To keep a strict watch on illegal mining, community policing would be used by the administration and the police, he said.

Karnal, November 14
Two persons were killed when their bike was hit by a truck near Bastara village on the National Highway-1 this evening.

The deceased were identified as Bijender of Bohra village in Gannaur and 
his brother-in-law Dayal Singh of Gagsina village in Karnal. In an another incident, a school bus collided with a truck near Taraori this morning, injuries the drivers of both vehicle and about 15 students. They were rushed to Kalpana Chawla Government Medical College. Hospital, where they were given treatment.

The truck driver has been booked for negligent driving, said Dalel Singh, SHO, Taraori.

Shahabad, November 14
The CBI caught two officials and a peon of the FCI for “taking” a bribe of Rs 40,000 at the Haryana Agro unit here.

Sources said Nachettar Singh, owner of Shri Ganesh Rice Mill, Ismailabad, had complained against technical officer Sachin Jha, manager (quality) Saroj Kumar and peon Bharat Lal alleging that they had demanded Rs 50,000 for clearing his three rice-loaded trucks. — TNS

Sonepat, November 14
The police claim to have arrested most-wanted criminal Ravi alias Lamba of Barona village, involved in kidnapping, murder, firing and extortion. Ravi was carrying a reward of Rs 2 lakh on his head.

Ravi and his accomplice Satish, also from the same village, were arrested from the judicial complex on Thursday. Both were produced in court today that remanded them in five-day police custody.

According to the police, Nasib of Barona lodged a complaint on November 1 stating his brother Naveen went to the fields on October 6, but he did not return. Nasib suspected that his brother had been murdered.

The police arrested Pawan and, during interrogation, he confessed that because of an old enmity, he along with Ravi, Sandeep and Rajesh kidnapped Naveen. They killed him and disposed his body in the canal. Pawan confessed to have demanded an extortion of Rs 50 lakh from a wholesale dealer of Kharkhoda. — TNS

Chandigarh, November 14
A local court today sentenced Vijay Singh to life imprisonment for the murder of an advocate in Fatehabad in Haryana last year. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on him. The court yesterday acquitted two others in the case.

The police had booked six persons for advocate Suresh Bansal’s murder on August 31 last year. Two accused were declared proclaimed offenders while the FIR against one was quashed.

A resident of Fatehabad was hacked to death by the assailants during the auction of farmland in the area. The victim had died on the spot.

The produce of disputed land wasbeing auctioned in the presence of revenue officers when the assailants attacked advocate Suresh Bansal with sharp-edged weapons, killing him.